Good sports books.

Pappy o' daniel

Could someone recommend me a few? Any sport will do.

landsleaving

Football against the enemy - Simon Kuper

How football Explains the World - Franklin Foer (I think)

Onice In A Lifetime (it's about the New York Cosmos) Can't remember the author

buck65

Running with the buffaloes - Chris Lear
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Running-Buffaloes-University-Colorado-Cross-country/dp/1585748048/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267778998&sr=1-1

Friday Night lights -HG Bissinger
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Friday-Night-Lights-Town-Dream/dp/0224076744/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267778904&sr=1-1

Gold in the water - PH Mullen
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gold-Water-Ordinary-Extraordinary-Olympic/dp/0312311168/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267778954&sr=1-1

Vim Fuego

The Damned Utd deserves a mention. It's a fictionalised account of Brian Clough's time at Leeds, written from his perspective. Full of loathing and paranoia, it's quite an intense and unique read. I would highly recommend it.

MickShamrock

Vim Fuego wrote: »

The Damned Utd deserves a mention. It's a fictionalised account of Brian Clough's time at Leeds, written from his perspective. Full of loathing and paranoia, it's quite an intense and unique read. I would highly recommend it.

+1. David Peace is the authors name.

tawfeeredux

The Last Shot by Darcy Frey, great basketball book, better than Heaven is a Playground.

David Walsh's biography of Sean Kelly if you can get your hands on it, superb read, i've read it 10-12 times at this stage.

Keith Duggan writes well on the GAA aswell, The Lifelong Season is very good.

Miracle of Castel Di Sangro by Joe McGinniss about an Italian soccer team that gets promoted to Serie B is suppossed to be very good also.

IvyTheTerrible

I haven't read many sports books, but I loved "The Fight" by Norman Mailer, about the famous "Rumble in the Jungle" between Mohammed Ali and George Foreman. Great on the sport itself, but also on the politics etc surrounding the fight.

AttackThePoster

Inverting the Pyramid - Jonathan Wilson

jobucks

Fever Pitch - Nick Hornby

The Sparrow

Provided You Don't Kiss Me - 20 Years With Brian Clough by Duncan Hamilton also warrants a mention as a companion piece to The Damned Utd. Hamilton was the local papers Nottingham Forest correspondent for most if not all of Cloughs time there and it is a wonderful account of a complex man.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Provided-You-Dont-Kiss-Me/dp/0007247117/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267809073&sr=1-1

Some other good sports books that I have read are:

Friday Night Lights as already mentioned

Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand is one of the best books that I have ever read be it sports or not. Forget the movie and grab the book about one of the most amazing sports stories of the 20th century. And I don't even like horse racing!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seabiscuit-True-Story-Three-Racehorse/dp/1841150924/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267809174&sr=1-1

Forza Italia by Paddy Agnew is a good book about Italian Football.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Forza-Italia-Fall-Italian-Football/dp/0091905621/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267809199&sr=1-1

America's Game by Michael McCambridge is a great book about how the NFL brought American Football from a joke of a sport to the dominant sports league in America and overtook baseball as their national passtime.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Americas-Game-Football-Captured-Vintage/dp/0375725067/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267809220&sr=1-1

I'm sure there is more and if I think of them I will post some.

Denerick

Nick Hornby, 'Fever Pitch'.

Slogger Jogger

Feet in the Clouds Great book about a runners obsession
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Feet-Clouds-Story-Running-Obsession/dp/1845130820

i_inky

It is an autobiography but Paul McGraths "Back from the Brink" is superb.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Back-Brink-Autobiography-Paul-McGrath/dp/1846050766

The_Kew_Tour

Rough Ride by Paul Kimmage is good

landsleaving

buck65 wrote: »

Friday Night lights -HG Bissinger
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Friday-Night-Lights-Town-Dream/dp/0224076744/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267778904&sr=1-1

Can't believe I forgot that, best sports book ever imo.

