Showing titles in Sports

Through the prism of sport and conversations with its legends, including Usain Bolt, Adam Goodes, Thierry Henry, Michael Johnson, Ibtihaj Muhammad, Makhaya Ntini, Naomi Osaka and Hope Powell, Michael Holding explains how racism dehumanises people; how it works to achieve that end; how it has been ignored by history and historians; and what it is like to be treated differently just because of the colour of your skin.

In the autumn of 1982, a single stone fell from high on the south face of Annapurna and struck Alex MacIntyre on the head, killing him instantly and robbing the climbing world of one of its greatest talents. Although only 28 years old, Alex was already one of the leading figures of British mountaineering's most successful era. His ascents included hard new routes on Himalayan giants like Dhaulagiri and Changabang and a glittering record of firsts in the Alps and Andes.

Henry Blofeld's voice is the sound of the summer to thousands of cricket lovers all over the world, and this autobiographical audiobook is a celebration of his career commentating on the sport he loves. Henry has been a summariser on Test Match Special for over 40 years, and cricket fans all over the world adore him. In this book he relives his favourite moments in the sport and shares behind-the-scenes anecdotes and stories told in his unique style.

Unstoppable is the fiercely honest, fearless, darkly funny autobiography of global tennis star Maria Sharapova. In the middle of the night, a father and his daughter step off a Greyhound bus in Florida and head straight to the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy. They ring the bell, though no-one is expecting them and they don't speak English. They have arrived from Russia with just 700 dollars and the conviction that this six-year-old girl will be the world's next great tennis star. They are right.

Mike Brearley is one of the most successful cricket captains of all time, and in 1981 he captained the England team to the momentous Ashes series victory against Australia. In The Art of Captaincy, his treatise on leadership and motivation, he draws directly on his experience of man-managing a team, which included a pugnacious Ian Botham and Geoffrey Boycott, to explain what it takes to be a leader on and off the field.

Misconceptions have stalked Andrew Cole like a hatchet-man defender determined to cut him down to size. In the world of modern-day football, his reserved demeanour was often interpreted as surly intransigence. Alongside an aptitude for goalscoring, it was widely believed, ran an attitude problem. In Fast Forward, a candid and inspirational autobiography, Cole finally presents his side of the story.

On the morning of December 22, 2005, New York City firefighter Matt Long was cycling to work when he was struck by and sucked under a 20-ton bus making an illegal turn. The injuries he sustained pushed him within inches of death. Miraculously, after five months in the hospital and more than 40 operations, Matt was able to start his recovery. This book chronicles Matt's road to recovery as he teaches himself to walk again and, a mere three years later, to run in the 2008 New York City Marathon.

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of A Boy in the Water, written and read by Tom Gregory. Eltham, South London. 1984: the hot fug of the swimming pool and the slow splashing of a boy learning to swim but not yet wanting to take his foot off the bottom. Fast-forward four years. Photographers and family wait on the shingle beach as a boy in a bright orange hat and grease-smeared goggles swims the last few metres from France to England. He has been in the water for 12 agonising hours, encouraged at each stroke by his coach, John Bullet, who has become a second father.

Ironman is a sports phenomenon that has come to symbolize the very best of human striving, achievement, and excellence. And race announcer Mike Reilly is known throughout the endurance sports world as the "Voice of Ironman." Every year, over 300,000 people around the world compete in a series of long-distance triathlons that test the outer limits of their physical abilities and mental toughness. Some do it for glory, some to test themselves, some to honor lost loved ones or colleagues, some to bring healing to their troubled lives.

The inside story of an unrivaled period in the illustrious history of Liverpool Football Club, Robbo: Now You’re Gonna Believe Us... is a personal account as seen through the eyes of author Andrew Robertson. Taking you behind the scenes at Anfield and Melwood, he'll reveal how it all happened - how doubters turned to believers - and brought the league title home after a 30-year wait.

