Sport

A trip across America to track down the great fighters from yesteryear who vanished from the limelight, and hear their incredible storiesIn the era of boxing's pay-per-view superstars, Tris Dixon invested in a Greyhound bus pass and spent several months traversing America on a shoestring budget, tracking down fighters from yesteryear who had vanished from the limelight. Venturing from New York to Las Vegas and from Toronto to Miami, the young writer--himself a former amateur boxer--sought out coulda-been-contenders and cult heroes from the 1950s to the 2000s, all now faded from popular memory. He visited old people's homes, gyms, and too many prisons, discovering that life after boxing can be a cruel place when the ropes are no longer in place to keep fighters safe from the outside world. Dixon meets men who shaped boxing history, fighting the likes of Sugar Ray Robinson, Muhammad Ali, and Mike Tyson. He shares their memories and weaves together their forgotten tales over the course of a remarkable American journey.

"Explore the geography, inhabitants and legends of D&D landscapes, from the challenges of the Forgotten Realms to spaces and places beyond, with this illustrated guide to adventurous travel"--

Continuing the work she started in bestseller Return to Love, spiritual guide Marianne Williamson leads us toward the light by revealing the inspiring guidance of the mystic Jesus.

Elite tennis players like Rodger Federer or Rafael Nadal not only perceive everything that is happening around them, but they also foresee the next game situations. This "mental speed" lays the foundation to build master performances in extremely complex situations. The Mental Game: Cognitive Training, Creativity, and Game Intelligence in Tennis provides a theoretical framework in which anticipation, perception, attention, and memory processes play a big role in a tennis player's ability to win on the court. The diagnostic tools and useful examples aid the training of cognitive abilities. With more than 50 on-court practice drills to build game intelligence, every tennis player will strengthen their mental game and win their matches.

The Financial Times - Best books of 2022: Politics 'The prolific military chronicler and analyst Mark Galeotti has produced exactly the right book at the right time.' The Times A new history of how Putin and his conflicts have inexorably reshaped Russia, including his devastating invasion of Ukraine. Putin's Wars is a timely overview of the conflicts in which Russia has been involved since Vladimir Putin became prime minister and then president of Russia, from the First Chechen War to the two military incursions into Georgia, the annexation of Crimea and the eventual invasion of Ukraine itself. But it also looks more broadly at Putin's recreation of Russian military power and its expansion to include a range of new capabilities, from mercenaries to operatives in a relentless information war against Western powers. This is an engrossing strategic overview of the Russian military and the successes and failures on the battlefield. Thanks to Dr Galeotti's wide-ranging contacts throughout Russia, it is also peppered with anecdotes of military life, personal snapshots of conflicts, and an extraordinary collection of first-hand accounts from serving and retired Russian officers. Russia continues to dominate the news cycle throughout the Western world. There is no better time to understand how and why Putin has involved his armed forces in a variety of conflicts for over two decades.

The best place to start your tactics training is in the endgame! Chess is 99% tactics and if you want to win more games, nothing works better than training tactics. Win a piece or find a mate. That will get you results.Since most of the pieces have left the board, endgame tactics have the clarity that enables you to grasp all basics concepts quickly and comprehensively. In the endgame, you can focus on what is important without any distractions by a couple of random pawns and pieces. In 1001 Chess Endgame Exercises for Beginners, IM Thomas Willemze does two things at once. He explains all the basic concepts, and provides you with a huge amount of exercises for each theme and each chess piece. Willemze uses all his experience as a coach, and his familiarity with the famous Step Method, to carefully build up your chess knowledge step-by-step. He shows you the strength of all pieces, from the lonely pawn to the almighty queen. And he guides you from the basics to more complex tactics in a highly instructive puzzle rush.

Stand Up Paddleboarding is the fastest growing water-based activity worldwide. Thousands have tried it, with many more taking it up each year. It is easy to make the first steps to stand on a board and paddle. But many want to take this further - be it paddling greater distances, starting to race, SUPing in the surf, using it to improve their fitness or enhancing their well-being through yoga. To develop your SUPing requires a combination of improved technique, skills, fitness and mental attitude. This book will help anyone interested in SUPing get better at it. It shows how to improve your efficiency, technique, skills and physical capability before exploring the different ways of participating and the equipment you need. It suggests that seeking continuous improvement and rising to personal SUP challenges can help you enter the flow state, which enhances happiness. Packed with photos and photo sequences, this book provides both the inspiration and a blueprint for understanding how to improve your SUP capabilities in the area you choose.

