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[[Category:New Reviews|Sport]]__NOTOC__ <!-- Remove -->{{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn=Jeff Scott and Rachael AdamsHurst_Norfolk|title=Strictly ShaleOn My Way: Circling British SpeedwayNorfolk Coastal Walks|author=John Hurst|rating=4.5|genre=SportArt|summary=When I It was young I remember Speedway being pure serendipity: after a regular item on Saturday sport programmes on televisionfive-hour drive, we were, annoyingly, left with an hour to fill in Blakeney before we could have the keys to our holiday cottage. My father There was an aficionado and loved art exhibition in the noisechurch hall, the risk and the sheer energy of the sport so we went in - my mother less so and she quoted the noise and the strong possibility found a display of there being 'a nasty accident' when the riders slid their motorcycles sidewaysmost gorgeous pictures. It is still I'd cheerfully have bought every one and hung them on television our walls, but thought that I'll confess would have to not having watched for many years and it was for this reason that Jeff Scottmake do with a couple of greetings cards when I saw 's 'On My Way: Norfolk Coastal Walks'Strictly Shale'and I couldn' achieved the unusual feat of both being an eye opener and bringing back long-forgotten memoriest resist buying it.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0956861830</amazonuk>

 {{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn=Tom PalmerIgnotofsky_Sport|title=Over The LineWomen in Sport: Fifty Fearless Athletes Who Played to Win|author=Rachel Ignotofsky

|genre=Dyslexia FriendlyChildren's Non-Fiction|summary=Jack Cock made his debut as a professional footballer for Huddersfield Town and that fragile dream of playing for his country came just a little bit closer, but this was ''Women in Sport'' is coming to us just before the beginning of the First World War, when there was immense pressure on young men to do the honourable thing and join the war to fight Winter Olympics in South Korea in FranceFebruary 2018. ''Over It celebrates a century and a half of the Line'' is the story development of Jackwomen's warsport by looking at fifty of its highest achievers, of joining the Footballers' Battalioncovering sports as diverse as swimming, fencing, riding, playing in the Flanders Cupskating, fighting and much more. Think of a sport and a pioneering woman succeeding at it is probably in the trenches and not just surviving but being decorated for braverythis book somewhere. After the war he scored England's first international goal Each entry is a double-page spread with a brief biography and was one of the first of the modern generation of 'professional footballers'a striking portrait.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781123934</amazonuk>

 {{newreviewFrontpage|isbn=Burrell_12|title=Slow Getting UpTwelve Times To The Max: One Man's Journey to, and Recollections of, Setting Twelve Verified World Records|author=Nate JacksonStuart Burrell

|summary=The fly leaf suggests that this Blufferfirst of Stuart Burrell's Guide is world records, well, the way first two, actually, as he's not a man to do things by halves, came about by accident. There had been a plan to instantly acquire all raise some money for the knowledge which you need to pass as an expert Children in the ''arcane Need Charity and labyrinthine'' world of golf. There's quite a bit there that I'd agree late on - the rules (and people who were to an unfortunate extent have been the ''attitudes'') are arcane main attraction got a better offer and they seem to take a lifetime to master, but there's a surprising amount of information tucked away inside this little book. What I might quibble with Burrell is whether or not you would ''pass as an expert'' (which suggests that you're something of a con man): there's enough detail here to give you a solid grounding without needing to blufflet people down.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1909365327</amazonuk>}} {{newreview|title=The Boys In The Boat: An Epic Journey What could be done to the Heart bring people in and raise some money? Most of Hitler's Berlin|author=Daniel James Brown|rating=4.5|genre=Biography|summary=You see, Jesse Owens had it easy – all he had to do was run fast. Alright, he did us would have to face unknown hardship, heinous prejudice at home thought of jumble sales and abroadcake bakes, but Burrell had made a hobby of escapology and make sure he was fast enough to outdo the rest idea of his compatriots then the world's best to win gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, but others who wished to do the same a sponsored escape had to do more. People such as those rowers in the coxed eights squad – people such as young Joe Rantzlife breathed into it. He certainly had to face hardship, the prejudice borne by those in the moneyed east coast yacht clubs against an upstart from the NW USAOn 3 November 2002, and when he got to compete he had to use so many more muscles, and operate at varying tempi, with went for the temperament of the weather Fastest Handcuff Escape world record and water against him, all immediately afterwards Most Handcuffs Escaped in perfect synchronicity with seven other beefcakesOne Hour. Despite rowing being the second greatest ticket at those Games, Joe's story is a lot less well known, Both were successful and probably a lot more entertainingthan £300 was raised for Children in Need.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1447210980</amazonuk>

