- Table View
- List View
How They Stole the Game
by David YallopWhat's wrong with Football today? In June 2011, Sepp Blatter was elected - uncontested - as president of Fifa once more. Despite attempts to halt the vote amidst allegations and accusations of corruption, the show went on. As How They Stole The Game, David Yallop's classic expose of the dark heart behind the beautiful game showed when it was first published, Football was rotten from the top down. In the book Yallop reveals the story of João Havelenge, Fifa President from 1974 to 1998, the Godfather of football, and how he turned a religion to millions of fans into a multi-billion dollar business, riven with suspicious deals and unexpected payments.
How They Stole the Game
by David YallopWhat's wrong with Football today? In June 2011, Sepp Blatter was elected - uncontested - as president of Fifa once more. Despite attempts to halt the vote amidst allegations and accusations of corruption, the show went on. As How They Stole The Game, David Yallop's classic expose of the dark heart behind the beautiful game showed when it was first published, Football was rotten from the top down. In the book Yallop reveals the story of João Havelenge, Fifa President from 1974 to 1998, the Godfather of football, and how he turned a religion to millions of fans into a multi-billion dollar business, riven with suspicious deals and unexpected payments.
Cobras in the Rough
by Grant GordonWhen his father dies suddenly, Grant Gordon's life descends into freefall. Having long harboured an obsession with the British in India, and in particular what they did for recreation, Grant goes to find the golf courses the British built during the Raj and decides to play them.Along the way, he has a golf lesson on the highest golf course in the world, in the mountains of Kashmir; negotiates cobras, peacocks and monkeys in Delhi - on a course moulded by the British around the ruins of a Mughal emperor's palace; has a round with Indian Army colonels in the shadow of Everest; gets drenched several times over on the wettest golf course on Earth; and searches on Tiger Hill for Darjeeling's lost British golf course. In Agra he tees off in full view of the Taj Mahal, while in Lucknow, the ghosts of the famous siege during the 1857 Mutiny seem to affect his swing. Throughout, he is faced with the challenge of getting his golf clubs to increasingly obscure locations, using an array of quirky transport.As Grant travels across India, he slowly begins to understand the relationship he had with his father. Cobras in the Rough is a book about golf but also about fathers and sons, and the ways in which they follow, or refuse to follow, in each other's footsteps.
Cobras in the Rough
by Grant GordonWhen his father dies suddenly, Grant Gordon's life descends into freefall. Having long harboured an obsession with the British in India, and in particular what they did for recreation, Grant goes to find the golf courses the British built during the Raj and decides to play them.Along the way, he has a golf lesson on the highest golf course in the world, in the mountains of Kashmir; negotiates cobras, peacocks and monkeys in Delhi - on a course moulded by the British around the ruins of a Mughal emperor's palace; has a round with Indian Army colonels in the shadow of Everest; gets drenched several times over on the wettest golf course on Earth; and searches on Tiger Hill for Darjeeling's lost British golf course. In Agra he tees off in full view of the Taj Mahal, while in Lucknow, the ghosts of the famous siege during the 1857 Mutiny seem to affect his swing. Throughout, he is faced with the challenge of getting his golf clubs to increasingly obscure locations, using an array of quirky transport.As Grant travels across India, he slowly begins to understand the relationship he had with his father. Cobras in the Rough is a book about golf but also about fathers and sons, and the ways in which they follow, or refuse to follow, in each other's footsteps.
The Mammoth Book of How it Happened - Everest (Mammoth Books #376)
by Jon E. LewisBegining with the 1921 attempt on the summit of Everest through to the disasters of the 1990s, this work features 30 white-knuckle accounts of climbing endeavour on the world's highest mountain, with all the tragedy and triumph of humankind's striving for the top of the world, by those who know the "Death Zone" best - the climbers of Everest themselves. Yet this is more than a cherry-picking of great true and exhilarating memoirs of Everest. Included are the history of the conquest of Everest, and all the natural and cruel beauty of Chomolungma "The Mother Goddess of the World".
