Product Description

When Valentino Rossi dedicated his 2005 World Championship win to Barry Sheene, it was a fitting memorial to the man who perhaps more than any other made motorcycling the hugely successful sport it is today. Sadly, he died of cancer in 2003, only aged 52. Barry Sheene won the British motorcycling 125cc championship at the age of twenty and twice became World Champion in the 500cc class, despite two life-threatening crashes, both of which he overcame with great courage and determination. BARRY is an intimate and revealing account told by three people who knew him better than most. Steve Parrish, fellow bike racer and now BBC commentator, admits that Barry completely changed his life, and reveals just what he got up to with his 'partner in crime'...Nick Harris, one of Barry's greatest fans, wrote and broadcast on all his major successes, and ended up by working alongside Barry as a television commentator. Barry's widow, Stephanie, has collaborated fully and written a foreword. She reveals Barry's great insecurity, their family life and his long and brave fight against cancer.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20410 in Books
• Published on: 2008-07-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Review
'A short life but a fantastic one, and his mates Steve Parrish - no mean biker himself - and Nick Harris have put the legend's life together in a book that runs the gamut of emotions and makes you wonder if you're putting enough into your own life' - DAILY SPORT

About the Author
Steve Parrish rode with Barry for years and is still heavily involved in the sport. Nick Harris is a long standing motorcycling journalist and commentator.

Customer Reviews

Straw bales and tall tales.. A British sporting idol, warts and all...
Ah yes, British motorsport in the 70's was by most accounts a great time and place to be, we had heroic Formula One and Motorbike Grand Prix champions James Hunt and Barry Sheene in the same year, The Isle Of Man TT races were in their heyday, Silverstone was still a full on flat out venue before tighter chicanes and the Brooklands complex slowed the racing down and the British public couldn't get enough of it. Close your eyes and you can almost smell the Castrol R on a warm summers day. However behind the rose tinted glamour are stories of all too frequent and avoidable close brushes with death, below par venues, badly engineered machinery and organisational chaos, and this book certainly gives an honest insight into that world.

I must confess before I read this book I wasn't fully aware just how close friends Steve (Stavros) Parrish and Barry Sheene were, and some of their non season time partying 'activities' are the stuff of legends, some of which you will read about here. Your mother may not approve!

Overall I found the book enjoyable to read but apart from a some insights into Barry's (and his friends) antics within the confines of their close knit 'squadron' (both on and off the track) there wasn't a large amount of new material especially in respect of his famous horrific crashes at Daytona and Silverstone. What also surprised me was Barry portrayed by the contributors as an obsessional, insecure spoilt brat, traits which can be traced back to his childhood and the lenient upbringing by his parents, who bent over backwards to give Barry what he wanted. There is no question that Barry was used to having his own way in life, and this book does not hold back in this regard. (Remember this is the book, not my personal opinion) Also this portrayal of Barry poses the question that if this is the view that his wife and closest friend(s) have of him, then what did other people think? (I think his wife Stephanie deserves an award for putting up with so much). This may not be what some fans want to read, so if you want to stick with the image of a smiling cheeky Barry being the loveable heroic 40 a day rouge then this book may not be for you.

It is easy to fall into the trap of giving the maximum 5 stars to something, simply by association with something or someone who is popular or well regarded, but this book whilst interesting and at times revealing, is in the humble opinion of this reviewer not particularly well written. The narrative is clumsy and I regularly found myself having to re-trace back a couple of paragraphs to establish just who's story or opinion of Barry I was reading, as this was not always clear.

Whilst it was interesting to read the tales and stories told (amongst others) by Steve Parrish, Barry's wife Stephanie, Nick Harris, the doctor who repaired his legs, and occasional comment by Kenny Roberts Snr, the tragic fact is that apart from his auto biography originally penned in the late 70's, we the fans will never have a full and complete autobiography written by Barry himself, and no amount of tribute books or stories told by his family, friends and peers from over the years will ever replace that. I personally think we have gone as a far as we need to with Barry Sheene 'tribute' publications, and although it could be considered less `revealing', the Stuart Barker biography is a better read.

Barry Sheene Motorcycle Legend
An amazing look into the life of Barry, I've actually read it twice, as soon as I finshed the last page I started again!
Some excellent detail on events and the behind the scences activities of Sheene and Parrish. A stunning insight into the way race circuits were run back then.
Simply a great book.

Barry Sheene
Barry: The Story of Motorcycling Legend, Barry SheeneA very well written book by the man who probably knows more about the wild side of this the most charismatic of motorcycle racers the world ever saw. With the help of Barrys wife Stephanie, its the best book written about a true sporting legend. Valentinos hero was Barry Sheene. Nuff said!!