 {{newreviewFrontpage|isbn=Landreth_Swell|title=Running Like A GirlSwell |author=Alexandra HeminsleyJenny Landreth

|summary=Running I love Jenny's own description of her book as a waterbiography and I love her encouragement that we should each write our own. This is awful. So starts Heminsleymore than just (I say ''just''!) a recollection of the author's own encounters with water; it's also a history of women's book fight for the right to swim. That sounds absurd until you start reading about runningit, then it becomes serious. Not too serious though – because Jenny Landreth is clearly a lover of the absurd. And sheNot a lover of book blurbs myself, I do always seek to give a shout-out to those who get it dead right: in this case, I'm definitely with Alexandra Heminsley's not wrong''giggles-on-the-commute funny''.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099558955</amazonuk>

 {{newreviewFrontpage|isbn=Oakeshott_Derby|title=Who Invented The Stepover? (And Other Crucial Football Conundrums)A Guide to the Classics: Or How to Pick the Derby Winner|author=Paul Simpson Guy Griffith and Uli HesseMichael Oakeshott

|summary=In 1982It's not often that you get a glimpse into the personal, youthful interests of one of the greatest Conservative philosophers of the twentieth century, second division Charlton Athletic staged an unlikely transfer coup but ''A Guide to the Classics'' co-authored by signing former European Footballer of Michael Oakeshott is a light-hearted look at how to pick the Year Allan SimonsenDerby winner. If Originally written in 1936 it is, amazingly, as relevant today as it was then. In fact, the thought of the Danish superstar forsaking techniques and analysis employed by the glamour authors were way ahead of Barcelona for south east London seemed unlikely then consider that Simonsen had previously faked his own death during a World Cup qualifiertheir time and have only come into general use relatively recently.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781250065</amazonuk>

 {{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn=Harry RedknappGibbons_Game|title=Harry: My AutobiographyThe Beautiful Game|author=Alan Gibbons|rating=4.5

|summary=Everybody with an interest Football is all about its colours. And even if I write in the season when one team in blue knocks another team in blue from the throne of English football knows who ''Harry', it' s common knowledge that red isthe more successful colour to wear. But is that flame red? Blood red? The cover red of his book won't tell you who he is, but if you're not in the know Sun cover banner when it's Harry Redknapp - football manager falsely declared 96 Liverpool FC fans were fatally caught up in a tragedy – and for many that it had been one of us, something of a national treasure. Hetheir own making? And while we's the manager who's seen it allre on about colour, having started at rock bottom - a 70s Portakabin at Oxford City - and risen to where were the heights people of managing Tottenham Hotspur colour in football in the Premiership. At the same time he was the popular choice for the England Managerolden days? There are so many darker sides to football's job when Capello threw in the towel. Ithistory it's fair to say that Harry has lived his football life enough to make a young lad question the full and anyone buying this book will get their money's worth.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0091917875</amazonuk>whole game…

