A lively chronicle of how the 2020 Crimson Tide became Nick Saban's "ultimate team." Was Alabama's Crimson Tide in 2020 the greatest team of all time? The squad went 13-0 in a pandemic year, scored a combined 107 points against SEC powerhouses LSU and Florida, crushed Ohio State in a National Championship Game 52-24 in a contest that wasn't even that close, and followed it up with another top-rated signing class. Nick Saban called his boys the "ultimate team," but it wasn't just because they kicked the ever-living hell out of everyone on the football field. It was because the team leveraged a power and influence born of Southern pride to push back against a hateful legacy of racism that a populist president was exploiting to divide the nation. At a time when Americans needed real leaders in the face of so much hate, the sports world answered the call and fought back for the soul of the country. In the summer of 2020, the Tide players left their training facility and, led by their celebrated coach, marched to a campus doorway made infamous sixty years earlier by another political demagogue and showed what people can accomplish when they fight together for a just cause in the name of unity. The most powerful force in a state crazy for college football had chosen to make a stand and replace George Wallace's "Segregation forever!" with a different message, written by one of the players: "All lives can't matter until Black lives matter." ? There have been some great football teams through the years, and they all deserve respect. But here's what we know for sure: They all would have been appreciative of what this Alabama team represented, and proud of what it accomplished. The Crimson Tide in 2020 captured something special that moved it beyond the conversation of best ever, and into the place reserved for most important of all time.

Tom Finney personifies a vanished golden era of football, playing his entire career under the maximum wage and never wavering in his loyalty to Preston North End. A true gentleman of the game, who is still justifiably idolised more than 40 years since he retired from football, Finney recalls the highs and lows of his marvellous career with a warmth and affection that will appeal to all who read his story. But Finney's life has been about much more than football, and he writes movingly about his current role as full-time carer to his beloved wife, Elsie.

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.

*** 'Essential reading for anyone wanting to achieve their dreams. Liv is an inspiration.' - Grant Cardone, New York Times bestselling author 'Liv's extraordinary ability and passion is admirable. A winning read.' - Gary Lineker In The Way To Win, Freestyle Football World Champion and TikTok sensation Liv Cooke opens up about her journey to becoming the best freestyler in the world. Drawing from experience Liv shares an easy-to-follow 10-step guide to achieving your dream - from correctly setting out your goals and forming good habits to handling nerves and maintaining success. With a positive attitude and holistic approach to productivity, Liv explores how you can find inspiration in your life... and of course, provides an insight into how she achieved incredible success at such a young age. The Way To Win is the ultimate guide to reaching the top of any industry and becoming your best self.

'Immaculate footballer. Imperial defender. Immortal hero of 1966. Master of Wembley. Captain extraordinary. Gentleman of all time.' These are some of the words inscribed beneath the statue of England's World Cup-winning captain, Bobby Moore, at Wembley stadium. Since Moore's death, of bowel cancer at just 51, these accolades represent the accepted view of this national treasure. But what do we actually know about Bobby Moore as a person? What about the grit alongside the glory? Moore was undeniably an extraordinary captain and player. Pele called him the greatest - and fairest - defender he ever played against. His feats for West Ham United and England are legendary and his technical mastery of the game ahead of its time. Few footballers since have come close to his winning combination of intelligence, skill, temperament and class. Yet off the pitch, Moore knew scandal, bankruptcy, divorce and drink. What about the string of failed businesses, whispers of bad behaviour, links to the East End underworld and turbulent private life? Ignored by the football world post-retirement, this great of the game drifted into obscurity and, famously, there was no knighthood. Acclaimed football writer Matt Dickinson traces the journey of this Essex boy who became the patron saint of English football, peeling away the layers of legend and looking at Moore's life from all sides - in triumph, in failure, in full.

Be inspired by Football Legend, Kylian Mbappe! Discover more about this incredible player's journey from his early career at AS Bondy, coached by his father, to his success at Paris Saint-Germain FC and fulfilling his dream of playing for France. Football Legends: Young readers will love finding out all about the lives of their favourite players in this incredible biography series. Packed with footie facts and match stats plus Mbappe's career highlights Also in the series: Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, Tammy Abraham, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Lionel Messi. Amazing cover artwork illustrated by Stanley Chow, whose iconic work has found worldwide acclaim

