As sporting heroes go, you don't get much bolder than ex-Champ car ace Alex Zanardi. When he lost both legs in a terrible accident in 2001, Zanardi was determined to compete again. Two years later, at his first comeback race, a European Touring Car Championship round at Monza, he finished just 15 seconds behind the winner. Here is his inspirational story, written by Zanardi with Gianluca Gasparini - it has received remarkable reviews and become a best-seller.

Zanardi, a plumber's son, always had to fight to compete, from welding an early kart using a blowtorch and fence wire, to the post-crash rehab, which he viewed as a race. Gasparini is a journalist on Gazzetta dello Sport, Italy's daily sports newspaper. They tell this story with warmth, wit and candour.