{"product_id":"the-beast-the-emperor-and-the-milkman-9781472945068","title":"The Beast the Emperor and the Milkman","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA journey through the wild madness of bicycle racing in Flanders.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLONGLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2019\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''A joy.''  Ned Boulting\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEvery nation shapes sport to test the character traits it most admires.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eThe Beast, the Emperor and the Milkman\u003c\/i\u003e, 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRanging over 500 years of Flemish and European history, across windswept polders, along back roads and through an awful lot of beer cafes, Pearson examines the characters, the myths and rivalries that make Flanders a place where cycling is a religion and the riders its lycra-clad priests.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAn enormously entertaining cycling journal * Times Literary Supplement *\u003cbr\u003eAbsolutely splendid ... full of wonderful things. -- Rhod Sharp * BBC Radio 5 Live *\u003cbr\u003eHarry Pearson’s class and wit were the reason I wanted to start writing in the first place. To read his words on cycling and Flanders, two of the best things in the world, is a joy. -- Ned Boulting\u003cbr\u003eEntertaining -- Richard Williams * The Guardian *\u003cbr\u003eThe ever amiable Harry Pearson invites us to accompany him on a tour of Flanders ... [the cyclists' stories] illuminate the landscape and history of this little understood pocket of Europe. * Guardian Books of the Year *\u003cbr\u003eA witty, engaging guide to the spring bike races in Flanders ... [Pearson] covers a lot of quirky historical ground in his \"bone-shaking tour\". * Telegraph Books of the Year *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePrologue: Brick chimneys and iron men \u003c\/i\u003e 1. The Final 200 Kilometres 2. A Motor for a Heart 3. Donkeys and Carnivals 4. A Wednesday in Hell 5. Holey Socks and a Cool Head 6. It's a Family Affair 7. Show Me the Money 8. The Bulldog and the Red Guard 9. The Devil and Meester Maertens 10. D'ye Ken Tom Boonen? 11. Pot Bellies and Barbra Streisand 12. Staying Small  \u003ci\u003eAcknowledgements Index Picture credits\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"Bloomsbury Publishing PLC","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49408782434647,"sku":"9781472945068","price":11.39,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781472945068.jpg?v=1730504188","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-beast-the-emperor-and-the-milkman-9781472945068","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}