Search results for ""Polaris Publishing Limited""

Revised and Updated Third EditionFor almost 140 years the Welsh rugby team has battled proudly on the international stage.Full of tales of fighting clergymen, poisoned arrows and deathbed confessionals, James Stafford''s An Illustrated History of Welsh Rugby takes a unique look at the games, the players, the legends and the myths behind Wales''s national game.Blending fun and facts with trivia and social history, this is Welsh rugby like you''ve never experienced it before. Brimming with delightful illustrations from Raluca Moldovan and irreverent humour, this book will fascinate young readers and curious adults alike.

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This book is aimed at players and coaches (male & female) of all levels. James Knott and Andrew O'Connor have created a comprehensive and up to date guide to bowling for coaches, players and parents featuring photographs and diagrams along with sixty accessible drills.This is an essential guide to the intricate skills required to become a successful bowler for both players and coaches. With input from a wide range of elite players and coaches, past and present, this is an invaluable guide to developing bowling skills for young and old alike.

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FULLY REVISED AND UPDATED 'The finest Fergie book of them all' – Tom English, BBC Sport When Sir Alex Ferguson retired at the end of the 2013 season he was the most successful football manager Britain had ever seen, having won twice as many trophies as his nearest rival. But that success had not come easily. Thirty-five years previously he had arrived at the rain-swept training ground at Aberdeen F.C. as the recently sacked manager of St Mirren. Already a divisive figure, this Alex Ferguson came with a reputation for trouble and a lot still to prove. Not for nothing, many thought he was a risky choice. Fergie Rises returns to a time when Ferguson was lucky to get Aberdeen, not the other way around. It's the story of an eight-year revolution that saw the Dons and their ambitious young manager knock the Old Firm off their perch, taste victory in Europe for the first time, and electrify Scottish football. When Ferguson finally left the club for Manchester United, in 1986, fans and rivals were unanimous in believing he had engineered one of the most astonishing upheavals in the game’s history. The author also examines the personal tragedies Ferguson overcame – the deaths of his father and his mentor Jock Stein – and the rivalries, setbacks and triumphs that shaped a sporting genius. 'A masterful retelling of how Ferguson was "made" at Aberdeen' – Alan Pattullo, The Scotsman

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Philip K. Dick, the visionary author behind Blade Runner, is the most adapted science fiction writer in cinema history. Though he struggled to make a living during his lifetime, his work has since served as a deep seam of ideas to be mined by filmmakers such as Ridley Scott, Paul Verhoeven, Steven Speilberg, John Woo and Richard Linklater, resulting in some of the most successful and influential SF movies of all time. For the still-unequalled future world of Blade Runner to the mind-bending A Scanner Darkly, via the blockbusting action/adventure of Total Recall, Paycheck and Minority Report – not to mention the debt of gratitude films like The Matrix and The Truman Show owe to his work – the legacy of Philip K. Dick has revolutionised Hollywood. Illustrated with rare photos, Counterfeit Worlds is the first book to trace the history of Philip K. Dick screen adaptations, both in cinema and on television.

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Shortlisted for the Sunday Times Rugby Book of the Year 2023 World in their Hands recounts the remarkable events that led to a group of friends from south-west London staging the inaugural Women’s Rugby World Cup in 1991. The tournament was held just 13 years after teams from University College London and King’s contested a match that catalysed the growth of the women’s game in the UK, and the organisers overcame myriad obstacles before, during and after the World Cup. Those challenges, which included ingrained misogyny, motherhood, a recession, the Gulf War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, provide a fitting framing device for a book that celebrates female achievement in the face of adversity. Although ostensibly a story about women’s rugby, this is a tale that has rare crossover appeal. It is not only the account of a group of inspirational women who took on the institutional misogyny that existed in rugby clubs across the globe to put on a first ever Women’s Rugby World Cup. It is also the compelling and relatable tale of how those women, their peers and others in the generations before them, reshaped the idea of what it means to be a woman, finding acceptance and friendship on boggy rugby pitches. At the time, with the men’s game tying itself up in knots about professionalism and apartheid, these women were a breath of fresh air. Three decades on, their achievements deserve to be highlighted to a wider audience.

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Scotland’s greatest export. The world’s first super spy. Voted the sexiest man on the planet. Sir Sean Connery was a titanic figure on screen and off for over half a century. Behind the son of a factory worker, growing up in near-poverty on the harsh streets of pre-war Edinburgh, lay a timeless array of motion pictures that spanned multiple decades and saw Connery work across the globe with directors as diverse as Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg and Michael Bay. And amongst them his greatest role, whether he liked it or not – Bond, James Bond. Author A. J. Black delves into Connery’s life for more than mere biography, exploring not just the enormously varied pictures he made including crowd pleasing blockbusters such as The Untouchables or Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, serious-minded fare in The Hill or The Offence, and his strange sojourns into eclectic fantasy with Zardoz or Time Bandits, but also the sweep of a career that crossed movie eras as well as decades. From skirmishes with the angry young men of the British New Wave, via becoming the cinematic icon of the 1960s as 007, through to a challenging reinvention as a unique older actor of stature in the 1980s, this exploration of the Cinematic Connery shows just how much his work reflected the changing movie-going tastes, political realities and cultural trends of the 20th century, and beyond . . .

