Sport Books
Oxford University Press, USA Sport and Recreation in Ancient Greece A Sourcebook with Translations
Book SynopsisBoth interesting and accessible, this book looks at sport and recreation in ancient Greece through the translated accounts of ancient Greek and Latin authors.Trade Review'This lively and energetic book well matches its subject matter. The sources are excellent - plainly and vigorously translated, meticulously ascribed, and presented with a full and critical commentary. A vast range is used, much of it unfamiliar. This book will prove a delight alike to specialists and non-specialists ... I would like to see such source book appear on every aspect of Greek and Roman life. Professor Sweet has set a fine example.' Jennifer Gibbon, Highbury Fields School. JACT ReviewTable of ContentsPreface Foreword by Erich Segal Introduction to Greek Athletics Athletics in Homer Running Events Pentathlon Diskos Jump Javelin Scoring the Pentathlon Combat Sports Wrestling Boxing Pankration Horse Racing Ball Playing Weight Lifting Miscellaneous Games and Activities Palestra and Training Attitudes toward Athletics Nudity in Greek Athletics Women in Greek Athletics Individual Athletes Walking and Mountaineering Swimming and Boating Hunting and Fishing Music Dance Theater Dining Pindar Philostratos Pausanias Lucian Greek Anthology BL Footnotes BL Bibliography BL Index of Testimonia BL List of Illustrations BL General Index and Glossary
£83.30
Oxford University Press Baseball
Book SynopsisIn this first volume of two, Harold Seymour traces the growth of baseball from early English children''s games to the formation in 1903 of the two present-day professional major leagues. By investigating previously unexamined sources, he uncovers the real story of baseball''s evolution in the United States from a gentleman''s amateur sport of well-bred play followed by well-laden banquet tables into a professional sport where big leagues operate under their own rules. Offering countless colourful anecdotes and a wealth of new information, Seymour explodes many cherished myths. He unveils the influence of baseball on American business, manners, morals, social institutions and show business and sketches revealing portraits of the men who became the first professional players, club owners, and managers.Trade ReviewPraise for Volume I: "An important reference, very readable."--The New York Public Library "Indispensable."--Dr. Daniel Boorstin, Director, Library of Congress "Will remain the basic reference for baseball history."--New York Historical Review "First-rate history....[Seymour] gives a full picture of player salaries, of owner deceits, of public frenzy."--The Baltimore Sun "Half of what will be the most comprehensive, serious, authoritative, and sociological study of baseball ever put to paper."--San Francisco Chronicle "It puts baseball...firmly in the American picture....[An] admirable book."--The Times Literary Supplement (London) "[Seymour] has the intellectual's passion for facts, but he writes with the light touch of a sports writer."--New York Daily News "Stands in a class by itself."--St. Petersburg Times "Right off the bat, let me say that this history of baseball stands in a class by itself."--John Barkham, Saturday Review Syndicate "With great care the book tells how the game was born, struggled, survived, and prospered, despite bird-brained direction at the top, chicanery at all levels, bullying of players, player revolts, monopolistic and power tactics, scandals, rowdyism and even violence."--Providence Journal
£12.99
Oxford University Press Baseball
Book SynopsisFollowing the story begun in Baseball: The Early Years, Harold Seymour explores the glorious and grevious era when the game truly captured the American imagination with legendary figures like Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth, but also appalled fans with startling scandals. The Golden Age begins with the formation of the two major leagues in 1903, and describes how the organization of the professional game improved from an unwieldy three-man commission to the strong rule of Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis. Seymour depicts the ways in which play on the field developed from the low-scoring, pitcher-dominated game of the `dead ball'' era before the First World War to the high scores of the `lively ball'' era of the 1920s.Trade Review"Seymour's books remain the most entertaining and informative histories about baseball's position in American culture."--H. Gehrig Coleman, University of Texas Praise for Volume II: "Will grip every American who has invested part of his youth and dreams in the sport, and it will inform everyone else who is interested in an American phenomenon as native as apple pie."--The New York Times "Noteworthy for its thoroughness and for the way its author relates the sport to American life....Seymour has an eye for humorous detail."--Publishers Weekly "[A] splendidly researched baseball history."--Business Week "Sports historians will welcome [this volume] as a contribution to our growing knowledge of American baseball."--Journal of American History "With devastating documentation [Seymour] portrays the contrast between the beauty of the game on the field and widespread dishonesty off it."--The New Republic
£13.49
Oxford University Press The Pride of Havana
Book SynopsisFrom the first amateur leagues of the 1860s to the exploits of Livan and Orlando El Duque Hernandez, here is the definitive history of baseball in Cuba. Roberto Gonzalez Echevarria expertly traces the arc of the game, intertwining its heroes and their stories with the politics, music, dance, and literature of the Cuban people. What emerges is more than a story of balls and strikes, but a richly detailed history of Cuba told from the unique cultural perch of the baseball diamond. Filling a void created by Cuba''s rejection of bullfighting and Spanish hegemony, baseball quickly became a crucial stitch in the complex social fabric of the island. By the early 1940s Cuba had become major conduit in spreading the game throughout Latin America, and a proving ground for some of the greatest talent in all of baseball, where white major leaguers and Negro League players from the U.S. all competed on the same fields with the cream of Latin talent. Indeed, readers will be introduced to several blTrade ReviewCuba's love affair with the American bat and ball is given encyclopedic treatment in The Pride of Havana ... the prose is as smooth and powerful as a good pitch delivery ... Best of all is the backdrop of history - political, social and popular - against which the baseball stars perform ... For students of old Cuba, Echevarría's book hits a home run. * John Lantigua, Times Literary Supplement *The Pride of Havana is an absorbing history of Cuban baseball and the impact so many Cuban players have had on the game in the United States. It sparkles like El Duque in October. * Bob Costas, NBC Sports *
£19.49
Oxford University Press Inc Camping Grounds Public Nature in American Life
Book SynopsisAn exploration of the hidden history of camping in American life that connects a familiar recreational pastime to camps for functional needs and political purposes.Camping appears to be a simple proposition, a time-honored way of getting away from it all. Pack up the car and hit the road in search of a shady spot in the great outdoors. For a modest fee, reserve the basic infrastructure--a picnic table, a parking spot, and a place to build a fire. Pitch the tent and unroll the sleeping bags. Sit under the stars with friends or family and roast some marshmallows. This book reveals that, for all its appeal, the simplicity of camping is deceptive, its history and meanings far from obvious.Why do some Americans find pleasure in sleeping outside, particularly when so many others, past and present, have had to do so for reasons other than recreation? Never only a vacation choice, camping has been something people do out of dire necessity and as a tactic of political protest. Yet the dominant interpretation of camping as a modern recreational ideal has obscured the connections to these other roles. A closer look at the history of camping since the Civil War reveals a deeper significance of this American tradition and its links to core beliefs about nature and national belonging. Camping Grounds rediscovers unexpected and interwoven histories of sleeping outside. It uses extensive research to trace surprising links between veterans, tramps, John Muir, African American freedpeople, Indian communities, and early leisure campers in the nineteenth century; tin-can tourists, federal campground designers, Depression-era transients, family campers, backpacking enthusiasts, and political activists in the twentieth century; and the crisis of the unsheltered and the tent-based Occupy Movement in the twenty-first. These entwined stories show how Americans camp to claim a place in the American republic and why the outdoors is critical to how we relate to nature, the nation, and each other.Trade ReviewYoung deserves praise for creating fertile ground for historians of the environment, race, class, and gender to further complicate the narrative of camping in North America, as well as demonstrating how others can critically engage with conceptions of government responsibility and public nature. * Jessica M. DeWitt, Western History Quarterly *A rich and compelling book that follows two intersecting paths through the history of camping. The most obvious path is that of recreational camping....The second path is the history of protest camping, from Civil War veterans to Occupy protesters.... While Camping Grounds centers on the practices of camping, as recreation and protest, it situates this analysis in the broader overarching concept of 'public nature.'...[Its] concern, one with implications for the future, is that other forms of camping-such as a mode of protest or as a matter of necessity-are delegitimized, as a market-based recreational ethos crowds out the potential for camping to yield broader public goods....This concept of public nature will serve historians well as they wrestle with how we use, govern, and consume nature to reflect, shore up, and challenge hierarchies of power in the United States. * James Morton Turner, Journal of American History *Recreational camping and political camping, two voluntary but contrasting activities, and functional camping, an involuntary activity, are the three forms of American camping explored in this excellent, well-researched book. Most camping scholarship...concentrates on the first of the three forms while neglecting the other two. Young's...demonstration of the interrelatedness of and shaping interactions between the three forms makes it exceptionally revealing and valuable....Young convincingly demonstrates that camping today is complicated, contains multiple meanings, and can be both a highly popular form of leisure and the justification for an arrest by law enforcement. In addition to being a revealing analysis, Camping Grounds is an engaging narrative....I strongly recommend Camping Grounds to readers who wish to better understand how America came to include an everyday activity that is both praised and condemned, often by the same people. * Terence Young, H-Environment *This is a magnificent study of camping in the US, from the mid-19th century to 2019. Camping has had significantly different meanings at different times in US history, and Young explores three different eras. Early camping was primarily a way of sheltering while traveling, or while in a state of military transition, with emphasis on organizing people....Camping as a choice and pastime emerged later and played a role in changing views of class and race in the US....In the late 19th century, camping became an alternative to resort vacations, taking on social and economic implications. The camping equipment industry and planned campgrounds emerged. The popularity of camping in the second half of the 20th century created environmental and institutional problems, resulting in a wilderness ethic and economic opportunities....Relevant to social and environmental studies and law....Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through professionals.A varied and comprehensive overview of modern camping with ample detail and sociological perspective on the origins of camping and its roles in war, protest, consumerism, and class discrimination. * Zebulin Evelhoch, Library Journal *Young, an environmental historian, traces "camping" back to the Civil War and explores its implications for social justice and political discourse—beyond its more obvious role as a mere diversional outdoor activity. * Lela Nargi, The Sierra Club *In Camping Grounds, Phoebe Young presents the surprisingly political history of sleeping outside, in which veterans, vagrants, migrants, recreationists, protestors, bureaucrats, officials, police, and others have fought over the meaning of public nature, with profound implications for American life and the American social compact. Artfully written, creatively researched, a tour de force that will change the way you see your country. * Louis S. Warren, University of California, Davis *In this brilliant new book, Phoebe Young asks a seemingly simple question: 'What does it mean to camp and why does it matter?' The answer is strikingly complex and in its pursuit Camping Grounds offers a radically inclusive vision of America's public nature and environmental culture. * Char Miller, author of Not So Golden State: Sustainability vs. the California Dream *Phoebe Young strips the innocence from sleeping under the stars, revealing this quintessential American pastime as a precarious practice — one long bedeviled by class tensions, legal wrangling over the definition of camping, and ever-shifting claims on public nature. * Elizabeth Royte, author of Garbage Land: On the Secret Trail of Trash *My recommendation?: gather 'round the campfire with a s'more, and read this smart, engaging book. Young exposes the 'simple life' of camping as a complex set of negotiations historically about your environments, your government, your fellow citizens...and yourself. * Jenny Price, Stop Saving the Planet!: An Environmentalist Manifesto *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction: Public Nature Part One: 1850s-1880s Ch. 1. Saving the Union Ch. 2. Seeing the Country Part Two: 1890s-1940s Ch. 3. Tramp Style Ch. 4. Campers' Republic Part Three: 1950s-2010s Ch. 5. The Back to Nature Crowd ch. 6. Tents and Public Statements Epilogue: "We MUST Camp" Notes Index
£26.59
Oxford University Press Inc A New Megasport Legacy
Book SynopsisThough the Qatar 2022 FIFA Men''s World Cup is for many a symbol of long-standing corruption and human rights problems, the event may actually represent something entirely new. Megasports are now demonstrating a capacity to leave what this book calls a human rights and anti-corruption legacy: norms, practices, policies, or laws that have application beyond sport, are likely to endure after the event, and the implementation of which is accelerated by hosting the event. In the 2010s, Brazil''s hosting of the FIFA Men''s World Cup and Summer Olympics, and then South Korea''s hosting of the Winter Olympics, left what this book calls reactive, accidental, and one-dimensional anti-corruption legacies. Most would be shocked to find that Qatar now moves this legacy concept forward, undertaking to create megasports'' first intentional and proactive human rights legacy. The first and perhaps best opportunity to build a proactive, intentional, and two-dimensional human rights and anti-corruption legacy lies in France, as it prepares to host the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics while implementing new landmark anti-corruption and human rights laws. The concept may still advance in Australia and New Zealand (2023 FIFA Women''s World Cup) and Italy (2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics). However, the United Bid of Canada, the United States, and Mexico has promised the first proactive, intentional, and two-dimensional legacy around the 2026 FIFA Men''s World Cup. The book analyzes existing megasport policies and practices, then suggests reforms to acknowledge and support these new legacies.Trade ReviewSpalding proposes a constructive approach for organisers of MSE to consciously create human rights and anti-corruption legacies. * Bernd Justin Jütte, Irish Jurist *Table of ContentsPreface Abbreviations PART I: ORIGINS OF A HUMAN RIGHTS AND ANTI-CORRUPTION LEGACY Chapter 1. From the Founding through Globalization: Preconditions of the New Legacy Chapter 2. Toward Globalized Standards: Human Rights Due Diligence and Anti-Corruption Compliance PART II: EARLY INTIMATIONS OF A NEW LEGACY Chapter 3. An Awakening: Brazil's 2014 FIFA Men's World Cup and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics Chapter 4. A Pattern Emerges: South Korea's 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics PART III: PROGRESSING TOWARD A PROACTIVE, INTENTIONAL, AND TWO-DIMENSIONAL LEGACY Chapter 5. The First Intentional and Proactive Human Rights Legacy: Qatar's 2022 FIFA Men's World Cup Chapter 6. A Large But Latent Legacy: the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics Chapter 7. Future Legacy Opportunities: Australia and New Zealand 2023; Italy 2026; and the U.S., Canada, and Mexico 2026 PART IV: BUILDING A FRAMEWORK Chapter 8. The Legal Foundation: The Host-City/Country Contract Chapter 9. How Reforms Create Legacies: Constructing a Model Chapter 10. Conclusion: A How-To Guide
£83.70
Oxford University Press Inc The Oxford Handbook of Sport and Society OXFORD
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThis compilation is a welcome addition to a long and growing list of such handbooks to focus on sport and society. * Richard Giulianotti, Loughborough University, idrottsforum.org *Table of ContentsAbout the Editor About the Contributors Foreword Jay Coakley Introduction 1. Sport, Society, and Scholarly Inquiry Lawrence A. Wenner Part I. Society and Values 2. Sport, Values, and Character Sigmund Loland 3. Sport, Ideology, and Power Ben Carrington 4. Sport, Policy, and Politics Michael P. Sam 5. Sport, Nationalism, and National Identities Alan Bairner and Peizi Han 6. Sport, Diplomacy, and Rapprochement Stuart Murray 7. Sport, Militarism, and Signification Michael L. Butterworth 8. Sport, Law, and Ethics Adam Epstein 9. Sport, Religion, and Beliefs Andrew Parker and Nick J. Watson Part II. Enterprise and Capital 10. Sport, Globalization, and Glocalization Adam S. Beissel and David L. Andrews 11. Sport, Spectacle, and Mega-Events John Horne 12. Sport, Olympic Ideals, and Realities Alan Tomlinson 13. Sport, Corruption, and Fraud Lisa A. Kihl and Catherine Ordway 14. Sport, Cities, and Communities Daniel S. Mason 15. Sport, the Environment, and Geopolitics Toby Miller 16. Sport, Leadership, and Social Responsibility Emily S. Sparvero and Laurence Chalip 17. Sport, Economics, and Finance Bill Gerrard 18. Sport, Marketing, and Consumer Culture T. Bettina Cornwell 19. Sport, Tourism, and Social Impacts Heather J. Gibson and Sheranne Fairley Part III. Participation and Cultures 20. Sport, Health, and Well-Being Parissa Safai 21. Sport, Aggressive Play, and Violence Kevin Young 22. Sport, Injury and Medical Intervention Dominic Malcolm and Emma Pullen 23. Sport, Science, and Technology Mary G. McDonald and Jennifer J. Sterling 24. Sport, Drugs, and Doping Paul Dimeo and April Henning 25. Sport, Alcohol, and Ritual Catherine Palmer 26, Sport, Coaching, and Performance Jim Denison and Zoë Avner 27. Sport, Emotion, and Engagement Paul A. Potrac, Brian T. Gearity, Adam J. Nichol, and Edward T. Hall 28. Sport, Child Maltreatment, and Sexual Violence Michael J. Hartill 29. Sport, Scandals, and Social Morality David Rowe and Catherine Palmer 30. Sport, Social Movements, and Athlete Activism Douglas Hartmann 31. Sport, Animals, and Humans Michael Atkinson and Kass Gibson Part IV. Lifespan and Careers 32. Sport, Children, and Socialization Ken Green, Sharon Wheeler, and Patrick Foss Johansen 33. Sport, Youth, and Elite Development Andy Smith 34. Sport, Education, and Opportunity Richard Bailey and Iva Glibo 35. Sport, Social Mobility, and Elite Athletes Ramón Spaaij and Suzanne Ryder 36. Sport, Labor, and Migration Gyozo Molnár 37. Sport, Athletic Careers, and Retirement Martin Roderick and Lauren M. Kamperman 38. Sport, Aging, and Adaptation Elizabeth C.J. Pike, Elspeth J. Mathie, and Daniel D. Buckley 39. Sport, Lifestyle, and Alternate Pathways Holly Thorpe and Guillaume Dumont Part V. Inclusion and Exclusion 40. Sport, Social Inclusion, and Development Emma Sherry and Katherine Raw 41. Sport, Social Exclusion, and Discrimination Ruth Jeanes and Ryan Lucas 42. Sport, Race, and Ethnicity Daryl Adair 43. Sport, Indigeneity, and Native Identities Tara Keegan and Jennifer Guiliano 44. Sport, Bodily Ideals, and Obesity Pirkko Markula 45. Sport, Disability, and Inclusion Ian Brittain and Matej Christiaens 46. Sport, Masculinities, and Heteronormativity Rory Magrath and Eric Anderson 47. Sport, Femininities, and Heteronormativity Cheryl Cooky 48. Sport, Transgender Athletes, and Non-Binary Experience Travers Part VI. Spectator Engagement and Media 49. Sport, Heroes, and Celebrities Barry Smart 50. Sport, Spectatorship, and Fandom Kevin Dixon 51. Sport, Fan Violence, and Hooliganism John Williams 52. Sport, Gambling, and Match-Fixing Minhyeok Tak 53. Sport, Journalism, and Social Reproduction David Rowe and Raymond Boyle 54. Sport, Television, and Structuration Andrew C. Billings and Nicholas R. Buzzelli 55. Sport, Film, and the Cultural Imaginary Seán Crosson 56. Sport, Advertising, and Promotional Culture Steven J. Jackson 57. Sport, Digital Media, and Social Media Jimmy Sanderson
£201.92
OUP India Football in the Middle East
Book Synopsis
£33.25
Oxford University Press This Sporting Life
