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Books > Language & Literature > Biography & autobiography > Sport
Walter Smith was one of the most respected managers in British
football. This insightful biography casts a reflective and
analytical eye over his life and career, examining this shrewd
professional through the many highs and lows that he has
experienced as a player and manager. He enjoyed an illustrious
career in management at Rangers, joining the Souness revolution in
1987, winning nine successive league titles, a domestic treble in
the 1992-93 season and winning both the Scottish Cup and League Cup
three times. In 1998, Smith accepted a position in England with
Everton, where he was the manager until 2002, before being reunited
with Ferguson at Old Trafford in 2004. In December of that year,
Smith was appointed as Scotland manager and his effort subsequently
earned him the title of 'Scot of the Year' at the prestigious
Glenfiddich 'Spirit of Scotland' awards in 2006. Midway through the
qualifying rounds for Euro 2008, however, and with the Scots
leading their group, he controversially accepted an offer to return
to Ibrox in January 2007. Upon returning to Glasgow, Smith led
Rangers to the UEFA Cup Final and triumph in the Scottish Cup in
2008, a domestic League and Cup double in 2009 and another double -
this time in the domestic League and League Cup - in 2010. He
retired from management in 2011 and died in October 2021.
An intimate, original biography of tennis legend Rafael Nadal, and the first to cover his entire career.
After his award-winning look at Roger Federer, Christopher Clarey, one of the world's pre-eminent tennis writers, focuses his lens on Nadal, the Spanish force of nature. When he arrived on the scene in 2005, the record for men's singles titles at the French Open stood at six. Nadal more than doubled that total to a mind-blowing fourteen titles: one of the greatest sporting achievements in history.
Nadal won big and won often on all of tennis's surfaces: securing two Wimbledon titles on grass and six on the US Open and Australian Open hard courts. But clay, the grittiest of the game's playgrounds, is where it all came together best for his whipping forehand and warrior mindset.
Clarey, who has covered Nadal since he was seventeen, draws on interviews over twenty years with Nadal, his team and rivals like Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. Brimming with behind-the-scenes insight, The Warrior tells the story of a global sporting icon, interlacing man and place in a unique, must-read account of the evolution of excellence.
King of the Fells. Iron man. Lake District fell running legend.
Joss Naylor is all of these things and more. His achievements are
astounding, his records stand the test of time. In 1983 he
completed the 105-mile Lakes, Meres and Waters (LMW) route in a
staggering 19hr 14min and to this day, describes it as one of the
best routes he ever ran. High praise indeed and yet, so few know of
it. Part guidebook, part inspirational regaling, this book
interweaves tales of past and present as Naylor reflects on his
1983 epic on a re-walk 37 years later. In the company of
award-winning author, Vivienne Crow, Naylor recalls that magical
day, sharing stories and anecdotes from, not just his run, but the
1980s fell running scene, his working life and growing up in the
Wasdale Valley. Naylor's tales, together with breathtaking
photography, are accompanied by basic guide notes for the LMW
route, sticking as closely to his 1983 run as possible. These notes
divide the route into ten stages (ranging from 9 to 14 miles),
allowing runners and walkers to follow in the footsteps of the King
of the Fells, albeit on a more relaxed schedule. From Loweswater to
Over Water, visiting 27 of the Lake District's largest bodies of
water, the LMW route guarantees vistas of unparalleled beauty and
an unforgettable experience in true fell country.
In the 1980s and early 1990s, David Campese thrilled spectators both in Australia and overseas with his footloose, crazy-brave style of free running. This book tells the story of his rise from humble beginnings to the very top of a global sport.
As a rugby player, David Campese seemed to operate on cross-grained pure instinct, one that left many a defender clutching at him in vain, stranded in the slipstream of his audacity. Hailed as the 'Bradman of rugby' by former Wallaby coach Alan Jones, and the 'Pele' of rugby by others, Campese was a match-winner. The refrain 'I saw Campese play' now speaks to much more than wistful reminiscences about a player widely regarded as the most entertaining ever to play the game of Rugby Union. It has come to represent a state of chronic disbelief that the Wallaby ascendancy of Campese's era has been seemingly squandered.
Campese occupies a unique intersection in rugby's history: one of its last amateurs, and one of its first professionals. He had shown, too, that coming from outside the traditional bastions of rugby - the private schools and universities - was no barrier to reaching the top. Indeed, he challenged that establishment and unsettled it, warning in the early 1990s that the code risked 'dying' if more was not done to expand its appeal.
David Campese revolutionised how the game was played and appreciated. His genius, most visibly manifest in his outrageous goosestep, captured the national and sporting imagination. The rigid, robotic rugby of today appears incapable of accommodating a player of his dash and daring.
Jack Beresford was the first British Olympian to win medals of any
colour in five consecutive Olympic Games. His record of 3 Gold and
2 silver medals at the 5 Olympic Games held between 1920 and 1936
remained until Sir Steve Redgrave won gold at the 2000 Sydney
Games. Historically, men have had two great chances to prove their
mettle; in battle and in sport. While many are aware that Jack
Beresford was one of Britain's greatest oarsmen, this affectionate
but unsentimental tribute by his son, John, reveals what few know,
that Beresford served his country with distinction in war as well
as in peace, and both with a modesty that is usually indicative of
true merit. It is commonly said, show me the boy and I'll show you
the man, and this work reveals that Jack the schoolboy, the soldier
and the sportsman was driven by the same strict principals of duty
and hard work throughout his life. This is, says John, the story
that his Father never wrote. It is also a story with a delicious
(if vicious) irony; the German bullet that wounded 19-year-old 2nd
Lieutenant Beresford in 1918 led to him abandoning rugby and taking
up rowing. Eighteen years later, the German favourites to win the
Olympic Double Sculls paid the price of Jack's change of sport as,
in the final's last 100 metres, Dick Southwood and Jack Beresford
rowed them to a standstill to win Olympic Gold.
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Swifty
(Hardcover)
Irv Burnett
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