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In February 2012, Rangers faced an uncertain future and fans feared for their club as a Scottish institution was plunged into crisis. Just months later, Rangers would start out on what those supporters christened 'The Journey' as they attempted to make their way back to the top of the game from the Third Division. The years that followed were amongst the most tumultuous and controversial in the club's illustrious history as financial results became as important and noteworthy as football ones. Through it all, Rangers supporters followed near and far. In May 2021, Rangers completed their journey as Steven Gerrard's side were crowned Premiership champions. Going for 55 tells the story of the campaign, giving insight and offering analysis into how Gerrard revolutionised the club and restored Rangers to their place at the top of Scottish football. With interviews from the money men who funded the rebuilding job, the staff and players that made the dream a reality and those in the press that saw history being made, this is a sporting tale like no other.

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Fargo – that bloody tale of greed, kidnapping and murder set in the freezing tundra of Minnesota – was the Coen brothers’ break-out film, scooping two Oscars and a towering snowdrift of critical and commercial acclaim. On the 25th anniversary of its release, former Minnesota resident Nige Tassell slips on his snowboots to revisit the film and its landscape. The result is a leisurely stomp around Fargo’s intricate plot, its snappy dialogue and its unforgettable characters. Insightful, revealing, entertaining and esoteric, And It’s A Beautiful Day strips back the film’s multiple layers to pose intriguing questions. What has made car salesman Jerry Lundegaard such a desperate man? Does Carl Showalter deserve to be fed into a woodchipper? And just how much food can police chief Marge Gunderson put away in a single sitting? Sharp and snappy and full of quirkiness and humour, And It’s A Beautiful Day is perfect companion to one of the all-time great cult movies.

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René Stauffer has been closely covering Roger Federer’s career for nearly 25 years. In this comprehensive biography, Stauffer talks at length to the man himself, his family, friends, coaches and rivals to paint an unrivalled picture of the greatest male tennis player of all time. From his early life in Basel, Switzerland, where he first picked up a tennis racquet, to the heights of his 20th Grand Slam victory and all points in between, Stauffer reveals the secrets to Federer’s success, the hardships and doubts that he has faced and examines the legacy that Federer has created in the modern game.

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This critical history of Doctor Who covers the series 60 years, from the creation of the show to its triumph as Britain's number one TV drama. Opening with an in-depth account of the creation of the series within the BBC of the early 1960s, each decade of the show is tackled through a unique political and pop cultural historical viewpoint, exploring the links between contemporary Britain and the stories Doctor Who told, and how such links kept the show popular with a mass television audience. Timeless Adventures reveals how Doctor Who is at its strongest when it reflects the political and cultural concerns of a mass British audience (the 1960s, 1970s and 21st Century), and at its weakest when catering to a narrow fan-based audience (as in the 1980s). The book also addresses the cancellation of the show in the late 1980s (following the series becoming increasing self-obsessed) and the ways in which a narrowly-focused dedicated fandom contributed to the show's demise and yet was also instrumental in its regeneration for the 21st Century under Russell T. Davies, and analyses the new series to reveal what has made it so popular, reflecting real world issues like consumerism and dieting.

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'Fascinating and original ... will tell you things even the most ardent United fan will not know' - Jim White, The Telegraph On 26 May 1999, Manchester United sealed their historic Treble of league, FA Cup and Champions League in the most dramatic fashion imaginable, scoring twice in stoppage time to snatch an unthinkable victory from Bayern Munich at the Camp Nou in Barcelona. The story of what happened on the pitch is well known, enshrined in the annals of football history. But less in known about how this rollercoaster campaign played out behind the scenes. Thanks to unparalleled insight gleaned from hundreds of exclusive interviews, with United players, coaches, opponents, backroom personnel, club staff, journalists and commentators, They Always Score: The Unforgettable, Improbable, Iconic Story of Manchester United’s Treble Winners peels back the curtain to give readers the most comprehensive, illuminating and entertaining picture ever painted of one of the all-time great sports teams.

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The English rugby team has been scrummaging its way around the rugby fields of the world since 1871. James Stafford’s An Illustrated History of English Rugby takes you on a thrilling journey through a century and a half of glory, failure, mediocrity and brilliance. Mixing stats and facts with player profiles, match reports and social history, this book is perfect for hardcore and casual fans aged eight to 80. Packed with delightful illustrations from Raluca Moldovan, this follow up to Stafford’s best-selling An Illustrated History of Welsh Rugby will give readers a new appreciation of the stars of today and the pioneers of yesteryear.

