The contrast could not have been greater - as Lance Armstrong, a fraudster backed by many corporate sponsors and feted by presidents, was about to deliver a stage-managed confession to Oprah, so a young woman from a small village in Wales took aim.      She too had been a cyclist, the only rider ever to have become World and Olympic champion in the same year, and the first British cyclist to have been ranked World No.1, but as a woman in a man's sport, her exploits gained little recognition and brought no riches. She too had ridden through this dark period for the sport when drug-taking was everywhere. Nicole Cooke spoke up for those who had taken a very different path to Lance and his team-mates.      In her frank and outspoken autobiography, Cooke reveals the real story behind British cycling's rise to global dominance. With a child's dreams of success, she left home at 18 to pursue her goals in Italy. Broken contracts, unpaid wages, a horrendous injury and drugs cheats were just some of the challenges she faced, even before she lined up to take on her opponents. The Breakaway is a book that will not only inspire all those who read it, but which also asks some serious questions about the way society regards women's sport.

    Proper hard bastards, wannabe villains and cockney wide boys everywhere you went, all looking to make their mark. With trouble at home and more at school, Danny Dyer didn't have many options. He was a rascal, running with a tough crowd, getting himself into scrapes with the Old Bill, on the verge of becoming just another nobody. Until he started to act.It came naturally to him. He landed role after role, working with big stars, making a name for himself. And then came Human Traffic, and his career went into overdrive. Fame opened doors into the best clubs, the best booze and even better drugs. But with the highs came the lows, and as the drinks flowed, the work dried up. Shut out of an industry that didn't understand him, that heard his reputation before bothering with his talent, he had no choice but to turn it around and sort himself out. This is the real story - straight up.Funny, honest, full of swagger, and jammed full of antics and anecdotes, this memoir tears it up proper and delivers on every page.

    Hendry retired in 2012 with a record-breaking seven World Champion titles under his belt, a record that remains to this day. He's now ready to tell his life story for the first time - from a childhood spent climbing the ranks of the sport, through the highs of the '90s and lows of the 2000s, to his life now as a sports pundit and commentator.With an insight into the world of the man behind the cue, and what made him such a top-class player, this is the definitive autobiography of the legend that is Stephen Hendry.

    Alex Ferguson labelled him 'bargain of the century' when he reflected on the £505,000 Manchester United paid to sign him in 1991. Schmeichel became a key figure in the club's successes during the decade ahead, culminating when he captained United in the incredible, last-gasp Treble-clinching win over Bayern Munich in the 1999 Champions League final.A complex character, Schmeichel's story is no mere litany of triumphs. In the book, he recalls how he nearly died at the age of 15. The son of a Danish nurse and Polish musician, his own son Kasper has followed him to the sport's summit, winning the Premier League with Leicester and taking over in Denmark's goal.

     As a player, he established himself as one of the leading midfielders of his era, being named PFA Player of the Year in 1985 and credited with being the fourth best footballer in the world. He won numerous honours with Everton, including two league titles, one FA Cup and one European Cup Winners’ Cup during the most successful period in the Blues’ history. He also won 13 England caps, playing at the 1986 World Cup – where a date with destiny at the ‘hand’ and feet of Diego Maradona would provide a lasting, painful memory. As a manager, his journey has taken him from Manchester to Sunderland, India to Thailand, each step a voyage into the unknown and sometimes into difficulties and even controversy. This is the unique story of a footballer who got to the top and yet never forgot his roots, who mixed with the powerful but has never been afraid to challenge authority. Told with typical forthrightness, Peter’s book will capture the imagination of football fans far and wide.

    

    Because Jens was the oldest, the one constantly running upstairs to protect his mother in the middle of the night, his father placed the barrel into his mouth first. Fear taught Jens how to attack with his fists. Fear taught him how to get what he wanted, by any means necessary. Fear put him on the path toward becoming a world champion fighter, to prove wrong all those who claimed he wouldn’t amount to any more than his drunk old man. It was this path — the one that would make him the most intimidating pound-for-pound fighter in the ring — that eventually let him put his childhood demons to rest and find an inner peace. But it was a long and painful battle. Little Evil is a gripping and true tale of father and son, of what betrayal does to the young and drives them to do, and of how one determined man shattered the chains of his childhood and rose to the top, becoming the lightweight champion of the UFC.

    

    He also describes his enduring friendship with the ‘kid from across Dublin’s Tolka Park’, Eamon Dunphy, and his career on RTÉ2’s football panel, where Giles’ intelligent and insightful analysis have made him an even more well-loved and respected national figure.

    Chris Spealler is 5’5" and 140 pounds. Such daunting facts would make most declare defeat before trying. Chris didn’t buy the odds, though. Instead, he forged his own modern-day David-and-Goliath story. Speal is Chris’s account of struggle and perseverance, despite being "too small." What others did with ease, he seemed to do with sheer grit and will. And his actions put him among CrossFit’s elite. His is not a story of a gifted athlete whose natural talent granted him acclaim, but rather of one man who refused to back down and inspired an entire community in the process.

    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 book contains the fascinating, insightful and at times hilarious memoirs of one of the most gifted and enigmatic British footballers of the last 25 years, Matt Le Tissier.

    Yet even before the competition had started, Quinn was caught up in the most emotionally draining events of his career, as Ireland's World Cup campaign was rocked by Roy Keane's sudden departure. All his efforts at mediation failed, leaving him exhausted. As he worked to find a solution, Quinn looked back on his life and career, and saw echoes of his current situation. In this fascinating autobiography, updated for this edition, he recalls the all-night drinking sessions with Tony Adams and Paul Merson, the gambling, the good times and the bad. It is a remarkable story, brilliantly told.

    But re-establishing the Reds as the most successful club in the land was an enormous task. Famously, he knew he had to knock Liverpool of their perch. At the dawn of the Premier League era, in 1992-93, United had gone twenty-six years without being champions, but that season Ferguson finally led the club to title success and in 2010-11 he finally achieved the record-breaking nineteenth title. On top of that, Sir Alex has led Manchester United to two Champions League victories and many other trophies. This fascinating book not only celebrates what Sir Alex has achieved at United, but also seeks to explain just how he has gone about creating this remarkable dynasty, constantly rebuilding the team and driving them forward to yet more glory. In an era when most managers are lucky if they last two years, Sir Alex's achievement of lasting twenty-five years at the very top is truly astonishing. This book is the club's fitting tribute to his career.

    The son of legendary Irish and World Champion Stephen Roche, Nicolas had to fight to make it as a professional and even harder to make his mark as his own man on this toughest of competitive sports. His rise up the ranks has been meteoric, with top 15 finishes in both the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España in 2010, but his attitude to his chosen profession has remained undimmed. Honest, eloquent and passionate about how the cycling world should be, Nicolas has gained acclaim and a devoted fan following for his Tour diaries serialised in the Irish Independent. Now a major contender for a podium finish in a grand tour, Nicolas is ready to expand on those diaries and to tell in full the story of life in the peloton and of the remarkable events that have brought him this far. From furious spats with teammates and exhilarating races against the world's best, this is a gripping cycling adventure and sportsman's tale.