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We Are the Damned United: The Real Story of Brian Clough at Leeds United
By Phil Rostron. 2009
Brian Clough's forty-four-day tenure as manager of Leeds United in 1974 is one of the most infamous episodes in British…
football history. While the bestselling The Damned United was a fictional account of Clough's short-lived but controversial reign at the club, We Are the Damned United reveals the true story, as told by the players he managed at the time. It includes candid contributions from legendary names such as Peter Lorimer, Eddie Gray and Terry Yorath, who reveal what it was like to make the transition from the relatively smooth management style of Don Revie to a constant crossing of swords with the outspoken Clough, who left the club flailing at the foot of the league upon his premature departure. We Are the Damned United tells it how it really was rather than how it might have been.Wayne Barker: The Extraordinary Story of a Bare-Knuckle Boxer
By Bernard O'Mahoney. 2013
From Salford to St Louis, former professional boxer Wayne Barker fought every man who ever challenged him. In this brutally…
honest account of his eventful life, Wayne recounts how his parents left him in the care of the travelling community, where he learned to fight and journeyed throughout Britain and Ireland to take on opponents for cash.After being charged with attempting to murder a child killer, Wayne fled to America, where he found work in the gymnasiums of New York sparring with the likes of world champion Wilfred Benítez. His ability in the ring was noticed by promoter Bobby Gleason, whose gym had been graced by legendary boxers such as Jake LaMotta. Gleason set up a fight in Caracas between Wayne and former super middleweight world champion Fulgencio Obelmejias ('Fully Obel').Wayne’s past eventually caught up with him and he was deported to Britain, where he served time in prison. He returned to the streets to earn a living from bare-knuckle fighting, before becoming a trainer and running a gym. Cancer claimed his life in 2012.Voices from the Back of the Bus: Tall Tales and Hoary Stories from Rugby's Real Heroes
By Stewart McKinney. 2009
Voices from the Back of the Bus provides a rare behind-the-scenes look at international rugby at the height of a…
golden period. Recounted with genuine warmth and much humour, over a hundred players recall the scrapes, the games, the laughs, the glory and the gritty reality of the pre-professional game.Packed with true rugby tales from the days when men played purely for the love of the game and of their nation, and multimillion-pound contracts and sponsorship deals were unheard of, this refreshing, revealing and often hilarious collection will inspire sports fans of all generations.Triumphs and Turbulence: My Autobiography
By Chris Boardman. 2016
Chris Boardman is the 2017 winner of the Cross Sports Cycling Book of the Year for his autobiography Triumphs and…
Turbulence. ‘The true inspiration was that Olympic gold won by Chris Boardman in Barcelona… I was so in awe of Chris Boardman’ Sir Bradley WigginsYou may know him as the much-loved co-presenter of ITV’s Tour de France coverage or enjoyed his BBC Olympic coverage, but beyond the easy charm Chris Boardman is one of our greatest, most inspiring cyclists.Boardman’s lone achievements in the 80s and 90s – Olympic track gold, the world hour record, repeatedly claiming the yellow jersey in the Tour de France – were the spark that started the modern era for British cycling. His endeavours both on and off the bike have made him the founding father of current golden generation – without him there would simply be no Hoy, Wiggins or Cavendish.It is a story full of intrigue: from Olympic success, to the famous duels with Graeme Obree and the insanity of the Tour de France. Chris became a legend for his combination of physical ability and technical preparation, almost single-handedly taking British cycling from wool shirts and cloth caps into the era of marginal gains. Indeed, after his career on the bike ended, a new chapter began as the backroom genius behind GB cycling. As head of the R&D team known as The Secret Squirrel Club, Chris has been responsible for the technical innovations that made the difference in 2012 and developed Boardman Bikes, which has become the country's bestselling premium bike range.Tougher Than Bullets: The Heroic Tale of a Black Watch Survivor of the Korean War
By Harold Davis, Paul Smith. 2012
As Harold Davis fell under heavy machine-gun fire, his body riddled with bullet wounds and life seemingly slipping away from…
him, he could not have realised that he was one of the Korean War’s more fortunate soldiers. American medics sprang into action and, against all odds, saved the plucky young Scot, a man who proved tougher than the bullets the brutal enemy showered him with.Unlike tens of thousands of those who fought in Korea in the 1950s, he lived to tell the tale of his horrific experiences on the front line. Now, for the first time, the Black Watch hero shares his vivid and harrowing memories.A man of tremendous grit and determination, Davis was pieced back together during almost two years in hospital. He defied doctors to return to his pre-war career as a professional footballer, building a reputation as one of Scotland’s most feared and revered defenders at Rangers FC.Touching Distance
