Nick Higgins

Rembrandt van Rijn is probably the most famous Dutch painter of the seventeenth century. His works are greatly loved today, but he was not always so well regarded. His life was one of a dramatic rise and fall, unfolding during the Golden Age of the newly formed Dutch Republic. Rembrandt's public acclaim and wealth as a painter came to him as a very young man. His images were vigorous, psychologically compelling but also often less-than-flattering. By his middle age taste had shifted to more idealized visions, and by the time of his death in 1669 Rembrandt was destitute. But whether the public was with or against him, Rembrandt continued to paint with the same passion, and arguably the art he produced in his final, destitute years is his most intimate, sensitive and open.

Everything you need to know about road cycling - the bikes, the races, the famous riders - in an intricately illustrated, compact volume. Every major historical development of the road bicycle and the road race is illustrated, from the first geared bikes to modern-day time-trial machines, and from the first penny-farthing races up to the modern Tour de France. Also included are a wealth of facts, figures, and stats, as well as intriguing and quirky stories from the history of competitive cycling.