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The Telegraph Sports Book Awards were held on 4th June 2019 at Lord’s Cricket Ground.
A WARM WELCOME,
FROM THE HOST OF THE TELEGRAPH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 2019
I was delighted to be asked to host the Telegraph Sports Book Awards 2019, a star-studded ceremony at Lord’s Cricket Ground on 4th June. Now in its 17th year, the aim of the awards is to celebrate and shower praise upon the very best sports books and writers. Within the pages of this magazine you will find a wonderful selection of books that have been shortlisted and those that have gone on to win the awards. We hope you
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#READING FORSPORT are able to enjoy as many of the selected books featured as you can – look out for the Telegraph Sports Book Awards logo in bookshops, libraries and online. I have to make special mention of the shortlisted books in the Heartaches’ Cricket Book of the Year category. My colleague at Sky, Bob Willis, who was chair of the judging panel, tells me that all six are absolutely brilliant books and it was the strongest shortlist they have ever had. I am currently on tour with my show ‘‘On The Front Foot.’’ In the show I look back at the ups and downs of my career, erring largely towards the latter! There is much to talk about this year with both the World Cup and the Ashes on home turf and once the current tour is over I can prepare both for hosting the Ashes on Sky and the next tour of OTFF starting in October. For more information on my tour, visit my website: www.david-gower.com
B y D a v i d G o w e r, H o s t , T h e Te l e g r a p h S p o r t s B o o k A w a r d s / 3
THE TELEGRAPH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS By Jade Craddock
Sport has the power to change the world, so said Nelson Mandela. It is a lot to ask, more so today than ever, but there is no doubt that sport can inspire, surprise, delight and amaze, and has done so in what has been another incredible twelve months of sport. Twelve months that has seen two Tigers hunt down their prey at Aintree and Augusta, Lewis Hamilton become only the third man in history to claim a fifth F1 World Championship, Simone Biles the most decorated female gymnast in the history of the World Championships and Dina AsherSmith the first British woman to win a sprint treble at the European Championships. There has also been a triumvirate of French sporting successes, including the nation’s second ever World Cup win, in a tournament that made England fall in love with their national sport once more and reignite the dream of the Jules Rimet one day coming home again, a memorable Ryder Cup for Europe and a Tour de France that put Wales firmly on the sporting map. Who could forget, as well, the success of the British teams in Europe, with Liverpool, Tottenham,
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Arsenal and Chelsea creating a first in the Champions League and Europa League with both finals contested by teams from one nation. And 2019 is shaping up to be another action-packed year, with England’s women’s football team, having already won the She Believes Cup, heading to France, this summer, where they will try to secure their first ever World Cup win. Whilst Phil Neville will be leading the Lionesses across the Channel, sister Tracey will be watching over the Roses on home soil in the netball World Cup, hoping for similar success. The Cricket World Cup, too, comes to our shores, with the hosts looking to live up to their number one ranking while Australia hope to put the
“The Telegraph Sports Book
Awards shines a spotlight on the best sporting literature, many titles which may not have received the attention they deserve are brought into the limelight.
DAVID WILLIS, CHAIRMAN OF THE THE TELEGRAPH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS
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Throughout this magazine Jade Craddock takes us through the category’s shortlists and highlights the books to take note of for sports-loving dads this Father’s Day...
controversies of the previous twelve months behind them. And then, in the autumn, Europe’s women will look to equal the men’s success as they battle for the Solheim Cup, while Japan hosts the Rugby World Cup for the first time in its history. Despite all of these highs, there have, of course, been moments in the past year when sport has seemingly reached new lows, but there continues to be shining lights who lead the way in even the darkest of times. And it is sport in all of its various guises – the good, the bad and the downright ugly – that has once more provided the inspiration for some incredible sports writing, celebrated in this year’s Telegraph Sports Book Awards. With eleven categories, taking in the gamut of sporting arenas, there is something for everyone on this year’s line-up, including the current Tour de France winner, a sporting knight and a sporting dame, and a selfproclaimed ‘god’ of football. There are icons and superstars of their sports as well as lesser-known heroes, and a few villains too. There are books set in Berlin and Barcelona, Australia and New Zealand, and one that circumnavigates the world. There are opportunities to travel back in time and a chance to take a leap into the future. There are books that celebrate the good old days and those that expose the dark days, ones that revel in sporting glory and others that denounce sporting ignominy. But what unites all of the titles on the shortlists is their exceptional contribution to the genre and the insights they give readers into this most fascinating of worlds.
What unites all of the titles on the shortlists is their exceptional contribution to the genre and the insights they give readers into this most fascinating of worlds...