By Beverley Turner, James Cracknell. 2012
Double Olympic gold-medal winner, James Cracknell. His story before and after his life-changing accident.In October 2011 James Cracknell, two-time Olympic…
gold-medal rower and one of the greatest endurance athletes the world has ever known, suffered a seizure at home as his young son looked on in horror. A man who had known no limits, a man who had practically achieved the impossible, was now struggling to master life's simple challenges.A year earlier, as James undertook yet another endurance challenge in Arizona, he was knocked off his bike by the wing mirror of a petrol tanker. It had smashed into the back of his head at high speed, causing severe frontal lobe damage. The doctors weren’t sure if he would recover and, if he did, whether he would ever be the same again.Touching Distance is an extraordinary, honest and powerful account as James and his wife Bev confront for the first time the lasting effects that the accident has had on their lives. It is the story of a marriage, of a family and of one man's fight back to be the best husband and father he can be.Slow Getting Up: A Story of NFL Survival from the Bottom of the Pile
By Nate Jackson. 2014
One man's odyssey into the brutal hive of the National Football LeagueAs an unsigned free agent who rose through the…
practice squad to the starting lineup of the Denver Broncos, Nate Jackson took the path of thousands of unknowns before him to carve out a professional football career twice as long as the average player. Through his story recounted here—from scouting combines to preseason cuts to byzantine film studies to glorious touchdown catches—even knowledgeable football fans will glean a new, starkly humanized understanding of the NFL's workweek. Fast-paced, lyrical, dirty, and hilariously unvarnished, Slow Getting Up is an unforgettable look at the real lives of America's best athletes putting their bodies and minds through hell.Joe and Me: An Education In Fishing And Friendship
By James Prosek. 2007
When James Prosek was just fifteen, a ranger named Joe Haines caught him fishing without a permit in a stream…
near Prosek's home in Connecticut. But instead of taking off with his fishing buddy, James put down his rod and surrendered. It was a move that would change his life forever. Expecting a small fine and a lecture, James instead received enough knowledge about fishing and the great outdoors to last a lifetime.The story of an unlikely friendship, Joe and Me is a book for those who remember the mentor in their life, the one who changed the way they look at the world.In My Skin: My Life On and Off the Basketball Court
By Brittney Griner, Sue Hovey. 2014
Hailed by ESPN as the world’s most famous female basketball player, Brittney Griner, the dunking phenom and national sensation who…
is shattering stereotypes and breaking boundaries, now shares her coming-of-age story, revealing how she found her strength to overcome bullies and to embrace her authentic self.Brittney Griner, the No. 1 pick in the 2013 WNBA Draft, is a once-in-a-generation player, possessing a combination of size and athleticism never before seen in the women’s game. But “the sport’s most transformative figure” (Sports Illustrated) is equally famous for making headlines off the court, for speaking out on issues of gender, sexuality, body image and self-esteem.At 6’8”, with an 88-inch wingspan and a size 17 shoe (men’s), the Phoenix Mercury star has heard every vicious insult in the book, enduring years of taunting that began in middle school and continues to this day. Through the highs and lows, Griner has learned to remain true to herself, rising above the haters trying to take her down.In her heartfelt memoir, she reflects on painful episodes in her life and describes how she came to celebrate what makes her unique—inspiring lessons she now shares. Filled with all the humor and personality Griner has become known for, In My Skin is more than a glimpse into one of the most original personalities in sports; it’s also a powerful call to readers to be true to themselves, to love who they are on the inside and out.With a 8 pages of photos.Pretty-shield: Medicine Woman of the Crows
By Frank B. Linderman. 1932
A rare, documented account of the life of a Crow medicine woman, drawn from interviews conducted by legendary writer and…
ethnographer Frank Bird Linderman and told in her own words.In the spring of 1931, Pretty-shield, a grandmother and medicine healer in the Crow tribe, met Frank Linderman for a series of interviews. When Linderman asked Pretty-shield about her life, the old woman relaxed and laughed. “We shall be here until we die.”In this rich account, Linderman, using sign language and an interpreter, pieces together the story of Pretty-shield’s extraordinary life, from her youth migrating across the High Plains with her people to their forced settlement on the reservation, to how she became a medicine woman. Pretty-shield vividly recalls the centuries-long traditions of the Crow people, bringing into focus the many complex facets of Crow womanhood and the ways in which Indigenous communities care for each other.Pretty-shield: Medicine Woman of the Crows reveals the everyday concerns and deep-rooted customs of tribal life for a new generation coming to terms with the violence and racism of America’s past, and offers a fascinating and authentic portrait of the Crow, their customs and traditions, their relationship to nature and healing, and the timeless insights of their lived experiences. As Pretty-shield reminds us, “Listen to the old ones. . . keep their wisdom within your heart, and understand that wisdom in your mind.”An essential contribution to the American experience, Pretty-shield illuminates a segment of our society which has for too long been relegated to the shadows of history, and celebrates Crow life and its contributions to our rich culture.All Things Possible: My Story of Faith, Football, and the First Miracle Season
