'an enjoyable and interesting journey through football' Donald McRae, The Guardian 'This is really good. Raw, funny and revealing on football, on Ferguson, Clough, Dalglish & worth getting for the Roy Keane selfie story alone. Emotional on his ITV exit. Talent like Tyldesley's appeals to all ages.' Henry Winter 'Started reading this and couldn't stop ... wise and entertaining on the big names and games. Clever work.' Paul Hayward 'Clive Tyldesley's brilliant, emotive commentaries became the soundtrack to matches that will stay with the fans for the rest of their lives.' Oliver Holt Football changes everything. It changes how we feel, how we think, how we behave. It turns us into someone else. You love your team first. It's tribal. Except I did love something else. I loved the idea of commentating on my team, on every team. I loved it even more than my team. I ditched the girl next door for the diva on the silver screen. Like all true romances, it was irrational and intoxicating, it was tangled and foolish, it became addictive and occasionally heart-breaking and it kept on changing. Two United goals inside two minutes changed it in 1999. A teenage Evertonian called Rooney twisted the plot in 2002. Three Liverpool goals in less than six minutes changed everything again in 2005. Hello, hello. Moments. Mere blinks of wide eyes. Football happens in heartbeats. Meeting those moments is my job. Seeing them, saying them, spelling out the difference they have just made. It's all I've ever wanted to do. Probably all I can do. Spending time in the company of the 'greats' of football like Sir Alex Ferguson, Bill Shankly, Brian Clough and Sir Kenny Dalglish has changed everything for me, and probably for you too.

It is not easy. Having a dream, having talent and being faced with a world that wants you to have neither – it is not easy.

This is not an easy story. This is a book about difficult odds, about cruelty, about broken families and addiction. This is also a story about hope. This is a tale of bravery and the undefeatability of the spirit of South African women. This is a story about football, but it is a story about so much more. This is a tale about the fearless women who carry the sport on their back, told through the eyes of the best player on the African continent.

This is the story of a little girl who rose out of the tough streets of Mohlakeng and went on to become a champion of the world.

One man, one bike, one hour. The inside story of Bradley Wiggins's record-breaking ride For 60 minutes this summer, the British public stopped what they were doing, switched on their radios, their TVs, refreshed their Twitter feeds and followed Bradley Wiggins's attempt to break one of sport's most gruelling records: The Hour. The premise is simple enough: how far can you cycle in one hour. But it is thought to be one of the toughest events an athlete can endure, both physically and psychologically. Eddy Merckx, cycling's uber-champ, called it the hardest thing he ever did. Wiggins, like many before him, discovered the unique pain of pushing yourself as hard as you can for 60 minutes. In this revealing book, Bradley Wiggins takes you behind the scenes of his record attempt. From planning to preparation, to training to execution, Bradley shares his thoughts on his sacrifices, his heroes, and the people who have supported him along the way as well as what's to come as he heads towards the twilight of his stellar career. Supported by stunning photography, My Hour is a fitting celebration of one of Britain's best-loved sportsmen in his finest hour.

Marvelous Marvin Hagler is a sporting legend. Often called the greatest middleweight boxer of all time, he held the world title for 12 defences, including bouts with Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns and Roberto Duran which entered fistic folklore. From his wild early fights in the boxing wilderness of Brockton, Massachusetts, Brian and Damian Hughes trace the blazing trail of Hagler's career: the controversial defeats subsequently avenged, a riot-scarred title win in London, and his unification of the middleweight crown. Hagler became a huge favourite, taking on all comers while never taking a step back. And so to The Ring magazine's "greatest round of all time" against Hearns, his ferocious battle with Duran, and the still-controversial loss to his nemesis Leonard. Marvelous tells the story of Hagler's extraordinary life for the first time, separating truth from myth to get right to the heart of a complex and charismatic man.

