{"id":58,"date":"2017-08-17T07:40:35","date_gmt":"2017-08-17T07:40:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racecoast.net\/omstest\/?page_id=58"},"modified":"2026-08-18T08:32:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T08:32:28","slug":"books","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/racecoast.net\/omstest\/books\/","title":{"rendered":"Books"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you have enjoyed the rest of this blog, you may be interested in my books. For formats and reviews, click the links – and if you go on to buy a book,\u00a0 rather than searching for it on the Amazon site, I get a little more, and Jeff Bezos gets a little less (some might consider this a good thing…)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

Old Man Sailing – Some dreams take a lifetime<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n

\"\"<\/p>\r\n

Old Man Sailing is something of a phenomenon. It started as a blog post, then became a radio interview. After 7million listeners tuned in, the WordPress site crashed under the onslaught. Then a leading literary agent picked up the story – and sent the book to five London publishers. <\/span>
Every one of them liked it but asked: \u201cWho is this author? What is his platform?\u201d<\/span>
Was he, perhaps, a disgraced politician, a film star, a contestant on Love Island?<\/span>
When they heard he was just a retired Fleet Street foreign correspondent who spent the COVID lockdown sailing 3,629 miles alone around the Atlantic because he didn\u2019t want to be stuck indoors, they declared the book \u201cnot commercially viable\u201d.<\/span>
And yet, over the ensuing four years, self-published on Amazon, it sold 13,000 copies. Yachting monthly called it \u201ca word-of-mouth bestseller\u201d.<\/span>
But this is not just a sailing book – and it is so much more than another Lockdown diary. This is the story of dreams and ambitions, and a life spent waiting for them. It is both inspiring and uplifting.<\/span>
A story for anyone who needs to hear: It\u2019s never too late\u2026<\/span>

Here’s my link: https:\/\/amzn.eu\/d\/goPDDtw<\/a><\/span>

Please note: If you would like to listen to the Audible edition and are taking out a new free trial subscription, if you use this link, Amazon will send me a nice little thank-you:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

https:\/\/www.audible.com\/pd\/B09NF39R75\/?source_code=AUDFPWS0223189MWT-BK-ACX0-289382&ref=acx_bty_BK_ACX0_289382_rh_us<\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

French translation of Old Man Sailing: <\/span><\/h3>\r\n

Le vieil homme hisse la voile: Certains r\u00eaves prennent une vie<\/span><\/h3>\r\n

https:\/\/amzn.to\/4xLiOWY<\/a><\/p>\r\n

The Voyage: #1 – BVIs to Falmouth<\/span><\/span><\/h1>\r\n

\"\"<\/p>\r\n

This is what it is like to sail an ocean alone.
Not the world-girdling marathon of the Southern Ocean racers or the \u201ccruise in company\u201d as part of a trade-wind rally, but what it is really like to set off for 3,496 miles from the British Virgin Islands to Falmouth in the UK, totally alone.
That means no contact with the shore, no high-frequency radio or satphone. No weather forecasts, no texts from loved ones. No news\u2026
Just complete and uninterrupted isolation for 44 days.
In other words, this is singlehanded ocean sailing at its purest: One man in a world shrunk to its bare essentials.
John Passmore is a life-long sailor and professional writer. His book Old Man Sailing was described by\u00a0Yachting Monthly<\/span>\u00a0as \u201ca word-of-mouth bestseller\u201d.
In\u00a0The Voyage,\u00a0<\/span>he takes it a step further. At times truly hilarious, at others, quite frankly weird; as Yachting World\u2019s Tom Cunliffe said of the author: \u201cA<\/span> professional storyteller who always sees the funny side, even when laughs must have been hard to find.”<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n

https:\/\/amzn.to\/4qofBKr<\/a><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

The Voyage #2\u2026 Falmouth to Grenada<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n

\"\"<\/p>\r\n

The Voyage #1 was a success – even though nothing happened. It turned out that readers liked the easy style – the sideways v view of a singlehanded ocean crossing in a small boat without long-range communications. no news, no weather forecasts. Just one man and his boat in the middle of nowhere.<\/p>\r\n

As one Amazon reviewer put it” “The man can write. Entertaining and fun. Makes you wish you had the courage to do this too. He turns every disaster into an opportunity. Great character and great attitude.”<\/p>\r\n

So, here is The Voyage #2 – and this time something did happen: A knockdown, a broken rudder, 1,500 miles with the steering held together with string…<\/p>\r\n

In his easy style, with his usual mixture of humour and exasperation, John Passmore coped with it all – and still managed not to run out of beer…<\/p>\r\n

https:\/\/amzn.to\/4gnhF0Z<\/a><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

The Voyage #3: Panama to the Isle of Man<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\r\n