skelliser

Roy Keanes autobiography is a great laugh

useurename

Futebol- A Brazilian Way of Life.great book.irish people are sports mad but brazilians are devoutly religious about their football.very interesting.

tHE vAGGABOND

I was looking for the same thing a few years ago, and just googled and found the sports book of the year [formerly wipbread [sp?], now william hill I think]. 20 odd years of 'the best sports book of that year'

As mentioned by someone else - The Miracle of Castel de Sangrio is the best sports book I have read

A good walk spoiled, is a good one about the world of professional golf

Lance Armstrongs first book 'its all about the bike' should be made mandatory reading, both the sports sections and the dealing with cancer sections are amazing.

Ellen McArther's book about sailing around the world on her own was good?

Velvet shank

I recently acquired 'The Greatest game ever played' by Mark Frost, the story of the 1913 U.S Open (Golf) in which the legendary Harry Vardon goes toe-to-toe with a young pretender in the shape of Francis Oiumet. I'm only half way through so far, but clearly an excellent book and would certainly also be of interest to those not particularly keen on golf.

buck65

tHE vAGGABOND wrote: »

Lance Armstrongs first book 'its all about the bike' should be made mandatory reading, both the sports sections and the dealing with cancer sections are amazing.

Ellen McArther's book about sailing around the world on her own was good?

Read Armstrong too, was big into him once upon a time but i no longer believe in the guy. Too many questions.

tHE vAGGABOND

Read Armstrong too, was big into him once upon a time but i no longer believe in the guy. Too many questions.

I'm not a big fan of his, or the sport tbh - so I'm not that pushed. But that first book is excellent, regardless of questions you have around his career. The middle 3rd about his cancer is real page turning stuff.

IMHO - if there was dirty laundry there the french press would have gotten it and publicized it, as they were after him in a big way for a while.

JesseCuster

adrian280582 wrote: »

Rough Ride by Paul Kimmage is good

+1

I don't know anything about cycling but I thought this was excellent.

buck65

tHE vAGGABOND wrote: »

I'm not a big fan of his, or the sport tbh - so I'm not that pushed. But that first book is excellent, regardless of questions you have around his career. The middle 3rd about his cancer is real page turning stuff.

IMHO - if there was dirty laundry there the french press would have gotten it and publicized it, as they were after him in a big way for a while.

True. But the links with a certain Italian blood doping doctor was enough for me to lose interest. I would like to be wrong but professional cycling is rotten to the core and nearly every recent winner of the big Tours has been linked to doping scandals. (Pantani, Ulrich, Riis, Delgado, Landis, even our own Roche and Kelly)
Kimmage's book is superb. Did anyone see the square off between Kimmage and Armstrong last year? I think Kimmage actually said that Armstrong was great to conquer cancer but he was like a cancer to the sport now?!! Jesus!

CatFromHue

yeah have to say rough ride is a great book.

Regret not reading it earlier, for some reason i thought Paul Kimmage was the guy who did the soccer on setanta who i disslike alot.

If you read it followed by "bad blood: the secret life of the tour de france" by Jeremy Whittle you'll never look at cycling in the same light again.

Lance Armstrongs first book is very good too, i really liked him after it. his second one was not so good and he kinda contradicted or changed his mind on some of the stuff from the first one.

Eamonn Dunphys "only a game" is pretty good too, short but good.

I have to say i hated "the damned united" and i'd be with John Giles on it. Its a novel and was made up and as such is fiction.

Wile not quite traditional sport Jon Krakeur's "into thin air", and "dark summit" by Nick Heil are both great reads about people climbing on Everest. Into thin air is about when a big storm hit in 1996 with people on the mountain, darks summit is based in 2008 when no storm hits.

Mr Fonnen

calcio By John Foot. Its a really well done analysis and history of Italian Footballing history just a great read

HalloweenJack

I came on here to suggest Calcio, Forza Italia and Futebol. All really good for a football fan.