Sports Book Awards Autobiography of the Year Shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award The Sunday Times Sports Book of the Year The Times Sports Book of the Year Telegraph Football Book of the Year 'Ferris's wonderful memoir represents a twin triumph. He has endured every kind of setback in life but has invariably reinvented himself; and his writing is a pure pleasure.' The Sunday Times 'Enough depth and humanity to make your average football autobiography look like a Ladybird book.' Telegraph 'A masterpiece of the genre' Brian McNally 'Football memoirs rarely produce great literature but Ferris's The Boy on the Shed is a glistening exception.' Guardian 'Fascinating and stylishly told.' David Walsh, The Sunday Times The Boy on the Shed is a story of love and fate. At 16, Paul Ferris becomes Newcastle United's youngest-ever first-teamer. Like many a tricky winger from Northern Ireland, he is hailed as 'the new George Best'. As a player and later a physio and member of the Magpies' managerial team, Paul's career acquaints him not only with Kevin Keegan, Kenny Dalglish and Bobby Robson, Ruud Gullit, Paul Gascoigne and Alan Shearer but also with injury, insecurity and disappointment. Yet this autobiography is more than a tale of the vagaries of sporting fortune. It begins during 'The Troubles' in a working-class Catholic family in the Protestant town of Lisburn, near Belfast. After a childhood scarred by his mother's illness and sectarian hatred, Paul meets the love of his life, his future wife Geraldine. Talented and carefree on the pitch, shy and anxious off it, he earns a tilt at stardom. His first spell at Newcastle turns sour, as does his return as a physio, although obtaining a Masters degree shows him what he could achieve away from football. When Paul qualifies as a barrister, a career in Law beckons. Instead, a craving to prove himself in the game draws him back to St James' Park as part of Shearer's management triumvirate - with unfortunate consequences. Written with brutal candour, dark humour and consummate style, The Boy on the Shed is a riveting and moving account of a life less ordinary.

In this revelatory and moving memoir, a former NASA astronaut and NFL wide receiver shares his personal journey from the gridiron to the stars, examining the intersecting roles of community, perseverance and grace that align to create the opportunities for success.Leland Melvin is the only person in human history to catch a pass in the National Football League and in space. Though his path to the heavens was riddled with setbacks and injury, Leland persevered to reach the stars. While training with NASA, Melvin suffered a severe injury that left him deaf. Leland was relegated to earthbound assignments, but chose to remain and support his astronaut family. His loyalty paid off. Recovering partial hearing, he earned his eligibility for space travel. He served as mission specialist for two flights aboard the shuttle Atlantis, working on the International Space Station.In this uplifting memoir, the former NASA astronaut and professional athlete offers an examination of the intersecting role of community, determination, and grace that align to shape our opportunities and outcomes. Chasing Space is not the story of one man, but the story of many men, women, scientists, and mentors who helped him defy the odds and live out an uncommon destiny.As a chemist, athlete, engineer and space traveler, Leland's life story is a study in the science of achievement. His personal insights illuminate how grit and grace, are the keys to overcoming adversity and rising to success.

And Bring the Darkness Home is a haunting exploration of how the mental scars of war destroyed an international cricket career, tore a family apart and left destitute a man who seemed to have it all. Tony Dell was the only Test cricketer to fight in the Vietnam War. His journey to the summit of the game, playing for Australia against England in the Ashes, was as unlikely and meteoric as any in cricket history. His descent was painful and harrowing. It was in his mid-60s, living in his mother's garage, that he learned the truth about what had led him on a path of self-destruction. A diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder allowed him to piece together the ruins of his life and also to search for answers, for himself and the thousands of other sufferers. The restlessness and urgency that once drove him to the top of the game was turned on authorities who refused to learn the lessons from history. PTSD robbed Tony Dell of memories of his playing career and left a palpable sense of loss. It also gave him a life-changing mission.

He arrived to rally the troops, the main man in the Inter City Firm and his greeting passed into football fan history. "Afternoon, gentlemen, the name's Bill Gardner." That introduction alone was often enough to provoke sheer terror in his opponents. He is a genuine legend to anyone who's ever stood proud on a football terrace. No serious book on the culture would be complete without at least one mention of him. And now at last, he's telling his own, long-awaited story. For the first time, Gardner himself reveals what made him the top man, including his innermost thoughts and his memories of the classic years for football fans. And many familiar faces have queued up to add their comments in this book which shows just what it is that makes Bill Gardner unique among the toughest and the greatest of them all.

