The Sports Bookshelf

TODAY'S TOP TEN BEST-SELLING SPORTS BOOKS To buy any title, click on the picture or link 1 - Running with the Kenyans Author: Adharanand Finn Published by: Faber and Faber Ever since the Mexico Olympics of 1968, when the athletes of Kenya claimed an unprecedented nine medals, the sporting world has been eager to learn the secrets that seemed to set the runners of one African nation apart from the rest, and turned the likes of Kipchoge Keino and Naftali Temu into legends of the track. Adharanand Finn, a freelance writer and running enthusiast, moved his family to Iten, a small high-altitude town in the Rift Valley that has become a mecca for long-distance runners. Finn ran side by side with Olympic champions and barefoot schoolchildren. This beautifully written book reveals what he learned about Kenya’s runners and their country.   2 - Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 2012 Editor: Lawrence Booth Published by: John Wisden &

SPORTS BOOK OF THE WEEK The Cricketers' Who's Who 2012 ,  edited by Jo Harman Published by: Pitch Publishing on behalf of All Out Cricket What's it about? As those who would damage the beloved County Championship know all too well, if there is one thing to which cricket followers do not take kindly it is change, in particular unnecessary change. Outrage, therefore, greeted the 2011 edition of the Cricketers' Who's Who, which is not an institution of Wisden magnitude but has nonetheless been around now for 33 years. Consternation arose largely from the disappearance of the personal information and opinions that added colour to the player profiles and gave the Who's Who its unique selling point.  This was forced in part by circumstance, with a change of publisher during the close season disrupting the normal process of gathering in forms filled in by the players themselves. These gems of trivia were replaced fo

BRITISH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS Click on a title or illustration to BUY 1 -- A Life Too Short: The Tragedy of Robert Enke Author: Ronald Reng Published by: Yellow Jersey One evening in November 2009, the German national goalkeeper, Robert Enke , parked his car near a level crossing in the German state of Lower Saxony and stepped in front of a 100mph train. He was 32. Writer Ronald Reng tells the story of a man who had also been his friend, revealing much about the fears that torment many at the highest level of sport, concealed often behind a veneer of false confidence. In heartfelt but never sentimental words, Reng describes the tragedy of a talented man cracking under the strain of personal loss and professional pressures. Winner: William Hill Sports Book of the Year, 2011. 2 -- Got, Not Got: The A-Z of Lost Football Culture, Treasures and Pleasures Authors:   Derek Hammond & Gary Silke Published by: Pitch Publishing Footbal

TODAY'S TOP TEN BEST-SELLING SPORTS BOOKS Click on a title or illustration to BUY 1 - Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 2012 Editor: Lawrence Booth Published by: John Wisden & Co Ltd  First published in 1864 and probably the world’s most famous sports book, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack has been in the hands for the first time of Lawrence Booth, the Daily Mail and former Guardian cricket writer who is its 16th editor. The 149th edition contains everything its readers have come to expect -- coverage of every first-class game in every cricket nation, reports and scorecards for all Tests and ODIs, the Cricketers of the Year awards and some of the finest cricket writing, its trenchant tone set by the Notes by the Editor. 2 - Running with the Kenyans Author: Adharanand Finn Published by: Faber and Faber Ever since the Mexico Olympics of 1968, when the athletes of Kenya claimed an unprecedented nine medals, the sporting world has been eag

SPORTS BOOK OF THE WEEK We'll Get 'Em in Sequins , by Max Davidson Published by: Wisden Sports Writing What's it about? In short, it is the story of the evolution of manliness and masculinity written by an author with a fascination for bravery and chivalry in sport and an astute observer of human behaviour. What counts as manliness is, of course, quite subjective and author Max Davidson is open-minded enough to accept all manner of interpretations of what makes a man.  But when he watched Darren Gough, a fast bowler with the heart of a lion, wearing make-up and spangled tops to win Strictly Come Dancing, sharing a stage with "gay prima donnas, weeping women and superannuated comedians" and saw an England cricket captain, Michael Vaughan, break down in tears as he announced his resignation, he clearly felt that conventions were being challenged enough to start asking a few probing questions. What Gough and Vaughan had in common is

BRITISH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 2012 1 - Fred Trueman: The Authorised Biography Author: Chris Waters Published by: Aurum Press The first full biography of one of England’s greatest cricketers, this balanced yet unflinching portrait of Fred Trueman draws on dozens of new interviews with his fellow players, broadcasters, family and friends.  Cricket journalist Chris Waters delves into the bleak upbringing the Yorkshire fast bowler left behind, separates myth from reality and explores the factors that influenced the character of a man who presented himself as a bluff, confrontational, almost stereotypical Yorkshireman yet who concealed a much more vulnerable and insecure side that few knew. 2 - Ian Botham: The Power and the Glory Author: Simon Wilde Published by: Simon & Schuster Sir Ian Botham in a way has become the modern Fred Trueman, the curmudgeon of the Sky Sports cricket crew, occupying the niche that Trueman made his in the Test Match Special team.  Younger viewe

Chris Waters has completed a unique awards double with his widely praised book Fred Trueman: The Authorised Biography. Having been named as Wisden Book of the Year 2012 only days ago, the painstakingly researched and thoughtfully written study of the great Yorkshire and England fast bowler and the man behind the myth has also won The Cricket Society and MCC Book of the Year for 2012. It is the first time both awards have gone to the same title.  There might be more honours to come yet for Waters, cricket correspondent of the Yorkshire Post -- the book is shortlisted for both ‘Cricket Book of the Year’ and ‘New Writer of the Year’ at the British Sports Book Awards 2012, the winners of which will be announced next month. The book was selected from an MCC-Cricket Society shortlist that also included F.R.Foster: The Fields Were Sudden Bare , by Robert Brooke (ACS Publications),  Before the Lights Went Out: The 1912 Triangular Tournament, by Patrick Ferriday (Von Krumm Publishing),

The 2012 Wisden Book of the Year Award has been won by Chris Waters for his superb biography of Fred Trueman. Fred Trueman: The Authorised Biography , published by Aurum Press , was released last October to glowing reviews. Author and Mail on Sunday columnist Leo McKinstry , regarded himself as an oustanding sports biographer, described it as “one of the finest sports books of recent years”, while the distinguished veteran journalist and cricket author David Foot called it a “brilliant and unsparing portrait”. The winner was chosen by Harry Pearson , the columnist and author, whose book Slipless in Settle last year won the MCC-Cricket Society Book of the Year Award for which Fred Trueman: The Authorised Biography is also a contender. The winner of the 2012 award is due to be announced this evening. The book, Waters’s first and a project he undertook with painstaking thoroughness, has also been short-listed for Cricket Book of the Year at the British Sports Book Awards, to b

TODAY'S TOP TEN BEST-SELLING SPORTS BOOKS 1 - Playfair Cricket Annual 2012 Editor: Ian Marshall Published by: Headline The classic pocket companion to the English cricket season, the 65th edition of Playfair reviews England's triumphant 2011 home Test series against Sri Lanka and India, as well as their matches against India and Pakistan on tour this winter. The book is packed with essential information to follow events on the field, with unrivalled up-to-the-minute statistical detail on all first-class players registered in the UK at the time of press, plus fixture lists for the coming season. 2 - Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 2012 Editor: Lawrence Booth Published by: John Wisden & Co Ltd First published in 1864 and probably the world’s most famous sports book, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack has been in the hands for the first time of Lawrence Booth, the Daily Mail and former Guardian cricket writer who is its 16th editor.  The 149th edition contains everyt