Donald McRae

Donald McRae has followed boxing all his life In recent years his love has waned as criminality doping and dirty money gnaw away at the soul of boxing In 2018 grieving the death of his sister and with his parents seriously ill he sought refuge in boxing again At just this moment Tyson Fury completed one of the most shocking comebacks in the history of the sport proving that it still had the ability to offer thrills and redemption From Fury s comeback to the first undisputed heavyweight champion of this century McRae takes you ringside and into the to the inner sanctums of some of the greatest contemporary fighters He shows what s needed to become a champion like Katie Taylor or Oleksandr Usyk but he also reveals the physical and mental devastation of defeat and by telling the heartbreaking story of Patrick Day faces up to the very real threat of death in the ring In The Last Bell McRae s most personal and explosive book he tries to reconcile the contradictions which lie at the murky heart of a sport he s followed for 50 years and wonders if this might finally be the time to leave it all behind

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2015 WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR PRIZE.I kill a man and most people forgive me. However, I love a man and many say this makes me an evil person. On 24 March 1962, when Emile Griffith stepped into the ring in Madison Square Garden to defend his world title against Benny Paret, he was filled with rage. During their weigh-in, the Cuban challenger had denounced Griffith as a faggot and minced towards him. In the macho world of boxing, where fighters know they are engaged in the hurt game, there could be no greater insult. At that time, it was illegal for people of the same gender to have sex, or even for a bar to knowingly serve a drink to a gay person. It was an insinuation that could have had dangerous consequences for Griffith - especially as it was true. In the fight that followed, Griffith pounded Paret into unconsciousness, and the Cuban would die soon after, leaving Griffith haunted by what he had done. Despite this, he went on to fight more world championship rounds than any other fighter in history in a career that lasted for almost 20 years. In A Mans World, Donald McRae weaves a compelling tale of triumph over prejudice in a classic piece of sports writing.

The dramatic race to transplant the first human heart spanned two years, three continents and five cities against a backdrop of searing tension, scientific brilliance, ethical controversy, racial strife and emotional turmoil. It culminated in a terrifying moment in the early hours of 3 December 1967 when, in a cramped operating theatre in a Cape Town hospital, Professor Chris Barnard stared into an empty cavity from which he had just removed a heart. He knew that he had only minutes left to make history and save the life of a 55-year-old man by filling the gaping hole in his chest with a heart which had just been beating inside a 25-year-old woman. Every Second Countsis the story of this gripping race to conquer the greatest of medical challenges. It also reveals the truth about the man at the centre of it all, whose turbulent life story was just as gripping. The kind of true story that would be dismissed as far-fetched if presented as fiction, it combines an utterly compelling portrait of cutting-edge science with raw human drama, and shows how the course of medicine itself was changed for ever.

Don McRae grew up in a South Africa where his father would call the black men he met boy and where his mother insisted that their black servants used tin mugs, plates and cutlery as they ate the familys left-over food in the backyard of their grand suburban property. The McRaes, like so many white people, seemed oblivious to the violent injustices of apartheid. As the author grew up, the political differences between father and son widened and when Don refused to join up for National Service, risking imprisonment or exile overseas, the two were torn apart. It wasnt until years later that the author discovered that the father with whom he had fought so bitterly had later in his life transformed himself into a political hero. Risking everything one dark and rainy night Ian McRae travelled secretly into the black township of Soweto to meet members of Nelson Mandelas then banned African National Congress to discuss ways to bring power to black South Africa. He had no political ambitions; he was just a man trying to replace the worst in himself with something better. Under Our Skinis a memoir of these tumultuous years in South Africas history, as told through the authors family story. It offers an intimate and penetrating perspective on life under apartheid, and tells a story of courage and fear, hope and desolation and love and pain, especially between a father and his son.

Clarence Darrow was one of the most legendary and influential trial lawyers the world has ever seen. Famous for his ability to turn seemingly unwinnable cases his way through his oratory and his uncanny skill at reading the mood of a jury, he was a man whose work inspired impassioned campaigns against the death penalty as well as lavish Hollywood movies. But, despite his success, he also had a troubled life outside the court, and some of his most famous cases came after he himself had been put on trial. Now award-winning writer Donald McRae revisits the three greatest trials which secured Darrows near-mythic reputation and brings them vividly to life. The public themes which Darrow confronted still resonate powerfully today: sex and murder, religion and science, racism, the media and the law. Written with great intimacy, drama and immediacy, this is a sweeping story which offers piercing insight into one of the most towering and controversial personalities of the twentieth century.

***Donald McRaes new book The Last Bell is published on 13th March 2025***WINNER OF THE 2002 WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR PRIZE. In 1936 athlete Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics and, two years later, boxer Joe Louis won a crushing victory to become heavyweight champion of the world. Despite their fame and success, both men would find themselves barred from certain hotels and would have to eat outside restaurants because of the colour of their skin. However. by their example, they gave hope to millions of black people around the world as they became the first black superstars. Donald McRaes award-winning dual biography is a brilliant portrait of the two men, who became close friends despite their very different career paths: within days of Olympic glory, Owens was banned from competing again, and was forced to spend his days racing against horses to earn a living before becoming a spokesman for the sporting ideal. Meanwhile Louis won and lost a fortune, eventually battling with drug addiction and mental illness. McRaes vivid account of their lives away from the public eye, and the era in which they lived, is compelling and tragic.

