Joseph Delaney used to be an English teacher, before becoming the best-selling author of the Spook's series, which has been published in 30 countries and sold over 4.5 million copies worldwide. The first book, The Spook's Apprentice, was adapted into a major motion picture starring Jeff Bridges and Julianne Moore.

Joseph Delaney

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John Cairney

James Edward McGrory (1904-82) is a Celtic legend, remembered today as the greatest goal-scorer in the history of Scottish football. His record of 550 goals in his 15-year career at Parkhead from 1922 to 1937 is unlikely to be surpassed and will stand forever as a memorial to a player who was a typical product of the period between the two world wars. At a depressing time when wages were low and work was scarce, his feats on the field provided a welcome and much-needed escape for the thousands of ordinary, cloth-capped Scottish working men who packed the dirt terracing to cheer on every move he made. 
 
Heroes are Forever tells the full story of McGrory's life and career, and is set against the vividly drawn background of the inter-war period. It is a portrait of a loyal, modest and inspirational man who lifted the hearts of his countrymen and raised the spirits of a nation. It was he, after all, who by scoring twice for Scotland in 1933 provoked the original 'Hampden Roar'.

Heroes are Forever

The Life and Times of Celtic Legend Jimmy McGrory

'Clutching in my hand my seven copper pennies, I ran down the two flights of stone stairs from our tenement flat and through the East End to Kinloch Street, where, puffing a bit, I joined the queue of other wee boys lining up to place their coins on the brass plate above the iron turnstile, push hard against it, then climb up onto the dirt terracing and into Paradise. The rest of the world called it Celtic Park.' 
 
This is a story seen through green-and-white spectacles. It begins when nine-year-old Glaswegian John Cairney walks through the boys' gate at Celtic Park and embarks on a series of adventures that, over the years, take him all over Scotland and beyond. 
 
The Sevenpenny Gate is about a search for heroes, Celtic heroes. It is also the tale of an East End club of humble Irish origins that has developed into a worldwide brand and continues to command the devotion of its fans, even with the Celtic diaspora now spread across the globe.

The Sevenpenny Gate

A Lifelong Love Affair with Celtic FC

Jackie Turpin

Now in his 80th year, 'Battling' Jack Turpin is the last surviving member of his generation of Britain's best-known and best-loved boxing family. 
 
Jack's father, Lionel Turpin, came from British Guiana to volunteer for the British Army during the Great War. He was wounded on the battlefields of France and invalided to Warwick, the first black man to settle in the area. Lionel married a local girl but his early death left her struggling to raise their three sons and two daughters in pre-Welfare State England. 
 
As young men, the excitement and gladiatorial glamour of the ring lured Jack and his brothers into professional boxing. From a home-made backstreet gymnasium, they punched their way into the record books and into the hearts of the British people. 
 
Battling Jack is a wonderfully narrated account of the life and times of a remarkable man who was once Britain's busiest featherweight. It is also the history of the beginnings of a black presence in British boxing. Turpin offers us a ringside seat at heroic battles and comic encounters. He takes us behind the scenes of a scandal that rocked the sporting world and into his confidence about the mystery that surrounds his younger brother's death. 
 
Jack Turpin has out-stared ignorance and prejudice, tasted triumph and celebrity, and endured hardship and tragedy. Heart-rending, raw, honest and funny, his is a story that had to be told.

Battling Jack Turpin

You Gotta Fight Back

Frank Maloney

Kevin Brennan

From the streets of Peckham to the neon-lit strip of Las Vegas, Frank Maloney's life has been a roller-coaster ride that even he finds hard to believe at times. The Cockney-born son of Irish parents, who once harboured thoughts of becoming a priest, instead went on to manage Lennox Lewis for 12 years and help him become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.In No Baloney, Frank lifts the lid on the world of big-time boxing and its household names, and gives a remarkable account of his time with Lewis, revealing stories and offering opinions that can only come from a true insider. He also gives an insight into the way money, sex, drugs, politics, bribery and corruption have played their part in the sport. But Maloney's story is not just about boxing. It is also about one of life's characters, whose colourful story is told with a brand of humour and emotion that makes it compelling reading. Before settling on a career in boxing, he tried his hand at being a jockey, street trader, chef, pub landlord, cab driver and greengrocer. Along the way there have been girls, fights, a murder investigation and a broken marriage, but through it all there has also been a determination to succeed against the odds. Once dubbed a 'Mental Midget' and 'Pugilistic Pygmy' by Don King, Frank Maloney has gone on to have the last laugh over the flamboyant American promoter and over those who believed he would fail. For, above all, No Baloney is the story of a man who has been lucky enough to experience the kind of life he could not have imagined in his wildest dreams all those years ago in south-east London - and Maloney has made sure he's lived it to the full.