FROM THE SHADOW is the story of a country boy who endured a series of tragic events, leaving him alone in a big city. The cruel hand of fate had one more blow: a young offenders' institution. There, in his darkest hour, it would be the bars he lifted, not those that bound him, which would finally change the trajectory of his life - forever. Dorian Yates' disarming honesty would lead to a reader of an early manuscript saying of FROM THE SHADOW, "I had to force myself to put it down."

Once described as rugby’s answer to Ant & Dec, David Flatman and Mark Durden-Smith are the oddest of odd couples. Now this hugely popular rugby broadcasting double act have turned to dissecting and celebrating rugby union in audiobook form. And, as you’d expect, it’s a brilliant combination of in-depth knowledge and hilarious stories.

Being a stable lass is probably one of the hardest jobs in the country, and yet for Gemma Hogg it is the most rewarding. She works in the beautiful Yorkshire market town of Middleham, and if her colleagues are occasionally challenging, then the horses are downright astonishing. Now, in Stable Lass, she takes us into the closed world of a top racing yard, from the elation of having several winners in one day to the almost indescribable grief of losing a horse.

It is late summer 2013. Ben Ryan, a red-haired, 40-something, spectacle-wearing Englishman, is given 20 minutes to decide whether he wants to coach Fiji's rugby sevens team, with the aim of taking them to the nation's first-ever Olympic medal. He has never been to Fiji. There has been no discussion of contracts or salary. But he knows that no one plays rugby like the men from these isolated Pacific islands, just as no one plays football like the kids from the Brazilian favelas, or no one runs as fast as the boys and girls from Jamaica's boondocks.

For the Anfield faithful, Jamie Carragher represents everything that is great about Liverpool Football Club, prompting the Kop to sing 'we all dream of a team of Carraghers'. The club's vice-captain, longest-serving player and one of a select band of players to have made more than 500 appearances for the Reds, Carra never gives less than 100 per cent for the cause. He is the embodiment of old-fashioned football values - a rarity in the modern game - honest and uncompromising. The Liverpool defender takes us deep into the heart of Anfield.

Messi might be the most skilful, and Ronaldo might have the best shot, but according to FIFA it's 16-stone Adebayo Akinfenwa who's the strongest footballer in the world. With a larger-than-life personality to match, it's no wonder 'The Beast' has become an icon, attracting millions of social media followers, launching his own clothing label, and still banging in the goals for Wycombe Wanderers.

With coach Nick Saban at the helm, the Crimson Tide has won six of the last twelve national titles. The 2020 championship team showcased Saban's evolution as a leader and further solidified what many long suspected was true: Nick Saban is college football's greatest coach ever. Leaders of any kind, including coaches and beyond, stand to gain great wisdom and inspiration by learning from his success.

In The Bushwhackers: Blood, Sweat & Cheers, professional wrestling's Bushwhacker Luke Williams and Bushwhacker Butch Miller, along with writer John Crowther, lead you around the globe, through over 50 years of fun-filled and sometimes brutal adventures, both in and out of the "squared circle." Listen to never-before-told stories of escapades they experienced and battles they fought in the world of professional wrestling, both individually and in all of their renowned personas—The New Zealand Kiwis, The Sheepherders, and The Bushwhackers.

Banksy, George, Jack, Mooro, Ray, Nobby, Ballie, Bobby, Martin, Roger. Geoff's ten teammates. His old friends. They've now all gone. Heroes from an era that is slipping into sepia. But it isn't all over. One of them is still here, and before he goes, Geoff wanted to get down his final thoughts about 1966. He talks about Alf - his vision, his drive, his loyalty. Also his shyness, even awkwardness. About his teammates, about Greavsie - hard workers, team players, cool heads. Geoff tells their collective story, digging below the surface, reflecting on their victory, its impact on their lives.

The Kansas City Monarchs, the Chicago American Giants, the St. Louis Stars, the Birmingham Black Barons, the Homestead Grays, and the Indianapolis Clowns; for over 50 years, they were the Yankees, Cardinals, and Red Sox of black baseball in America. And for over a decade beginning in the late 1940s, umpire Bob Motley called balls and strikes for many of their games, working alongside such legends as Satchel Paige, Hank Aaron, Ernie Banks, and Willie Mays.