A truly unique and fascinating look at the changing nature of masculinity and manliness, told through the lens of a series of Yorkshire County Cricket Club player portraits through the ages.George Hirst was a man of his time. His apocryphal quotation "We'll get 'em in singles"epitomises his no-fuss approach to all matters, and his distate for excess or ostentation. His stiff upper lip was a requisite part of his Edwardian manliness. Fast forward a century or so to Darren Gough's be...

The history of sport is littered with tales of exemplary courage: sportsmen and women pushing their bodies through the pain barrier, or defying career-threatening injuries, in quest of victory. From the goalkeeper who played in a FA Cup Final with a broken neck to the batsman who saved a Test match with his arm in plaster, their heroics have inspired generations of schoolchildren.But courage is as much a moral as a physical attribute. Some of the most inspiring chapters in sport fe...

From Ancient Greece to the Beijing Olympics, sport has delivered thrilling victories and gut-wrenching defeats, but moments of good sportsmanship are increasingly rare. Is chivalry dead? Or have rumours of its demise been exaggerated?Whether displayed by an Australian sculler or an Egyptian judoka, sportsmanship has come in many guises. It's Not the Winning that Counts celebrates the Boy's Own heroism of yachtsman Pete Goss's mercy dash across the Southern Ocean to rescue a capsize...

Blink is a collection of poems exploring the relationship between time, language and emotion. In one breath, we describe aeons of complex existence; in another, we delve into the richness of our most private thoughts and feelings. In a life which seems limited by the constant ticking of time, is time the only steady companion we have? Performed by an ensemble cast of narrators, this collection celebrates humanity and our voices.

A glorious, sweeping novel of desire, ambition, and the thirst for knowledge, from the # 1 New York Times bestselling author of Eat Pray Love, Big Magic, and City of GirlsIn The Signature of All Things, Elizabeth Gilbert returns to fiction, inserting her inimitable voice into an enthralling story of love, adventure and discovery. Spanning much of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the novel follows the fortunes of the extra...

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Rugby But Were too Afraid to Ask explains the often-baffling laws of modern sport in a light-hearted and easy-to-understand way to the new fan/spectator or the 'sport widow'.This is a witty, off-the-wall guide to the rules of the modern game, as if written by a very patient but understanding friend. Writer Iain Macintosh explains how rugby works and why is it so popular, and reveals the history of the sport. He guides the novice thr...

The story of one young African boy's journey to UK Premiership soccer stardom.From the Zambian plains to Wembley, this is the story of the boy who was born to be a Bluebird. Earnie follows Robert Earnshaw’s journey from the Zambian village where he was born to Bedwas, where he was spotted playing for the B-team of his local club when he was 12 years old. At 16 he joined Cardiff City on a YTS training scheme to become one of the club’s top scorers. He reflects on his Welsh success a...

From his first days as a poolroom hustler playing truant from Baron Byng High School at the Rachel Pool Hall, Mordecai Richler has remained a snooker devotee. In his inimitable style, he delves into the fascinating world of snooker with pith and perception.But On Snooker is not just a lifelong fan's memoir. It is a brilliantly entertaining history of the game and an account of snooker's bad boy champions, including Alex (The Hurricane) Higgins, Cliff (The Grinder) Thorburn...

THE ABSURD ASCENT OF THE MOST IMPORTANT MAN IN FOOTBALL. THE MANAGER.'Rich in detail and colour . . . a great read' ObserverThis book traces the remarkable journey of the football gaffer, from his humble beginnings as club secretary, to his modern incarnation - the man we all recognise, venting his spleen at the ref, or having a huff at a post-match press conference.THE MANAGER takes the reader beyond the well-worn anecdote...

A new collection of soccer writing by the bestselling author of Fever Pitch.After the phenomenal success of Fever Pitch, Nick Hornby tried to avoid writing about soccer, for fear that he'd be writing about it forever. But occasionally over the years he’s found it impossible to turn down a particularly enticing assignment or, in the case of the 2012-13 Premier League, just unable to resist writing about that most spectacular of seasons.Fort...

Henry Cooper is best remembered for the night he nearly changed boxing history - 19 July 1963. Fighting an up-and-coming boxer by the name of Cassius Clay, later to become Muhammad Ali, his famous left hook (known as 'Henry's Hammer') sent Clay crashing onto the canvas. Arguable Britain's greatest ever heavyweight fighter, Cooper won 40 of his 55 professional bouts, beating most of the true boxing greats along the way. His story is littered with famous names - Rocky Marciano, Floyd Patters...

Foul Play dissects the age-old subject of cheating in all its absurdity. From plain old doping to claiming a marathon victory despite having driven the middle section of the race, from match-fixing to diving for a penalty - cheating in sport is as old as sport itself.There are plenty of well-known cases of cheats being found out in sport: Ben Johnson, for example, was stripped of his 100m Olympic medal after a positive drugs test; South African cricketer Hansie Cronje was ...