Biographies Memoirs Sports

Half an audiobook on basketball, half an audiobook on management techniques, The Gold Standard captures Coach K's personal style and approach to getting different (and sometimes difficult) people to work hard and succeed in reaching a common goal. "In all forms of leadership, whether you are a coach, a CEO, or a parent, there are four words that, when said, can bring out the best in your team, your employees, and your family...I believe in you. These four words can mean the difference between a fear of failure and the courage to try".

In 2005, Brad Balukjian left his position as a magazine fact-checker to pursue a dream job: partner with his childhood hero, The Iron Sheik (whose real name was Khosrow Vaziri), to write his biography. Things quickly went south, culminating in the Sheik threatening Balukjian’s life. Now seventeen years later, Balukjian returns to the road in search of not only a reunion with the Sheik, but something much bigger: truth in a world built on illusion.

No one knew it when their experiment began, but without any particular genius or acumen, the motley cast of billionaires and hucksters behind the modern Premier League struck gold. Pretty soon, everyone wanted to try their luck, from Russian oligarchs to Emirati sheikhs, American tycoons, and Asian Tiger titans. Some succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. Some lost everything. Today, players are sold for tens of millions, clubs are valued in the billions, and games are beamed out to nearly 200 countries, all while the league struggles to preserve its English soul.

In July 2021, shortly after being named League Two's Player of the Season and Golden Boot, Paul Mullin sent shockwaves through the EFL by taking a downwards move to National League team, Wrexham AFC. Since then, 'Super Paul Mullin' has helped transform the Wrexham team, scoring dozens of goals and capturing the imaginations of football fans across the world in the process. Here for the first time, Mullin tells his own story: his roots in Liverpool, the highs and lows of English football's promotion race, lessons learnt from his young son, and what happens when Hollywood comes knocking.

"It’s a preposterous plan. Still, if you do get up it, it’ll be the hardest thing that’s been done in the Himalayas." Thus spoke Chris Bonington when Peter Boardman and Joe Tasker presented him with their plan to tackle the unscaled West Wall of Changabang - the Shining Mountain - in 1976. Bonington’s was one of the more positive responses; most felt the climb impossibly hard, especially for a two-man, lightweight expedition.

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.

In the definitive memoir of his life and career, Dan Biggar bares his innermost emotions, from the joy of captaining Wales to victory in South Africa, through Grand Slam glory and World Cup woe, to the devastation of losing his mother just weeks before becoming the Lions number 10. He opens the changing room door on some of rugby’s most compelling episodes – from the threatened strike action that could have bankrupted the game, to the proposed club merger that nearly derailed a Grand Slam campaign.

Here are a father and son's recollections of the river and the life that inspired the book A River Runs Through It.

Jürgen Klopp is the charismatic German manager who single-handedly overthrew the accepted order in German football, taking Borussia Dortmund from nowhere to back-to-back Bundesliga titles and the Champions League final. He had long been admired in the Premiership and was finally wooed by Liverpool in the belief he could bring back the glory days to the Kop. Klopp is revered as a master tactician with his own unique playing philosophies.

Larry Csonka ran the football with audacity and authority. He lived his off-the-field life with equal abandon. As part of the NFL's 100th Anniversary, he and his undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins teammates were named the best team in NFL history. In Head On, Csonka shares how they achieved their legendary Perfect Season. From quitting football at a young age, to his often-combative relationship with Coach Don Shula, to brazen exploits with his NFL pals, Csonka narrates a life that is colorful, unbridled, and thrilling.

Anna McNuff had never run a mile without shoes on before. And yet, one British summer, she set off to run a (very) wiggly route from the Shetland Islands to London–on a mission to cover the distance of 100 marathons…in bare feet.

The wrestling legend Bob "Hardcore" Holly tells all in this autobiography that chronicles his journey from fighting in bars for money to the bright lights of the World Wrestling Federation. Holly reveals how he took more body slams and clotheslines outside the ring than in and that long before he was known as "Hardcore Holly", he had an unquenchable passion for professional wrestling.

Ask a hockey fan if they have heard the wonderfully electric call of Nick Bonino's overtime-winning goal from the 2016 Stanley Cup Final, and they will almost surely answer with a resounding "Yes"! That's because video clips of the Hockey Night in Punjabi broadcast immediately went viral, amplifying the profile of Harnarayan Singh, the voice behind the call.

Filled with headline-making revelations, The Truth About Aaron is a shocking and moving account of promise, tragedy, and loss - of one man’s descent into rage and violence, as told by the person who knew him more closely than anyone else.

The definitive biography of the basketball legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson, from the highly respected, career sportswriter and author of Michael Jordan: The Life.

Martin Keown played at the highest level over three revolutionary decades - the 80s, 90s and 00s - which saw the birth of the Premier League and the advent of millionaire superstar footballers. He was a key man in one of the finest sides of all time - Arsène Wenger's Arsenal. So why has he always felt like a man battling on the edge? On the Edge is the story of one of football's all-time great characters – a man whose commitment and survival put him at the heart of the pitch, a place he dominated like almost no other footballer of his generation.

Operation Ironman follows George Mahood's hilarious and inspiring journey from a hospital bed to an Ironman triathlon. After major back surgery, George set himself the ultimate challenge: A 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride, and a 26.2 mile run, all to be completed within 16 hours. He couldn't swim more than a length of front crawl, he had never ridden a proper road bike, he had not run further than 10k in 18 months...and he had never worn Lycra. He had four months to prepare. Could he do it?

FC Barcelona is not just the world’s highest grossing sports club, it is simply one of the most influential organizations on the planet. At last count, it had approximately 214 million social media followers, more than any other sports club except Real Madrid CF—and by one earlier measure, more than all 32 NFL teams combined. It has more in common with multinational megacompanies like Netflix or small nation-states than it does with most soccer teams. Journalist Simon Kuper tells the story of how FC Barcelona became the most successful club in the world.

In 1996, Allan Weisbecker sold his home and his possessions, loaded his dog and surfboards into his truck, and set off in search of his longtime friend and surfing companion, Christopher, who had vanished into the depths of Central America. In this rollicking memoir of his quest from Mexico to Costa Rica to unravel the circumstances of Christopher's disappearance, Weisbecker intimately describes the people he befriended, the bandits he evaded, and the waves he caught and lost en route to finding his friend.

Hall of Fame football coach Jimmy Johnson’s house isn’t on the way to anything. Yet, his private sanctuary on the Florida Keys’ Islamorada islands is a popular destination to which college and professional coaches, general managers, and team owners regularly trek to seek advice—how to build a positive team culture, draft elite players, balance work and family life, and lead a team to win. Why? Because Jimmy Johnson has done it all. Now, written with sports journalist Dave Hyde, Johnson shares a candid account of his life experiences that have turned him into a legend in the coaching world.