To The Point: The No Holds Barred Autobiography


Herschelle Gibbs - 2010
    Despite the frustrating on-field inconsistencies of this towering talent, and the messy and very public off-field personal troubles that have tracked him through the years, Herschelle remains one of South African cricket's best-loved sons. In his own, very frank, words, Herschelle Gibbs chronicles the ups and downs of his personal and professional life, and describes what it's been like to be part of the Proteas set-up for the past fourteen years, through the controversies of its various captains, coaches and administrators. "To the Point" is, of course, a spicy story of excess - women, alcohol, money...and plenty of runs - but underlying it all is a warm and generous man who wears his heart on his sleeve.

Laker Girl


Jeanie Buss - 2010
    Yet despite all the championship banners the team has put on the walls of Staples Center, and despite all the books the Lakers have put on the shelves of fans - featuring everybody from Jerry West to Magic Johnson to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Phil Jackson to Chick Hearn - there has never been a book on the Lakers from the Buss family. Until now. Until Laker Girl.

Anything is Possible: Be Brave, Be Kind and Follow Your Dreams


Gareth Southgate - 2020
    I honestly believe that with the right mindset, a willingness to learn from our mistakes, and the ability to cope with the highs and lows, every one of us can make the most of our lives.In this book I hope I can prepare you for your own exciting journey ahead.BE BRAVEBravery is not just the kind of heroic act that earns a medal. It's the quality we need to step out of our comfort zones and take on new challenges.BE KINDA force for good that comes from the heart, kindness changes lives. It opens up opportunities and can be our greatest strength.FOLLOW YOUR DREAMSWe all have a story to tell in life. It's down to us what it will be about. So, let's begin writing YOUR STORY - and make it one that truly shines.____________________'Inspirational and honest - just like the man himself.' BEAR GRYLLS'I loved this - full of wonderful advice I can't wait to share with my children.' HOLLY WILLOUGHBY'An inspirational book' THE SUN'It really is a great book ... lots of really nice tips for confidence, staying strong, glass-half-full mentality, what makes a good team' CHRIS MOYLES'I feel that the lessons you're sharing, the wisdom that you're sharing, has relevance for all of us, whether football fans or non-football fans. And that's because these are some quite core lessons for life' DR RANGAN CHATTERJEE 'This is a fantastic book, I've told my son Noah, aged 11, you have to read this book ... I can't tell you how much I loved this book because [it talks] about confidence, and I struggled with confidence' CHRIS EVANS'Southgate's analytical mind is stamped across the pages of the book; his meticulousness, his love of clarity and process. He offers tips and life lessons - focus on what you can control, do not compare yourself with others, dare to try even if it means slipping up. The tone is easy, upbeat and the messages are drummed home gently, always linking to one another ... what shines through is the warmth and inclusivity of his leadership style.' THE GUARDIAN

Dane Swan: My Story


Dane Swan - 2016
    Taken by Collingwood at pick 58 in the 2001 ‘super draft’, no one saw a future Brownlow medallist but the scruffy kid knew how to get the ball. Right from the start he made two things clear: he didn’t like training and his mates and social life came first. Swan made front page news in 2003, and faced the sack after playing only three senior games. The infamous Collingwood Rat Pack took him under their wing, he thrived under Mick Malthouse’s coaching, and grew into a talented and nerveless big-occasion player with an incredible mix of power and speed. Off the field, his tattoos, deadpan delivery, transgressions and blunt refusal to become an AFL robot meant he was often used as clickbait.Despite mastering the art of appearing not to care about anything, in Dane Swan: My Story, Swan – for the first time – reveals the pride that drove him to succeed, his loyalty to family, mates and the club that gave him many last chances, and how he worked hard, his way. He takes us inside the highs of the premiership, and through the tumultuous years of the transition from Malthouse to Nathan Buckley. Footy might be only a game, but it’s one hell of a ride with Dane Swan.There’s no one like him at all in this day and age.Nick MaxwellOne of the greatest players in the history of this club. He marched to the beat of his own drum, always, off the ground more so than on it, but I always liked the fact that he was an individual. And whatever he was doing, it worked.Eddie McGuireThe bigger the game, the more turned on he was, and that became evident at the peak of his career because he played his best footy on the biggest stages.Nathan BuckleyWhat made Swanny so good? It was talent, hard work and mental toughness to be that consistent.Ben JohnsonIt was quite extraordinary the way that he just got on with it. He loved winning, he loved the challenge and underneath it, he is a very proud person.Mick MalthouseAbout the author: Dane Swan played 258 games for Collingwood Football Club. He achieved the ultimate team success as a premiership player, and his haul of individual awards is impressive: a Brownlow Medal, three Copeland Trophies, five All Australians, an AFLCA Most Valuable Player award, a Jim Stynes Medal, a couple of Anzac Medals, as well as a swag of top-three finishes in many awards. His unbelievably consistent output meant he averaged 26.85 disposals across 15 seasons, second only to Greg ‘Diesel’ Williams. Swan’s career came to an untimely end in round 1 of 2016. He is acknowledged as one of the best modern midfielders and a one-of-a-kind champion of the competition.