Another I keep hearing about is A Season With Verona by Tim Parks. Everyone who's read it has recommended it to me.

Brian Clough and Pelé's autobiographies are both very good.

kerash

Vim Fuego wrote: »

The Damned Utd deserves a mention. It's a fictionalised account of Brian Clough's time at Leeds, written from his perspective. Full of loathing and paranoia, it's quite an intense and unique read. I would highly recommend it.

i_inky wrote: »

It is an autobiography but Paul McGraths "Back from the Brink" is superb.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Back-Brink-Autobiography-Paul-McGrath/dp/1846050766

+1 both are excellent reads.

smallerthanyou

A year with Verona is excellently written and a great read.
The miracle of castel di sangro is a pretty amazing story but not so well written.

Bodhisopha

Two excellent boxing books i have read..

Dark Trade by Donald McCrae

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dark-Trade-Boxing-Donald-McRae/dp/1840189568

and

Four Kings by George Kimball.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dark-Trade-Boxing-Donald-McRae/dp/1840189568

not bakunin

Not massively sporty, and quite out there as sports go (mountaineering), but Joe Simpson's "Touching the Void" is a great book. Edgy.

allprops

Very hard to get good rugby books. Winter Colours by Don McIntyre is pretty much the best that I have come across. Crashed and Byrned by Tommy Byrne about the legendary race car driver Tommy Byrne is a real page turner. Most of the other great books have already been mentioned. Dunphy, Kimmage etc. Green Fields by Tom Humphries is a great gaa book.

bullpost

http://www.amazon.com/Hurling-Revolution-Years-Denis-Walsh/dp/1844880346

Great Hurling read on the counties like Clare who broke through in the 90's using new training methods and attitudes.

The_Kew_Tour

Just finished Born to Run by Christopher Mcdougall

Excellent sports book for anybody interested in running and some interesting questions and answers too

fontanalis

King of the World by David Remmick, good biography of Muhammed Ali (clears up the throwiing away his gold medal nonsense).
The Paul McGrath one is good.

Bodhidharma

I read quite a lot of sports books, so here are my suggestions:

Boxing
Dark Trade: lost in boxing by Donald McCrae
In the red corner by John Duncan

Football
A Season with Verona: Travels Around Italy in Search of Illusions, National Character and Goals by Tim Parks
Keane: The Autobiography by Roy Keane
How They Stole the Game by David Yallop

Cycling
The death of Marco Pantani by Matt Rendell

Mini-golf
Tilting at windmills by Andy Miller

Basketball
A season on the brink by John Feinstein

Mixed Martial Arts
Little evil by Jens Pulver
Angry White Pyjamas by Robert Twigger

DazMarz

El Diego by Diego Maradona

Why England Lose And Other Curious Football Phenomena Explained by Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski

Keane: The Autobiography by Roy Keane

siochain

Got Fight?: Forrest Griffin. funny light read.


A Fighter's Heart: One Man's Journey Through the World of Fighting


It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life. Lance Armstrong

lots of rugby bio's, which i enjoyed,

amacachi

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_online/features/2002/top_sports_books/1/

Probably a few too many US-centric ones, but some are about a lot more than just the sport.

Dura Ace

Just released:

Shay Elliott - The Life and Death of Ireland's First Yellow Jersey

Imhof Tank

As others have said - Rough Ride

Surprisingly no mention of Only a Game by Dunphy yet that i could see skimming through the thread.

Others i would rate would be the Jack Johnson boigraphy Unforgivable Blackness and Paddy Agnews book - all about his integration into italian society against the backdop of serie A reports

padraig_f

Imhof Tank wrote: »

Surprisingly no mention of Only a Game by Dunphy yet that i could see skimming through the thread.

Yes, great book, gives a very good feel for what it means to play professionally. At one point he meets up with Johnny Giles on international duty and a group of them are discussing what is the main motivating factor for a football player. Dunphy thinks it's pride and Giles thinks it's fear.