No Baloney

A Journey From Peckham To Las Vegas

Darragh Ó Sé

For 16 years, Darragh Ó Sé wore the number 8 jersey for Gaelic football's most celebrated county, stoking the fires in Kerry's engine room. With six All Ireland medals, he is the most decorated footballer of the modern era. 
 
Darragh's name is synonymous with his county's unrelenting appetite for success, but throughout his illustrious career he has held his counsel, allowing his football to do the talking. Until now. 
 
This is the story of a modern Kerry icon. Uncompromising, passionate and possessing a savage wit, Darragh talks openly for the first time about his life in the green and gold, and about his constant drive to succeed. 
 
Elsewhere in the book, he details his setbacks, reflects on a family tragedy and reveals how his upbringing on the fringe of west Kerry helped shape his character, steeling him for a career in the toughest position in Gaelic football. 
 
This is the story of Darragh Ó Sé - the life of a legend.

Darragh

My Story

Jack Milburn

Written by his own son, Jackie Milburn: A Man of Two Halves gives an unprecedented insight into the life and career of the legendary Newcastle United forward. To this day, 'Wor Jackie' remains the Magpies' top goalscorer, having notched up 238 goals in 492 appearances in the black-and-white shirt throughout the 1940s and '50s. Milburn also won the FA Cup with Newcastle three times in five years. 
 
Jackie Milburn delves beneath the surface glory to reveal how, in spite of his remarkable success as a player, Milburn was constantly tortured by his lack of self-belief. It details his days across the Irish Sea after becoming player/coach at Protestant Linfield FC and explains why he felt the need to move on after receiving menacing threats directed at his family. It reveals how, as newly appointed manager of Ipswich Town, he had a totally unexpected falling out with the departing England supremo, Alf Ramsey. We also learn how the pressures of work took their toll on Milburn and how he spent his post-football days working in a scrapyard, before being rescued by the world of sports journalism. 
 
Later in life, many honours continued to be bestowed upon Milburn, and when he died in 1988 huge crowds lined the streets for his funeral parade. 
 
Few people had a bad word to say about Jackie Milburn, and this candid biography, with contributions from Sir Bobby Robson and Alan Shearer, expertly demonstrates why he is still held in high esteem half a century after the peak of his career and 16 years after his death.

Jackie Milburn

A Man of Two Halves

Patrick Myler

More than the world heavyweight championship was at stake when Joe Louis fought Max Schmeling on 22 June 1938. In a world on the brink of war, the contest was projected as a test of nationalistic, racial and political ideals. It was black man against white man, a showdown between democracy and totalitarianism. 
 
No single event in the history of boxing generated as much excitement or such extremes of emotions. It was the night Louis hit a peak of fistic perfection, hardly missing a punch as he destroyed the challenger inside three brutal minutes. 
 
Following the Second World War, the two boxers' lives took contrasting turns. Louis was hounded over unpaid taxes and drifted into a hazy world of drugs, paranoia and ill health, eventually dying in 1981. Schmeling, meanwhile, became a successful businessman and remained active until his death in 2005. 
 
Ring of Hate is a gripping story of two men drawn together by their chosen profession and divided by the cruel demands of warring nations.

Ring of Hate: The Brown Bomber and Hitler's Hero

Joe Louis v. Max Schmeling and the Bitter Propaganda War

John Scally

In 100 GAA Greats, John Scally celebrates the most significant players Gaelic games have brought us in their 125-year history. He selects those footballers, hurlers, managers and camogie players who have lit up Irish sport, becoming national treasures in the process, and highlights their remarkable skills. 
 