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AND THEY’RE KNOCKOUTS... There is nowhere else you would see biographies on a footballer, a golfer, a rowing coach, an F1 driver and a gambler going toe-to-toe for the title…
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The Biography of the Year category is one of the most wide-ranging of the shortlists, pitting a boxer, a footballer, a rowing coach, a golfer, an F1 driver and a gambler against one another. While Tiger Woods, Lionel Messi, Kimi Raikkonen and Rocky Marciano are obvious, but nonetheless deserving, subjects for biographies in books by Jeff Benedict & Armen Keteyian (Tiger Woods), Jordi Punti (Messi: Lessons in Style), Kari Hotakainen (The Unknown Kimi Raikkonen) and Mike Stanton (Unbeaten) respectively, Hugh Matheson and Christopher Dodd’s account of Olympic rowing coach Jurgen Grobler (More Power) and Jamie Reid’s portrayal of Patrice des Moutis, a notorious French gambler (Monsieur X), reveal the variety of sports stories out there waiting to be uncovered by these incredible biographers.
BIOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR SHORTLIST
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THE HEARTACHES’ CRICKET BOOK OF THE YEAR SHORTLIST
A turbulent twelve months for international cricket has seen one of the sport’s greatest modern controversies and this fall from grace is reflected in several of the contenders for the Heartaches’ Cricket Book of the Year, with both Geoff Lemon (Steve Smith’s Men) and Mark Peel (Playing the Game?) picking up on the shadier side of the ‘gentleman’s game’, whilst Derek Pringle (Pushing the Boundaries: Cricket in the Eighties) and Shane Warne (No Spin: My Autobiography) give their own takes on the ups and downs of the game. Stephen Fay and David Kynaston look at cricket from a different angle, that of broadcasting and the contribution of legendary commentators Arlott and Swanton in their book Arlott, Swanton and the Soul of English Cricket, whilst Simon Wilde has produced a behemoth of a book as he provides a definitive history of English cricket in England: The Biography. 8 \
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PLAYING THE CRICKET’S TARNISHED IDEALS From Bodyline to present
A shortlist ranging from personal highs and lows to the history of a nation and exploring the shadier side of the ‘gentleman’s game’…
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British cycling once again saw itself at the head of the pack last year but which of these will take the lead?
FROM THE PELETON TO THE PAGE 10 \
CYCLING BOOK OF THE YEAR SHORTLIST
British cycling once again saw itself at the head of the pack last year when Geraint Thomas pedalled to victory in the Tour de France, so it is no surprise that his autobiography The Tour According to G lines up in this year’s race for Cycling Book of the Year. But alongside him are three-time road race World Champion Peter Sagan with his autobiography My World and endurance cyclist Marc Beaumont with his book Around the World in 80 Days, as well as Peter Cossins who gets inside the tactics of racing in Full Gas, Edward Pickering who examines the biggest one-day bike race in the world in The Ronde, and William Fotheringham who looks at the inspiration and process behind the film A Sunday in Hell in his book of the same name.
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A LIST OF BOOKS THAT TACKLE FOOTBALL’S TOUGHEST TOPICS These books draw a composite portrait of football which was as rich and compelling as could be hoped for, even when it concentrated on the flaws of its subject. Perhaps especially so, in fact.
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THE FOOTBALL BOOK OF THE YEAR
Judg ed by the Football Writer s’ A s s ociation B y P h i l i p p e A u c l a i r, F o o t b a l l B o o k o f T h e Ye ar Ju dg in g C h air m a n A good friend, himself a well-known football writer, recently told me he’d noticed that very few books (if any) he’d seen published over the past year were celebrations of the game we love. I had to agree with him: lyricism is harder to conjure up when so much of our time’s coverage of football is characterised by hype and manufactured enthusiasm; consequently, writers will naturally be wary of falling in those particular traps. But is it really such a bad thing? After spending the last twelve months reading through another plentiful crop of titles, I’d say: no, not at all. 2018 was not the most exuberant of vintages in football publishing, perhaps. But it certainly is a ‘keeper’, with density, balance, great depth and superb ageing potential. And, as has become the happy norm, there was no lack of deserving candidates for a place on our final shortlist, to the extent that we felt we had to open it to eight books, not six as was originally planned (from a longlist of twelve), and this, despite the
decision we’d taken not to consider autobiographies this time round. The first thing which struck me when we sat down to make our selection was how diverse our list was in terms of themes, tone and style, in which it was a faithful reflection of how ‘football writing’ had come to mean something quite different from what the reading public would have expected not so long ago. Those books (and many, many more which we had to leave behind, sometimes with genuine regret) drew a composite portrait of football which was as rich and compelling as could be hoped for, even when it concentrated on the flaws of its subject. Perhaps especially so, in fact. State of Play: Under the Skin of the Modern Game, by Michael Calvin, for example, was not a comfortable read, but many will feel a necessary one. Sebastian Abbot’s The Away Game: The Epic Search for Football’s Next Superstars, which tells a fascinating global story, that of scouting for new talent, through the
experiences of three young African footballers, also had a dark side. But there was humour, too, in the jaw-dropping story of football’s most brazen imposter Carlos Kaiser, The Greatest Footballer Never To Play Football, by Rob Smyth, and in the delectable anecdotes compiled by Jon Henderson in his When Footballers Were Skint, a book which, beyond its entertainment value, will also provide tomorrow’s football historians with a priceless picture of what English football was before the abolition of the maximum wage, as told by the men who played it then. There was also proof that it was possible to take a ‘big’ subject headon and, thanks to extensive research, an eye for telling facts and a gift for synthesis as well as the knack to weave a page-turning narrative, to deliver books that told us something new about the world’s most popular football league (The Club, How The Premier League Became The Richest, Most Disruptive Business In Sport, by Joshua Robinson and Jonathan Clegg) and two of its epoch-defining characters (The Barcelona Legacy: Guardiola, Mourinho and the Fight For Football’s Soul, by Jonathan Wilson). These writers had not given themselves the easiest of tasks, to say the least; but we felt they had succeeded, quite brilliantly, in their ambitions. This applied to all of the short-listers, of which the remaining two are non-
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“These writers had not given themselves the easiest of tasks, to say the least; but we felt they had succeeded, quite brilliantly, in their ambitions.