Book SynopsisWhy did killing a fox mean liberty? What did parish revels have to do with the Peterloo Massacre? What did animal cruelty have to do with the English constitution? What did the Factory Acts mean for modern football? In This Sporting Life, Robert Colls explains sport as one of England''s great civil cultures. The lived experiences of people from all walks of life are reclaimed to tell England''s history through its great sporting cultures, from the horseback pursuits of the wealthy and politically connected, to the street games in working-class neighbourhoods which needed nothing but a ball. It observes people at play, describes how they felt and thought, carries the reader along to a match or a hunt or a fight, draws out the sounds and smells of humans and animals, showing that sport has been as important in defining British culture as gender, politics, education, class, and religion.Trade Reviewa highly original, personal yet deeply accomplished, history of sporting pastimes * Mike Huggins, Cultural and Social History *This is an idiosyncratic work that is full of erudition and wit, being highly informative and often very entertaining ... a valuable addition to libraries specializing in modern British history or the history of sport. * M. Klobas, CHOICE *A compelling, evocative and unique explication of what sport has meant to the English. * Aberdare Literary Prize *Simultaneously insightful, beguiling and accomplished...it's not about the slow development of sporting rules and governing bodies. None of that matters. It is a tour de force account of how the love affair with liberty had a profound influence on the English and their sports. * Mike Huggins, Cultural and Social History *Eccentric, erudite and often very funny... [a] dazzling history of sport in England... Every page is a delight. * Dominic Sandbrook, The Sunday Times, Best History Books of the Year 2020 *Robert Colls has taken on 200 years of English history through the prism of its culturally neglected sports - common, exclusive, innovative, brutal. He's written a definitive work not only of our sporting life, but also of our social texture. * Melvyn Bragg, New Statesman, Books of the Year 2020 *Robert Colls's exploration of sport in England between 1760 and 1960 is like no sporting history I have ever read... Eccentric, dazzlingly learned and often very funny... Colls is a historian of matchless insight and admirably democratic range. * Dominic Sandbrook, The Sunday Times *This Sporting Life displays exhausting quantities of erudition... The prose is lively even in the footnotes... there are jewels on every page... There is more life in these pages than can be explained, or needs to be. * Simon Kuper, Financial Times *Superb... This is much more than a history of sport; it is really an alternative history of England itself... This book is full of moments that pull you up short and make you think. * Alex Massie, The Spectator *Colls has combined painstaking research with elegant prose to produce a thoroughly readable history of British sports and pastimes over two hundred years. In doing so he has breathed new life into an often-neglected corner of British history. * Emma Griffin, Literary Review *[A] quirky and strikingly original social history of England through its sports, games and pastimes... beautifully and inventively expressed, witty and bawdy in places... perhaps the most impressive element of This Sporting Life is its light touch, the way it never quite loses sight of the fact that at its heart, sport is fun. * Jonathan Liew, New Statesman *A remarkably and admirably human history, full of empathy for people of all classes and condescension towards none... Crackling on the page, Colls's prose elucidates and amuses in equal measure and with equal sharpness. * Stephanie Barczewski, Times Literary Supplement *strongly recommended contribution to the history of the emotions * Daniele Serapiglia, Passato e Presente *thought-provoking...readable...valuable...novel..intuitive.. excellent example of how a topic can be revitalised by thinking creatively... * Dave Day, idrottsforum *A monograph of monumental importance...placing sport at the forefront of civil culture in Britain. A work of national and international importance that should provide a platform for similar studies in other countries. * Keith Laybourn, Labour History Review *I'd like to say something about style. Colls is a master. He can be--in turn--witty, slapstick comic, ironic, satirical, sarcastic, lyrical, sombre, or elegiac. Sometimes he's Robert Surtees and sometimes he's John Milton. Mostly, I think, he's Pierce Egan. Whatever the tone, he's a marvel at the epigram. * Allen Guttmann, author of From Ritual to Record. The Nature of Modern Sports *At heart this book is the best kind of social history: vivid, revelatory and penned by an author who seems to know the byways of every county in England... a joyous book of dazzling scholarship. * Dan Jackson, History Today *This is both a vivid and thought-provoking read... I would recommend the book to anyone skeptical of the historical significance of sport. * Lincoln Allison, The Critic *[This Sporting Life] is absorbing, original, and entertaining... Colls is a formidable historian of England and English identity * Simon Heffer, New Criterion *An exemplary work and one that illuminates with stories rather than numbing with statistics... Colls' previous work, in particular 'Identity of England' (2002) and 'George Orwell: English Rebel' (2013), established his credentials as a historian on a mission to restore the experiences of the working-classes to the national record - the Jack Tars, pitmen and pugilists - but to do so through hard evidence not special pleading... Nowhere is this better realised than in his final chapter on football. * John Mitchinson, Byline Times *It is when Colls rises to the challenge of his subtitle - 'Sport and Liberty' - that the book really soars. * John Mitchinson, Byline Times *A great read for anyone who loves sport... free of jargon and and full of what people actually did... The writing is full of memorable phrases, wry comments and thoughtful insights into human behaviour... a message that could have been penned by George Orwell himself. * Philip Cottam, The Arbuturian *This fascinating and engagingly written book is about much more than sport: customs, tradition, place, identity, national myths as well as national stories all have their place. Colls has written the best book I have read on George Orwell, and this book too is definitive. * Jason Cowley, Editor of The New Statesman *The two most successful and positive exports from this country are the English language and organized sport. The profound influence of sport has been grievously unacknowledged. In his new book, Robert Colls puts this right by bringing its history to life and linking it quite brilliantly with common notions of liberty, patriotism, and belonging. He also shows the part modern sport played in replacing the many textures of our traditional patterns of social life. It's vivid, passionate, and goes to the heart of a subject which in so many ways is now the dominating conversation in peoples' lives. * Melvyn Bragg, Broadcaster *A brilliant book by one of my favourite British historians...giving the real thrill of first hand research and covering every corner of our national life. Even if you don't like sport you will like this book. * John Mitchinson, Backlisted Podcast *This is a wonderful book. It is engrossing,beautifully written, overflowing with insight into England and English ideas of liberty as manifest through sport.It is a history of sport unlike any other and is nothing short of exhilarating. * Paul Rouse, School of History, University College Dublin *Sparkling and scholarly, Robert Colls' new history of sport is expertly set within the wider context of English society and culture. Abounding with fresh insights, sport is celebrated and explained from Regency prize-fights to Wembley Cup Finals; vibrantly written, full of dramatic incidents and exceptional individuals. * Richard Holt, author of Sport and the British: A Modern History *Table of ContentsIntroduction Ch 1 Land of Liberty Ch 2 'Bonny Moor Hen' Ch 3 Bottom Ch 4 Custom Ch 5 Home Ch 6 New Moral Worlds Ch 7 Bloods Ch 8 Moderns Conclusion
£27.70
Oxford University Press Colliding Continents
Book SynopsisThe crash of the Indian plate into Asia is the biggest known collision in geological history, and it continues today. The result is the Himalaya and Karakoram - one of the largest mountain ranges on Earth. The Karakoram has half of the world''s highest mountains and a reputation as being one of the most remote and savage ranges of all. In this beautifully illustrated book, Mike Searle, a geologist at the University of Oxford and one of the most experienced field geologists of our time, presents a rich account of the geological forces that were involved in creating these mountain ranges. Using his personal accounts of extreme mountaineering and research in the region, he pieces together the geological processes that formed such impressive peaks.Trade ReviewBeautifully illustrated. * Independent i *Entertaining and informative, Colliding Continents is an easy read which should appeal to anyone with even a little interest in geology. * Danny Yee, dannyreviews.com *All can learn from the master in this excellent book. * Jonathan Wright, Geographical *There's something here to please anyone on the geology spectrum: the student wanting to understand how the fundamentals are applied; the academic intrigued by the science; the climber dreaming of virgin territory. All can learn from the master in this excellent book. * Simon Cook, Oman Daily Observer *This is a wonderful record of Mike Searles 30 year geological explorations of the high mountains of Asia. He writes as clearly and concisely as he talks, always making huge geological dramas intelligible and interesting to the layman as well as to the expert. Whether you view the Himalaya and Karakoram as a giant exercise bar or a place for spiritual renewal, you will find this geological history of the high mountains of Asia absolutely fascinating. * Doug Scott, Climber and Amateur Geologist *An intimate anatomy of the greatest mountain range in the planet, revealed by a geologist who has walked, scrambled and climbed over virtually every inch of it. * Iain Stewart, Geologist and Broadcaster *Table of ContentsPreface 1: Oceans and continents 2: Continents in collision: Kashmir, Ladakh, Zanskar 3: The dreaming spires of the Karakoram 4: Pressure, temperature, time, and space 5: Frozen rivers and fault lines 6: Northwest Frontier: Kohistan, Hindu Kush, Pamirs 7: Faces of Everest 8: Mapping the geology of Everest and Makalu 9: Mountains and Maoists: Annapurna, Manaslu 10: Around the bend: Nanga Parbat, Namche Barwa 11: Roof of the World: Tibet, Pamirs 12: Extruding Indochina: Burma, Vietnam, Yunnan, Thailand 13: The day the Earth shook: Sumatra-Andaman earthquake 2004 14: The making of Himalaya, Karakoram, and Tibetan plateau Postscript Acknowledgements Appendix 1: Basics Appendix 2: Glossary Appendix 3: Local glossary Appendix 4: Chronology Notes Index
£30.14
Oxford University Press Ancient Greek Athletics
Book SynopsisThe Sourcebook of Ancient Greek Athletics offers the most comprehensive collection to date of primary sources in translation for the study of ancient Greek athletics. Because Greek athletics was such an essential feature of both Greek and Roman culture, there is an especially strong need for proper treatment and understanding of the texts and other media used to reconstruct practices and ideologies of ancient athletics. The sources in this collection are arranged chronologically from the Archaic Period to the Roman Imperial Era, with an extensive appendix discussing key themes and topics. The organization and in-depth presentation of textual sources is designed to help students, scholars, and general readers fully appreciate the broader social and cultural significance of ancient Greek athletics as it developed in different historical time periods throughout antiquity.Trade ReviewThis is a hugely valuable book. With 26 full colour illustrations, an historical time frame (which could have been more compendious), a list of Pindaric victory odes, tables showing when 'important Greek athletic contests were established' and the circuit of the four crown games, as well as a good bibliography, an index of names and a general index, it more than earns its place in libraries of schools and universities. * David Stuttard, Classics for all *Overall, there is a wealth of information included in this primary source book that will be well appreciated by future students and scholars. * David Gilman Romano, University of Arizona, Bryn Mawr Classical Review *Table of ContentsTEXTS 1: The Archaic and Early Classical Period Epic Victory Odes Elegy Epigram 2: The Classical Period History Tragedy and Comedy Hippocratic Corpus Attic Oratory Philosophy 3: The Hellenistic Period 4: The Roman Period Inscriptions 5: Olympia 6: Delphi 7: Sparta 8: Athens 9: Other Significant Inscriptions Papyri Appendices Appendix A: The Athlete in Greek Culture Appendix B: Sites and Conduct of Festival Games Appendix C: The Events
