Only Mikhail Gorbachev's glasnost policy could bring you this inside look at the Soviet Union's athletic superstars -- co-authored by Yuri Khromov, dean of sportswriters of TASS, and Dr Russ Ramsey, a U.S. professor of military affairs and sports his-torian. This book contains never-before-released infor-mation on how the USSR finds its superstars ...where they do their military service ...and what happens when they lose. Yuri Khromov and Russ Ramsey are an improba-ble pair of co-authors a high TASS official and a West Point graduate and their book has alrea-dy been applauded in the official magazines of the Olympic sports.

On 17 July 1993, Graeme Obree stunned the international world when he emerged from obscurity to smash Francesco Moser's World Hour Record. The Flying Scotsman is Graeme Obree's searing autobiography, from his tough upbringing in Ayrshire where he found escape on the roads, to his head-to-head duals with Chris Boardman and becoming a major star on the European circuit. Obree created massive controversy in the professional cycling world with his unique riding style and his pioneering construction techniques - famously using washing-machine parts to complete the building of his 'Old Faithful'. Yet all his sporting success was achieved in the shadow of manic depression and suicidal despair. His life continues to have its ups and downs as Obree brings his amazing life story up to date as he continues to astound the world with his creative genius and sporting prowess.

It is the world's most iconic road race. It is twenty-six-point-two miles of iconic landmarks, cheers, tears, sweat, pain, courage, determination and inspiration. It is triumph over adversity on a colossal scale. It is the London Marathon - and it's an event unlike any other. Running The Smoke tells the story of what it's like to take part in this race in the most enlightening and enriching way possible: from the perspectives of twenty-six different people who have participated in it since its inception in 1981. Candid and inspiring if you are preparing for your first marathon or your 100th, Running The Smoke will give you the encouragement, insight and belief you need to cross that line.

The image of the Derby winner with his leg in plaster was broadcast around the world. Alongside Mill Reef stood a baby-faced man who had won the Arc, the King George, the Eclipse, and now the Derby. He trained for the Queen and Queen Mother, and Lester Piggott, Willie Carson and Frankie Dettori all rode for him, but where had he come from and how had he got there? Ian Balding's story is one of heartbreaking loss and outrageous good luck. He left Cambridge without a degree but with a rugby blue, and became one of the outstanding amateur sportsmen of his generation. Balding's burgeoning talent was quickly noticed and he was soon running Peter Hastings-Bass' stables at Kingsclere. Ian had no money and no experience of running a business, but he learnt fast. In Making the Running, Ian Balding reveals the pressure of maintaining the pace and shares the highs and lows of the sport of kings.

"...Tobin astutely looks at the varying possibilities that would have led to Gatti's death. Such an approach intelligently and respectfully piques interest in a real-life mystery that has left Gatti's fans and family in need of both solace and satisfactory answers."-Kirkus Reviews "[Tobin is] an intelligent writer and a thoughtful person, tender even, who writes with authority...I know he's invited me to a place I'd not have accessed without him."-Bart Barry, 15rounds.com "Tobin's purpose is welcomely, deliberately, indefinite. Instead of a Shakespearean tragedy, or yet another bloody chapter of boxing's wider legacy...Tobin's document becomes a meditation on the human condition..."-Jack Porter, The Sportsman Arturo "Thunder" Gatti hung up his gloves in 2007, closing the book on a boxing career that bordered on the mythical. At long last, he seemed ready to leave the business of blood behind for a long, happy life outside the ring. His retirement was celebrated-boxing's modern gladiator had earned his freedom. Two years later, he was gone-found dead in a hotel in Brazil under mysterious circumstances. He was only thirty-seven years old. Did he commit suicide? Or was he killed by his new wife? In Killed in Brazil?, Jimmy Tobin recounts the dramatic events surrounding Gatti's tragic demise and shines a light on what may have happened on that fateful night. Killed in Brazil is the fourth in the Hamilcar Noir series. Hamilcar Noir is "Hard-Hitting True Crime" that blends boxing and true crime, featuring riveting stories captured in high-quality prose, with cover art inspired by classic pulp novels.

