top 10 sports biography books

12 Game-Changing Sports Biographies and Memoirs

These winning reads smash the competition.

A great sports story gets everyone on their feet — whether you just finished your 10th marathon or you prefer to race through your TBR stack. The following sports biographies and memoirs are packed with athletic drama that every reader will enjoy, from underdog wins and buzzer-beater finishes to the off-court scandals and triumphant personal comebacks of the greatest athletes of our time.

Magic: The Life of Earvin "Magic" Johnson

By roland lazenby.

From Roland Lazenby, the renowned biographer of Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Jerry West, comes Magic, the definitive sports biography of basketball legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson. Johnson reached dazzling new heights over the course of his career on the court, transforming American basketball into top-tier entertainment with his exciting playing style and leading the Los Angeles Lakers to greatness during the team’s Showtime era. Yet Johnson also faced his share of scandals and controversies, including his extravagant lifestyle and shock retirement from basketball in the wake of his HIV diagnosis. Lazenby draws on hundreds of interviews with teammates, coaches, rivals, and more to capture every facet of this complex figure, offering a gripping and comprehensive account of the renowned player and his extraordinary career.

By Andre Agassi

A striking story about the double-edged sword of success, Open by Andre Agassi tracks the tennis star’s astounding triumphs, failures, and battles both on and off the court. Agassi went pro at the age of 16; by his early 20s, he was a tennis legend. Yet with worldwide success came pain, doubt, and relentless media scrutiny. Agassi opens up about it all in this candid and bestselling sports memoir, delivering a fascinating read for fans and newcomers alike. And if that isn’t enough to draw you in, note that Open is cowritten by J. R. Moehringer, one of the all-time ghostwriting greats, whose success with this narrative paved the way for his teaming up with Prince Harry on his recent smash memoir . 

Michael Jordan: The Life

Michael Jordan transcends the sports world. You know him even if you know nothing about basketball — and if you grew up in the ’90s, he was practically everywhere you looked. In Michael Jordan: The Life, Roland Lazenby tracks Jordan’s career from college kid to NBA superstar and beyond. Along the way, Lazenby complicates our collective understanding of the sports icon, countering Jordan’s on-court image with the darker sides of his character, his rocky relationships, and his merciless ambition.

By Abby Wambach

In Forward, soccer luminary and two-time Olympic gold medalist Abby Wambach shares her journey from being put on the boys’ soccer team at the age of seven to becoming one of the all-time greatest soccer players in the history of the sport. Wambach’s compelling account is suffused with grit and determination, and it speaks to the unique challenges women face in their quest for athletic greatness. It’s a must-read for sports fans and indeed anyone in need of inspiration. For a double dose of empowerment, check out Wolfpack , Wambach’s #1 New York Times bestseller from 2019 that encourages women to join together and unleash their inner potential.

Path Lit by Lightning

By david maraniss.

Written by David Maraniss, a two-time Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and the biographer of such figures as Barack Obama and Roberto Clemente, Path Lit by Lightning tells the fascinating story of Jim Thorpe, a renaissance athlete whose rise and fall took on mythic proportions. Thorpe was one of the best all-around athletes the world had ever seen; he won medals in the decathlon and pentathlon in the 1912 Olympics, was an All-American football player, and played baseball for the New York Giants. Yet as a member of the Sac and Fox Nation, he also faced intense racism and discrimination that hobbled his career and ultimately led to a life of hardship. Maraniss movingly chronicles Thorpe’s life in this landmark sports biography, breaking down the myth to reveal the man at its core.

The Mamba Mentality

By kobe bryant.

Kobe Bryant’s presence on the court was legendary — and it belied a complicated and often troubled life off the court. In The Mamba Mentality, Bryant shares his outlook on life and basketball and delves into his famous “Mamba Mentality” philosophy, an approach to playing that’s built on passion, tenacity, and the singular pursuit of athletic excellence. It’s a fascinating look at the gone-too-soon powerhouse player and his thorny relationship with success, fame, and sports.