The Mammoth Book of On The Edge
by Jon E. LewisNo one sees clearer than an individual whose life is hanging by the finger tips on the edge of an abyss. Probing the furthest reaches of human daring and endurance, here are 28 of the great first-hand accounts of extreme mountaineering, from legendary names. Featuring:·Heinrich Harrer - first conqueror of the notorious Eigerwand.·Robert Bates - the classic account of the ill-fated American 1953 expedition to K2.·Maurice Herzog - his unstoppable ascent of Annapurna at the cost of frostbite.·Walter Bonatti - tragedy on the Central Pillar of Freney on Mont Blanc.·George Leigh Mallory - surviving an avalanche on the 1922 Everest expedition.·René Desmaison - his epic story of 14 days stuck on The Grandes Jorasses in winter.·Jon Krakauer - recalling his solo ascent of The Devil's Thumb in Alaska.The price of the summit is often measured in human suffering, yet for those who succeed the rewards can be incalculable. Nerve-wracking and unputdownable.
The Mammoth Book of On The Edge (Mammoth Books #383)
by Jon E. LewisNo one sees clearer than an individual whose life is hanging by the finger tips on the edge of an abyss. Probing the furthest reaches of human daring and endurance, here are 28 of the great first-hand accounts of extreme mountaineering, from legendary names. Written by the bestselling author of Meadowland and The Running Hare, Featuring:·Heinrich Harrer - first conqueror of the notorious Eigerwand.·Robert Bates - the classic account of the ill-fated American 1953 expedition to K2.·Maurice Herzog - his unstoppable ascent of Annapurna at the cost of frostbite.·Walter Bonatti - tragedy on the Central Pillar of Freney on Mont Blanc.·George Leigh Mallory - surviving an avalanche on the 1922 Everest expedition.·René Desmaison - his epic story of 14 days stuck on The Grandes Jorasses in winter.·Jon Krakauer - recalling his solo ascent of The Devil's Thumb in Alaska.The price of the summit is often measured in human suffering, yet for those who succeed the rewards can be incalculable. Nerve-wracking and unputdownable.
All in a Day's Cricket: An Anthology Of Outstanding Cricket Writing
by Christopher Martin-Jenkins Brian LevisonThis selection of the very best, and most intriguing, writing on cricket, drawn from the mid-eighteenth century to the present day, adopts a fresh approach. It is arranged around the theme of the many things that must happen simply for a day's play to happen - from creating a clearing in a Malaysian jungle to getting to the ground - so includes, alongside writing by players both great and unknown, the perspectives of spectators, umpires, scorers and other unsung heroes of the game. There are contributions from John Arlott, Neville Cardus, C. L. R. James and E. V. Lucas; Marcus Trescothick writes on his introduction to cricket aged three; Angus Fraser on meeting Nelson Mandela; Phil Tufnell on being shanghaied into getting a haircut by Mike Gatting; and Rachael Heyhoe Flint on being the first woman to step onto the Lord's ground as a player.But it is the cricket itself and the outstanding players and their achievements that remain the focus - the greats of the recent and distant past involved in some of their most famous exploits. From 'disgraceful scenes at Lord's', described by Irish writer Robert Lynd, to North America, which W. G. Grace toured in 1872, and from a match played on ice to the tropical islands of Fiji and Samoa, this is a collection that does full justice to the extraordinary breadth, diversity and enduring fascination of the greatest game in the world.
