The Bumper Book of Slightly Forgotten but Nevertheless Still Great British Olympians and other Sporting Heroes - Simon Bullivant

As the long and entertaining title of this book explains, this is a large collection recounting the tales of the not quite famous, not entirely remembered, unusual sporting exploits of some nevertheless high achieving British folk. This selection of informative, humourous stories involving magnificent and strange sporting feats, and the weird and wonderful people undertaking them, is an entertaining diversion, the numerous tales can be read independently of each other, and it could be a super gift for that hard to buy for and open-minded sports lover with a sense of humour. The exploits range from the more traditional sports such as football, tennis and swimming, to the rather more unexpected and lesser known events like naked fishing, underwater hoop plunge, mixed luge and bed making! My favourite Olympian depicted here is Sir George Ingollds, he of the eighty-six-yard perambulation for gentlemen of a certain girth! Before you ponder on this and despair at how these marvellous achievements could ever have been lost from public memory, it may be worth remembering that the author is a writer of comedy, and that these characters are in fact entirely of the author’s creation. This book certainly wins the prize for book that I've reviewed with the longest title! Also a rare excursion into non-fiction for me! I read and reviewed this book for newbooks magazine.

3/5

Published by Constable

Hardback available now in the UK 

Priced £12.99