 {{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn=Jim WhiteAskwith_Today|title=Premier League: A History in 10 Matches|rating=4.5|genre=Sport|summary=I go back to the days when the pinnacle of footballing achievement was to be in Division 1, but the stadia and the stands were downmarket. Standing - pushing, shoving and fighting - was the norm and it wasn't the place for Today We Die a family outing. You could get into a match for less than a fiver and top footballers earned less than four times the average wage. All that changed in 1993 with the birth of the Premier League. This was the brainchild of - amongst others - [[Little:Category:Greg Dyke|Greg Dyke]] who saw the potential for turning football at the highest level into a business. Twenty one years on the top footballers earn more than thirty five times the average wage.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781854300</amazonuk>}} {{newreview|title=Twirlymen: The Unlikley History of Cricket's Greatest Spin Bowlers|author=Amol Rajan|rating=3.5|genre=Sport|summary=Although they may lack the bang and bluster of the fast bowlersEmil Zatopek, the three leading wicket takers of all time in Test cricket are all spinners. They may look calmer in their run ups and action, but the effect they put on the ball can be incredible. Rather than blasting a batsman out, they bamboozle them. That's why Amol Rajan thinks them deserving of a book all of their own, and ''Twirlymen'' is the result of that belief.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0224083252</amazonuk>}} {{newreviewOlympic Legend to Cold War Hero|author=John D Barrow|title=MathleticsRichard Askwith|rating=3.54

|summary=As a sports fan and a maths teacherrunner myself, I was thrilled to get the chance to read a book which claims to give us 'surprising and enlightening insights into the world often look for sources of sports'inspiration. This Training is rather rewarding, but every so often a frustrating read because day comes along when I question whether it seems to have got the balance wrong in many cases. There are some chapters which are so short as to be barely is all worth reading – one merely points out that while humans can’t run as fast as cheetahs it or perform gymnastics as amazing as not. Zatopek proves that of a monkeyis, indeed, we’re better all-rounders than any other animal. This is true, but hardly seems worth wasting a page on, it’s so obviousit. Then there are other chaptersHe put copious amounts of effort into his training, like and the interesting one detailing the points scoring system in number of races he won over his career as a professional athlete clearly shows the decathlon, which are good but could have been much better given more space. The decathlon one is a prime example results of this – it’s five pages, so one of the book’s longer sections, but could surely have been excellent if it had gone into more detail. I can’t help thinking that dropping half of the sections and doubling the other half in length might have been the way to go here.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099584239</amazonuk>

 {{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn=Gavin MortimerPavey_Mum|title=A History of Cricket in 100 ObjectsThis Mum Runs|author=Jo Pavey

|summary=[[A History I am something of Football in 100 Objects by Gavin Mortimer|A History a self-confessed running addict: I think nothing of hitting the roads for 50 miles a week, and spend much of Football in 100 Objects]] was my time searching for races to run all over the country. That is, until I wound up with a brave attemptpersistent sports injury, but was slightly let down by being hung up my running shoes for nearly a little too clinicalyear, and switched the road to the pool. Being a game imbued with passionAt the time I thought nothing could alleviate the misery of not being able to run; but now I wish I had had Jo Pavey's autobiography, ''This Mum Runs'', to keep me company because the book lacked this which took some elite athlete’s account of the edge off it. CricketOlympics, injury, family, whilst inspiring passion amongst devoteesand life, has a slightly more laid back following; one that may work better in this format. That saidgeneral, being a game that has been played for five centuries, narrowing it down to just 100 objects is no less an undertaking than for footballfalls nothing short of inspirational.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846689406</amazonuk>

 {{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn=Stephen RocheLee_Lean|title=Born to Ride: The Autobiography of Stephen RocheLean Gains|author=Jonathan S Lee

|summary=With all the revelations about the systemised doping culture surrounding Lance ArmstrongI don't often begin a book by telling you what it ''isn't''s team but in the 1990s, this case I think it was interesting 's important. If you're a fairly sedentary person or a casual sportsman or woman looking to read shed a story few pounds then you won't get the best out of a time before cycling was embroiled in one drugs scandal after anotherthis book. Although perhaps not as memorable as ArmstrongYou's career, Stephen Rochell find some good advice about diet but I's will hold m afraid that much of it is going to go over your head. Of course you could always take up a place in cycling history for 1987, when he became only the second man to win sport seriously... On the Tour de Franceother hand, the Giro Dif you ''are''Italia and a serious sportsman then you could find that the World Championships advice in the same season. A quarter of a century after that remarkable feat, Roche has produced his autobiography, ''Born to RideLean Gains''could lift you up to the next level of performance.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0224091905</amazonuk>

