'What makes a great player? He's the one who brings out the best in others. When I am saying that I'm talking about Billy McNeill.' JOCK STEIN A unique tribute to Celtic's greatest ever player to mark the 60th anniversary of his first appearance for the club. Billy McNeill is the greatest Celt of all time. He spent his entire playing career at the Glasgow giants and made 790 appearances between 1958 and 1975, winning the European Cup, nine Scottish League Championships, seven Scottish Cups and six League Cups in a glittering career. And it all started on 23rd August 1958 when Billy McNeill made his Celtic debut. Billy McNeill's breathtaking journey through the beautiful game is charted here from his debut against Clyde through the momentous years as player and manager, the highs, the lows, the triumphs, the tears. Sixty years on from his debut, this unique book celebrates the astonishing life and times of one of world football's best-loved personalities with tributes from many greats of the game. Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell pays his own special tribute to the Parkhead hero along with a Who's Who of the game's royalty. They share their unforgettable experiences and wonderful memories of playing with and against Billy McNeill, one of football's most respected and well-loved men, and talk about him both as a world-renowned footballer and as a genuinely much-admired figure. Packed full of anecdotes and tributes, In Praise of Caesar is a must-read for all Billy McNeill and Celtic fans, and football supporters everywhere. Contributions from: Brendan Rodgers, Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Kenny Dalglish, Denis Law, Mike Jackson, Steve Archibald, Gordon Strachan, Danny McGrain, Roy Aitken, Paul McStay, Davie Hay, Charlie Nicholas, Frank McAvennie, Pat Bonner, Alex McLeish, Davie Provan, and not forgetting Lisbon Lions Bertie Auld, John Clark, Jim Craig, Bobby Lennox and Willie Wallace.

Let Stephen Curry, Charles Barkley, Grant Hill, Reggie Miller, and more, tell you what it was like to take the floor against one of the Greatest of All Time. With a Foreword by Jerry West, and a new tribute from the author about Kobe's tragic death. When he entered the NBA in 1996 as a high-school star from Lower Merion, Pennsylvania, Kobe Bryant faced enormous expectations. No one can deny that he rose to the challenge. Today Bryant's status as a future Hall of Fame player is assured. During his stellar career, Bryant won five NBA championships; was a seventeen-time All-Star, NBA MVP, and two-time NBA Finals MVP. He led the league in scoring in 2006 and 2007. Now for the first time, hear stories from opponents, teammates, and players about what it was like to go against Kobe in Remembering Kobe Bryant. Contributors include: Chris Webber Jeff Van Gundy Rick Barry Doc Rivers Dwayne Wade Draymond Green Giannis Antetokounmpo Russell Westbrook Carmelo Anthony And many more Kobe Bryant was the greatest basketball player of his generation-a former schoolboy prodigy whose moves are now imitated in gyms and playgrounds around the world. Remembering Kobe Bryant provides an unprecedented glimpse into what it was like to play against one of the best of all time. Skyhorse Publishing and our Sports Publishing imprint is proud to publish a range of books for readers interested in sports-baseball, pro football, college football, pro basketball, college basketball, hockey, soccer, and more, we have a book about your sport or your team. Whether you are a New York Yankees fan or hail from Red Sox nation; whether you are a die-hard Green Bay Packers or Dallas Cowboys fan; whether you root for the Kentucky Wildcats, Louisville Cardinals, UCLA Bruins, or Kansas Jayhawks; whether you route for the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, or Los Angeles Kings; we have a book for you. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

'On the pitch he was a magician' - Arsene Wenger The first full autobiography from former footballer and England manager Glenn Hoddle Glenn Hoddle was one of the most celebrated footballers of his generation. A wonderfully talented No. 10 - he formed part of the great Spurs teams of the early 1980s and cut his teeth in the blood and thunder of an England team that prioritised aggression over creativity. Often seen as a player 'out of time', Glenn was a playmaker in the purest sense. A creator and a goal scorer, he rose through the Tottenham youth academy - playing under Keith Burkinshaw and crossing paths with the likes of club legends Bill Nicholson and Danny Blanchflower - before going on to play in Monaco under the tutelage of Arsene Wenger. In Playmaker, he looks back on his rise as a prodigious young footballer and talks at length about his career that took him from cleaning the cockerel at White Hart Lane to managing the England football team at a World Cup. From scoring in an FA Cup final to winning the league in France; from revitalising Chelsea in the early 1990s, to managing the fall-out after David Beckham's infamous sending off at the 1998 World Cup; from surviving a near fatal cardiac arrest at the age of 61, to continuing to work within the game he loves - Playmaker is a life lead through football, and an autobiography of one of the game's most admired, thoughtful and respected personalities.