'A great book' - Henry Winter 'A lovely read, the kind in which you constantly annoy people by reading the funny bits out loud' - Irish Post One of Four Four Two magazine's '50 Football Books You Must Read' First published 25 years ago, The Mavericks was one of a new breed of literary football books. Artfully combining sports journalism with social history and sharp pop culture references, this updated edition explores 1970s football when a cult group of footballers delivered flair on the pitch and flamboyance off it. Cocky, coiffured strikers meet David Bowie and Alvin Stardust; Gola boots exchange kicks with A Clockwork Orange and The Likely Lads; Admiral sock tags, platform heels and kipper ties mingle with cod wars, Harrods bombings and three-day weeks. In this, Steen recreates the early Seventies, the era when football joined the vanguard of English youth culture. This personal account revolves around seven Englishmen who followed in the trail blazed by football's first tabloid star, George Best - Stan Bowles, Tony Currie, Charlie George, Alan Hudson, Rodney Marsh, Peter Osgood and Frank Worthington. Proud individuals amid an increasingly corporate environment, their invention and artistry were matched only by a disdain for authority and convention. Their belief in football as performance art, as showbiz, gave the game a boost, and elevated them to cult status. During their heyday, nevertheless, they were largely ignored by a succession of England managers, none of whom were able to assemble a side competent enough to qualify for the World Cup finals. Against a backdrop of increasing violence on the field and terraces alike, of battles between players and the Establishment, this book - now featuring a new Foreword, Postscript and photos - examines an anomaly at the heart of English culture, one that symbolised the death of post-Sixties optimism, the end of innocence. 'In an era of PR-bleaching and PC-niceties, The Mavericks is an oasis of flair, hair and devil-may-care attitude. Yet beneath Rob Steen also highlights with real poignancy the sometimes grim and earthy reality behind the curtain. This brilliant book remains essential reading for anyone who likes social history with a nice backheel.' - Rick Broadbent

The two-time bestselling author, wrestler and metal rocker returns with another insightful and hilarious memoir. Inspired by Anton Chigurh, Javier Bardem's character in No Country for Old Men, Chris Jericho decided to put down his guitar, ease off on the red-carpet appearances in Hollywood and return to ring. What followed were the best three years of his wrestling career. A trilogy that began with A LION'S TALE and was followed by the bestselling UNDISPUTED now concludes with a behind-the-scenes account of Jericho becoming WON WRESTLER OF THE YEAR for two consecutive years in 2008 and 2009. The book also features the final word on Jericho's feuds with Shawn Michaels and Rey Mysterio, his run-in with Mickey Rourke, life hanging out with the likes of Ozzy Osbourne, Mike Tyson and Lars Ulrich, and the resurrection of his band Fozzy, which saw them play to huge audiences in the UK and Europe and support Metallica.

Unlike most professional football players, Alex Morgan did not start playing club football until she was 14. But her talent was so obvious that only three years later she was called up to the U.S. women's under-20 team. That was just the beginning of a history-making career that led her, most recently, to a second World Cup title as co-captain of the U.S. women's team. This new edition of Alex Morgan - revised and updated from cover to cover - follows every step of her journey, not only as a football player but also as a best-selling author, an actor, and so much more! Also available in the World Soccer Legends series: Megan Rapinoe ISBN 9780789213655

When Stuart Pearce arrived at Nottingham Forest as a 23-year-old, he advertised his business as an electrician in the club programme. This down-to-earth attitude, in an era of superstar prima donnas, and his total commitment on the pitch, immediately earned him the affection of the club's fans, who nicknamed him Psycho. He became almost as influential character at the club as the man who brought him there, Brian Clough. This book reveals the story of one of football's greatest personalities.

A moving and lyrical memoir about life, love and loss, from a true giant of Gaelic games. In a frenetic seven-year spell at the outset of his senior managerial career, Mickey Harte led Tyrone to four Ulster Championships and three All-Irelands. It was a run that shifted football's balance of power, changed the way the game would be played for over a generation, and cemented his reputation as one of the most transformative figures in GAA history. Then, in January 2011, the visitation of a shocking tragedy changed everything: Mickey's daughter Michaela was murdered while on honeymoon in Mauritius, and the Harte family, grief-stricken, awoke to find themselves at the centre of an international news story. Devotion, the product of a collaboration between Mickey and author Brendan Coffey, is many things. The story of a family's decade-long struggle to come to terms with an almost unimaginable loss. A meditation on the ways in which faith, community, and sport can sustain us in our most difficult moments. And, finally, a portrait of one of Irish sport's true icons, as he brings one legendary era to a close and steels himself for a final assault on the history books