£30.49
Oxford University Press Oxford IB Diploma Programme Sports Exercise and
Book SynopsisWritten by an experienced teacher, this comprehensive book will provide students with all the material and practice they need to succeed in this brand new subject area. Packed with visual explanation and practice, it will help students fully understand the science behind the body and its relationship to human well-being.Trade ReviewThe Oxford IB course books are the best ever resource for teachers and students. They are practical, insightful and fully in line with the IB course outcomes. * Pat Hanson, IB Coordinator, Academy of the Holy Cross, USA *We have adopted most of the Oxford IB course book. We find them well-written, well linked to TOK issues and age-appropriate. * Sheta Saha, IB Coordinator, Chatsworth International School, Singapore *Table of Contents1. Musculoskeletal anatomy ; 2. Cardio-respiratory exercise physiology ; 3. Nutrition and energy systems ; 4. Movement analysis ; 5. Skill in sport ; 6. Measurement and evaluation of human performance ; 7. Training to optimise physiological performance ; 8. Environmental factors and performance ; 9. Non-nutritional ergogenic aids ; 10. Individual difference in sport ; 11. Motivation in sport and exercise ; 12. Arousal, anxiety and performance ; 13. Psychological skills training ; 14. Overtraining, stress and burnout in adolescent athletes ; 15. Physical activity in health ; 16. Nutrition for sport and exercise ; 17. Internal assessment and practical work ; 18. Preparing for your exams ; Glossary
£49.99
Oxford University Press Analyzing Wimbledon
Book SynopsisThe game of tennis raises many questions that are of interest to a statistician. Is it true that beginning to serve in a set gives an advantage? Are new balls an advantage? Is the seventh game in a set particularly important? Are top players more stable than other players? Do real champions win the big points? These and many other questions are formulated as hypotheses and tested statistically. Analyzing Wimbledon also discusses how the outcome of a match can be predicted (even while the match is in progress), which points are important and which are not, how to choose an optimal service strategy, and whether winning mood actually exists in tennis. Aimed at readers with some knowledge of mathematics and statistics, the book uses tennis (Wimbledon in particular) as a vehicle to illustrate the power and beauty of statistical reasoning.Table of Contents1. Warming up ; Wimbledon ; Commentators ; An example ; Correlation and causality ; Why statistics ; Sports data and human behavior ; Why tennis? ; Structure of the book ; Further reading ; 2. Richard ; Meeting Richard ; From point to game ; The tiebreak ; Serving first in a set ; During the set ; Best-of-three versus best-of-five ; Upsets ; Long matches: Isner-Mahut 2010 ; Rule changes: the no-ad rule ; Abolishing the second service ; Further reading ; 3. Forecasting ; Forecasting with Richard ; Federer-Nadal, Wimbledon final 2008 ; Effect of smaller ~ p ; Kim Clijsters defeats Venus Williams, US Open 2010 ; Effect of larger ~ p ; Djokovic-Nadal, Australian Open 2012 ; In-play betting ; Further reading ; 4. Importance ; What is importance? ; Big points in a game ; Big games in a set ; The vital seventh game ; Big sets ; Are all points equally important? ; The most important point ; Three importance profiles ; Further reading ; 5. Point data ; The Wimbledon data set ; Two selection problems ; Estimators, estimates, and accuracy ; Development of tennis over time ; Winning a point on service unraveled ; Testing a hypothesis: men versus women ; Aces and double faults ; Breaks and rebreaks ; Are our summary statistics too simple? ; Further reading ; 6. The method of moments ; Our summary statistics are too simple ; The method of moments ; Enter Miss Marple ; Re-estimating p by the method of moments ; Men versus women revisited ; Beyond the mean: variation over players ; Reliability of summary statistics: a rule of thumb ; Filtering out the noise ; Noise-free variation over players ; Correlation between opponents ; Why bother? ; Further reading ; 7. Quality ; Observable variation over players ; Ranking ; Round, bonus, and malus ; Significance, relevance, and sensitivity ; The complete model ; Winning a point on service ; Other service characteristics ; Aces and double faults ; Further reading ; 8. First and second service ; Is the second service more important than the first? ; Differences in service probabilities explained ; Joint analysis: bivariate GMM ; Four service dimensions ; Four-variate GMM ; Further reading ; 9. Service strategy ; The server's trade-off ; The y-curve ; Optimal strategy: one service ; Optimal strategy: two services ; Existence and uniqueness ; Four regularity conditions for the optimal strategy ; Functional form of y-curve ; Efficiency defined ; Efficiency of the average player ; Observations for the key probabilities: Monte Carlo ; Efficiency estimates ; Mean match efficiency gains ; Efficiency gains across matches ; Impact on the paycheck ; Why are players inefficient? ; Rule changes ; Serving in volleyball ; Further reading ; 10. Within a match ; The idea behind the point model ; From matches to points ; First results at point level ; Simple dynamics ; The baseline model ; Top players and mental stability ; Lessons from the baseline model ; New balls ; Further reading ; 11. Special points and games ; Big points ; Big points and the baseline model ; Serving first revisited ; The toss ; Further reading ; 12. Momentum ; Streaks, the hot hand, and winning mood ; Why study tennis? ; Winning mood in tennis ; Breaks and rebreaks ; Missed breakpoints ; The encompassing model ; Further reading ; 13. The hypotheses revisited ; Winning a point on service is an iid process ; It is an advantage to serve first in a set ; Every point (game, set) is equally important to both players ; The seventh game is the most important game in the set ; All points are equally important ; The probability that the service is in, is the same in the men's singles as in the women's singles ; The probability of a double fault is the same in the men's singles as in the women's singles ; After a break the probability of being broken back increases ; Summary statistics give a precise impression of a player's performance ; Quality is a pyramid ; Top players must grow into the tournament ; Men's tennis is more competitive than women's tennis ; A player is as good as his or her second service ; Players have an efficient service strategy ; Players play safer at important points ; Players take more risk when they are in a winning mood ; Top players are more stable than others ; New balls are an advantage to the server ; Real champions win the big points ; The winner of the toss should select to serve ; Winning mood exists ; After missing breakpoint(s) there is an increased probability of being broken in the next game ; Appendix A: List of symbols ; Winning probabilities ; Score probabilities and importance ; Service probabilities ; Quality ; Operators ; Miscellaneous variables ; Random/unexplained parts ; Parameters ; Miscellaneous symbols ; Appendix B: Data, software, and mathematical derivations ; Data Program Richard ; Mathematical derivations ; Bibliography ; Index
£39.14
Oxford University Press, USA The Physiology of Training for High Performance
Book SynopsisProvides a thorough, evidence-based understanding of the physiological bases of training for high performance sport to empower students, athletes, and coaches to make informed decisions over the most effective training methods.Table of ContentsPART I: PHYSIOLOGICAL BASES FOR ATHLETIC TRAINING; PART II: TRAINING FOR DIFFERENT SPORTS AND ACTIVITIES; PART III: ADDITIONAL FACTORS AFFECTING PERFORMANCE
£47.49
Oxford University Press, USA The Oxford Handbook of Sport and Performance Psychology Oxford Library of Psychology
Trade Review...an exciting, thought-provoking look at human excellence in sport and performance and worthwhile to read. * PsycCRITIQUES, June 2013 *This is a useful resource on key issues and insights in sport and performance psychology. As the first volume in the series to examine research and practice related to the psychology of excellent performance, this book is a unique contribution to the field. Domains such as dance, music, theatre, business, executive coaching, the military, and education are discussed in the context of psychology of performance excellence. Because of the breadth and depth of its information, this book is most suitable for graduate students, researchers, and practitioners in sport and performance psychology. * Doody's Notes, Jan 2013 *I urge readers to get a copy of this valuable book... ... a pioneering work in a new field, and its editor and 70 contributors have provided us with information and original research not available anywhere [else]. * Biz India, June 2013 *This handbook is an invaluable reference work for anyone interested in the science of performance excellence, be they graduate students, researchers, coaches or professionals. * Psychology Learning and Teaching, August 2013 *Table of ContentsPreface ; Part One: The Nature and Scope of Sport and Performance Psychology ; 1. History of Sport and Performance Psychology ; Alan S. Kornspan ; 2. The Psychology of Performance in Sport and Other Domains ; Kate F. Hays ; 3. Sport and Performance Psychology: Ethical Issues ; Doug Hankes ; 4. The Role of Superior Performance Intelligence in Sustained Success ; Graham Jones ; 5. Performance Psychology in the Performing Arts ; Sanna M. Nordin-Bates ; Part Two: Individual Psychological Processes in Performance ; 6. Concentration: Attention and Performance ; Aidan Moran ; 7. Conscious and Unconscious Awareness in Learning and Performance ; Rich Masters ; 8. Emotional Regulation and Performance ; Marc V. Jones ; 9. Anxiety: Attention, the Brain, the Body, and Performance ; Mark R. Wilson ; 10. Cognitions: Self-Talk and Performance ; Yiannis Theodorakis, Antonis Hatzigeorgiadis, and Nikos Zourbanos ; 11. The Role of Imagery in Performance ; Jennifer Cumming and Sarah E. Williams ; 12. Motivation: Self-Determination Theory and Performance in Sport ; Martyn Standage ; 13. Modeling and Performance ; Penny McCullagh, Barbi Law, and Diane Ste-Marie ; 14. Efficacy Beliefs and Human Performance: From Independent Action to Interpersonal Functioning ; Mark R. Beauchamp, Ben Jackson, and Katie L. Morton ; 15. Perfectionism and Performance ; Joachim Stoeber ; Part Three: Social Psychological Processes in Performance ; 16. Teamwork and Performance ; Albert V. Carron, Luc Martin, and Todd Loughead ; 17. Leadership and Manifestations of Sport ; Packianathan Chelladurai ; 18. The Psychology of Coaching ; Daniel Gould ; 19. Moral Behavior in Sport ; Maria Kavussanu ; 20. Gender, Identity, and Sport ; Emily A. Roper ; 21. Relationships and Sport and Performance ; Sam Carr ; 22. Culture/Ethnicity and Performance ; Anthony P. Kontos ; Part Four: Human Development and Performance ; 23. A Developmental Approach to Sport Expertise ; Jean Cote and Bruce Abernathy ; 24. Training for Life: Optimizing Youth Development through Sport and Physical Activity ; Maureen R. Weiss, Lindsay E. Kipp, and Nicole D. Bolter ; 25. Talent Development: The Role of the Family ; Chris G. Harwood, Julie P. Douglas, and Antoinette M. Minniti ; 26. Expert Masters Sport Performers: Perspectives on Age-Related Processes, Mechanisms, and Motives ; Bradley W. Young and Nikola Medic ; 27. Transitions: Ending Active Involvement in Sports and Other Competitive Endeavors ; Albert J. Petitpas, Taunya Marie Tinsley, and Amy S. Walker ; Part Five: Interventions in Sport and Performance Psychology ; 28. Counseling Performers in Distress ; Zella E. Moore ; 29. Appearance- and Performance-Enhancing Drug Use ; Thomas B. Hildebrandt, Eleanna Varangis, and Justine K. Lai ; 30. Burnout: A Darker Side to Performance ; Kate I. Goodger and Martin I. Jones ; 31. The Body and Performance ; William B. Strean and Joseph P. Mills ; 32. Injury and Performance ; John Heil and Leslie Podlog ; 33. Pain and Performance ; John Heil and Leslie Podlog ; 34. Eating Disorders in Sport ; Trent A. Petrie and Christy Greenleaf ; 35. Physical Activity Interventions ; Stuart J. H. Biddle and Trish Gorely ; 36. The Role of the Sport and Performance Psychologist with the Coach and Team: Implications for Performance Counseling ; Christopher M. Carr ; 37. The Performance Coach ; Dave Collins and Sara Kamin ; 38. Optimal Performance: Elite Level Performance in "The Zone" ; Robert Harmison and Kathleen V. Casto ; 39. Supervision and Mindfulness in Sport and Performance Psychology ; Mark Andersen ; Part Six: Future Directions ; 40. Sport and Performance Psychology: A Look Ahead ; Kirsten Peterson, Charles Brown, Sean McCann, and Shane M. Murphy
£182.88
Oxford University Press Inc Not for Long
Book SynopsisThe NFL is the most popular professional sports league in the United States. Its athletes receive multi-million dollar contracts and almost endless media attention. The league''s most important game, the Super Bowl, is practically a national holiday. Making it to the NFL, however, is not about the promised land of fame and fortune. Robert Turner draws on his personal experience as a former pro and interviews with over 120 current and former NFL players to get behind the bravado and reveal what it means to be an athlete in the NFL and why so many players struggle with life after football. Without guaranteed contracts, the majority of players are forced out of the league after a few seasons. Over three-quarters of retirees experience bankruptcy or financial ruin, two-thirds live with chronic pain, and too many find themselves on the wrong side of the law. Robert Turner argues that the fall from grace of so many players is no accident. The NFL, he contends, is a total institution, powerfuTable of ContentsPrologue: NFL Means Not For Long Preface: The Athletes' Journey through the National Football League Chapter One: Broke and Broken Chapter Two: The Star, the Journeyman, and the Dedicated Spectator Chapter Three: The Field of Goals and Dreams Chapter Four: College Football Chapter Five: The Totalizing Institution Chapter Six: Masking the Pain Chapter Seven: Making it to the Big Show Chapter Eight: Eye in the Sky Chapter Nine: The Owner's Playbook Chapter Ten: Billionaires vs. Millionaires Chapter Eleven: Forced Out Chapter Twelve: Preparing for, Surviving and Thriving beyond the NFL
£19.94
Oxford University Press Baseball Trust
Book SynopsisThe Baseball Trust is about the origins and persistence of baseball''s exemption from antitrust law, which is one of the most curious features of our legal system and also one of the most well known to sports fans. Every other sport, like virtually every other kind of business, is governed by the antitrust laws, but baseball has been exempt for nearly a century. No one thinks this state of affairs makes any sense. The conventional explanation of this oddity emphasizes baseball''s unique cultural status as the national pastime, and assumes that judges and legislators have expressed their love for the game by insulating it from antitrust attack. A serious baseball fan, Stuart Banner provides a thoroughly entertaining history of the game through the prism of the antitrust exemption. But he also narrates a very different kind of baseball history, one in which a sophisticated business organization successfully worked the levers of the legal system to achieve a result enjoyed by no other indTrade ReviewThe Baseball Trust is impeccably researched and a valuable history of the politics, law and business of professional sports * Peter Catapano, City University of New York *This well-researched, well-written book merits a diverse audience, whether baseball fan, historian, public official, or legal scholar ... Highly recommended. * A.R. Sanderson, CHOICE *Table of ContentsIntroduction ; 1. The Reserve Clause ; 2. The Baseball Trust ; 3. The Supreme Court Steps In ; 4. The Birth of the Antitrust Exemption ; 5. Baseball Becomes Unique ; 6. A Political Football ; 7. Three Months of State Antitrust Law ; 8. The Curt Flood Case ; 9. The End of the Reserve Clause ; 10. A Shrunken Exemption
£38.69
Vintage Publishing Garrincha The Triumph and Tragedy of Brazils
Book SynopsisThe World Cup Finals, Sweden 1958. Brazil vs the fearsome USSR.In the opening three minutes - ''the greatest three minutes in the history of football'' - one man wrote himself into the record books. Brazil went on to win the cup, and, in Garrincha, a star was born. Garrincha was the unlikeliest of footballers - with a right leg that turned inwards and a left that turned out, but with a ball at his feet he had the poise of an angel. He played for the love of the game, uninterested in money, and ignoring tactical advice. And he was as wild off the pitch as he was mesmerising on it - mischievous, audacious and dripping with sex appeal. It was his affair and subsequent marriage to the singer Elza Soares that caught the imagination of a nation - their mouth-watering combination of soccer and samba made them the toast of 1960s Rio. But by the age of forty-nine, Garrincha was dead, destroyed by the excesses that made him so compelling. Funny and mTrade ReviewCastro's biography is funny and moving, zealously researched and lovingly told. This excellent new translation by Andrew Downie means English readers can properly appreciate one of the most incredible lives in the history of sport -- Alex Bellos * Daily Telegraph *Passionate, fascinating and surprisingly moving ... a worthy tribute... According to Gazza, Gascoigne has limited interest in books. He should be persuaded to make an exception for Garrincha. He would learn more about himself than by reading his own autobiography -- Josh Lacey * Guardian *[A] powerfully atmospheric and beautifully rendered life of one of Brazil's greatest ever players... A sad and fantastic book -- Harry Pearson * When Saturday Comes *[Castro's] research is exhaustive and exemplary -- Brian Glanville * Sunday Times *A compelling page-turner, warts and all * Scotland on Sunday *
£15.29
Random House On Being John McEnroe
Book SynopsisRead a fan''s eye view of one of tennis''s most notorious stars, and an exploration into the idea of sporting obsession. The perfect nostalgic treat for any Wimbledon fan.The greatest sports stars characterise their times. They also help to tell us who we are. John McEnroe, at his best and worst, encapsulated the story of the eighties. His improvised quest for tennis perfection, and his inability to find a way to grow up, dramatised the volatile self-absorption of a generation. His matches were open therapy sessions, and they allowed us all to be armchair shrinks. Tim Adams sets out to explore what it might have meant to be John McEnroe during those times, and in his subsequent lives, and to define exactly what it is we want from our sporting heroes: how we require them to pTrade ReviewTerrific...On one level, it's about the author's fascination with a tennis player. But it's much more than this; it's a book about how the world has changed in our lifetime -- William Leith * New Statesman *A beautiful little book * Daily Express *Tim Adams is one of the best of our new sportswriters * Observer *Inspiringly in touch with what McEnroe was and what he meant -- Giles Smith * Daily Telegraph *
£11.69
Vintage Publishing My Father And Other Working Class Football Heroes
Book SynopsisGary Imlach started out writing for national newspapers at the age of 18. He has worked for the BBC, ITN, CNN & Channel 4, and currently presents ITV's coverage of the Tour de France and American Football. He is also the producer of several documentaries, and in 2000 was nominated for a BAFTA as Editor-in-Chief of the BBC's Paralympics coverage in Sydney. This is his first book.Trade ReviewThe most emotionally charged and moving sports book I think I've ever read - Harry Ritchie, Daily Mail -- Daily Mail * Harry Ritchie *One of the most deserving William Hill winners in the award's history ... The book of the year -- Christopher Maume * Independent *A remarkable book... Imlach is a gifted writer, pungently aware, admirably combative, knowledgeable and compassionate -- Brian Glanville * Sunday Times *My Father and Other Working-Class Heroes immediately joins the Football Classic Club - whose members are bonded by using football as a backdrop for something entirely different... A beautiful personal history -- Rick Broadbent * Times *If I could have my memories of Stewart Imlach surgically extracted, I would wrap them carefully, put them in a box, and send them to his son. Unlike me, Gary Imlach never saw his father play football... But that has not prevented the son from producing one of the best sports books of recent years. A book to treasure -- Richard Williams * Guardian *
£10.44
Vintage Publishing Fallen Angel
Book SynopsisVoted the most popular Italian sportsman of the twentieth century, Fausto Angelo Coppi was the campionissimo - champion of champions. The greatest cyclist of the immediate post-war years, he was the first man to win cycling''s great double, the Tour de France and Tour of Italy in the same year - and he did it twice. He achieved mythical status for his crushing solo victories, world titles and world records. But his significance extends far beyond his sport. Coppi''s scandalous divorce and controversial early death convulsed a conservative, staunchly Roman Catholic Italy in the 1950s. At a time when adultery was still illegal, Coppi and his lover were dragged from their bed in the middle of the night, excommunicated and forced to face a clamorous legal battle. The ramifications of this case are still being felt today.In Fallen Angel, acclaimed cycling biographer, William Fotheringham, tells the tragic story of Coppi''s life and death - of how a man who bTrade ReviewSympathetic and perceptive. Times have changed but the myth lives on * Independent on Sunday *The Italian star's rivalry with Gino Bartali makes Armstrong v Contador look like a playground spat -- Tim Lewis * Observer *Admirable. Coppi's melancholy journey from poverty to superstardom is a cautionary tale of the price of fame * Financial Times *The quality of the testimony and the sources used by Fotheringham are of a remarkable breadth and depth. An excellent book * BBC Sport *Fotheringham is at his best when describing the emergence of a new national hero from a world of rubble and grinding poverty -- Richard Williams * Guardian *
