Experience the thrilling history of French rugby, from its English origins to its unique cultural identity.Acclaimed rugby writer Peter Bills journeys across France, from Le Havre to the Basque country, uncovering the passion, color, and excitement that define French rugby. Through exclusive interviews with legends like Dan Carter, Serge Blanco, and Antoine Dupont, Le Coq reveals the anecdotes, locations, and pivotal moments that have shaped the sport's 15...

The phenomenal international number one bestseller with exclusive interviews with Richie McCaw, Steve Hansen, Beauden Barrett and Dan Carter, The Jersey is the definitive story behind the greatest sports team on the planet.‘Extremely well written. Compelling, accurate, insightful and brilliant in the way it captures the New Zealand way’ – John Hart, former All Blacks coach.With a better winning record than any other sports team in ...

Peter Bills has spent the past 40 years writing about rugby for newspapers in Britain and around the world. He now shares his extraordinary experiences from a career blessed with an indecent amount of fun, unleashing a barrage of anecdotes and lifting the lid on the hidden world of sports writing—on the characters, stars, and their amazing stories. As a leading freelance writer, Peter learned the wiliest tricks of his trade. Whether conning French police, dashing between airports, or colle...

In 1st Force Recon you performed at a very high level of proficiency. Or you died. . . .In 1969, First Lieutenant Bill Peters and the Force Recon Marines had one of the most difficult, dangerous assignments in Vietnam. From the DMZ to the Central Highlands, their job was to provide strategic and operational intelligence to insure the security of American units as the withdrawal of the troops progressed.Making perilous helicopter inserts deep in the Que Son Mountains, where ...

The phenomenal International Number One Bestseller w****ith exclusive interviews with Richie McCaw, Steve Hansen, Beauden Barrett and Dan Carter, The Jersey is the first definitive story behind the greatest sports team on the planet.'Extremely well written. Compelling, accurate, insightful and brilliant in the way it captures the New Zealand way. - John Hart, former All Blacks coach.With a better winning record tha...

Why, then, Stories to be read 'out loud'?Simply because reading out loud gives us a good space to take in and enjoy whatever we happen to be reading and, for many it just simply feels good. Cast your mind back and remember how comforting it was when someone read you a bedtime story when you were young.So, as the author says, make some 'me' time, tuck yourself up in bed or simply find yourself a quiet corner, relax - and then enjoy the stories.

First published in 1999, this volume, the first to be published in on Jubilee 2000, describes the plight of 52 of the poorest nations in the world and puts in detail the case for radical cancellation of past inert debt. The cost and benefit of this remission and the groundbreaking concordat of peoples and governments that could accompany it are examined in detail.It contains critiques of the economic bases of the World Bank and IMF approaches to debt management in developing econom...

On a March afternoon in Cleveland, St. Bonaventure battled powerful Kentucky for 40 minutes and two overtimes in the first round of the 2000 NCAA Tournament. Though the Bonnies would lose that day, the moments that accompanied that game provided St. Bonaventure's proud alumni a vast sense of pride. For a men's basketball program that was once considered an elite entity, it was fulfilling return to glory. No one could have envisioned then that St. Bonaventure basketball would endure lowest ...

In 1999 Rochester, a mysterious spate of arsons threatens a hilarious and heart–breaking friendship based on a language of inside jokes in "one of the most inventive novels published this year" (The Los Angeles Review).Rochester, New York, 1999: An arsonist is loose on the streets of a city in decline. Gone are the days of Rioting in the Vomit Cruiser, searching for a possible Tokyo Rocking Horse. In this hilarious, wildly original debut novel, Nathan Gray...

In late 2024 Ireland, a nation of just 7 million people, stood at the top of rugby union's world rankings.Ireland's rise to such an exalted position has been the great triumph of rugby's professional era. For a nation that fought tooth and nail to keep the game amateur, their progress since 2000 has been extraordinary. The trophies, once so rare in Irish rugby hands, have become almost commonplace. Grand Slams, Six Nations Championships, Triple Crowns have all stood in the IRFU off...

From French rugby's origins in Le Havre, (as an English export in the late nineteenth century) to the Catalan coast, acclaimed rugby writer Peter Bills travels the length and breadth of this vast country visiting not only the big cities but those regional heartlands of the game such as Toulouse, Bordeaux and Clermont as well as clubs in the Basque country, to reveal a country whose deep love of rugby has created a culture and playing style like no other.Featuring exclusive intervie...

Brought to you by Penguin.'Lukewarm is no good.'As a youngster, Ellie Kildunne was told girls don’t play rugby. But that’s what she was good at, and she was determined to find a way.Growing up in Yorkshire, Ellie started playing rugby aged six with a boys’ team, which she continued to do until she was 13, constantly having to prove herself as the only girl. Then, her mum found out about some local U15 trials for gir...