\"\"<\/p>\r\n

For fans of Old Man Sailing, retired journalist John Passmore continues his voyaging and musing, attracting more fans with every book.
This time, on nothing more than a whim, he sails his 50-year-old yacht\u00a0Samsara\u00a0<\/span>5,101 miles from Panama to the Isle of Man.
On a whim.
If he can average 100 miles a day, he can get there in time for the TT – The \u201cMost Dangerous Race in the World\u201d.
The voyage itself is not without incident: Dogged by gear failure and a succession of gales, not to mention some rather haphazard provisioning in the rush to be off, he still manages to get there in 47 days.
And that includes the moment the forestay jumped overboard in the middle of the night. That\u2019s the sort of thing that would test anyone\u2019s ability to see the funny side.<\/p>\r\n

https:\/\/amzn.to\/4g3z67N<\/a><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

The Voyage #4: Torquay to<\/span> Grenada<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\r\n

\"\"<\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

This is a doorstop of a book \u2013 much longer than any of the other \u201cVoyage\u201d books – but then, it was a much longer voyage.
Leaving from Basil Fawlty\u2019s \u201cEnglish Riviera\u201d, it gets shunted into Madeira, wanders abortively around the South Atlantic, goes back on itself and finally arrives among the palm trees and blue waters of the Caribbean. Quite clearly, this voyage takes on a life of its own.
By the time this one came to be written, it was clear the readers liked the episodic, stream-of-consciousness style. The author, emboldened by positive reviews, promptly abandoned all pretence at trying to stick to a narrative (or even a passage plan).
In these pages, you get to live through Storm Gabrielle and experience the frustration of a thousand miles against the wind. By the end, there is a calm acceptance of life at one with the ocean.
Not to mention the day Earth stopped spinning.
Fans of the oldmansailing social media presence can enter a new dimension with this extended voyage.<\/p>\r\n

https:\/\/amzn.to\/4wSRs0x<\/a><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

Good Stuff – Book One<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\r\n

\"\"<\/p>\r\n

John Passmore is the author of Old Man Sailing: Some dreams take a lifetime \u2013 the story of his escape from Lockdown by sailing alone into the Atlantic for 42 days and 3,629 miles. Yachting Monthly called it “A word-of-mouth bestseller”.
Many of the five-star reviews claimed it worked so well because there was more to the story than the adventure: There were humorous anecdotes. There was a love story\u2026
What the readers did not know was that all of this was chronicled in detail as it happened. Throughout the early 80s and into the noughties, Passmore was writing for yachting magazines and national newspapers.
Here, for the first time, is a complete and chronological account: Everything from levitating the dog and navigating by smell to meeting his wife Tamsin through the Lonely Hearts column of Time Out and attempting to run away to sea and raise a family on a 27ft boat.
It is a laugh-out-loud, real-life story of love and exasperation afloat \u2013 when it’s not making you cry.
It is, as the editor of Yachting World said at the time \u2013 Good Stuff.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

https:\/\/amzn.to\/465o8sr<\/a><\/p>\r\n

The Good Stuff – Book Two<\/span><\/h1>\r\n

\"\"<\/p>\r\n

In this second volume of The Good Stuff, John and Tamsin have a baby on the boat \u2013 and then another one. The idyllic lifestyle, sailing where the wind blows them, sitting over a glass of wine as the sun turns the estuary to liquid gold is suddenly more complicated. Where do you find a launderette in the middle of the French countryside? How do you keep to the maintenance schedule with help from a two-year-old?
At least it was good copy. There was Yachting World’s\u00a0Dogwatch<\/span>\u00a0column to feed every month and the Daily Telegraph’s travel page. Apparently, the readers were captivated by the couple’s determination to put a brave face on even the most desperate situation \u2013 or maybe they just liked the dog.
Here you will discover how to win third prize in the Tayvallich Regatta one-oar race and what the home counties school nurse said to the Liverpool “Scally”. And where else do you think you would find detailed instructions for casting\u00a0The Curse of the Stones<\/span>\u00a0on troublesome neighbours?
It is, as the editor of Yachting World said at the time \u2013 Good Stuff.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

https:\/\/amzn.to\/466xunI<\/a><\/p>\r\n

Faster, Louder, Riskier, Sexier: A wonderful life with ADHD<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\r\n

\"\"<\/h1>\r\n

Faster, Louder, Riskier,\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>Sexier: Learning to love ADHD<\/u><\/span><\/h1>\r\n

As a top-flight foreign correspondent, John Passmore was at the pinnacle of his career: The Chief Correspondent of the London Evening Standard. Then, at the age of 45, he announced that he was bored and resigned.<\/p>\r\n

It would not be until he was 68 that this made any sense.\u00a0It turned out that he had ADHD. In fact, his particular condition was in the 1% of the most severe cases.<\/p>\r\n

Suddenly everything made sense \u2013 the chronic search for excitement, the chaotic relationships, bad driving \u2013 his complete inability to remember anyone\u2019s name\u2026<\/p>\r\n