 {{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn=Gavin MortimerLong_Mock|title=A History of Football in 100 ObjectsThe Mock Olympian|author=Michael Long

|summary=Given how long itIt started with an idle conversation just before the 2012 London Olympics: Michael Long's been played and how many books have been written about it, any new history friend Sarah gave him a book as part of football needs his birthday present. It was Time Out's guide to have some kind the history of hook to make the Olympics and it stand outcovered each of the summer Olympics in chronological order from the inaugural games in Athens in 1896. Gavin Mortimer may have found Sarah's boyfriend James commented thatwith all the running Michael did, by presenting his history as he'd probably have run in most of the Olympic cities. Although Long had done a goodly number of runs, bike rides and triathlons he'A History d only competed in two of the twenty-three cities - London and Athens. Now most of Football in 100 Objectsus would have left it at that, but that's not the Michael Long you'. This prompts the question as re going to whether the whole of football could be reduced down come to a mere century of objectsknow and love. But then, if [[From 0 to Infinity in 26 Centuries by Chris Waring]] can make He saw it as a history of maths worth readingchallenge and what's more, I guess anything is possiblehe blogged about it and then wrote this book.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781250618</amazonuk>

 {{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn=Martin KelnerRoberts_Home|title=Sit Down Home and Cheer: A History of Sport on TVAway|author=Dave Roberts

|summary=Like many English sports For most football fans, non-league clubs (that is, teams who play outside the majority top four divisions of English football) are like a distant relative fallen on hard times; you're vaguely aware of their existence but have no particular wish to visit them. Apart from a few weeks in early January, when the calories I burn are used up by shouting at odd non-league club reaches the third round of the TV FA cup and occasionally going to embarks on a spot of giant-killing, the shops for more beer and crispslower leagues receive almost no attention outside their small groups of devoted supporters. Sports books tend So what's it like to be about the sport itself or biographies support a non-league team? Enter Dave Roberts, a fan of those Bromley FC who expended great effort to reach are currently plying their trade in the Vanarama National League – the top fifth tier of their chosen sportEnglish football. But in Martin KelnerIn 's 'Sit Down Home and Cheer: A History of Sport on TVAway'', there is finally a book for Dave documents the highs and lows of travelling the country watching Bromley during the less energetic among us2015/2016 season.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>140812923X</amazonuk>

 {{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn=Clare BaldingMcgrath_Darley|title=My Animals and Other FamilyMr Darley's Arabian: High Life, Low Life, Sporting Life: A History of Racing in 25 Horses|author=Christopher McGrath

|summary=Nothing divides opinion quite like football and no-All thoroughbred racehorses are descended from one expresses their joy and disappointment like football fans. For many fans, the most important matches of their entire season are the ones against their local rivalsjust three stallions which came to England about three hundred years ago; the derby matchesThe Byerley Turk, The Darley Arabian and The Godolphin Arabian. English football The last century or so has seen a number decline in the lines from the first and last of thesestallions, but only to the matches between Barcelona extent that some 95% of all thoroughbreds worldwide - not just in England - are descended from The Darley Arabian, which was originally bought in Aleppo from Bedouin tribesmen and Real Madrid shipped to Yorkshire in Spain have elevated themselves above mere derby status and earned their own name: ''El Clásico'' – the Classic1704, by Thomas Darley, who died, in difficult financial circumstances before he could follow his horse home.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1408158795</amazonuk>