By Billie Jean King, Johnette Howard, and Maryanne Vollers

The world of sports would not be the same without Billie Jean King, a legend both in tennis and for her work breaking down barriers for women athletes. All In chronicles King’s career from her formative years through the 1973 Battle of the Sexes exhibition match against Bobby Riggs and the creation of the women’s pro tennis circuit to King’s acknowledgment of her sexual identity and coming out at the age of 51. At once a story of one person’s impact on tennis and a cultural revolution in the sports world, this winning memoir offers insight and guidance on issues from political activism and personal relationships to finding your true self.

Tiger Woods

By jeff benedict and armen keteyian.

In Tiger Woods, sportswriters Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian deliver a fully realized portrait of the eponymous golf titan. The bestselling sports biography draws on interviews with more than 250 people to chronicle Woods’s meteoric rise, scandalous fall, and triumphant return to world-class athletics. The unsparing narrative also shines a light on the damage parents can do in their single-minded quest to turn their children into star athletes, drawing connections between Woods’s unparalleled achievements on the golf course and his parents’ obsession with success. 

The Last Folk Hero

By jeff pearlman.

Bo Jackson was a one-man sports phenomenon in the 1980s and ’90s, excelling in football and baseball, and starring in one of the most successful ad campaigns in Nike history. In addition to his athletic triumphs, wild tales about Jackson leaping over parked cars and helping land a plane in distress elevated the sports star to mythical levels, like a modern-day Paul Bunyan. In The Last Folk Hero, sportswriter Jeff Pearlman tells the story of the man behind the myth. Drawing on more than 700 interviews, this fascinating sports biography is a must-read for Jackson superfans and for those eager to find out more about this larger-than-life American sports icon.

Good for a Girl

By lauren fleshman.

In the bestselling Good for a Girl, elite runner Lauren Fleshman draws on her own story and the work of psychologists and physiologists to advocate for a radical transformation of sports for young women. Competing in institutions that aren’t built for them, women athletes are held back from the beginning and plagued by sexism, eating disorders, and physical and mental injuries. Many would-be elites drop out before they can truly achieve greatness. Fleshman argues that we’re long overdue for a change. Readers will find plenty to love in Fleshman’s rousing narrative, which blends sports memoir with a manifesto and demonstrates a passion for personal success as well as creating a world in which all women athletes are allowed to thrive.

Ali: A Life

By jonathan eig.

Jonathan Eig’s bestselling and award-winning biography of Muhammed Ali turns the facts of Ali’s life and career into a harrowing story of courage, activism, and athletic excellence. The storied heavyweight boxer was not just an accomplished athlete but a natural performer, civil rights activist, and political protester. Drawing on interviews, FBI files, and archival recordings, Eig weaves a gripping tale of Ali’s boxing career, his political victories and personal triumphs, and his lasting impact on American culture.

By Jeff Benedict

We round out our list with a living legend who’s playing at the top of his game. In LeBron, Jeff Benedict chronicles LeBron James’s layered and inspirational story, from his early years of struggle as the son of a young mother to becoming the No.1 overall draft pick in the NBA straight out of high school and his transformation into the greatest basketball player of the 21 st century. Based on three years of research and more than 250 interviews, Benedict’s sweeping narrative goes well beyond James’s success on the court, exploring his relationship to fame and his dual identity as a celebrity and an activist fighting for social justice .

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The best sport autobiographies 2023: memoirs from the worlds of football, cricket and more.

• Calum Trenaman

Our guide to the best autobiographies, whatever your choice of sport

We live in an era where people want more access to their favourite sportspeople than ever before: interviews before matches, interviews after matches, analysis at the most granular levels. And that’s not to mention the social media presence that many sports clubs contractually require of their stars. For famous sportspeople, autobiographies are almost a guarantee once they do anything noteworthy. The market is flooded with them so we’re here to help narrow down your choices to the cream of the crop.