Amongst those included in this unique who's who of the sport are Christy Ring, Mick O'Connell, Nicky Rackard, Mick Mackey, John Joe O'Reilly, Nicky English, Mickey Harte, Kevin Moran, Enda Colleran, D.J. Carey, Angela Downey, Ger Loughnane, John O'Mahony, Justin McCarthy, Colm O'Rourke, Matt Connor and Liam Griffin. 
 
Many of the profiles featured in the book are based on exclusive interviews with the stars themselves, as well as with some of their competitors. The entries offer candid insights into the many pivotal events, major controversies, epic matches and thrilling contests to have occurred during the GAA's existence. 
 
Laced with humour and packed with entertaining anecdotes, 100 GAA Greats pulsates with insider's knowledge. It will inform, entertain, enlighten, amuse and spark debate, and is a must for all GAA fans.

100 GAA Greats

From Christy Ring to Joe Canning

John Quinn

Years of tradition crashed around the ears of Celtic supporters when the Jungle was demolished and replaced by seating to conform with the Taylor Report. It might never have been the most attractive setting in which to watch football but to the fans who occupied the gentle slopes under the covered North Enclosure it was as familiar as their own living-room. To them it was the nerve-centre of all that was good about their team and about Scottish football in general. There they had gathered to witness the great dramas unfold, the star players weave their artistry, and there they experienced the nerve-jangling, magical nights as Celtic joined the ranks of great European sides in the 1960s. 
 
John Quinn spent months interviewing the people who shaped the history of the Jungle. Star players past and present describe their favourite memories and the fans themselves recall the scenes indelibly etched in their minds. Jungle Tales is an exercise in pure nostalgia. It is in many ways a book by the fans for the fans as they reminisce over past glories and long for the days when they will return.

Jungle Tales

Celtic Memories of an Epic Stand

Alan Hill

Sporting twins Alec and Eric Bedser are a remarkable duo. From humble origins at Woking to their reign as key members of the Surrey team during the magnificent succession of seven championships in the 1950s, they share a rare and precious relationship. 
 
The Bedsers is Alan Hill's engrossing study which explores the puzzles of their identical twinship. Alec Bedser was England's bowling standard bearer in the years following the Second World War. His exceptional strength and prowess yielding almost 1,924 wickets, including 236 in 51 Tests. He was at the peak of his powers in the 1953 series against Australia, when his aggregate of 39 wickets beat the previous record held by Maurice Tate. It included match figures of 14 wickets for 99 runs at Nottingham - a feat only surpassed against Australia by Wilfred Rhodes, Hedley Verity and Jim Laker. High among his other distinctions was his record against Don Bradman whom he dismissed on eight occasions. 
 
After retirement, Alex maintained his connection with cricket in fulfilling administrative duties, which included a record term as Chairman of the Test selectors. Knighted in 1997 for his services to cricket, he is the only English bowler to receive the honour.

The Bedsers

Twinning Truimphs

Roger Hermiston

Don Revie and Brian Clough were born a brisk walk away from each other in Middlesbrough, in 1927 and 1935 respectively. They were brought up in a town ravaged by the Depression and went on to become highly successful professional footballers. Then, as young managers, they both took clubs languishing in the doldrums (Leeds United and Derby County) and moulded them into championship winners. 
 
Despite the myriad similarities, these two sons of the Tees were as different in character as Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy. A bitter rivalry developed between them, which in turn enlivened and then blighted English football in the 1960s and '70s. 
 
In Clough and Revie, exclusive interviews with players, relatives and friends shed fresh light on these two intriguing characters. Part footballing chronicle, part social history, the book is a revelatory exploration of the rivalry between the two men. It brings a fresh perspective on their early years in the North-East, tells how they nearly became teammates and explains why the feud began and what its repercussions were.

Clough and Revie

The Rivals Who Changed the Face of English Football

David Walmsley

Look for a Lions legend and the chances are you will find an Irishman. Throughout the touring team's history, the heroes of Irish rugby have been at the heart of the Lions' finest hours - on and off the pitch. 
 