All in a Day's Cricket: An Anthology of Outstanding Cricket Writing
by Brian Levison Christopher Martin-JenkinsThis selection of the very best, and most intriguing, writing on cricket, drawn from the mid-eighteenth century to the present day, adopts a fresh approach. It is arranged around the theme of the many things that must happen simply for a day's play to happen - from creating a clearing in a Malaysian jungle to getting to the ground - so includes, alongside writing by players both great and unknown, the perspectives of spectators, umpires, scorers and other unsung heroes of the game. There are contributions from John Arlott, Neville Cardus, C. L. R. James and E. V. Lucas; Marcus Trescothick writes on his introduction to cricket aged three; Angus Fraser on meeting Nelson Mandela; Phil Tufnell on being shanghaied into getting a haircut by Mike Gatting; and Rachael Heyhoe Flint on being the first woman to step onto the Lord's ground as a player.But it is the cricket itself and the outstanding players and their achievements that remain the focus - the greats of the recent and distant past involved in some of their most famous exploits. From 'disgraceful scenes at Lord's', described by Irish writer Robert Lynd, to North America, which W. G. Grace toured in 1872, and from a match played on ice to the tropical islands of Fiji and Samoa, this is a collection that does full justice to the extraordinary breadth, diversity and enduring fascination of the greatest game in the world.
Scottish Football Quotations
by Kenny MacdonaldIn this, the follow-up to the critically acclaimed first volume of quotations about our national sport, Kenny MacDonald delves once more into Scotland's sweaty, smelly football dressing-rooms and emerges with a batch of statements which are profond, amusing, acerbic and sometimes plain bizarre.
Hunting People: Thirty Years of Interviews with the Famous
by Hunter DaviesHunter Davies's first major interview was with John Masefield for The Sunday Times in 1963. In the years since, he has interviewed many of the most famous people that the late twentieth century has to offer, from James Baldwin and Orson Welles to Jack Nicholson and Salman Rushdie. in an eclectic and highly readable selection, we learn that Noel Coward enjoyed watching operations and considered himself 'about as decadent as a suet pudding', David Hockney dyed his hair because 'blonds have more fun', and Anthony Burgess had yet to touch the body of an Englishwoman. Christy Brown concedes 'I'm just a run-of-the-mill genius', while Alan Sugar admits 'I'm a miserable sod'. The book opens with a specially written introduction in which Hunter Davies explores the art of the Celebrity Interview, and turns the tables to interview fellow practitioners, such as Lynn Barber and Angela Lambert.
The Greatest Footballer You Never Saw: The Robin Friday Story
by Paolo Hewitt Paul McGuiganRobin Friday was an exceptional footballer who should have played for England. He never did. Robin Friday was a brilliant player who could have played in the top flight. He never did. Why? Because Robin Friday was a man who would not bow down to anyone, who refused to take life seriously and who lived every moment as if it were his last. For anyone lucky enough to have seen him play, Robin Friday was up there with the greats. Take it from one who knows: 'There is no doubt in my mind that if someone had taken a chance on him he would have set the top division alight,' says the legendary Stan Bowles. 'He could have gone right to the top, but he just went off the rails a bit.' Loved and admired by everyone who saw him, Friday also had a dark side: troubled, strong-minded, reckless, he would end up destroying himself. Tragically, after years of alcohol and drug abuse, he died at the age of 38 without ever having fulfilled his potential. The Greatest Footballer You Never Saw provides the first full appreciation of a man too long forgotten by the world of football, and, along with a forthcoming film based on Friday's life, with a screenplay by co-author Paolo Hewitt, this book will surely give him the cult status he deserves.
