Tall Tales: The Glory Years of the NBA


Terry Pluto - 1992
    Tall Tales is essential reading for any fan who understands that the history of the league does not begin and end with Michael Jordan.

That Sweet Enemy: Britain and France: The History of a Love-Hate Relationship


Robert Tombs - 2006
    The authors take us from Waterloo to Chirac’s slandering of British cooking, charting the cross-channel entanglement and its unparalleled breadth of cultural, economic and political influence. They illuminate the complexity of the relationship—rivalry, enmity, misapprehension and loathing mixed with envy, admiration and genuine affection—and the ways in which it has shaped the modern world, from North America to the Middle East to Southeast Asia, and is still shaping Europe today. They make clear that warfare between the two countries often went hand in hand with hardy, if hidden, strains of anglophilia and francophilia; conversely, though France and Britain were allies for much of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, it has been an alliance almost as uneasy, as competitive and as ambivalent as the previous generations of warfare.Wonderfully written—acute, witty, consistently surprising—That Sweet Enemy is a triumph: an eye-opener for the experts, and a feast for the general reader.

Shunt: The Story of James Hunt


Tom Rubython - 2010
    In this account of his life, the author has examined every detail of the driver's life - from his very earliest days to the last hours of his existence - as well as the lives of those he left behind.

The Unstoppable Keeper


Lutz Pfannenstiel - 2009
    A massive bestseller in Germany, this astonishing, fascinating and at times hilarious book relates a football career in which Lutz: Became the only person to have played professional football in all FIFA Confederations Was wrongly jailed for match fixing in Singapore spending 101 days in horrific conditions Signed for 25 teams (including Notts Forest, Wimbledon's Crazy Gang and Calgary) Stopped breathing three times after his heart stopped during a game Turned down mighty Bayern Munich to play in Malaysia Coached teams in such exotic locations as Norway, Namibia, Armenia and Cuba Kidnapped a Penguin! All this because he simply loved playing football and because, quite simply, goalkeepers are mad!"

Reversing the Curse: Inside the 2004 Boston Red Sox


Dan Shaughnessy - 2005
    With lively reporting, penetrating insight, and a keen sense of history, Shaughnessy brings the 2004 baseball season alive in all its glory, drama, and garishness as the Boston Red Sox victory turns everyday sports into the stuff of legend.

Believe Us: How Jürgen Klopp transformed Liverpool into title winners


Melissa Reddy - 2020
    The Reds became the first team in British history to hold the European Cup, Super Cup, World Club Cup and domestic league title simultaneously in a masterclass of free-scoring, full throttle footballing prowess.Journalist Melissa Reddy reveals the inside story of Jürgen Klopp’s astonishing revival of Liverpool, culminating in the club’s first domestic league trophy in thirty years. Featuring incisive and insightful reporting, and the thoughts of players, management and club hierarchy, Believe Us paints a vivid picture of this titanic sporting success. Reddy’s unparalleled access to the club brings interviews with everyone from fans and key backroom staff to players including talismanic captain Jordan Henderson, and of course Klopp himself.The perfect gift for any fan of the club or its inimitable leader, this is heavy metal football writing at its best.

Malta Spitfire: The Diary of an Ace Fighter Pilot


George Beurling - 1943
    Twenty-five thousand feet above Malta--that is where the Spitfires intercepted the Messerschmitts, Macchis, and Reggianes as they swept eastward in their droves, screening the big Junkers with their bomb loads as they pummeled the island beneath: the most bombed patch of ground in the world. One of those Spitfire pilots was George Beurling, nicknamed "Screwball," who in fourteen flying days destroyed twenty-seven German and Italian aircraft and damaged many more. Hailing from Canada, Beurling finally made it to Malta in the summer of 1942 after hard training and combat across the Channel. Malta Spitfire tells his story and that of the gallant Spitfire squadron, 249, which day after day ascended to the "top of the hill" to meet the enemy against overwhelming odds. With this memoir, readers experience the sensation of being in the cockpit with him, climbing to meet the planes driving in from Sicily, diving down through the fighter screen at the bombers, dodging the bullets coming out of the sun, or whipping up under the belly of an Me for a deflection shot at the engine. This is war without sentiment or romance, told in terms of human courage, skill, and heroism--a classic of WWII military aviation.