A Year on our Farm. How the Countryside Made Me


Matt Baker - 2021
    Matt Baker is at his happiest on the farm.Away from the bright lights of hosting our favourite television programmes, Countryfile, The One Show, Blue Peter and many more, he is often in the company of his family, dogs, array of sheep, Mediterranean miniature donkeys and a whole host of wildlife in the farm's ancient woodland.Now, following the ever-changing seasons, Matt takes us on a journey with his family on the farm.We see woodland animals emerge after a long winter of hibernation, hear the dawn chorus in the height of summer and see the preparations unfold for the harsh and wild winter months.Peppered with hand drawn sketches, unforgettable moments from his TV career and stories of a landscape you'll fall in love with, Matt offers readers a touching insight into life on the farm, and how the power and beauty of the countryside can be an inspiration and source of joy for all of us.A celebration of the natural year, Matt Baker takes us on a journey through the seasons, his life on the farm and how the power and beauty of the countryside has made him who he is.

Sunny Days : Sunil Gavaskar's Own Story


Sunil Gavaskar - 1977
    Before we can ask the Little Master to tell us about the dizzying heights of his career we need to know the beginning. And Sunny Days is all about it. The baby is switched after birth, luckily restored by an eagle-eyed uncle; he grows up and almost breaks his mother's nose with a mighty hit (a childhood habit persisting in later life); plays good cricket in school and college; graduates inevitably through university and Trophy cricket; is at times booed by the crowd as his uncle happens to be a Selector - in fact all that could happen does happen to make him reach the age of twenty-one, when at Port of Spain Gavaskar bursts upon the cricket scene with his Test debut. The year is 1971, Gavaskar's year, and sunny days have truly begun for Indian cricket. By the end of the 1975-76 season Gavaskar has played 147 first class matches, amassed 11574 runs and 38 hundreds. He has played in 24 matches in 8 Tests, with 2123 runs and 8 hundreds. Still eight years to go for the great days of the Kotla and the Chidambaram Stadium; but as it is said, in the beginning is the end. Fluently written, self-effacing modesty imparting a rare grace to the pages, Sunny Days is great to read.

Line and Strength: The Complete Story by Glenn McGrath and Daniel Lane


Glen McGrath - 2009
    Now, following his retirement from international cricket, McGrath tells his complete story - on and off the field.The man known as 'Pigeon' won his baggy green cap in Perth in 1993 and went on to forge a brilliant career, eventually becoming cricket's most successful fast bowler with 563 Test wickets. McGrath entered Ashes folklore in 1997 when he destroyed England by taking 8 for 38 at Lords, and he even scored a Test half-century with the bat. With leg spinner Shane Warne, he formed the most devastating bowling combination in Test history.Glenn McGrath's most meaningful achievements, however, have been off the field. With his wife, Jane, he established the McGrath Foundation, a major funder for and supporter of breast cancer sufferers. Here, in their own words, the McGraths discuss their battles with the disease and Jane's tragic death. Line and Strength is the tell-all story of an Australian country boy who took on the world.

Sidney Crosby: The Rookie Year


Neely Lohmann - 2022
    As one of the greatest NHL players of all time, he reflects on his 2005-06 rookie season with the Pittsburgh Penguins. From a Canadian phenom dubbed "the next Gretzky" to an 18-year-old carrying the burden of a struggling franchise, he talks candidly about the intense pressure he was under, the surreal experience of lacing up alongside his childhood idol Mario Lemieux and the truth about his rivalry with Alex Ovechkin. Sidney Crosby, with the help of his family, coaches and former teammates, gives listeners an all-access pass to one of the most scrutinized and tumultuous rookie seasons in the history of professional hockey. Hosted by Pittsburgh native and Penguins fan Joe Manganiello.

There Is No Next: NBA Legends on the Legacy of Michael Jordan


Sam Smith - 2014
    Armstrong • Marv Albert • Grant Hill • Jerry Colangelo • Bill Cartwright • Jerry Reinsdorf • Johnny Bach • Rod Thorn • Rick Barry • Kevin Loughery • David Axelrod • President Barack Obama • and many more!Written by Sam Smith—author  of the New York Times bestseller THE JORDAN RULES and recent inductee  into the NBA Hall of Fame—THERE IS NO NEXT assembles a cast of Hall-of-Famers, teammates, opponents, coaches, and others who experienced the ferocious drive and unparalleled greatness that defined Jordan’s career. Packed with previously untold stories and stunning insight into Jordan and his six championships, THERE IS NO NEXT is the last word on why there has never been, and will never be, another Michael Jordan.