A Scottish Football Hall of Fame
by John CairneyThose who have been football supporters all their lives can never forget the first match they ever saw, although they might not recall the result. This is because it is the players that stay in the memory and the magic moments they provided for millions of spectators in their time.Every generation throws up its own football field magicians and The Scottish Football Hall of Fame encapsulates the Saturday afternoon spell cast by fine footballers for ordinary working men who lived to cheer on their heroes every week. Fervour was passed down from father to son, and in this way the future of the clubs as well as the fame of a few golden greats was guaranteed. Players like R.S.McColl (Queen's Park), Bobby Walker (Hearts), Alan Morton (Rangers), Denis Law (Manchester United) and Kenny Dalglish (Celtic) are in this pantheon, and they span the arc of Scottish football from its earliest days till modern times. These, and more than a hundred like them, are the men you will read about in these pages. Men who were once household names are captured here in their sporting immortality and introduced to generations of football enthusiasts who never saw them play. The Scottish Football Hall of Fame gives a unique overview of the beautiful game, where by means of illuminating narrative and anecdote, legend can unite with historical fact to honour not only the wearers of the famous dark blue shirt but every foot-soldier in the Tartan Army who has ever shouted 'Scotland! Scotland!' from the terraces.
Heroes are Forever: The Life and Times of Celtic Legend Jimmy McGrory
by John CairneyJames Edward McGrory (1904-82) is a Celtic legend, remembered today as the greatest goal-scorer in the history of Scottish football. His record of 550 goals in his 15-year career at Parkhead from 1922 to 1937 is unlikely to be surpassed and will stand forever as a memorial to a player who was a typical product of the period between the two world wars. At a depressing time when wages were low and work was scarce, his feats on the field provided a welcome and much-needed escape for the thousands of ordinary, cloth-capped Scottish working men who packed the dirt terracing to cheer on every move he made. Heroes are Forever tells the full story of McGrory's life and career, and is set against the vividly drawn background of the inter-war period. It is a portrait of a loyal, modest and inspirational man who lifted the hearts of his countrymen and raised the spirits of a nation. It was he, after all, who by scoring twice for Scotland in 1933 provoked the original 'Hampden Roar'.
Two Wheels on my Wagon: A Bicycle Adventure in the Wild West
by Paul HowardAs bicycle races go, the attractions of the Tour Divide are not immediately apparent. For a start, it is the longest mountain-bike race in the world, running nearly 3,000 miles down the Rockies from Canada to Mexico. But the distance is not the only challenge - the total ascent of 200,000 ft is the equivalent of scaling Mount Everest nearly seven times.Then there are the dangerous animals likely to be encountered on the route: grizzly bears, mountain lions and wolves, not to mention rattlesnakes and tarantulas. Worse, the rewards for all this effort are strictly limited. Unlike in the Tour de France, there is no fabled yellow jersey and no prize money.Yet, undaunted, and in spite of never having owned a mountain bike, Paul Howard signed up. Battling the worst weather for generations, drinking whiskey with a cowboy and singing karaoke with the locals, Howard's journey turned into more than just a race - it became the adventure of a lifetime.
Ghost on the Wall: The Authorised Biography of Roy Evans
by Derek DohrenGhost on the Wall is the official biography of one of Liverpool Football Club's greatest ever servants: Roy Evans. Born in Bootle in 1948, Evans attracted the attention of many First Division club managers while playing for England's schoolboys team in the early 1960s. In 1964, legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly stepped in to sign him. But while the '60s were an exciting time to play for Liverpool, they were also very challenging, and Evans found it hard to break into the first team on a regular basis.Following Shankly's shock resignation in 1974, Evans was given the opportunity to become a member of the backroom staff. It was here that he really made his mark, taking the reserve team to seven Central League titles in nine years and coming of age as a coach and trainer, emerging as an invaluable member of the legendary 'Boot Room'.The decline in the club's fortunes during the 1980s meant that the resignation of manager Graeme Souness in 1994 left the incoming manager facing an exciting challenge - to return the club to its glory days. Roy Evans, 'the last of the Shankly lads', was handed his date with destiny. While the Reds did not win another League Championship under Evans' charge, neither did they finish any lower than fourth, and Evans' commitment to developing future Liverpool stars such as Robbie Fowler, Steve McManaman and Michael Owen ensured that he would not become another 'ghost on the wall' at Anfield.In this engrossing account, Evans reveals the inside story of life as a member of Liverpool's famous Boot Room. He recollects his close working relationships with Reds legends from Shankly to Houllier and provides a vivid portrait of operations at the celebrated club over four action-packed decades.Finally, he discusses the challenges he faces in his new role as assistant manager of the Welsh national side and considers the way forward for Liverpool after their Champions League victory under Rafael Benítez in 2005.