'I believe we so far forgot ourselves as to shake hands on it.' - H. W. Tilman, on reaching the summit of Nanda Devi.In 1934, after fifty years of trying, mountaineers finally gained access to the Nanda Devi Sanctuary in the Garhwal Himalaya. Two years later an expedition led by H.W. Tilman reached the summit of Nanda Devi. At over 25,000 feet, it was the highest mountain to be climbed until 1950.The Ascent of Nanda Devi, Tilman's account of the climb, has been widely hailed as a classic. Keenly observed, well informed and at times hilariously funny, it is as close to a 'conventional' mountaineering account as Tilman could manage.Beginning with the history of the mountain ('there was none') and the expedition's arrival in India, Tilman recounts the build-up and approach to the climb. Writing in his characteristic dry style, he tells how Sherpas are hired, provisions are gathered (including 'a mouth-blistering sauce containing 100 per cent chillies') and the climbers head into the hills, towards Nanda Devi.Superbly parodied in The Ascent of Rum Doodle by W.E. Bowman, The Ascent of Nanda Devi was among the earliest accounts of a climbing expedition to be published.Much imitated but rarely matched, it remains one of the best.

True Professional tells the story of Clive Sullivan, who emerged from one of Cardiff's toughest neighbourhoods to become an icon of rugby league. Overcoming a major childhood injury and a car crash early in his career, he was a ruthless and thrilling presence on the wings of both Hull FC and Hull KR teams for over 20 years, scoring over 300 tries.The first-ever black Briton to captain a British sports team, Sullivan did so with great success, even lifting a World Cup and being awarded an MBE. He was loved by rugby league fans and revered following his untimely and tragic death. Yet the wider sporting public overlooked his achievements at the time and his name is rarely mentioned when discussing Britain's sporting greats. The book is a snapshot of the working class Northern towns that have long been the heartland of rugby league, and the communities that gave them their unique character. It is also a look at how Clive's career developed against the backdrop of a declining fishing industry, the lifeblood of the city of Hull.

Winner of the Telegraph Sports Book Awards Rugby Book of the Year Among the best stories in modern British team sport has been the rise of Exeter Chiefs. How, exactly, did an unfashionable rugby team from Devon emerge from obscurity to become the double champions of England and Europe? What makes them tick? What are their secrets? Exe Men is a compelling story of regional pride, fierce rural identity, larger-than-life local heroes, remarkable characters, epic resilience, big city snobbery, geographical separation, steepling ambition and personal sacrifice which will strike a chord with anyone who enjoys a classic underdog story. This is not any old rugby book, it is the inside story of Exeter's incredible journey from the edge of nowhere to the summit of the English and European club game.

____ *THE STRATEGIES BEHIND A SUCCESSFUL LIFE FROM THE LEGENDARY GRANDMASTER AND ADVISOR TO NETFLIX'S THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT, NOW WITH A NEW FOREWORD* 'In this book, chess is a teacher, and I aim to show it is a great one.' For over twenty years, Garry Kasparov dominated the world of chess. As the youngest ever undisputed World Champion, known for confounding his opponents at every move and breaking record after record, Kasparov was asked the same question time and time again: what makes a champion? Drawing on a wealth of revealing and instructive stories, from the most intense moments of his greatest games to the world-changing decisions of history's greatest strategists such as Winston Churchill and Steve Jobs, Kasparov reveals the strategic ways of thinking that always give a player - in the game of life as well as chess - the edge. PRAISE FOR GARRY KASPAROV 'I've never seen someone with such a feel for dynamics in complex positions' - Magnus Carlsen, World Chess Champion 'There is nothing in chess he has been unable to deal with' - Vladimir Kramnik, Chess Grandmaster 'Mr. Kasparov is not only one of the world's smartest men, he is also among its bravest.' - Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch

The King of White Hart Lane is the authorised life story of Alan Gilzean, the legendary, world-class Tottenham Hotspur, Dundee and Scotland footballer. Exclusive insights provided by his family, closest friends and colleagues add to the author's own experience to reveal Gilzean, the man and the player. A reserved, charming and intelligent individual who shunned the limelight off the field, Gilzean played with a swagger as a maker and taker of goals, especially alongside Jimmy Greaves at Spurs. We discover how the native of the Perthshire town of Coupar Angus became one of the greatest performers in the history of both his clubs. Gilzean emerged a Scottish folk hero having scored the winning goal against England in front of 133,000 at Hampden Park - and was later welcomed back with open arms by the game after ending a self-imposed exile during which the uninformed conjured often defamatory myths. The elegant striker dubbed 'Nureyev in Boots' left us on Sunday, 8 July 2018. There will never be another like him.

'Ever since I first set foot on rock at the tender age of seven years, climbing has been the most important thing in my life. In fact I would go so far as to say it is my reason for living and as long as I am able to climb I hope I will. It is from climbing I draw my inspiration for life.' On 14 June 1990, at Raven Tor in the Derbyshire Peak District, twenty-four-year-old Ben Moon squeezed his feet into a pair of rock shoes, tied in to his rope, chalked his fingers and pulled on to the wickedly overhanging, zebra-striped wall of limestone. Two minutes later he had made rock-climbing history with the first ascent of Hubble, now widely recognised as the world's first F9a. Born in the suburbs of London in 1966, Moon started rock climbing on the sandstone outcrops of Kent and Sussex. A pioneer in the sport-climbing revolution of the 1980s and a bouldering legend in the 1990s, he is one of the most iconic rock climbers in the sport's history, In Statement, Moon's official biography, award-winning writer Ed Douglas paints a portrait of a climbing visionary and dispels the myth of Moon as an anti-traditional climbing renegade. Interviews with Moon are complemented with insights from family and friends and extracts from magazines and personal diaries and letters.

In this unique book, one of football's greatest cult players reflects on the travails of the sport and draws upon his own experience to offer an honest assessment on one of its final remaining taboos: mental health. The most difficult position in football? Being a goalkeeper. That's what they say, right? You must be mad to stand between those posts and bat away shots and crosses all game long. Neville Southall should know. He was the goalkeeper for one of the best teams of the 1980s and became an icon of the game during his 20-year career between the sticks. But what did it take to prepare himself mentally for the difficulties of the position? How did he dig so deep on the biggest occasions and in the highest-pressured moments? What scars were left at the end of his long career - a tenure that saw the highs of winning trophies, but also the lows of losing games, making mistakes and feeling the full weight of club and country on your shoulders. And how has he used his post-playing career to campaign for a better future for the next generation? In this unique book, one of football's greatest cult players reflects on the travails of the modern game, how some of society's problems are reflected within it and draws upon his own experience to tackle one of its final remaining taboos: mental health. On fear of failure, confidence, sexuality and homophobia, suicide, social media and many other talking points - Neville doesn't hold back on the biggest subjects and gets stuck in to some of the most important topics surrounding the beautiful game.

Hierdie boek het ontstaan as 'n verhaal oor die lewe van 'n besonderse mens: David Samaai. Maar baie gou besef jy dat dit eintlik 'n boek oor 'n baie besonderse familie, die Samaai-familie woonagtig in Paarl, is. Davy Samaai was 'n legendariese tennisspeler, 'n begaafde musikant, 'n inspirerende skoolhoof of hardwerkende onderwyser. Hy het ook met sy voorbeeld gelei.

James Cook's autobiography is a gripping account of his life told with the assistance of his friend and boxing author, Melanie Lloyd. Cook was raised by his grandparents in Jamaica until he was nine years old, when his mother arrived from London to collect him. His words paint a vibrant picture of childhood in the Caribbean sun and having to adapt to life on the notorious North Peckham Housing Estate in the late 60s. He started boxing in his teens and became British and European super-middleweight champion. Cook eloquently leads the reader through his life in the ring with plenty of droll tales along the way; but this is much more than a boxing book. Cook's commitment to keeping his local community safe through his youth work contributes to an inspirational and uplifting read. But anybody expecting to find Saint James on every page is in for a shock. His stories range from fighting with wheel-clampers in a Tesco car park to receiving his MBE from the Queen, all told with equal warmth and a sweet honesty that will keep the pages turning.