£11.69
Vintage Publishing Survival Of The Fittest
Book SynopsisSets out the genetics, diet and exercise that enable humans to perform at their peak. The author analyses individual feats of survival and athletic prowess that illustrate the way the body functions at its best. He gives some tips on how to stay fit for life for those of us who find walking the dog an endurance challenge...Trade ReviewIlluminating... Mike Stroud, an Arctic explorer, medic and marathon-runner, explains how modern life-styles and diet have made us prone to a new array of diseases unknown until the industrial revolution. Demonstrating why it is essential for us to exercise, he also provides useful guidelines for changing our culturally-moulded bad habits' * Mail on Sunday *The ultimate sporting diet documented in mouth-watering detail * The Times *
£15.29
Vintage Publishing Friday Night Lights
Book SynopsisIn the state of Texas American football is a religion. And nowhere is more fanatical about its football than the small town of Odessa. There, every Friday night from September to November, a bunch of seventeen-year-old kids play their hearts out for the honour of their high school. In front of 20,000 people. In 1988 H.G. Bissinger spent a season in Odessa discovering just what makes a town pin its hopes on eleven boys on a football field. He lived with the students, coaches and townspeople who dedicate their lives to their team, sharing their joys and triumphs, their pains, injuries and bitter disappointments. He returned with a compassionate but hard-eyed story of a town riven by money, race and class, where a high school can spend more on medical supplies for its athletic program than on its English department. Friday Night Lights is one of the best books about sport ever written. It is the story of how dreams and reality collide, at once glorious and immensTrade ReviewSuperb and disturbing - More than a sports book, it's a search for the America of ordinary people. * Newsday *A remarkable book, fascinating from start to finish, full of surprises. * David Halberstam *Friday Night Lights offers a biting indictment of the sports craziness that grips ... most of American society, while at the same time providing a moving evocation of its powerful allure. * New York Times Book Review *Just about everything you could ask for in a sports book * New York Times *
£11.69
Vintage Publishing Bring Me the Head of Sergio Garcia
Book SynopsisAs a teenager, Cox dreamed of sporting immortality. For four years he devoted himself to the game of golf. And then, one day, he walked away. But as he got older, those dreams kept coming back. Perhaps it was turning thirty, perhaps it was having his first hole in one, but he decided it was time to start again, to live the dream for real.So he switched off his computer, grabbed his checked trouser and headed for the golf course. To turn pro. The Open Championship was only five of the best rounds of his life away, and given a few warm-up tournaments, how hard could it be?Trade ReviewCaused me to laugh out loud * The Times *Cox may not have much to boast about in the field of sporting achievement, but he has what many of his rivals palpably lack: an inner landscape, an imagination. These are terrible handicaps for a golfer, but pretty darn useful in a writer... A very, very good book * Daily Telegraph *I'm not a golf fan myself, but Cox is such an enthusiastic writer that he's made me see the sport in a new light * Mail on Sunday *Tom Cox writes brilliantly about golf. He knows the game inside-out: its potent allure, its absurd comedy and its mind-bending frustrations. If they had a handicap-system for golf-writers Tom Cox would be scratch -- William BoydOne of the funniest books on golf ever written * Metro *
£11.69
Random House UK The Accidental Angler
Book SynopsisFishing can take you to the heart of a landscape in a way few other forms of travel can match. Whether in the world''s most outlandish and awe-inspiring places or just at the end of your road, fishing will introduce you to crabby weather and crabbier locals, moon-phases, rip-tides, floods, droughts, remarkable tales, and of course fantastic slippery beasts.In The Accidental Angler you''ll battle titanic monsters on a tropical atoll and make-believe sharks on the mushy-peas-and-gravy Wash. You''ll chase inscrutable grayling through back gardens in Provence, or phantom sea trout in downtown Southampton. And you''ll dance in Brazilian carvinals and find secret rivers hidden beneath the streets.Join Charles Rangeley-Wilson - angler, conservationist, television presenter and traveller - for the trip of a lifetime, on a journey that will make the familiar new, and the strange familiar.Trade ReviewWhether battling titantic monsters on a tropical atoll or chasing phantom sea-trout in Southampton, Rangeley-Wilson attains cultural and sociological insights into all manner of people and places. * The Field *Charles Rangeley-Wilson ... is fishing's high-priest. To the common passion for the pastime, he adds an exceptional ability to write well...And he has an acerbic eye -- Ross Leckie * The Times *He has a good eye for river landscapes and for the otherworldly movements of fish... There's a charm in this woozy prose, which has a knack for snagging interesting turns of phrase -- James Purdon * Observer *Thrilling, made me writhe with envy * Sunday Telegraph *His obsession becomes ours... Compellingly written * Daily Mail *
£14.39
Vintage Publishing Put Me Back on My Bike
Book SynopsisDiscover the story of Britain's ultimate cyclist and his ill-fated race during the 1967 Tour de France, from the bestselling author of Half Man Half BikeTom Simpson was an Olympic medallist, world champion and the first Briton to wear the fabled yellow jersey of the Tour de France. He died a tragic early death during the 1967 Tour. A man of contradictions, Simpson was one of the first cyclists to admit to using banned drugs, and was accused of fixing races, yet the dapper ''Major Tom'' inspired awe and affection for the obsessive will to win which was ultimately to cost him his life. Put Me Back on My Bike revisits the places and people associated with Simpson to produce the definitive story of Britain''s greatest ever cyclist. The fully revised and updated edition of William Fotheringham''s classic biography features a new foreword and postscript further exploring the truth behind the legend.The best cycling biography evTrade ReviewThe best cycling biography ever written * Velo *An intelligent, perceptive portrait * Guardian *A beautiful explanation of why Simpson's legend still exerts such a powerful hold * Sunday Times *An enjoyable, clear-eyed biography * Times Literary Supplement *The definitive story of Britain’s greatest ever cyclist -- Christmas books recommendations * Cycle Sport *
£11.69
Vintage Publishing Seve
Book SynopsisSeveriano "Seve" Ballesteros Sota was a Spanish professional golfer and a leading sports figure. He won more than 90 international tournaments in an illustrious career. He first caught the attention of the sporting world in 1976, when at the age of 19 he finished second at The Open. He played a leading role in the re-emergence of European golf, helping the European Ryder Cup team to five wins both as a player and captain. He won the World Match Play Championship a record-tying five times. He is generally regarded as the greatest Continental European golfer of all time and won a record 50 times on the European Tour.Ballesteros died of brain cancer on 7 May 2011, aged 54.Trade ReviewHis generosity of spirit shines through the book * Sunday Telegraph *A great man and a great ambassador, Seve has represented his country, his sport and himself with class. I am sure you will enjoy his life story -- Jack NicklausExceptional -- Gary PlayerA genius -- Tiger Woods
£10.44
Random House Promised Land
Book SynopsisAnthony Clavane was born in Leeds in 1960, a year before Don Revie became manager. He started life as a history teacher and is now chief sports writer of the Sunday Mirror.Trade ReviewAbsorbing, compelling and very personal. Brilliant * David Peace *'Original, passionate, thought-provoking and hugely enjoyable' * The Times *'Sports book of the year' * Radio 2 *'Compelling...Glorious...Has an appeal far beyond football' * Guardian *'Absolutely brilliant' * Independent on Sunday *
£15.29
Vintage Publishing Trautmanns Journey
Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEARHow did one man go from Nazi Youth indoctrination to English footballing icon?Bert Trautmann is a football legend. He is famed as the Manchester City goalkeeper who broke his neck in the 1956 FA Cup final and played on. But his early life was no less extraordinary. He grew up in Nazi Germany, where first he was indoctrinated by the Hitler Youth, before fighting in World War Two in France and on the Eastern Front. In 1945 he was captured and sent to a British POW camp where, for the first time, he understood that there could be a better way of life. He embraced England as his new home and before long became an English football hero. This is his story. ''A gripping story of an unlikely redemption through football'' Sunday Times ''He was the best goalkeeper I ever played against. We always said, don''t look into the goal when you''re trying to score agaTrade ReviewA truly remarkable story, uncovered with immense skill by Catrine Clay * Miranda Seymour, Telegraph *An extraordinary story * Mail on Sunday *Britain's best-loved German ... it's a remarkable story * Daily Mail *[A] brilliant new biography * Observer *Utterly compelling * Independent on Sunday *
£11.69
Vintage Publishing Ben Ainslie Close to the Wind
Book SynopsisBen Ainslie, CBE, was born in 1977 in Macclesfield. He started sailing at age four and first competed at the age of ten. He has won four Olympic gold medals and was awarded Yachtsman of the Year in 1995, 1999, 2000 and 2002.Trade ReviewTake it from a neutral observer: the most accomplished competitor at work in British sport today is Ben Ainslie. Chris Hoy, Lewis Hamilton and Rebecca Adlington deserve praise but the real fanfare should be reserved for Ainslie ... [He has] a combination of dedication, stamina, tactical nous and, the clincher here, a sustained level of ruthlessness rarely witnessed before in British sport -- Henry Winter * Daily Telegraph *Sailing's superman * The Times *An interesting self-portrait ... it encapsulates his personality: pleasant and unassuming off the water, ruthless on it * Independent *A must-read for any sailing fan... Ben’s inside account makes for fascinating reading * All at Sea magazine *
£11.69
Vintage Publishing The Ghost
Book SynopsisJulie Welch is the critically lauded author of Those Glory, Glory Days, 26.2: Running the London Marathon and Out On Your Feet: The World of Hundred-mile Walking.Rob White is a professional photographer. The Ghost of White Hart Lane is his first book.Trade ReviewDeeply personal - a touching, heartfelt story -- Gary ImlachA special book about a special man * Independent on Sunday *One of the most affecting sports books of the year -- Matt Dickinson * The Times *A gorgeous and moving story -- Tom English * Scotland on Sunday *Colourful and, at times, moving * Four Four Two *
