An introduction to the Bible's teaching on sport and a compendium of practical advice for maximising the blessings of sport while avoiding its potential dangers.
'A lovely kind of nostalgia, which colourises the black and white of yesteryear' - The Oldie Review 'He writes about them all with wonderful precision and a powerful evocation' - Radio Times 'Like my father before me, I believe that both the playing and watching of sport can teach us important lessons about ourselves by providing practical instruction in co-operation, tests of resolve and temper' For Michael Parkinson it was never really in doubt that he would spend his life in sport. His father, a fearsome fast bowler himself, indoctrinated young Michael from an early age into the Yorkshire cricket tradition and supporting Barnsley FC. All he ever wanted was to play cricket for Yorkshire and England. He rose through the ranks of Barnsley cricket along with his friends Dickie Bird and Geoffrey Boycott. But while they went on to find fame on the field, he spent the next few decades watching, writing and talking about sport. My Sporting Life is Sir Michael's love letter to sport, to the heroes and legends of his Yorkshire youth, to the characters of the international games he watched and wrote about, and to the very idea of sport itself. With warm humorous anecdotes about many icons of sport, from Shane Warne to George Best and Muhammad Ali to Fred Trueman, Sir Michael Parkinson reflects on his life writing about his one great passion.
Fast bowler, six-hitter, popular hero, one of the lads, king of the jungle - Andrew Flintoff is all of those things. Second Innings, is his searingly honest yet uplifting autobiography, Flintoff reveals unseen, surprising sides to his career and personality. The restless need to push and challenge himself that led him to take up professional boxing. The complex and troubled relationship with discipline, alcohol and authority during his exhilarating cricket career. The search for an authentic voice as a player, free from the blandness and conformity of modern professionalism. Is Flintoff the last of his kind, in any sport? Through all his highs and lows, triumphs and reversals, this book reveals a central tension. There is 'Fred' - performer, extrovert, centre of attention. Then there is 'Andrew' - reflective, withdrawn and uncertain. Two people contained in one extraordinary life. And sometimes, inevitably, keeping the two in balance proves too much. We are taken backstage, seeing the mischief and adventure that has defined Andrew Flintoff's story. Above all, we observe the enduring power of fun, friendship and loyalty - the pillars of Flintoff's career. At ease with his faults as well as his gifts, Andrew Flintoff has sought one thing, even more than success: to be himself. If you enjoyed Do You Know What?, you'll enjoy this memoir of Freddie's sporting career.
This Sporting Life offers an important view of England's cultural history through its sporting pursuits, carrying the reader to a match or a hunt or a fight, viscerally drawing a portrait of the sounds and smells, and showing that sport has been as important in defining British culture as gender, politics, education, class, and religion.
A rugby player finds fame and fortune in a bleak mining town, but he cannot outrun the emptiness he feels inside in Man Booker Prize–winning author David Storey’s seminal first novel On Christmas Eve, Arthur breaks his two front teeth. A teammate on the rugby pitch is too slow with a handoff, and instead of catching the ball, Art catches an opponent’s foot right in the mouth. When he regains consciousness, the match is almost over, but he keeps playing regardless. Where else would he go? His entire life, Art has only cared about sports and nothing grabs his attention quite like the lightning-fast violence of Rugby League. He knows it could kill him, but it also makes him feel alive. In this hard-bitten Yorkshire mining town, the warriors of the rugby pitch are treated like gods. Through the aggressive sport, Art finds money, friends, and countless women. But when his lust for violence begins to fade, will he have the courage to leave the game behind?
Collected for the first time, the remarkable profiles and investigative stories of William Nack, esteemed Sports Illustrated writer and author of Secretariat: The Making of a Champion.
Enter into the sporting life, the world of prostitutes, pimps, madams, gamblers, bootleggers, and drag queens. From the ritzy clubs, hidden speakeasies, luxurious brothels, and down-on-their-luck dives of old to the seedy massage parlours and back alleys of today, the sporting life has always intersected with the culture of African-American hoodoo, conjure, and rootwork. Now Professor Porterfield takes you into the clandestine milieu of underworld beliefs and secret practices, and shows the impact that the sporting life has on the world of magic and spirituality. With more than 150 practical spells, charms, recipes, and authentic old-style tricks, The Sporting Life pulls back the velvet curtain that has for too long concealed the life, times, and history of the demimonde. Presenting the magic of the prostitutes of the Bible, the working girls of Storyville and Memphis, the high-stakes bettors, the magnetic madams, the persuasive pimps, the cagey corner dope dealers, and members of oppressed lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and transgender communities of colour ? The Sporting Life is sure to startle your senses and thrill your heart. This exhaustively researched book blows open the hidden world of love, lust, vice, and danger that is the sporting life.
In My Sporting Heroes, one of the country's great sportsmen, Sir Ian Botham, draws up his template of what he believes makes a true sporting hero. Botham singles out the ten qualities he believes are the basic elements in any true sportsperson - bravery, passion, composure, determination, skill, leadership, instinct, dedication, humour and compassion - then highlights the sportsmen and women who he believes best demonstrate each quality, backing up his selection with personal anecdotes of his time spent with them or watching them in action. Covering a wide variety of sports and discussing admired athletes of both the past and present, from Ian Woosnam, Paul Gascoigne and Jonathan Davies to Joe Calzaghe, Lewis Hamilton and Andy Murray, My Sporting Heroes is a lively celebration of exactly what makes a true sporting legend - from someone who knows a thing or two about it!
A superstar athlete’s inspiring autobiography—from his cricket-loving youth to the diagnosis of a career-ending heart condition and its aftermath. James Taylor was born in Burrough on the Hill, Leicestershire, in 1990. A sporting phenomenon from an early age, he chose to forge a life in cricket, establishing himself as one of the country’s leading batsmen and an England regular. And then tragedy struck. In April 2016, a serious heart condition left Taylor fighting for his life in the changing room. Told he faced possible death if he played cricket, or exercised, ever again, James’s bright and brilliant career was over at the age of 26. In Cut Short, Taylor reveals his route to the top. On the way, he describes how he encountered prejudice against his size and takes us through the highs and lows of his international career, including a century against the Australians and a closeup view of the unsavory nature of David Warner. With the world at his feet, Taylor reveals just what it was like to have sporting ambition snatched away right at the point of international breakthrough. He relives in breathless detail the horrific events of the day he thought he was going to die and his desolation at watching a fine sporting career torn from his grasp. At the same time he faced a battle to rebuild his life and his future, he was getting used to a body which, on several occasions, left him fearing for his existence. That James has emerged from these dark days with courage, good humor, and renewed ambition is testament to a remarkable personality.
The life of a single mum, who was "unwanted" born, felt it all her life from parents and ex husband and escaped with her son to safe their lives. Start a new life in another country, never gave up and fight for a better life. Hope this book give others the strenght to change something, say "no" and leave when it's time and never to give up. Even you dont believe it sometimes, but it's worth it.