Henry Aaron left his mark on the world by breaking Babe Ruth's record for home runs. But the world has also left its mark on him.

"Hammering Hank" Aaron's story is one that tells us much about baseball, naturally, but also about our times. His unique, poignant life has made him a symbol for much of the social history of twentieth-century America.

Raised during the Depression in the Deep South enclave of Mobile, Alabama, Aaron broke into professional baseball as a cross-handed slugger and shortstop for the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro American League. A year later, he and a few others had the unforgettable mission of integrating the South Atlantic League. A year after that, he was a timid rookie leftfielder for the Milwaukee Braves, for whom he became a World Series hero in 1957 as well as the Most Valuable Player of the National League.

Aaron found himself back in the South when the Braves moved to Atlanta in 1965. Nine years later, in the heat of hatred and controversy, he hit his 715th home run to break Ruth's and baseball's most cherished record--a feat that was recently voted the greatest moment in baseball history. That year, Aaron received over 900,000 pieces of mail, many of them vicious and racially charged.

In a career that may be the most consistent baseball has ever seen. Aaron also set all-time records for total bases and RBIs. He ended his playing days by spending two nostalgic seasons back in Milwaukee with the Brewers, then embarked on a new career as an executive with the Atlanta Braves. He was for a long time the highest-ranking black in baseball. In this position, Aaron has become an unofficial spokesman in racial matters pertaining to thenational pastime.

Because of the depth and pertinence of Aaron's dramatic experiences, "I Had A Hammer" is more than a baseball autobiography. Henry Aaron's candor and insights have produced a revealing book about his extraordinary life and time.

The inspirational and powerful memoir from double world heptathlon champion and Team GB Olympian Katarina Johnson-Thompson.

Katarina Johnson-Thompson has never had it easy. Born a child of two worlds - her mum’s working-class Liverpool, and her dad’s idyllic Bahamas - she was never supposed to be a world champion. Her early childhood wasn’t easy. She was raised by a single mother, and at times it was a struggle for her to keep up with other athletes who had more funding around them. But she persevered.

Now, in her intimate, heartfelt autobiography, she tells her story as she never has before. She opens up about the pressures of representing Britain at the London Olympics while just sixteen years of age, and about her complex relationship with mentor-turned-rival Jessica Ennis-Hill. Unbroken is a rare insight into the inner workings of a champion's mind: the rigorous discipline, the undying passion for sport, and the unshakable belief in one's self despite the odds.

Johnson-Thompson’s journey has been a remarkable one. Her upbringing and her career, both rich with challenges overcome and dreams pursued with relentless determination, serve as a powerful reminder that the human spirit is capable of extraordinary feats. But this is more than a story of triumph-against-the-odds. It’s a testament to the sweat, tears and laughter that pave the road to success, and to the unyielding spirit of a true champion.

At the pinnacle of motorsports, a humble young man from Stevenage, England has risen to become the most dominant and influential Formula One driver of his time. This authoritative biography follows Hamilton's pathway from his early days karting on local tracks to the glitz and pressure of the Formula One circuit. Along the way, we witness Hamilton's single-minded determination to reach the top, even as he challenged racial barriers and opposition at every turn. His triumph over adversity is all the more inspiring given Hamilton's pioneering role in making motorsports accessible to marginalized communities.

Beyond his unparalleled on-track exploits - leveling the record books held by the legendary Michael Schumacher – Hamilton has used his platform to advocate for social justice, environmental sustainability, and diversity. Hamilton has emerged as a voice of moral clarity, leveraging his fame to push Formula One and global sports to be a force for positive change.

As Hamilton nears the twilight of his racing career, this book examines his lasting legacy. From shattering stereotypes to inspiring new generations of motor enthusiasts, Hamilton's impact extends far beyond just his championship trophies. The book culminates with Hamilton's potential final act - chasing a record-setting 8th world title at the wheel of the iconic Ferrari team, the ultimate validation of his greatness.