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The laws of rugby are as extensive as they are confusing, their nuances and interpretations argued over relentlessly by rugby fans around the world and virtually impenetrable to those who are new to the game. In an effort to provide some much-needed clarity, Paul Williams takes an irreverent, hilarious, p*ss-taking tour through the labyrinth that is rugby's rule book – or, for the pedantic, rugby’s law book. Hilarious, off-beat and (surprisingly) insightful, this is the perfect gift for rugby fans all around the world.

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In Unbelievable Underdogs and Rebellious Role Models, James Stafford takes readers on an emotional roller coaster through some of the greatest upsets and shocks in the history of world sport.It features incredible true tales of athletes who have overcome poverty, racism, injury, disability and even shark attacks to reach the top against all odds. Sports featured include football, basketball, baseball, surfing, athletics, rugby, ice hockey, American football, wheelchair racing, cricket, tennis, speed skating and boxing.Teams and athletes include Leicester City (football), Jackie Robinson (baseball), Kurt Warner (American football), Tatyana McFadden (wheelchair track and field), Siya Kolisi (rugby), Caron Butler (basketball), Emil Zatopek (running), Emma Raducanu (tennis), Steve Bradbury (speed skating), Wilma Rudolph (athletics), Japan (rugby), Muggsy Bogues (basketball), Kathrine Switzer and Bobbi Gibb (marathon running), Bhagwat Chandrasekhar (cricket), Team USA (ice hockey), Bethany

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THIS IS THE GUIDE TO CLASSIC SUPERHERO MOVIES YOU NEVER KNEW YOU NEEDED. If you mention the word 'superhero' these days, the mind is immediately bombarded by visions from the MCU, DCU and all the numerous phases, extended TV series and animated side-specials that combine to make our eyes bleed with a barrage of different characters fighting each other. But before 1997 people would generally only think of a few things: Christopher Reeve smiling as his Superman kept a watchful eye over Earth's atmosphere, Michael Keaton's Batman running around Gotham dressed in moulded rubber, Nicholas Hammond's Spider-Man being hauled up a wall on a rope, Bill Bixby trying not to unleash his inner Hulk and Flash Gordon camply swashbuckling his way around another galaxy. It's time to don your cowl, cape, shredded jeans and Vultan leatherwear and join John Rain as he wades his way through twenty classic superhero films that stunned, amazed and baffled the world from 1978 to 1997. IS IT A BIRD? IS IT A PLANE? NO, IT'S SUPERBOOK! 'The perfect way to enjoy the best and worst films of your childhood' - Ed Byrne

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'It's not a high concept movie, there's actually no story there really. It’s what happens in between the story that’s important' – Bill Forsyth The story of an American businessman sent to buy the Scottish village of Ferness with the aim of turning it into an oil refinery, Local Hero is one of Scotland’s most beloved, and most misunderstood, films. When Bill Forsyth’s incredible success with the low-budget That Sinking Feeling and Gregory’s Girl found him collaborating with Britain’s best-known film producer, David Puttnam, he soon found his independent ethos clashing with Hollywood’s desire for superstar actors and a happy ending. Jonathan Melville checks into the MacAskill Arms and looks back at Bill Forsyth’s career with the help of new and archive interviews, before spending time with the cast and crew, including stars Peter Riegert and Denis Lawson, who made Local Hero on location in Houston and Scotland in 1982. With access to early drafts of the Local Hero script (including hand-written notes) that reveal more about Mac and mermaids, excerpts from a previously unpublished interview in which Bill Forsyth explains why he refuses to call his film 'feel-good', and a look at long-lost deleted scenes with exclusive commentary from those involved, this is the definitive history of the Scottish classic. ‘Genuine fairy tales are rare; so is film-making that is thoroughly original in an unobtrusive way. Bill Forsyth's quirky disarming Local Hero is both . . . it demonstrates Mr. Forsyth's uncanny ability for making an audience sense that something magical is going on, even if that something isn't easily explained’ – Janet Maslin, The New York Times 'Local Hero is kind of transcendent. It's poetic in a way that most films can't hope to be' – Frank Cottrell-Boyce 'Local Hero is one my favourite films of all time . . . A timeless masterpiece' – Mark Kermode

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5 September, 1972. 4.30 a.m. The Munich Olympic Village. Black September, a group of Palestinian terrorists, break into the Israeli team's apartments. It is the beginning of the most tragic event in Olympic history and, after twenty hours, the day will end in a massacre, with the deaths of eleven Israelis, five Palestinians and a German policeman. This is the story of the race-walker Shaul Ladany: a survivor. But more than just a member of the Israeli team from those terrible events in Munich, Ladany was a survivor of the darkest period in twentieth century history, having been interred as a child at the Nazi concentration camp at Bergen-Belsen, the camp where Anne Frank died. For the second time in his life, Ladany has survived history. Ladany, the world record holder in the fifty-mile walk and a professor of industrial engineering, is one of Israel’s most successful athletes, having won dozens of national championships and competed at both the 1968 and 1972 Olympics; he was a student at Columbia University in New York, a soldier in the Six Days War and the Yom Kippur War. From Eichmann to Sharon, from Bikila to All Blacks, from Nixon to Thatcher: they are all a part of Ladany’s walk through the twentieth century. Award-winning author and journalist Andrea Schiavon tells Ladany's extraordinary life and, walking with him, chronicles a whole century of events in this astonishing, touching and epic biography.

