On 24th November 1859, Charles Darwin published 'On the Origin of Species'. His master-work laid down the theory of evolution by natural selection. In the century and half since publication, this theory has become firmly entwined with our instinctive view of how the planet's species came to be. It has also caused huge debates about the nature of its interpretation and its relationship to religious faith.This Guardian Short gathers together the newspaper's most significant contributions to the...

Beer and bikes: can they ever mix? What's the best way to cycle in a summer dress? How much bike do you get for £70? Or £10,000? The Guardian bike blog is one of the most vibrant sections of the newspaper's website. Here, a cycling community from around the world gives their views, rants, complaints, and every clever tip available - from keeping warm in winter to beating the bike thieves. Along with brilliant advice there are also plenty of biking tales, from the sublime (a ride by moonlig...

“The holy grail for disillusioned cycling fans . . . The book’s power is in the collective details, all strung together in a story that is told with such clear-eyed conviction that you never doubt its veracity. . . . The Secret Race isn’t just a game changer for the Lance Armstrong myth. It’s the game ender.”—OutsideNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • WINNER OF THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARDThe Secret ...

Trading on the sterling reputation that enabled him to survive a widely publicized doping confession, American cyclist “Big George” Hincapie—a record seventeen-time Tour de France participant, Olympian, and key witness in the Lance Armstrong doping case—offers an insightful account of his esteemed career and a sports era defined by performance-enhancing drug use.In this highly anticipated cycling memoir, Big George Hincapie provides the most comprehensive account of a dark period i...

This is a true story of a Kiwi Couples adventures following "The Tour de France," their harrowing experience with the thieves of Pisa and a life changing accident in New Zealand.As one journey finishes and another starts, their whole world gets turned upside down when a New Zealand hospital administers Morphine, unbeknown to Kerry and then allow him to drive.Unconscious and well hidden from the road, after care...

Dave Brailsford has spearheaded the track cycling revolution in Britain, helping turn the nation into a superpower. He is also head of Team Sky and oversaw Bradley Wiggins' victory at the 2012 Tour de France. But who is the man behind the mask? This is a portrait of one of the most enigmatic presences in world sport; an exploration of his background, a unique insight into the formation of his methodology and an analysis of how he has forged a new path in a sport riven with controversy.

As Ellie’s fiftieth birthday approaches and her ambitions of a steady income, a successful career and an ascent of Everest seem as far away as ever, she begins to doubt she’s capable of achieving anything at all. So when her best friend Mick suggests a gruelling cycle ride from Land’s End to John o’Groats, she takes up the challenge. They opt for the scenic route which takes them along cycle paths, towpaths and the back roads and byways of Britain, unable to resist sampling local beers in ...

Geoff Thomas's heroic battle to overcome leukaemia, and then take on the toughest sporting challenge: to ride the Tour de FranceWhen Geoff Thomas struggled to play a friendly game of tennis while on holiday in Mallorca in May 2003, he thought little of it. Recently retired as a footballer, he believed it was a sign of ageing and perhaps a pulled muscle. But when the pain wouldn't go away, his wife Julie persuaded him to go to a doctor. He was diagnosed as having le...

'Man still bears in his bodily frame the indelible stamp of his lowly origin' On topics ranging from intelligent design and climate change to the politics of gender and race, the evolutionary writings of Charles Darwin occupy a pivotal position in contemporary public debate. This volume brings together the key chapters of his most important and accessible books, including the Journal of Researches on the Beagle voyage (1845), the Origin of Species

Bradley Wiggins is a British sporting legend. Not only has he won seven World Track Championships and a record-equalling seven Olympic medals, including double-gold in Beijing in 2008 and gold in the time trial in London in 2012, he is the first Briton to have won cycling's ultimate prize, the Tour de France.He is an immensely talented and dedicated endurance athlete with a gritty, down-to-earth persona - cool, outspoken, respected, inspiring - and he has helped to bring track and ...

Humans are mammals. Most of us appreciate that at some level. But what does it mean for us to have more in common with a horse and an elephant than we do with a parrot, snake or frog?After a misdirected football left new father Liam Drew clutching a uniquely mammalian part of his anatomy, he decided to find out more. Considering himself as a mammal first and a human second, Liam delves into ancient biological history to understand what it means to be mammalian.In his humoro...

The second collection in the RIDE series of short fiction about bicycles, with contributions by SJ Rozan, Kent Peterson, Barb Goffman, Keith Snyder, Eric Neuenfeldt, Nigel Greene, Jan Maher, Jon Billman, and KI Hope.