Head On: Botham: The Autobiography


Ian Botham - 2007
    Born with a natural genius for the game, Botham began breaking records with bat and ball from a young age and soon became the man English cricket expected most from. After a troubled period as captain, Botham rose once again to become a national hero with his display in the Miracle Ashes of 1981. But, with his confrontational nature and wild streak, he began regularly making the wrong kind of headlines. With accusations of drink and drugs, affairs and ball-tampering, he became hounded by the tabloid pack, never sure whether they wanted him to triumph or implode. Now a knight and just as famous for his tireless charity work, Beefy gives us the definitive story of his never-dull life and times in his own no-nonsense words.

Leather Soul: A Half-Back Flanker's Rhythm and Blues


Bob Murphy - 2018
    All of the laughs, the scraps, the yarns and the characters: they all left a mark on me. And I wouldn’t change any of it."Bob Murphy has never been a typical footballer.Music buff, Age columnist and Winnebago driver, he is as comfortable in a Fitzroy café or the front bar of a grungy pub as he is in the locker room.In this unique memoir, Murphy takes the reader inside his seventeen-year career, including his three years as captain of the Western Bulldogs, exploring the people, places and events that shaped him. From playing backyard cricket in 1980s Warragul to Community Cup with Paul Kelly in the 2000s, and from the joy of marrying his high school crush to the agony of a season-ending ACL rupture: the man described as the spirit of the Bulldogs has soul, and it’s made of leather.How did the country kid with a gypsy’s heart become an All-Australian captain? What’s it like to have your club reach the AFL Grand Final for the first time in sixty-two years, and have to cheer from the sidelines? How does it feel to realise you can no longer do the things that made you great?The great Australian football bard Martin Flanagan has long insisted Bob Murphy has a book in him like no footballer has written. Leather Soul proves him right.

A Fart in a Colander: The Autobiography


Roy Hudd - 2009
    Born in Croydon in 1936, his early life was turbulent. His father left home and his mother committed suicide during the war leaving his formidable, but adored grandmother, to raise him, and it was she who gave him the title for this book. His big television break came with "Not So Much a Programme, More a Way of Life" with David Frost, John Bird and John Fortune and he also had a brief stint in the popular TV soap "Coronation Street". His radio career includes the hugely popular "The News Huddlines", which he starred in and ran for twenty-six years. "A Fart in a Colander" brings together some wonderful stories from his life, and sparkles with the fun and laughter Roy has brought to millions of people throughout his career.

Pulling Myself Together


Denise Welch - 2010
    She really became a household name when she took on the role of Rovers Return landlady Natalie Barnes in Coronation Street. Today she stars in the award-winning drama, Waterloo Road and is a regular on the hugely popular Loose Women, where her warmth and honesty have won the nation's hearts.But even as her career was taking off, Denise was hiding a secret—that she was suffering from a crippling post natal depression so severe that she was at times suicidal. As she concealed her heartbreak on the set of Coronation Street, she turned to alcohol and drugs to cope. She even had an affair that threatened her marriage.Now she reveals for the first time the full details of her battle with depression and alcoholism, how she fought back and, helped by the love of her husband Tim Healy, turned her life around. Powerful and moving, Pulling Myself Together is ultimately an uplifting book that will appeal to her many fans old and new.

Staying on Track: The Autobiography


Nigel Mansell - 2015
    It was the crowning achievement of a hugely successful career, in which he won 31 Grand Prix, a record for a British driver that stood until Lewis Hamilton overhauled him in 2014. Always an aggressive driver, his exciting style meant he was hailed as a hero by his millions of fans in the UK and around the world. Out of the car, he was outspoken and charismatic, which merely served to enhance his reputation. Now, 20 years after he retired from F1, Mansell looks back on a stellar career in which he battled against many legends of the sport, from Lauda through the Senna and Prost years and on to Schumacher. He provides vivid insights into what it was like to race against those greats in an era when the risks to drivers were enormous. He explains what motivated him to get to the top, and takes the reader behind the scenes to give an unrivalled insight into the sport and the key moments of his career. Still closely involved in Formula One, Mansell assesses how F1 has changed, and gives his authoritative verdict on the sport, the cars and the drivers. It is an unmissable account from one of Britain's greatest sporting heroes.

Heart of Iron: My Journey from Transplant Patient to Ironman Triathlete


Kyle Garlett - 2011
    Not just about his health crisis but also about forging a remarkable life around cancer and his career as a sportwriter, the amazing friends and family who supported him, and finding love. After five and half years on the organ transplant waiting list then being gifted with a new heart, Kyle embarks on a challenge of his own making: to compete in the Ironman Triathlon, in which he competed not once but twice. His miraculous recovery and athleticism are recounted, along with the story of how he became an Olympic torch bearer, a devoted Lymphoma & Leukemia Society spokesperson, a motivational speaker, and an author. Heart of Iron is an invaluable companion for those affected by cancer and a breathtaking memoir about one man’s unstoppable spirit and success against all odds.