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Never give up on what you believe. Redwood Rovers FC are in trouble. The council wants to sell the club's pitches to a property developer. With no money to spare, Redwood’s very future is threatened. Until Zak hears about the YouTube Allstars Cup. It's a football tournament for teams of social media influencers. Best of all, there’s a cash prize of £500,000. Can Zak lead his team to victory and save Redwood Rovers? Tekkers 2: Turf Wars, shows how one simple hashtag can go much further than a single social media post, engaging an entire generation into inspiring change for good.

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'excellent . . . covers every aspect of wicket keeping clearly and accurately' – Callum Morin, wicketkeeper at Hadleigh Cricket Club Whether a player or a coach, this is the ultimate guide to developing the skills required to make it as a top-level wicket keeper. In the most comprehensive book on wicket keeping on the market, James Knott and Andrew O’Connor provide detailed and easy-to-understand insights into all aspects of wicket keeping, whether you are a player or coach, and no matter your level. With contributions from some of the game's great players and coaches, including Alan Knott, Jack Russell, Peter Moores and David Ripley, this invaluable guide includes over 65 training drills, a unique 'training on your own' section, and provides clear guidance for coaches who aren’t wicket keepers themselves. Clear, insightful and easy to follow, this is an essential guide for improving your game or your coaching methods.

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Featuring the thoughts of more than 180 players who have represented Scotland since the very first Test match in 1871 all the way through to the present day, Behind the Thistle gives a unique insight into the drama and emotion of playing for Scotland in that most rarefied of environments – Test match rugby. In this exhaustively research tome, David Barnes and Peter Burns provide inside access to more than 150 years of private moments in the changing room, on tour, on the training ground, during the tumultuous heat of battle itself, and lift the lid on numerous post-match antics. This is the story of what it is really like to play for Scotland, revealing the sacrifices and joys experienced by those who have shed blood, sweat and tears in pursuit of glory in the navy blue jersey.

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For 125 years the British & Irish Lions have stood out as a peerless emblem in world sport. This unique account of the best from the four Home Nations examines every tour in the Lions’ history, including the victorious 2013 tour to Hong Kong and Australia, told in the players’ words. Behind the Lions sees rugby writers from across the Home Nations delve to the heart of what it means to be a Lion, interviewing a vast array of former and current players to uncover the passion, pride and exhilaration experienced when wearing the famous red jersey. It is a tale of heartbreak and ecstasy, humour and poignancy that is at once inspirational, moving and utterly compelling. This is the story of the British & Irish Lions in their own words.

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'The ultimate guide to every apocalypse movie ever made' - David Quantick The 1980s. A time of fear: fear of the unknown, fear of your neighbours, fear of drugs, fear of sex, fear of strangers, fear of videos, and the very real fear that the world would end at any moment in an awful, and very sudden, nuclear attack. However, in those times of turmoil and worry, there was a comfort that soothed the mind, and acted as a quiet balm: action movies. Video shops were bursting at the seams with rampant gunfire, sex, drugs, rock, roll, cars on fire, people on fire, guns, bombs, and people dressed in army fatigues (and that was just the staff). Heroes were born shrouded in fire and violent revenge, they were not only armed with guns, but also red-hot quips, that served as a muscly arm around the shoulder, and a wink that everything was going to be okay. So thank you Arnold, Sylvester, Sigourney, Bruce, Eddie, Charles, Patrick, Mel, Chuck and everyone else that made it happen. You saved the world, in your own inimitable way. Join John Rain, the author of the critically-acclaimed Thunderbook: The World of Bond According to Smersh Pod, as he examines a choice selection of the greatest action movies from the decade when the explosion was king.

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One video can change your life. When Zak isn’t scoring goals for his local football team, Redwood Rangers, he is endlessly working on his freestyle videos with his dad. And when one of those videos goes viral, his whole life changes. As the views come rolling in, everyone wants a piece of him. Barcelona want him to shoot an advert with Messi. Major sports brands want to endorse him. Suddenly his face is on every sports channel. But as his celebrity status grows, Zak begins to realise that online fame isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Tekkers is an amusing and entertaining story about the power of social media with the core message that followers are great, but friends are even better. This is the first book in a planned trilogy of books following Zak on his football and YouTube journey.

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'Maggie has changed the way the game is played forever' - The Sunday Times Maggie Alphonsi is not only a national sporting icon, the face of international women’s rugby and star player of the England side that won the World Cup in 2014. She is also an inspirational and totemic figure who transcends sport. The compelling story of her life makes her achievements even more extraordinary. Hers is an against-all-the-odds tale, becoming the best player in the world despite having to battle against racism, sexism, and prejudice. It is a book forged from the raw emotion, passion, and testimony of an iconic player, who rose to the elite of world sport when the world was seemingly stacked against her. It is a moving and revealing story of a woman who was not prepared to be defined by anyone but herself and gives the reader a unique insight into how she met her goals.

