Beryl - WINNER OF THE SUNDAY TIMES SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023 (eBook)

Quite simply a Tour de Force

Obsessed by Beryl. This is an incredible book

This is not a hagiography, and all the better for it. Wilson brings her personality to life, faults and all. Meticulously researched. Compelling

One of the greatest figures in the history of British sport.

I loved it, as everyone else has [and] recommend people get it, read it cover to cover and be amazed by the life of Beryl Burton.

Subtle, full of insight, extensively researched and a joy to read

Absolutely extraordinary. I feel like we ought to have a statue to her

An incredible story about one of the greatest cyclists of all time

Jeremy Wilson brings alive this extraordinary woman's achievements (and problems, too - she wasn't always the best mother) in this fabulous biography.

Ludicrously ahead of her time. Ruthless, relentless, brilliant, belligerent - and quite possibly the greatest Olympian Britain never had. What a story.

Britain's greatest ever cyclist is given the literary treatment she so richly deserves in Wilson's rigorously researched biography of the complex and enigmatic Beryl Burton.

Remarkable

Jeremy Wilson finds the human heart of a story that gets more extraordinary as a unique athlete recedes into history. Very highly recommended.

I had never realised the longevity and scale of achievement. I'm in awe.

A beacon is a guiding light, or a warning signal... a fire in a high place. Beryl Burton was, and is, all of those things. Her flame burns all the brighter thanks to Jeremy's fine book.

A fascinating book ... brilliant story [and] definitely well worth checking out. There's been many plaudits for Jeremy's amazing book, but a common thread that runs through them is how thoroughly well researched it is.

Wilson's account is thoroughly-researched, comprehensive, engaging and accessible. This is not a story of a neatly compartmentalised double life of super-human achievement and domestic bliss; it is the tale of a champion driven by childhood trauma who forced colossal sacrifices at home in her relentless pursuit of competition ... [and] he skilfully guides the reader through a rich collection of first-hand accounts, carefully arranged to allow a balanced view

A story with the ingredients that Hollywood would recognise ... The least publicised, least rewarded great woman athlete ever to be disregarded by her own country

The DiMaggio, the Muhammad Ali ... of British cycling.

The subtitle may not even be hyperbolic. Beryl Burton, an almost forgotten amateur cyclist who worked on a rhubarb farm in Yorkshire, was not simply the undisputed ruler of British women's cycling for 25 years, but also broke the men's record in a 12-hour time trial. Jeremy Wilson retrieves an astonishing life.

A superb book about someone who was great before her time

What a story Wilson has uncovered. No one in the history of sport can have worked with quite the self-sacrificing single-mindedness ... a woman of thermonuclear levels of competitiveness

Charts the incredible story of cyclist Beryl Burton, who set a world record in 1967 and was Britain's best all-rounder for 25 successive years. Given her myriad achievements across several decades, it is surprising that Burton is relatively unknown among the wider public; this book aims to address that.

This is an inspirational story that just had to be told. There are few athletes, male or female, that had the success and longevity of Beryl Burton - but for too long her name and achievements have remained in the shadows. No longer! This fabulous book brings the person and her phenomenal, groundbreaking achievements to light - I couldn't put it down.

Hands up if, like me, you had never heard of Beryl Burton. Shame on us. The truth is she was a cycling phenomenon [and] ferociously competitive Yorkshire girl, who swept the board in all the various British national championships. Jeremy Wilson brings alive this extraordinary woman's achievements (and problems, too - she wasn't always the best mother) in this fabulous biography.

Jeremy Wilson provides a convincing case in his tribute to this elusive and remarkable figure

My 97-year-old mother-in-law has no interest in cycling but picked it up from our kitchen table, took it home, and loved it!

I simply cannot exaggerate how bloody great this book is and how inspiring Beryl's story is

A long overdue and remarkable biography of a remarkable cyclist

Impressively thorough ... worth every page

A beautiful book that tells us not just what she did, but who she truly was.

An incredible story about one of the nation's greatest-ever athletes that you probably haven't heard of - until now.

The fascinating [and] extraordinary story of Yorkshire's very own ... it is an excellent book [and] well worth a read

A marvellous book. Gives a real insight into Beryl and the times. For the first time I feel like I really know her and questions have been answered. So wonderfully researched, so many things I didn't know! It really puts her on the roster of legends.

The scale of unsung achievement is awe-inspiring

The most comprehensive chronicle of its kind