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British writers, American investigative journalist Ken Bensinger, author of Red Card: FIFA and the Fall of the Most Powerful Men in Sports, a thriller of surprising emotional depth about football’s greatest-ever corruption scandal, and German writer Uli Hesse, whose Building the Yellow Wall: The Incredible Rise and Cult Appeal of Borussia Dortmund superbly - and quite lyrically, at times! - caught the story of almost everyone’s favourite ‘second club’, it seems. So yes, 2018 was another vintage year for football publishing. We had to come to a final choice, which was announced at the ceremony on the 4th June. Head to page 32 to find out who was chosen; but I’ll leave you with this: it so happens that this final choice reflected the wishes of our late Committee Chair Vikki Orvice, who died on 6th February of this year, Vikki whose notes had been passed on to me by her husband Ian Ridley, and whom no-one else had read. There could not have been a more fitting end to the process than this. By Philippe Auclair, Football Book of The Year Judging Chairman
KICK OFF YOUR SUMMER WITH ONE OF THESE READS
FOOTBALL BOOK OF THE YEAR SHORTLIST
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THE HEINEKEN RUGBY BOOK OF THE YEAR Judg ed by the Rug by Union Writer s’ Club
SHORTLIST The most complete list of required reading for the teams and fans heading out to Japan in the autumn
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With the Rugby World Cup now just a matter of months away, the Heineken Rugby Book of the Year category offers a timely selection of incredible rugby writing, from a celebration of the domestic game in Jonathan Bradley’s examination of Ulster in The Last Amateurs to the international game in Ben Ryan’s Sevens Heaven. Also on the shortlist is the autobiography of rugby commentator, Ian Robertson – Rugby: Talking a Good Game, as well as speculative fiction by Michael Aylwin – Ivon. Peter Bills’ The Jersey, which professes to give the secrets behind the success of the All Blacks, may perhaps be required reading for the teams heading out to Japan in the autumn. Although it is Doddie Weir’s autobiography, My Name’5 Doddie, that puts sport into perspective.
MAKE SURE YOU GET A CHANCE TO READ THEM MAUL
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THE GETTY IMAGES ILLUSTRATED BOOK OF THE YEAR SHORTLIST
For those who prefer to see sport captured through imagery, the Getty Images Illustrated Book of the Year category brings together some of the most beautiful and original visualisations of sport, and it is football, Formula 1 and equestrianism that dominate the shortlist, with histories of some of the most iconic football strips (International Football Kits – John Devlin) and badges (The Beautiful Badge – Martyn Routledge & Elspeth Wills), a photographic journey into the life of one of the most renowned modern football stars (I Am Football – Zlatan Ibrahimovic), a celebration of Formula 1 in the 70s and 80s (Waiting – Richard Kelley) and of the double World Champion Jim Clark (Jim Clark: The Best of the Best – David Tremayne), and two titles catching the majesty of that most iconic of sporting creatures, the horse (The Sporting Horse – Nicola Jane Swinney & Bob
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Langrish MBE and A Year in the Frame – Edward Whitaker). There is also an insight into one of the oldest rowing clubs in the world in Leander Club: The First 200 Years edited by Anthony Fiennes Trotman.
BEAUTIFUL BOOKS THAT KEEP YOU FOCUSSED
Bringing together some of the most original visualisations of sport… / 19
ALL READING IS GOOD FOR YOUR HEART BUT THESE BOOKS GO THAT EXTRA MILE HEALTH AND FITNESS BOOK OF THE YEAR SHORTLIST To recognise the phenomenal growth of books published on health and fitness the Telegraph Sports Book Awards have set up a new category celebrating the books helping to inspire and motivate you to achieve your fitness goals
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A new addition to the line-up for the 17th Sports Book Awards is the Sports Health and Fitness Book of the Year, which pulls together some of the most motivational and inspirational of sports writing. Two of Britain’s most successful Olympians, Sir Chris Hoy and Dame Kelly Holmes, offer readers practical exercise advice in How to Ride a Bike and Running Life respectively, whilst three-times Six Nations winner James Haskell and top sports performance chef Omar Meziane provide nutrition advice in Cooking For Fitness. BBC presenter Louise Minchin’s Dare to Tri, endurance runner Vassos Alexander’s Running Up That Hill and journalist Bella Mackie’s Jog On: How Running Saved My Life, each offer their own inspiring sporting story.