£11.69
Random House Football Bloody Hell
Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE BRITISH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS Sir Alex Ferguson is the most controversial and compelling figure in football. For many he ranks as the greatest manager of all time. He is certainly the most successful.It''s been more than ten years since Ferguson''s Manchester United triumphed over Bayern Munich in the dying seconds of the Champions League final. Since then he has presided over the rise and fall and rise again of José Mourinho; the arrival and departure of the world''s best player, Ronaldo; the removal of one English talisman - Beckham - and the irresistible instalment of another - Rooney. Ferguson has been instrumental in making the Premier League the most successful competition in football, and he has endured while the mountains of cash have turned to valleys of debt. Throughout, award-winning journalist Patrick Barclay has been pitch-side and spoken to all those who know Ferguson best - fellow managers, former players, colleaTrade ReviewCompelling -- Simon Kuper * Financial Times *Patrick Barclay traces the arc of the Scot's Govan youth to his Old Trafford supremacy with insight, sensitivity and poise -- Sports Book of the Year * Sunday Telegraph *Thorough of research, rich of detail -- Book of the Week, Richard Williams * Guardian *Stylishly written, admirably well-researched * Scotsman *Wonderful. Captures the contradictions of this complex personality as eloquentlyas it elucidates his genius * Irish Independent *
£16.19
Vintage Publishing A Fans Notes
Book Synopsis''Listen, you son of a bitch, life isn''t all a goddam football game! You won''t always get the girl! Life is rejection and pain and loss...''A Fan''s Notes - the horrible and hilarious account of a long failure. Our narrator is the ultimate unreconstructed male. His primary concerns are alcohol, sex and the New York Giants. But things go very wrong for him - he drinks too much, he''s impotent and the Giants start to loose. And so we follow his boozy trail through two failed marriages, many bars and intermittent visits to Avalon Valley - a private home for the mentally ill. Shockingly politically incorrect, terribly self-indulgent but more than redeemed by its unremitting honesty and insight this is the unforgettable story of a man laid bare.Trade ReviewA Fan's Notes is one man's life written with brilliance and insight. No one should have had Exley's life, and no one who has read it can forget it -- James DickeyWriters of every kind of aesthetic and cultural persuasion talk about it and press it on their friends. When I urge it on a friend who asks what it is about or what it is like, I say read it, just read it -- Geoffrey WolffAstonishing... It is visceral and intimate. Self-absorbed, it is also searingly perceptive about what happens between fathers and sons, men and women * Independent *
£10.44
Vintage Publishing The Phantom of the Open
Book SynopsisThe hilarious, heartwarming and - unbelievably - true story of Maurice Flitcroft, the World's Worst GolferWhen 46-year-old crane driver Maurice Flitcroft chanced his way into the Open - having never before played a round of golf in his life - he ran up a record-worst score of 121.Trade ReviewHilarious * Esquire *The story of its greatest anti-hero is just what the game needs. * Spectator *
£11.39
Vintage Publishing We Were Young and Carefree
Book Synopsis''Ah, I remember you: you''re the guy who lost the Tour de France by eight seconds!''''No monsieur, I''m the guy who won the Tour twice.The international bestselling autobiography of the legendary French cyclist Laurent Fignon Two-time winner of the Tour de France in the early eighties, Laurent Fignon became the star for a new generation. In the 1989 tour, he lost out to his American arch-rival, Greg LeMond, by an agonising eight seconds. In this revealing account, the former champion spares nobody, not even himself, and pulls back the curtain on what really went on behind the scenes of this epic sport - the friendships, the rivalries, the betrayals, the parties, the girls and, of course, the performance-enhancing drugs. Fignon''s story bestrides a golden age in cycling: a time when the headlines spoke of heroes, not doping, and a time when cyclists were afraid of nothing.Sports book of the year: He''s Trade ReviewAstonishing. The twice winner of the Tour de France bares his soul, exploring the ups and downs of life as a champion, the world of competitive cycling, and his own failings * Libération *Sports book of the year: He's ruthlessly honest, about himself and about cycling, and he provides a gripping insight into an unrelenting hard world * Independent *This book is both a poignant farewell and as well as a rare glimpse of Fignon and his world in his own words * London Cyclist *Sports book of the year: magnificent, baffling, wonderful * Sunday Herald *Often touching and, above all, very funny * L'Equipe *
£16.14
Vintage Publishing The Grudge Two Nations One Match No Holds Barred
Book SynopsisScotland are the underdogs - second-class citizens from a land that's become the testing ground for the most unpopular tax in living memory: Thatcher's Poll Tax.Trade ReviewI enjoyed this book enormously. The match is one of my enduring rugby memories, and reading The Grudge it all came flooding back -- John InverdaleThe finest book written on the tournament ... English has produced an absolutely outstanding work, weaving in the strands of history, politics, sociology, dislike and tactical nous, which makes the game probably the most remarkable ever played in the grand old tournament. The insights provided into the minds and roles of Jim Telfer and Brian Moore are worth the price alone -- Stephen Jones * The Times *Superb ... a fantastic drama. The Grand Slam match was part of a political world ... This is what gave the occasion its power, its glory and its ultimate significance * The Herald *Gripping ... Tom English has interviewed all the main protagonists to produce a richly textured picture of the build-up, the day itself and the aftermath * Independent *5 stars. An epic tale of clashing personalities. The Grudge puts you right on the touchline as the English and Scottish teams go to war. -- Simon Briggs * Daily Telegraph *
£10.44
Vintage Publishing Twirlymen
Book SynopsisAmol Rajan is Comment Editor at the Independent, having previously been a news reporter and Sports News Correspondent for the newspaper. He is also a columnist for the Independent and Evening Standard, and a restaurant critic for the Independent on Sunday. He grew up in Tooting, south London, and from the age of 11 played for Sinjuns Cricket Club (now Sinjuns & Grammarians) in Wandsworth, becoming the youngest captain of a men's team when leading the Sunday First XI in 2002, aged eighteen.www.twitter.com/amolrajanTrade ReviewEnchanting. Twirlymen is packed with anecdotes that fizz like a Murali doosra * Spectator *Wonderful * The Economist *Erudite... Charming and insightful... Knowledgeable, obsessed and astute * New Statesman *Rajan captures the distinctiveness of spin bowlers, a tribe within the wider nation of cricketers * Literary Review *I could not stop picking it up... A history of spin bowling, diligently researched but written with wit and, most tellingly, an obsessive's eye for detail -- Andy Bull * Guardian *
£11.69
Vintage Publishing Jack Hobbs
Book SynopsisThe astonishing feats of Sir Jack Hobbs continue to resonate more than a century after he first played Test cricket. During his long career that stretched from the age of W.G. Grace to the era of Don Bradman, he scored more first-class runs and centuries than any player. Even today, he remains England''s greatest run maker in Ashes Tests. He changed the art of batting with his elegant style, and transformed the status of professional cricketers through the strength of his personality.Born into poverty, Hobbs rose to have a central role in some of Test cricket''s most explosive series, but not without controversy and dispute. At last here is a comprehensive biography of Hobbs, giving us fresh insights into every aspect of his story.SHORTLISTED FOR THE BRITISH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 2012 CRICKET BOOK OF THE YEAR.Trade ReviewLeo McKinstry has written an intelligent, straightforward account of Hobbs, both as man and as cricketer -- Robert Cheshire * Literary Review *This learned and wide-ranging book skilfully recreates a vanished world and resuscitates the reputation of one who might well be England's greatest cricketer -- Marcus Berkman * Daily Mail *McKinstry captures the spirit of this thoroughly decent man, and also the spirit of the age where he dominated -- Michael Henderson * Spectator *Magnificent... A tender and intriguing picture of the man -- Michael Simkins * Mail on Sunday *It makes for excellent social history... McKinstry does an excellent job, recounting Hobb's exploits with impressive thoroughness -- Simon Wilde * Sunday Times *
£15.29
Vintage Publishing One Night in Turin
Book SynopsisPete Davies is the author of 11 acclaimed works of fiction and non-fiction. His 1990 classic All Played Out was a bestseller and has been in print ever since. It has recently made into a 90 minute film directed by James Erksine, with the new title One Night in Turin. Pete Davies lives in West Yorkshire.Trade ReviewPete Davies is incapable of writing a dull sentence... outrageously entertaining * Daily Post *Exhilarating ... full of drama, full of its own reckless and compelling logic * Indpendent *Riveting, surging, passionately written. The book which made it possible for "football literature" to mean something other than daft ghosted biographies * FourFourTwo *
£13.49
Vintage Publishing How I Won the Yellow Jumper
Book SynopsisNed Boulting started his broadcasting career at Sky in 1997, working as a reporter alongside Jeff Stelling on the now legendary show Soccer Saturday. In 2006 he was given the Royal Television Society's Sports Reporter of the Year Award. He has presented two Tours of Britain for ITV, as well as the inaugural Tour Series, and contributed features and live reports on eight Tours de France.Trade ReviewHugely enjoyable...The only real problem with this book is that it's making me wish away the start of the summer and fast-forward to 2 July and le grand départ -- Helen Pidd * Guardian *His journey from self confessed 'football hack winging it in a sport beyond his ken' to his initiation into the Tour's nuances and eccentric characters delivers an amusing, warm and easy read * London Cyclist *A candid, insightful and often hilarious account -- Alastair CampbellI thought Ned was an old hand at the Tour. Evidently he was clueless... Told with panache -- David MillarHugely enjoyable... Brilliant -- Ben East * Metro *
£11.69
Vintage Publishing A Life Too Short
Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR WINNER OF THE BRITISH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS FOOTBALL BOOK OF THE YEAR Why does an international footballer with the world at his feet decide to take his own life? On 10 November 2009 the German national goalkeeper, Robert Enke, stepped in front of a passing train. He was thirty-two years old and a devoted husband and father. Enke had played for a string of Europe''s top clubs, including Barcelona and Jose Mourinho''s Benfica and was destined to become his country''s first choice in goal for years to come. But beneath the veneer of success, Enke battled with crippling depression. Award-winning writer Ronald Reng pieces together the puzzle of his friend''s life, shedding valuable light on the crushing pressures endured by professional sportsmen and on life at the top clubs. At its heart, Enke''s tragedy is a universal story of a man struggling against his demons.It should be on every British football fan''s reading list' MetroTrade ReviewOne of the most remarkable sports books ever written… A Life Too Short: The Tragedy of Robert Enke… stands as the definite work on mental illness in football -- Sam Wallace * Daily Telegraph *Incredible… It’s a stunning, fascinating and ultimately heartbreaking piece of work that has done so much to further the understanding between mental illness and sport. It is also a reminder that, for all the status and all the luxury which come with being a professional footballer, those lucky enough to make a career from the game are still human beings, too -- Tom Hopkinson * People *An intensely moving book that transcends football -- Raphael Honigstein, GuardianA tragic book, but a brilliant one. Reng's is one of the best sports books to have been published in years * Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung *This is a powerful book which transcends football. * Sport Magazine *
£11.69
Vintage Publishing Bobby Moore
Book SynopsisImmaculate footballer. Imperial defender. Immortal hero of 1966. Master of Wembley. Captain extraordinary. Gentleman of all time.' These are some of the words inscribed beneath the statue of England's World Cup-winning captain, Bobby Moore, at Wembley stadium. Since Moore's death, of bowel cancer at just 51, these accolades represent the accepted view of this national treasure. But what do we actually know about Bobby Moore as a person? What about the grit alongside the glory?Moore was undeniably an extraordinary captain and player. Pelé called him the greatest and fairest defender he ever played against. His feats for West Ham United and England are legendary and his technical mastery of the game ahead of its time. Few footballers since have come close to his winning combination of intelligence, skill, temperament and class.Yet off the pitch, Moore knew scandal, bankruptcy, divorce and drink. What about the string of failed businesses, whispers of bad behaTrade ReviewBrilliant -- Oliver Holt * Daily Mirror *Devastating. No ghosted autobiography can match the nuanced insight of the latest book on Bobby Moore, a hero flawed by alcohol -- Ian Herbert * Independent *Well-researched and written, this book brings us the real Bobby Moore -- Matthew Syed * The Times *A tragic tale, admirably researched and poignantly told -- Nick Pitt * Sunday Times *It’s an immaculately researched voyage of discovery into a footballing enigma. We’ll never know the man in full, but this comes close -- Ben East * Metro *
£10.44
Vintage Publishing Land of Second Chances
Book SynopsisTIM LEWIS is a feature writer at the Observer and contributing editor of Esquire. He has previously been editor of both the Observer Magazine and Observer Sport Monthly, Britain's most prestigious sports magazine. Prior to that he was editor of the Independent on Sunday's Sunday Review and deputy editor of Esquire.Trade ReviewFascinating... not a typical rags to riches, triumph against adversity tale... Lewis does a fine job of unpicking a tangled narrative * Observer *A remarkable story... attempts to import the Lycra-clad, precision-engineered world of the Tour de France into rural Africa form the heart of this absorbing book...Team Rwanda’s story could have been edited into an uplifting tale of unlikely success, with Niynoshuti’s Olympic appearance as the rousing finale. Instead this is a more complicated, darker, account. * Financial Times *It's a book that successfully melds many facets and characters. At times deeply shocking, always moving and occasionally very amusing, The Land of Second Chances is ultimately an uplifting story of hope * Wheelsuckers *His meticulously researched work merits a wider audience than appealing to devotees of the biking fraternity – and will surely get one…. A good cycling tale and this one is a cracker * Birmingham Post *An eloquent and compassionate tale by Observer author Tim Lewis. Perfect for: sport lovers after a leftfield underdog story -- Sam Dansie * Bike Radar *
£11.69
Vintage Publishing Fear and Loathing in La Liga
Book SynopsisA history of modern Spain told through one of world football''s most intense rivalries' IndependentSports Book of the Year' Sunday TimesIt's Messi vs Ronaldo, it's Catalonia vs Castilla. It's the nation against the state, freedom fighters vs Franco's fascists. It's majestic goals and mesmerising skills, red cards and bench brawls. It's the best two teams on the planet going face to face and toe to toe. It's more than a game. It's a war.It's Barcelona vs Real Madrid. Only, it's not that simple. From the wounds left by the civil war to the teams' recent global domination, historian and expert on Spanish football, Sid Lowe lifts the lid on sport's greatest rivalry. Lowe has spoken to the biggest names and the forgotten heroes who defined their clubs. Men like Alfredo Di Stéfano and Johan Cruyff as well as the only survivor of the most politically charged game in history, the Barcelona striker who knocked MadrTrade ReviewOne of the year’s best football books … an extremely well-informed and usefully myth-busting portrait * Guardian *Fascinating * Sunday Independent *Sports Book of the Year * Sunday Times *Football Books of the Year: Sid Lowe isn’t an ordinary football writer and, as a result, this is not an ordinary football book. Lowe paces it all so well ... like an engaging lesson from your favourite teacher * Daily Mirror *A revelation. Anyone interested in Spain's two biggest teams can learn something new from this labour of love ... tackling tricky subjects with skill and weaving them into an engaging story. For that, this book stands out from the rest. * talksport.com *
£11.69
Vintage Publishing Be Careful What You Wish For
Book SynopsisThe author made his fortune building a mobile phone company from scratch. When he sold it for GBP75 million, he bought Crystal Palace FC, the club he'd supported as a boy, and led them into the Premier League. Ten years later Palace was in administration and Jordan had lost nigh on everything. This title tells his story.Trade ReviewIf you are a football fan and have not read this book, you are missing out -- John InverdaleWe all love the idea of owning our boyhood club but [Jordan's] memoir strips away the romance in a frequently hilarious, often alarming account * The Times *No punches pulled * Independent *A frank and brutal insight into why football and business don't mix -- Theo PaphitisI couldn't help laughing... He can't half tell a story * Evening Standard *
£11.69
Vintage Publishing Born to Ride
Book SynopsisStephen Roche was born in Dundrum, Dublin, Ireland. As a road racing cyclist, over the course of 13 years, he recorded 58 professional career wins, including the Tour de France, the Giro d'Italia and the World Road Racing Championship, all of which he won in 1987. Since retiring Stephen has set up and built Stephen Roche Cycling Holidays and Training Camps, based in Majorca and worked as a commentator for Eurosport. Born to Ride is his first full autobiography.Trade ReviewFascinating…a compelling read * Cycling Shorts *One of the most riveting sporting biographies I've read for ages * Herald *While most people focus on his famous year in 1987, it's often forgotten just how precocious a cyclist Roche was early on in his career…an entertaining read -- John Whitney * Bike Radar *The intimacy and tone of a fireside chat – possibly lubricated with a generous nightcap -- Daniel Friebe * Outdoor Fitness *Highly recommended * Cycling World *
£11.69
Vintage Publishing Lanterne Rouge
Book SynopsisMax Leonard's previous books include Lanterne Rouge: the Last Man in the Tour de France and Bunker Research. He has also written about cycling, travel and adventure for Esquire, Monocle, Rouleur, Strava, Rapha and others.Trade ReviewExcellent ... compulsive reading...redresses the balance with considerable literary style and panache. * The Washing Machine Post *Don't be surprised if you fall in love with Max Leonard's book. A glorious celebration of coming last. -- Brendan Gallagher * thetour.co.uk *Thoughtful, properly researched and consistently entertaining -- Tim Moore[A] lively account of largely forgotten men... It’s not easy to come up with an original angle on Le Tour, but with this rear view Leonard has managed the feat in style -- Simon Redfern * Independent on Sunday *Brilliant... The stories of the lanternes rouges that Leonard picks out have real value, because the race's rear view can tell you much more than the angle we're all familiar with -- Michael Hutchinson * Independent *Makes for oddly inspiring reading. There is an art to losing -- Jon Day * London Review of Books *An elegant book... Surprising and illuminating -- Ian Bell * Herald *This is a valuable book with some great stories. Deeply-researched and well-written, it’s an enjoyable read that shouldn’t be rushed * The Inner Ring *Fascinating… Without losers, there are no winners * London Cyclist *Thoughtful, witty * Times Literary Supplement *In this lively, rear-view account of largely unsung heroes, and a few villains, Leonard has managed the difficult feat of coming up with an original angle on Le Tour -- Simon Redfern * Independent on Sunday *Leonard extracts the dignity that sometimes exists in sporting failure; this is not the world of Armstrong, Keane or Pietersen and all the more appealing because of that -- Tim Lewis * Observer *Celebratory and hilarious in equal measures, The Last Man revels in the travails of the underdog -- Ben East * Metro *This book does a great job of revealing some of the less well known stories from le Tour: well written, entertaining, and informative -- Richard Peploe * Road *This book is an entertaining account taking in everyone from stage winners and former yellow jerseys who couldn’t hang on, to a breakaway leader who stopped for a bottle of wine and then took a wrong turn, to a doper whose drug cocktail backfired * Bike Radar *
£13.49
Vintage Publishing The Badger
Book SynopsisBernard Hinault is one of the greatest cyclists of all time. He is a five-time winner of the Tour de France and the only man to have won each of the Grand Tours on more than one occasion. Hinault is the last old-school' champion: a larger-than-life character from a working-class background, capable of winning on all terrains, in major Tours and one-day Classics. Nicknamed the Badger' for his combative style, he led a cyclists' strike in his first Tour and instigated a legendary punch-up with demonstrators in 1982 while in the middle of a race. His battles with teammates Laurent Fignon and Greg LeMond in the 1986 Tour resulted in one of the greatest races of all time. Three decades on from his retirement, Hinault remains the last French winner of the Tour de France. Here, William Fotheringham shows that while France may one day find a new champion, there will never be another Bernard Hinault.Trade ReviewA thorough, well-researched and highly readable biography about one of cycling's best ever riders * Road *One of cycling’s most fascinating characters * Sport *
£9.99