Sportsbiografier

A compelling and moving sports drama that revolves around Grand Prix driver Mike Hawthorn, played out in the bloody arena of the highly dangerous motor racing of the 50s. A real life story that matches the excitement and suspense of the very best fiction.

This work is a memoir about two brothers, sons of first wave Polish immigrants and their dealings with the professional boxing industry and its machinations with the American underworld of the 1930s. Babe Risko (Henry Pelkowski) would go on to win the Middleweight Championship of the World. Brother Vince was his "acting" manager, being at odds more than not with the "Czar" of boxing Frankie Carbo and his mobster minions. Babe's achievement in the ring and continued life in Syracuse, New York was a one and only occurrence for this city and its reputation as an avid sports town. After his untimely death, Risko slowly faded from memory of the local populace. This book told from the point of view of Babe Risko's nephew and godson paints a brief local view taken in the throes of the depression, mass immigration, impending world war, prohibition, and the faiths, secular and non, that drove the culture and commerce of the time. Because of the gap in time periods, much of the research had to do with the passed down oral traditions of families and associations. Consequently, the author takes liberties in embellishments, speculations, and even some fabrication, but always within the realm of plausibility. And humor. Former local sports editor Bob Snyder has said that the central New York area can now... "boast of three Boxing world champions, Basilio, Backus and the Babe."

African American historian Gerald Early refers to Jack Johnson (1878-1946), the first African American heavyweight champion of the world, as the first African American pop culture icon.

This book recounts the author's fight to overcome injury and return to the life she loves as a world-class ultrarunner.

Originally published in 2000 and now available as an ebook. The bestselling autobiography of cricketing legend Ian Botham, includes his first-hand insight into the 1999/2000 winter tour to South Africa.Ian Botham's bestselling autobiography is an intriguing cocktail of sex and drugs allegations, personal upheavals, confrontations with his peers, and remarkable achievements both on and off the field.From his heroic deeds against the Aussies art Headingly in 1981 through to the dark clouds surrounding the court case with Imran Khan, from battling in the mud for Scunthorpe United FC to walking half the length of the country for Leukaemia Research, it's all here in this unforgettable story of a truly larger-than-life character.In an extra chapter for this revised edition, Botham digs deep to unravel the reasons behind the sorry state of English cricket, and provides a compulsive insight into the 1999/2000 winter tour to South Africa where England attempt to recover from a traumatic year under the new leadership of Nasser Hussain.

Coach Gregg Troy has coached more than 65 Olympians. He's led perennial top ten NCAA teams for decades. For more than 30 years, he's had swimmers medal at major international competitions in nearly every event the sport offers. Some of the most dominant swimmers in history attribute their success to his guidance, teaching, and leadership.Within these pages, Coach Troy reveals what enabled him to be so successful at both the club, NCAA, and international level, what qualities are necessary for high achievers, and more. You'll hear from U.S. Olympic gold medalists, Caeleb Dressel and Ryan Lochte, as they go in-depth about Gregg Troy's intensity and unique approach to coaching. Swimmers, coaches, and anyone interested in being a better version of themselves will benefit from Coach Troy's wisdom.

This book is a comprehensive history of rugby's most famous yet enigmatic team, the New Zealand All Blacks, told by the men who have had the honor of wearing the iconic black jersey.

For 125 years the British & Irish Lions have stood out as a peerless emblem in world sport. This unique account of the best from the four Home Nations examines every tour in the Lions' history, including the victorious 2013 tour to Hong Kong and Australia, told in the players' words. Behind the Lions sees rugby writers from across the Home Nations delve to the heart of what it means to be a Lion, interviewing a vast array of former and current players to uncover the passion, pride and exhilaration experienced when wearing the famous red jersey. It is a tale of heartbreak and ecstasy, humour and poignancy that is at once inspirational, moving and utterly compelling. This is the story of the British & Irish Lions in their own words.

Discover the stories behind 38 iconic and internationally renowned women in sport, all of them record-breakers, trailblazers and game-changers. Whether from the world of soccer, tennis, gymnastics, swimming, boxing or skiing, every one of these women has been a ground-breaker in her field, and deserves to have her achievements celebrated.

Be inspired by Football Legend, Tammy Abraham!

Inspiring, redemptive, definitive story of one of sport's enduring rivalries, as polarising and provocative in its own way as Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier. The SuperFight probes the remarkable lives and careers of Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Sugar Ray Leonard, culminating in one night at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas which captured the eyes of the world.

