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Books > Language & Literature > Biography & autobiography > Sport
The story of Giannis Antetokounmpo's extraordinary rise from poverty in Athens, Greece, to superstardom in America with the Milwaukee Bucks-becoming one of the most transcendent players in history and an NBA Champion-from award-winning basketball reporter and feature writer at The Ringer Mirin Fader. As the face of the NBA's new world order, Giannis Antetokounmpo has overcome unfathomable obstacles to become a symbol of hope for people all over the world; the personification of the American Dream. But his backstory remains largely untold. Fader unearths new information about the childhood that shaped "The Greek Freak"-from sleeping side by side with his brothers to selling trinkets on the street with his family to the racism he experienced. Antetokounmpo grew up in an era when Golden Dawn, Greece's far-right, anti-immigrant party, patrolled his neighborhood, and his status as an illegal immigrant largely prevented him from playing for the country's top clubs, making his NBA rise all the more improbable. Fader tells a deeply human story of how an unknown, skinny, Black Greek teen, who played in the country's lowest pro division and was seen as a draft gamble, transformed his body and his game into MVP material. Antetokounmpo's story has been framed as a feel-good narrative in which everyone has embraced him-watching him grow up, sign a five-year supermax contract extension worth $228 million, and lead the underdog Bucks to the NBA Championship in 2021. Giannis reveals a more nuanced story: how lonely and isolated he felt, adjusting to America and the NBA early in his career; the complexity of grappling with his Black and Greek identities; how he is so hard on himself and his shortcomings-a drive that fuels him every day; and the responsibility he feels to be a nurturing role model for his younger brothers. Fader illustrates a more vulnerable star than most people know, a person who has evolved triumphantly into all of his roles: father, brother, son, teammate, and global icon.
Graham Jarvis has been at the peak of off-road motorcycling for the best part of twenty-five years and has won the fabled and ridiculously perilous Erzberg Rodeo a record-equalling five times. Since moving into the high-octane world of Hard Enduro in 2011, Graham has won its five major races - the Erzberg Rodeo, the Red Bull Sea to Sky, the Red Bull Romaniacs, the Tough One and Hell's Gate - no fewer than twenty-six times. It has made him one of motorsport's most successful riders. In CONQUERING THE IRON GIANT, Graham takes us from his early years in Canterbury, where he started out on an old BMX bike that his dad had rescued from the tip, to competing against up to 1,800 riders in races where dozens are often airlifted to hospital, and only three or four finish . . . with Graham usually at the head of the field.
The funniest and most entertaining sports book you'll read this year. 'fascinating, frank, funny' Jim White, Daily Telegraph 'insightful' Henry Winter, The Times 'engaging ... revealing ... a warm and often funny read' FourFourTwo 'very entertaining ... great stories' Hawksbee & Jacobs, talkSPORT radio 'an incredible book' The Football Show, Sky Sports News 'a kaleidoscope of anecdotes and detours packed with wisdom acquired on the hoof' The i newspaper 'Yeah, I'm all that plus a bag of chips' 'Come round my house and we'll have a fight on the front lawn' 'I'm as chuffed as a badger at the start of the mating season' 'I thought his bum cheeks looked very pert' Football management is like being a potato - you're never too far from the sack and everyone is constantly chipping away at you. It's not for the faint-hearted and unless you've got skin as thick as rhino and, more importantly, a wicked sense of humour, you've no chance of surviving. Ian Holloway - aka 'Ollie' - has all the above and more besides. His press conferences are the stuff of legend. He's been there, seen it and done it in his 40 years as player and manager, and has been entertaining football fans on and off the pitch for most of his life. He's been head honcho at clubs in all four divisions in English football, experiencing everything from the giddy heights of taking Blackpool to the Premier League to fighting relegation from the Football League with Grimsby Town. There's never been a dull moment. In the joyful How to Be a Football Manager, Holloway weaves a fantastically rich tapestry of hilarious anecdotes to reveal what being the boss is really like. This is not a handbook to tell you when to play a Christmas tree formation or throw on a false nine - it's about dealing with the ridiculous, fighting your corner and always having a comeback.
