Showing titles in Sports History

In this extraordinary tour de force, David Goldblatt tells the full story of soccer's rise from chaotic folk ritual to the world's most popular sport - now poised to fully establish itself in the USA. Already celebrated internationally, The Ball Is Round illuminates soccer's role in the political and social histories of modern societies, but never loses sight of the beauty, joy, and excitement of the game itself. 

In The Little Wonder, Robert Winder traces the central role the game has played in national life for so long. The book's 150th anniversary in 2013 is the ideal time to tell the extraordinary story of Wisden's - and cricket's - journey from Victorian times to the modern world. New every year, it feels as though it has been with us for ever.

From the former executive director of the Pro Football Hall of Fame comes a sweeping and lively history of the National Football League, timed to coincide with the NFL’s 100th anniversary season. “I can think of no one better qualified—or more enthusiastic—to chronicle the National...

Just in time for the 2012 Olympics - prepare to peek into the mind of a champion with this newly updated edition of Michael Phelps’ autobiography, Beneath the Surface. In this candid memoir, Phelps talks openly about his battle with attention deficit disorder, the trauma of his parents’ divorce, and the challenges that come with being thrust into the limelight.

England have been in four Rugby World Cup finals and only won one of them. In 2003, this team was the one that did it. And this is their story. The image of Jonny Wilkinson's last-minute winning drop goal is etched deep into the nation's consciousness - everyone knows where they were during that...

Brought to you by Penguin. A thrilling history of Formula 1 racing, from its fascinating origins and inner workings to the top drivers of the twentieth century and today, by a celebrated motorsports broadcaster and star of Netflix’s breakout series Formula 1: Drive to Survive. With just twenty...

From legendary Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and MMA master Rickson Gracie comes a riveting, insightful memoir that weaves together the story of Gracie’s stunning career with the larger history of the Gracie family dynasty, showing how the connection between mind and body can be harnessed for success...

After a lifetime of writing about the professional sport, Michael Bamberger, “the poet laureate of golf” (GOLF magazine), delivers an exhilarating love letter to the amateur game as it’s played—and lived—by the rest of us. Over Michael Bamberger’s celebrated writing career, he has...

Brought to you by Penguin. This audiobook edition is narrated by Alan Davies. FOREWORD BY THIERRY HENRY ____________________ Anfield, May 26th 1989. The final day of the Division One season. The rest of football stopped to watch as perennial champions Liverpool took on rank outsiders Arsenal in...

1972. The Munich Olympics. Palestinian members of the Black September group murder 11 Israeli athletes. Nine hundred million people watch the crisis unfold on television, witnessing a tragedy that inaugurates the modern age of terror.

Bloomsbury presents BBC Sports Report written and read by Pat Murphy. SHORTLISTED FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 2023 – SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT BOOK OF THE YEAR Sports Report is as much a 75-year history of sport as a BBC radio institution and Pat Murphy pays handsome tribute to a...

'A master at telling football's greatest ever stories... Breathtaking. Wilson's eye for detail and his elegant writing brings the World Cup to life like no other book on the topic I have ever read' ELIS JAMES 'Epic in scope, awesomely rich in detail, and compulsively entertaining' TOM HOLLAND...

Folk tales of the Shaolin Temple depict warrior monks with superhuman abilities. Today, dozens of East Asian fighting styles trace their roots back to the Buddhist brawlers of Shaolin, although any quest for the true story soon wanders into a labyrinth of forgeries, secret texts and modern retellings. This new study approaches the martial arts from their origins in military exercises and callisthenics. It examines a rich folklore from old wuxia tales of crime-fighting heroes to modern kung fu movies.

The exhilarating true story of Trudy Ederle, the first woman to swim the English Channel, and inspire a “wave of confidence and emancipation” for women in sports (Parade). By age twenty, at the height of the Jazz Age, Trudy Ederle was the most accomplished swimmer in the world. She’d won...

By creating WrestleMania, jumping into the pay-per-view field, and expanding across North America, Vince McMahon changed professional wrestling forever. 

Brought to you by Penguin. A vivid portrait of the world in 1966, centred around the storied World Cup tournament and its backdrop, published to mark the 60th anniversary. 1966, with London declared ‘a swinging city’ and John Lennon proclaiming the Beatles ‘more popular than Jesus’, the...

'Terrific' Sports Illustrated 'Compelling' CNN ‘Sensational’ Geoff Shackelford Alan Shipnuck, the New York Times bestselling author of Phil, returns with a major new work of insider reporting on the battle for the soul of professional golf between the PGA Tour and the Saudi-funded LIV Golf...

The Tour de France is always one of the most spectacular and dramatic events in sports. But the 1998 Tour provided drama like no other. As the opening stages in Ireland unfolded, the Festina team's soigneur, Willy Voet, was arrested at the French-Belgian border with a carload of drugs. Raid upon police raid followed, with arrest after arrest hammering the Tour.

Manchester, 2018: Pep Guardiola and José Mourinho lead their teams out to face each other in the 175th Manchester derby. They are first and second in the Premier League, but today only one man can come out on top. It is merely the latest instalment in a rivalry that has contested titles, traded...

Written by our greatest sportswriter, three time winner of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year, Duncan Hamilton. Answered Prayers is a definitive history of the most famous event in British sporting, the triumph of the 1966 England world cup football team and the disastrous effect that...