Shooters: The Toughest Men in Professional Wrestling


Jonathan Snowden - 2012
    From catch wrestling masters Strangler Lewis and Billy Robinson to pro-wrestling icons like Frank Gotch and Lou Thesz, from Olympic heroes Danny Hodge and Kurt Angle to the Japanese wrestler who trained the famous Gracie family and gave birth to the global phenomenon of MMA, Shooters takes you from the shadowy carnival tent and the dingy training hall to the bright lights of the squared circle and the Las Vegas glitz of the Octagon. This volume takes fans of pro wrestling and MMA from Billy Riley’s legendary Wigan Snake Pit to the rigorous UWF Dojo in Tokyo, and draws on meticulous research and original interviews with today’s tough guys.

Scholes: My Story


Paul Scholes - 2011
    A one-club player, he has served Manchester United for more than sixteen years, making over 600 appearances in that time -- the fourth highest number of appearances by any player for the club. He also represented the England national team for seven years, winning 66 caps including two World Cup and two European Cup campaigns. Throughout this time, Scholes has always played a decisive role in his teams' fortunes. As well as the technical brilliance that makes Paul Scholes such a breathtaking player to watch it is the determination and integrity which he demonstrates both on and off the pitch that means he is a fascination to fans of the sport. In an age of overpaid, workaday players, Scholes has become an icon of professionalism and club loyalty, admired by fans everywhere. Now in this book for the first time Paul Scholes shares his story: from his beginnings at United under the tutelage of Sir Alex Ferguson as part of the 'golden' youth team, to the treble-winning season and twice capturing European Cup glory, the importance of family and friends in keeping his feet on the ground, as well as his many triumphs and tribulations with England. This is without question the sports book of 2011, from a player as popular and as revered as any in the game today.

Your 15th Club: The Inner Secret to Great Golf


Bob Rotella - 2008
    Dr. Bob Rotella, author of the bestselling book Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect, brings together his skills and years of experience as a golf psychologist to give readers the insight they need to improve their game—before they ever step up to the tee.The 15th Club is the tool that golf stars like Tiger Woods use to block out negative thoughts, doubt, and fear. It is what allows champions to perform at their peak both in practice and during the game. Golfers who lack it find the game elusive and frustrating. Confident golfers play the game as they have always sensed they could play it. Now, one of the most renowned golf writers offers up the foolproof methods that will allow golfers at any skill level to give their game that extra boost. Dr. Rotella provides tips and techniques for how to learn from better golfers, overcome fear in pressure situations, and keep a clear mind, no matter what. He tells golfers that inner arrogance is not a negative trait, but instead is something that can improve performance on and off the course. In order to perform at peak levels and achieve your goals, you must believe that you can win. Positive thinking is an incredibly powerful tool, and it can change the way a player approaches the game. Knowing how to focus on the challenge at hand and understanding your own talent are crucial parts of becoming a confident golfer. Dr. Rotella provides a detailed plan that anyone can use to build the self-image of a winner. He offers a one-year schedule in diary and calendar form that will incorporate the daily mental routines that he assigns to players on the PGA Tour. This is how the pros learn to ignore negative influences, focus on productive advice, and take pride in their abilities. Your 15th Club will tell golfers of all abilities how to develop the confidence they need to maximize their physical gifts and defeat the Tigers of their world, whether that world is the PGA Tour or the third flight of the club championship.

The Race to Truth: Blowing the whistle on Lance Armstrong and cycling's doping culture


Emma O'Reilly - 2014
    Yet when Lance Armstrong, starting his comeback from cancer, signed for US Postal, it was Emma, the only woman on the team, who became his personal soigneur. This is the definitive inside story of that time, and of the enormous repercussions that resonate to this day for Emma, Lance and the whole sport.Emma had the strength to break cycling's omerta by speaking out against the culture of doping. She thought she would be one of many whistleblowers, doing what she believed was right. Isolated and shunned by the sport she loved, however, her reputation was systematically destroyed. And yet she had the courage to bounce back, and remarkably, to forgive those who made her existence a living hell. This is the ultimate memoir of truth and its many consequences.