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There are two kinds of people in this world. Those who insist that football is just a game, and those who know better. Take the April 1967 clash between England and Scotland. Wounded by their biggest rivals winning the World Cup just nine months earlier, Bobby Brown's Scots travelled to Wembley on the mother of all missions. Win and they would take a huge step towards qualifying for the 1968 European Championship, end England’s formidable 19-game unbeaten streak, and, best of all, put Sir Alf Ramsey’s men firmly back in their box. Lose? Well, that was just unthinkable. Meanwhile, off the pitch, the winds of change were billowing through Scotland. Nationalism, long confined to the margins of British politics, was starting to penetrate the mainstream, gaining both traction and influence. Was England’s World Cup victory a defining moment in the Scottish independence movement? Or did it consign Scotland to successive generations of myopic underachievement? Michael McEwan, author of The Ghosts of Cathkin Park, returns to 1967 to explore a crucial ninety minutes in the rebirth of a nation.

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The ultimate guide to Real Madrid. The Real Madrid Handbook is an entertaining compendium of fascinating facts, match coverage, stories, personalities and trivia from the biggest club team on the planet. Rab MacWilliam traces the history of Real Madrid from the early 20th century, examining its progress in the domestic cup and league, and analyses the impact that the Republic, the Spanish Civil War and the repressive authoritarian aftermath had on the club. He relates how the stunning success in European football in the mid-1950s to the early 1960s was one of the factors that helped to ease Spain’s integration into Europe and explores the club’s rise to become one of the most skilful and dominant teams in the global game over the last thirty years. Fascinating, informative, irreverent and insightful, The Real Madrid Handbook is the perfect guide to the history of this extraordinary club.

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This book is aimed at players and coaches (male & female) of all levels. James Knott and Andrew O’Connor have created a comprehensive and up to date guide to batting for coaches, players and parents featuring photographs and diagrams along with sixty accessible drills. This is an essential guide to the intricate skills required to become a successful batter for both players and coaches. With input from a wide range of elite players and coaches, past and present, this is an invaluable guide to developing batting skills for young and old alike.

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In 1925, Scotland played their first ever game at Murrayfield Stadium. They opened this new home with a landmark result, defeating England with a late drop-goal to secure their first Grand Slam title. This was the first in a long line of epic encounters to have taken place on that hallowed ground over the next century.In This is Murrayfield, celebrated rugby writers Peter Burns and Rob Robertson curate 100 of the most memorable, significant and sometimes quirky fixtures to have been played at Murrayfield over the last 100 years. Gorgeously illustrated with black and white and colour photography throughout, this is an insightful, fun and fascinating record of some of the greatest moments in Scottish rugby history.

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SPACE. THE FINAL FRONTIER. THESE WERE ALMOST THE VOYAGES OF THE STARSHIP ENTERPRISE. We think we know the history of Star Trek. Born at the height of 1960s popular culture, the five-year mission of Captain James T. Kirk and his crew faced early cancellation, bounced back with a series of beloved movies in the 1980s and gave way to a fleet of successful sequels and spin-offs that kept on exploring strange new worlds. In Lost Federations: The Unofficial Unmade History of Star Trek, author A. J. Black tells a different story. This is an alternate history of the franchise, one filled with roads not taken, from early 1960s feature-films and spin-offs, the original sequel Star Trek: Phase II in the 1970s, via epic planned movies such as Planet of the Titans and into many untold episodes, arcs and character stories from The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager, all the way through to the modern era. Bringing together pre-existing material over decades for the first time in one space, plus some new reflections from Star Trek writers and analysis of how it all fits into the wider cultural trends of the last sixty years, Lost Federations invites you to boldly explore a history you may not already know . . .

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With his sixtieth birthday looming, Colin Renton decides that it’s time to escape office life and focus on achieving some of his unfulfilled goals. He embarks on a year-long adventure that takes him from the busy streets of Edinburgh to the traffic-free roads, sodden fields and dusty paths of Europe’s winemaking regions. He laces up his running shoes and joins thousands of fellow athletes in races that test him over various distances, degrees of difficulty and levels of seriousness. His schedule, which culminates with a marathon debut, takes him to places he would otherwise not have visited. On his travels, he seeks out local wines that deserve a place in a carefully chosen twelve-bottle case, a process that throws up some fascinating insights and introduces him to a vintage crop of engaging characters. The crossover between running and wine uncorks a tale of endurance, curiosity and discovery, told in an accessible style and served up with a splash of local colour and a drop of wry humour. 'As midlife crises go, enthusiastic oenophile and runner Colin Renton's is one of the quirkiest and most enjoyable imaginable' - Richard Bath, Scottish Field

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'Few have a better feel for Argentine rugby than Rex Gowar ... his experience oozes from every paragraph. A fascinating, educational read' – Robert Kitson, The Guardian Argentinean rugby is a unique – and often mysterious – beast. In Pumas, veteran journalist Rex Gowar digs to the heart of rugby in Argentina to reveal a history like no other in the sport. Gregarious, colourful, controversial, violent, shocking, beautiful – these are just some of the words to describe the stories that emerge in these hair-raising pages as some of the biggest characters in the game are profiled, famous matches relived and painful history is scrutinised. In the first book in English to examine rugby in Argentina in any depth, Gowar explores how the roots of the game in the early twentieth century has produced a twisting, astonishing history that has flowered in the present day as the Pumas have established themselves as one of the world's powerhouse rugby nations.

