Synopses & Reviews
A story of risk, adventure, and daring as four Americans race to win
the gold medal in the most dangerous competition in Olympic history.
In
the 1930s, as the world hurtled toward war, speed was all the rage.
Bobsledding, the fastest and most thrilling way to travel on land, had
become a sensation. Exotic, exciting, and brutally dangerous, it was the
must-see event of the 1932 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, the first
Winter Games on American soil. Bobsledding required exceptional skill
and extraordinary courage — qualities the American team had in abundance.
There was Jay O’Brien, the high-society playboy; Tippy Grey, a
scandal-prone Hollywood has-been; Eddie Eagan, world champion
heavyweight boxer and Rhodes Scholar; and the charismatic Billy
Fiske, the true heart of the team, despite being barely out of his
teens. In the thick of the Great Depression, the nation was gripped by
the story of these four men, their battle against jealous locals,
treacherous US officials, and the very same German athletes they would
be fighting against in the war only a few short years later.
Billy, in fact, went on to talk his way into the Royal Air Force — despite
their Brits-only policy — and was there to fight the Nazis during the
Battle of Britain. King of speed to the end, he would become the first
American fighter pilot killed in WWII.
The exploits of Billy and
his teammates make up a story that spans the globe, from Golden Age
Hollywood to seedy New York gambling dens, to the most fashionable
European resorts, the South Seas, and beyond. Evoking the glamour and
recklessness of the Jazz Age, Speed Kings will thrill readers to the last page.
Review
“The care Bull demonstrates in developing each of the figures in this
engrossing narrative is almost novelistic…A well-written and
entertaining sports story.” Kirkus Reviews
About the Author
Andy Bull is the senior sportswriter for the Guardian. After studying English at Oxford, Andy Bull entered journalism and has now worked at the Guardian for
eight years, during which time he has covered two Olympic Games, the
Cricket and Rugby World Cups, the World Athletics and the World Swimming
Championships, the Commonwealth Games, and Wimbledon. He has also
written features, interviews (ranging from Oscar Pistorius to Harold
Pinter), blogs, and colour pieces. He has received multiple nominations
and commendations at both the British Press Awards and Sports Journalism
Awards, and has his own cricket column, “The Spin,” e-mailed out to
20,000 readers each week.