 Look at the Lions record books and you will find Irishmen at the top of almost every list, from Willie John McBride and Tony O'Reilly to Ronnie Dawson. No nation has provided more leaders of the Lions. 
 
 In Lions of Ireland, these greats tell their stories of life on some of the longest, hardest roads in sport. Those featured include world-class players and characters who have contributed to Lions folklore, such as Karl Mullen, Jack Kyle, Fergus Slattery, Tom Kiernan, Mike Gibson and Syd Millar - and the account is brought up to date with contributions from the likes of Keith Wood. 
 
 This book includes a complete reference section featuring every Irish player to have represented the Lions in Tests since the first united tour of 1910. It recalls the powerful personalities and relives the most dramatic deeds in the Lions' long history - from the 1971 groundbreaking triumph against the All Blacks and success against the odds in South Africa in 1997 to the 2005 tour of New Zealand.

Lions of Ireland

A Celebration of Irish Rugby Legends

J Hennessey

When Alex Higgins' first manager, John McLaughlin, bestowed the nickname 'Hurricane Higgins' on the young, feisty snooker player he had no idea just how apt it was to prove over the next thirty years. Eye of the Hurricane details a sad but uplifting story of a man who had everything to play for but now has to play hard for anything he can get. It describes Higgins, sitting fitfully on snooker's sidelines, still has a story to tell, another controversy to spark. Author John Hennessey promises a 'wart and all' account of Alex Higgin's life and that is precisely what he delivers in this thoroughly absorbing book. . . well-told but cautionary tale of how narr ow the line is between genius and insanity 'This first proper account of Higgin's life is all the more clear-eyed for being written without his co-operation.

Alex Higgins: Snooker Legend

Eye of the Hurricane

Jackie Cahill

Paddy Russell

Tipperary native Paddy Russell has been one of the leading referees in the GAA for the past 30 years. His story is a remarkable one, following his rise from humble beginnings to the pinnacle of two All-Ireland finals. 
 
Inspired by the late, great John Moloney, Russell took his first steps in refereeing in 1976. He quickly emerged as a leading light and rapidly worked his way to the top of his profession. 
 
Russell has enjoyed a successful career but it is also one laced with drama, most notably that arising from the 1995 All-Ireland senior football final between Tyrone and Dublin. Russell later took charge of the tempestuous National Football League clash between Dublin and Tyrone in 2006, which became known as 'The Battle of Omagh', and the stormy showdown between Leinster rivals Dublin and Meath in April 2008. Just two months later, Russell was in charge of the Munster senior football championship tie between All-Ireland champions Kerry and Clare when Kerry captain Paul Galvin slapped the referee's notebook from his hands, earning a three-month suspension. 
 
In Final Whistle, Russell reflects on his eventful journey, including these controversial matches, and describes vividly the stresses and strains of refereeing modern-day Gaelic games.

Final Whistle

The Paddy Russell Story

Jim Telfer

David Ferguson

Jim Telfer is one of the greats of international rugby, with a career spanning more than five decades. Looking Back . . . For Once reveals how a shepherd's son from the Borders became the major driving force in the most successful days of Scottish rugby and steered the game into the professional era. 
 
The former captain and coach of Scotland and coach of the British and Irish Lions now sets the record straight on the controversies that raged during his career. What made him lambast New Zealand rugby in its Canterbury heartland? Why did he not select his 'best-ever Scottish forward' for a Lions tour? And, in his opinion, what was the best Scotland team? 
 
Telfer has intriguing views on the current state of the game, but this is more than a rugby book. He expresses his sadness at the prospect of life without children and his subsequent delight in adopting, and reveals how his teaching career was blighted by tragedy in Glasgow but invigorated by a long-haired eccentric. 
 
With personal contributions from Martin Johnson, Colin Meads, Andy Irvine and Gregor Townsend, among many others, Telfer clearly remains one of the most widely respected men in world rugby. This is his story.

Looking Back . . . For Once

Bernard O'Mahoney

From Salford to St Louis, former professional boxer Wayne Barker fought every man who ever challenged him. In this brutally honest account of his eventful life, Wayne recounts how his parents left him in the care of the travelling community, where he learned to fight and journeyed throughout Britain and Ireland to take on opponents for cash. 
 
