IP Man: Portrait of a Kung Fu Master


Ip Ching - 2001
    By seeing his life or at least by seeing the portrait of his life as painted in the stories of those who knew him, a Master s life becomes a sketch of a path to Mastery. From stories shared by his son, this book paints a portrait of the famous Wing Chun Grand Master, Ip Man, providing a set of fifteen principles as a guide to mastery. While there are broad lessons to be learned from this portrait, the details must be savored. Many of the great figures of history are shrouded in the mists of aggrandizement, but here the details, the fine strokes of the portrait, have remained to show the humble seeker something about the life of a Master. Each chapter provides a principle or set of principles to contemplate. You will be richly rewarded if you seek to discern the principles and the man who strove to embody them. These stories and the principles drawn from them are commended to you for your benefit and learning and enjoyment. Let them guide you in your journey, but do not look for them to tell you every step. In this portrait are great treasures for the taking but not simply for the asking.

Rush: The Autobiography: Liverpool's Greatest Striker, Liverpool's Greatest Era, The True Story


Ian Rush - 2008
    The story of one of Liverpool’s greatest soccer goal scorers, from his beginnings as a rough-edged Welsh teenager thrust into the ranks of an already great team, to how he learned to grow as a player and a man.

Who Ate All The Pies? The Life and Times of Mick Quinn


Mick Quinn - 2003
    They said Mick had a sixth sense for great accuracy in his playing days - he could find a party from any range. Quinn says he only put £50 on each horse race - but liked to stay in the bookies for twenty races a day!Sentenced in 1987 to three weeks in prison for twice driving whilst banned, Mick's been accused of punching Peter Schmeichel on the football pitch and John Fashanu off it. On retirement, though, Quinn switched to horse racing, the Sport of Kings, but controversy led the blue bloods of racing to hang the scouse oik out to dry and he was suspended from training for two and a half years.Who Ate All The Pies? is the funniest and most honest football book you'll read for a long, long time.

Walk-On: Life from the End of the Bench


Alan Williams - 2005
    Alan Williams knew nothing about being the star, but a courageous basketball player shows that one can still find success in the midst of failure. Even though Alan's career didn't result in him being a lottery pick in the first round of the NBA draft, Walk-On gives each of us something to cheer about. From the end of the bench, a firsthand view of major college basketball proves that ultimate fulfillment in life is not found in how many points we score, but in having a hope and a faith in those things in life which cannot be seen.JOIN THE FIGHT FOR CANCERJIMMY V FOUNDATION: A portion of the proceeds from Walk-On will be donated to the V Foundation, an organization helping to support cancer research. The V Foundation was founded in memory of the late Jim Valvano, former coach of NC STATE, who died years ago of cancer.

From Last to First: How I Became a Marathon Champion


Charlie Spedding - 2011
    These were the athletes in the Olympic marathon. So how did he end up with a bronze medal? How did he win the London marathon? And why does he still hold the English record for the distance?In this remarkable autobiography, he explains how -- how someone who was almost the bottom of the class when he first went to school, and even worse at sport, eventually turned himself into a world-class athlete, competing in top marathons all over the world, and genuinely going from last to first.As well as the enthralling life story of one of our finest distance runners, this book is a wonderfully clear and inspiring piece of life coaching for anyone who wants to make the most of their talents. But more than this, as Spedding says at the start, 'I believe that on occasions you can create the circumstances in which you can perform at a higher level than your talent says you can.' Spedding's own story, and his chronicle of the big races he excelled in, proves it's trueFor anyone aspiring to run a marathon, or indeed anyone who wants to set themselves a goal they think beyond their reach -- and achieve it -- this is an essential book.

Jackie Tyrrell: The Warrior's Code: My Autobiography


Jackie Tyrrell - 2017
    Kilkenny were beaten in that final by Tipperary but Tyrrell’s inner-most thoughts from his diary, both in the lead-up to, and after the game, provide the narrative to a compelling life story. His unique insights paint the picture of a relentless individual and a relentless team – the most successful side in the history of Irish male sport. The intrigue and aura around Kilkenny coach Brian Cody and his players was always heightened because very little ever emerged from the camp, or the dressing room. Now, for the first time, Tyrrell opens a unique window into the elite mindset and attitude which forged such unprecedented success. Tyrrell’s own journey is chronicled with brutal and unwavering honesty. The hurling legend’s constant drive to be a winner with his beloved county have pushed him towards breaking point many times. Tyrrell operates somewhere between obsessed and maniacal. On the pitch, he displayed the ruthless mentality of an assassin but behind it all, he had to conquer crippling self-doubt and fear. It took until his fourth successive All-Ireland final for Tyrrell to believe he had finally arrived as a senior inter-county hurler, going on to become one of the most feared and respected defenders in the game.

