Ever wondered what it really takes to succeed in life?Those who have achieved their own success in life know that following the path of luck and chance is full of dead ends, failed journeys and disappointments. Success is a result of application and effort. What enables successful people to achieve their desired goals and more where so many others have come up short is their strength of mind, their strength of self and the simple clarity with which they see life.

Simon Kuper's New York Times bestseller Soccernomics pioneered a new way of looking at soccer through meticulous empirical analysis and incisive -- and witty -- commentary. Kuper now leaves the numbers and data behind to explore the heart and soul of the world's most popular sport in the new, extraordinarily revealing Soccer Men.Soccer Men goes behind the scenes with soccer's greatest players and coaches. Inquiring into the genius and hubris of t...

In today’s crazily busy world the importance of making time for leisure is more vital than ever. Yet so many of us lack a talent for it. We are working longer hours, consuming more than ever before; technology erodes the work–life balance further; increasingly, people feel that only work gives existence meaning. In a world where time is money, what is the value of walking without purpose, socialising without networking, nesting when we could be on our laptops?Robert Dessaix shows, ...

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Season Inside presents a thrilling behind-the-scenes look at the world of professional tennis, with in-depth analyses of players, tournaments, and the inner machinations of the sport.“Hard Courts is the best book on professional tennis that I’ve ever read. . . . You won’t feel the same about the game—guaranteed.”—LARRY KINGWhen I first decided to write a book on te...

This explosive book is the eagerly awaited eBook version of the bestseller. It is the follow up to 'Terrace Legends', the ground-breaking blockbuster that built bridges between Cass Pennant and Martin King, who came together in a no holds barred book about experiences on the terraces. The result was a hard-hitting, unflinchingly honest testament to life with some of the biggest firms in football history.This sequel packs an even harder punch, bringing together the frontline faces, ...

As part of the acclaimed Sports Virtues series, Arthur Ashe: Integrity discusses the struggles and triumphs of Arthur Ashe's life. As with each story in the Sports Virtues series, this book assigns a virtue to a celebrated athlete or coach, and uses that person's story to help the reader achieve that virtue for him or herself.What emerges after reading these stories is not only a greater understanding and appreciation of the virtues that these icons needed to get through l...

This volume is the first reader on video games and learning of its kind. Covering game design, game culture and games as twenty-first-century pedagogy, it demonstrates the depth and breadth of scholarship on games and learning to date. The chapters represent some of the most influential thinkers, designers and writers in the emerging field of games and learning - including James Paul Gee, Soren Johnson, Eric Klopfer, Colleen Macklin, Thomas Malaby, Bonnie Nardi, David Sirlin and others. To...

From an award-winning sports journalist and college football expert: “A beautifully written mix of memoir and reportage that tracks college ball through fourteen key games, giving depth and meaning to all” (Sports Illustrated), now with a new Afterword about the first ever College Football Playoff.Every Saturday in the fall, it happens: On college campuses, in bars, at gatherings of fervent alumni, millions come together to watch a sport that inspires a un...

This book is an innovative and compelling work that develops a modified moral panic model illustrated by the drugs in sport debate. Drawing on Max Weber’s work on moral authority and legitimacy, McDermott argues that doping scandals create a crisis of legitimacy for sport governing bodies and other elite groups. This crisis leads to a moral panic, where the issue at stake for elite groups is perceptions of their organizational legitimacy. The book highlights the role of the media as a site...

Horseracing, thoroughbred breeding and gambling on racing are global industries worth several hundred billion dollars. They are also industries facing serious challenges, from the rise of alternative forms of leisure gambling to concerns about the ethical treatment of animals in all equestrian sports. This book offers a broad-ranging examination of the contemporary horseracing industry, from geographical, economic, social, ethical and environmental perspectives.The book draws on in...

The first summer Youth Olympic Games (YOG) were held in Singapore in 2010 and the first winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck in 2012. The IOC hopes that the YOG will encourage young people to be more active and that they will bring the Olympic movement closer to its original founding values.This is the first book to be published on the Youth Olympic Games. It critically examines the origins of the Games and the motives of the Games organisers, as well as the organisation and man...

Sport is an essential part of community structure, membership and identity. Whether on the field of play, in stadia, or on the streets, sport has consistently brought together disparate individuals to share culture, values and memories. Nowadays these relationships are being rewritten through the effects of global socio-economic practices, the interventions of government, the impact of cultural imperialism and, at the local level, through the actions of individuals and new constituencies t...