Bart Starr was the quarterback of the Green Bay Packers from 1956 to 1971, the most meaningful and successful era of one of football's most storied franchises. Starr was named MVP of the first two Super Bowls and to the Pro Bowl four times. He threw for more than 24,000 yards in his career and holds the Packer record for most games played. But the awards and impressive statistics are not what fans remember most about Bart Starr. As his legendary coach, Vince Lombardi, once said, "Bart Starr stands for what the game of football stands for: courage, stamina and coordinated efficiency. You instill desire by creating a superlative example. The noblest form of leadership is by example and that is what Bart Starr is about." Bart Starr: When Leadership Mattered shows with clarity and stunning insight just how true Lombardi's compliment was. Drafted in the seventeenth round out of the University of Alabama after a checkered collegiate career, Starr was just hoping to catch the eye of an NFL team. As the 199th selection in the 1956 draft, his expectations and those of the team and fans were limited. But Bart Starr rose above everyone's expectations to will his way to the starting job, aided by the encouragement of Lombardi, who became Packer head coach in 1959. This book reveals all the details of Starr's improbable rise to stardom. It explores his relationship with Lombardi and his guidance of the Packers from a downtrodden franchise to five-time World Champions to two-time Super Bowl winners. His epic battles with rivals such as the Bears and Lions and the famous Ice Bowl are also recalled in unforgettable fashion. But most of all, Bart Starr: When Leadership Mattered is about a modestly talented football player who with uncommon intelligence, grit, and leadership elevated his play and that of his teammates. The Packers would not have been the Packers without Bart Starr.

'The mountains are crystal under the blue sky, as we climb up our untouched peak. This is why we climb.' In this fast-paced, refreshingly honest account, Stephen Venables invites you on an adventure like no other. Delving deeply into the unknown, the unclimbed and the undiscovered, Painted Mountains details the stories of two very different expeditions: the first ascent of 6,000-metre Kishtwar-Shivling in the Indian Himalaya alongside Dick Renshaw, before embarking on an Indo-British Expedition led by Harish Kapadia to Rimo: the Painted Mountain. 'Most of us are content to settle for some sort of compromise between the desire to survive and the desire to retain an element of uncertainty.' Venables - the first Briton to climb Everest without oxygen - does not shy away from the obvious challenges that come hand-in-hand with tackling expeditions such as these; this account details the highs and the lows, the dropped equipment, the toll of extreme conditions and the shining successes of reaching a summit - all while retaining a sense of humour and an unwavering enthusiasm for the thrill of the climb. Venables' get-up-and-go attitude makes this a delightful read; he is never one to shy away from an opportunity, be it arisen from a year-long dream or a spontaneous invite. Painted Mountains is an invaluable education for anyone who is interested in the greater mountain ranges explored in this book, as well as an inspirational tale of the commitment to a dream, the birth of new friendships and the innumerable rewards of time spent in the mountains.

Harry Caray is one of the most famous and beloved sports broadcasters of all time, with a career that lasted over 50 years. Always a baseball enthusiast, Caray once vowed to become a broadcaster who was the true voice of the fans. Caray's distinctive style soon resonated across St. Louis, then Chicago, and eventually across the nation. In The Legendary Harry Caray: Baseball's Greatest Salesman, Don Zminda delivers the first full-length biography of Caray since his death in 1998. It includes details of Caray's orphaned childhood, his 25 years as the voice of the St. Louis Cardinals, his tempestuous 11 years broadcasting games for the Chicago White Sox, and the 16 years he broadcast for the Chicago Cubs while also becoming a nationally-known celebrity. Interviews with significant figures from Caray's life are woven throughout, from his widow Dutchie and grandson Chip to broadcasters Bob Costas, Thom Brennaman, Dewayne Staats, Pat Hughes, and more. Caray was known during his final years as a beloved, often-imitated grandfather figure with the Cubs, but the story of his entire career is much more nuanced and often controversial. Featuring new information on Caray's life-including little-known information about his firing by the Cardinals and his feuds with players, executives, and fellow broadcasters-this book provides an intimate and in-depth look at a broadcasting legend.

