'In his two BBC Radio 5 Live series of HEAD to HEAD, psychologist and writer Geoffrey Beattie proved himself a master interviewer.

Time and again his gentle but incisive probing threw up extraordinary insights: that Naseem Hamed is incapable of feeling fear; that Chris Boardman hates cycling; that Liz McColgan considers herself fat when she sees herself running on TV; that Jonathan Edwards sees the work of the devil in everything, especiallly athletics.

Each broadcast interview lasted a mere 25 minutes, but was edited down from at least double that. The full content of those interviews, in print for the first time, provides a compelling window into the souls of these singular, driven men and women; the sort of people they are - and think they are; why they do what they do - and how; what it means to win - and lose.

The collection as a whole adds up to the most complete inquiry ever published into the psychology of our sporting heroes, and makes gripping reading for all sports fans.' (from the cover)

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