Realistic Weight Control: The Healthy Guide to Weight Loss
by Jan de VriesWhatever you might call it - being overweight or corpulent or carrying excess fat - one thing is certain: obesity is one of the major problems of the developed world today. It is not simply a matter of being too fat: those who are severely overweight are prone to a tremendous range of other health problems such as back pain and coronary heart disease. In Realistic Weight Control Jan de Vries clearly and sensibly explains why these problems occur and how best to avoid them. Moreover, in view of the overwhelming variety of slimming methods on the market, each claiming to be better than the last, he points out the dangers to health caused by following an inappropriate diet.
100 Irish Rugby Greats
by John ScallyBursting with humour and full of amusing anecdotes, 100 Irish Rugby Greats is a unique celebration of the most significant stars of the sport from the 1930s to the present day. A veritable who’s who of Irish rugby, it takes in all of the true greats, including Jack Kyle, Tony O’Reilly, Mike Gibson, Willie John McBride, Moss Keane, Keith Wood, Brian O’Driscoll and Paul O’Connell.Many of the in-depth and revealing profiles are based on interviews with the legends themselves, as well as with those who have lined up against them. The result offers remarkable insights into the myriad controversies, epic matches, thrilling contests and pivotal events on and off the field in which each player has been involved.Written with an insider’s knowledge, 100 Irish Rugby Greats will prove to be a thrilling read for all fans of the sport.
Glory, Goals and Greed: Twenty Years of the Premier League
by Joe LovejoyThe FA Premier League was born 20 years ago, on 23 September 1991, and has since established itself as the most popular club competition in world football. At the start, however, there was opposition from the players' union and the Football League. Then the breakaway elite were faced with the exposure of the game's 'bungs' culture, which stained the reputations of Brian Clough and George Graham, among others.After weathering that storm, the new league was threatened again by the very real possibility of financial meltdown, which was averted only by the controversial takeover of many top clubs by predatory overseas owners.Joe Lovejoy reported on the creation of the Premier League for The Independent and revisits the story in Glory, Goals and Greed, interviewing many of the 'founding fathers'. Later, as chief football correspondent at the Sunday Times, he witnessed all the main events and has spoken again to those involved to shed new light on the best matches, best players and standout incidents of the Premier League's enthralling first 20 years.
No Glossing Over It: How Football Cheated Leeds United
by Gary EdwardsBetween 1964 and 1992, Leeds United won eleven fabulous trophies, but the team were runners-up just as often. They missed out on many more titles and cups, not least club football's greatest prize, the European Cup, in 1975. In No Glossing Over It, lifelong Leeds United fan Gary Edwards reveals why the club has dramatically lost out on victory in many of these competitions and how it has been the victim of a pattern of serial abuse by the footballing authorities - most recently seen in the unprecedented 15-point sanction meted out at the start of the 2007-08 season. Featuring the views of former Leeds players and managers, as well as top-flight referees and diehard fans, No Glossing Over It examines the injustices that have befallen Leeds United and sheds new light on the shocking events that have long rankled with the club's supporters.
Roars from the Back of the Bus: Rugby Tales of Life with the Lions
by Stewart McKinneyRoars from the Back of the Bus is an absorbing, amusing and at times moving collection of tales that give a rare insight into the camaraderie that exists between players at the top of their game, showing that relationships forged through experiences on a Lions tour last a lifetime. From the first Tour in 1888, it showcases characters with immense personality who fought together in wars or on rugby pitches in foreign lands, and who shared a bond developed through touring as representatives of the home nations. Despite the changes to the game after the advent of professionalism, the experiences of Jamie Heaslip, Brian O’Driscoll and Joe Worsley are still similar in some ways to those of earlier intrepid tourists like Blair Mayne, Lewis Jones, Sir Carl Aarvold or David Rollo. Containing defining memories and private insights from across the tours and the decades, Roars from the Back of the Bus shows that the Lions ethos remains strong at the heart of every team.
