'The greatest Gaelic footballer of all time.' Pat Spillane When Colm Cooper retired from inter-county football in 2017, he left behind a remarkable legacy. The holder of five All-Ireland medals and eight All-Stars, he was Kerry’s stand-out forward for fifteen years. From a family steeped in Gaelic football, and a core member of the Dr Crokes team, Colm was still in his teens when he first played for Kerry at senior level. Overcoming struggles with injury and personal tragedy, Cooper became one of the GAA’s most recognizable and best-loved figures at a time of tumultuous change in the game. But the man known nationally as ‘Gooch’ is also an intensely private figure who has never courted publicity and his personal story remains largely untold. Now Gooch – The Autobiography unlocks a previously unopened door, tracing a compelling path through the life beyond the headlines. This is the story of an ordinary man who became an extraordinary footballer.

I'M FREE is an autobiographical account of a life gone wrong... for so long; the story of a young confused lad, a rebel with no cause or purpose, an angry black boy whose life had a rapid downward spiral... to the bottom. Many episodes described in this book are detailed and graphic. These details are not intended to glorify the life of deviance and self-destruction I experienced. They are added only to show the power of the Good News, the gospel of Jesus Christ, and its supernatural ability to transform a life and set it on a new course.This is, therefore, a testimony of the life-changing, soul-saving goodness of God through my eventual surrender to His amazing grace.The liberty has been taken to change or modify the names of some of the people, obviously, to prevent incrimination of old acquaintances, family members, and yes, even myself.Over nearly three decades, and after numerous speaking engagements, I have been prompted by others to write this book. However, until now, I have never seemed to sense a release go get it accomplished. Finally, I am ready to compose to completion a true story that I pray will encourage and inspire all who take the time to read itTo God be all the glory!

The landscape of American literature was fundamentally changed when Flannery O'Connor stepped onto the scene with her first published book, Wise Blood, in 1952. Her fierce, sometimes comic novels and stories reflected the darkly funny, vibrant, and theologically sophisticated woman who wrote them. Brad Gooch brings to life O'Connor's significant friendships -- with Robert Lowell, Elizabeth Hardwick, Walker Percy, and James Dickey among others -- and her deeply felt convictions, as expressed in her communications with Thomas Merton, Elizabeth Bishop, and Betty Hester. Hester was famously known as "A" in O'Connor's collected letters, The Habit of Being, and a large cache of correspondence to her from O'Connor was made available to scholars, including Brad Gooch, in 2006. O'Connor's capacity to live fully -- despite the chronic disease that eventually confined her to her mother's farm in Georgia -- is illuminated in this engaging and authoritative biography. Praise for Flannery: "Flannery O'Connor, one of the best American writers of short fiction, has found her ideal biographer in Brad Gooch. With elegance and fairness, Gooch deals with the sensitive areas of race and religion in O'Connor's life. He also takes us back to those heady days after the war when O'Connor studied creative writing at Iowa. There is much that is new in this book, but, more important, everything is presented in a strong, clear light."-Edmund White "This splendid biography gives us no saint or martyr but the story of a gifted and complicated woman, bent on making the best of the difficult hand fate has dealt her, whether it is with grit and humor or with an abiding desire to make palpable to readers the terrible mystery of God's grace."-Frances Kiernan, author of Seeing Mary Plain: A Life of Mary McCarthy "A good biographer is hard to find. Brad Gooch is not merely good-he is extraordinary. Blessed with the eye and ear of a novelist, he has composed the life that admirers of the fierce and hilarious Georgia genius have long been hoping for."-Joel Conarroe, President Emeritus, John Simon Guggenheim Foundation

Black Horizons is the memoir of an orphan who went from the bottom to become a pioneering aviator, businessman and politician in the post-Tuskegee Airmen era. As a poor African-American youngster picking cotton in a 1930s Tennessee field, U.L. Rip Gooch would look to the sky as airplanes flew overhead and think about escaping to a better life. Soon after World War II, he earned his pilot's license with "Chief" C. Alfred Anderson, but found that racist hiring practices among airlines and other companies did not allow employment of black aviators, even those who gained fame as Tuskegee Airmen. Rip fought back using business principles instead of violence. In time he built a million-dollar aviation business selling Mooney Aircraft in the Air Capital of the World (Wichita, Kansas), accrued 20,000 flight hours, and became one of the few black politicians in one of the most conservative states in the nation. *** "Sen. Rip Gooch is a man of integrity, a role model and a leader. He has served the people of Wichita and Kansas in ways that can never be measured." - Kathleen Sebelius, former governor of Kansas *** "As told in this book, the life of Rip Gooch has been a combination of joys and sorrows, challenges, opportunities and successes." - George Haley, former U.S. ambassador to Gambia

The Gaelic footballer who's won nearly every prize in the game: Including 5 All-Irelands & 8 All-Stars. 'You need a boot to kick and hands and shoulders to mark your opposition. But without a sharp brain, you'll never make it as a Kerry footballer.' Follow Colm from his days as a tiny, freckle-faced kid – the youngest of seven in a GAA-mad family from Killarney – all the way to Croke Park, where he won five All-Ireland titles. This is the story of how a boy who everyone said wasn't big enough or strong enough to wear the green and gold jersey of Kerry became one of the greatest Gaelic footballers of all time.