When a sportsperson has been in the public eye for such a long period of time, an autobiography is a time for them to reveal all, to be vulnerable and to finally open themselves up to their fans in a way they may never have done before.

The chosen autobiographies may not necessarily be from the biggest names in their field, but their stories offer something new and fresh, insightful and interesting, momentous and potentially ground-breaking. Read on for our buying guide and roundup.

Best sport autobiographies: At a glance

• Best early-career sports autobiography: A Clear Blue Sky by Jonny Bairstow and Duncan Hamilton
• Best end-of-career sports autobiography: Racing Through the Dark by David Millar in collaboration with Jeremy Whittle
• Best political sports autobiography: The Rodchenkov Affair by Gregory Rodchenkov

How to choose the best sport autobiography for you

There are so many sports autobiographies to choose from that it can be overwhelming when deciding which to commit to reading. Even more so when one sportsperson may have more than one autobiography. Try asking yourself these questions.

What’s the sport?

This may sound obvious when choosing a sports autobiography to read, but it’s crucial. If the subject of the book is someone considered the best in their field, and you want to find out more about their life and their mindset, that’s excellent. But that may be communicated through the medium of their sport and if you don’t know what they’re talking about, then that insight is going to be lost on you.

Likewise, the inverse is also true. If you consider yourself a serious fan of a particular sport, then you may not gain a lot from reading an autobiography of someone whose career you know intimately or a sport you know thoroughly. It could be a more interesting reading experience if you pick someone from a sport you know little about but that you know has had an incredible life.

How far beyond the sport does it go?

This is also important. Do you want the person to be delving deep into an analysis of a championship victory, taking you through each game and what their role in it was? Or do you want an autobiography in which the sport itself takes a back seat, with more of a focus on the feelings and inner monologue of that person as they traversed various obstacles in their career? Some of those in the former category can be very dry and clinical. But on the other hand, many sports fans are more interested in the tactics and physical aspect of the sport, and might find the mental and emotional side of things too “wishy-washy” for their reading consumption.

At what point in the person’s career was the autobiography written?

Arsene Wenger wrote his autobiography after he had completed his time as Arsenal manager. Sir Alex Ferguson did the same. They were retired and their managerial careers were over. Age also plays a factor, in the style of the autobiography. For example, when a 75-year-old is writing about their life in its entirety after a 55-year career in the sport, a lot of details will be skimmed over.

Many sportspeople write multiple autobiographies, and many may even write multiple memoirs while still playing. That means they can go into much more detail in shorter periods of time in their careers. For instance, at the time of writing, England Test cricket captain Ben Stokes already has two autobiographies, and he still has plenty of years left in his career. What kind of reading experience are you looking for and how deep do you want the person to dive into their own life and career? That will help you decide what you want to read.

The best sport autobiographies you can buy in 2023

1. a clear blue sky by jonny bairstow and duncan hamilton: best early-career sports autobiography.

England Cricketer Jonny Bairstow’s autobiography partially charts the tricky start to his international career, which began in 2013, up to his maiden Test century in South Africa in 2016.

But what sets this autobiography apart from other cricketing autobiographies, and perhaps what helped win it the Wisden Cricket Book of the Year in 2018, is its deeply personal discussion of his father’s suicide, and the effect it had on Jonny, his sister and their mum.

David Bairstow took his own life when his son was just eight-years old. His sister Becky was seven, and his mother was battling cancer for the first of two times in her life. Early in his professional career, Jonny could come across as prickly and sensitive when potentially vulnerable to the criticism of the cricketing press, but he shows a completely different side of himself here. He admits to feeling like he, Becky and their mum were survivors of a shipwreck in the aftermath of David’s suicide – and that since then they have stuck together through everything.

What makes the story of Bairstow’s life all the more compelling is that it isn’t just blue eyes and red hair that he inherited from his late father, but his cricketing talent too. While not as successful as his son, he had a long and prolific career for Yorkshire and occasionally England. The struggles of Jonny’s early career came across as laden with frustration of an unfulfilled legacy. Since his maiden Test century, Bairstow hasn’t looked back. This wonderful and sensitive autobiography explores the difficulties of establishing his career and the even tougher difficulties of his early life.

