Magic Spanner
The World of Cycling According to Carlton Kirby
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Magic Spanner
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Narrated by:
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Carlton Kirby
About this listen
Bloomsbury presents Magic Spanner written and read by Carlton Kirby.
SHORTLISTED FOR THE TELEGRAPH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 2020 – CYCLING BOOK OF THE YEAR
'A genuine one-off with a ready wit and a killer anecdote to hand at all times' – Ian Cleverly, Rouleur
'Carlton Kirby is no ordinary cycling commentator, so it is not surprising that this very entertaining book is no ordinary Grand Tour on a bicycle. A very enjoyable journey for everyone' – Phil Liggett MBE, NBC Tour de France commentator
Prepare to be entertained as legendary Eurosport cycling commentator Carlton Kirby shares his tales from the road, taking you behind the scenes of the world's greatest cycle races.
With a candid authority that comes from over 25 years commentating on the world's biggest cycling races, legendary Eurosport commentator Carlton Kirby isn't afraid to tell it like it really is. Witty, outrageous and often outspoken, Magic Spanner is an insider's view of life on cycling's Grand Tours, including the Tour de France, Giro D'Italia, Vuelta a España and the classics, all delivered in the inimitable style for which Carlton has become globally famous.
Peppered with hilarious anecdotes of life on the road with Tour legend Sean Kelly, Carlton gives us an expert, behind-the-scenes view – one that the average fan rarely gets to see or hear about. As well as sharing his various bugbears (including crazy spectators in mankinis to the more serious issues of rider safety), Carlton also lifts the lid on team strategies, and delves into some of cycling's more questionable ethics.
Delivering a mix of expert opinion and trademark wit, Carlton covers the funny, the serious and the more bizarre moments on the professional cycling caravan. This edition also includes Carlton's guide to watching bike racing – live at the roadside.
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 123
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 123
Recounting the three weeks of blood, sweat, and tearsthat make up a 7,000 mile journey from the glitzy streets of Paris to the hinterland of northwestern Africa, this incredible tale highlights the most arduous and notorious off-road motorsports event on the planet, the Paris-Dakar Rally. Since its inception in 1979, the rally has attracted more than 3,000 participants from all walks of life.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Great tale, not great narration
- By Catherine Perkins on 07-12-16
By: Lawrence Hacking, and others
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The Mechanic
- The Secret World of the F1 Pitlane
- By: Marc 'Elvis' Priestley
- Narrated by: Marc 'Elvis' Priestley
- Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 482
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 430
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 430
Random House presents the audiobook edition of The Mechanic written and read by Marc 'Elvis' Priestley. In the high-octane atmosphere of the Formula One pit lane, the spotlight is most often on the superstar drivers. And yet, without the technical knowledge, competitive determination and outright obsession from his garage of mechanics, no driver could possibly hope to claim a spot on the podium.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great insight.
- By Justin on 01-25-19
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Jenson Button: Life to the Limit
- My Autobiography
- By: Jenson Button
- Narrated by: Jack Hawkins
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 342
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 311
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 308
The full-length, in-depth and intimate autobiography from Jenson Button, one of the greatest racing drivers of his generation. His 17 years in Formula One have seen him experience everything the sport has to offer, from nursing duff cars round the track to winning world championships and everything in between. Here, Jenson tells his full story for the first time in his own honest, intelligent and eloquent style.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Absolutely Amazing
- By Carlos C. on 05-23-18
By: Jenson Button
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The Tour According to G
- My Journey to the Yellow Jersey
- By: Geraint Thomas
- Narrated by: Dafydd Pritchard
- Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 92
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 78
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 78
For years Geraint Thomas appeared blessed with extraordinary talent but jinxed at the greatest bike race in the world: twice an Olympic gold medallist on the track, Commonwealth champion, yet at the Tour de France a victim of crashes, bad luck and his willingness to sacrifice himself for his teammates. In the summer of 2018, that curse was blown away in spectacular fashion - from the cobbles of the north and the iconic mountain climbs of the Alps to the brutal slopes of the Pyrenees and, finally, the Champs-Elysees in Paris.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Not a fan of GT but really enjoyed the book
- By Richy on 01-27-19
By: Geraint Thomas
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Three Weeks, Eight Seconds
- Greg Lemond, Laurent Fignon, and the Epic Tour de France of 1989
- By: Nige Tassell
- Narrated by: Shaun Grindell
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 30
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 25
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 25
For a race as long as the mighty Tour (three weeks of testing the limits of human endurance), to have the ultimate victory decided by a margin of just eight seconds almost boggles the mind. But that's exactly what happened between American legend Greg LeMond and Laurent Fignon. After more than 2,000 miles in the saddle, it remains the smallest margin of victory in the Tour's 100-plus-year history.
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5 out of 5 stars
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LOVED IT!
- By Ashley Green on 07-03-23
By: Nige Tassell
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Is That Thing Diesel?
