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The Guv'nor | 
 enlarge | Author: Lenny Mclean
Publisher: John Blake
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
Buy New: $9.68
You Save: $6.27 (39%)
New (12) Used (1) from $9.68
Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 575724
Media: Paperback
Pages: 288
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.9
ISBN: 1844544753
Dewey Decimal Number: 364.15092
EAN: 9781844544752
ASIN: 1844544753
Publication Date: September 1, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New, Perfect Condition, Please allow 4-14 business days for delivery. 100% Money Back Guarantee, Over 1,000,000 customers served.
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Product Description
Lenny McLean - fighter, actor, hard man, legend. One of the most notorious figures ever to emerge from the East End of London, he had a reputation that was held dear by his friends and associates and feared by his enemies. His life- story is now part of modern-day history, and here, at last, for the millions who want to know more is a compilation of stories and memories from those whose lives he touched. In this fantastic new book, friends, family, colleagues and adversaries have all come together to share how they knew Lenny and the part he played in their lives. He is known as a formidable fighter and a feared enemy, but these accounts tell of a man who had a big heart and always had time for his friends. This book has the famous and infamous having a chance to share their memories about a man that they loved...
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
The Guv'nor by Lenny Mclean June 21, 2008
Duane A. Poole (South Carolina USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
A Walk Through LifeThe Guv'nor is a great autobiography about a tough man who comes from the East end of London and gives you some good insight into the underworld of unlicensed boxing. One of the stories inside is how Lenny Mclean was flown to new york to fight the mafias top man, he beat him in the less than three minutes! if you like your tough men like Kimbo Slice, Mike Tyson and many others this book is for you to read!.
Hard, sad, funny, totally entertaining June 21, 2008
Douglas Setter (Vancouver, BC, Canada)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I always wondered who played the role of "John the Baptist" in the movie, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. The name Lenny Mclean kept popping up in books on British gangsters. He is Lenny McLean. A man who grew up tough under hard circumstances. Showing a talent for fighting, he starts doing enforcer and door man work for the local mobs. Later, he fights for money. Totally fearless, he takes on all comers "I'll even fight King Kong," he states. "And I'll beat the hairy b....ard!" Some of his exploits and boldness had me laughing. Like when a group of tough guys approached him at a bar that he was managing and asked for his job. After soundly beating the lot, he tosses them out of the club. There is another incident where he beats up an opponent before getting into the ring.
There is no bragging or nonsense in this well-written biography. It is an honest, straight-forward story about one hard guy.
Doug Setter, author of Stomach Flattening
A hard man who lived a hard life March 12, 2006
D. Ross (USA)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
If you ever saw the movie Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels , you probably noticed the mob enforcer character, "Barry the Baptist", who "baptized" his victims in trash-bins filled with water. While reading an article about the movie, a mention was made of the real mobsters and hard-edged sorts that were used in bit parts. One such role was played by Lenny McLean, who portrayed Barry, and was called out as "in real life, the hardest man in England".
As an American fight fan, I'd never heard of Lenny McLean. So I did a bit of Internet research and happened upon his autobiography -- this book -- over at Amazon.co.uk. I bundled it with a few other UK-only purchases (at the time, certain AJ Quinnell books were only available there, too) and received it days later. It was a captivating, compelling read -- the working-class, Cockney nomenclature notwithstanding -- that details McLean's rise from an abused child to the top of England's unlicensed fight game.
An unlicensed fight can take place anywhere: a warehouse, tavern, gym... wherever there's enough room for two willing fighters and a plethora of bettors. The rules? Let's just say there aren't many. Head butts, hair-pulling, elbows, knees, and the like are all part of the game. One might consider UK's unlicensed fights as the logical ancestor to today's UFC or mixed martial arts.
Over time, McLean proved himself the most dangerous man in the fight game. He participated in thousands of these no-holds-barred bouts, and it can be argued he lost only once. And in a rematch of that fight, he handily won. McLean doesn't shy away from describing his experiences on the seamy side of things. He details his role as a real-life mob enforcer willing to do anything -- except kill -- to collect or intimidate. Even his tangles with the law -- including a murder charge for which he was found innocent -- are fully described in colloquial, yet entirely satisfying, prose.
The book's ending is filled with promise for a new life as an actor: McLean appeared in several TV and film roles. But during the filming of LS&2SB, McLean was stricken by a bout with the flu. Subsequent testing showed that he was suffering from advanced lung and brain cancer and he passed away in July 1998, just days before the release of the film. The book is a fascinating testament to a hard man who lived a hard life, but was equally dedicated to his family and destined for great things no matter the odds.
lenny#1 July 18, 2005
turkish (montreal)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
one of the best books i have ever read
a must buy
They broke the mold after Lenny July 11, 2005
Big Niche (New Zealand)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
What an amazing book. The story of a kid, horribly beaten by his step father, who grows into the hardest bare knuckle boxer in the world. But what makes the story so great is McLean's ethic's and moral's. He clearly draws a line in the sand and if crossed there's trouble. Not just a hard man but a real character. This is a great read.
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