Benny Leonard was arguably the greatest lightweight champion of all time. With superb boxing skills and potent punching power, he fought over 200 times and suffered just five defeats. He spent his boyhood in a crime-ridden ghetto in Manhattan's Lower East Side, and was the greatest of a long line of Jewish boxers to emerge from the slums. Leonard was still only 19 when he knocked out Freddie Welsh to become world lightweight king in 1917. He defended the title eight times and retired as undefeated champion in 1925, to please the only woman he loved, his mother. But the 1929 Wall Street Crash wiped out his fortune and he was forced to make a comeback at 35. Leonard fought the best of his era: Johnny Dundee, Johnny Kilbane, Rocky Kansas, Jack Britton, Ted Kid Lewis and Lew Tendler among them. Apart from being a sublime boxer, Benny was a first-class showman who helped to put boxing on a higher plane. He died as he lived - in the ring - while refereeing a fight at age 51. This is the definitive account of his remarkable life and career.
A celebration of feminine beauty, athleticism, wisdom, and
skill--"Women Who Dare "profiles twenty of America's most inspiring
women climbers ranging from legends like Lynn Hill to the rising
stars of today. The book is both "inspirational" and "aspirational"
-- as each climber tells her story in her own words, highlighting
her personal challenges, accomplishments, and philosophy, as well
as providing readers with practical how-to suggestions on
maximizing not only their own potential in climbing but in life.
The profiles are complemented by stunning color photographs by
leading adventure photojournalist Chris Noble. Forewords by leading
women climbers Steph Davis and Sasha DiGiulian round out the
package
England appearances, a courtroom drama and a spell in prison were just the start. He later returned to Sheffield Wednesday's first team before going into management and guiding Matlock town to the FA Trophy, but since retiring he has faced an increasing battle with Alzheimers. Setting the Record Straight lifts the lid on what was termed 'the biggest sports scandal of the century' and all that happened afterwards for this outstanding footballer.
Strength, speed and dedication: Cristiano Ronaldo is known throughout the world as a colossus of the modern game. But did you know that he underwent laser heart surgery aged just fifteen to enable him to continue playing the game he loved? Or that Nacional, his first professional club, donated twenty balls and two sets of kits to his youth team in order to sign him? Or how he came to be known as abelhinha -'little bee'- a name he would later pass on to his Yorkshire Terrier? Find out all this and more in Luca Caioli's biography of the global superstar, featuring exclusive insights from those who know him best and even the man himself.
'He's here, he's there, he's every-f*cking-where, Gerry Gow, Gerry Gow' was an anthem that could often be heard reverberating around Ashton Gate in the 1970s as Bristol City climbed towards the first division. Gow was one of football's original cult heroes that emerged throughout the seventies and eighties; often sporting long hair and bushy moustaches. Gow pulled off both with style during spells at Bristol City and Manchester City. Written with the help of the Gow family, He's Here, He's There: The Gerry Gow Story celebrates the career of the Ashton Gate 'Enforcer'. It provides a fascinating insight into a player that fans of a certain vintage consider the greatest to wear the red of Bristol City. With fresh insight from Gerry's family, friends, team-mates and opponents, including the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson, Peter Reid and Chris Kamara, this is a captivating insight into a cult hero, a football hardman, a Bristolian icon; but also Gerry the man, and a man sorely missed but still loved by so many.
USA Today Bestseller Now available in trade paper! Jack Nicklaus II, son of PGA Champion Jack Nicklaus, shares stories, insights, and lessons he has learned from his father, the Golden Bear, that will encourage fathers and inspire us to focus on what's most important in life: family. Best Seat in the House, written with New York Times bestselling author Don Yaeger, gives us eighteen valuable lessons that Jack Nicklaus II learned from his father, PGA champion Jack Nicklaus. Widely regarded as the best golfer of all time with a record number of PGA major championships, the Golden Bear's life and values show that true legacy lives on through our families. Jack II has always had a clear view of who his father is. "I had the best seat in the house, to watch this man, when away from the public's eye, live out extraordinary lessons." Best Seat in the House details what made Jack Nicklaus an off-course success a lasting marriage: Jack and his wife Barbara fashioned fifty-plus years of marriage with the rule that each must give of themselves "at least 95 percent of the time," treating others with respect: Nicklaus taught his son Jack, who worked as his caddie for several years, to value his competitors and treat them as he would hope to be treated, choosing family over work: the importance of having boundaries and limits that everyone in the family agrees on, and building a legacy: the need to be connected to what we'll leave behind. A perfect gift for Father's Day and for the serious fans, the casual golfers, or even those new to golf, you can learn lessons from the Golden Bear in Best Seat in the House...and can apply all eighteen of them even if you're nowhere near a golf course.