Mesut Ozil is a midfield magician, casting an elegant spell over opponents and conjuring passes through gaps lesser mortals can't even see. After an eventful sojourn among the Galacticos of Real Madrid he has savoured silverware at Arsenal, while in 2014 he lifted the World Cup with Germany. But his life and career have been a test of resilience. Growing up in Germany's Turkish community, he faced prejudice from those who claimed his dual identity would prevent him giving his all for the national team. Later came questions over a different type of commitment, the kind levelled against those, like Mesut Ozil, who excel in football's finer arts rather than relying simply on running and ruggedness. He has proved concerns on both these issues lack substance. In Gunning for Greatness, Mesut Ozil reveals the inside stories of his relationships with Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger, his quest to help the under-fire Frenchman restore Arsenal's pre-eminence - and how he silenced the sceptics by conquering the world.

Among the great lightweights of the 1940s and 1950s, Boxing Hall of Famer Sidney "Beau Jack" Walker (1921-2000) was virtually orphaned by his parents and eked out a living as a shoeshine boy. He honed his craft fighting battles royale for wealthy white members of the prestigious Augusta National Golf Club, eventually receiving financing for his career from club founders. He went on to win two lightweight titles and set numerous records. He was the draw for the highest admission paid for a ringside seat-$100,000-and was named "Fighter of the Year" in 1944. Like most black pugilists of his day he struggled against discrimination in the sport. Despite this, he sustained an impressive 18-year professional career-117 fights, 83 wins, 40 by KO. Walker retired from the ring penniless and went back to shining shoes, the money set aside for him by his handlers mysteriously depleted.

Total Competition is the most compelling, comprehensive and revealing insight into what it takes to get to the top in Formula One that has ever been published. Across four decades, Ross Brawn was one of the most innovative and successful technical directors and then team principals in Formula One. Leading Benetton, Ferrari, Honda, Brawn and Mercedes, he worked with drivers such as Michael Schumacher, Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton to make them world champions. In 2017, he was appointed F1's managing director, motor sports, by the sport's new owners Liberty Media. Now, in this fascinating book written with Adam Parr (who was CEO and then chairman of Williams for five years), he looks back over his career and methods to assess how he did it, and where occasionally he got things wrong. Total Competition is a definitive portrait of modern motorsport. In the book, Brawn and Parr explore the unique pressures of Formula One, their battles with Bernie Ecclestone, and the cut-throat world they inhabited, where coming second is never good enough. This book will appeal not only to the millions of Formula One fans who want to understand how Brawn operates, it will also provide many lessons in how to achieve your own business goals. 'A must-have insight into the awe-inspiring career of a true motor racing great' Daily Express

Confluence tells the uplifting non-fiction story of the Duzi canoe marathon partnership of Piers Cruickshanks, a seasoned paddler who had won multiple gold medals in the Duzi, with Siseko Ntondini, a paddler who had come up through the ranks of the Soweto Canoe Club, whose dream was to win a gold medal in the Duzi.

The two men agree to paddle together and start training towards their gold-medal goal, but in order to get to even the start line, they need to overcome cultural and physical challenges to create a winning combination.

Timed to be released at the same time as Beyond The River, a movie based loosely on their story, this is a book that will have wide-ranging, feel-good appeal.

My family doesn't do happy endings. We do sad endings or frustrating endings or no endings at all. We are hardwired to expect the next interruption or disappearance or broken promise. Hope Solo is the face of the modern female athlete. She is fearless, outspoken, and the best in the world at what she does: protecting the goal of the U.S. women's soccer team. Her outsized talent has led her to the pinnacle of her sport - the Olympics and the World Cup - and made her into an international celebrity who is just as likely to appear on ABC's Dancing with the Stars as she is on the covers of Sports Illustrated, ESPN The Magazine, and Vogue. But her journey - which began in Richland, Washington, where she was raised by her strong-willed mother on the scorched earth of defunct nuclear testing sites - is similarly haunted by the fallout of her family history. Her father, a philanderer and con man, was convicted of embezzlement when Solo was an infant. She lost touch with him as he drifted out of prison and into homelessness. By the time they reunited, years later, in the parking lot of a grocery store, she was an All-American goalkeeper at the University of Washington and already a budding prospect for the U.S. national team. He was living in the woods. Despite harboring serious doubts even about the provenance of her father's last name (and her own), Solo embraces him as fiercely as she pursues her dreams of being a world-class soccer player. When those dreams are threatened by her standing within the national team, as when she was famously benched in the semifinals of the 2007 World Cup after four shutouts and spoke her piece publicly, we see a woman of uncompromising independence and hard-won perseverance navigate the petty backlash against her. For the first time, she tells her version of that controversial episode, and offers with it a full understanding of her hard-scrabble life. Moving, sometimes shocking, Solo is a portrait of an athlete finding redemption. This is the Hope Solo whom few have ever glimpsed.

