Showing titles in Sports History

WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD SHORTLISTED 2025 THE CRICKET SOCIETY/MCC BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD SHORTLISTED 2026 'Wonderfully wide-focused, unfailingly readable and laced with passages of insightful analysis, Tim Wigmore's history of test cricket is a true tour de force.' David...

'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...

Bestselling author Harry Sidebottom takes readers on a thrilling journey through a day in the life of the most iconic figure of the ancient world: the Roman gladiator Dressed in armour and clutching a bloody sword, the Roman gladiator is the most iconic figure of the ancient world. Both...

Why has Ferrari struggled so much in recent years? When will Ferrari win another Championship? In Forza Ferrari, FIA-accredited F1 journalist and a leading voice in ESPN's F1 coverage, Nate Saunders looks for answers to these questions and goes beyond simple answers by delving into the shifts...

Brought to you by Penguin. A GRIPPING AND SEARINGLY HONEST ACCOUNT OF A YEAR IN THE TURBULENT LIFE OF A PROFESSIONAL JOCKEY, FROM FOUR-TIME CHAMPION OISIN MURPHY. Born prematurely, weighing less than a bag of sugar, Oisin Murphy’s life has always been one of struggle. From a young age he found...

Through most of the Roaring '20s, Jack Dempsey was the heavyweight champion of the world. With his fierce good looks and matchless dedication to the kill, he was a fighter perfectly suited to his time. In A Flame of Pure Fire, renowned sports writer Roger Kahn not only chronicles the thrilling, brutal bouts of the Manassa Mauler, but also illustrates how the tumultuous 1920s shaped Dempsey - and how the champ, in turn, left an indelible mark on sports and American history.

It is likely not terribly surprising that surfers like to party. The 1960-'70s image, bolstered by Tom Wolfe and Big Wednesday, was one of mild outlaws. Tanned boys who refused to grow up, spending their days drinking beer and smoking joints on the beach in between mindless hours in the water. As the surf brands accidentally morphed into a multimillion- then multibillion-dollar industry beginning in the 1980s, however, the derelict portrait began to harm business.

Boxing is Steve Bunce's game. He has filed thousands and thousands of fight reports from ringside. He has written millions and millions of words for national newspapers previewing boxing, profiling boxers and proselytising on the business. He has been the voice of British boxing on the airwaves, both radio and television, with an army of loyal fans. And now it's time to put those many years of experience into penning his history of the sport of kings on these isles. It's Bunce's Big Fat Short History of British Boxing. 

For wrestling fans, Jim Ross’ voice is the soundtrack of an era. This book is your ringside ticket to wrestling’s most unforgettable moments—from the announcer who made them iconic. In the last 50 years, professional wrestling has risen up from a collection of regional territories to become a global phenomenon—and Jim Ross has been there for it all. From the grit and glory days of the 1970s with NWA, to the rise of WCW and the heyday of WWF and WWE, to signing on as on-air talent and senior advisor for wrestling’s newest chapter at AEW, Jim Ross has long had the best seat in the house.

For more than a century, professional wrestling has cultivated some of the most eccentric and compelling personalities. As the embodiment of flamboyance and intensity, the "Nature Boy" Ric Flair stood at wrestling's apex for decades, cementing his place as a once-in-a-lifetime athlete and performer. When he was in the ring, fans knew they were witnessing the very best, and he not only became a multi-time world heavyweight champion in the NWA, WCW, and the WWE, but his status as a generational great has been confirmed with inductions into numerous Halls of Fame.

Bloomsbury presents Quiet Genius by Ian Herbert, read by Dean Williamson. SHORTLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017 SHORTLISTED FOR THE FOOTBALL BOOK OF THE YEAR, SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 2018 The full story of the man who brought unprecedented – and since unmatched – success...

The definitive portrait of Kobe Bryant, from the author of Michael Jordan. "Lazenby's detailed research and fantastic writing paint a complex, engaging picture of one of the NBA's greats" (Kurt Helin, Pro Basketball Talk , NBC Sports). Eighteen-time All-Star, scorer of 81 points in a single game...

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...

Bloomsbury presents Bazball by Nick Hoult and Lawrence Booth, read by David Thorpe. A TIMES, GUARDIAN, TELEGRAPH AND WATERSTONES BEST SPORT BOOK OF THE YEAR ‘Gripping’ Roger Alton, Sunday Times The inside story of how England transformed the way Test cricket is played. After one win in 17 by...

In horse racing greatness is defined by speed. Being the second fastest counts for little. You have to win. And win. And keep winning until every challenger of your generation is put to the sword. Of the twelve horses lined up on Newmarket Heath that 2011 day, one would do just that. And more...

The iconic captain Brendon McCullum, England's T20 visionaries Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler and Trinidad's Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine, who rose to become among the first T20 millionaires, explain how they shaped T20 - and how it shaped them. Test greats Rahul Dravid and Ricky Ponting recount what a sea-change T20 represented and decode T20 strategy. AB de Villiers explores the limits of modern batting. Venky Mysore, the cricket revolutionary you have never heard of, reveals how the game is changing off the field.

Francis Ouimet and Harry Vardon came from different worlds and different generations, but their passion for golf set them on parallel paths that would collide in the greatest match their sport had ever known.

Full of adventure, mishaps and audacious attempts at cheating, the first Tour de France in 1903 was a colourful affair. Its riders included characters like Maurice "The White Bulldog" Garin, an Italian-born Frenchman whose parents were said to have swapped him for a round of cheese in order to smuggle him into France as a 14-year-old; and Hippolyte Aucouturier, who, with his jersey of horizontal stripes and handlebar moustache, looked like the villain from a Buster Keaton movie.

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. 

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...