It is a startling thing to have your whole life explained to you when you are practically in your dotage. Indeed, it can be a crushing emotional experience.<\/p>\r\n

Passmore dealt with it the only way he knew how.\u00a0He wrote about it.<\/p>\r\n

He wrote about it with all the urgency and passion he brought to his newspaper despatches. He filled it with the humour that had been his trademark.<\/p>\r\n

From farmworker and door-to-door salesman to singlehanded sailor and network marketer, he came to terms with a mental kink which affects 5% of the world\u2019s population. Indeed, he learned to embrace it.<\/p>\r\n

If you are one of the 1.5 billion people in the world with ADHD \u2013 or if you live with one of them \u2013 you need this book.<\/p>\r\n

If you just want to laugh out loud at the story of the Load of Straw, you need this book.<\/p>\r\n

View in Amazon Books: If you use this link, I get a little more and Jeff Bezos gets a little less: https:\/\/amzn.to\/45ycE0t<\/a><\/p>\r\n

Trident – The novel in the attic<\/span><\/span><\/h1>\r\n

\"\"<\/p>\r\n

This is the novel I wrote in the early 80’s which was accepted by the prestigious Laurence Pollinger literary agency but rejected by publishers as “a little far-fetched”.<\/p>\r\n

Here’s the basic plot: A new Prime Minister committed to scrapping Britain’s nuclear deterrent – a Russian president meddling in other countries’ elections and an isolationist in the White House…<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Does any of this sound familiar? <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Review by the Daily Mail: John Passmore’s prescient novel, written in the 1980’s and set in what was then the future, suddenly becomes terrifyingly relevant today. As NATO collapses and Russia looks to the West, the future of the world rests in the hands of a submarine captain, his aged father, an old-fashioned reporter and a government secretary in love with a man who is not what he seems…”Fast-moving and immensely prescient, there are echoes of the early works of Ken Follett and Frederick Forsyth.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

https:\/\/amzn.to\/4xRs9wK<\/a><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

ADHD MLM: Why Network Marketing is perfect for weirdos – and how to make it work when nothing else does<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\r\n

\"\"<\/p>\r\n

\u00a0<\/div>\r\n
\r\n
\r\n
There are 1.5 billion people in the world with ADHD \u2013 but it\u2019s the other 6.5 billion who make the rules. Hardly surprising the weirdos have a hard time fitting in.
Getting a job can be difficult if you keep blurting out responses in interviews and fill in application forms with a lot of crossings out.
Keeping a job when you get one is no easier if you can\u2019t follow instructions, are bored by repetitive tasks and don\u2019t seem to get along with your coworkers (whose names you keep forgetting anyway).
And all of that would be OK if only you could manage on a small income instead of constantly splurging on pointless purchases.
If any of this seems familiar, you need this book.
With Network Marketing, MLM or whatever your Home-Based business wants to call itself, you don\u2019t have to pass an interview. You don\u2019t have a boss. Whether you succeed or fail is entirely down to you.
But how are you supposed to succeed when Network Marketing (like everything else) was designed for people whose minds don\u2019t keep wandering off in random directions just when they\u2019re supposed to be paying attention?
John Passmore has had ADHD all his life. He didn\u2019t know until he was 68 years old (and they told him his was in the 1% of the most severe cases). But by that time he had reached the top 0.2% of his Network Marketing company. He did it by ignoring all the rules and developing a completely new way of doing it.
It\u2019s a system that will work for you too \u2013 whatever type of business you\u2019re in.
And that\u2019s guaranteed: Either this works or you get your money back.<\/div>\r\n
…which is just as well, because it is a very expensive book. There’s a reason: I could have put the same information into an online course and charged $999 for it. But I think the people who publish online courses probably make more from them than they do from Network Marketing. I am a Network Marketer, not an internet entrepreneur. Also, I want people to value the information – that’s why there’s the money-back guarantee. Anyway, you can always download a sample and find out what it’s all about before you spend any money at all…<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
\u00a0<\/div>\r\n

https:\/\/amzn.to\/4cK7kec<\/a><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/figure>\r\n
\r\n
______________________________<\/div>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you have enjoyed the rest of this blog, you may be interested in my books. For formats and reviews, click the links – and if you go on to buy a book,\u00a0 rather than searching for it on the Amazon site, I get a little more, and Jeff Bezos gets a little less (some … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-58","page","type-page","status-publish"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racecoast.net\/omstest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/58","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racecoast.net\/omstest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racecoast.net\/omstest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racecoast.net\/omstest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racecoast.net\/omstest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58"}],"version-history":[{"count":58,"href":"https:\/\/racecoast.net\/omstest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/58\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2069,"href":"https:\/\/racecoast.net\/omstest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/58\/revisions\/2069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racecoast.net\/omstest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}