In 1914 one of Britain's most famous sportsmen went off to play his part in the First World War. Like millions of others, he would die. Unlike millions of others, nobody knew how or where. Until now. Lost in France is the true story of Leigh Roose: playboy, scholar, soldier and the finest goalkeeper of his generation. It's also the tale of how one man became caught up in a global catastrophe - one that would cost him his life, his identity and his rightful place as one of football's all-time legends. Lost In France is the biography of goalkeeper Leigh Roose, football's first genuine superstar, a man so good at his position on the field of play that the Football Association made one of the most significant rule changes in the game's history just to keep him in check. Small wonder that when the Daily Mail put together a World XI to take on another planet, Leigh's was the first name on its team sheet.
Ian Robertson joined the BBC during the golden age of radio broadcasting and was given a crash course in the art of sports commentary from some of the greatest names ever to sit behind a microphone: Cliff Morgan and Peter Bromley, Bryon Butler and John Arlott. Almost half a century after being introduced to the rugby airwaves by his inspiring mentor Bill McLaren, the former Scotland fly-half looks back on the most eventful of careers, during which he covered nine British and Irish Lions tours and eight World Cups, including the 2003 tournament that saw England life the Webb Ellis Trophy and "Robbo" pick up awards for his spine-tingling description of Jonny Wilkinson's decisive drop goal. He reflects on his playing days, his role in guiding Cambridge University to a long spell of Varsity Match supremacy and his relationships with some of the union code's most celebrated figures, including Sir Clive Woodward and Jonah Lomu. He also writes vividly and hilariously of his experiences as a horse racing enthusiast, his meetings with some of the world's legendary golfers and his dealings with a stellar cast of sporting outsiders, from Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor to Nelson Mandela. It is a hugely entertaining story that begins in a bygone rugby age, yet has much to say about the game in the here and now.
There are no villains here. Award-winning journalist Paul McNally finds corrupt cops, drug dealers, vigilante residents, addicts, torturers, murderers and cops partnered with drug dealers. But no villains. Raymond is a shop owner on Ontdekkers Road, in Johannesburg, who takes a baseball bat to the dealers when they break his rules. He systematically records in his notebook the police officers who come – all day, every day – to collect their bribe money from the dealers, and is looking for someone to trust. Khaba is a middle-aged police officer who wants a quiet life but whose demons will not leave him in peace. He is trying to regain his trust in what he once regarded as an honourable profession. Wendy is a petite, ageing police reservist who can handle an R5 rifle with confidence, but not the sadness that accompanies her in her daily life – the loss of her police officer husband, brutally murdered by a drug lord, and the addiction that has her adult son in its grip. She is looking for respect and affirmation and for her own life to have meaning. Through different paths, the lives of Raymond, Khaba and Wendy intersect on the street as their attention is focused on the current power couple – a drug dealer named Obi and Lerato, a police officer. Seemingly untouchable, Obi and Lerato terrorise Ontdekkers, and in the process upset the balance of this already lawless world.
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.
"My Hidden Race" is the story of Olympic medallist Anyika Onuora, who stood on the podium at every major championship in athletics. This book won't go into detail about the technicalities of her sport or the beauty of the Olympic spirit however. In the era of the Black Lives Matter and Me Too, this is an unflinching testimony of what it takes to pursue your dreams as a Black British woman against all odds. This three-time Olympian will lift the lid on the reality of life as a black female athlete in Britain in a way that nobody else has done before her. Nothing is off the record. She is revealing her life for the first time in this book with complete fearlessness. There have been far too many years of silence caught in a system. Now Anyika is determined to make up for lost time and use her story to inspire and heal others. "My Hidden Race" will take you into a world that often takes place far from the spotlight of the Olympic torch and shines an intense light on the brutal reality of professional sport for many black females.