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THE SPORTING CLUB GENERAL OUTSTANDING BOOK OF THE YEAR SHORTLIST The General Outstanding Sports Writing Award pitches books about a footballing superstar against an amateur swimmer, the Berlin Olympics against Formula 1, and the emotional power of sport against the commercial drive. Toby Vintcent’s The Ringmaster offers something for fans of fiction with a fastpaced thriller set in the world of Formula 1. Firmly set in real life, Oliver Hilmes casts the spotlight on one of the most historic Olympic games in Berlin 1936: Sixteen Days in August. Simon Barnes’ Epic looks at some of the incredible sporting moments of recent history, whilst Ed Warner considers the financial side of sport in Sport Inc. Why Money is the Winner in the Business of Sport. While Sir Michael Parkinson offers a memoir of one of the most famous names in the world of sport – George Best, Tom Gregory’s A Boy in the Water looks at the life of an ordinary 22 \
This category covers sport in its entirety, reaching the heights and plumbing the depths of sporting potential
OUTSTANDING BOOKS GOING FOR GOLD boy who achieves something extraordinary. This category, in particular, covers sport in its entirety, reaching the heights and plumbing the depths of sporting potential.
A shortlist of books that serves some of the most incredible moments of recent sporting history
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AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR SHORTLIST
Six titles battle it out for the prestigious Autobiography of the Year. Cricket fans will be delighted by Moeen Ali’s life story – Moeen, which shows how a boy from Birmingham rose to the top of the game. Charlotte Dujardin’s The Girl on the Dancing Horse reveals the dedication of a young girl who went on to become a triple Olympic gold medallist. Fans of motorsport will enjoy reading Jonathan Rea’s incredible journey to becoming four-times Superbike World Champion in Dream. Believe. Achieve. My Autobiography, whilst there’s something for all football fans, from the laugh-out-loud memoir by Peter Crouch, How To Be A Footballer, to the starkly honest account of Kevin Keegan, My Life in Football, and the emotional minefield that is the story of Paul Ferris in The Boy on the Shed. 24 \
SPORTING STORIES TO INSPIRE
Jade Craddock gives her take on the Autobiography of the Year shortlist - see what she thought of this exceptional collection in her reviews...
If there’s one sports star to challenge expectations it’s Peter Crouch, who has made a career out of defying pre-conceptions, so it should come as little surprise that his autobiography breaks the mould, though just how much so is genuinely refreshing. He steers clear of the Shakespearean drama of the rags to riches tale, instead choosing brilliantly irreverent snapshots of the craziness that is life as a modern footballer, not shying away from poking fun at himself and the industry. Indeed, he’s often the butt of his own jokes in a way that seems so far removed from the image of the uber-professional, uber-serious athlete that we often perceive, and it’s a really great reminder that there’s an individual behind the sports star. His tales of the inner world of football are genuinely brilliant and it’s nice to have a different light shed on this usually behind-closed-doors universe and what is great is that even if you don’t necessarily count yourself as a fan of Crouch – or even football – this book works because it is so accessible and droll. In many ways, it’s probably the most accessible sports autobiography I’ve read. The result of the collaboration between Crouch and ghostwriter Tom Fordyce is a brilliantly vivid and engaging sports book and the portrait of a footballer who really is larger than life.
Regardless of the sport, elite performers share a determination, focus and hunger that unites them all and Jonathan Rea is no exception. There is no denying that Rea’s character has driven him on to his world titles and record-breaking feats, with both a clear hunger to win and a tenacity to overcome obstacles, not least the catalogue of injuries that come with the territory. Indeed, his career could have very nearly ended before it began, when he suffered a broken femur as a seventeen-year-old only just making his way, but such is the ambition that drives elite sportspeople like Rea that he just got to work and pushed on. The dangers of the sport though are never far from the action, and the acknowledgements of competitors and team-mates lost to the sport remind readers, if ever such a reminder was needed, of the fine margins and devastating consequences of motorsport. It also highlights the courage and nerve of those involved. Reading this autobiography gave me a sense of Jonathan Rea but more so gave me a greater appreciation of the sport and the similarities and differences that define it in relation to the more traditional elite sports.