***Donald McRaes new book The Last Bell is published on 13th March 2025***WINNER OF THE 1996 WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR PRIZE. In the early 1990s, Donald McRae set out to discover the truth about the intense and forbidding world of professional boxing. Travelling around the States and Britain, he was welcomed into the inner sanctums of some of the greatest fighters of the period - men such as Mike Tyson, Chris Eubank, Oscar de la Hoya, Frank Bruno, Evander Holyfield and Naseem Hamed among them. They opened up to him, revealing unforgettable personal stories from both inside and outside the ring, and explaining why it is that some are driven to compete in this most brutal of sports, risking their health and even their lives. The result is a classic account of boxing that remains as fresh and entertaining as when it was first published almost 20 years ago. McRae approaches his subjects with wit, compassion and insight, and the result was a book that was a deserved winner of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year prize.

***Donald McRaes new book The Last Bell is published on 13th March 2025***One of the most captivating boxing writers on the planet Barry McGuiganA superb tale . . . His inspirational story celebrates peace and reconciliationDaily TelegraphMulti-award-winning author Donald McRaes stunning new book is a powerful tale of hope and redemption across the sectarian divide in Northern Ireland - thanks to boxing. At the height of the Troubles, Gerry Storey ran the Holy Family gym from the IRAs heartland territory of New Lodge in Belfast. Despite coming from a family steeped in the Republican movement, he insisted that it would be open to all. He ensured that his boxers were given a free pass by paramilitary forces on both Republican and Loyalist sides, so they could find a way out of the provinces desperate situation. In the immediate aftermath of the 1981 Hunger Strikes, Storey would also visit the Maze prison twice a week to train the inmates from each community, separately. In itself, this would be a heroic story, but Storey went further than that: he became the trainer for world champion Barry McGuigan and Olympian Hugh Russell, who became one of the most famous photographers to document the Troubles. Even with all his success and the support of both sides, Storey still found himself subjected to three bomb attacks from those who were implacably hostile to any form of reconciliation. Now, Donald McRae reveals the extraordinary tale of those troubled times and shows us how the violent business of boxing became a haven of peace and hope for these remarkable and compassionate men. In Sunshine or in Shadow is an inspirational story of triumph over adversity and celebrates the reconciliation that can take place when two fighters meet each other in the ring, rather than outside it. [An] outstanding and important book, Don McRaes powerful storytelling shows the courage of the people of the North Andy Lee

Rugby is a sport that means different things to different people around the world. So when award-winning writer Donald McRae set off to take the pulse of the sport soon after the dawn of the professional era, he began to build a portrait of the game that highlighted the contrasts between nations, who may have been united in their love for rugby, but who saw it in very different ways. Featuring in-depth interviews with a range of great players from around the world, including Sean Fitzpatrick, Francois Pienaar and Lawrence Dallaglio among others, Winter Coloursis a compelling account of the culture of rugby as seen by its biggest stars - men who also hold dear the sports very traditions that make it so special. This is a remarkable piece of writing and is sure to be of interest to all who follow the sport at any level.

Winner of the Pinsent Masons Sports Writing Award at the Charles Tyrwhitt Sports Book Awards 2026Shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year 2025Thoroughly encapsulates the current state of the hurt businessTelegraph, Best Books of 2025 For fifty years Donald McRae has followed boxing. As criminality and corruption spread, his love for the sport dimmed. In 2018, grieving his sisters death and his parents illness, he turned back to boxing just as Tyson Furys improbable resurrection proved the ring could still offer redemption.McRae takes us close to champions including Fury, Canelo Alvarez, Katie Taylor and Oleksandr Usyk. He doesnt shy away from exploring huge themes doping, state repression, war and he doesnt flinch from recording the thudding hits or the heartbreak a fighter feels in defeat. And in telling the devastating story of Patrick Day, he confronts death in the ring.The Last Bell is McRaes most personal and unflinching book, a clear-eyed reckoning with life and the sport he cant let go.Exhilarating and terrifying Herald

En plena oscuridad de los Troubles, cuando Irlanda del Norte era sinónimo de violencia, sectarismo y división, un pequeño gimnasio de boxeo en Belfast se convirtió en un refugio improbable. Golpes de esperanza, del periodista de The Guardian Donald McRae, cuenta la historia real y conmovedora de Gerry Storey, un entrenador que desafio el odio con guantes de boxeo.Desde su gimnasio en el corazon del territorio del IRA, Storey abrio sus puertas a jovenes catolicos y protestantes, a pesar de las amenazas, las bombas y la hostilidad de quienes se oponian a cualquier forma de reconciliacion. Entreno a boxeadores como el campeon mundial Barry McGuigan o el medallista olimpico Hugh Russell, pero su mayor logro fue ofrecer un camino de escape y de esperanza a toda una generacion marcada por la violencia.Con el pulso narrativo de una gran cronica y la emocion de una historia de redencion, McRae reconstruye con maestria como el boxeo logro lo que la politica no pudo: tender puentes entre enemigos. Despues de años de investigacion y entrevistas intimas con los personajes clave de esta historia, este libro es un relato impactante sobre coraje, humanidad y el poder del deporte para cambiar vidas.Una historia real que te golpeara directo al corazon.