After being charged with attempting to murder a child killer, Wayne fled to America, where he found work in the gymnasiums of New York sparring with the likes of world champion Wilfred Benítez. His ability in the ring was noticed by promoter Bobby Gleason, whose gym had been graced by legendary boxers such as Jake LaMotta. Gleason set up a fight in Caracas between Wayne and former super middleweight world champion Fulgencio Obelmejias ('Fully Obel'). 
 
Wayne’s past eventually caught up with him and he was deported to Britain, where he served time in prison. He returned to the streets to earn a living from bare-knuckle fighting, before becoming a trainer and running a gym. Cancer claimed his life in 2012.

Wayne Barker: Born to Fight

The Extraordinary Story of a Bare-Knuckle Boxer

John Hartson

In July 2009, former Celtic and Wales soccer star John Hartson was diagnosed with testicular cancer, which had also spread to his lungs and brain. But before his treatment even began, John came to the brink of death after contracting pneumonia, ceasing to breathe and undergoing emergency brain surgery. Against all the odds, he pulled through, and in Please Don't Go he documents his incredible fight for life. 
 
Profoundly moving, John's own story is interwoven with the poignant recollections of his pregnant wife, Sarah, as well as with extracts from his sister Victoria's personal diary. This remarkable book covers the five-week period during which John's survival was most in jeopardy. 
 
John's truly inspirational account of how he has managed to overcome a very aggressive form of cancer will offer hope and courage to others affected by the disease. It is a touching and ultimately uplifting insight into the bravery of the popular football hero, who has fought back to full health in the face of adversity.

Please Don't Go

Big John's Journey Back to Life

John Burrowes

'Before Benny, nobody from the Gorbals became World Champion of anything...' 
 
Benny Lynch was Scotland's first World Boxing Champion and the most talked-about British sportsman of his generation. In fact, many consider him to be the finest fighter the country has ever produced. 
 
Benny is the amazing account of how Lynch battled his way above and beyond the 'fifty-shilling men' of his home town of Glasgow to become the champion of Scotland, Britain, Europe and the world, earning a reputation as one of the greatest pugilists of all time. But this absorbing biography also details how his career sadly came to a premature halt because of Lynch's alcoholism, which destroyed his health and led to him being abandoned by his countless followers. It took his tragic death at the age of only 33 to restore the fallen idol to legendary status again. 
 
The gritty reality of the daily grind of life in the Depression-era Gorbals is captured vividly in this remarkable story of the rise and tragic fall of a fighting legend.

Benny

The Life And Times Of A Fighting Legend

Bobby Windsor

Peter Jackson

Lions legend Bobby Windsor has enjoyed triumphs beyond the dreams of most international players but has also suffered personal tragedy. His rugby career as the best hooker in the British Isles during the second golden era of Welsh rugby in the 1970s is a turbulent tale of blood and thunder on the pitch. There are riotous incidents off the pitch, including unscheduled fights with professional boxers, revelations about illegal payments during the so-called amateur era and what Windsor did to upset the Establishment and become blackballed by one of the most famous clubs in the world. 
 
Windsor's irrepressible sense of humour comes shining through on every page, except when he gives chapter and verse on the personal crisis that drove him to plan suicide. 
 
The Iron Duke is the no-holds-barred, warts-and-all story of a working-class Welsh folk hero who rose from humble beginnings to become a permanent member of the greatest Lions team in the history of rugby union.

The Iron Duke

Bobby Windsor - The Life and Times of a Working-Class Rugby Hero

Frank McGarvey

Ronnie Esplin

During a glorious but controversial career, Frank McGarvey won every major trophy in Scottish football. Under Alex Ferguson at St Mirren in the 1970s, he inspired a young Saints team to victory in the First Division - an effort that attracted the attention of English giants Liverpool and Scotland manager Jock Stein. 
 
After a frustrating spell at Anfield, he headed back north to join boyhood heroes Celtic, with whom he won five medals in five seasons. However, he was shown the door by Davie Hay just days after scoring the winner for the club in the 1985 Scottish Cup final. 
 