An eloquent and thought-provoking book on racism and prejudice by the Liverpool and England football legend John Barnes. John Barnes spent the first dozen years of his life in Jamaica before moving to the UK with his family in 1975. Six years later he was a professional footballer, distinguishing himself for Watford, Liverpool and England, and in the process becoming this country's most prominent black player. Barnes is now an articulate and captivating social commentator on a broad range of issues, and in The Uncomfortable Truth About Racism he tackles head-on the issues surrounding prejudice with his trademark intelligence and authority. By vividly evoking his personal experiences, and holding a mirror to this country's past, present and future, Barnes provides a powerful and moving testimony. The Uncomfortable Truth About Racism will help to inform and advance the global conversation around society's ongoing battle with the awful stain of prejudice.

Ronnie O'Sullivan's status as one of snooker's all-time greats was cemented in 2017 by adding to his five world titles, a seventh Masters and sixth UK, thus equalling Stephen Hendry's 18 'triple crown' triumphs. Now is the perfect time for his story to be told by Clive Everton - 'The Voice of Snooker'. Simply the Best traces Ronnie's course from carefree junior prodigy to deeply troubled and depressed adult, and so to maturity and self-knowledge. Along the way, he emerges as instinctively warm-hearted, the most loyal of sons and a true sportsman in his acceptance of defeat. Even so, full consideration is given to Ronnie's mistakes in a rounded portrait of one of snooker's most fascinating, complicated and successful characters.

Jonathan Kaplan, celebrated international rugby referee and former world record-holder for most Test caps, had his fair share of challenging moments on the field. He was known for his commitment to fair play, ability to defuse tense situations, and courage in making difficult, and sometimes controversial, decisions. All this would stand JK in good stead and come back into play when, at the age of 47, he made two life-changing decisions. The first was to blow his whistle for the last time and end his career as a professional rugby ref. The second was to become a parent – and a solo parent at that.

This is the story of JK’s decision to have a baby by surrogate, the two-year fertility process that followed, and the subsequent birth of his son Kaleb. Winging It draws on the insights of key role-players in JK’s journey, including the extraordinary experience of the surrogate mother herself.

Exchanging rucks for reflux, mauls for milk bottles, scrums for storks (and other stories about Kaleb’s conception), this account of how JK navigates the choppy waters of parenthood is disarmingly frank and scrupulously honest. At times poignant and tender, and at others downright funny, this is a thoroughly contemporary take on what constitutes a family and how we dare to build one.

In early 1978, an extraordinary new invention for rock climbers was featured on the BBC television science show Tomorrow's World. It was called the 'Friend', and it not only made the sport safer, it helped push the limits of the possible. The company that made them was called Wild Country, the brainchild of Mark Vallance. Within six months, Vallance was selling Friends in sixteen countries. Wild Country would go on to develop much of the gear that transformed climbing in the 1980s. Mark Vallance's influence on the outdoor world extends far beyond the company he founded. He owned and opened the influential retailer Outside in the Peak District and was part of the team that built The Foundry, Sheffield's premier climbing wall - the first modern climbing gym in Britain. He worked for the Peak District National Park and served on its board. He even found time to climb eight-thousand-metre peaks and the Nose on El Capitan. Diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in his mid fifties and robbed of his plans for retirement, Vallance found a new sense of purpose as a reforming president of the British Mountaineering Council. In Wild Country, Vallance traces his story, from childhood influences like Robin Hodgkin and Sir Jack Longland, to two years in Antarctica, where he was base commander of the UK's largest and most southerly scientific station at Halley Bay, before his fateful meeting with Ray Jardine, the man who invented Friends, in Yosemite. Trenchant, provocative and challenging, Wild Country is a remarkable personal story and a fresh perspective on the role of the outdoors in British life and the development of climbing in its most revolutionary phase. Mark Vallance (1945-2018), the man who made Friends.

All or Nothing At All is the life story of Billy Bland, fellrunner extrordinaire and holder of many records including that of the Bob Graham Round until it was broken by the foreword author of this book, Kilian Jornet. It is also the story of Borrowdale in the English Lake District, describing its people, their character and their lifestyle, into which fellrunning is unmistakably woven. Filled with stories of competition and rich in northern humour, All or Nothing At All is testimony to the life spent in the fells by one of their greatest champions, Billy Bland.