Growing up in a tiny shack in the Dominican Republic, Felipe Alou never dreamed he would be the first man born and raised in his country to play and manage in Major League Baseball-and also the first to play in the World Series. In this extraordinary autobiography, Alou tells of his real dream to become a doctor, and an improbable turn of events that led to the pro contract. Battling racism in the United States and political turmoil in his home country, Alou persevered, paving the way for his brothers and scores of other Dominicans, including his son Moises. Alou played seventeen years in the Major Leagues, accumulating more than two thousand hits and two hundred home runs, and then managed for another fourteen years-four with the San Francisco Giants and ten with the Montreal Expos, where he became the winningest manager in franchise history. Alou's pioneering journey is embedded in the history of baseball, the Dominican Republic, and a remarkable family. Purchase the audio edition.

The Legendary Life of Ken Stabler

Forever remembered as one of the most dramatic story lines in the history of golf, Payne Stewart's legendary career was bookended by a dramatic comeback and a shocking, tragic end. In The Last Stand of Payne Stewart, acclaimed sports writer Kevin Robbins brings Stewart's story vividly to life. Written off as a pompous showman past the prime of his career, Stewart emerged from a long slump in the unforgettable season of 1999 to capture the U.S. Open and play on the victorious U.S. Ryder Cup team in Brookline, Massachusetts. He appeared to be a new man that summer: wiser, deeper and on the verge of a new level of greatness. But his journey to redemption ended in October, when his chartered Learjet flew aimlessly for more than a thousand miles, ran out of fuel and fell to earth in a prairie in South Dakota. His death marked the end of an era, one made up of "shotmakers" who played the game with artistry, guile, finesse and heart. Behind them were Tiger Woods, David Duval, Phil Mickelson and other young players whose power and strength changed the PGA Tour forever. With his peerless narrative gifts, rare human empathy and exclusive access to Stewart's friends, family, and onetime colleagues, Kevin Robbins provides a long-overdue portrait of one of golf's greats in one of golf's greatest seasons.

'Paul Chaloner is a living legend in the esports space.' - Jason Lake, founder and CEO of the esports team Complexity Gaming 'Terrific stories and insights from the inside.' - T.L. Taylor, professor of Comparative Media Studies From slapping coins down on arcade cabinets to the lights of Madison Square Garden, competitive video gaming has come a long way. Today, esports is a billion-dollar industry, the best players becoming stars in their own right, battling for eight-figure prizes in front of a global audience of tens of millions. From Call of Duty to Counter-Strike, FIFA to Fortnite, a generation of players have turned multiplayer video games from a pastime into a profession. But there are questions. How did we get here? What exactly is competitive gaming - is it a sport? How much money do the top stars make? Do you really have to retire at 23? And just what the hell is Dota? This is esports (and How to Spell it) addresses all of this and more, as award-winning broadcaster Paul 'Redeye' Chaloner takes you inside the unstoppable rise of pro gaming to reveal the bitter rivalries, scandals and untold history of esports, from origins to sold-out arenas. With his trademark wit - and unrivalled access - Paul delivers the definitive book on the fastest-growing entertainment phenomenon in the world today.

Longlisted for Football Book of the Year at the Sports Book Awards It is a special footballer who wins the World Cup as a 21-year-old and ends a two-decade career as one of the most revered players in the history of four clubs. Former England captain Alan Ball was such a man: prodigy at Blackpool, youngest hero of 1966, Championship winner at Everton, British-record signing for the second time at Arsenal and veteran schemer for Southampton - not to mention footwear trend-setter. And all after being told he was too small to succeed in the game. Yet his years as a flat-cap wearing manager consisted mostly of relegation and promotion battles, some successful and some not, and plenty of frustration as he fought to produce winners in his own image and emulate the feats of his playing days. His life already touched tragically by the car crash that killed his father and the loss of his beloved wife Lesley to cancer, Ball died, aged only 61, after suffering a heart attack during a garden blaze. A decade on from his death, and drawing on interviews with family, friends and colleagues including Jimmy Armfield, Sir Geoff Hurst, George Cohen, Gordon Banks, Joe Royle, Mick Channon, Lawrie McMenemy, Francis Lee, George Graham, Frank McLintock, Matthew Le Tissier and many more, Alan Ball: The Man in White Boots is the definitive study of one of English football's most enduring figures.

"A treasure trove of anecdotes and reflections that will give joy both to racegoers and future historians of the sport". The Spectator Join the Scudamores as one of the most successful families in British sport settles down for a good, long chat about triumph and disaster at the races. Listen in as three generations of high-flying jump jockeys engage in a full and frank discussion about the great horses they rode, the brave men and women they rode against, the shocking injuries they suffered and why such a dangerous job was the only one they ever wanted. Strikingly different in character and in riding style, the Scudamore jockeys are alike in their ability to spin a good yarn and to shed light on the game that has so gripped them.