He may live in Madrid but he continues to make front-page headlines. This is David Beckham's own story of his career to date, for Manchester United, Real Madrid and England, and of his childhood, family and private life. Featuring David's first full account of a turbulent year in Spain, on and off the field, and England's fortunes in Euro 2004. This is Beckham's fascinating life story in his own words. His rise through the ranks at the biggest club side in the world. His complex relationship with United boss Alex Ferguson. The England story, from being vilified by the nation before returning as the prodigal son to eventually captaining his country. His acrimonious falling-out with his manager and departure from Old Trafford in June 2003. And starting a new chapter of his life on foreign soil in the glare of the world's press. Now from Beckham himself, we gain a vivid and eye-opening insight into the family man behind the famous footballer, the international model and fashion leader. He describes how he first met and then married ex-Spice girl Victoria Adams, and the upbringing of their two children Brooklyn and Romeo. How his family's every step is monitored by a posse of newshounds and paparazzi. Also, the influence of his parents, growing up as a shy youngster in the family home, and how their subsequent split affected him. Intimate and soul-searching, this is the real David Beckham like we have never seen before. NEW FOR THIS PAPERBACK EDITION: - Beckham's first season with Real Madrid from within the dressing room, with key stories on the likes of Figo, Roberto Carlos and Zidane. - His exclusive reaction to the sensational allegations about his private life; their effect on his relationship with Victoria and a reappraisal of their living arrangements. - England and Euro 2004: the players' threatened strike in support of Rio Ferdinand; Eriksson as England boss; and all the behind the scenes stories leading up to and including the Finals in Portugal. - One year down the line, does Beckham have any regrets about leaving Manchester United? And is there any truth in the rumours that he is unsettled in Madrid?
The fascinating and unknown story of the Tour de France's ever-changing relationship with money and power - and the enigmatic family behind it all. It started with a cash drop by an English spy in occupied Paris in 1944. Reserved for Resistance groups during the war, the money reached Emilien Amaury, an advertising executive, who was tasked to help France return to a free press once liberated. He soon launched a newspaper empire that - unbeknown to him - would own the rights to run what would become one of the greatest sporting events in history. Le Tour, once a struggling commercial phenomenon, began to rise in popularity across much of western Europe in the glum years after the Second World War, lifting the mood of the hungry and despondent French. But with the increased interest in the event, exacerbated by the creation of television and the internet, came several cultural threats to national heritage. Multiple attempts to wrest power and profits from the latest generation of the Amaury family - who still own the race and take tens of millions of euros home in dividends - have followed, but not without a fight. Fast-paced and fastidiously researched, Le Fric illustrates how moments off the bike at the Tour de France are every bit as gripping as the battle for the yellow jersey.
In horse racing greatness is defined by speed. Being the second fastest counts for little. You have to win. And win. And keep winning until every challenger of your generation is put to the sword. Of the twelve horses lined up on Newmarket Heath that 2011 day, one would do just that. And more. To become the greatest racehorse that has ever lived. Frankel was born on 11 February 2008, with four white socks and a blaze, from impressive equine lines on both his parents' sides. Simon Cooper revisits the whole of the horse's life, giving readers an inside tour of the calm oasis that is life a stud farm, where a foal will live with his mother for the first year of his life. Next, the atmosphere of heady possibility that marks the early days of training. Roadwork. Gallops. Trials. Turning raw potential into something more. Frankel begins to set himself apart. A detailed and fast-paced narrative breathlessly recounts the racing career of the horse who, by his retirement to stud at the age of 4, would be rated the greatest of all time. Cooper weaves the horse's tale with those of his trainer, battling cancer, the stablehands who coped with his explosive nature, the work rider who tamed him, the the jockey who rode in all fourteen of his races, and the owner who saw his potential from the very beginning. The result is a rich and multifaceted tale of modern horse racing, the lives of everyone involved, human and equine, and the unadulterated glory of winning. And winning everything.
