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Find out moreRead more about your favourite sports or sportsmen and women with a unique perspective on their careers from the comfort of your sofa with this range of recommended books. Whether you’re a football fan, rugby reveller or fishing follower, we have a great read for you!
Following the exceptional running achievements recounted in Beyond Impossible, Mimi Anderson’s Limitless is a testament to the perseverance and adaptability of the human spirit (and body). Despite only taking up running at the age of 36 “because I wanted to have slimmer and more toned legs”, Mimi went on to become a record-breaking ultrarunner. Then, at the age of 55, she set herself a new huge challenge - to become the fastest woman to run across the USA, covering almost 3000 miles from LA to NYC. After running over 2000 miles battling tremendous pain, she wound up “groaning in agony every time my foot hit the ground”. Since carrying on meant she may never run again, Mimi was forced to curtail her American Dream. But while this journey was over, a whole new world opened up when she took up cycling and swimming. As Mimi counsels in her introduction, “If you want something you have never had, then you have to try something you have never done” - watch this space for her future achievements as a triathlete. Written in a chatty, energetic style, this isn’t only recommended for readers who are into running or extreme sports. It also has the broader appeal of being an honest, personal story about bouncing back and adapting in order to find fulfilment: “There will always be something else out there for you, even if you don’t find it right away. Keep looking.”
In addition to all the essential technical advice and insider knowledge that one would expect from a solid “How to..” book, the first half of How to Run a Marathon is very much focused on the “Why?". A few chapters in, you realise why radio presenter and sports journalist Vassos Alexander has afforded as much time to inspiration as he has to execution. Unless, deep down, you really want to run a marathon, it simply isn’t going to happen. To help you find the itch there are many inspiring (and funny!) tales of why running 26.2 miles is something so life-changing. From the blind to the barefoot, we hear the running stories of some extraordinary people from a man who seems to know everyone in the game. From Athens to Boston we run alongside a community where love and support are as present as personal achievement. And from Vassos himself we get the inside track on the very personal journey of the marathon runner in all its fun-loving, food-poisoned, rain-soaked and wall-hitting glory. Learn how to train, how to stretch, how to ‘respect the taper’.. and gain some crucial nuggets of wisdom: “A good laugh and a long run are the two best cures for anything”. This book has everything to get you over the line. ~ Greg Hackett Greg Hackett is the Founder & Director of the London Mountain Film Festival
There are so many great things about this book, but perhaps the greatest is the way in which the authors have found the story in each walk. Kids love stories so what better way to get them into the car than with the promise of “The mystery of the four stones at Clent”, “Beaches and battles at Bamburgh” or “Giants and glaciers on Cadair Idris”? This collection of 100 walks is spread out across the country which make it the ideal staycation companion for families. Graded for difficulty, every page turned brings a new map, great photographs, a written overview and a new adventure! The secret to any good guide book is trust and having done quite a few of these walks I can vouch for their accuracy - but what surprised me is what I’d missed! Jen and Sim Benson know their walks but they also know kids. Brilliant! ~ Greg Hackett Greg Hackett is the Founder & Director of the London Mountain Film Festival
In 1966 England won the World Cup at Wembley. Sir Bobby Charlton, England's greatest ever player, was there on the pitch. Now, fifty years on, Sir Bobby looks back on the most glorious moment of his life and England's greatest sporting achievement. In 1966 he takes us through the build-up to the tournament and to the final itself, describing what he saw, what he heard, and what he felt. He explains what it was like to be part of Sir Alf Ramsey's team, gives us his personal memories of his teammates, the matches, the atmosphere; the emotion of being carried on the wave of a nation's euphoria and how it felt to go toe-to-toe with some of the foremost footballers to ever play the game.
50 Ways encapsulates fifty unique cycling projects accomplished by 75 cyclists from 23 countries. It serves as the ultimate visual guide and encyclopedia to traveling by bicycle no matter what your personal situation is. You'll find impressive, powerful, emotional and incredibly fun stories on almost every page, accompanied by the beautiful and inspiring photography shot all over our planet by the many cyclists who've shared their cycling stories.