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This is the story of Manchester City's return to the top of English football as well as their journey to their first ever Champions League final as Pep Guardiola's team battle to secure their place in history. Throughout this historic season of breath-taking football, they were followed by their equivalent from the world of sports writing: a team of elite talents, assembled by The Athletic to leave all competition trailing in their wake. The result is an alchemical blend of inside access and expert analysis; great ideas and beautiful writing. City's triumph is relived in real time, in 360 degrees. Articles include profiles of each of City's title winners by their former youth team coaches; on-the-road features from the hometowns of some of their international superstars, brilliant tactics board breakdowns of key moments in the season; and exclusive interviews with players, coaches and backroom staff.

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Rangers 101 distils the history of the most successful football club in the world, Glasgow Rangers F.C. From their founding in 1872 and their first (drawn) League Championship, all the way through to the present day, Rangers' history is brought to life via people, matches and objects. This fascinating volume traces the nearly 150 years of this unsurpassed institution – sometimes irreverent but always faithful to the characters, controversies, disasters and achievements that have taken place to give the club such a rich tapestry of triumph. Whether an old fan or new this is a perfect partner for those who support the club, are interested in its history and who love to recall past and present glories.

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Arsenal 101 is an entertaining compendium of Arsenal's fascinating history, facts, games, stories, personalities, legends and footballing adventures. Rab MacWilliam has revisited the club's history from its early years as Woolwich Arsenal at the end of the nineteenth century to its status as one of the leading European teams of the present day. Rab has distilled Arsenal's history into 101 facts, moments and stories, examining many of the key characters, matches, controversies, innovations, and dazzling instances of brilliance that have illuminated the proud history of this great, if occasionally erratic, club. Funny, irreverent, fascinating and insightful, Arsenal 101 is the ideal handbook for Gunners fans of all ages.

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Shortlisted for the Sunday Times Football Book of the Year 2022 'A forensic insight into how our football academies operate. Every angle covered by a splendid author' - Daniel Taylor, The Athletic With unparalleled behind-the-scenes access to academies at all levels of English football, The Dream Factory: Inside the Make-or-Break World of Football’s Academies is a journey deep into the heart of youth football, revealing in gripping detail how home-grown Premier League stars such as Marcus Rashford and Trent Alexander-Arnold are created, and at what cost. The Dream Factory introduces a rich array of characters – players, coaches, directors – behind talent production lines at several Premier League clubs, including Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City, zooming in on the stories of Alexander-Arnold’s unique development, how Rashford’s sense of social responsibility was nurtured, and how Phil Foden has become a beacon to City’s young hopefuls.

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'A gargantuan, memorable story, a film in the making, ready for global success' – La Repubblica, Italy 'A powerful and heart-breaking story about sacrifice and courage' – Le Monde, France Argentina,1978. President Jorge Rafael Videla's military dictatorship reigns with an iron fist, regularly kidnapping, torturing and murdering political activists and opponents and their families at secret concentration camps. The country is locked in a spiral of fear and chaos – and are soon to host the World Cup. As the cacophony of protest against Videla's government rises, his regime’s drive to ‘disappear’ these troublesome elements accelerates before they can embarrass him in front of the world’s media. This is the story of a rugby club that refused to be silenced. When one of their teammates is found dead – assassinated – the Club La Plata first XV took a minute’s silence before their next game. The minute ran to two ... to three ... For ten long minutes they stood in furious silence. When the junta learned of this protest it wasn’t long before another player disappeared. And then another. Over the course of four years, twenty La Plata players were murdered by the regime: gunned down, assassinated, 'disappeared’' This extraordinary novel is based on interviews with survivors of Argentina’s so-called 'dirty war' in the seventies, when tens of thousands of protesters disappeared, many never to be found again. Bold, powerful and heart-breaking, The Silenced is a portrait of astonishing courage and defiance and an examination of the unbreakable bonds forged by a team of rugby players in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.

