Frank - Tapa dura

At the age of eleven, Frank Bruno was sent to reform school. At thirty-three, he was crowned undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. At forty-one, he was committed to Goodmayes Psychiatric Hospital. Now, for the first time, Frank Bruno tells his real story: how the tearaway kid became one of Britain's best-loved sports stars; how he was written off, but came back to win the world championship - at the fourth attempt; his descent into mental illness; and his painful journey back to health. This is a story that Frank has to tell - it is part biography, part therapy. He wants to show how mental illness can swat down the strongest man or woman. He wants people to know what he went through, and how, with the help of his family, he's now recovering. Frank Bruno is a man who has been right to the top and right to the very bottom. He is a great athlete and a national treasure. Everyone knows him. At least, everyone thinks they do. Because, the story he reveals here will make you change your mind. Painfully honest, moving, at times shocking, this is the book no one should be without.

Kevin Mitchell has written for the Observer for many years, and was Sports Journalist of the Year 2000.