Mike Donovan – författare

Glory, Glory Lane is the life-affirming history - including a momentous last season - of a world-famous football stadium, home to Tottenham Hotspur for 118 years. A Victorian structure turned wraparound 21st-century all-seater, it became a theatre of dreams for supporters all attracted by teams which played the 'Spurs way' to achieve glory. The Lane gave a stage to a conveyor belt of legends from Cameron to Alli via Nicholson, Blanchflower, Greaves, Hoddle and Klinsmann. It provided unforgettable memories in unforgettable atmospheres - heart-lifting, heart-breaking, nerve-racking. Its story veers from founders obsessed by Harry Hotspur to Harry Kane via Harry Redknapp; through matches, personalities, ground developments and threatened closure, all with first-hand accounts. It's hard to imagine how a new GBP750m stadium can ever replace the edifice which shut its gates for the last time after Spurs played Manchester United in May 2017, having created a daunting legacy.

The King of White Hart Lane is the authorised life story of Alan Gilzean, the legendary, world-class Tottenham Hotspur, Dundee and Scotland footballer. Exclusive insights provided by his family, closest friends and colleagues add to the author's own experience to reveal Gilzean, the man and the player. A reserved, charming and intelligent individual who shunned the limelight off the field, Gilzean played with a swagger as a maker and taker of goals, especially alongside Jimmy Greaves at Spurs. We discover how the native of the Perthshire town of Coupar Angus became one of the greatest performers in the history of both his clubs. Gilzean emerged a Scottish folk hero having scored the winning goal against England in front of 133,000 at Hampden Park - and was later welcomed back with open arms by the game after ending a self-imposed exile during which the uninformed conjured often defamatory myths. The elegant striker dubbed 'Nureyev in Boots' left us on Sunday, 8 July 2018. There will never be another like him.

The King of White Hart Lane is the authorised life story of Alan Gilzean, the legendary, world-class Tottenham Hotspur, Dundee and Scotland footballer. Exclusive insights provided by his family, closest friends and colleagues add to the author''s own experience to reveal Gilzean, the man and the player. A reserved, charming and intelligent individual who shunned the limelight off the field, Gilzean played with a swagger as a maker and taker of goals, especially alongside Jimmy Greaves at Spurs. We discover how the native of the Perthshire town of Coupar Angus became one of the greatest performers in the history of both his clubs. Gilzean emerged a Scottish folk hero having scored the winning goal against England in front of 133,000 at Hampden Park - and was later welcomed back with open arms by the game after ending a self-imposed exile during which the uninformed conjured often defamatory myths. The elegant striker dubbed ''Nureyev in Boots'' left us on Sunday, 8 July 2018. There will never be another like him.

The King of Dens Park is the authorised life story of Alan Gilzean, the legendary, world-class Dundee, Spurs and Scotland footballer. Exclusive insights provided by his family, closest friends and colleagues add to the author's own experience to reveal Gilzean, the man and the player. A reserved, charming and intelligent individual who shunned the limelight off the field, Gilzean played with a swagger as a maker and taker of goals. We discover how the native of the Perthshire town of Coupar Angus became one of the greatest performers in the history of both his clubs. Gilzean emerged a Scottish folk hero having scored the winning goal against England in front of 133,000 at Hampden Park - and was later welcomed back with open arms by the game after ending a self-imposed exile during which the uninformed conjured often defamatory myths. The elegant striker dubbed 'Nureyev in Boots' left us on Sunday, 8 July 2018. There will never be another like him.

Football's Braveheart is the riveting life story of Dave Mackay, the fearless, skilled, heroic and barrel-chested left-half who was an icon for Spurs, Hearts, Derby and Scotland. Off the field, Dave was a humble, fair-minded, sociable man. On it, he was an out-and-out winner, a warrior and inspiration with consummate ball skills and intelligence. The heartbeat of Spurs' double-winning side of 1961, he came back after two broken legs to add to a glittering trophy collection started at Hearts. After his playing career, Mackay distinguished himself as a title-winning manager with Derby County. A legends' legend, he was lauded by George Best as the hardest and bravest opponent he ever faced. Fabled managers Bill Nicholson (Spurs) and Brian Clough (Derby) hailed him as their best signing, and other admirers included Jimmy Greaves, Denis Law and Sir Alex Ferguson. Author Mike Donovan has gained exclusive, first-hand insights from those who knew Mackay best to bring you the definitive story of a man who made an indelible mark on football.