When all-time pitching great Christy Mathewson died of tuberculosis in 1925 at the age of 45, it touched off a wave of national mourning that remains without precedent for an American athlete. The World Series was underway, and the game the day after Mathewson's death took on the trappings of a state funeral: officials slowly lowered the flag to half-mast, each ballplayer wore a black armband, and fans joined together in a chorus of "Nearer My God to Thee." Newspaper editorials recalled Mathewson's glorious career with the New York Giants, but also emphasized his unstinting good sportsmanship and voluntary service in World War I. The pitcher known to one and all as "Matty" or "Big Six" was as beloved for the strength of character he brought to the national pastime, as for his stunning 373 career victories. "I do not expect to see his like again," said his best friend and former manager, John McGraw. "But I do know that the example he set and the imprint he left on the sport that he loved and honored will remain long after I am gone."
In Matty, Ray Robinson tells the story of a man who became America's first authentic sports hero. Until Mathewson, Robinson reveals, Americans loved baseball, but looked down on ballplayers and other athletes as hard-drinking, skirt-chasing ne'er-do-wells. Deprived of real-life role models, millions of readers followed the serialized exploits of Frank Merriwell, a fictional hero who excelled at sports from baseball to billiards and never drank, smoke, or swore. Robinson shows how an eager public greeted Mathewson as a flesh-and-blood version of Merriwell from his first year at Bucknell University, where he shone as star pitcher, premier field-goal kicker, and class president. Lured into the big leagues before he could graduate, the tall, handsome pitcher soon won over men, women and children with his sense of fair play and his arsenal of blazing fastballs, sweeping curves, and infamously deceptive fadeaway pitches. Robinson skillfully details the highlights of Mathewson's career, including his showdowns against the great batters of his day and his encounters with the young Brooklyn, Chicago, Pittsburgh and St. Louis teams. Here are the six remarkable days in October, 1905 when Mathewson became the only pitcher ever to hurl three straight shutouts in a World Series, and the afternoon at West Point when he won $50 in a bet that he could throw 20 of his best pitches to exactly the same spot. Robinson does not underplay Mathewson's occasional failings, but the most surprising aspect of this fascinating portrait is just how close America's first Hall of Fame pitcher came to living up to his image.
Drawing on rare interviews, press clips, and long overlooked eyewitness accounts, Matty brings baseball's golden age to life--not only the great teams and the early superstars, but the long train trips between games, with cramped berths and no air conditioning; the small town ballplayers let loose amidst big city vice; and the two-bit gambling that eventually led to the infamous Black Sox Scandal of the 1919 Series (a scandal that might have escaped detection if the sportswriters in the press box with Mathewson had not been able to rely on his experienced eye for clues to how ballplayers might throw games). Offering rare insight into the making of an early twentieth century American hero, Matty is must reading for anyone who loves baseball.

Six victories, two pole positions, eight fastest laps and 13 podium places - statistics that are anything but striking. In Formula 1 today, there are drivers who have won a great deal more, but Gilles Villeneuve cannot be evaluated by numbers alone - simply because there is no way of measuring the level of excitement that he brought to racing. Even though he has been dead for over 30 years, the legend of the Canadian, who was killed on 8 May 1982, is still imbued with strong emotion - Gilles the "Aviator" as Enzo Ferrari nick-named him, the driver for whom the expression "Villeneuve Fever" was coined. From his "crazy flight" at Fuji in 1977, his first GP win at home in Canada in 1978, the unforgettable 1979 season followed by a year of purgatory, his epic success at Monaco in 1981 and the in-house duel with Didier Pironi at Imola in 1982, to that last "crazy flight" at Zolder. "Gilles Villeneuve: Immagini di una vita/A life in pictures" relives the legend, with previously unpublished pictures and authoritative text by Mario Donnini.

"Mr. Gildea's book is at once an elegy and a eulogy... In this volume, every word is from the heart."-- "New York Times"

"William Gildea's "When the Colts Belonged to Baltimore" is to football what Roger Kahn's "The Boys of Summer" was to baseball. It's one of the best reads in a long, long time and should be a best seller."--Larry King

In this personal and moving book, William Gildea blends reminiscences of his boyhood in Baltimore with profiles of famous Colts players such as Johnny Unitas, Lenny Moore, Gino Marchetti, Raymond Berry, Art Donovan, Y. A. Tittle, and others. Recalling his relationship with his father and the love they shared for a team, Gildea evokes the spirit of 1950s America, when professional athletes were workaday neighbors and community was more than a political slogan. This is a story, too, about the geography of the heart: why something so simple as a team can arouse such emotional attachments, how a group of players with horseshoes on their helmets could have been part of the generational glue between parent and child. Written with feeling and insight, this is an affecting tribute to a team and a time etched in memory.

