Pepe: My Autobiography


Pepe Reina - 2011
    The Reds' goalkeeper has established himself as one of the big stars at Anfield and worn the captain's armband in the absence of Kop legends Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher.Pepe: My Autobiography is the fascinating personal account of his rise to the top of the game. From winning the FA Cup, European Championship and World Cup, to the agony of a Champions League final defeat and surviving the off-pitch drama that tore one of the country’s greatest football clubs apart.Pepe has witnessed first-hand the rise and fall of Rafa Benitez's Spanish revolution at Anfield and he gives his revealing insight on some amazing Kop glory nights as well as the controversial departures of compatriots Xabi Alonso and Fernando Torres. He also speaks openly about the ill-fated reign of Roy Hodgson and the events that forced him to consider his Reds future before the arrival of new American owners and Kenny Dalglish’s celebrated return. Pepe paints a colourful portrait of his legendary Spanish team-mates and reveals how bittersweet experiences suffered by his goalkeeper father provided him with the personal inspiration to succeed. Away from the pitch, Pepe is a real family man who feels at home in Liverpool, and someone who likes to enjoy every day to the full.

Yzerman: The Making of a Champion


Douglas Hunter - 2004
    Drawing on the insights of coaches, teammates and league insiders, award-winning writer Douglas Hunter charts Yzerman's career as "the player's player," the embodiment of skill, dedication, sacrifice, and leadership.Yzerman went fourth overall to the Detroit Red Wings in the very strong 1983 NHL entry draft, which included such prospects as Tom Barasso, Cam Neely, and Pat LaFontaine. He made an immediate impact in the NHL with his dazzling offensive skills. In 1986, having just turned 21, he was made the youngest captain in league history.Despite his individual success, including being one of the only three players in NHL history to record a 155-point season, Yzerman's team struggled and Detroit's devoted hockey fans wondered when he would reverse the Red Wings' fortunes. When Detroit was unexpectedly bumped from the playoffs in the '95 Stanley Cup final, many fingers, pointed at the captain. Determined to bring a championship back to Detroit, shrugging off persistent trade rumors, Yzerman continued to adjust his game for the good of the team. While his finesse as a playmaker and goal scorer remained in evidence, the gritty centerman blocked shots, drove to the net, and worked tirelessly along the boards in the corners. He led by aggressive example on the ice and with quiet confidence in the dressing room.In 1997, when the Red Wings won their first Stanley Cup since 1955, Yzerman proved he was a winner. He proved it again the next season, when he raised the Cup for a second time and was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs' most valuable player. In 2002 the team captured its third Stanley Cup in seven seasons and that same year Yzerman was pivotal in Team Canada's Olympic gold medal victory.

Center of Attention: A True Crime Memoir


Jami D. Brown Martin - 2020
    The photo looks completely out of place on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list where it’s been since December, 8, 2007. For eight of those years, Jason appeared directly beside Osama Bin Laden. Bin Laden is long gone, but Jason is still wanted for armed robbery and murder.For years, his sister, Jami D. Brown Martin has watched the true crime programs and read the amateur investigative blogs devoted to Jason, his crime, and the efforts to apprehend him knowing the story wasn’t as simple, nor was it just Jason’s. To be the sister, brother, or relative of one of the world’s most wanted men is to live every day with the horrible truth and many consequences of his brutal act.CENTER OF ATTENTION is the story of a former Mormon missionary turned murderer. It is also a riveting look behind the facade of the genetically blessed, seemingly prominent and pious Brown family of Laguna Beach, California. It is a tale of the family patriarch, John Brown, who disappeared without a trace ten years before his son. More important, it is the gripping and ultimately hopeful story of the sister of one of the world’s most wanted fugitives and her journey to accept that despite being a product of the same crazy environment as her brother, her life and path are her own.

All Round View


Imran Khan - 1988
    He tells of his life and the game he loves: from his childhood in Lahore, to his student days at Oxford (where he led the University team), his time at Worcester and thence to Sussex, culminating in his captaincy of Pakistan. A self portrait emerges of a man who has spent fifteen years at the top: years which have wrought changes - political, commercial and tactical - in the way cricket is played and promoted; changes too, in the man himself, as he reconciled his Muslim upbringing with the professional and personal pressures of being an international sportsman.

Outsider: Always Almost: Never Quite


Brian Sewell - 2011
    Outsider - spanning through his relationship with his mother, his unorthodox education, and early years as an art dealer - is often scandalous and consistently fascinating.

