February’s Fixture
So here we go again. Five books have been selected loosely based on sporting events happening next month. Please read the below and then vote for the one you would like to see as February’s book of the month.
A few sports have managed to stay on the list from last month but you will notice the new titles all have a slightly different focus. This month the books are in line with the Super Bowl, NBA All-Star’s game, Soccer’s Champions League, Rugbys RBS 6 Nations and FIS Skiing.
Below are the nominated books. You can vote for the one you’d most like to read at the bottom. The results will be revealed on the 4th of February.
When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi by David Maraniss
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Australia; 1st Touchstone Ed edition (30 Sep 2000)
Ron Fimrite Sports Illustrated Forges a near-perfect synthesis of fine writing and fascinating material. May be the best sports biography ever published.
There are hundreds (perhaps thousands!) of books available that deal with different aspects of the NFL. There are books about championship teams, losing teams, managers, players, economics, politics and race. One name that jumped out at me though when I was researching for this month’s titles, was Vince Lombardi. Vince Lombardi was not only a legend of NFL but his is also the name on the trophy handed to the winning team of the Super Bowl. Lombardi is one of the greatest coaches of all time.
Book Description:
More than any other sports figure, Vince Lombardi transformed football into a metaphor of the American experience. The son of an Italian immigrant butcher, Lombardi toiled for twenty frustrating years as a high school coach and then as an assistant at Fordham, West Point, and the New York Giants before his big break came at age forty-six with the chance to coach a struggling team in snowbound Wisconsin. His leadership of the Green Bay Packers to five world championships in nine seasons is the most storied period in NFL history. Lombardi became a living legend, a symbol to many of leadership, discipline, perseverance, and teamwork, and to others of an obsession with winning. In When Pride Still Mattered, Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Maraniss captures the myth and the man, football, God, and country in a thrilling biography destined to become an American classic.
West By West: My Charmed, Tormented Life by Jerry West & Jonathan Coleman
Publisher: Hachette Book Group
The NBA All-Stars Game is a big deal. It brings together the top names and upcoming superstars of the NBA in what is essentially a game of East vs West. Perhaps the biggest of these names is Jerry West, who went from being a successful player to creating one of the greatest teams ever.
Book Description:
He is one of basketball’s towering figures: “Mr. Clutch,” who mesmerized his opponents and fans. The coach who began the Lakers’ resurgence in the 1970s. The general manager who helped bring “Showtime” to Los Angeles, creating a championship-winning force that continues to this day.
Now, for the first time, the legendary Jerry West tells his story-from his tough childhood in West Virginia, to his unbelievable college success at West Virginia University, his 40-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers, and his relationships with NBA legends like Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kobe Bryant. Unsparing in its self-assessment and honesty, WEST BY WEST is far more than a sports memoir: it is a profound confession and a magnificent inspiration.
“Apart from being an unquestionably successful, uncommonly admired human being, Jerry West…is a man traveling with a lot of demons. Pick up a copy of this brutally candid account of his life and you will understand him quite a bit better.” Los Angeles Times Mike Downey
Barca: The Making of the Greatest Team in the World by Graham Hunter
Publisher: BackPage Press Limited
Flick open a weekend paper and if you see Graham Hunters name next to an article, it’s probably worth having a read. Hunters is an internationally published journalist, best known for his coverage of Spanish football, specifically FC Barcelona. I added this book to the list because the Champions League is back on our telly and it’s the cream of European football. And of all the teams that play in the league, it is Barca that is the most feared. From 2008–2012 Barcelona, under Pep Guardiola, morphed into arguably one of the greatest teams ever. Love them or hate them we could all learn something from this fairytale story.
Book Description:
Barcelona are the greatest football team in the world, the greatest for a generation and possibly the greatest of all time. This is the inside story of how the team came to redefine how the game is played, told by the journalist closer to it than any other. This edition contains a new epilogue reflecting on the departure of Pep Guardiola and Spain s victory at Euro 2012. It is of huge interest to anyone who loves the way this team plays football which is anyone who loves the game.
Beware of the Dog: Rugby’s Hard Man Reveals All by Brian Moore
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd
Beware of the Dog won the William Hill Sports Book of the year award in 2010 and has more than enough 5 star ratings on Amazon to raise an eyebrow. I know very little about rugby and the history of the game but if anyone can tell me, it’s probably Brian Moore. Moore was a highly decorated player for three different English clubs, he played for England in three World Cups and toured with the British and Irish Lions. Moore has never shied away from wearing his heart on his sleeve which makes me curious to see what he reveals.
Book Description:
Brian Moore, or ‘Pitbull’ as he came to be known during nearly a decade at the heart of the England rugby team’s pack, established himself as one of the game’s original hard men at a time when rugby was still an amateur sport. Since his retirement, he has earned a reputation as an equally uncompromising commentator, never afraid to tell it as he sees it and lash out at the money men and professionals that have made rugby into such a different beast. Yet, for all his bullishness on and off the pitch, there also appears a more unconventional, complicated side to the man. A solicitor by trade, Moore’s love of fine wine, career experience as a manicurist and preference for reading Shakespeare in the dressing room before games, mark him out as anything but the stereotypical rugby player and in Beware of the Dog Moore lays open with astounding frankness the shocking events, both personal and professional, that have gone towards shaping him over the years. Presenting an unparalleled insight into the mind of one of British rugby’s greatest players and characters, Beware of the Dog is a uniquely engaging and upfront sporting memoir.
Interview with Brian Moore on BBC4.
Bode: Go Fast, Be Good, Have Fun by Bode Miller and Jack McEnany
Publisher: Random House
I could lie and tell you I’m a massive FIS Alpine World Ski Championships fan. Sadly I’m not, I don’t watch it, never have. I was struggling to find a ski book but then I came across a story in UK paper The Daily Mail about Olympic downhill skier Bode Miller. After a little Wikipedia search, it turns out Miller is an amazing decorated alpine skier. Although with a string of abrasive post-Olympic interviews, he’s not very popular among American journalists.
Here’s him going down hill with one ski, I thought it was pretty epic.
Book Description:
“I don’t master the mountain, I master speed.” Coming from Bode Miller, this isn’t boasting, it’s just the way he lives: fast, honest, and wide open. In this candid book, the two-time Olympic medalist and champion skier shares his story, the secret of his success, and his philosophy of life.
Born and raised “off the grid”–without electricity or indoor plumbing–in the cabin built by his father in the woods near Franconia, New Hampshire (pop. 850), Bode is unconventional to the core. The strong values of his simple upbringing, where he and his family had to “invent, grow, or carry in” all the essentials have made Bode unique among today’s top sports stars.
Bode’s approach to life is straightforward: “Get a plan, stick to it, and trust your instincts . . . and almost anything is possible.”
And practically since birth, the iconoclastic Bode has been achieving the impossible and laying down tracks for others to follow. He revolutionized his sport by adopting new and crossover technologies, such as “shape” skis. He drives his tradition-bound European rivals to distraction, skiing and winning by instinct. His outsider status, killer smile, and outspoken yet laid-back persona have earned him a reputation as the Michael Jordan of skiing. Men’s Journal named Bode the second greatest athlete in the world. And in the 2005 season, Bode may have moved up a notch by becoming the first American to win the Overall World Cup Alpine championship in twenty-two years.
In short, he is the kind of person everybody wants to know and hang out with. In a book loaded with insight, good humor, and eye-opening stories about the world of competitive skiing, Bode, as always, holds nothing back.
Note: I’m trying to track this down and it’s widely available as an eBook and via some sellers on Amazon.
That’s it, five books for Feb but only one can be the winner. Vote now for the book you’d most like to read.