The Sevenpenny Gate: A Lifelong Love Affair with Celtic FC
by John Cairney'Clutching in my hand my seven copper pennies, I ran down the two flights of stone stairs from our tenement flat and through the East End to Kinloch Street, where, puffing a bit, I joined the queue of other wee boys lining up to place their coins on the brass plate above the iron turnstile, push hard against it, then climb up onto the dirt terracing and into Paradise. The rest of the world called it Celtic Park.'This is a story seen through green-and-white spectacles. It begins when nine-year-old Glaswegian John Cairney walks through the boys' gate at Celtic Park and embarks on a series of adventures that, over the years, take him all over Scotland and beyond.The Sevenpenny Gate is about a search for heroes, Celtic heroes. It is also the tale of an East End club of humble Irish origins that has developed into a worldwide brand and continues to command the devotion of its fans, even with the Celtic diaspora now spread across the globe.
Scottish Sporting Legends
by Robert PhilipScotland may not have won a World Cup (yet!), but many of the country’s sportsmen and women are revered as global legends, including Olympic and US Open champion Andy Murray and winner of six Olympic gold medals, Sir Chris Hoy. In football, the likes of Denis Law, ‘Slim’ Jim Baxter and Jimmy ‘Jinky’ Johnstone would not have looked out of place in the canary yellow of Brazil, while managers Sir Matt Busby, Bill Shankly and Jock Stein have become part of football folklore, as has Sir Alex Ferguson in more recent times.Amazingly, Scots have reached the top in just about every major sport: Jim Clark and Sir Jackie Stewart in Formula One; Andy Murray in tennis; Ken Buchanan and Benny Lynch in the boxing ring; Chris Hoy in cycling; sprinters Allan Wells and Eric Liddell on the Olympic track; and, as befits a nation renowned as ‘the home of golf’, Sandy Lyle was recognised as the greatest player on the planet upon winning the Masters in 1988.Scottish sport is the richest of tapestries and in Scottish Sporting Legends the cream of the crop are entertainingly profiled in a revealing collection of pen portraits of stars past and present.
Triumph and Tragedy: Welsh Sporting Legends
by Peter JacksonThis collection of revealing profiles captures the essence of a galaxy of Welsh world-beaters from across the sporting spectrum: athletics, boxing, cricket, football, golf, horse racing, motor racing, rugby union, rugby league and tennis. Those featured include arguably the best Welsh rugby union player of the twentieth century; the greatest bowler never to play for England; the farmer's boy who became a master golfer; the Cardiff boy from Splott who made such a name for himself in Hull that they named a thoroughfare after him; the 'Gentle Giant' from Swansea still revered in Italy some 50 years after his last match for Juventus; the only post-war Welsh jockey to win the Grand National twice; and the unsung hero from the Rhondda who became the saviour of Manchester United in the weeks after the Munich air disaster. Their stories, based on exclusive interviews and coloured with anecdotes, will inspire future generations to believe that nothing is impossible.
Ripley's World: The Enthralling Story of the British Lion's Most Crucial Battle
by Andy RipleyWinner of the National Sporting Club's prestigious British Rugby Book of the Year Award for 2008, Ripley's World transforms and redefines the genre of the sports autobiography. In a moving and intimate memoir, Andy Ripley, England rugby icon and victorious British Lion, television Superstar and world rowing champion, reflects on a life of sporting achievement and confronts his most powerful and dangerous challenge yet - his diagnosis with prostate cancer. Told with typical candour and courage, it is an absorbing and inspirational story.