 {{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn=The Secret FootballerMills_Top|title=I Am Top Of The Secret Footballer: Lifting The Lid On The Beautiful GameLeague|author=Andrea Mills|rating=43.5

|summary=In Football is known as the 2012 Olympic Games the UK delighted in the skills shown by our athletesbeautiful game and when I was younger I kind of believed this. We were - naturally - pleased by the medals, but what impressed was the training I would spend my free time playing Heads and Volleys with my mates and then go home to try and dedication of people who were frequently fitting what they did around the day job or studycomplete my Panini sticker album. For There was even the most part they weren't reaping much in halcyon days when Blackburn Rovers won the way of financial rewards from what they did - but they shonetitle. The exceptions were the footballersAs I have grown older, my cynicism has grown too. I forget (and that might well Leicester may be Freudian) ''exactly'' who beat uschampions, but the day I doubt feel that there are many people pleased by a group of multimillionaires beating a group of slightly richer multimillionaires is a win for the show they madeeveryman, will be a sad one. It's now Perhaps the beginning love of football still burns bright in the Premier League season and youth of today? ''I Am Top Of the Secret FootballerLeague'' has arrived at certainly hopes so as it is full of facts and figures all about the perfect momentball they call foot.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0852653085</amazonuk>

 {{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn=Alan Tyers and BeachBradbury_Walks|title=I Kick Therefore I am: The Little Book of Premier League WisdomUnforgettable Walks|author=Julia Bradbury

|summary=You remember Ronnie Matthews, donI't you? Heve long been a fan of Julia Bradbury's walking programmes on television - I credit her with sparking my own interest in walking - so the footballer who celebrated his one – news that there would shortly be another series of programmes and so far, only – international match by booing his way through the Faroe Islands' national anthem, then getting a red card for chatting up book to accompany the lineswoman. He still thinks he contributed well series was music to a vital friendly, howevermy ears. HeThis time she's looking at Britain's best walks with a view and she roams through Dorset, the Cotswolds, Anglesey, the Yorkshire Dales, the Lakes, Cumbria, the player whose career in piddling his way through continuously lesser South Downs and lesser clubs for far too long has only been matched in the recent game by Steve ClaridgePeak District. And still heUnless you's bucking the trend – here in Scotland there's the only author smart enough something reasonably close to realise that four-hundred pagejust about everyone, ghost-written biogs are unnecessary, for he's crammed with a good spread around all his life, career, philosophy and response to Twitter into an hour's readpoints of the compass.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1408832763</amazonuk>

 {{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn=Leo McKinstryMartin_When|title=Jack Hobbs: England's Greatest Cricketer|rating=5|genre=Sport|summary=Back in the early 1920s, there were only three Test cricket playing nations; England, Australia and South Africa. In the summer of 2012, both nations have been on tour; Australia recently beaten comprehensively at one day cricket and South Africa about to start a test series to determine the best Test nation in the world. Given that history is repeating itself, it seems appropriate that a new biography of Jack Hobbs, England's greatest run scorer and a man who repeatedly blunted the bowling attacks of both nationsWhen You Dead, should become available now.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0224083309</amazonuk>}} {{newreviewYou Dead|author=Beth Raymer|title=Lay the Favourite: A True Story about Playing to Win in the Gambling UnderworldGuy Martin

|summary=IIt'm s a huge fan of both football and reading, so little depressing when a book about football 34-year-old is always likely to appeal to me as the best way of combining the two. Recentlypublishing his second autobiography, I've read books set at the pinnacle of the game in [[Life with Sir Alex: A Fanbut that's Story of Ferguson's 25 Years at Manchester United by Will Tidey]] what this book is, and about one manMartin proves he's struggle to bring football to a foreign land in [[Bamboo Goalposts by Rowan Simons]]certainly not short on material. ''Up'' ''Pohnpei'The author, for those of you who don' t know, is firmly a mechanic who dabbles in TV presenting and motorcycle racing, though it's the latter categoryfor which he will be most well-known. As an F1 widow to a boy who likes all things fast, treading very similar ground to Simons' I thought he might like this bookand so, perhaps unusually, I chose it with someone else in mind but made myself read it first.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>184668501X</amazonuk>