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'A rollicking read and a mighty achievement' – Donald McRae, The Guardian 'Magnificent' – Owen Slot, The Times The 1997 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa is one of the most iconic in rugby history. Written off at home and abroad, Martin Johnson's men were given no hope of success against the world champion Springboks in their own backyard. But a combination of brilliant coaching, astute selections and outstanding players laid the foundations for the touring side's outstanding attacking mindset and brutal stonewall defence. On the other side was a team expected to stamp their authority on the tourists and confirm their place as the best side on the planet. But with political, racial and economic scandals swirling around the Springbok camp, plus a rookie coach parachuted into office just before the tour began, the hosts were under huge pressure. In a Test series that will go down in legend as one of the most compelling of all time, the sides could barely be separated. This is the inside story from both camps as they battle for supremacy, lifting the lid like never before as a huge cast of characters look back on those extraordinary weeks and the impact it had on their lives and careers thereafter. Hilarious, insightful and spine-chilling, Tom English and Peter Burns provide the perfect read for all Lions fans.

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Ken Scotland was born on 29 August 1936 within sight of Heriot’s Goldenacre ground, which he would go onto grace with great panache and skill several years later. A prodigious talent at fly-half while at school, he was converted into a full-back during the international trials of 1957 and was capped in that position against France at Colombes just a few weeks later, scoring all of his country’s points as the Scots recorded their first win on French soil since 1949. Having joined the army after leaving school, Scotland then attended Cambridge University and it was from there that he was selected for the 1959 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia and New Zealand. During this epic four-month tour he won plaudits far and wide as one of the superstars of the Lions’ team. Using entries from the dairy he kept during this tour, Scotland brings to life one of the great Lions expeditions, taking us right into the heart of the changing rooms, hotels, bars and in the heat of battle on the field. Scotland played in five Tests for the Lions and won a total of twenty-seven caps for his country before retiring in 1965 with a reputation as one of the finest players ever to play for Scotland well established. He would continue to play club rugby for several years afterwards while enjoying a successful business career. At eighty-three he has finally decided to tell his life story. Working with Allan Massie, the doyen of Scottish rugby journalism, he has created a rich and powerful testimony to his life and rugby career, throwing new light on his own achievements as well as providing fresh insight the great players of his era. It is as fascinating as it is evocative of a time and a game long past and a must-read for rugby fans of all generations.

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This fully updated edition includes the 25th Bond film, No Time To Die, and also features a chapter covering Never Say Never Again, which starred Sean Connery as Bond but was not an official Eon film. The Bond films have entertained annoyed, excited, bored, aroused and invigorated cinemagoers (and ITV4 viewers) for more than fifty years. Who hasn’t wanted to kick a big bloke with metal teeth in the groin? Fly a small plane out of a pretend horse’s bottom? Or push a middle-aged man into space? No one, that’s who. Thunderbook: The World of Bond According to Smersh Pod affectionately examines Bond with tongue firmly in cheek and elbow dug in ribs. Join John Rain as he goes film-by-film through the Bond saga as he points out all the good, the bad, and the double-taking pigeons contained within Bond’s half-century of world domination. With one chapter for each of the twenty-five films, Thunderbook examines all the moments that are funny, silly, rubbish, nonsensical, bizarre and interesting, with the ultimate intention of celebrating Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and becoming the go-to companion book for the Bond fan at large.

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Winner of the Telegraph Sports Book Awards Children’s Book of the Year Small, skinny and short-sighted . . . and dazzlingly talented. Jimmy Joseph loves rugby. All he dreams about is one day playing for his country in a World Cup, or winning a Test series for the Lions with a last-minute drop-goal. But when he kicks an up-and-under in the schoolyard and accidentally hits the new head of PE, Mr Kane, on the head, he makes a powerful enemy. Jimmy and his best friends – Manu, Scott and Kitty – try to prove their worth on the rugby field, but to no avail. Mr Kane has it out for them, and he’s being helped by team captain Mike Green, well known as the school bully. Can Jimmy and his friends overcome the tyranny of Mr Kane and help Mike see the error of his ways? Or will the combination of bullying, pressure and dirty tactics derail the friends’ rugby careers before they have even begun? An epic new rugby series begins here!

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'A modern classic . . . Absolutely riveting and frequently moving' – The Telegraph 'Among the best books ever written on Irish sport' – Sunday Tribune 'Brilliant . . . Stand Up and Fight is the definitive account. It captures the essence of what makes Munster rugby and its provincial team so unique' – Tony Ward, Irish Independent 'A terrific combination of intelligent reportage and open-eyed mythmaking' – Sunday Times 'A seminal account' – New Zealand Herald 'Irresistible' – Guardian 31/10/1978, Thomond Park. On one of the greatest days in rugby history, Munster beat the All Blacks. More than 100,000 people claimed to have watched the game, even though the ground could only hold 12,000. Now, fully updated for the 45th anniversary of the match, Alan English tells the true story.