A collection of motivational, insightful and amusing quotes from one of basketball's most respected stars, this book covers Kobe Bryant's life from his earliest years to the tributes that poured in after his untimely death.

An intimate and un¿inching memoir exploring Mia Kang¿s journey from self-loathing to self-love Mia Kang is many things: a sought-after model, an immigrant, an eating disorder survivor, and a Muay Thai ¿ghter. Her ¿rst book, Knockout, is the story of how she eschewed normative body standards and learned to use martial arts to rede¿ne her sense of self-worth. In a charming, ¿erce, and intimate voice, Kang invites readers into her world. She once lived and died by her weight, but she is now de¿ned by her con¿dence in being a woman who lives outside the mold of what we¿re taught is ¿feminine.¿ After dealing with bullying, addiction, body dysmorphia, anxiety, depression, and even suicidal thoughts, Mia acknowledges that she is lucky to still be alive to tell readers what she¿s learned: to not let anyone else dictate who you are supposed to be.

Football Legends: Young readers will love finding out all about the lives of their favourite players in this great new biography series.

Football Legends: Young readers will love finding out all about the lives of their favourite players in this great new biography series.

The true story of the high-flying Harlem Globetrotters -- the team that changed basketball forever.

A memoir of bikes, blogs and riding through depression from award-winning blogger, Lady Velo.

The amazing life story of the enfant terrible of tennis in the 1970s and 80s - winner of two Grand Slam titles, three Grand Slam doubles titles and twice a Wimbledon finalist.It is not an overstatement to say that Ilie Nastase was in part responsible for the explosion of interest in tennis in the seventies. Thanks to his success, his lifestyle, his sex appeal and the controversy that continually surrounded him, Nastase's name was recognisable far beyond the confines of tennis.Yet, he also had a dark side and he regularly got himself into trouble with umpires and spectators alike. His court-side tantrums and manic questioning of line calls could spiral out of control and, all too often, he found himself fined and disqualified - and making the next day's front pages.Bjorn Borg had great difficulty adjusting to life after retirement and lost vast amounts of money, while the late Vitas Gerulaitis had a major cocaine problem. Ilie reveals how he helped both of them at a time when their problems were taking a huge toll on their personal lives. He also provides opinions and anecdotes on a host of other characters, including John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors and Arthur Ashe, Henri Leconte, Yannick Noah, Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova.As a result of his celebrity status, Nastase moved amongst the beautiful people. His book recalls some of his more memorable encounters and experiences, including dancing the night away in New York's Studio 54 and Castel in Paris with the likes of Bianca Jagger and Claudia Cardinale, and bedding some of the world's most desirable women (an Italian countess and a former Miss UK are among his conquests).For the many sports fans who followed tennis and followed his career, his stories behind the varied headline-grabbing outbursts will prove fascinating and irresistible.

Maverick, innovator, entrepreneur, environmentalist and sheer force of nature, Francis Toribiong would have been a unique and significant individual no matter where in the world he was born. As it turned out, he was born in the island nation of Palau in the Western Pacific at just the right time to apply his special set of skills and attributes to the task of helping his country find its place in the world. In the 1980s and 1990s, he arguably did more than anyone to build Palau's economy and help it develop into an independent, forward-looking nation. And, improbably, he achieved this via the sport of scuba diving. Francis Toribiong is a Pacific Islander like no other. He is the father of Palau tourism, a scuba diving pioneer, and an effective, tireless ambassador for both his country and its abundant marine and land resources. He was born poor and had no academic leanings. Yet he was driven to succeed by a combination of duty, faith, a deep-seated determination to do the right thing and an absolute refusal ever to compromise his values. For his whole life, he has been a devoted friend to strangers and an implacable opponent to anybody who, through malevolence or negligence, threatens Palau's considerable natural treasures. He has also been the perfect host to generations of scuba divers from all over the world, who have visited Palau to see those treasures for themselves. And, as well as all that, he was Palau's first ever parachutist - known by his fellow islanders as "the Palauan who fell from the sky". They were speaking both literally and figuratively. He was so completely different from all of his contemporaries in terms of his demeanor, his ambitions and his vision, that it was as if he had come from outer space. Palau had never seen anybody quite like him and there was no historical precedent for what Francis Toribiong did. He had no operations manual to consult and no examples to follow. He wrote his own life. Francis Toribiong was the first Palauan ever to seek and seize the international narrative. No Palauan, in any context or field, had previously thought to go out into the world and say: - "This is Palau - what we have is wonderful. Come and see!"This is his astonishing story.