 {{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn=Will TideyMccoy_Winner|title=Winner: My Racing Life with Sir Alex: |author=A Fan's Story of Ferguson's 25 Years at Manchester UnitedP McCoy

|summary=In his 25 years as manager any walk of Manchester United Football Clublife, there are people who are universally known by their first names alone. In flat racing, Sir Alex Ferguson has won everythingeveryone knows who 'Frankie' is and in National Hunt, most of them you need to say no more than once'A.P.' Legend is an over-used word but not when it comes to the achievements of Tony 'A.P.' McCoy. He's taken been champion jockey an unprecedented twenty times and his team to the top career record of English football with some lavish purchases4,348 wins may never be beaten. In fact, some expert man management and a ruthless dedication it's tempting to his club and his playerssay that it will ''never'' be beaten. Depending which side of He's won the fence you sit onGrand National, this has made him either the most popularIrish Grand National, or most hated, man in English footballtwo Cheltenham Gold Cups and won the Champion Hurdle three times. IUnusually for a jockey, he'm in s also been BBC Sports Personality of the latter groupYear. I'm a Liverpool fanHe achieved all this by the age of forty one when he retired from racing.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1408149516</amazonuk>

 {{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn=Mark KreidlerKrien_Night|title=The Voodoo Wave - Inside a Season Night Games: A Journey to the Dark Side of Triumph and Tumult at Maverick's|rating=4|genre=Sport|summary=Maverick's is one of the biggest, nastiest, jaw droppingly huge waves in the Pacific Ocean and as such has become something of a Mecca for the world's top surfers. Situated off the coast of Northern California its freezing cold conditions make it a far cry from the sun drenched breaks in Hawaii, Mexico and South Africa with the number of surfers adequately qualified (and fearless enough) to take on the cliff like drops probably numbering less than 100.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0393065359</amazonuk>}} {{newreview|author=Ian Ridley|title=There's A Golden Sky: How 20 years of the Premier League has changed football foreverAnna Krien|rating=4.5

|summary=Twenty years ago the Premier League was founded, changing English football irreversibly. Also 20 years agoMere mortals relax by having a game of footy of a weekend and a couple of drinks, but what does a professional sportsman do to cut loose? What do they do when they go out en masse? Investigative journalist Ian Ridley wrote the classic ''Season In The Cold'', Anna Krien looks at a snapshot rape trial of the game at the time. Since thenan Australian Rules footballer, clubs have risen just into his twenties and fallenfollows the case as it goes to court, players have become legends, and Ridley himself has become chairman interviewing some of not one but two non-league clubs – first Weymouth, from 2003-2004 (and again briefly in 2009) those directly or indirectly involved and more recently St Albans Citydigressing into related areas. In this stunning follow-up deference to Season In The Coldthe fact that the woman had automatic anonymity, Ridley explore she's chosen to give the effect that man who was charged the changes name of 'Justin Dyer' in an attempt to level the playing field, so to speak. You could Google the sport have had at all levelsfacts and come up with the correct name, but this isn't a book of gossip about particular people. It's an investigation of a culture which has increasingly treated women as sexual commodities.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1408130408</amazonuk>

 {{newreviewFrontpage|authorisbn=David Goldblatt and Johnny ActonScott_Born|title=How Born to Watch the Olympics: Scores and laws, heroes and zeros – an instant initiation to every sportRumble|author=Jeff Scott

|summary=Are you planning ''Rumble''. It's an Olympic telefest for odd word, isn't it, with that sense of a noise like thunder (or even of a motorcycle engine) ''and'' of a few weeks in July 2012? street fight between rival gangs. Are you one of Author Jeff Scott has picked the lucky people who have tickets to their chosen events? Or are you one of perfect title for his journey around various speedway venues looking at those many people who are genuinely confused by occasions when the rulescombination of brakeless bikes, adrenalin, ridiculous speeds and not a lot of space explode into a confrontation on or off the scoring and who would like to know a little more so track. It's hardly surprising that they can understand what it happens - in fact, it's all about? If so, you should look no further. We have surprising that it doesn't happen more often given the book for you. Whether you're heading for London or going no further than competitive nature of the television we have sport and the background to diva-like qualities of some of the sportstop riders.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846684757</amazonuk>