- By: Paul Carter
- Narrated by: Paul Carter
- Length: 5 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 41
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 39
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 40
At forty years old, a successful writer, husband and father, no longer toiling on offshore drilling rigs, was Paul Carter happily nestled in the cotton wool of suburban life enjoying the fruits of his labour? Was he f**k! With his manic life left far behind and the perfect opportunity to take it easy stretched before him what else would a middle-aged, bike obsessed, man want? Yes, that's right, he'd want to be the first guy to ride around Australia on an underpowered experimental motorcycle that runs on used cooking oil, wouldn't he? Preferably without getting hit by a semi-trailer full of bridge parts.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Another hit for Paul Carter
- By As happy as a monkey with two bananas in his hands on 06-11-14
By: Paul Carter
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To Dakar and Back
- 21 Days Across North Africa by Motorcycle
- By: Lawrence Hacking, Wil De Clercq
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 138
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 123
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 123
Recounting the three weeks of blood, sweat, and tearsthat make up a 7,000 mile journey from the glitzy streets of Paris to the hinterland of northwestern Africa, this incredible tale highlights the most arduous and notorious off-road motorsports event on the planet, the Paris-Dakar Rally. Since its inception in 1979, the rally has attracted more than 3,000 participants from all walks of life.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Great tale, not great narration
- By Catherine Perkins on 07-12-16
By: Lawrence Hacking, and others
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The Beast, the Emperor and the Milkman
- A Bone-Shaking Tour Through Cycling’s Flemish Heartlands
- By: Harry Pearson
- Narrated by: Harry Pearson
- Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 38
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 35
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 35
Committed Belgophile and road cycling obsessive Harry Pearson takes you on a journey across Flanders - through the lumpy horizontal rain, up the elbow-juddering cobbled inclines, past the fans dressed as chickens and the shop window displays of constipation medicines as he follows races big, small and even smaller, through one glorious, muddy spring. Ranging over 500 years of Flemish and European history, Pearson examines the characters, the myths and the rivalries that make Flanders a place where cycling is a religion and the riders its Lycra-clad priests.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Once A Year….
- By Ryan Shadrin on 05-02-23
By: Harry Pearson
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Iron Cowboy - Redefine Impossible
- By: James Lawrence
- Narrated by: Millian Quinteros
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 332
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 285
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 283
Iron Cowboy is an endurance memoir in the tradition of Dean Karnazes’s Ultramarathon Man - a lifetime’s worth of intensely lived experience packed into 20 riveting chapters. Listeners will discover the secret to redefining their own goals and achieving great success. When James Lawrence (aka the Iron Cowboy) announced his plan to complete 50 full-distance triathlons in 50 consecutive days in all 50 states, the only person who believed that he could pull it off was James himself (and his wife, Sunny).
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1 out of 5 stars
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TERRIBLE NARRATION
- By ANDREW on 03-09-21
By: James Lawrence
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The Art of Cycling
- By: Cadel Evans
- Narrated by: Alan King
- Length: 15 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 177
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 158
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 159
The autobiography of a cycling legend that will become a much-loved classic. The much-anticipated autobiography of the greatest Australian cyclist of all time. Famous in the sport for his meticulous preparation and an athlete who prided himself on his ability to leave it all on the road, Evans writes about the triumphs, the frustrations, the training, the preparation, the psychology of the sport, his contemporaries, the legends and his enduring love of cycling. A riveting and forensic account of his life on the bike....
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5 out of 5 stars
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A Favorite For Sure.
- By S. Gray on 04-14-21
By: Cadel Evans
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The Secret Race
- Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France: Doping, Cover-ups, and Winning at All Costs
- By: Tyler Hamilton, Daniel Coyle
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,649
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,450
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Story5 out of 5 stars 1,451
Here is an explosive book that takes us, for the first time, deep inside a shadowy, fascinating, and surreal world of unscrupulous doctors, anything-goes team directors, and athletes so relentlessly driven to succeed that they would do anything—and take any risk, physical, mental, or moral—to gain the edge they needed to win. The Secret Race is a riveting, courageous act of witness from a man who is as determined to reveal the hard truth about his sport as he once was to win the Tour de France.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Gripping and fascinating
- By Alan on 09-09-12
By: Tyler Hamilton, and others
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Aussie Grit
- My Formula One Journey
- By: Mark Webber
- Narrated by: Nicholas Osmond
- Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 234
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 216
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 215
Mark Webber was at the centre of one of the most captivating chapters in the history of Formula One. In 2010, while racing for Red Bull, he and his teammate, Sebastian Vettel, went head to head for the World Championship. There could be only one winner. Since retiring from Formula One, Mark has concentrated on endurance racing, including the legendary Le Mans 24-hour race.
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2 out of 5 stars
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this story change my perspective of Mark Webber.
- By Neb on 09-01-16
By: Mark Webber
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I, Partridge: We Need to Talk About Alan
- By: Alan Partridge
- Narrated by: Alan Partridge
- Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 745
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 669
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 663
Journalist, presenter, broadcaster, husband, father, vigorous all-rounder – Alan Partridge – a man with a fascinating past and an amazing future. Gregarious and popular, yet Alan’s never happier than when relaxing in his own five-bedroom, south-built house with three acres of land and access to a private stream. But who is this mysterious enigma? Alan Gordon Partridge is the best – and best-loved – radio presenter in the region. Born into a changing world of rationing, Teddy Boys, apes in space and the launch of ITV, Alan’s broadcasting career began as chief DJ of Radio Smile....
