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Recommended Sports Books.

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Robert Enek book 'A life too short' is a brilliant read. I also really enjoyed Ibrahimovic's book as his early life was quite tough as a son of an immigrant in Sweden. Paul McGrath is an old one but a classic book. I tend agree about GAA books- they can be quite similar in themes though Cathal McCarron's is fairly hard hitting and a good read. I read Lance Armstrong's book (before he was outed) and it was a really good read. Lol. Ed (UK) - Posts: 156 - 20/11/2018 15:50:36 2151852 Link
Replying To GreenandRed: "Has anyone read Pwter Crouch's book? The podcast is good craic but I wonder has he repeated a lot of the book in the podcast." Read it there a couple of months ago. Decent enough read, nothing too spectacular. Crouch comes across like he always does: a modest character who's made the very most out of his abilities. Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9136 - 20/11/2018 16:24:24 2151861 Link
Replying To GreenandRed: "Has anyone read Pwter Crouch's book? The podcast is good craic but I wonder has he repeated a lot of the book in the podcast." It sounds like the most bland story out there to me. If a selling point is about the time Roy Keane shook his head in disgust at the car Crouchy was driving then it sounds perfect for trying on one of those nights you can't drift off to sleep. I'd agree with an earlier poster on this thread who said the crazy/eccentric type of sports people are usually worth a read but the nice guys finish last for me and wouldn't appeal to me as entertainment. But each to their own I suppose. SaffronDon (Antrim) - Posts: 2385 - 20/11/2018 17:38:38 2151871 Link
an oldie but ap mc coys book is a great read mrsme (USA) - Posts: 172 - 20/11/2018 20:28:11 2151901 Link
Eamonn Magee's book is a fantastic read. Really sad story wit boxing taking a aback seat for much of it, best sports book I have read in years and rivals War, Baby as my favourite ever boxing book ArmaghinWarwick (Armagh) - Posts: 26 - 21/11/2018 10:02:51 2151951 Link
I enjoyed Liam Dunne's book, but that might be the Wexican in me. He was before my time as a hurler in general, I remember the end of his career only. StoreysTash (Wexford) - Posts: 1733 - 21/11/2018 12:12:02 2151976 Link
Its an old one..... But Ger Loughnanes book about his time as Clare manager is a great read in my opinion wing back (Offaly) - Posts: 115 - 21/11/2018 20:21:12 2152047 Link
The Ancient Olympic Games - by Judith Swaddling Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson - by Geoffrey Ward. Football Wizard The Story of Billy Meredith - by John Harding. Cockney_Cat (UK) - Posts: 2469 - 21/11/2018 21:30:42 2152054 Link
Off the top of my head, all really good reads.. Jack Doyle - the gorgeous gael (great read) Rough Ride - Kimmage The Death of Marco Pantani - Matt Rendell Laptop Dancing and the nanny goat mambo - Humphries Only a Game - Dunphy Barca - Jimmy Burns El Diego - Maradona Niall Quinn biography Tony Adams biography Tony Cascarino biography The Secret Race - T Hamilton Into the Bear Pit - Mark James I am Zlatan Ibrahimovic The Fight - Mailer ... Haven't read a huge amount of GAA books Heffo by Hayes was ok The Club by O'Connor was very good Dub Sub Confidential pretty good The Choice again ok Joxer (Dublin) - Posts: 4700 - 22/11/2018 00:12:17 2152063 Link
Anyone into endurance running, or perhaps thinking of tackling their first half or fulll marathon, Hal Higdon's books are very good. He provides training plans for all levels which is good. But even better are the psychological tips, anecdotes from first time marathon runners etc. It was invaluable to me when I did my first one. Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9136 - 22/11/2018 11:04:04 2152084 Link
Replying To ArmaghinWarwick: "Eamonn Magee's book is a fantastic read. Really sad story wit boxing taking a aback seat for much of it, best sports book I have read in years and rivals War, Baby as my favourite ever boxing book" Seconded. As Magee says, "My story isn't a book, it should be a fkin Hollywood blockbuster". The Road to 51 and Will Galway Bate Mayo? by James Laffey are both fantastic reads. Paidi by Seán Potts. The Gambler by Oisín McConville. I found Alan McLoughlin's autobiography very good also, not your usual footballer boiler-plate release, especially when he talks about his Irish upbringing in 70s England and his illness. Football Against the Enemy by Simon Kuper is an interesting exploration of how politics feeds into soccer rivalries worldwide, albeit a bit dated (it was written in the early 1990s). Friday Night Lights by HG Bissinger- an exploration of how a high school football team attracts a fanatical local following, to the detriment of other things. Was subsequently made into a film and a critically acclaimed TV series. Gleebo (Mayo)** - Posts: 2208 - 22/11/2018 13:45:36 2152113 Link
Replying To Gleebo: "Seconded. As Magee says, "My story isn't a book, it should be a fkin Hollywood blockbuster". The Road to 51 and Will Galway Bate Mayo? by James Laffey are both fantastic reads. Paidi by Seán Potts. The Gambler by Oisín McConville. I found Alan McLoughlin's autobiography very good also, not your usual footballer boiler-plate release, especially when he talks about his Irish upbringing in 70s England and his illness. Football Against the Enemy by Simon Kuper is an interesting exploration of how politics feeds into soccer rivalries worldwide, albeit a bit dated (it was written in the early 1990s). Friday Night Lights by HG Bissinger- an exploration of how a high school football team attracts a fanatical local following, to the detriment of other things. Was subsequently made into a film and a critically acclaimed TV series." Read FNLs last year but found it was as much about social/racial prejudice than about sport. An interesting read but a slog in places. Big eye opener in terms of the size of high school football in the US and especially how fanatical they are about it in the south. Joxer (Dublin)** - Posts: 4700 - 22/11/2018 14:45:20 2152122 Link
