The story of the extraordinary

‘Sometimes the river was too high to see the fish pairs well, sometimes the wind shook up the surface too much to get a clear view. […] You know if they have already spawned and buried their eggs in the gravel because hit by the light they run, and squiggle downstream.

Un-spawned, they face the light. It is one of nature’s great spectacles.

’So begins Michael Wigan’s fascinating journey into the extraordinary world of the king of fish. He explores the natural history of the salmon, this most mysterious of fishes that has fascinated man for centuries, evoking passion and adventure throughout the ages.

He explores the life cycle of the salmon, weaving his own experiences and stories into an evocative narrative. Crucially, he addresses the pressing matter of conservation issues and human management, which in the past has led to fast decreasing populations.

History suggests it is the pressure of human development which has narrowed down the survival zone of the salmon, and the author questions whether we can go on altering natural systems and freshwater rivers in order to make space for human populations, and do so in sync with fish needs.In his unique and passionate voice, the author transports us to another world – his writing is beautifully evocative and his excitement for the salmon palpable throughout.

The definitive account of golf’s founding father and son, Old and Young Tom Morris. For the first time, the two will be portrayed as men of flesh and blood – heroic but also ambitious, loving but sometimes confused and angry.

Two men from one household, with ambitions that made them devoted partners as well as ardent foes.Tommy\'s Honour is a compelling story of the two Tom Morrises, father and son, both supremely talented golfers but utterly different, constituting a record-breaking golfing dynasty that has never been known before or since.

Father, Old Tom Morris, grew up a stone\'s throw away from golf\'s ancestral home at St Andrews, a whisky-fuelled caddie, a wonderful 19th century character who became an Open Champion three times before running the Royal Ancient, then sole governing body of the game. His son, Young Tom, arguably an even more prodigious talent than his father, was a golfing genius, the Tiger Woods of his era, who at 17 became the youngest player, to this day, to win the Open Championship.

He then went on to win it four times in a row, an unprecedented achievement. On one occasion, father and son fought it out at the last hole of the Championship before the son finally triumphed.

But then came the pivotal day that would change their lives forever, the death of Young Tom’s wife and unborn child. The cataclysmic events of that day eventually lead to Young Tom’s tragic death, aged 24, with his father living on for another 20 years in deep remorse.

So on the one hand, you have the story of one of the most influential figures in the history of golf, a pioneer in the birth of the modern game and of Scottish and Open Championship golf. And on the other hand – and this is the real appeal of this book – you have an extraordinary father-and-son story.

It’s for every son who ever competed with his father, and every father who has guided his son towards manhood, then found it hard to let go.