To Be Honest With You By Linford Christie
To Be Honest With You
The Uncompromising, Authoritative Autobiography of a Global Sprint Icon and Olympic Champion
The Uncompromising, Authoritative Autobiography of a Global Sprint Icon and Olympic Champion
Bibliographic Specifications
- Title: To Be Honest With You
- Author: Linford Christie
- Publisher: Michael Joseph Ltd, London
- Publication Date: 1995
- ISBN-10: 071814063X
- ISBN-13: 9780718140630
- Edition Details: First Edition, First Printing. Standard Hardcover Release.
- Binding: Original publisher’s premium cloth-bound hardcover casing with crisp spine titles.
- Physical Format: Octavo (8vo), 293 pages. Generously enhanced with exclusive full-colour and black-and-white athletic action plates mapping his historic championship sprint crowns.
- Language: English
Official Condition Report
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The Book: Used - Very Good (VG)
- Exterior / Boards: The original cloth hardcover casing presents in highly secure condition, keeping flat, clean panels and sharply square corners. The binding is robustly intact, showing no linear shelf-lean or structural collapse. The spine remains completely undamaged.
- Interior: The internal text block is tight, crisp, and robustly bound. All 293 pages are exceptionally clean, bright, and completely intact. They are entirely free of user highlighting, underline annotations, library stamps, owner name inscriptions, or dealer pencil markings. A well-sheltered copy that has been maintained with care.
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The Dust Jacket: Used - Good to Very Good (G/VG)
- Condition Detail: The original illustrated paper dust jacket is present and whole, showing some noticeable vintage wear especially concentrated along the outer edges, tips, and spine areas. It is now safely housed and protected with a premium Cellophane cover, which holds the jacket together beautifully and presents a very neat profile on the shelf.
Synopsis & Historical Value
Published in 1995 at the absolute zenith of his international athletic supremacy, To Be Honest With You is the raw, uncompromised account of the reigning Olympic 100 metres champion: Linford Christie. Born and raised in Jamaica before migrating to London at age seven, Christie defied all traditional athletic norms by not beginning formal, elite track training until the mature age of 25—a late-blooming arc that makes his eventual global dominance all the more staggering.
Writing with his trademark absolute candour, Christie strips down the psychology of the fastest men on earth. The narrative takes readers inside the absolute stillness of his mind right before a race, mapping the intense mental focus required to explode out of the blocks. He opens up about his close family bonds, lifelong friends, and fierce on-track rivalries during the golden era of 1990s sprinting. Capturing a live window right as he held the Olympic, World, European, and Commonwealth titles simultaneously, this premium first-edition hardcover collectible copy serves as an invaluable primary historical record for track-and-field purists and sports biography collectors alike.
Author Profile: Linford Christie
Linford Christie, OBE, is an international athletics legend, a former World Record holder, and the most decorated British male athlete in track history. Most famous for capturing the 100m Gold Medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, he solidified his status as a global sporting phenomenon by claiming the World Championship title in Stuttgart in 1993. Over his illustrious career, he secured 24 major championship medals, redefining sprinting through his explosive power, psychological dominance, and long-standing leadership as a master coach.
Christie's unparalleled athletic track record and direct, uncompromising personality ensure To Be Honest With You cuts through standard celebrity sports clichés. His expert reflections provide readers with an authoritative, definitive look at the sacrifices, systemic hurdles, and high-stakes realities of professional international track-and-field competition.
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