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The ultimate World Cup showdown, in the words of those who were there. From 1997 to 2003 England and Australia battled for domination of the rugby world in one of the greatest rivalries the sport has ever known. In The Men in the Arena, William Hill shortlisted authors Peter Burns and Tom English explore every aspect of the teams’ journey to the 2003 Rugby World Cup final, telling the story primarily in the words of the protagonists at the centre of the battle. Featuring exclusive new interviews with players and coaches from both teams plus an array of superstars who faced them from New Zealand, Ireland, France, Wales and beyond, this is the inside story like it has never been told before. 'A splendid re-telling of English rugby's most celebrated story. Cracking stuff from start to finish' - Robert Kiston, The Guardian

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The Silver Invicta is a stream of impressions from a fishing life, in its varying moods, coloured with plenty of whisky and eccentric company. Join Tom Harland on his light-hearted journeys with his fly rod; take part in his triumphs and disasters on rough, wild camping trips and share his encounters with the wildlife of Scotland’s rivers and lochs. The ‘Silver Invicta’ was the traditional fly which was taken by Tom’s first salmon and is also a nod to the spirit of Scotland’s embattled migratory fish. Tom has fished throughout his local Scottish Borders, England, the Western Isles and New Zealand (a country he lived and worked in for two years), but his real passion is for the brown trout of the hill lochs of Assynt in the North-west Highlands. Open this treasure trove of a book to share the pleasure the author finds through fishing respectfully in magical, wild, and seldom-visited places.

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Shortlisted for the Sunday Times Cricket Book of the Year 2023 Jazbaa - Definition: spirit, feeling, passion, desire, sentiment, emotion In 1996, Shaiza Khan led a Pakistan team on a tour of New Zealand and Australia. While the tour was a failure on the cricketing front, the singular act of eleven women wearing flannels and battling for victory in the faraway antipodes was a significant achievement. These women had – individually and collectively – worked to throw off the shackles of social and cultural decrees that had conspired to keep Pakistani women away from sport for years. Even more importantly, these players were harbingers of change who became heroic role models for women back home and all around the world. Unveiling Jazbaa tells the story of Pakistan’s women’s cricket, detailing the extraordinary journey the players have been on to bring about change both in their country and in the sport itself. This is a tale told through the lens of society and politics, of personal battles and triumphs against the odds, of friendships and rivalries, of favours and revenge. Above all else, it is story of bravery and unerring will and a moving testimony to power of the human spirit. Foreword by Kamila Shamsie 'Compelling, ambitious, beautifully written and about so much more than cricket' – Tim Wigmore, The Telegraph and author of the multiple award-winning Cricket 2.0

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Winner of the Telegraph Sports Book Awards Rugby Book of the Year Among the best stories in modern British team sport has been the rise of Exeter Chiefs. How, exactly, did an unfashionable rugby team from Devon emerge from obscurity to become the double champions of England and Europe? What makes them tick? What are their secrets? Exe Men is a compelling story of regional pride, fierce rural identity, larger-than-life local heroes, remarkable characters, epic resilience, big city snobbery, geographical separation, steepling ambition and personal sacrifice which will strike a chord with anyone who enjoys a classic underdog story. This is not any old rugby book, it is the inside story of Exeter’s incredible journey from the edge of nowhere to the summit of the English and European club game.

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Writer, producer, and director Wes Craven has successfully tapped into the horror vein for over forty years, serving up scary, funny, cutting-edge thrillers that have become classics in the genre. His films have been both critical and commercial successes, most notably Nightmare on Elm Street, which spawned a series of sequels and made Craven (and his creation, Freddy Kruger) an international sensation. He then created a second indelible series in the horror movie trope with Scream. In Screams & Nightmares, Brian J. Robb examines Craven's entire career, from his low-budget beginnings to his most recent box office hits, from the banned thriller The Last House on the Left and the cult classic The Hills Have Eyes to the outrageous Shocker and The People Under the Stairs. Through exclusive interviews with Craven, Robb provides in-depth accounts of the making of each of the films – including the final instalments of the Scream series – Craven's foray into writing novels, and his numerous television projects.

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SHORTLISTED FOR THE TELEGRAPH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 2020 - RUGBY BOOK OF THE YEAR This is a complete history of the Welsh rugby union team – told by the players themselves. Based on a combination of painstaking research into the early years of the Wales team to interviews with a vast array of Test match players and coaches from the Second World War to the present day, Ross Harries delves to the very heart of what it means to play for Wales, painting a unique and utterly compelling picture of the game in the only words that can truly do so: the players' own. Behind the Dragon lifts the lid on what it is to pull on the famous red shirt – the trials and tribulations behind the scenes, the glory, the drama and the honour on the field, and the heart-warming tales of friendship and humour off it. Absorbing and illuminating, this is the ultimate history of Welsh rugby – told, definitively, by the men who have been there and done it.

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From is genesis as Newton Heath LYR Football Club founded in 1878 all the way to the global sporting and commercial superpower that it is today, this is the history of Manchester United Football Club as you have never seen it before. Lifelong Red Devils’ fan Neville Moir has distilled this extraordinary history into an amusing, fascinating and easy to read anthology. This entertaining volume is an instructive, if sometimes irreverent – but always affectionate – guide to some of the groundbreaking firsts, controversies, innovations, characters, achievements and disasters that have shaped one the greatest sporting institutions on the planet. Whether an expert or a novice, this compendium is perfect for all Man United fans, young and old, around the world.

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