This brief but readable biography tells the story of the most recognized figure in baseball-Babe Ruth. Besides vividly describing the highlights of Ruth's career, author Wayne Stewart examines the unprecedented impact Ruth had on the nature and future of the game. Ruth's ability to hit the long ball and the flamboyance of his off-field persona infused the game with a new excitement that rescued baseball from the negative effects of the 1919 Black Sox scandal. Making extensive use of interviews conducted by the author with members of Ruth's family and with players who knew Ruth, this biography is an engaging exploration of how Ruth helped shape modern baseball. Babe Ruth is the most recognized figure in baseball and a true American icon. In this brief but readable biography, author Wayne Stewart engagingly describes the highlights of Ruth's career and deftly examines the reasons for the unprecedented impact Ruth had on the game. Ruth's ability to hit the long ball and the flamboyance of his off-field persona infused the game with a new excitement that rescued baseball from the negative effects of the 1919 Black Sox scandal. The author draws new insights into Ruth's life and career through interviews he conducted with members of Ruth's family and with other baseball players who knew him. Readers are also provided with a quick reference chronology to Ruth's career, a bibliography of important print and non-print information resources on Ruth, a statistical appendix summarizing Ruth's on-field production by season, and a discussion of how Ruth has been depicted in books, movies, plays, and other media since his death. This biography will both explain and satisfy the continuing curiosity about Ruth among young basbeball fans who never had the opportunity to see him play.

Lewis Hamilton's explosive arrival on the Formula 1 scene has made front-page headlines. In My Story, for the first time Lewis opens up about his stunning debut season in grand prix racing, as well as his dad Anthony, his home life and his early years. The only book with the real story, as told by Lewis. In his first season in F1, Lewis Hamilton thrilled the world of motor racing by finishing on the podium in his first nine consecutive races - the first driver to do so in the sport's 57-year history - and drove to victories in Canada, America, Hungary and Japan. But bare statistics alone do scant justice to the amazing impact Lewis Hamilton has had on the sporting landscape. My Story gives the real account from Lewis himself, as he sets the record straight about his colourful life on and off the track. Given a grounded upbringing by his dedicated father in unremarkable Stevenage, Lewis tells about how he first tried out go-karting while on a cut-price family holiday in Ibiza. In his book he gives the real version of events at a motor sport dinner where, as a nine-year-old wearing a borrowed suit, he approached McLaren team boss Ron Dennis with the immortal words that were to change his life forever. He rose rapidly through the Junior and Formula ranks, dominating every series with his raw speed and canny race craft. Here Lewis candidly recalls those key moments that shaped his career and went some way towards compensating for the sacrifices made by his father Anthony in getting his son to the top. Lewis also charts how he got into the sport and was signed up by Ron Dennis, what motivates him, who are his closest friends, how he copes with the constant travelling, and the physical and mental challenges of driving a state-of-the-art Formula 1 car. He looks back in detail at the 2007 World Championship - the race wins, the frightening crash in Germany, his intense rivalry with team-mate Fernando Alonso, his special relationship with Ron Dennis, and the furore over the Ferrari allegations - right up to the dramatic last race of the season in Brazil.

Jack Beresford was the first British Olympian to win medals of any colour in five consecutive Olympic Games. His record of 3 Gold and 2 silver medals at the 5 Olympic Games held between 1920 and 1936 remained until Sir Steve Redgrave won gold at the 2000 Sydney Games. Historically, men have had two great chances to prove their mettle; in battle and in sport. While many are aware that Jack Beresford was one of Britain's greatest oarsmen, this affectionate but unsentimental tribute by his son, John, reveals what few know, that Beresford served his country with distinction in war as well as in peace, and both with a modesty that is usually indicative of true merit. It is commonly said, show me the boy and I'll show you the man, and this work reveals that Jack the schoolboy, the soldier and the sportsman was driven by the same strict principals of duty and hard work throughout his life. This is, says John, the story that his Father never wrote. It is also a story with a delicious (if vicious) irony; the German bullet that wounded 19-year-old 2nd Lieutenant Beresford in 1918 led to him abandoning rugby and taking up rowing. Eighteen years later, the German favourites to win the Olympic Double Sculls paid the price of Jack's change of sport as, in the final's last 100 metres, Dick Southwood and Jack Beresford rowed them to a standstill to win Olympic Gold.

