Book Is The First U.S. Published Biography Of The Greatest Athlete In The World

Washington, D.C. -- (ReleaseWire) -- 12/04/2007 -- Looking for a holiday gift for a sports fan? New Chapter Press recommends buying the first U.S. published biography of Roger Federer, who many consider the greatest sports athlete in the world.The Roger Federer Story, Quest for Perfection (www.rogerfedererbook.com, $24.95, New Chapter Press) is written by Rene Stauffer, the esteemed Swiss tennis journalist who has covered Federer since the budding tennis champion was a 15-year-old.

Federer has dominated the tennis world for the last four years and is rewriting tennis history in seemingly every tournament he plays. Federer won three Grand Slam tennis tournaments in 2007, placing him with 12 total major titles, in second place all-time, two shy of the record set by Pete Sampras. Other statistics on Federer are as follows;

• Federer has won eight of the last 10 Grand Slam tennis tournaments and has played in a record 10 consecutive Grand Slam finals. He is the first player to ever reach all four Grand Slam finals for two straight years.
• Federer missed capturing the Grand Slam – one of the most difficult sporting achievements in the world - in 2006 and 2007 by only two sets. (two four-set losses to Rafael Nadal in the French Open final)
• In 2007, he was the first man in 27 years to win a Grand Slam tournament without losing a set (Australian Open)
• At Wimbledon in 2007, he equaled the record set by the great Bjorn Borg winning his fifth consecutive Wimbledon title
• Federer is the first man to win at least three Grand Slams three times in his carreer.
• In 2007, he beat the mark of Jimmy Connors for consecutive weeks ranked No. 1 in the world (160 weeks, now at 200 straight weeks).

The Roger Federer Story, Quest for Perfection chronicles Federer's life as tempermental junior player, through his early struggles on the ATP Tour and his break-through win at Wimbledon in 2003 concluding with his 10th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open earlier this year. The book also focuses on his values, how he has been marketed, his relationship with the media as well as his numerous charitable pursuits.

The Toronto Globe and Mail called the book "excellent" while Britain's Daily Telegraph called it "an intimate and insightful portrait." Wrote Tennis.com of the book; "It's accessible and sketches out his career development very logically. At the same time, it throws in enough about his personality and the rest of his life to flesh out the tale without turning it into it a flabby puff-piece."

Other positive reviews have included Charlie Bricker of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, who wrote, "It's a virtual encyclopedia of Federer's career. There's material in there I've not seen anywhere else. Fantastic." Wrote leading tennis website Tennisreportersnet, "It could have easily been called the Encyclopedia Federer."

Stauffer is one of the world's leading tennis journalists and the highly-respected tennis correspondent for Zurich's Tages-Anzeiger and Sonntags-Zeitung. A sports writer since 1981, Stauffer worked for the Swiss newspapers Blick and Sport, before joining Tages-Anzeiger in 1993. After first writing about Federer in 1996, Stauffer has traveled the world covering Federer and his many triumphs.

Founded in 1987, New Chapter Press (www.newchapterpressmedia.com) is an independent publisher of books based in Washington, D.C.

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Scottish author Peter May will be taken from his home in South West France to Poitou-Charentes jail

Saint-Cere, France -- (ReleaseWire) -- 09/27/2007 -- The Prix Intramuros - literally, "within the walls" - is decided by juries made up of inmates in French penitentiaries. The seven shortlisted authors for the prize face a day in jail and 12 hours of interrogations by panels of prisoners. It is the third year of the prize, and the winner will be announced during Cognac's annual Festival of Crime Writing, "Polar & Co", on October 20.


May has owned a house in France for 20 years and has lived there full-time since 2003. Although he speaks French, he has concerns about being fluent enough to get through the interrogations. However, he has a plan to divert attention away from any grammatical errors, "As a Scotsman, I'm going to be wearing my national dress of the kilt," he said, "I'm hoping it'll make a lasting impression on the juries of inmates."


This is the second time that May's books have been honored in his adopted home of France. Elle Magazine shortlisted the first of his China Thrillers series, "The Firemaker" for their "Grand Prix" of Literature two years ago.


"Snakehead" is the fourth in the series. The story involves bio-terrorism and opens in southern Texas with the macabre discovery of truck full of dead Chinese immigrants. Whilst researching the book in the USA, Peter May visited prisons in Huntsville TX, including the infamous death row of the Walls Unit. May's China Thrillers are published in the USA by St Martin's Press, with "The Killing Room" due out there in February 2008.


May is currently writing a new series of thrillers set in France. The first of which, "Extraordinary People" was described as "Intelligent, involved, ingenious" by New York Times best-selling author Steve Berry. The second in this series, "The Critic", will be published in November this year by Poisoned Pen Press (USA). The story takes the reader to the vineyards of South West France, on an investigation into the killing of a famous American wine critic.


Peter May will visit the USA in February/March 2008 for a book-signing and wine-tasting tour - if he gets out of jail in time...

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