A beautifully presented, practical gift guide for all surf seekers. Explained with fascinating, easy-to-understand commentary from surfer and scientist Easkey Britton, this guide helps you soak up maximum vitamin sea.The book is divided into six main sections - each filled with exercises, ideas and fun facts to help you reconnect with your oceanic roots and create special moments by the sea...Reading the Sea - watch waves, move with the tides, understand rips and currents, getting to know the sea and your limits.What the Sea Does for Us - appreciate the food, feel-good factors, and even medicines that the sea has to offer. Plus learn about its fundamental role in climate control.We are Ocean - explore the multi-sensory environment the sea has to offer.The Power of the Sea to Heal - from seaweed and ocean plasma to social change and ocean therapy.The Sea is Calling - try your hand at beach combing, wave play, rockpooling, bird watching, searching for jellyfish and bioluminescence and swimming in the sea.Things to Do for the Sea - with guides to beach clean-ups, sustainable foraging, restoring coastal habitats and inclusion and diversity ideas to make the sea accessible to all, you'll have everything you need to be the hero our seas need.Taking an inclusive global outlook on the subject, and complemented by Maria Nilsson's captivating drawings, this timely book will show you the benefits of doing things by and for the sea - and how those benefits can spill over into your daily life.

Goodison Park is one of British sport's most fabled venues: the home of Everton FC since 1892 and one of the last traditional football amphitheatres. It has witnessed highs and lows and been graced by the likes of Dixie Dean, Tommy Lawton, Alan Ball, Bob Latchford, Gary Lineker, Pele and Eusebio. As the Toffees prepare to move to the waterfront, Goodison Memories celebrates that legendary stadium with vivid recollections not from Evertonians, but from opposition players, managers, officials and sports journalists. The result is a collection of candid interviews that capture the essence of Goodison Park. Listen to their tales of the Everton players they remember with fondness, priceless anecdotes and memories of the atmosphere and features of the stadium. Have you ever wondered what it was like for the broadcasters to sit on the TV gantry, the press to work from the press box? What was it like for match officials to take charge of the game and handle the characters on the Goodison turf? Goodison Memories holds all the answers.

Wimbledon's Greatest Games features 50 of the most exciting and absorbing tennis matches ever played on the All England Club's courts. Journey back in time and relive the unforgettable feats of Rod Laver, Althea Gibson, Boris Becker, John McEnroe, Billie Jean King, Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Martina Navratilova and Serena Williams among many others. From the roar of the crowd to the emotion of the players, the drop-shots, the volleys, the epic rallies and the double-faults, each thrilling contest comes alive as the action from the famous venue is brought to you in vivid detail. So, serve yourself a Pimm's, sit back and let Abi Smith transport you to Centre Court as you explore this comprehensive collection from the greatest tournament of all. Capturing gentlemen's, ladies' and doubles matches that have shaped the game, Wimbledon's Greatest Games is an action-packed, ace-filled guide that every SW19 fan will want to devour.

Panenka's pearl of a penalty in Belgrade, van Basten's volley of a lifetime in Munich, Gazza's agonising near-miss at Wembley: over its six decades, the UEFA European Championship has thrown up many of the most memorable stories in football lore. Now it gets the history it deserves. Euro Summits is the first full retelling of the tournament, from its tentative beginnings in the late 1950s to its elephantine expansion in the mid-2010s. Taking in the USSR's early success, the grim violence of 1968, France's cavalier feats on home soil in 1984, the sensational triumphs of no-hopers Denmark and Greece, Spain's modern-day dominance, all the way up to Portugal's shock victory in 2016, it's a panoramic portrait of an event that captures a whole continent's imagination every four years. Dramatic, detailed and teeming with compelling personalities like Michel Platini, Gunter Netzer, Hristo Stoichkov, Zinedine Zidane, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, this is the complete story of a footballing event second only to the World Cup.

This guidebook describes 50 graded walks in the Jungfrau region of Switzerland. Ranging from 5 to 23.5km, the routes visit valleys, waterfalls, and alpine huts offering refreshments and accommodation. With shorter hour-long walks and day-long mountain ascents, it contains something for everyone.

The fourth hilarious book in the brilliant STEM adventure series Leonora Bolt. With glorious illustrations by Gladys Jose throughout.It's Leonora first Christmas, and the brilliant young inventor is feeling festive! She's made presents, Mildred's boiling cabbage for the candy canes (yuck!), and best friend Jack's brought along . . .an invite to the Great Gadget Games?!Her villainous Uncle Luther is behind this new inventing show, and planning on stealing the creations made by the very talented contestants. And in ANOTHER twist, the judges of the competition are two people very dear to Leonora's heart.Leonora HAS to enter - it's her best-ever chance to finally stop Luther's dangerous games! But she can't enter as herself - he'll never allow that - so she'll need a foolproof disguise, and a brilliant idea for a winning invention . . .Violet Baudelaire meets Peanut Jones in this epic STEM-themed adventure about believing in your brainpower - and yourself.

A scientist's journey from observation to discovery is anything but straightforward. It is littered with failure, unexpected diversions and joyous realizations. Science helps us to understand ourselves - but what we know about the world around us, what has already been explored and discovered, is only half of science's story. Dr Camilla Pang will look at some of the biggest mysteries facing science today and how some of the best, most cutting-edge scientists can illuminate our own approaches to observation, hypothesis, exploration, troubleshooting and discovery in our own lives.

A look at 100 inspiring novels that have left a significant mark on the world of literature and popular culture.