Steve Bierley
Hitting Back
Andy Murray Random House
OK, it's a daft title and it ends before Murray's fledgling career really began in earnest this year with his semi-final victory over Rafael Nadal at the US Open. But whatever happens from now, the book gives a reasonably clear indication of why Murray, a hugely driven individual, may become the first British man to win a grand slam title since Fred Perry in 1936. Murray craves patience from the public as he does things his way. The sequel should be far better than this prequel.
Also recommended
Tennis Confidential II
Paul Fein Potomac Books
Justine Henin: From Tragedy to Triumph
Mark Ryan JR Books
And on the DVD shelf. . .
Wimbledon: The 2008 men's final
Lawrence Donegan
Creating Classics: The Golf Courses of Harry Colt
Peter Pugh Icon Books
Golf course architecture might not be the sexiest subject in sport but it is making a comeback, largely because of the backlash against the monstrosities that have been inflicted on the game in recent years. For those who want to read about, learn about or simply look at some great courses Peter Pugh's and Henry Lloyd's study of the architect HS Colt is an absorbing pleasure. At £40 it is expensive but it is still less than the price of lunch in the clubhouse at many of the aforementioned monstrosities.
Also recommended
Bring Me the Head of Sergio García
Tom Cox Vintage
Golf on the Edge: Triumphs and Tragedies of Q-School
Ross Biddicombe Ultimate Sports Publications Ltd
Follow the Roar: One Sensational Season with Tiger Woods
Bob Smiley HarperCollins
And on the DVD shelf. . .
Seve: The Definitive Story of a Golfing Genius
Alan Henry
Mike Hawthorn: Golden Boy
Tony Bailey and Paul Skilleter
PJ Publishing
Mike Hawthorn, who became the first British formula one world champion 50 years ago, has been under-documented. He wrote two memoirs - Challenge Me the Race and Champion Year - before being killed in a road accident on the Guildford bypass in January 1959. This fine volume makes up admirably for that paucity of information.
Also recommended
Regga: The Extraordinary Two Lives of Clay Regazzoni
Christopher Hilton Haynes
Crashed and Byrned
Tommy Byrne with Mark Hughes Corinthian Books
Silvers Arrows in Camera: A Photographic Portrait
Anthony Pritchard
And on the DVD shelf. . .
The Motor Sport Digital Archive Collection
Robert Kitson
Ronan O'Gara: My Autobiography Transworld Publishers Ireland
Munster's recent story is compelling and O'Gara has been a central figure. With the assistance of Denis Walsh, this is a sweetly struck penalty of a book: revealing and hard-nosed.
Also recommended
Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation
John Carlin Atlantic Books
Tackling Life: Striving for Perfection
Jonny Wilkinson with Steve Black Headline
Seeing Red: Twelve Tumultuous Years in Welsh Rugby
Alun Carter with Nick Bishop Mainstream
And on the DVD shelf. . .
Wales Grand Slam 2008 Official Review - Collectors Edition
Kevin McCarra
Inverting The Pyramid: A History of Football Tactics
Jonathan Wilson Orion
There is nothing desiccated about this topic. The greatest tacticians, after all, are striving to bring a vision to life and sometimes succeed, whether it is unleashed in the Austria of the 1930s, Hungary in the 1950s or the Holland of the 1970s. Wilson portrays human drama as much as intellectual debate.
Also recommended
When Friday Comes: Football In The War Zone
James Montague Mainstream
Fabio Capello: Portrait of a Winner
Gabriele Marcotti Bantam Press
La parole est à la défense
William Gallas Editions du Moment
And on the DVD shelf. . .
The Official History of Celtic Football Club
Donald McRae
Boxing: A Cultural History
Kasia Boddy Reaktion Books
Boddy explains why so many great writers and artists have been fascinated by the dark lure of boxing. With a cast of characters from Daniel Mendoza, DW Griffith, and James Joyce to Joe Louis, Bob Dylan, Muhammad Ali and Public Enemy she avoids pontification to mine a riveting history.
Also recommended
More Than Just a Game: Football v Apartheid
Chuck Korr and Marvin Close Collins
Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation
John Carlin Atlantic Books
Inverting The Pyramid: A History of Football Tactics
Jonathan Wilson Orion
And on the DVD shelf. . .
The North Korea Collection
Richard Moore
In Pursuit of Glory
Bradley Wiggins Orion
This is a story of binge drinking, quirky obsessions and gold medals, including two in Beijing, but it opens with the death earlier this year of Wiggins' father. He was not a key figure in Wiggins' life but is a major, troublesome, presence.
Also recommended
When Friday Comes: Football in the War Zone
James Montague Mainstream
Inverting the Pyramid: A History of Football Tactics
Jonathan Wilson Orion
What Sport Tells Us About Life
Ed Smith Viking
And on the DVD shelf. . .
Carlos Sastre - Now or Never
Mike Selvey
Coming Back to Me: The Autobiography of Marcus Trescothick
Marcus Trescothick with Peter Hayter Harpersport
Often sporting autobiographies are self-indulgent drivel, pandering to ego and wallet. This could not be more different, a cathartic exercise by a superb cricketer rendered low by depression, a revealing account of the traumas in the latter part of his international career. A worthy winner of the William Hill prize.
Also recommended
Bob Woolmer's Art and Science of Cricket
Bob Woolmer and Tim Noakes, with Helen Moffett New Holland Publishers
Fatty Batter: How Cricket Saved My Life (then Ruined It)
Michael Simkins Ebury Press
Pundits from Pakistan
Rahul Bhattacharya Picador India
And on the DVD shelf. . .
England's Summer of Cricket 2008
Richard Williams
Rouleur Photography Annual 2008
Rapha Racing
There will never be a better year to recommend a cycling book and the one that has given me most pleasure is this album, a beautifully produced record of the European road racing scene featuring outstanding photographers - notably Camille McMillan, Taz Darling, Ben Ingham and Geoff Waugh - whose work reveals the humanity of the riders and their followers.
Also recommended
The Austerity Olympics
Janie Hampton Aurum
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
Haruki Murakami Harvill Secker
Coach: Lessons on the Game of Life
Michael Lewis W W Norton
And on the DVD shelf. . .
The Official Review of the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship
Andy Wilson
Rugby Renegade
Gus Risman Scratching Shed Publishing
King of Rugger
Lewis Jones Scratching Shed Publishing
Two releases in a new series of reprinted and updated rugby league classics, almost indivisible from the other, see below. The publishers have started with two Welsh icons of the game who came north either side of the Second World War. The originals have been augmented by tributes and, in Jones's case, a long interview with him.
Also recommended
No White Flag
Jamie Peacock The History Press
Peter Fox: The Players' Coach
Graham Williams London League Publications
The Man in the Mirror
Wayne Bennett ABC Books
And on the DVD shelf. . .
Pride of the Lions: 100 years of British Rugby League
Greg Wood
In The Frame: Great Racing Photographs
Edward Whitaker Highdown
Most print journalists will tell you that, despite what people say, a picture is really worth no more than 300 words. Whitaker's photographs, though, have tended to deliver the traditional grand's-worth throughout his 21 years at the Racing Post, and this collection is a fitting testament to his talent.
Also recommended
Better Than Sex: My Autobiography
Mick Fitzgerald with Don McLean Highdown
Of Horses And Heroes: A Racing Tribute
Brough Scott Highdown
No Easy Money: A Gambler's Diary
Dave Nevison Racing Post
And on the DVD shelf. . .
Jump Racing Review 2007/08
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