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This is one of the most distinctive tales I have ever read. It is a sports autobiography in which sport is not the subject’s be all and end all. In fact, Ferris comes across as a reluctant footballer in his early years and seems to understand even at a young age that old adage that there’s more to life than football. Indeed, his concern in his youth is for his mother, who suffered a heart attack when he was still in his formative years that led him to have a fierce watchfulness over her that gave root to his climbing on the shed to be able to see her in the kitchen at all times that gives the book its unique title. Ferris’s love for his mother bursts from the page and with so many discussions in recent years about masculinity, it is a thing of beauty to see a son so honest and open in his feelings. He treats the issues of homesickness, loneliness and doubt with a similar searing honesty, highlighting the difficulties of being a young footballer, moving away from home and family and entering a very masculine and competitive culture. It’s a side of football that has long gone ignored but one which demands greater attention and support. And mention must be given here to his skills as a writer, because there is something lyrical, almost poetic, at times to his writing. The Boy on the Shed is an impressive and important contribution not only to non-fiction but to wider discussions about football and masculinity.
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This book gives great insight into both Moeen the cricketer and Moeen the man and what comes across is not only a dedicated sportsman but a down-to-earth, loyal, devout, good-humoured, family-oriented person. On the field, the book naturally follows Moeen’s cricketing story from the very beginning, and it’s a reminder of just how great a player he is. Individual matches are dissected and crucial innings detailed yet I felt it was the story of his humble cricketing roots in Birmingham on a tarmac surface with milk crates as wickets, a place to which he returns every year for a ten-over-a-team tournament, that sums Moeen Ali up. There are eye-opening stories about the criticism and discrimination he has endured, yet throughout it all the passion with which he speaks about playing for England is undeniable and infectious. There are also lovely stories about his family, not only the sacrifices they made and their determination to help him fulfil his dream of being a cricketer but also about his multicultural background, of which he rightly speaks proudly and ardently. So too does he discuss the matter of religion, and his expression of his faith is admirable. Most notable is the positive influence Islam has had not only on shaping Moeen’s personal qualities but his professional and sporting attributes too and I felt the autobiography really helped in terms of tackling the misconceptions and uncertainties that still sometimes surround Islam. Moeen’s story is one that celebrates diversity, inclusion and faith as well as hard work and dedication and he comes across as a role model in a way that not all sports stars necessarily do.
Depending on your age, Kevin Keegan is either a Liverpool legend, a Newcastle legend or that guy who called out Sir Alex Ferguson in a live interview that has become the stuff of legend. But whether you think you know Kevin Keegan or not reading his autobiography will almost certainly make you think again. Not only does it reflect on the early years before his fame and his unconventional route to the top that is less well-documented than his subsequent successes but it also shows in a starkly frank way the situations Keegan found himself in behind the scenes, especially as a manager, and they make for some very interesting reading. Indeed, if there is one thing that this autobiography is it is honest – often unflinchingly so, which is commendable and eye-opening. It sheds entirely new light on some of the characters, clubs and stories behind some of the most iconic moments in Keegan’s career and he doesn’t hold back when he feels there are injustices that need to be accounted for. But, admirably, he’s quick also to acknowledge his own failings. This autobiography really does put Keegan’s achievements into perspective and reminds readers of the footballing significance of a player and manager who has become something of a myth in recent years. And just like that infamous interview, Keegan’s book brims with that same forthrightness and tenacity.
As for many, I suspect, Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro came to my attention during London 2012, when Charlotte riding on Valegro grabbed the world’s notice and turned the nation into dressage fans practically overnight, becoming as the title of the autobiography attests ‘the girl on the dancing horse’. There’s something of the fairy tale in that title, and there’s certainly a fairy tale arc to Charlotte’s incredible life story, which sees her go from a little girl of three with a love for horses to multiple world record and triple Olympic gold medallist. Indeed, Dujardin is one of only five athletes to win two gold medals at London 2012, alongside Sir Chris Hoy, Sir Mo Farah, Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny. In addition, she is eleventh on the list of all-time British Olympic gold medal winners, behind only the likes of multi-event sports stars such as Hoy and Farah, and Redgrave and Pinsent. But as much as Dujardin’s achievements sound like something out of a fairy tale, the journey to realising them is less about waving a magic wand and more about Dujardin’s dedication and diligence to her sport. All athletes are necessarily hardworking and dedicated, but what struck me in this autobiography was the absolute devotion Charlotte has given to the cause, which comes across not only in the details she shares of her training and competition but also the passion and focus with which the sport is treated in the autobiography. Other matters of life outside dressage are touched on, but it is clear Charlotte’s world revolves around her love of horses and the sport.
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THE PERFECT GIFT FOR A SPORTS-LOVING DAD THIS FATHER’S DAY
With Father’s Day just around the corner, this year’s Sports Book Awards offers something for every dad and grandad (there’s something for sporting mums too and sports fans in general), from the fitness fanatics who will find advice in books by Dame Kelly Holmes and James Haskell, to armchair fans who can take their pick from books on football, cricket, rugby, boxing, golf, rowing and much more. Those after a quick and enjoyable read need look no further than Peter Crouch’s autobiography and Michael Parkinson’s memoir of George Best, whilst those wanting to delve deeper into sport can turn to Simon Wilde’s impressive biography of English cricket. For those clamouring for a bit of nostalgia, Mike Stanton’s biography of Rocky Marciano and Oliver Hilmes’ reflection on the 1936 Olympics will tick the box, whilst those looking to read something more contemporary 28 \
16th June
FATHER’S DAY will find a very modern sports book in Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s I am Football, and for something even more forward-thinking there’s Michael Aylwin’s sci-fi sports novel, Ivon, set in 2144. Those seeking to read inspirational stories will be spoilt for choice, with offerings from Tom Gregory, Bella Mackie, Vassos Alexander, Mark Beaumont, Doddie Weir and more, whilst those wanting to see the other side of sport will find fascinating accounts of corruption, exploitation and dishonour in books by Geoff Lemon, Mark Peel, Michael Calvin and Ed Warner. Whatever your sport of choice and reading taste, there really is something for everyone. There’s no excuse – get reading for sport.