Between the Lines: Not-So-Tall Tales from Ray "Scampy" Scapinello's Four Decades in the NHL


Ray Scapinello - 2006
    To hockey fans, Ray Scapinello's name and face are as recognizable as any star player or coach in the NHL. Scampy, as he is affectionately known has had a long and storied career as a linesman in the NHL. His 5 foot 7 frame and 163 pounds belie his ability and endurance on the ice. When Ray retired in 2004 after 33 years in the NHL, he had officiated in 2,500 regular season matches (never missing a game), 426 playoff games, and an astounding twenty Stanley Cup final series. His untouchable statistics make him a lock to enter the Hockey Hall of Fame as an official, but even they do not do justice to the respect he has earned from officials, players, coaches, and fans alike. a consummate professional, a chronic practical joker, and a true ambassador of the sport. Between the Lines gives a rare glimpse inside the world of hockey from an unusual perspective through the eyes of one of the game's greatest and best loved officials. inside look at what those players and coaches are really like, what they really say and do, and what the game looks like between the lines. Full of fun stories, perspective on how the game has changed and evolved, and stories and interviews about Scampy from players, coaches, and other officials, Between the Lines is a captivating memoir of a truly unique life in hockey.

Fighting Spirit: A Championship Season at Notre Dame


Lou Holtz - 1989
    Holtz brought the Fighting Irish back from a five-year slump in 1987. Illustrated.

21 Years Gone: The Autobiography


Jack Osbourne - 2006
    By the time Jack was 16, he was addicted to alcohol and prescription drugs, was hanging out with rock stars in LA and living a life that any teenager would aspire to—and then the reality show The Osbournes turned him into a global celebrity. As much as Jack enjoyed his fame, underneath it all he was still an awkward teenager, using his sense of humor as a protective shield. With fame and money came greater access to drugs and soon his addictions took a firmer hold on him and his behavior was soon out of control. In 21 Years Gone Jack writes with brutal frankness about his descent into addiction and the low point he reached when his mother Sharon was diagnosed with cancer. Scared that his she might die, Jack retreated further into his alcoholic shell, hating who he was, hating what he did. When Sharon realized what was happening she told Jack he had to go into rehab and slowly he turned his life around. Discovering a passion for extreme sports, he went from overweight and unfit to the lean young man he is today—courtesy of such adventures as running with the bulls in Pamplona, fighting a Thai martial arts expert, and scaling El Capitan, one of the world's toughest climbs.

Loopers: A Caddie's Twenty-Year Golf Odyssey


John Dunn - 2013
    The lifers - as in "caddies for life" - that plied the loops were an ensemble of misfits and degenerates that made the caddy yard look more like an OTB parlor than anything near a country club.  But Dunn came of age in those yards and on those courses, and after an eye-opening experience caddying in Aspen during college the magnetism of the game and the lifestyle proved irresistible. One adventure after another kept him coming back summer after summer, until - out of college - he found himself migrating with the seasons, looping at some of the most exquisite and exclusive golf locations in the world; Sherwood, Augusta, Bandon Dunes, Shinnecock, and St. Andrews to name a few. Dunn criss-crossed the country on his own big loop; working inside the privet hedges while camping on the mountains; following the back roads and stumbling across unexpected moments of profound natural beauty; embracing the freedom of what he calls the last vagabond existence in America, all while trying to decide whether to quit the loop and get a real job. Maybe next season...

The Jersey: The All Blacks: The Secrets Behind the World's Most Successful Team


Peter Bills - 2018
     'Extremely well written. Compelling, accurate, insightful and brilliant in the way it captures the New Zealand way. - John Hart, former All Blacks coach.With a better winning record than any other sports team in history, they stand head and shoulders above their nearest rugby rivals, and go to the 2019 World Cup as back-to-back World Champions. How did a country of just 4.8 million people conquer the world?Peter Bills, who has reported on international rugby for more than 40 years, was given exclusive access to all the key figures in New Zealand rugby as he set out to understand the secrets behind the All Blacks success. From Steve Hansen to Beauden Barrett, Richie McCaw to the late Sir Colin Meads, Peter Bills talked at length with over 90 people, both in New Zealand and around the world, with intimate knowledge of what makes the All Blacks tick.This is a story of the first settlers, and the 'Originals' who forged the All Blacks legacy, right through to modern times. It draws heavily on the contributions made by all New Zealanders: players, coaches, officials, supporters and those who have worn the most recognized jersey in the world. Intrinsically, The Jersey goes to the heart of the All Blacks success. It is also an epic story of not just a rugby team but a nation, whose identities are inextricably linked. Additionally, it debates a question, terrifying for any of their opponents. Could the All Blacks get even better?

No Direction Home


Greg Cayea - 2020
    it was a dark place to be. No Direction Home tells the story of the series of events that landed Greg there, what it was like, and how he adventurously escaped. It starts on the first day of middle school in an upscale neighborhood in Long Island, New York. Greg was labeled the biggest piece of shit in sixth grade because of a few unfortunate circumstances, and there seemed to be no hope for redemption. Then one day everything changed, but it was a bit too late. Greg was on a crusade for vengeance.What ensues is a chain reaction of escapades, filled with theft, drug addiction, prostitution, suspension, and eventually, permanent relocation to residential rehabs across the country. Still, nothing could calm him down. He was a bit too off the hinges by then for rehabilitation, and after a scuffle with anti-Semitic cohorts at an inpatient rehab and a daring escape with a girl "too good to be true," he's scooped up and transferred to Hidden Lake Academy, a fucked up place tucked in the obscurity of the Appalachian Mountains. From that point on, all bets are off and there is one mission, and one mission only: get out. His attempted escape morphs into a chaotic tale of homelessness, bad crowds, rancid romance, and bravery in all the wrong places, but one thing is for sure... Greg will never be the same. The question is, will he ever find his way home?