In June 1986 Diego Maradona, considered by many to be the greatest footballer of all time, proudly hoisted the '86 Mexico World Championship Cup in his hands. Now over thirty years on from that magical game, and after a life in sports marked by controversy, Maradona tells, for the first time, the untold stories behind that one-of-a-kind World Cup. Mexico '86 was the pinnacle of Maradona's career, and in this book he reveals all about every game, what happened afterwards in the locker room, the months leading up to the World Cup, when the team had to go to Mexico City a month early to avoid the overthrowing of the technical director by the Argentine president, Alfonsin, the mystery behind 'El Gran Capitan' Passarella ('78 World Cup Champion), the strategies and tactics that revolutionised the game, training in a country that was recovering from an earthquake, the public's hostility, the jerseys they went out to buy in Mexico City, the meeting in Colombia where the team really came together, his relationship to drugs: the clean World Cup, and the best goal in football history. Mexico '86 is Maradona's World Cup and Maradona is who he is because of that World Cup. Explosive, gritty and unapologetic, Touched by God tells the inside story of one of the greatest football victories of all time.

This is the story of when Grand Prix was out of control. Mechanical failure, lethal track design, fire and incompetence snuffed out dozens of eager young drivers, who had become almost expendable. It was the '60s and early '70s and this waste of life was often televised for millions to see. With boycotts of the prestigious Belgian and German Grand Prix, drivers fought to get their voices heard but it would be a long and painful time before conditions changed. Featuring many famous drivers, including three World Champions - Emerson Fittipaldi, Sir Jackie Stewart and John Surtees OBE - John L Matthews goes to the heart of these deadly years in the Grand Prix and tells the story in the words of the men who were there.

From legendary wrestling announcer Jim Ross comes a candid, colorful memoir about the inner workings of the WWE and the personal crises he weathered at the height of his career. If you've caught a televised wrestling match anytime in the past THIRTY years, you've probably heard Jim Ross's throaty Oklahoma twang. The beloved longtime announcer of WWE is already an icon to generations of wrestling fans, and he's not slowing down, having just signed on as the announcer of the starry new wrestling venture All Elite Wrestling. In this follow-up to his bestselling memoir Slobberknocker, he dishes about not only his long career, which includes nurturing global stars like Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, and John Cena, but also about the challenges of aging and disability, his split from collaborator Vince McMahon, and the sudden death of his beloved wife, Jan. The result is a gruff, endearing, and remarkably human-scale portrait, set against the larger-than-life backdrop of professional wrestling. Ross's ascent in WWE mirrors the rise of professional wrestling itself from a DIY sideshow to a billion-dollar business. Under the Black Hat traces all the highs and lows of that wild ride, in which Jim served not only as on-air commentator, but talent manager, payroll master, and even occasional in-ring foil to threats like Paul "Triple H" Levesque and Undertaker. While his role brought him riches and exposure Jim never dreamed of growing up in a small town in Oklahoma, he chafed against the strictures of a fickle corporate culture and what he saw as a narrow vision of what makes great wrestlers-and great story lines. When suddenly stricken with Bell's palsy, a form of facial paralysis that makes it impossible to smile, he stared down his greatest fear-being cast out of the announcing booth for good. Picking up where Slobberknocker left off and ending on the cusp of a new career in a reimagined industry, Under the Black Hat is the triumphant tale of a country boy who made it to the top, took a few knocks, and stuck around-just where his fans like him.

Read by John McEnroe and Patty Smyth He is one of the most controversial sportsmen in history and a legend of Open Era tennis. But after reaching the top of his game - what came next? A decade after his international number-one bestseller SERIOUS, John McEnroe is back and ready to talk. Now the undisputed elder statesman of tennis, McEnroe has won over his critics as a matchless commentator and analyst at Wimbledon and other Grand Slam tournaments - with outspoken views on the modern game and its top players. He has continued to compete on the court, winning the ATP Champions Tour a record six times, and has travelled the globe to play in charity events. More surprising have been the calls from TV producers, inviting John to riff on his famous hot temper in cult shows such as 30 ROCK and CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM. And then there is his long-standing passion for American contemporary art. In BUT SERIOUSLY John McEnroe confronts his demons and reveals his struggle to reinvent himself from ex-champion to father, broadcaster and author. The result is a richly personal account, blending anecdote and reflection in an inspirational re-evaluation of what it means to be - and stay - successful. MP3 ON CD - THIS MP3-CD CANNOT BE PLAYED ON ALL DISC PLAYERS. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ACCESS TO AN MP3 COMPATIBLE DEVICE.