Key specs – Length: 320 pages; Publisher: Harper NonFiction; ISBN: 978-0008232696

A CLEAR BLUE SKY: A remarkable memoir about family, loss and the will to overcome

2. racing through the dark by david millar with jeremy whittle: best end-of-career sports autobiography.

David Millar was one of the many professional cyclists of the 90s and 00s to have doped. It was an era of cycling that was so juiced up, that any differentiation between real and fake was lost. It lost generations of fans who consequently turned away from the sport and will likely never return. Millar isn’t an outlier, but he wasn’t famous like Lance Armstrong. And he certainly wasn’t as lucky as Armstrong. Rather than being able to tell the truth from the comfort of a California mansion in his own words, Millar was arrested by the French police in 2004 for doping violations and was later banned by the British Cycling Federation for two years.

Millar’s autobiography is an honest account of how an enthusiastic and potentially naive young professional cyclist falls into the world of doping, having had no intention to cheat his way to the top. Often, those of us outside pro sport can’t fathom why a person would cheat in the field, and we may believe they must have been “evil” from the start. Millar’s contrition and genuine work after returning from his ban to help root out doping from the sport proves he is not one of those people. It’s a fascinating account of how a sport can be taken over by a culture of cheating, and that an individual is often powerless to confront or avoid that culture.

Key specs – Length: 368 pages; Publisher: Orion; ISBN: ‎978-1409120384

Racing Through the Dark: The Fall and Rise of David Millar

3. the rodchenkov affair by grigory rodchenkov: best political sports autobiography.

If you want to learn about contemporary Russia through the lens of sport, and how the country was able to coordinate the largest state-sponsored doping program in the history of professional sport, then this is the autobiography for you.

There’s a case to be made that Grigory Rodchenkov, while not a noteworthy professional sportsperson, had one of the biggest impacts on global sport in the 21st century. His autobiography walks us through the world of Russian sport, dating back well into the Soviet era, and how doping has always been a part of professional sport there. In the Soviet Union, it was individual coaches giving their athletes whatever they thought worked. It wasn’t an unrefined and unorganised system, but during the mid-2000s it became systematic. And Rodchenkov, now a whistleblower living in hiding in the US, was the man behind it.

What is most interesting in Rodchenkov’s autobiography is not necessarily his revelations of secret labs or the Russian secret service’s involvement in doping control at the Sochi Winter Olympics, but his thoughts and feelings as he facilitated it all. He frequently describes life in Russia in Orwellian terms, yet fails to see the role he played in fuelling that nightmare. And while his actions arguably rob professional sport of the thrill of fair competition, he’s remarkably unapologetic: if it wasn’t him, there’d be someone else, and doping is just part of trying to gain an advantage over other competitors. It’s a brilliant autobiography that, while telling the story of doping in Russia, reveals much about the Russian psyche in relation to global sporting politics.

Key specs – Length: 320 pages; Publisher: WH Allen; ISBN: 978-0753553350

The Rodchenkov Affair: How I Brought Down Russia’s Secret Doping Empire – Winner of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year 2020

4. the mamba mentality by kobe bryant: best “coffee table” sports autobiography.

In this coffee-table-sized book, basketballer Kobe Bryant – who lost his life in a helicopter crash in 2020 – tells of his self-named ‘Mamba Mentality’ on the court.

The book is split into two main sections: process and craft. While it tells lots of Bryant’s life, as with any conventional autobiography, Bryant is more concerned with passing on his wisdom of what ‘greatness’ is and what it takes to get there. When Michael Jordan’s The Last Dance docu-series was released in 2020, the world was given an insight into a man with a deep desire to win and to be the best. Bryant is cut from the same cloth.