By Kurt Warner, Michael Silver. 2000
Tommy Gemmell: Lion Heart
By Graham McColl, Tommy Gemmell. 2004
In Tommy Gemmell: Lion Heart he sheds light on his career - from his earliest days of growing up in…
Lanarkshire, to his award-winning decade at Celtic, and through his work as a player and manager at Dundee and Albion Rovers. Always honest, Tommy Gemmell is not afraid to look back at Celtic's dominance in the 60s and offers his trademark forthright views on Celtic's progress and the game today.Tommy ‘The Doc’ Docherty was a combative Scotland international wing-half who became a brilliant but erratic manager. His 1960s Chelsea…
team was a glorious reflection of his colourful personality, and a decade later he reinvented his relegated Manchester United side as a vibrant attacking force.He was also, however, a hostage to his own decision-making, costing Chelsea a shot at the First Division title when he banned eight players for breaking their curfew. Most famously, he was fired by United after FA Cup glory because he’d fallen in love with the physiotherapist’s wife. He was a much-travelled manager, and ‘I’ve had more clubs than Jack Nicklaus’ was among the well-worn one-liners that created the image of ‘The Doc’ as football’s stand-up comedian. But in Tommy Doc, David Tossell looks beyond the wisecracks, interviewing Docherty himself, as well as former players and colleagues, to examine a remarkable career and reveal the personal heartaches behind the laughter.This Mum Runs
By Jo Pavey. 2016
The inspirational story of athlete Jo Pavey, the runner and mum who ran at a record-breaking fifth Olympic Games at…
Rio 2016. 'Come-back races? I've had more than a few, the night of 10 May 2014 was the ultimate long shot. 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.They Don't Teach This
By Eniola Aluko. 2019
*SHORTLISTED FOR THE TELEGRAPH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS*Eni Aluko: 102 appearances for England women's national football team. First female pundit on…
Match of the Day. UN Women UK ambassador. Guardian columnist. First class honors law degree. Now an inspirational author.They Don't Teach This steps beyond the realms of memoir to explore themes of dual nationality and identity, race and institutional prejudice, success, failure and faith. It is an inspiring manifesto to change the way readers and the future generation choose to view the challenges that come in their life applying life lessons with raw truths of Eni's own personal experience.'A fascinating examination of her multiple identities - British and Nigerian, a girl in a boy's world, footballer and academic, a kid from an estate with upper-middle-class parents, a God-fearing rebel... Aluko does not hold back - and few people from the football establishment emerge with their reputation intact' GuardianTheo: Growing Up Fast
By Theo Walcott. 2011
When the name of Theo Walcott was included in the England squad for the 2006 World Cup, shock waves ran…
through the football world. But no one was more surprised than Theo himself.Five years later, Theo Walcott is one of the most recognizable names in football. As the English heart of the brilliant young Arsenal team, he has become a firm favourite at the Emirates Stadium. He represents everything that is good about the beautiful game: a player with his feet on the ground, but lightning quick on the field. He carries the expectations of the nation on his shoulders, especially since one night in Croatia made him the youngest player in history to score a hat-trick for England.It has been an incredible adventure, an unbelievable story for a quiet boy from a small village who only started playing football when he was 10. But how does it feel for your dreams to come true? In Theo: Growing Up Fast, Theo Walcott takes you right inside his world.The Test: My Autobiography
By Brian O'Driscoll. 2014
The number one bestselling autobiography of the greatest rugby player of our time: Brian O'Driscoll. Since 1999, when he made…
his international debut, there has been no greater player in world rugby than Brian O'Driscoll. In 2010 Rugby World magazine named him its world player of the decade - and since then the legend has only grown. Now, at the end of his amazing career - which culminated in fairy-tale fashion with Ireland's victory in the 2014 Six Nations championship - he tells his own story. Honest, gritty and thoughtful, Brian O'Driscoll's Autobiography is not just an essential sports book. It is an essential book about family, friends, hard work, courage and imagination.'Honest, charming and revealing - a thoroughly good read' Rugby World'After reading The Test I warmed even more to O'Driscoll as a player and a man. He stood for a new ethos in Irish sport that refused to accept mediocrity or glorious failure' Fergal Keane, Irish Times'O'Driscoll's honesty ... takes the reader to a place they simply have not been before' Vincent Hogan, Irish Independent'A must-read insight into the life and mind of Ireland's greatest rugby player' Irish Mail on Sunday'There are fascinating insights into the lengths he was willing to go to perform at the highest level' Sunday Business PostTen Hag: The Biography
