Sporting Heroes & History

Epic Sports Bios (Lerner Sports) Shipping Oct 2020 Author: Joe Levit | RRP: $16.95 ea Publisher: Lerner Publishing Company | Release Date: 01/09/2020 Format: Paperback (pages: 32) | Age: 7 to 11 years Some athletes’ careers are so impressive that they become near-mythical figures! These biographies of the biggest superstars in sports history cover each athlete’s rise to the top and the moments that cemented their status as sports legends.

TITLE Babe Didrikson Zaharias Babe Ruth Kobe Bryant Michael Jordan ISBN 9781728413389 9781728413396 9781728419374 9781728413402 TITLE Muhammad Ali Sandy Koufax Tiger Woods Wilma Rudolph ISBN 9781728413419 9781728414751 9781728413426 9781728413433

Chronicles of Soccer in Australia

RRP: $34.99

ISBN: 978-0648407362 | Author: Peter Kunz | Release Date: 31/07/2019 Publisher: Fairplay Publishing | Format: Paperback (pages: 330) | Age: High School/Adult | Chronicles of Soccer in Australia details the development of football(or soccer as it was then known) in Australia in a period where records barely existed – from 1859 to 1949. It does so within a context of Australia’s geographic and cultural isolation, and the attitudes towards race and class. Finding some of these records has meant years of dedicated research to track clubs and games from every part of the country, presented chronologically. Peter Kunz has written a truly phenomenal account of Australia’s soccer history which is of value to the football anorak as well as those interested in Australian history in the latter part of the 19th century and first half of the 20th century. Also included is a 130 page appendix listing all clubs up to 1949, and 16 pages of black and white historical images (some never seen before).

The Aboriginal Soccer Tribe

RRP: $34.99

ISBN: 978-1925914061 | Author: John Maynard | Release Date: 13/09/2019 Publisher: Fairplay Publishing | Format: Paperback (pages: 280) | Age: High School/Adult A celebration of the journey of taken by Aboriginal sportsmen and women who forged the way for the current crop of talented players, which details the previously untold history of Aboriginal involvement with the ‘world game’. The multicultural environment of Australian soccer after World War II provided Aboriginal players with a haven from the prejudice and racism of wider Australian society. This wonderful book interweaves John’s personal narrative and expert historical and cultural understanding with links to the broader Indigenous world community. John Maynard is a Worimi Aboriginal man from the Port Stephens region of NSW and Professor of Indigenous Education and Research at the University of Newcastle.

Encyclopedia of Matildas Shipping Oct 2020

RRP: $65.00

ISBN: 978-0648133384 | Author: Andrew Howe | Release Date: 13/05/2019 Publisher: Fairplay Publishing | Format: Paperback (pages: 200) | Age: High School/Adult | The companion volume to the Encyclopedia of Socceroos by Andrew Howe (published in May 2018), this is a 100,000-word, 200-page Encyclopedia. Just like the Socceroos version, it is more than 25 years in the making by statistician Andrew Howe, who has meticulously gathered and maintained records of every match played by every woman selected for the Matildas, complemented by the work of Greg Werner from The Grassroots Football Project. It gives the cap number of every player, the number of games played, goals scored, match listing and a concise biography of each player. The Encyclopedia of Matildas is set-out in an easy-to-follow structure, with photographs where available. It is a ‘must have’ guide for any fan of the game and is a wonderful addition to the library of every Matildas’ supporter and fan of women's football.

Achieving the Impossible

RRP: $34.99

ISBN: 978-1925914085 | Author: George Tsitsonis | Release Date: 12/06/2020 Publisher: Fairplay Publishing | Format: Paperback (pages: 250) | Age: High School/Adult Only the most optimistic of supporters of the Ethniki, as Greece’s national football team is commonly known, would have dreamt of what occurred in Portugal at the 2004 European football championships. They came under the guidance of Otto Rehhagel, a disciplinarian German coach who was also an astute tactician, and went on to – literally – achieve the impossible by winning! It was one of the greatest shocks in the history of international football. This book is the story of how that happened. It is the first time the story has been told in long form in the English language and includes remarkable first-hand accounts from players, coaches and officials from the Ethniki. American journalist George Tsitsonis writes not only of how the impossible was achieved, but the pride and joy that such a ‘miracle’ brought to Greek people and the Greek diaspora around the world.

Playing for Australia

RRP: $27.50

ISBN: 978-0648133377 | Author: Trevor Thompson | Release Date: 13/12/2018 Publisher: Fairplay Publishing | Format: Paperback (pages: 264) | Age: High School/Adult Australia's football history with Asia didn't just begin in 2006 when admitted to the Asian Football Confederation. The Australian football story stretches back more than 150 years through the presence of Australians at the birth of the modern game in England. British migrants established football in Australia and the game grew with the arrival of more immigrants who became players, spectators and officials. But when the time came for the Australian game to find its own identity, and to express it through its national team, the Anglo-Australian relationship failed. Instead, it was Asia that played a key role in the development of Australia's national team in its first two decades - and Australia played a significant role in Asia. Links with Asian neighbours suggested other ways to make progress on the international stage. While Australia flirted with FIFA and Olympic football, it was clear London still called the shots. Australia's football stagnated while top Asian teams reached new heights. Trevor Thompson’s book Playing for Australia – the First Socceroos, Asia and World Football compares Australia's experience with other paths taken by football's leading nations in the Asia Pacific region, and gives an account of big matches, tournaments, and key players on and off the field in Australia and Asia up to the Second World War. When it comes to balancing Australia’s football history with geography, it’s not an issue of being British, European or Asian, but forging a uniquely Australian identity.