A richly illustrated book on the career, on and off the track, of sprinting superstar Usain Bolt, from schoolboy prodigy to World and triple Olympic Champion and world record holder for 100 and 200 metres. Endorsed by the sports star's management, this exciting new biography features an exclusive farewell message penned by Bolt himself. It also contains archival photos not previously published, extensive quotes from Bolt, coaches and competitors, and 'Did You Know?' sections with little known facts about Bolt. A must-have for every fan.

Stuart Barnes has spent over forty years of his life immersed in rugby union, remembered as one of the most controversial playing names during the dying days of the English amateur era and now regarded as a controversial observers in the media - on both television and in print - with over two decades of broadcasting and journalistic experience to draw upon. Sketches from Memory combines autobiography with an objective and off-beat study of the sport from the author's childhood in the 1970s, through the revolution of the transition to professionalism in the 1980s and 1990s, right up until the present day. Eschewing the more traditional form of the sports book, Barnes abandons chronology to allow past and present to mingle, presenting his memoirs as an alphabetical soup with the letters of the alphabet and not the numbers, dates and years of his life leading the narrative. It is a refreshing, beguiling and absorbing approach that allows the dedicated reader to complete the book in sequence, or the bed-side reader to flick from one letter to the next without losing the thread. Honest, insightful, funny and wise, Sketches from Memory is a fascinating study of the game of rugby union, exploring its myriad enchantments, controversies and world-famous characters like no other book has done before.

'I knew nothing about football before knowing Cruyff.' Pep Guardiola Johan Cruyff is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in football history. Throughout his playing career, he was synonymous with Total Football, a style of play in which every player could play in any position on the pitch. Today, his philosophy lives on in teams across Europe, from Barcelona to Bayern Munich and players from Lionel Messi to Cesc Fabrecas. My Turn tells the story of Cruyff's life starting at Ajax, where he won eight national titles and three European Cups before moving to Barcelona where he won La Liga in his first season, in 1973, and was named European Footballer of the Year. He won the Ballon d'Or three times, and led the Dutch national team to the final of the 1974 World Cup, famously losing to West Germany, and receiving the Golden Ball as the player of the tournament. Off the field his life was more turbulent, surviving a kidnapping attempt and bankruptcy. This honest and unflinching autobiography also explores his life after retirement, when he became a hugely successful manager of Ajax and then Barcelona when he won the Champions league with a young Pep Guardiola in his team. My Turn is the inspirational account of a legendary football hero, voted European Player of the Century, in his own words. In March 2016 Cruyff died after a short battle with lung cancer bringing world football to a standstill in an outpouring of emotions. A brilliant teacher and analyst of the game he love, My Turn is Johan Cruyff's legacy.

On April 23, 1929, the second annual Transcontinental Foot Race across America, known as the Bunion Derby, was in its twenty-fifth day. Eddie "the Sheik" Gardner, an African American runner from Seattle, was leading the race across the Free Bridge over the Mississippi River. Along with the signature outfit that earned him his nickname-a white towel tied around his head, white shorts, and a white shirt-Gardner wore an American flag, a reminder to all who saw him run through the Jim Crow South that he was an American and the leader of the greatest footrace in the world. Kastner traces Gardner's remarkable journey from his birth in 1897 in Birmingham, Alabama, to his success in Seattle, Washington, as one of the top long-distance runners in the region, and finally to his participation in two transcontinental footraces where he risked his life, facing a barrage of harassment for having the audacity to compete with white runners. Kastner shows how Gardner's participation became a way to protest the endemic racism he faced, heralding the future of nonviolent efforts that would be instrumental to the civil rights movement. Shining a bright light on his extraordinary athletic accomplishments and his heroism on the dusty roads of America in the 1920s, Kastner gives Gardner and other black bunioneers the attention they so richly deserve.