Lewis Hamilton: My Story


Lewis Hamilton - 2007
    In My Story for the first time Lewis opens up about his stunning debut season including the gripping climax to the 2007 F1 World Championship 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 has thrilled the world of motor racing. With victories in Canada America and Hungary and Japan he led the World Drivers Championship right up to the last race of the season. But bare statistics alone do scant justice to the amazing impact Lewis Hamilton has had on the sporting landscape this year. 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 his four race wins the frightening crash in Germany his rivalry with team-mate Fernando Alonso his special relationsh

Vuelta Skelter: Riding the Remarkable 1941 Tour of Spain


Tim Moore - 2021
    Julian Berrendero's victory in the 1941 Vuelta a Espana was an extraordinary exercise in sporting redemption: the Spanish cyclist had just spent 18 months in Franco's concentration camps, punishment for expressing Republican sympathies during the civil war. Seventy nine years later, perennially over-ambitious cyclo-adventurer Tim Moore developed a fascination with Berrendero's story, and having borrowed an old road bike with the great man's name plastered all over it, set off to retrace the 4,409km route of his 1941 triumph - in the midst of a global pandemic. What follows is a tale of brutal heat and lonely roads, of glory, humiliation, and then a bit more humiliation. Along the way Tim recounts the civil war's still-vivid tragedies, and finds the gregarious but impressively responsible locals torn between welcoming their nation's only foreign visitor, and bundling him and his filthy bike into a vat of antiviral gel.'Bill Bryson on two wheels' Independent

Bowl. Sleep. Repeat.: Inside the World of England's Greatest-Ever Bowler


Jimmy Anderson - 2019
    565 Test Wickets and counting.Written with Felix White: musician, cricket enthusiast and Anderson's co-host on BBC Five Live's phenomenally popular podcast 'Tailenders', Jimmy invites us all into his world of cricket. Full of test-match sized stories and 20/20 anecdotes, this book contains everything you've dreamed of asking a top cricketer. And Jimmy provides the answers and insights into this world on and off the pitch. We tackle the big questions. And, importantly, the small ones;Do cricketers really watch Countdown instead of the Test whilst waiting to bat? What are those conversations in the slip cordon?And what does he eat as a tailender?

Second Innings: My Sporting Life


Andrew Flintoff - 2015
    The complex and troubled relationship with discipline, alcohol and authority during his exhilarating cricket career. The search for an authentic voice as a player, free from the blandness and conformity of modern professionalism. Is Flintoff the last of his kind, in any sport?Through all his highs and lows, triumphs and reversals, this book reveals a central tension. There is 'Fred' - performer, extrovert, centre of attention. Then there is 'Andrew' - reflective, withdrawn and uncertain. Two people contained in one extraordinary life. And sometimes, inevitably, keeping the two in balance proves too much.We are taken backstage, seeing the mischief and adventure that has defined Andrew Flintoff's story. Above all, we observe the enduring power of fun, friendship and loyalty - the pillars of Flintoff's career. At ease with his faults as well as his gifts, Andrew Flintoff has sought one thing, even more than success: to be himself.

