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Sports Book

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  • 12-12-2014 7:51pm
    #1
    A_Sober_Paddy
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,221 ✭✭✭


    Hey all,

    Just looking for an decent sports books that are fairly recent. BOD's and Keane's are out. Just looking for an xmas present idea for a secret santa, the lad likes to read sports books...

    Any suggestions welcome


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    #2
    Swiper the fox
    Registered Users Posts: 6,745 ✭✭✭Swiper the fox


    A_Sober_Paddy wrote: »
    Hey all,

    Just looking for an decent sports books that are fairly recent. BOD's and Keane's are out. Just looking for an xmas present idea for a secret santa, the lad likes to read sports books...

    Any suggestions welcome

    There is a thread here devoted to sports books, some great suggestions in there. I read a pile of sports books and have read all the big ones that have come out this year, BOD's is very average but if he's a rugby fan it could be his thing. Keane's is better but the best this year for me is unquestionably Anthony Daly's (go for it if he's a hurling fan).
    What sports is he in to? It's actually been quite a good year for sports books on the whole.


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    #3
    RodVelvet
    Registered Users Posts: 333 ✭✭RodVelvet


    Anyone got any recommendations for a Christmas Present from this years crop of Sports Books?


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    #4
    A_Sober_Paddy
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,221 ✭✭✭A_Sober_Paddy


    RodVelvet wrote: »
    Anyone got any recommendations for a Christmas Present from this years crop of Sports Books?

    Das reboot, i started a thread on it a few weeks back...got for someone and read the first chapter, seems very good and interesing


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    #5
    Dirty Dingus McGee
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,631 ✭✭✭Dirty Dingus McGee


    Friday Night Lights is a great book.

    Even if you don't like American Football it is a great book as in some aspects it has a universal quality to it that certain aspects of the book could be applied to a wide range of youth sports(while at the same time being unique to the sport and area it is based in) and also it serves as a social history of that part of the USA during the 1980's.

    It's simply a great book rather than just a great sports book.


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    #6
    ahlookit
    Registered Users Posts: 1,709 ✭✭✭ahlookit


    A lot of sports books (particularly biographies or autobiographies) tend to be blatant cash ins. Having said that there are a few notable exceptions...

    On the football front, two autobiographies I particularly enjoyed were Paul McGrath's "Back from the Brink" and Alan McLoughlin "A Different Shade of Green". McGraths story is incredible, hard to read at times given all he's been through, it makes his performances on the pitch even more remarkable given the inner turmoil he was going through off it. McLoughlin does a great job in getting across the pride of the second generation Irish on representing his country. Also interesting to see his take on football as someone who just missed out on the big paydays, and he had health issues too post football. Its a well written book from a guy who seems to be really grounded and genuine.

    Another football book is the "Miracle of Castel Di Sangro", an account of a season spent by a US journalist given huge access to a small town Italian side playing at their highest ever level (Serie B I think it was).

    From GAA, my favourites would be Over The Bar by Brendan O Heither, a personal account of a life following and writing about GAA. And "House of Pain" by Keith Duggan, which nearly achieved the impossible feat of making me feel sorry for Mayo :pac:

    This years books I havent read yet, but the couple I've bought are "Dub Sub Confidential", by John Leonard who was sub goalie on the Dublin panel for years. It goes into his personal battles with his demons and won an award for Irish sports book of the year. The other one I got was AP McCoys autobiography, because it was signed!


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