'I have given my whole life to the mountains. Born at the foot of the Alps, I have been a ski champion, a professional guide, an amateur of the greatest climbs in the Alps and a member of eight expeditions to the Andes and the Himalaya. If the word has any meaning at all, I am a mountaineer.' So Lionel Terray begins Conquistadors of the Useless - not with arrogance, but with typical commitment. One of the most colourful characters of the mountaineering world, his writing is true to his uncompromising and jubilant love for the mountains. Terray was one of the greatest alpinists of his time, and his autobiography is one of the finest and most important mountaineering books ever written. Climbing with legends Gaston Rebuffat, Maurice Herzog and Louis Lachenal, Terray made first ascents in the Alps, Alaska, the Andes and the Himalaya. He was at the centre of global mountaineering at a time when Europe was emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and he came out a hero. Conquistadors of the Useless tells of his wartime escapades, of life as an Alpine mountain guide, and of his climbs - including the second ascent of the Eiger North Face and his involvement in the first ever ascent of an 8,000-metre peak, Annapurna. His tales capture the energy of French post-war optimism, a time when France needed to reassert herself and when climbing triumphs were more valued than at any other time in history. Terray's death, in the Vercors, robbed mountaineering of one of its most passionate and far-sighted figures. His energy, so obvious in Conquistadors of the Useless, will inspire for generations to come. A mountaineering classic.
Anthropologist Jasmina Praprotnik met Helena Zigon while running. Over the course of an icy Slovenian winter, the two marathon runners got together frequently, and Zigon told Praprotnik about her life. Here, Praprotnik tells Zigon's captivating story in Zigon's own voice. Each chapter is marked by a kilometer of the half-marathon Zigon ran along the Adriatic Sea on her eighty-sixth birthday, shortly after losing her husband of sixty years, Stane. Zigon's life spanned most of the twentieth century. She witnessed the Second World War, the rise and fall of Yugoslavia, and the founding of the new state of Slovenia. Abandoned by her parents and having grown up poor and mistreated by her stepmother, Zigon demonstrates the stoic resilience of a long-suffering Slavic woman. Though beset with challenges, she found a source of strength in the act of running. From a young girl running errands to an old woman running in the face of new grief, running has been a bright thread braided throughout her life. It has served her as a balm and a joy-one that she is grateful to still be able to savor. This inspirational memoir will appeal to general readers, especially those interested in history and running.
A helpful guide for Rapinoe fans looking to apply her wisdom to their own lives! In the summer of 2019, the US women's national soccer team offered fans a thrill when it won its fourth World Cup title and second straight, culminating in a 2-0 final over the Netherlands. Co-captain Megan Rapinoe led the team to victory with a penalty kick to score the first goal and ultimately captured MVP and top goal scorer designations for the tournament. The winger has also led the US to a gold medal in the 2012 London Olympics. In addition to her athletic success, Rapinoe has proven to be a leader off the field as well. A vocal advocate on behalf of several LGBT organizations and a voice behind the women's team's equal pay complaint, she is one of many players involved in the gender discrimination lawsuit against the United States Soccer Federation. In Secrets of Success, the latest book in the Women in Power series, author Meg Linehan translates Rapinoe's success both on and off the field into digestible leadership lessons. In doing so, she draws from Rapinoe's still-young career as an athlete, businesswoman, and advocate.
It remains one of the most memorable moments in modern Olympic history. At the 1984 summer games in Los Angeles, a raucous crowd of ninety thousand saw their favorite in the women's 3,000-meter race, Mary Decker, go down. An audience of two billion around the world witnessed the mishap and listened to the instantaneous accusations against the suspected culprit, Zola Budd. Just seventeen, the South African Budd had already been the target of a vicious and vocal campaign by the antiapartheid lobby after she transferred to the British team in order to compete at the games. Decker, at twenty-six, was America's golden girl, ready to overcome years of bad luck and injuries to rightfully take the Olympic gold for which she had waited so long. With three laps to go, Decker and Budd's feet became tangled. Decker went down and didn't get up, wailing in primal agony as her gold medal hopes vanished. Decker's stumbles continued in the race's aftermath when she refused Budd's apology and race officials found her, not Budd, at fault for the collision. Although both women found success after the Olympics, neither could escape the long shadow of the infamous event that forever changed both of their lives and defines them in popular culture to this day. Olympic Collision follows Decker and Budd through their lives and careers, telling the story behind the controversy; the account that emerges is certain to revise the view Americans, in particular, have held since that fateful day in Los Angeles more than thirty years ago. Olympic Collision relives one of the most famous incidents in Olympic history, its legacy, and what has happened to both athletes since. |
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