{{newreview|author=Kevin Mitchell|title=Jacobs Beach: The Mob, the Garden, and the Golden Age of Boxing|rating=5|genre=Sport|summary=Despite not being a particular fan of the sport of boxing, Kevin Mitchell's compelling knowledge of the personalities involved in the fight game in the 20th century, coupled with a staccato writing style which got my attention quickly and kept it to the very last page, meant this book actually rose far above my expectations.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0224075098</amazonuk>}} {{newreview|author=Scott Murray and Simon Farnaby|title=The Phantom of The Open: Maurice Flitcroft, the World's Worst Golfer|rating=4|genre=Sport|summary=Maurice Flitcroft was forty six when he played his first round of golf. Most golfers start on the local course and hack around until they develop some skill. Not Maurice. That wasn't his way. He borrowed some books Move on golf from the library and decided that he was going to enter the Open. Yes – the Open. No starting at the bottom and working his way up – Maurice went straight for the big one. He ran up a score of 121 and the R&A (that's Royal and Ancient if you're not a golf fan) went ballistic. It might be said that they lacked a sense of humour but golf at this level is a serious game and Maurice was banned for life.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0224083171</amazonuk>}} {{newreview|author=Susan Casey|title=The Wave: In Pursuit of the Oceans' Greatest Furies|rating=4|genre=Sport|summary=They're powerful enough to capsize unsinkable ships, wrench oil rigs from their moorings and can destroy vast swathes of coastal regions, flattening everything in their path and killing thousands of people in the process. So what is it that makes some men, and it is mostly men, go in search of these oceanic monsters? That is what Susan Casey tries to find out in this engaging, often awe inspiring and sometimes terrifying look at the world of big wave surfing.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099531763</amazonuk>}} {{newreview|author=Anthony Bateman and Jeff Hill (Editors)|title=The Cambridge Companion to Cricket|rating=4.5|genre=Sport|summary=Cricket has an international reach which can be rivaled by few other team sports, and this book looks at the history of the game going from England around the world to the other major Test-playing nations. While it's packed full of initially rather dauntingly dense prose, none of the 17 chapters are particularly long – most weighing in at a little under 20 pages – and the writing styles of all of the various authors are very accessible.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0521167876</amazonuk>}} {{newreview|author=Victoria Coren|title=For Richer, For Poorer: Confessions of a Player|rating=5|genre=Autobiography|summary=Some things are in the blood. For Victoria Coren it was cards. As a child she and brother Giles were taught to play Blackjack by their grandfather. He called it Pontoon but the most valuable lesson was that grandfather was ''always'' the dealer and ''always'' the winner. Giles played Poker but wasn't really a gambler. Victoria was one of life's risk-takers and she leant to the more adventurous side of her father's family. She was unhappy at school, preferring the company of her brother's straight-talking friends to the bitchy all-girl atmosphere at school. In the intervening twenty years she's won a million dollars, but for her it's never been about the money.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847672930</amazonuk>}} {{newreview|author=Tom Fordyce and Ben Dirs|title=We Could be Heroes: One Van, Two Blokes and Twelve World Championships|rating=5|genre=Sport|summary=Meet Ben Dirs. Apart from having one of the most unfortunate names on record, he’s a fairly laid-back guy whose daily breakfast consists of two cigarettes. Compared to Dirs, his BBC colleague Tom Fordyce – a keen amateur triathlete – looks like Daley Thompson in his prime. But Tom’s ambition of winning a worldchampionship is still completely unachievable, surely? You don’t go from BBC blogger to 100m champion, football World Cup winner, or even the number 1 snooker player on Earth, after all. On the other hand, there are some more obscure Championships out there… could these two unlikely heroes make their dreams come true, and be recognised as the best shin kickers in the world? Not if Rory McGrath has anything to do with it! In addition to the Cotswold Olympicks and their shin-kicking, Dirs and Fordyce try snail racing, wife carrying, nettle eating, and many more weird and wonderful events. The only thing they have in common is the humour which the pair see in all of them.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0230736157</amazonuk>}}[[Newest Teens Reviews]]