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5 out of 5 stars
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An Anglican giant among pygmies
- By John on 06-20-12
By: Alan Partridge
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Run!
- 26.2 Stories of Blisters and Bliss
- By: Dean Karnazes
- Narrated by: Daniel May
- Length: 7 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 317
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 272
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 272
In his follow-up to the best-selling Ultra-Marathon Man, world-renowned ultra marathoner Dean Karnazes chronicles his unbelievable exploits and explorations in gripping detail; Karnazes runs for days on end without rest, across some of the most exotic and inhospitable places on earth, including the Australian Outback, Antarctica, and the back alleys of New Jersey.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Great stories. Horrible narrator.
- By Alberto Medellin on 08-20-15
By: Dean Karnazes
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Can't Swim, Can't Ride, Can't Run
- From Common Man to Ironman
- By: Andy Holgate
- Narrated by: Gregory St. John
- Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 85
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 74
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Story4 out of 5 stars 73
This book is both a lesson in true grit and determination, but its goal is one that is attainable. Andy isn't a sporting superstar, he holds down a nine-to-five job and all the pressures that go with it; he isn’t blessed with speed and talent; there are no multi-million pound sponsorship deals; yet this remarkable "common man" is inspiring in a way that some of today’s sporting superstars have forgotten how to be.
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2 out of 5 stars
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From a triathlete
- By Vladimir on 05-04-14
By: Andy Holgate
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Road Racer
- By: Michael Dunlop
- Narrated by: Drew Dillon
- Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 59
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 56
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Story5 out of 5 stars 55
Michael Dunlop is quite simply the greatest road racer on the planet. Brother of William, also an accomplished rider, son of the late Robert and nephew of the late great Joey Dunlop, Michael can fairly claim that racing is in his blood. Now for the first time he talks in depth about his family story, how he got involved in the family business and how he manages to keep getting back on his bike despite all he knows of the deadly risks he encounters every time he crosses the start line.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great look at a living legend!
- By Anonymous User on 08-09-24
By: Michael Dunlop
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I Think, Therefore I Play
- By: Andrea Pirlo, Alciato Alessandro
- Narrated by: Ric Jerrom
- Length: 4 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 83
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 73
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 73
Andrea Pirlo is one of the finest footballers of his generation - a World Cup and Champions League winning playmaker who has redefined his position at the base of midfield, and one of the most deadly free-kick takers the game has known. This is his story, in his words. It is written with a level of humour and insight which confound his image as a dead-eyed assassin on the field of play.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Short and Sweet
- By Gary Meenaghan on 01-07-24
By: Andrea Pirlo, and others
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Running Up That Hill
- The Highs and Lows of Going That Bit Further
- By: Vassos Alexander
- Narrated by: Vassos Alexander
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 32
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 29
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Story5 out of 5 stars 29
Vassos Alexander shares his insight from interviews with legends of the sport and his own gruelling but rewarding experiences of extraordinary endurance racing - including the legendary 152 mile Spartathlon, widely regarded as the world's most relentless race. Vassos dissects and explores the tenacity that propels many to keep on running and running and running....
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5 out of 5 stars
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Enjoyable
- By Paul on 05-28-23
By: Vassos Alexander
-
Quitters Never Win
- My Life in UFC
- By: Michael Bisping
- Narrated by: Jonathan Cowley
- Length: 13 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 523
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 459
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Story5 out of 5 stars 460
Featuring an entirely new chapter for US readers, the story of his induction into the UFC Hall of Fame, fresh insights about his fighting career, never-before-told stories about his film and TV career, and a harrowing account of his fighting off attempted kidnappers while filming in South Africa, Quitters Never Win tells the incredible story of how he went from rough and humble beginnings and then on to a legendary mixed martial arts career capped by winning the Middleweight Championship in one of the greatest upsets in UFC history.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Good Book
- By Tullio708 on 04-22-20
By: Michael Bisping
What listeners say about Magic Spanner
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 05-30-24
Engaging Delight
I just recently heard Carlton commentating on a race for the first time as I am late in life to the enjoyment of cycling and I now have access to many thanks to my streaming services. Him reading his own book is more than I hoped for. Completely engaging. Absolutely delightful listen. It felt like we were at the coffee shop and he was sharing his stories directly with me. Looking forward to the next one. And thank you to everyone involved, especially his family, for making this possible. Adds depth to the sport.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mark Salling
- 07-06-20
Outstanding!!
Hilarious, insightful, well-done! I've already recommended this book and would recommend it to you! Highly entertaining.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Guest
- 06-12-20
Satisfying journalist's perspective of cycling
So much fun! I loved the whole of it. Giving it another listen right now.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Edward Mokuahi
- 07-20-23
Just Fun
Love how Carlton tells his story’s! From his voice to the pauses in mid sentence, to the sheer emotion that gives you the feeling you are right there with him… So close your eyes, use your imagination and enjoy the wild ride!!
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