Just a brief look over some of his achievements will tell you the scale of his greatness. Five-time NBA champion, 18-time NBA All-Star, 11-time All-NBA First Team, nine-time NBA All-Defensive First Team and an NBA Hall of Famer. He’d probably tell you that those first set of achievements are the only ones that matter. And that says a lot about his mentality.

As with many coffee table books, there is more imagery than words here, displaying brilliant photography from Bryant’s life, and focusing on his storied career with the Los Angeles Lakers. This is not an autobiography just for basketball fans. It’s not even an autobiography just for sports fans. It’s a blueprint for anyone who wants to be at the top of their chosen field from someone who knows exactly what it takes to get there.

Key specs – Length: 208 pages; Publisher: MCD; ISBN: 978-0374201234

5. Addicted by Tony Adams and Ian Ridley: Most candid autobiography

When you hear the name Tony Adams, you may think of a hard-nosed and dedicated centre back, leading Arsenal’s defence for nearly two decades. And he was a leader in every sense of the word, becoming Arsenal captain at the age of just 21 and winning four league titles, three FA Cups and two League Cups during his 19 years at the club, retiring without ever having left. He is a footballing legend.

Despite all this, Adams may argue that it was his decision to quit drinking and sticking to it that may be his biggest achievement. He admits in his book that, in doing so, it was the first time in his entire life that he had ever asked for help.

Professional football was awash with alcohol during the 1990s, perhaps most of all at Arsenal. This was a Wild West period for football, where there was a lot of money, no social media and no defined sense of professionalism instilled in the game when it came to fitness, dieting and drinking. For Adams to admit he had a problem took a lot of soul searching and courage.

This was before mental health and illness had entered the realm of mainstream health conditions and, as ever, Adams led from the front and was open about his struggles. He is by no means the only England footballer to struggle with alcoholism, but his autobiography will inspire not only those going through similar struggles, but also any sports fans who understand what it means to battle inner demons of any kind.

Key specs – Length: 384 pages; Publisher: HarperCollins; ISBN: 978-0008268749

Every product is independently selected by (obsessive) editors. Things you buy through our links may earn us a commission.

The Best Sports Memoirs, According to Sports Journalists

Whether you’re a sports fan or just a history buff, looking back at sporting events has produced some of the world’s finest journalism. But it could be argued that no outside observers’ perspective can compare to being inside the heads of those who scored that game-winning point, series-winning run, or tournament-winning goal (or coached any teams that did). Which is why, with so many of our favorite sports still on pause as their leagues figure out how to resume competition, we realized getting lost in a good sports memoir could be the next best thing to spending hours watching a game itself. But with so many sports memoirs ghostwritten or scribbled in a hurry as a valedictory rite of passage, which ones are actually up to snuff?

To find out, we asked 17 experts — including sportswriters, broadcasters, and professors — for their recommendations. While their responses included memoirs written by many athletes who are household names, we also learned about stories told by others that the spotlight may have missed, and a few written by coaches or superfans with perspectives that are just as gripping as those of athletes who actually took the field. Read on for their picks, which we’ve organized by sport. In the tradition of our other reading lists, we’ve named any books with two or more recommendations as best overall. But we’ve also included titles emphatically recommended by just one person, for those who may want to dive further into any category.

Best tennis memoirs

Best overall tennis memoir.

Three people raved about this memoir, which journalist Jonathan Eig, the author of Ali: A Life , says “may be the all-time best-written memoir by a major athlete.” All who recommended it praised the book’s “shockingly” candid nature, pointing out Agassi’s honesty is especially rare for an athlete who was one of the most popular of his generation. “Few autobiographies have dared to show athletes so naked,” writer Sam Diss, the head of content at London-based soccer magazine Mundial , says, adding that Agassi is “not writing this book to stick the boot into old foes or people who screwed him out of money.” Instead, Diss says he’s “passed over, gone clear, and reveals his trauma and grudges with equal parts pain and catharsis, in a way that doesn’t feel point-scoring, but freeing.”