This is a story of a simple idea that turned into a global movement. This is the story of parkrun, told for the very first time from the man who started it all.

Growing up in the brutal care system of South Africa, Paul Sinton-Hewitt had a lonely, difficult childhood. Yet he found solace in running – a simple pleasure that taught him resilience and offered a young boy a sense of self-worth.

With dogged determination, Paul built a stable family life for himself and eventually settled in the UK. But by 2004 he was struggling to hold it all together. He’d lost the successful career he’d worked so hard for, his marriage had broken down, and now a devastating injury threatened to cut him off from the running club which had been a lifeline.

In search of connection and purpose, Paul came up with a simple idea. He would start a weekly time trial run every Saturday morning in his local park. There would be no winners or losers, it would always be free and Paul would be there every week – even on Christmas Day – whether or not anyone else came. Little did he know that from just thirteen runners on that first Saturday, parkrun would grow into a 10 million strong community across five continents. Twenty years on parkrun continues to grow, bringing together people from all walks of life in search of health, happiness and community.

Filled with hope and optimism, One Small Step is a powerful affirmation of how coming together in simple ways can change our own lives and might even change the world.

A New York Times bestseller and a Book of the Year for the Evening Standard and The Times.

Is getting a little less comfortable the key to living a happier, healthier life?

When journalist Scott Carney came across a picture of a man in his fifties sitting on a glacier in just his underwear, he assumed it must be a hoax. Dutch guru Wim Hof claimed he could control his body temperature using his mind and teach others to do the same. Sceptical, Carney signed up to Hof’s one-week course, not realising that it would be the start of a four-year journey to unlock his own evolutionary potential.

From hyperventilating in a Polish farmhouse to underwater weight training in California, and eventually climbing Mt Kilimanjaro wearing just shorts and running shoes, Carney travelled the world testing out unorthodox methods of body transformation and discovering the science behind them.

In What Doesn’t Kill Us he explains how getting a little less comfortable can help us to unlock our lost evolutionary strength.

"An exciting and engrossing book with stories that are worth telling. This work will engage fans of Charlie O. Finley and the Oakland Athletics, along with anyone captivated by baseball history." -- Library Journal, starred review The Oakland A's of the early 1970s: Never before had an entire organization so collectively traumatized baseball's establishment with its outlandish behavior and business decisions. The high drama that played out on the field--five straight division titles and three straight championships--was exceeded only by the drama in the clubhouse and front office. Under the visionary leadership of owner Charles O. Finley, the team assembled such luminary figures as Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter, Rollie Fingers, and Vida Blue, and with garish uniforms and revolutionary facial hair, knocked baseball into the modern age. Finley's insatiable need for control--he was his own general manager and dictated everything from the ballpark organist's playlist to the menu for the media lounge--made him ill-suited for the advent of free agency. Within two years, his dynasty was lost. A sprawling, brawling history of one of the game's most unforgettable teams, Dynastic, Bombastic, Fantastic is a paean to the sport's most turbulent, magical team, during one of major league baseball's most turbulent, magical times.

If you enjoyed the 1994 fictitious movie Forrest Gump, you'll love Roy Story, the remarkable, rags-to-riches true account of the colorful, comical and quick-witted Roy Bucek, who succeeded beyond his wildest dreams on the football field, the battlefield and in numerous business fields with a combination of a tremendously strong backbone and an incomparable funny bone. Bucek came from such poverty that he and his family barely noticed the so-called "Great Depression." His athleticism earned him a college scholarship, where he became the first official track and field All-American in Texas A&M history and helped the 1939 Aggies win the football national championship. Bucek lost his eye in the historic Battle of the Bulge in World War II, but he became a man of remarkable entrepreneurial vision. He built so many successful businesses in Schulenburg, Texas that he resided in a sprawling home he built just south of Interstate-10 and at the end of...Bucek Street. His fascinating stories are guaranteed to mesmerize you and motivate you to pursue your own dreams, no matter how far-fetched they may seem. Roy Story is a captivating read that will take you back in time and challenge you to build a brighter future.