By Maarten Meijer. 2022
'Meijer's portrait is definitive'iNews'Ten Hag may just be the man to bring the glory days back'Daily StarWho is Erik ten…
Hag? Calm and cool-headed, he ignores critics, follows his own methods and relentlessly pursues perfection on the pitch. His uncanny ability to analyse and solve problems - the 'process' as Ten Hag calls it - has unfailingly led to breakthrough. There is no magic. There is only intelligence at work, personal devotion to players and near-obsessive attention to detail.At Ajax, Ten Hag brooked no dissent and moulded his team into a smoothly operating unit of attack. His team enjoyed an astonishing run, winning three league cups in a row and reaching the Champions League semi-finals for the first time in a quarter of a century. Along the way, they produced some of the brightest and most entertaining football seen in Europe for years. And throughout his first season at Manchester United, he has more than made his mark. He's brought a winning spirit to the club and silverware back to the trophy cabinet.Maarten Meijer's definitive biography follows Erik ten Hag, from his upbringing in the Dutch countryside to his domestic triumphs and European victories. Meijer's book is the ultimate guide to the man with the momentous task of beginning a new era of great and winning football.Swim, Bike, Run: Our Triathlon Story
By Alistair Brownlee, Jonathan Brownlee. 2013
Swim, Bike, Run is the ultimate triathlon book, from Olympic heroes the Brownlee brothersThe Olympic Triathlon, Hyde Park, LondonAugust 7th…
2012'We jogged to our positions on the pontoon: two brothers, side by side, the world and everyone we ever cared about looking on. Eighteen years of training, culminating in this single race. Noise from the crowd impossible to imagine. Hearts thumping. Swim-hats pulled tight, goggles lowered. Into a crouch, poised for the hooter. Three. Two. One...'This is the story of how two skinny lads from west Yorkshire became the best triathletes in the world.Meet the Brownlees: Olympic Champion Alistair, World Champion Jonny. Brothers, training partners, rivals. They have obliterated the competition and set new standards for swimming, biking and running.But the Brownlee brothers have never forgotten their roots. They still do their schoolboy hill runs and Dales rides; still train harder and longer than anyone; still push each other to new heights.In this revealing, often very funny book they take us inside their world and inside their races. It's both a riveting story of brotherly rivalry and a rare insight into what it takes to be the best.Swim, Bike, Run is also packed with training secrets. Whether you are thinking about your first triathlon or are a seasoned competitor, here are unique sections on how to swim, bike and run, and advice on nutrition, injury, and mental approach. With the Brownlees in your corner, you will do more than you ever thought possible. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in swimming, cycling and running and will be loved by readers of Mark Cavendish's Boy Racer and Running with the Kenyans.Alistair Brownlee, 24, is a British triathlete from Yorkshire. He is the reigning Olympic champion, a back-to-back European champion and a two-time World champion. Jonathan Brownlee, 22, is also a British triathlete from Yorkshire. He is the reigning World Champion, a two-time World Sprint champion and an Olympic bronze medalist.'Sport has two new heroes: a couple of nice lads from Yorkshire 'The TimesSurvivor: The Shocking and Inspiring Story of a True Champion
By Fatima Whitbread. 2012
Fatima Whitbread had the worst possible start in life. Abandoned as a baby, she spent much of her childhood in…
and out of children's homes. A brief, disastrous stay with her birth mother saw her raped by her mother's drunken boyfriend - while her mother held a knife to her throat to 'quieten her down'. Fatima was only twelve at the time. Athletics was her saviour: local athletics coach Margaret Whitbread took the young Fatima under her wing, eventually adopting her. Fatima competed in three Olympics, winning bronze at the 1984 Los Angeles Games. In 1986 she set a world record, and the following year in Rome became world champion and was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year. But then Fatima faded from the public eye, leaving many to wonder where she had gone. After the cheering stopped, Fatima faced prejudice, penury, scandal and heartbreak. Survivor describes how she defeated all her demons to rise triumphantly from the ashes once again, this time as queen of the jungle. Almost 13 million people watched her on I'm a Celebrity, and after surviving 20 days in the Australian heat, she has millions of new fans eager to know more about Fatima the woman: the forthright, focused, slightly bossy, charismatic single mum who knows how to transform even the most devastating experiences into lessons in life. This is the unforgettable story of a true champion, who triumphed against the worst hardships imaginable.