More recommended tennis memoirs

According to Dr. Amira Rose Davis, a Penn State professor of history and African-American studies who also co-hosts the feminist sports podcast Burn It All Down , “the long history of black women in sport” is often obscured in sportswriting. But memoirs by black female athletes, which allow them to “narrate their own careers,” can “push us all to consider whose voices we are missing when we tell sports stories.” One of those women is tennis champion Althea Gibson, who wrote two memoirs that Davis recommends. “Gibson broke the color line at Wimbledon and was the first African-American Grand Slam champion,” she tells us. The first, I Always Wanted to Be Somebody, chronicles Gibson’s journey from childhood to the majors, while the follow-up, So Much to Live For, chronicles Gibson’s transition from the game to a golf career and beyond. Davis considers both essential reading, but notes that the details of Gibson’s post-career struggles in the latter work are especially poignant, and “serve as a reminder that being the queen of the tennis court is all well is good” but, as Gibson writes, “you can’t eat a crown.”

Editor’s note: These two books are now out of print and therefore priced higher than others on this list.

Another historic player, Arthur Ashe, remains the only black male tennis player to win Wimbledon (among other major titles). Marshall Jon Fisher, author of A Terrible Splendor says Ashe’s memoir has been one of his favorites since he was 12 years old. “Ashe told his life story in the context of a diary of one year on the tennis tour — Wimbledon 1973 to Wimbledon 1974,” Fisher tells us. “If only he’d known he would finally win the hallowed tournament in ’75, he might have waited a year. But then we wouldn’t have the same searching, melancholy masterpiece.”

This 1978 memoir of playing the world tennis circuit in the late 1950s and early 1960s is a “hilarious and poignant gem,” Fisher tells us. “In those days, the tour was more collegial, as well as more attainable for a cast of colorful characters more interested in seeking life experience than in becoming multimillion-dollar ground-stroke machines.” And lucky for readers, Forbes jotted down observations while he toured that “should entertain tennis fans forever,” according to Fisher.

Best baseball memoirs

Best overall baseball memoirs.

Three people told us about pitcher Jim Bouton’s book about his career with the New York Yankees and other teams in the ’60s. According to writer Daniel Okrent (who is credited with inventing the scoring system for fantasy baseball), it is “the memoir that broke the mold, earning Bouton the enmity of his fellow players and the applause of generations of fans” for its honest details of legendary players’ drunkenness, womanizing, and prodigious drug use (including some tales that, Okrent admits, “are less hilarious today”). Mark Kram, Jr., the author most recently of Smokin’ Joe: The Life of Joe Frazier , calls it a “bawdy tell-all” and an “instant sports literary classic.” Bouton was known for his wild knuckleballs, and Eig says that he “tossed the perfect knuckleball with this.”

This memoir by the one-time owner of the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Browns, and Chicago White Sox was recommended to us by both Kram and former Grantland editor Rafe Bartholomew . “Baseball owners were a hidebound and altogether humorless bunch until Bill Veeck crashed the party,” according to Kram, who tells us that, “with a wooden leg, Veeck lugged home from the South Pacific in World War II, sent a dwarf to the plate, gave us the exploding scoreboard, and cooked up countless other promotional stunts that imbued a gray game with jump and color.” Kram says that Veeck’s memoir is “full of colorful tales and big ideas,” adding that he was fortunate enough to spend time with Veeck on a few occasions and that he “emerges in his book just as he was in person. One can almost hear his gravelly chuckle.”

More recommended baseball memoirs

Pitcher Jim Brosnan’s memoir focuses on his time playing for the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds in 1959. Okrent says that the memoir about Brosnan’s “unexceptional season with two unexceptional teams remains the most honest — and, I suspect, most accurate — account of the daily life of a ballplayer that we’ve ever seen.” It wasn’t meant to be a book filled with shocking revelations, according to Okrent, but is now thought of as one thanks to Brosnan’s inclusion of the Cardinals’ trainer “distributing an early form of steroids and amphetamines to the players.”