Bobby Moore: The Man in Full


Matt Dickinson - 2013
    Since his death at just 51 from pancreatic cancer, this has been the accepted view of a national hero. But how much do we really know of England’s only World Cup-winning skipper? We all know that Bobby Moore was an extraordinary captain and defender, but alongside his legendary feats on the pitch he knew scandal, death threats, bankruptcy business, and the sack. He divorced after a long affair, was rumored to have friends in the East End underworld, and he loved a drink. The tragedy of his life was to be ignored by soccer in his latter years and to drift into obscurity. After he applied to be England manager, the FA didn’t even bother to send a rejection letter. There was no job in the game and, famously, no knighthood. As well as the undeniable moments of glory, this long overdue, definitive biography won’t shy away from the grit. Tracing his journey from the East End to a pedestal outside Wembley Stadium, it will, for the first time, look at Moore’s life from all sides, through the testimony of teammates, rivals, family, and friends. What was Moore like to play with, to drink with? What was he like as a husband, father, opponent, and captain? A struggling manager and a failed businessman? This book will tell the story of an Essex boy who became the patron saint of English soccer, revealing a lifetime of intrigue, triumph, and tragedy in between.

This Mum Runs


Jo Pavey - 2016
    I was a forty-year-old mother of two who had given birth eight months before. I trained on a treadmill in a cupboard by the back door and I was wearing a running vest older than most of the girls I was competing against. Was I crazy?' Jo Pavey was forty years old when she won the 10,000m at the European Championships. It was the first gold medal of her career and, astonishingly, it came within months of having her second child.The media dubbed her ‘Supermum’, but Jo’s story is in many ways the same as every mother juggling the demands of working life with a family – the sleepless nights, the endless nappy changing, the fun, the laughter and the school-run chaos. The only difference is that Jo is a full-time athlete pushing a buggy on her training runs, clocking up miles on the treadmill in a cupboard while her daughter has her lunchtime nap, and hitting the track while her children picnic on the grass.Heartwarming and uplifting, This Mum Runs follows Jo’s roundabout journey to the top and all the lessons she's learnt along the way. It is the inspiring yet everyday story of a mum that runs and a runner that mums.

The Gaffer


Neil Warnock - 2013
    This wonderful new book takes fans into the changing room, the training ground and the boardroom. Warnock draws heavily on a lifetime of experiences at all levels in football, but particularly on his tumultuous spells at Crystal Palace, Queens Park Rangers, and Leeds United. From transfer dealings to negotiations with agents, from half-time team-talks to training sessions, from scouting trips to team-bonding sprees, from administrators to chairman, from injuries to referees - The Gaffer spills the beans.You won't have read a football book like this before.

My Name'5 Doddie: The Autobiography


Doddie Weir - 2018
    A giant of the game and a rugby icon, his unique story is charged with a passion for living life to the full.In a rugby career which had huge highs and shocking lows, Doddie faced some of the game’s greatest players, from Jonny Wilkinson to Jonah Lomu, Brian O’Driscoll to Scott Quinnell and Martin Johnson to Joost van der Westhuizen, and set stadiums alight when “on the charge like a mad giraffe”. Now, at the age of 48, Doddie faces an entirely different adversary: Motor Neurone Disease.But Doddie Weir has never been one to shy away from a challenge, on or off the pitch, and he has faced up to MND with undaunted positivity, using his boundless energy to raise funds for MND research and support.

How to Build a Car: The Autobiography of the World’s Greatest Formula 1 Designer


Adrian Newey - 2017
    He is ultra competitive but never forgets to have fun. An immensely likeable man.' Damon HillThe world’s foremost designer in Formula One, Adrian Newey OBE is arguably one of Britain’s greatest engineers and this is his fascinating, powerful memoir.How to Build a Car explores the story of Adrian’s unrivalled 35-year career in Formula One through the prism of the cars he has designed, the drivers he has worked alongside and the races in which he’s been involved.A true engineering genius, even in adolescence Adrian’s thoughts naturally emerged in shape and form – he began sketching his own car designs at the age of 12 and took a welding course in his school summer holidays. From his early career in IndyCar racing and on to his unparalleled success in Formula One, we learn in comprehensive, engaging and highly entertaining detail how a car actually works. Adrian has designed for the likes of Mario Andretti, Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Damon Hill, David Coulthard, Mika Hakkinen, Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel, always with a shark-like purity of purpose: to make the car go faster. And while his career has been marked by unbelievable triumphs, there have also been deep tragedies; most notably Ayrton Senna’s death during his time at Williams in 1994.Beautifully illustrated with never-before-seen drawings, How to Build a Car encapsulates, through Adrian’s remarkable life story, precisely what makes Formula One so thrilling – its potential for the total synchronicity of man and machine, the perfect combination of style, efficiency and speed.