The Jimmy Greaves We Knew celebrates the life and career of a national treasure through the memories of friends, family, team-mates, the media and fans. They recall a goalscoring great, a TV celebrity - most notably as one half of the legendary Saint and Greavsie - a newspaper columnist, comedian and raconteur who battled alcohol addiction. The modern game also pays tribute to this charismatic, friendly, down-to-earth, witty individual who built a reputation for hitting the back of the net playing for Chelsea, AC Milan, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and England. Greaves set a European record of 357 goals in 516 top-flight games and netted 44 in 57 full international appearances. Tragically, Greaves suffered a stroke in 2015 and died on 19 September 2021, when two of his former clubs, Spurs and Chelsea - plus 60,000 fans - gave him a minute's applause before they played each other at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The love and affection is as strong as ever.

The Jimmy Greaves We Knew celebrates the life and career of a national treasure through the memories of friends, family, team-mates, the media and fans. They recall a goalscoring great, a TV celebrity - most notably as one half of the legendary Saint and Greavsie - a newspaper columnist, comedian and raconteur who battled alcohol addiction. The modern game also pays tribute to this charismatic, friendly, down-to-earth, witty individual who built a reputation for hitting the back of the net playing for Chelsea, AC Milan, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and England. Greaves set a European record of 357 goals in 516 top-flight games and netted 44 in 57 full international appearances. Tragically, Greaves suffered a stroke in 2015 and died on 19 September 2021, when two of his former clubs, Spurs and Chelsea - plus 60,000 fans - gave him a minute''s applause before they played each other at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The love and affection is as strong as ever.

Danny Blanchflower: A Glorious Life is the authorised biography of a football icon, told with the help of those who knew him best. Admired for his eloquence, humour and talent for innovation and inspiration, the cultured midfielder blazed a trail from Glentoran to Barnsley, Aston Villa, Northern Ireland and, ultimately, to Tottenham Hotspur, where he became the most successful captain in the club’s 140-plus-year history. As skipper of the Lilywhites, alongside manager Bill Nicholson, he helped create a team lauded as one of the greatest club sides of all time. It was a team that epitomised what he stood for as a football figure: the pursuit of glory. With inside insight from close family members, media colleagues and fellow footballers, this book is the perfect celebration of the centenary of his birth.

From the thousands of matches ever played by Tottenham Hotspur, stretching from the club's Victorian foundation by local schoolboys across 130 years to the Premier League era, here are 50 of Spurs' most glorious, epochal and thrilling games of all! Expertly presented in evocative historical context, and described incident-by-incident in atmospheric detail, Tottenham Hotspur's Greatest Games offers a terrace ticket back in time, taking in everything from Southern League championship seasons to the club's eight victorious FA Cup runs. An irresistible cast list of club legends - Alf Ramsey, Bill Nicholson and Edwardian superstar Sandy Brown, Danny Blanchflower, Glenn Hoddle and Jimmy Greaves - springs to life in a thrilling selection of hard-fought derby matches, landmark European victories, league and cup wins, including the landing of the 20th century's first Double. In all, a journey through the highlights of Spurs history which is guaranteed to make any fan's heart swell with pride.

Manchester United On This Day revisits all the most magical and memorable moments from the club's distinguished past, mixing in a maelstrom of quirky anecdotes and legendary characters to produce an irresistibly dippable diary of Red Devils history - with an entry for every day of the year. From the club's Victorian foundation as Newton Heath through to their emergence as one of the world's most successful clubs, United's rollercoaster history takes in winding-up orders, the Munich air disaster and the joys of United's first European Cup triumph, all crowned by the drama of winning the first ever Treble. Pivotal historic events such as the club's first ever trophy win, the 1960s rebirth and Sir Alex Ferguson's arrival form a backdrop against which Old Trafford heroes - Duncan Edwards, George Best and Bobby Charlton, Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Billy Meredith - all loom larger than life.

Manchester United On This Day recounts, in diary form, major events and magic moments in the history of the Red Devils. With individual entries for each day of the year and multiple entries for busier times, this book covers their ups and downs, domestic and european cup runs, boardroom battles, and sensational signings.