Original Rude Boy: From Borstal to The Specials


Neville Staple - 2009
    In 1979, Thatcher's Britain was a country crippled by strikes, joblessness, and economic gloom, divided by race and class—and skanking to a new beat: 2 Tone. The unruly offspring of white boy punk and rude boy ska, the Specials burst on to the scene. On stage they were electric, and at the heart of this energy was the vocal chemistry of the ethereal Terry Hall and Jamaican rude boy Neville Staple. In 1961, five-year-old Neville was sent to England to live with his father, a man for whom discipline bordered on child abuse. As he recounts here, growing up black in the Midlands of the 1960s and 1970s wasn't easy, and his youth was marked by scuffles with skins, compulsive womanizing, and a life of crime that led from shoplifting to burglary and eventually prison. But throughout there was music, and Nev reveals how he became part of the most important band of the 1980s. He remembers sound system battles; the legendary 2 Tone tour with the Selecter, Madness, and Dexy's, and their clashes with white nationalist thugs. He recalls the band's increasing tensions and eventual split; his subsequent foray into bubblegum pop with Fun Boy Three; and a newfound fame in America as godfather to Third Wave ska bands. Finally he reflects on the Specials' reunion and how even now, 30 years later, they can't help tearing themselves apart.

Bob Willis: A Cricketer and a Gentleman


Bob Willis - 2020
    Following his passing in 2019, tributes to Bob came flooding in in every major news outlet and from every major figure in the industry - and outside of it. His career spanned decades, from his days as a cricketer for England to his time as a pundit on Sky TV. This autobiography includes never-before-seen writing from Bob alongside contributions from key figures as well as a detailed account of the great England victory over Australia at Headingly in 1981.The book, edited by Bob's brother David, combines a new biography, written by Daily Mail sportswriter Mike Dickson, with a celebration of a truly legendary man. Tributes from some of his many friends in the world of cricket and beyond are accompanied by reflections on highlights from an eventful life, drawing on autobiographical and personal material by Bob himself, contemporary press reports and the accounts of team-mates and opponents.

Harry the K: The Remarkable Life of Harry Kalas


Randy Miller - 2010
    To millions of football fans across America, he was the “Voice of the NFL.” And as open and giving as Harry Kalas was throughout his professional and personal life, there are countless layers of the man that have remained unknown . . . until now. Author Randy Miller interviewed more than 160 people—including all of Harry’s surviving family, many of his close friends from childhood to present, numerous colleagues from baseball and the NFL, and even Harry’s longtime personal psychologist—to craft a loving and shockingly honest portrayal of one of the most celebrated broadcasters in the history of sports. With incredible details from all phases of his life—from his upbringing in the Chicago suburbs, to his Hall of Fame broadcasting career in baseball, to his ubiquitous voiceover work with the NFL, to his personal vices for drinking and women, to his legendary friendship with Richie “Whitey” Ashburn, to his ongoing feud with on-air partner Chris Wheeler— Harry the K: The Remarkable Life of Harry Kalas will surprise, delight, and enlighten all fans of the man they called “Harry the K.”

Bleeding Orange: Fifty Years of Blind Referees, Screaming Fans, Beasts of the East, and Syracuse Basketball


Jim Boeheim - 2014
    . . and he still hasn’t walked off. In six decades as a player, assistant coach and the head man on the bench for Syracuse University’s basketball program, Boeheim is synonymous with the blood and thunder of East Coast hoops. In Bleeding Orange, Boeheim recounts for the first time all of the pleasures and perils of a career spent battling “The Beasts of the Big East,” the NCAA and his own fear of failure.The son of a funeral director, Coach Boeheim has always been full of life, and his combative nature helped ignite what was arguably the most fascinating and competitive college basketball conference ever—the Big East of the 1980s. Boeheim’s battles with fellow coaches Big John Thompson of Georgetown, roly-poly Rollie Massimino of Villanova, feisty Jim Calhoun of Connecticut and beloved Louie Carnesecca of St. John’s turned the Big East into the best show in college basketball.Combining a real time, inside-the-program account of the 2013–14 season—Syracuse’s first in the ACC—with a narrative of his most cherished memories of coming-of-age on the Syracuse campus and of coaching two Olympic gold medal–winning teams, Bleeding Orange is a must-read both for Syracuse fans and anyone who calls himself or herself an aficionado of college basketball history.