 |
A very good read about Reg.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
When I was in my teens, Reg Harris made his famous comeback to win the British track Sprint championship at the age of fifty-something. I was impressed and years later got a DVD called "Maestro -The Reg Harris Story", which includes a rather sycophantic and unsearching interview with Reg Harris, conducted by Barry Davies. Reg Harris comes across as a slightly strange guy, and there were hints on the video that there was more to the story. This book dishes the dirt very satisfactorily, not only on his serial infidelities (and how one of his wronged wives emptied all his bank accounts) but also on The Comeback. It's very clear from the book that the small circle of top riders fixed the outcome of races to maximize their earnings, and a good case is made that The Comeback race was no exception: the opponents were fundamentally road racers, not trackies, and didn't really care much about an event which, at the time, was widely ignored and had no status. Reg Harris's publicist took advantage of this, paid people off, and another Great Cycling Myth was born. I really didn't expect that one! A good read.Read full review
I needed this book because I became fascinated by a cyclist that was a houshold name in my youth and was very much the Beckham of the day.Reading this book I learned that Harris was a hard rider for hard times and a great insight into his world.The only other work of merit on the subject is the long out of print autobiography, which may just be a little biased and certainly goes for big money, if you can find one. This however is the whole story, warts and all and the author has researched his subject fully and I thoroughly enjoyed reading the result and often refer to what must from now be the main resource of information on RHH?
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best-selling in Books
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Save on Books
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- You may also like
