Force of Nature - Racing Around the World: a True Story of Courage and Endurance.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.[Complete number line 1.] FINE/FINE.No owner inscrptn and no price-clip to dw/dj. Bright,crisp,clean,glossy laminated,colour photographic illustrated panels of dw/dj,with gilt,orange and white lettering; with negligible shelf-wear and creasing to edges and corners - a 3/5ths inch closed tear to front top edge, towards spine/backstrip's gutter's edge -no other nicks or tears present.Top+fore-edges bright and clean; contents bright,tight,clean - pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners,appears unread - apart from my own collation.Publisher's bright,crisp,clean,sharp-cornered, original,plain black cloth boards with bright,crisp,blocked gilt letters to spine/backstrip and immaculate plain white endpapers.UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn, viiipp+2-304pp [paginated] includes illustrations list/table,an introduction, 10 chapters,and a conclusion,8pp contemporary b/w+ colour autobiographical photographs in 1 block,between pp152/3,acknowledgements,and an index; plus [unpaginated] half-title+title pages,a contents list/table, and 8pp blanks at the rear. In January 1969,aboard his home-built wooden boat Suhaili,Robin Knox-Johnston became the first person ever to sail solo,non-stop around the world.Twenty-five years later,Sir Robin again completed a record-breaking circumnavigation,co-skippering Enza with Kiwi yachting legend Sir Peter Blake.His place in sailing's pantheon of greats was assured.Then,after the tragic death of his wife Sue,Sir Robin decided he would try gain.In October 2006,at the age of sixty-seven - when most people are settling into a well-earned retirement - Sir Robin embarked on another gruelling single-handed race around the world.Compared to his rivals,he lacked recent experience and a large shore-based support team.There were many who believed that this time he might have bitten off more than he could chew.Then,early on,it looked like their worst fears might be realized.Within days of setting off,near-hurricane-strength storms in the Bay of Biscay capsized his 60-foot yacht Saga Insurance.But it wasn't just Sir Robin who suffered.Three-quarters of the entire fleet had to run for shelter.When they re-emerged,all faced months of hardship and intensity ahead. 'Force of Nature' is Sir Robin's first-hand account of his extraordinary return to the ultra-competitive,punishing world of single-handed offshore racing.It turned out to be a very different journey from the one he undertook aboard Suhaili,yet that experience remains a touchstone throughout this story. It's a story of courage, ingenuity and resilience played out against the world's oceans.But most of all it's a powerful reminder that age is nothing but a number; no barrier to realizing one's dreams. Please contact seller @ rpaxtonden@blueyonder.co.uk ,for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page!