Initially 'fear' seems a strange thing to say, but as the book goes on, you begin to appreciate, they're playing a very different game to the one we played as kids.

His biography of Matt Busby, A Strange Kind of Glory, is also very good.

Imhof Tank

padraig_f wrote: »

Yes, great book, gives a very good feel for what it means to play professionally. At one point he meets up with Johnny Giles on international duty and a group of them are discussing what is the main motivating factor for a football player. Dunphy thinks it's pride and Giles thinks it's fear.

Initially 'fear' seems a strange thing to say, but as the book goes on, you begin to appreciate, they're playing a very different game to the one we played as kids.

.

I remember his insight into the mindset of substitutes was very interesting - basically that they sit on the bench thinking malicious thoughts, wishing nothing but bad luck and injuries for their team mates, so that they can come in and do better.

castletownman

Dublin v Kerry by Tom Humphries. Best GAA book I've ever read. Fascintating insight into the insatiable desire of both Micko and Heffo to change tactics and to introduce new techniques to the game

micgermar

Not sure if it would be classed as a sports book per se, but 'What I talk about when I talk about running' by Murakami is an excellent read for anyone who is interested in running.

harry21

not bakunin wrote: »

Not massively sporty, and quite out there as sports go (mountaineering), but Joe Simpson's "Touching the Void" is a great book. Edgy.

Great book, movie isnt too bad either.

baconsarnie

I concur with the recommendations for Calcio, Forza Italia and Football against the Enemy. The latter has been copied many times over, but is still far superior to any feeble copycats (avoid "how soccer explains the world" by Franklin Foer- it's dreadful).

Here are some other sport (almost exclusively football, apologies) books that I would wholeheartedly recommend. I tend towards books that use sport to give a broader analysis of history or society- rather than "we hit them on the break, Giggsy scored and that made it 2 nil".

"Soccer in Sun and Shadow” by Eduardo Galeano
"Best and Edwards" by Gordon Burn
“The Lost Babes: Manchester United and the Forgotten Victims of Munich” by Jeff Connor
"Those Feet: A Sensual History of English Football" and "Brillant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football" by David Winner
"The Perfect 10" by Richard Williams
"Garrincha: The Triumph & Tragedy of Brazil's Forgotten Footballing Hero" by Ruy Castro
"My Father and Other Working Class Football Heroes" by Gary Imlach
"Ajax, the Dutch, the War","Simon Kuper","0752842749","Already read"
"Tor!" by Ulrich Hesse-Lichtenberger
"Barca: A People's Passion" by Jimmy Burns
"Morbo" by Phil ball

and cricket:

"Beyond a Boundary" by CLR James and "Anyone But England: An Outsider Looks at English Cricket", by Mike Marqusee.

Also:

“The Lifelong Season" by Keith Duggan

Sport in general:

"What's My Name, Fool? Sports and Resistance in the United States" by Dave Zirin

Gary Imlach's book is one that I feel is often conspicuous by its absence in these lists. It's a fantastic insight into football from a different age and a son's relationship with his father. Genuinely moving.

johnayo

Come What May By Donal Og Cusack. An interesting read.

grohlisagod

Forza Italia as mentioned is a fantastic insight into Italian soccer and Italian life in general. The chapter on Maradona in particular is fascinating.

Armstrong's book is good too.

Carra is interesting also. He's very honest.

Hermy

grohlisagod wrote: »

Armstrong's book is good too.

Can I ask which one and why you liked it?

grohlisagod

Hermy wrote: »

Can I ask which one and why you liked it?

Sorry, I can't remember which one it is, I got it off a friend. I assume it was the first one. The section on his fight against cancer really is powerful stuff.

Hermy

grohlisagod wrote: »

The section on his fight against cancer really is powerful stuff.

And the rest of it? I'm sorry but I'm no fan of Armstrong despite his battle with cancer. There are too many unanswered questions surrounding his time as a professional cyclist and it casts a long shadow over his charity work.