**Winner of the 2018 Telegraph Sports Book Awards Sports Bestseller of the Year** 'Very funny on almost every page, wonderfully self-deprecating and very sharp on the ludicrous behaviour of the modern player' - Sunday Times 'The funniest man in British sport' - Metro Featured on BBC Radio 2 with Chris Evans You become a footballer because you love football. And then you are a footballer, and you're suddenly in the strangest, most baffling world of all. A world where one team-mate comes to training in a bright red suit with matching top-hat, cane and glasses, without any actual glass in them, and another has so many sports cars they forget they have left a Porsche at the train station. Even when their surname is incorporated in the registration plate. So walk with me into the dressing-room, to find out which players refuse to touch a football before a game, to discover why a load of millionaires never have any shower-gel, and to hear what Cristiano Ronaldo says when he looks at himself in the mirror. We will go into post-match interviews, make fools of ourselves on social media and try to ensure that we never again pay GBP250 for a haircut that should have cost a tenner. We'll be coached and cajoled by Harry Redknapp, upset Rafa Benitez and be soothed by the sound of an accordion played by Sven-Goran Eriksson's assistant Tord Grip. There will be some very bad music and some very bad decisions. I am Peter Crouch. This is How To Be A Footballer. Shall we? Can't get enough of Crouch? Tune into That Peter Crouch Podcast on Radio 5 Live

Respected across the world, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is credited with revolutionising one of the biggest clubs in Europe - famously bringing free-flowing football to 'boring, boring Arsenal' - and with influencing approaches to the modern game. In an industry of disposable contracts and ruthless sacking, his long tenure is testament to his success and dedication, and to the loyalty of players and fans. Wenger cooperated with leading sports journalist Xavier Rivoire to write this authorised and definitive biography, which includes exclusive interviews with Wenger, ex and current players, family, colleagues and observers, across Japan, France and England. The result is a highly readable portrait of an astute and incisive manager, a shrewd talent scout and man manager, as well as an intensely private and intriguing man.

WINNER OF THE FOOTBALL BOOK OF THE YEAR AT THE BRITISH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2016 WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR 'This football book is about something even more important than the "beautiful game"; it is a story of the human spirit.' - Mick Hume, The Times Adrian Doherty was not a typical footballer. For one thing, he was blessed with extraordinary talent. Those who played alongside and watched him in the Manchester United youth team in the early 1990s insist he was as good as Ryan Giggs - possibly even better. Giggs, who played on the opposite wing, says he is inclined to agree. Doherty was also an eccentric - by football standards, at least. When his colleagues went to Old Trafford to watch the first team on Saturday afternoons, he preferred to take the bus into Manchester to go busking. He wore second-hand clothes, worshipped Bob Dylan, read about theology and French existentialism and wrote songs and poems. One team-mate says "it was like having Bob Dylan in a No 7 shirt". On his 17th birthday, Doherty was offered a five-year contract - unprecedented for a United youngster at that time - and told by Alex Ferguson that he was destined for stardom. But what followed over the next decade is a tale so mysterious, so shocking, so unusual, so amusing but ultimately so tragic, that you are left wondering how on earth it has been untold for so long. The stories of Doherty's contemporaries, that group of Manchester United youngsters who became known as the "Class of '92", are well known. Giggs ended up as the most decorated player in United's history; David Beckham became the most recognisable footballer on the planet; Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and others are household names. The story you don't know is about the player who, having had the world at his feet, died the day before his 27th birthday following an accident in a canal in Holland.

Five-time Mr. Universe, seven-time Mr. Olympia, and Mr. World, Arnold Schwarzenegger is the name in bodybuilding.

Here is his classic bestselling autobiography, which explains how the "Austrian Oak" came to the sport of bodybuilding and aspired to be the star he has become.

"I still remember that first visit to the bodybuilding gym. I had never seen anyone lifting weights before. Those guys were huge and brutal....The weight lifters shone with sweat; they were powerful looking, Herculean. And there it was before me -- my life, the answer I'd been seeking. It clicked. It was something I suddenly just seemed to reach out and find, as if I'd been crossing a suspended bridge and finally stepped off onto solid ground."
Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold shares his fitness and training secrets -- demonstrating with a comprehensive step-by-step program and dietary hints how to use bodybuilding for better health. His program includes a special four-day regimen of specific exercises to develop individual muscle groups -- each exercise illustrated with photos of Arnold in action.

For fans and would-be bodybuilders, this is Arnold in his own words.