#READING FORSPORT
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THE TELEGRAPH SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR WINNERS 2019
Tiger Woods by Jeff Benedict & Armen Keteyian
Arlott, Swanton and the Soul of English Cricket by Stephen Fay & David Kynaston
In 2009, Tiger Woods was the most famous athlete on the planet, living what appeared to be the perfect life. But he had been living a double life – one that exploded in the aftermath of a late-night crash and sent his personal and professional life off a cliff. Acclaimed journalists Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian track the Shakespearean rise and fall of this icon to answer: who is Tiger Woods? An extraordinary biography, sweeping in scope and packed with ground-breaking details this is the definitive book about a true sporting legend.
A fascinating account of how two BBC broadcasters battled for the soul of English cricket during a time of great social change. The middle-class Swanton and workingclass Arlott both typified the contrasting aspects of post-war Britain and the way both it and the game they loved was to change. As England moved from a classbased to a more egalitarian society, nothing stayed the same – including professional cricket. Wise, lively and filled with rich social and sporting history, Arlott, Swanton and the Soul of English Cricket shows how these two very different men battled to save the soul of the game as it entered a new era.
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LOOK OUT FOR WINNERS STICKERS IN BOOKSHOPS, ONLINE AND IN LIBRARIES
Full Gas by Peter Cossins So how do you win a bike race? How do you cope with crosswinds, cobbles, elbows-out sprints, weaving your way through a teeming peloton? Why are steady nerves one of the best weapons in a rider’s arsenal and breakaway artists to be revered? Where do you see the finest showcase of tactical brilliance? Peter Cossins takes us on to the team buses to hear pro cyclists and directeurs sportifs explain their tactics: when it went right, when they got it wrong – from sprinting to summits, from breakaways to bluffing. Hectic, thrilling, but sometimes impenetrable – watching a bike race can baffle as much as entertain. Full Gas is the essential guide to make sense of all things peloton.
Sevens Heaven by Ben Ryan with Tom Fordyce The incredible story of how one man inspired a nation of underdogs to achieve sporting greatness. In late 2013 Ben Ryan, a red-haired, 40-something, spectaclewearing Englishman, is given 20 minutes to decide whether he wants to coach Fiji’s rugby sevens team, with the aim of taking them to the nation’s first-ever Olympic medal. Ryan says yes. And with that simple word he sets in motion an extraordinary journey which ends in Rio with a performance that not only wins Olympic gold but reaches fresh heights for rugby union and makes Ben, and his 12 players, living legends back home.
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Not even a penalty shoot-out could seperate these two books! So, unbelievably this year there are two winners of the Football Book of the Year
Building the Yellow Wall by Uli Hesse Towards the beginning of the twenty-first century, Borussia Dortmund were on the verge of going out of business. Now they are an international phenomenon - one of the most popular clubs and fastest-growing football brands in the world. Every fortnight, an incredible number of foreigners eschew their own clubs and domestic leagues and travel to Dortmund to watch football, while people from all corners of the world dream of doing the same - of standing on the largest terrace in the world, the Yellow Wall. Building the Yellow Wall tells the story of Dortmund’s roller-coaster ride from humble beginnings and lean decades to the revolution under Jürgen Klopp and subsequent amazing success and popularity. But it also tells the story of those people who have done as much for the club’s profile as any player, coach or chairman - Dortmund’s unique supporters. Uli Hesse’s winning book is the definitive story of the rise of Borussia Dortmund.
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Red Card by Ken Bensinger The story of FIFA’s fall from grace has it all: power, betrayal, revenge, sports stars, hustlers, corruption, sex and phenomenal quantities of money, all set against exotic locales stretching from Caribbean beaches to the formal staterooms of the Kremlin and the sun-blasted streets of Doha, Qatar. In Red Card, investigative journalist Ken Bensinger takes a journey to FIFA’s dark heart. He introduces the flamboyant villains of the piece – the FIFA kingpins who flaunted their wealth in private jets and New York’s grandest skyscrapers – and the dogged team of American FBI and IRS agents, headed by Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who finally brought them to book. A wild, gritty, gripping, and at times blackly comic story, Red Card combines worldclass journalism with the pace of a thriller.