Winner of the Best Illustrated Title category of the British Sports Book Awards 2011. Stunning officially endorsed coffee table book commemorating the 50th anniversary of Tottenham Hotspur's famous League and Cup Double in 1961 - the first 'Double' achieved in the modern era of football. Beautifully presented within its' own real-cloth slipcase adorned in silver with the book's title and the iconic badge worn by the team during this historic season, this lavish collector's item showcases previously unseen behind-the-scenes photographs and memorabilia and tells the story of the season through original newspaper cuttings, tickets and match programmes. Put together by the editorial team who put together the Spurs Opus, with the full co-operation of the surviving players and Tottenham Hotspur FC (and with full access to the historical archives at White Hart Lane), this sensational publication will be the focal point of the club's 1960/61 celebrations which will begin at the start of the 2010 season.
Hardly a week goes by without Dickie Bird visiting a county or Test match arena where he can keep up to date with all that is happening in the cricket world, while at the same time taking the opportunity to reflect, in the company of old friends and acquaintances, on his own colorful contribution to the sport that lasted for over half a century. Dickie remains the most famous umpire of them all and is still highly respected throughout the world. A lovable eccentric with a joyful sense of fun, he has decided, as he approaches his eightieth birthday, to recall the highlights of his life in cricket, while also providing an illuminating insight into what he has been up to since his retirement.
Longlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award 2010.In this gripping new book, Simon Barnes brings together his 50 sporting heroes of the last 50 years and looks at what it is that elevates them to a state of grace and greatness.
Longlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award 2010. In this gripping new book, Simon Barnes brings together his 50 sporting heroes of the last 50 years and looks at what it is that elevates them to a state of grace and greatness.
More than just an account of Button’s winning year but an in depth look at the Brawn team as a whole, the new F1 team who came from nowhere to win the Constructors championship alongside their drivers victory. A must for any Formula One fan.
Gavin Mortimer entertains with his diverting views of a great game through key objects in its history. And by using these key objects he is able to recount a history of how this sport began and the strange and meandering progress it made to prominence today. June 2013 Sports Book of the Month.Like for Like ReadingAnd God Created Cricket, Simon Hughes
The remarkable stories of 100 football artefacts that have shaped the game as we know it. From the inaugural red card to the ubiquitous mock Tudor mansion, each of the objects selected gives us an intimate glimpse of an unexpected truth behind footie mythology - and together they relate the larger history of the world's biggest and most-loved sport. Sue Baker's view... Gavin Mortimer entertains with his diverting views of a great game through key objects in its history. And by using these key objects he is able to recount a history of how this sport began and the strange and meandering progress it made to prominence today. Like for Like ReadingMy Father and Other Working Class Football Heroes, Gary Imlach
Shortlisted in the Best Biography and Best Cricket Book categories of the British Sports Book Awards 2011. Shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award 2010. Combining reportage, anecdote, biography, history and personal recollection, A Last English Summer is an honest and passionate reflection on cricket's past, present and future. A memorable and acutely observed portrait of one summer of cricket from an award-winning sports writer who has watched and loved cricket since he was a boy, it is essential reading for anyone who cares about the English game.
Winner of the Best Football Book at the British Sports Book Awards 2012. Why does an international footballer with the World at his feet decide to take his own life? On 10 November 2009 the German national goalkeeper, Robert Enke, stepped in front of a passing train. He was thirty two years old. Viewed from the outside, Enke had it all. Here was a professional goalkeeper who had played for a string of Europe's top clubs including Jose Mourinho's Benfica and Louis Van Gaal's Barcelona. Enke was destined to be his country's first choice for years to come. But beneath the bright veneer of success lay a darker story. In A Life Too Short , award-winning writer Ronald Reng pieces together the puzzle of his lost friend's life. Reng brings into sharp relief the specific demands and fears faced by those who play top-level sport.
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They are role models, heroes, spokespeople for major brands, they get millions in sponsorship, their personal lives are plastered over the gossip columns, they are at the top of their professions and love them or hate them, they’re all over our newspapers, TVs, PCs and radios. This section has everything the armchair enthusiast could wish for. Myth-busting biographies (Beware of the Dog by Brian Moore), detailed histories (A History of Football in 100 Objects by Gavin Mortimer), personal accounts of huge moments (Black White & Gold by Kelly Holmes), and atmospheric tributes to beloved games (A Last English Summer by Duncan Hamilton. This is the inside track on the lives, loves, losses and victories of some of the world’s most physically talented people, and the games they love to play.
Get into your favourite armchair, plump up the cushions, have a nice cup of tea and dive in. Just make sure you don’t pull a muscle!