Including material and photographs not included in most of the 100 other books about the champion, Ishmael Reed's The Complete Muhammad Ali is more than just a biography - it is a fascinating portrait of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st. An honest, balanced portrayal of Ali, the book includes voices that have been omitted from other books. It charts Ali's evolution from Black Nationalism to a universalism, but does not discount the Nation of Islam and Black Nationalism's important influence on his intellectual development. Filipino American author Emil Guillermo speaks about how The Thrilla In Manila brought the Philippines into the 20th century. Fans of Muhammad Ali, boxing fans, and those interested in modern African American history and the Nation of Islam will be fascinated by this biography by an accomplished American author.

Bill Yoast is the real-life hero of Remember the Titans, the inspirational hit movie that chronicled the struggles of black and white high school football athletes to create a championship season in racially charged Alexandria, Virginia, in 1972. Will Patton played Yoast's role and Denzel Washington played the role of Head Coach Herman Boone. Uniting in a common effort, Yoast and Boone led T.C. Williams High School to an undefeated season, and in the process brought the school and polarized community together. The real-life Yoast is even more compelling than his film version. At one time, the former World War II veteran considered going into the ministry. Fortunately, for the hundreds of young men and women whose lives he helped mold, he found his calling in coaching.

This acclaimed book tells the story of each of the 529 races in which the great Stirling Moss took part, from the start of his racing life in 1947 to his career-ending crash at Goodwood in 1962. Told in Sir Stirling's own words, the book is packed with detail and anecdote, supported by a wealth of photographs - many previously unpublished - that show all the greatest moments and the extraordinary variety of cars he drove. This is a book to treasure as well as a unique reference source.

The first of "The Big Three" was Paul Pierce. As Boston Celtics fans watched the team retire Pierce's jersey in a ceremony on February 11, 2018, they remembered again the incredible performances Pierce put on in the city for fifteen years, helping the Celtics escape the bottom of their conference to become champions and perennial championship contenders. But Pierce's time in the city wasn't always so smooth. In 2000, he was stabbed in a downtown nightclub eleven times in a seemingly random attack. Six years later, remaining the sole star on a struggling team, he asked to be traded and briefly became a lightning rod among fans. Then, in 2007, the Boston Celtics General Manager made two monumental trades, bringing Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett to Boston. A press conference on July 31, 2007 was a sight to behold: Pierce, KG, and Ray Allen holding up Celtics jerseys for the flood of media. Coach Doc Rivers made sure the team bonded over the thought of winning a title and living by a Bantu term called Ubuntu, which translates as "I am because we are." Rivers wanted to make it clear that togetherness and brotherhood would help them maximize their talent and win. What came next-the synthesis of the Celtics' "Big Three" and their dominant championship run-cemented their standing as one of great teams in NBA history, a rival to Kobe Bryant's Lakers and LeBron James's Cavaliers. This is the team that brought excitement back to the Garden, and therefore to one of the most storied franchises in all of sports. They met their historic rivals, the Lakers, in the 2008 NBA Finals, winning the series in Game 6, in a rout on their home court with a raucous, concert like atmosphere. Along the victory parade route, Paul Pierce smoked a cigar-as a tribute to legendary former Celtics Coach Red Auerbach. In a city now defined by a wealth of championships, "The Big Three" joined the club. Michael Holley, the premier chronicler of Boston sports, brings their story to life with countless untold stories and behind-the-scenes details in another bestselling tome for New England and sports fans across the country.

Albert Beauregard Hodges is a legend among chess aficionados. As one of the most well-known American chess players of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Hodges played an important role in transforming chess from a pleasant pastime into a social institution. This work provides both an in-depth biography of Hodges' personal life and chess career and an extensive collection of over 340 of his games, as well as 15 of his chess problems as originally published in several newspapers and the American Chess Bulletin. Hodges' complete tournament and match records are also included, along with line engravings, photographs, and player/openings indexes.

Mick Foley is a nice man, a family man who loves amusement parks and eating ice cream in bed. So how to explain those Japanese death matches in rings with explosives, golden thumbtacks and barbed wire instead of rope? The second-degree burn tissue? And the missing ear that was ripped off during a bout-in which he kept fighting? Here is an intimate glimpse into Mick Foley's mind, his history, his work and what some might call his pathology. Now with a bonus chapter summarizing the past 15 months-from his experience as a bestselling author through his parting thoughts before his final match. A tale of blood, sweat, tears and more blood-all in his own words-straight from the twisted genius behind Cactus Jack, Dude Love, and Mankind.