McGarvey then returned to St Mirren, with whom he won the Scottish Cup two years later, and he continued his success after a move into management, helping Clyde to win the Second Division trophy. But this is only half of Frank McGarvey's story. Throughout his remarkable career and beyond, McGarvey fought and, for the most part, lost a battle with gambling, which cost him his marriage, home and self-respect. 
 
In Totally Frank, McGarvey chronicles his many highs and lows, and reveals how he finally succeeded in overcoming his gambling addiction.

Totally Frank

The Frank McGarvey Story

Eddie Turnbull

Martin Hannan

As the first British player to score a goal in European club competition in 1955, Hibs hero Eddie Turnbull holds a unique place in footballing history. In Eddie Turnbull: Having a Ball, he charts his extraordinary career and tells the story of his eventful life so far. 
 
Turnbull explains how he became one-fifth of the most celebrated forward line ever to grace Scottish football - the Famous Five of Hibernian FC - and reveals how he had to wait until he was eighty-two to be awarded his first international 'cap', despite having played for Scotland nine times throughout the forties and fifties. 
 
After his playing career ended, Turnbull achieved lasting fame as manager of Aberdeen and his beloved Hibs. 'Turnbull's Tornadoes' beat Jock Stein's Celtic side to lift the Scottish League in season 1972-73 and won the Drybrough Cup twice, in 1972 and 1973. During his decade with Hibs, Turnbull also managed George Best, and here he tells all about his turbulent time with the late great legend. 
 
In this engrossing memoir, Turnbull candidly explains why he walked away from football in 1980, recounts many entertaining behind-the-scenes stories and gives his diagnoses of the ills of the modern game.

Having a Ball

Tom Callahan

Ever since he was a two-year-old golf prodigy, Eldrick 'Tiger' Woods has often been viewed less as a human being and more as a ball-striking machine - and his carefully guarded image and emotionless persona seemed to guarantee that it would remain that way. Even after his recent bombshell adultery scandal, the public still knows very little about the man behind the golf clubs and multimillion-dollar endorsement deals. But one thing is certain: Earl Woods, Tiger's beloved and now deceased father, knew him better and influenced his life more than anyone. To know the father is to know the son. 
 
With unparalleled insight into the man who made Tiger Woods the person that he is, His Father's Son is both a detailed biography and a touching story of an intense father-and-son relationship.

His Father's Son

Earl and Tiger Woods

David Tossell

Malcolm Allison is one of the most controversial figures of the last half-century of English football. Leader of the famed 'West Ham Academy', his playing career was cut short by the loss of a lung to tuberculosis. Disillusioned, he became a professional gambler before acknowledging that football was his calling. After humble beginnings as a coach, he began a celebrated partnership with Joe Mercer, turning Manchester City into one of the most stylish teams English football has produced. 
 
 Along with the trophies came the birth of Big Mal, the larger-than-life personality who helped revolutionise televised football. He became instantly recognisable for his cigar and Fedora, and equally notorious for a string of affairs with beautiful women. 
 
 As the dark side of Big Mal took over, he was banned for life from the touchlines, became embroiled in a series of boardroom battles and spent time in police cells and rehabilitation clinics fighting the effects of alcoholism. Yet despite the often-destructive effect of his Big Mal persona, Malcolm Allison retains his status as one of the most incisive minds to have graced the game. This book tells both sides of the story, tracing the life and times of one of the most charismatic characters in British sport.

Big Mal

The High Life and Hard Times of Malcolm Allison, Football Legend

John Robertson

John Lawson

The unprecedented success of Nottingham Forest under master manager Brian Clough is one of the greatest stories in football folklore. Winning the European Cup in 1979 and 1980 were the remarkable highlights of that era in the club's history. And the player at the heart of those Forest glories was winger John Robertson, who fashioned the goal that conquered Europe a first time and then scored the match-winner as Clough's side retained the trophy. 
 
His unkempt and unshaven appearance made him the most unlikely of footballers but his artistry and vision made him the creative on-the-field force behind a Forest side that swept all before them. 
 