Stella Walsh, who was born in Poland but raised in the United States, competed for Poland at the 1932 and 1936 Olympics, winning gold and silver in the 100 meters. Running and jumping competitively for three decades, Walsh also won more than 40 U.S. national championships and set dozens of world records. In 1975, she was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame, yet Stella Walsh's impressive accomplishments have been almost entirely ignored. In The Forgotten Legacy of Stella Walsh: The Greatest Female Athlete of Her Time, Sheldon Anderson tells the story of her remarkable life. A pioneer in women's sports, Walsh was one of the first globetrotting athletes, running in meets all over North America, Europe, and Asia. While her accomplishments are undeniable, Walsh's legacy was called into question after her murder in 1980. Walsh's autopsy revealed she had ambiguous genitalia, which prompted many to demand that her awards be rescinded. In addition to telling her fascinating story, The Forgotten Legacy of Stella Walsh provides a close look at the early days of women's track and field. This book also examines the complicated and controversial question of sex and gender identity in athletics-an issue very much in the news today. Featuring numerous photographs that help bring to life Walsh's story and the times in which she lived, this biography will interest and inform historians of sport and women's studies, as well as anyone who wants to learn more about a Polish immigrant who was once the fastest woman alive.

The first authorised biography of one of Britain's best-loved sportsmen. Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss raced professionally over 500 times until his near fatal crash in 1962. At the end of his racing career, he was the most famous Briton - no footballer, jockey, boxer or pop star has approached the national adulation Moss received. In this book Robert Edwards recounts the life of this extraordinary man, whose tally of wins was proportionately higher than that of any other driver, ever, by a wide margin. During his colourful racing career, Stirling Moss was incredibly gifted and competitive, and he has talked in detail to Robert Edwards about his eventful life, from the bullying at school which helped forge his competitive spirit to the crash that almost ended his life.

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.

LONGLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD SHORTLISTED FOR THE CROSS SPORTS BOOK AWARDS BIOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR The definitive biography of one of the greatest, most extraordinary runners and Olympic heroes of all time, from the author of running classic Feet in the Clouds. Emil Zatopek won five Olympic medals, set 18 world records, and went undefeated over 10,000 metres for six years. He redefined the boundaries of endurance, training in Army boots, in snow, in sand, in darkness. But his toughness was matched by a spirit of friendship and a joie de vivre that transcended the darkest days of the Cold War. His triumphs put his country on the map, yet when Soviet tanks moved in to crush Czechoslovakia's new freedoms in 1968, Zatopek paid a heavy personal price for his brave defence of 'socialism with a human face'. Rehabilitated two decades later, he was a shadow of the man he had been - and the world had all but forgotten him. Today We Die A Little strips away the myths to tell the complex and deeply moving story of the most inspiring Olympic hero of them all.

Ben Stokes is not cast in the same mould as the vast majority of English cricketers. Fiery, combative, gladiatorial - he plays the game hard and with great gusto. He is an all-rounder who bats, bowls and fields at full throttle. Some opponents feel threatened by his physical stature and aggressive brand of cricket. Stokes simply doesn't back down, smashing the next ball for six, bowling his 90 mph "chin music", or taking a breathtakingly full-stretch catch at backward point. Whether it's thrashing the fastest ever Test century at Lord's or the quickest ever Test double-hundred by an Englishman (against South Africa at Cape Town, in January) or destroying the Australian batting at Trent Bridge, Stokes plays the game he loves with his heart on his sleeve and with 100% effort and commitment. Cricket fans adore him for it. His very first book focuses on the pivotal moments in his life and career so far. These episodes are vibrant, emotional, poignant - revealing the man in three dimensions, red in tooth and claw. From being forged as a young boy in New Zealand, to moving to Cumbria at the age of 11, to playing county cricket for Durham and then onto the England team, this book provides a riveting insight into one of the most exhilarating figures in sport today.