'If you read just one sports book this year, this is the one' Express on SundayLance Armstrong was one of the most precocious talents the world of cycling had ever seen. Within a year of turning professional in 1992 he was World Champion. In 1994 he won two stages of the Tour de France and in 1996 consolidated his position amongst cycling's elite by winning ten consecutive races. By this time, however, and unknown to him, he was battling against cancer as well as 200 fellow competitors. In early October he was diagnosed with testicular cancer so advanced he had to be operated on the very next day. And when lesions appeared on his brain and in his lungs he was given a 40% chance of survival. While he was in hospital undergoing a three month course in chemotherapy his team Codifis, who had promised to stand by him, cancelled his contract. However, by February 1997 he was out of hospital, training again and setting himself targets. He wanted to complete the 1998 Tour de France. Not only did he achieve this but he went on to win the 1999 Tour in spectacular style, in the fastest ever time, and was the first winner to take four stages in the race in 15 years. This is an extraordinary and inspirational story. 'So darn riveting that it simply cannot be put down-warmly recommended' Time Out

#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER

Far more than a superb memoir about the highest levels of professional tennis, "Open" is the engrossing story of a remarkable life.
Andre Agassi had his life mapped out for him before he left the crib. Groomed to be a tennis champion by his moody and demanding father, by the age of twenty-two Agassi had won the first of his eight grand slams and achieved wealth, celebrity, and the game's highest honors. But as he reveals in this searching autobiography, off the court he was often unhappy and confused, unfulfilled by his great achievements in a sport he had come to resent. Agassi writes candidly about his early success and his uncomfortable relationship with fame, his marriage to Brooke Shields, his growing interest in philanthropy, and--described in haunting, point-by-point detail--the highs and lows of his celebrated career.

In 2014, a self-proclaimed 'relatively normal 50-year-old, overweight desk-jockey', took on the monumental task of attempting a 5,000-mile walk around the coast of mainland Britain in the name of two worthy charities.Developed and adapted from his award-winning blog, this is a journal documenting the highs and lows of his 42-week hike around Britain with only the support of his friends, family, the odd stranger or two and a trusty second-hand motorhome as a roving base camp. Peter Hill, the man behind the whimsical idea, never viewed the trek as a voyage of personal discovery and instead takes the reader on a truthful blisters-and-all journey with friendly enthusiasm, gentle humour, numerous trials, a few grumbles, the odd rant and many, many ice-creams. With added extracts from a driver's diary and fully illustrated with a selection of spectacular photographs, this book is only readable with a smile.

Jimmy Greaves remains the greatest goalscorer in English football history, with a record of 357 top-flight goals that may never be surpassed. Teenage sensation at Chelsea and England debutant at 19, he became - after an unhappy spell at AC Milan - a legend at Tottenham Hotspur. But despite 44 international goals in 57 games, his England career was defined by the heartbreak of missing the 1966 World Cup Final. A shock move to West Ham brought an acrimonious end to his Spurs days and, a year later, he retired from the game, aged only 31. What followed was a desperate descent into alcoholism, followed by a remarkable battle to win back his family and self-esteem. Reinventing himself as a popular TV personality, his instincts in front of camera proved as natural as those in front of goal. Having taken his final drink in 1978, Greaves has remained sober from that day. Drawing on interviews with family, friends, colleagues and opponents, Natural: The Jimmy Greaves Story is the definitive biography of one of England's most loved footballers.

Roger Federer is the global star who emerged from our very midst. Mad about ball sports from a young age, his playfulness and passion pushed him further and further - and on to dizzying heights. His sporting exploits are well-known, but who is the man behind them? For the last twenty years, Zurich-based journalist Simon Graf has followed Federer's triumphant journey through the great tennis arenas of the world for the Swiss press. Here, he answers the key questions: how did a hot-tempered teenager become a Zen master on the courts? What part did his parents and his wife Mirka have to play? How did he maintain his joy for all these years? Why does he owe eternal thanks to his rival, Rafael Nadal? Why did he stay so normal? And what can we learn from him? Over the years, the author held countless interviews with Federer and people from his family and sporting life and now shows him from all of his many sides - as a hot-headed teenager, a tennis genius, son, husband and father, an inspiration, strategist, manager of his own talent, victor and loser, businessman, exceptional athlete, philanthropist and more. The Federer phenomenon is captured over fifteen thematically arranged chapters. And there's no shortage of anecdotes: the book is as entertaining as Federer's game.

