A surprising view of the First World War as seen through the eyes of the early cycling champions with outstanding historical pictures and illustrations that have never been published before. On 28 June 1914, there were two almost simultaneous shots. In Paris, the 12th Tour de France was about to start, while in Sarajevo the Austrian crown prince Franz Ferdinand was assassinated. Professional cycle racing came to a halt, but the first cycling heroes continued to race. The Belgian cycling author Patrick Cornillie takes us through the wartime editions of the Tour of Flanders, which were ridden on a velodrome just north of Ghent. With humour, the book tells the stories of a champion who was a spy, a one-legged Italian cyclist, some famous British and German idols, and the perilous bike adventures of a well-known Belgian author. With sadness, we learn about the fate of a French winner of the Tour, killed in battle, Gustaaf Mus shot by firing squad, saboteurs, Crupelandt and his flight from Berlin to Roubaix, a renowned cyclist held hostage, the death rider from Lichtervelde, the brave Black Devils, and the many military cyclist-soldiers from Australia, New Zealand and Canada who died at the front. Plus crashes and races and cycling reporters, tour winners dying for their country, bridegrooms, and the female ex-racer who designed an air ambulance. Superbly well illustrated extra large 208 page paperback.

The former Somerset and England cricketer Vic Marks played in six Tests and 34 one-day internationals and was the Cricket Correspondent for the Observer for 31 years and ended up fulfilling that role for the Guardian as well. In amongst his artfully delivered stock ball, enough deliveries grip to keep the pages turning in this literary equivalent to an afternoon in the sun at a county out ground hearing the sound of a cricket ball hitting the willow. In his book, Vic Marks takes us beyond the boundary rope and shares the parts of the game that fans don't get to see from the food served at lunchtime (then sweaty ham, now quinoa, cranberry and feta salad), to the politics of the dressing room. Whether revisiting his playing days to reveal the secrets of bowling a killer spell and what it feels like to be heckled by a riled-up crowd, or ruminating on the current state of the game (don't mention The Hundred!), here are the charms, quirks and peculiar allure of cricket, a game still very much alive today and all from the authoritative voice heard on TMS. 282pp, paperback.