Sports Biographies

From the bestselling author of The Master, an intimate biography of tennis's living legend Rafael Nadal, and the first to cover his entire career.

Marc Mrquez is the apex predator of the MotoGP world: arguably the greatest motorcycle racer who ever lived, he is an eight-time world champion. He is the man who dethroned Valentino Rossi, and who changed the sport of MotoGP forever. Mrquezs hyper aggressive riding style has made him many enemies, and his epic championship battle with Valentino Rossi in 2015 led to one of the most controversial moments in the history of MotoGP. But his story off the track is also incredible: devastating accidents, surgeries and recoveries. Racing on despite a diagnosis that him one more head injury could leave him blind.His self-admittedly ruthless personality and desire to win make him an explosive, dominant and at times controversial character - to the point that even his own tight-knit family often struggle to understand what drives him.Told by bestselling author Stuart Barker, with the insight of rivals, team members, pundits, managers and many close to his story, experience in this book that rare thing: pure sporting theatre and white-knuckle speed twinned with real human drama. Everything or Nothing is the Mrquez story told like never before.

Women now often beat men in ultra-endurance events. Two journalists explore the physiological and psychological battle of the sexes and meet the gutsy women who triumph despite society's expectations.

Grit, guts and gumption defined Amarnath's rollercoaster career. According to both Sunil Gavaskar and Imran Khan, Amarnath was the best batsman of their era. But strangely, he kept getting dropped from the Indian team, and subsequently became famous for his comebacks, earning him the moniker 'the comeback king'. He was a player who didn't flinch in the face of fire: a fearless cricketer and a man who just wouldn't be defeated or denied.

Tennis is one of the only sports in which women have consistently played on the same stage as men for the past 50 years, creating their own culture and narrative. Building Champions explores the complex, remarkable stories of winning players from across the globe and asks what this generation can tell us about the future of women's tennis.

One of the most surprising footballstories you will ever read: the life of George Robledo, the forgotten foreigngenius of English football.

True story of a wee Glasgow guy who left school with no formal qualifications and had many jobs before ending up running a business in Australia and New Zealand. There are many coincidences along the way, including meeting famous people and also people from growing up - some I'd not seen or spoken to for 50 years! And also family who have a habit of dying on certain days. Set initially in Glasgow and moving around the city, encountering many strange day-to-day scenarios and events to ending up on a beach in Sydney and then on to Redland Bay in between Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Jobs at this time took me all around Australia and New Zealand with trips also to Japan and four times per year back to the UK for a week for company meetings. Birthdays in later life were special times with my 40th in Glasgow, 50th on the Gold Coast and 60th in Melbourne at the famous horse race. My disabled brother, Alexander, was my hero growing up and still is after his achievements in the world of darts. Read about his exploits and be mesmerised by where he ended up having such a short sports career. My family have been strong throughout and my friends are all wacky, but in a really funny kind of way. If you are still wondering about this book, then just let me say - I would like to thank my parents for the gift of life. And thank the gift of life for me having so much fun. Thank fun for giving me a wonderful life. Thank a wonderful life for the opportunity to write this book. Thank this book for giving other people the chance to enjoy my life.

As a follow-up to his hugely popular 2016 autobiography Trailblazer, Ryan Sandes' new book explores the gripping and often life-threatening adventures this extraordinary ultra-trail runner has experienced around the globe since then. Not only have these projects tested the very edge of human endurance, but on several occasions, Ryan literally had to run for his life. Along with a 1 500-kilometre Himalayan adventure, read about his attempt at completing the first 700-kilometre solo run up Namibia's legendary Skeleton Coast - only to stumble upon some very angry Namibian soldiers conducting controversial seal clubbing. And, with his running partner Ryno Griesel, becoming the first people to run the entire circumference of Lesotho in one go, during which they find themselves fighting off an attack from local herdsmen armed with rocks and knobkerries. In between these adventures, Ryan battles to balance a challenging career with a dedicated commitment to his young family. Run. Risk. Reward. is packed with adventure, humour and some fascinating insights into the psyche of an ultra-endurance athlete. These people are not like you and me...

From a youth team player at Scunthorpe to the England Manager's job, by way of Liverpool, Newcastle and Hamburg, Keegan considers the extravagant highs of a football man who touched the game with genius, who was never sacked in his life, and who came within an ace of triumph as a manager.