Major Norton gave the order to fire two or three times ... Their advanced machine gunners could be seen rushing forward and establishing themselves in commanding posts ... Almost at once the ridge we were occupying was swept by machine gun fire ... E.F. Norton lived a life of distinction in the declining years of the British Empire. Born into an accomplished, well-travelled family, he followed his heart and enlisted for a professional career as a soldier. A distinguished military career followed, punctuated with indulgences in his passion for exploration and mountaineering. The British Empire was starting to crumble, and Norton would be called upon more than once to rise to a variety of challenges. Norton's gift for leadership was first demonstrated via his rapid progression through the ranks in the First World War, which paved the way for future leadership appointments, having earned the confidence and respect of those under his command. Events in the Second World War followed suit, when Norton was abruptly assigned the post of acting governor of Hong Kong, entrusted to save the civilian population from imminent Japanese invasion. The 1924 Everest expedition also exemplifies the pattern of having had leadership thrust upon him - in this case when General Charles Bruce was struck down by malaria on the approach march. Leading from the front, Norton set an altitude record for climbing on Everest without supplementary oxygen - a record only bettered in 1978 when Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler made the first ascent of Everest without oxygen. Yet tragedy would follow Norton's achievement, when George Mallory and Andrew Irvine disappeared high on the mountain. In Norton of Everest, Hugh Norton has written sensitively and knowledgably about his father's remarkable life as mountaineer, soldier, naturalist, artist and family man. As on Everest, the real story is not only the death of the gallant, but also the heroics of the quiet survivors like E.F. Norton.

The 10th Anniversary edition of this best-selling and critically acclaimed book includes a brand new introduction and the opening chapter from the author's new book - The Smell of Football 2. When Mick Rathbone signed for Birmingham City as a 16 year-old apprentice he was living every schoolboy's dream. But when he discovered he was so nervous he was unable to speak, let alone pass the ball, in the presence of his boyhood hero and City star Trevor Francis, he realised that a career in football might not be everything he had imagined. The Smell of Football is the brutally honest and utterly unputdownable story of how 'Baz' conquered his personal demons to build a life in the game - from the terrified teenager who purposely tried to get injured in training rather than get picked for the first team, to the experienced pro who became Head of Medicine at Premier League Everton FC in charge of the treatment of the likes of Wayne Rooney, Louis Saha and Tim Cahill. Brilliantly written and packed with hilarious tales featuring a football 'who's who' cast of characters - from Sir Alf Ramsey and 'Big Sam' Allardyce to David Moyes, Duncan Ferguson and Rooney himself - The Smell of Football is an engrossing and moving memoir that covers every aspect of the professional game and gives an unprecedented insight into what life is really like at football's coalface.

Approaching his middle forties, Gavin Boyter wondered what his life was all about. A Scot living in London, single and with no kids, he was living for the job and the dwindling hope of a career in film. He had been a club runner all his life, pretty good but not at the front all that often. He was what he called an ordinary runner and he came to wonder just what an ordinary runner might be capable of. How about John O'Groats to Land's End, the longest linear run in Britain, and how about making a film of it? And how about writing a book? As usual, Gavin was neither the first nor the quickest but Downhill from Here is his real triumph, written in such an engaging and witty voice the reader accompanies him every step of the way.

This title is reprinted for 2011 - back due to popular demand. Mick Walker - leading authority on all forms of motorcycle sport - examines the long career of the quickest and most determined competitors of all time in this enthralling biography. In the late 1950's John Surtees was the dominant rider in top-level British and European motorcycle racing. A precocious talent, he began riding competitively on Vincents in the early 1950's, then REGs and NSUs and Nortons. He swiftly established himself as one of the quickest and most determined competitors. He confirmed his outstanding qualities as a rider when he won his first 500cc title for MV Agusta in 1956, and this triumph was followed by six more titles, three at 350cc and three at 500cc. From 1958 to 1960, he won by a huge margin. In this fully illustrated and in-depth new study, Mick Walker reassesses Surtees' remarkable record and explores the background to his achievement. He recalls Surtee's early introduction to the sport, his rapid development as a rider and his years of dominance. The technical side of Surtees' career - the bikes he rode and his considerable skills as a mechanic and engineer - is covered in detail. The book gives a fascinating insight into the intense motivation that often gave Surtees the edge over his rivals and laid the foundation for the success that followed. As a rider Surtees was not only exceptionally fast, safe and consistent, but he was also technically adept and innovative. His race preparation was meticulous and single-minded, and this professional attitude to the sport marked him out from his contemporaries.