After retiring from playing, Robertson went on to strike up a wonderfully successful managerial partnership with Martin O'Neill at Leicester, Celtic and Aston Villa. Yet, amid his years of football fame, Robertson has known moments of deep personal tragedy, with the death of his daughter, who had cerebral palsy, at the age of 13 and the loss of his elder brother in a car crash. 
 
In John Robertson: Super Tramp, the footballing legend reveals all in a humorous and touching memoir that switches engagingly between footballing glory and personal heartache.

John Robertson: Super Tramp

My Autobiography

Stephen Jones

Simon Roberts

Since making his national debut in 1998, Stephen Jones has emerged from the shadows of the true greats of Welsh rugby, such as Barry John, Phil Bennett, Jonathan Davies and Neil Jenkins, to make the fly-half position his own. In this revealing autobiography, he provides a rare insight into the demands and pressures of wearing the almost mythical number 10 jersey that has such a pre-eminent status in the Welsh psyche. 
 
As well as playing an integral role in Wales's two Grand Slam victories, Jones has appeared in three Rugby World Cups and was part of the 2005 British and Irish Lions squad. He has witnessed at first hand how the Welsh rugby establishment has struggled with the transition to professionalism, and in this candid memoir he recounts the many highs he has experienced, as well as the challenges he has faced, throughout his career so far. 
 
Jones gives an intriguing account of how he became one of the few Welsh players to play in France, recalling the brutality of the game there and how he became a cult figure amongst fans of Clermont Auvergne, where he was twice voted fly-half of the season. 
 
In Stephen Jones - A Thinking Man's Game: My Story, the Welsh rugby star reveals how his steely resolve, utter determination and sheer passion for rugby have allowed him to bounce back from numerous setbacks to become one of the most popular and respected figures in the game today.

A Thinking Man's Game: My Story

Becky Tallentire

Do you still curse yourself over the day you met your hero; when instead of asking him the one question that's been nagging you for years, you couldn't utter a word because you were suddenly (and uncharacteristically) struck dumb? Well, curse no more. Still Talking Blue is a unique collection of interviews that will answer everything you wanted to know about your Everton heroes and with none of the unnecessary waffle - because it only asks the relevant questions, as submitted by the fans. 
 
Collated via the Internet, disenfranchised Evertonions scattered across the globe proudly display their astounding recall of bygone events and trivia. From Iceland to South Africa, Australia to Israel, long-suffering Bluenoses are finally given the opportunity to ask questions of their heroes and they do so with panache. 
 
The book contains in-depth interviews spanning the decades from the '50s, when shorts were long and Dave Hickson's quiff was the envy of Hollywood, right through to Dave Watson's final days at the club. Join us as we endeavour to track down John Bailey's 'big hat' and Gordon West's handbag, and move seamlessly on to more pressing topics such as Kevin Ratcliffe's biggest regret, Mick Lyon's worst injury and Alan Harper's favourite goal. 
 
So, if you lie awake at night wondering just what went wrong in the '68 Cup Final, whether Jimmy Gabriel still has his white trench coat, if Barry Horne really does like The Cocteau Twins or how Dave Hickson has managed to hang on to his hair, then unfurrow your brow because the answers all lie within these pages. 
 
No Evertonion should be expected to survive without this book.

Still Talking Blue

A Collection of Candid Interviews with Everton Heroes

Peter Storey

True Storey is the compelling autobiography of notorious 1970s football legend Peter Storey, dubbed 'the bastard's bastard', who gained a reputation for ultra-violence on the pitch and had a capacity to find even greater trouble off it - a fact borne out by a string of criminal convictions and several jail sentences. 
 
 A key member, as their midfield enforcer, of the resilient Arsenal team that won the European Fairs Cup followed by the cherished Double in 1970-71, Storey was a confirmed ladies' man who loved a drink. In the mid-'70s, Storey's pub, the Jolly Farmers in Islington, became a magnet for north London villains and he rubbed shoulders with Great Train Robber Tommy Wisbey and Howard 'Mr Nice' Marks, Britain's biggest drug smuggler. 
 
 Storey talks candidly about the crimes he committed and the spells in prison that blighted his life. He reveals the truth about his feud with George Best and relays an astonishing account of how Bertie Mee tried to make him miss the 1971 FA Cup final against Bill Shankly's Liverpool side because the Arsenal manager wanted Eddie Kelly to start instead. 
 