Replying To Joxer: "Read FNLs last year but found it was as much about social/racial prejudice than about sport. An interesting read but a slog in places. Big eye opener in terms of the size of high school football in the US and especially how fanatical they are about it in the south." Yeah, it's a much more sociological than the film was, lots of discussion about race, the decline of big oil and poverty in the American South. It was also written in the late 1980s, so a lot has changed since then. A lot of people down there really didn't like what he had written at the time, and he had to call off some book signings because he was threatened. Bissinger wrote a sequel to it maybe a decade or so back in which he updates readers on how things have gone since then. Apparently Permian's football programme has really struggled in recent years, but things have improved somewhat in terms of crime rates, opportunities for minorities, and for the local economy. Gleebo (Mayo) - Posts: 2208 - 22/11/2018 15:16:52 2152124 Link
Would also add The Hurricane biography of Alex Higgins. Gleebo (Mayo) - Posts: 2208 - 22/11/2018 15:18:07 2152125 Link
Replying To Gleebo: "Yeah, it's a much more sociological than the film was, lots of discussion about race, the decline of big oil and poverty in the American South. It was also written in the late 1980s, so a lot has changed since then. A lot of people down there really didn't like what he had written at the time, and he had to call off some book signings because he was threatened. Bissinger wrote a sequel to it maybe a decade or so back in which he updates readers on how things have gone since then. Apparently Permian's football programme has really struggled in recent years, but things have improved somewhat in terms of crime rates, opportunities for minorities, and for the local economy." Intetesting one. Must pick up the sequel to see how things have moved on. Joxer (Dublin) - Posts: 4700 - 23/11/2018 00:05:52 2152183 Link
Are the Rory's Stories books any good? Kerry15 (Kerry) - Posts: 958 - 25/11/2018 21:26:55 2152404 Link
Highly recommend Jackie Tyrrell's book. I read very little, and when I do I'm slow - but I took care of that one in no time. Ban (Westmeath) - Posts: 1415 - 26/11/2018 08:32:33 2152431 Link
Replying To Kerry15: "Are the Rory's Stories books any good?" a couple of laughs,but on the whole no. perfect10 (Wexford) - Posts: 3929 - 26/11/2018 12:41:28 2152462 Link
Well I'm a student of history and I love books that use sport as a window into the social, cultural, political history of a given era or place. John Carlin's Playing the Enemy is a great example. Don't let the dull Clint Eastwood film Invictus (which was based on it) put you off. This is a brilliant exploration of the history of South Africa at the most crucial time in its modern history, set against the backdrop of the nation hosting the 1995 WC and Mandela's masterful use of sport to try and bind its people behind a new multi-ethnic vision for the country. South Africa has a fascinating history and I've always been drawn to it, no doubt because my aunt has lived there for over 40 years and half the cousins now come from there. Other sports books I really enjoyed would be Alan English's Stand Up and Fight and Declan Lynch's Days of Heaven. As regards GAA books, anything Mick Foley writes is usually excellent. The GAA: A People's History is a great and accessible overview of the social history of the Association and its interaction with the island's greater history. It has some wonderful photographs too. Dublin v Kerry is probably one of my favorite books on the GAA. Princes of Pigskin is a wonderfully illustrated look at the giants of Kerry football. As regards biographies: Keiran Donaghy's is definitely the best of any Kerry player I've read. I really enjoyed Donal McAnnallen's biography of his brother Cormac. Paul McGrath's was exemplary too. TheHermit (Kerry) - Posts: 6354 - 26/11/2018 13:51:09 2152475 Link
Replying To TheHermit: "Well I'm a student of history and I love books that use sport as a window into the social, cultural, political history of a given era or place. John Carlin's Playing the Enemy is a great example. Don't let the dull Clint Eastwood film Invictus (which was based on it) put you off. This is a brilliant exploration of the history of South Africa at the most crucial time in its modern history, set against the backdrop of the nation hosting the 1995 WC and Mandela's masterful use of sport to try and bind its people behind a new multi-ethnic vision for the country. South Africa has a fascinating history and I've always been drawn to it, no doubt because my aunt has lived there for over 40 years and half the cousins now come from there. Other sports books I really enjoyed would be Alan English's Stand Up and Fight and Declan Lynch's Days of Heaven. As regards GAA books, anything Mick Foley writes is usually excellent. The GAA: A People's History is a great and accessible overview of the social history of the Association and its interaction with the island's greater history. It has some wonderful photographs too. Dublin v Kerry is probably one of my favorite books on the GAA. Princes of Pigskin is a wonderfully illustrated look at the giants of Kerry football. As regards biographies: Keiran Donaghy's is definitely the best of any Kerry player I've read. I really enjoyed Donal McAnnallen's biography of his brother Cormac. Paul McGrath's was exemplary too." Has anyone read any of the following autobiographies and are they any good? Sean Cavanagh Davy Fitzgerald Coral Staunton Des Cahill Kerry15 (Kerry) - Posts: 958 - 02/12/2018 16:11:08 2153073 Link