John Blake Publishing Ltd John Blake Ragged Edge The brutal true story of the Isle of Man TT - the worlds most dangerous race.

by Stuart Barker

The unvarnished, raw truth behind the world's most dangerous sporting event - in the words of those who ride it.

One week in June. One small island. 40,000 annual visitors. Raw speed. Numerous annual deaths. The Isle of Man TT motorcycle road race.

Five minutes to go. The claxon sounds, harsh as an air raid siren. Television crews attempt last-minute interviews with riders. The thousand yard-stares give it they're really not listening now.

Four minutes to go. The grandstand is packed. Some racers tell their mechanics, 'I'll see you later for a pint' - just to make themselves believe they will.

Three minutes to go. For the first man on the road, hidden dangers exist. He will have no-one to follow. And he is the hare that the greyhounds will be chasing.

Two minutes to go. By the end of the first lap, riders will be howling past faster than a bullet from the barrel of a gun. A full 160pmh. And that's not even the fastest part of the course.

One minute to go. The atmosphere is palpably tense. It's like no other sporting event on earth. Formula 1 drivers can crash spectacularly and just walk away. Everyone knows that's not the case here.

Five seconds . The starter raises the checkered flag, ready to snap down. No more time for nerves, for doubts. The race has started. How it will end, no-one knows. The TT has begun.

In Ragged Edge , Stuart Barker will write the definitive story of this unique event, from the tarmac up. The history, the atmosphere, the heroes, tragedies and legends. And most our fascination with this seductive yet perilous test of skill and daring. This is the unvarnished, raw truth behind the world's most dangerous sporting event - in the words of those who ride it.

320 pages, Paperback

Published May 9, 2024

About the author

Stuart Barker was born in Galloway, Scotland and graduated from Strathclyde University in 1996. A lifelong motor racing fan, he worked at Motor Cycle News, first as a news reporter then as a feature writer and road tester. After four years, he became a freelance writer and has been published in many magazines including FHM, Superbike, Two Wheels Only and Biker. He has co-written books with Niall Mackenzie and Steve Hislop and wrote a bestselling biography of the late Barry Sheene.

Reviews

[Jurgita · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could give more if I could. So far it's the book of the year for me. Maybe even couple of years. It's been a while since I enjoyed a book this much. For me it was the writing and the way he tells the story. I have literally held my breath reading chapter 4 - "A Mountain
to Climb" and now ready to scramble up the steep hills for an hour to get to that view point.
TT has a long and eventful history. And at no point I was bored. It had the right mixture of facts and anecdotes for me to keep me interested all way through. And it sparked my interest in it to the point where I have already bought two more books to delve deeper into its history and people.
I am not sure if it's for die hard Fans of the race, but if you are curious about it, it's really good all-rounder. Just be warned, you will start looking at flights and ferries and accommodation for the next year's race 👀

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned a lot about the Isle of Man TT and I'm even more excited to go next year now!

The content felt a tiny bit repetitive after about ¾ of the book, like maybe it could have just been shorter? Also, I ended up being a little frustrated at the end at the lack of significant acknowledgement of and interviews with competitors that are not white men. Also, a lot of references to fans being "father and son" and things like that, which made me feel like I'm going to be a little out of place at the event.

I'm still glad I read it though, and I finished it in time to give it to my dad while I was in America. Now we both can read it in advance of going next year, seeing as he passed his passion for the race down to me (his daughter).

[Carson Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent popular history of the annual Isle of Man TT motorcycle racing event. The book is well structured and well written and, having done a lot of reading about and watching of the event, I think the author did a very good job of deciding which stories and facts to put into the book.

Even after reading much more comprehensive books such as David Wright's 100 Years of the Isle of Man TT: A Century of Motorcycle Racing 2007-2012, this book has really good value for TT fans since it has the ability to focus greater detail on specific events that broader books like Wright's simply cant. For example, Mike Hailwood's 1978 Senior TT race gets a few paragraph's in Wright's book while Barker is able to devote a whole chapter to it including interviews with people involved, and in doing so engages the reader in an entirely different and enjoyable way.

The only minor complaints I could issue are that on a few occasions two different chapters will repeat the same information (eg. what injuries a racer suffered in a specific crash), and that despite being very recent some of the "most ever wins" title holders have already changed but there's not much the author could do about that.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gripping and speedy read for summer afternoons. Every year we see the bikers heading en-masse towards Heysham for the boat to the Isle of Man. And in visits to the Lakeland Motor Museum we've watched the TT film of the Morecambe Missile, John McGuinness, in the racing motorcycle display. Spotting this gave an opportunity for vicarious excitement.

It's a fascinating read, that the bikes now exceed 200mph, the riders can break every bone in their body twice and can be stretchered onto their bike to race while they recover. This book captures the desires, dangers and emotions while at times feeling a bit sequential.

[Jo Cleobury · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book takes you to the TT.
Absolutely f*cking brilliant.

[Jera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good read, I didn't know much about the isle of man TT race before reading the book but it was still incredibly interesting.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a long time TT fan, there was nothing new here and all the quotes were familiar but still a worthwhile read and a pretty quick one too.

[bookolożka · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.3 🌟 fantastyczna

[Judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting history of the TT. A few repeated facts but overall a good read.