 Today, Peter is an elusive character but a man transformed and at ease with life. Only now does he feel the circumstances are right to set the record straight and tell his side of a remarkable True Storey.

True Storey

My Life and Crimes as a Football Hatchet Man

Mervyn Davies

David Roach

Few rugby players have matched the achievements of Welshman Mervyn Davies, the shrewd, gutsy number 8 with the heart of a lion. In what was a remarkable career, he won two Grand Slams, three Triple Crowns, earned thirty-eight consecutive Wales caps, was captain of his national team and played in two victorious Lions tours. 
 
 From the tail end of the 1960s through the first half of the glorious '70s period, 'Merv the Swerve' - with that mop of black hair and trademark headband - cut an iconic figure in the world's great rugby arenas. Teammates and opponents respected him, fans loved him and he was a natural leader of men both on and off the field.Then, in March 1976, everything changed. Mervyn was leading Swansea in a semi-final cup clash when he suffered a massive brain haemorrhage. He began that fateful Sunday preparing for just another high-profile game but ended it fighting for his life. Wales, and the watching sporting world, could do nothing but wait and hope. And just when the odds seemed stacked irreversibly against him, Mervyn did what he had always done: he beat them. 
 
 Mervyn's life story is one of what was and what might have been. From locker-room tales to the loneliness of rehabilitation, Mervyn's account is funny, moving and honest. He writes about his many highs and lows, about losing rugby but regaining his life, and shares his thoughts on the days he spent in shadow and in strength.

In Strength And Shadow

The Mervyn Davies Story

John Budden

The sudden death of Gordon W. Richards in late September 1998 brought a premature end to a legendary training career which had seen him rise from obscurity to national fame as master of his profession. 
 
Consigned to racing's scrap-heap with a broken back at the age of 29, he scraped a living as a livery stable proprietor and horse-dealer in a remote part of Northumberland until, five years later, he `discovered' Playlord and a new dawn broke. 
 
Rugged, demanding, often outspoken, sometimes ruthless but never lacking in humour, Gordon made relentless progress through the training ranks. `The Boss', as he was widely known, liked to run his stable his own way. Horses, not humans, headed the pecking order, as many famous riders and owners discovered to their cost. Few escaped unscathed, but in over 30 years he employed only six stable jockeys, and two of these, Ron Barry and Jonjo O'Neill, gained championship honours. 
 
The Boss charts the successes of the man who twice saddled more than a hundred winners in a single season and who scooped the pool in the Aintree Grand National on two occasions. This enthralling biography, written with full co-operation of Richards himself, provides a compelling insight into the forces that drove him to become one of the most respected trainers in the world.

The Boss

The Life and Times of Horseracing Legend Gordon W. Richards

Mario Risoli

‘Whenever I look at him, it is as though the Messiah has returned.’ That's how Jimmy Murphy, manager of Wales’ 1958 World Cup side, described John Charles. In Italy, where he played for Juventus and Roma, Charles was known as Il Gigante Buono – the Gentle Giant – because of his placid temperament. 
 
One of the greatest footballers Britain has ever produced, Charles left his native Swansea at 16 to join Leeds United, where his phenomenal strike rate helped the club reach the First Division for the first time in its history. His goal-scoring exploits at Ellan Road then attracted the attention of Juventus, who paid a British record of £65,000 to take him to Turin in 1957. Charles went on to score an incredible 105 goals in 178 appearances for I Bianconeri – the Black and Whites – and helped them to win three Series A titles in five years. 
 
 In contrast to his humble upbringing in South Wales, he enjoyed a glamorous lifestyle in Italy. However, it was not all glory. A disasterous return to Leeds United in 1962 was followed by a spell at Roma, where he struggled to recapture his past form. The man who was treated as a god in Turin wound down his playing career with Cardiff City before turning to management in the Southern League. 
 
 This detailed and engrossing biography contains candid interviews with former teammates and family members and follows Charles’ life after football, detailing his failed business ventures and his brave fight against cancer.

John Charles

Gentle Giant

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