The Beautiful Badge by Martyn Routledge & Elspeth Wills Running Life by Dame Kelly Holmes Running Life is an inspirational and attainable guide to how mindfulness, excercise and diet - the ‘Big Three’ as Dame Kelly terms them - interlink to transform your overall wellbeing. Divided into three sections, Mindfulness & Emotional Wellbeing, The Benefits of Exercise & Movement and Foods to Perform, this book will teach you how to make positive changes to your life and empower yourself, with each chapter featuring numerous tips from Dame Kelly. Use your mind to reach emotional wellbeing with easy-to-follow mindfulness exercises, keep your body strong with the monthly movement plan, which includes running, strength and flexibility exercises, and learn which foods best nourish your body with 5 ways to improve the way you eat. Drawing on her own experience, Dame Kelly guides you through how to harness your mind and reap the benefits of good food and exercise.
The Beautiful Badge tells the fascinating story behind the UK’s football club badges, from 1860s hand-embroidered symbols on home-knitted jerseys to today’s multi-million pound brands. The book not only covers hammers, cannon and Liver birds but also reveals the link between Peterhead FC and Viz comic; which TV celebrity designed Aldershot Town FC’s badge; and whose £10 doodle became the opposition’s badge. Some clubs have sported ten or more different badges over the decades, ranging from their town’s coat of arms to cartoon insects and initials. Promotion, moving to a new stadium or an owner with controversial views often results in a new badge. The book plots the influence of fashion, technology and fans, and investigates the tensions between clubs and supporters over changes to their beloved badge. Do you know why your club’s badge looks the way it does? The Beautiful Badge is essential reading for football enthusiasts, historians, designers and anyone who enjoys putting their feet up in the boot room.
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Berlin 1936 by Oliver Hilmes
The Boy on the Shed by Paul Ferris
For sixteen days in the summer of 1936, the world’s attention turned to the German capital as it hosted the Olympic Games. Seen through the eyes of a cast of characters – Nazi leaders and foreign diplomats, athletes and journalists, nightclub owners and jazz musicians – Berlin 1936 plunges us into the high tension of this unfolding scene. Alongside the drama in the Olympic Stadium and the triumph of Jesse Owens, Oliver Hilmes takes us behind the scenes with a poignant portrait of the lives of ordinary Berliners. During the sporting events the dictatorship was partially put on hold and, within this captivating account, Hilmes offers a last glimpse of the vibrant and diverse life in Berlin in the 1920s and 30s; a life the Nazis would soon destroy.
The Boy on the Shed is a story of love and fate. At 16, Paul Ferris becomes Newcastle United’s youngest-ever first-teamer. Talented and carefree on the pitch, shy and anxious off it, he earns a tilt at stardom only for injury to ensure his promise went unfulfilled. His first spell at Newcastle turns sour, as does his return as a physio, although obtaining a Masters degree shows him what he could achieve away from football. When Paul qualifies as a barrister, a career in Law beckons. Instead, a craving to prove himself in the game draws him back to St James’ Park as part of Alan Shearer’s management triumvirate – with unfortunate consequences. Written with brutal candour, dark humour and consummate style, former footballer and Newcastle United physiotherapist Paul Ferris’s memoir The Boy on the Shed is a riveting and moving account of a life less ordinary.
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THE TELEGRAPH OVERALL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR WINNER
The overall winner is selected from all the award category winners by an independent judging panel.
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The 2019 Telegraph Sports Book Awards have championed an astounding collection of books; from moving accounts of lifelong love affairs with sports in The Boy on the Shed to the life of a sporting icon in Tiger Woods, the rollercoaster story of Borussia Dortmund in Building the Yellow Wall and the shocking tale of FIFAs fall from grace in Red Card. A definitive guide to all things peloton in Full Gas and the inspiring account of how one man’s decision to take a risk led to sporting greatness in Sevens Heaven. To the battle for the soul of English cricket in Arlott, Swanton and the captivating account of the Nazi Olympics as told through the voices of those who were there in Berlin 1936. To Dame Kelly Holmes’ guide to harnessing your mind and reaping the benefits of good food and exercise in Running
“
It’s one of the best rugby (and possibly sports) books I’ve ever read.
”
ALAN PEARY, CHAIRMAN OF THE HEINEKEN RUGBY BOOK OF THE YEAR JUDGING PANEL
Life and Elspeth Wills and Martyn Routledge’s fascinating insight into the story behind football club’s badges in The Beautiful Badge; they make for a stellar team. Yet from this golden pool of winners the judges of the Telegraph Sports Book Awards had the unenviable task of crowning an Overall Sports Book of the Year. After much deliberation they came to a clear consensus and are happy to announce the 2019 Telegraph Overall Sports Book of the Year is the incredible Sevens Heaven by Ben Ryan with Tom Fordyce. Chair judge of the Heineken Rugby Book of the Year panel Alan Peary comments “It’s one of the best rugby (and possibly sports) books I’ve ever read. The book relays Ben’s three years in Fiji and sheds a fascinating
light on the issues (poverty, culture, politics, etc) affecting Fijian rugby and how he turned such a hugely gifted but poorly prepared group of players into back-to-back World Series champions and Olympic Gold Medallists.” Sevens Heaven recounts the extraordinary journey Ben Ryan and his team went on that encompasses witchdoctors and rugby-obsessed prime ministers, sun-smeared dawns and devastating cyclones, intense friendships and bitter rows, phone taps and wild nationwide parties. It is a tale that ends in Rio with a performance that not only wins Olympic gold but reaches fresh heights for rugby union and makes Ben and his 12 players living legends back home. It is an uplifting and inspiring tale; powerful for all.