From the thousands of matches ever played by QPR, stretching from their Victorian foundation to the Premier League era, here are 50 of the club''s most glorious, epochal and thrilling games of all! Expertly presented in evocative historical context, and described incident-by-incident in atmospheric detail, Queens Park Rangers Greatest Games offers a terrace ticket back in time, taking in historical highlights from their first matches at Welford''s Field in Kensal Rise to Loftus Road, Jim Gregory''s QPR Revolution, the plastic pitch and beyond. An irresistible cast list of club legends - Stan Bowles and Les Ferdinand, Tony Ingham, George Goddard and Rodney Marsh - springs to life in a thrilling selection of famous firsts, derby showdown successes, Southern League title clinchers, last-day dramas, European nights, Cup finals and that unforgettable Sixties Double. In all, a journey through the highlights of the Hoops'' history which is guaranteed to make any fan''s heart swell with pride.

Not Free America is a call to all Americans to take back our constitutional freedoms and break free of ';our abusive relationship with our government.' Mike Donovan's groundbreaking work on behalf of personal liberties has made him an object of fascination on both the Right and the Left.In this groundbreaking book, Mike Donovan, the CEO of Nexus Services, calls out the elites who wield power in our countrynot only the elites at the federal level, but the elites who exert control over us in our states and counties, our cities and towns. Not Free America is a passionate call to all freedom-loving Americans to take back our constitutional freedoms and break free of what he calls ';our abusive relationship with our government.' Donovan details how the ';wholesale shredding of the Bill of Rights' started long before the concurrent crises of Covid-19 and the protests and violence that followed the murder of George Floyd. Not Free America shows us how those events were used by forces in our local, state, and federal governments that had systematically been abridging our rights for decades. These rights, Mike reminds us, are God-given rights guaranteed to us by the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment. As the pastor of the First Christian Church Universalist in Harrisonburg, Virginia, Mike Donovan is far from your quiet country clergyman. A fierce warrior with the spirit of God and the tough skin of a lawyer, he has dedicated his life to protecting liberty and preserving individual rights, serving the underserved, and ministering to those who are overlooked in our broken society. Indeed, there are aspects to his past and present that make him an easy target for judgment from all directions. But Mike Donovan hides from nothing: He openly embraces the faults of his past and dedicates his present to creating a future that helps others move past their own unfortunate pasts. Born to a poor family in Page County, Virginia, he found himself at a young age convicted of writing bad checks, resulting in multiple felonies for which he served seven months in the county jail. But the time he served didn't break him; it helped make him the man he is today: a man of the law and a man of God who believes with all his heart and soul in the possibility of redemption and the power of moving beyond past mistakes. He also came out of that experience knowing he needed to make a difference for others who found themselves in the same place he'd just been. Not content to talk the talk, Mike Donovan walks the walk in the footsteps of the Jesus who said ';I was in prison and you came to visit me . . . Whatever you do for the least of these, you do for me.' Not Free America shows us how to do all that for America and for our children. The book ends with ';The Liberty Pledge': an agreement readers will make stating that they will vote only for lawmakers who agree to uphold the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment.

Chelsea On This Day revisits all the most magical and memorable moments from the club's distinguished past, mixing in a maelstrom of quirky anecdotes and legendary characters to produce an irresistibly dippable Blues diary - with an entry for every day of the year. From the club's foundation in 1905, all thanks to an Aberdeen terrier, to their emergence as one of the Premier League's greatest successes, Chelsea's rollercoaster history takes in a period with star players but no opposition, colourful managers, celebrity fans and the club's sale for GBP1 - all crowned by victory in the UEFA Champions League. Pivotal historic events such as the club's first European win, Roman Abromovich's arrival and seven victorious FA Cup finals form a backdrop against which Stamford Bridge heroes - Roy Bentley, Dennis Wise and Ruud Gullit, Peter Osgood, John Terry and Willie Foulke - all loom larger than life.

From the thousands of matches ever played by QPR, stretching from their Victorian foundation to the Premier League era, here are 50 of the club's most glorious, epochal and thrilling games of all! Expertly presented in evocative historical context, and described incident-by-incident in atmospheric detail, Queens Park Rangers Greatest Games offers a terrace ticket back in time, taking in historical highlights from their first matches at Welford's Field in Kensal Rise to Loftus Road, Jim Gregory's QPR Revolution, the plastic pitch and beyond. An irresistible cast list of club legends - Stan Bowles and Les Ferdinand, Tony Ingham, George Goddard and Rodney Marsh - springs to life in a thrilling selection of famous firsts, derby showdown successes, Southern League title clinchers, last-day dramas, European nights, Cup finals and that unforgettable Sixties Double. In all, a journey through the highlights of the Hoops' history which is guaranteed to make any fan's heart swell with pride.