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SPORTS BESTSELLER OF 2018 WINNER
How to be a Footballer by Peter Crouch The Telegraph Sports Book Awards would like to give special recognition to Peter Crouch’s laugh-out-loud funny How to Be A Footballer and its astounding success selling well over 100,000 copies. Peter Crouch has been 38 \
a professional footballer for 20 years, has 42 England caps, scored over 100 Premier League goals and holds the record for the most headed goals in Premier League history. He’s been promoted, relegated, won trophies, gone months without scoring, been bought, sold, loaned and abused - and loved almost every moment of it. In How To Be A Footballer he takes you into the most baffling worlds of all, the world
This Award is to give special recognition to Peter Crouch’s How to Be A Footballer and its astounding success selling well over 100,000 copies.
of professional football. A world where one team-mate comes to training in a bright red suit with matching top-hat, cane and glasses, without any actual glass in them, and another has so many sports cars they forget they have left a Porsche at the train station. Even when their surname is incorporated in the registration plate.
before a game, to discover why a load of millionaires never have any shower-gel, and to hear what Cristiano Ronaldo says when he looks at himself in the mirror. From “one of the funniest human beings on the planet� comes a ceaselessly entertaining book that looks wryly at the ludicrousness of the modern game.
He takes you with him into the dressing-room, to find out which players refuse to touch a football / 39
T h e Sport in g Club Pre sents In A ssociat ion wit h t h e NSPCC
THE INAUGURAL Sports Awards Gala DinNer
28th November 2019
the Royal Lancaster Hotel Lancaster Terrace, Bayswater, London, W2 2TY.
Event includes: CHampagne Reception • Three Course dinner Small Auction • a Room Full of Stars Presentation of 10 Sports Awards by Major Stars to Major Stars INCLUDING: Sports Team of the Year Sportsman of the Year Sportswoman of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award
Featuring special performance:
BrIan McFadden (Westlife)
table of 10: Members £2,500 + VAT Non-Members £2,950 + VAT Individual seat: members £275 + VAT non-members £325 + VAT Dress Code: Lounge SuitS
40 \ A minimum of 40% of ticket sales plus 100% of all monies raised will be donated to the NSPCC.
1075774622, Matthias Hangst
Sport from every angle Global coverage shot by the world’s best sports photographers. Access images from all the major upcoming events and a vast sporting archive.
Contact our books team for more information gettyimages.com/sport @gettysport stephen.kirkby@gettyimages.com
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Tackling MND. Be part of the cure.
We are committed to raising funds to aid motor neuron disease research and help find a cure. We aim to raise awareness and help individuals suffering from MND live as fulfilled a life as possible.
Doddie Weir: Scotland and British & Irish Lions international rugby player, now battling MND
TEXT:
‘DODDIE’ to 70970 to donate £5 OR DONATE ONLINE AT:
myname5doddie.co.uk/donate KEEP IN TOUCH:
@MNDoddie5
myname5doddie.co.uk | Charity number: SC047871
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Fundraising, payments and donations will be processed and administered by the National Funding Scheme (Charity No: 1149800), operating as DONATE. Texts will be charged at your standard network rate. For Terms & Conditions, see www.easydonate.org
WITH ALL OUR THANKS To our fantastic judges:
Philippe Auclair Derek Barnard Jackie Beltrao Simon Brotherton Josh Burrows Orla Chennaoui Andrew Cotter Humphrey Cubbold Jill Douglas Katie Field Hugh Godwin Darren Gough Karthi Gnanasegaram Dame Katherine Grainger
Simon Halliday Adam Hathaway Laurence Howell Tony Hudd Seema Jaswal Hyder Jawad Alison Kervin Alan Pearey Rishi Persaud Darren Lewis Martin Lipton Fran Millar Belinda Moore Brian Moore
John Mullin Christine Ohuruogu Vikki Orvice Christian Radnedge Sir Tim Rice Brian Scovell Craig Slater Clare Tomlinson Annie Vernon Isabelle Westbury Richard Whitehead Bob Willis David Willis
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS & PARTNERS SPONSORED BY
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
PUBLISHED BY NB MAGAZINE
This has been produced in partnership with NB, the booklovers magazine; here to help you take note of the very best books. With content written by Managing Editor, Jade Craddock. To read extended versions of Jade’s reviews please head to nbmagazine.co.uk
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