This bittersweet memoir tells the story of Pat Jordan’s promising, yet unfulfilled career as a pitcher. According to Kram, it’s a “hall-of-fame, lyrical memoir of youth ascendant and the hard luck that spares only the fortunate few.” Jordan began his career as a highly regarded schoolboy pitcher in 1950s Connecticut before, as Kram tells it, “signing with the Milwaukee Braves and spending three years toiling in bush league outposts such as McCook, Davenport, Waycross, Eau Claire and Palatka.” Then, 13 years after the Braves handed him his unconditional release, he revisited that period to write this — and later become “one of our preeminent sports journalists.”

Dirk Hayhurst succeeded where Pat Jordan did not, according to Kram, who notes he actually pitched in the big leagues (albeit briefly). Kram calls this, his second memoir, a “small gem,” noting it unfolds around and during his 2008 season with the San Diego Padres and offers a “candid account of the obstacles that he faced during his climb to the highest league, including conflicts with his eccentric grandmother, alliances and tensions with teammates, and the jitters he overcame when he finally got the call and discovered he was indeed out of his league.”

Best basketball memoirs

Best overall basketball memoirs.

Seven people recommended basketball memoirs, with two directing us to this one by NBA great and former U.S. senator from New Jersey, Bill Bradley. Both Bartholomew and Mike Tollin , an executive producer of ESPN’s The Last Dance , recommend the 240-page book that chronicles just 20 days in the life of Bradley’s time as a professional basketball player. Tollin, who told us he first learned about Bradley’s prowess by reading John McPhee’s famous 1965 profile of Bradley’s college basketball career at Princeton, says that reading the memoir “gave me an even greater appreciation for his humanity, and rare insight.”

“This classic deserves a much wider audience,” Eig tells us (Bartholomew is also a fan, as is Barack Obama, who called it the “best basketball book I’ve ever read.”) At the time he wrote it, Rick Telander was a faded football prospect who spent his time freelance writing and playing pickup basketball games in New York City. The memoir tracks his time observing and playing games at Flatbush’s Foster Park in the mid-1970s, and Telander rotates between observer, player, and team coach, reflecting throughout on the darker reality his fellow players from low-income neighborhoods would return to once the sun went down. “I remember Telander’s beautiful sentences, which feature his keen eye for detail, and his effortless blend of sociology and sport,” Eig says.

More recommended basketball memoirs

New York Times basketball and culture writer Sopan Deb recommends this 1980 memoir by legendary Boston Celtics center Bill Russell (who is regarded as the NBA’s first black superstar). “ Second Wind , in which he famously refers to Boston as a ‘flea market’ of racism, is an honest accounting by one of the most important athletes in the history of mankind,” Deb says.

Editor’s note: Due to this book’s recent popularity and the fact that it hasn’t been reissued (yet), we’re seeing it priced higher than others on this list.

Northwestern University’s director of sports journalism , J.A. Adande (who also appears on ESPN as a contributor), told us this is not only his favorite sports memoir, but that Abdul-Jabbar’s “fascinating perspectives” on race, religion, love, and America itself from the 1950s through the 1980s make it one of his favorite books ever. According to Adande, even though Abdul-Jabbar is one of the greatest players of all time, “basketball feels almost like an afterthought” in this book, or “something he pursued because he was tall and suited for it, but not something he felt as passionately about as, say, jazz.” Adande notes that Abdul-Jabbar has gone on to write dozens of books and essays on timely topics, and that “you can see the genesis of those in Giant Steps .”

Sports journalist and broadcaster Taylor Rooks told us about this memoir written by Tim Grover, a basketball trainer. But she assures he’s not just any trainer: “Tim Grover is the legendary trainer to athletes like Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, and Dwyane Wade.” The book, according to Rooks, focuses on the mental practices Grover taught these athletes (and others) to ensure they didn’t just have good seasons, but good careers. “It’s full of anecdotes and stories that make you feel closer to the players we all grew up watching,” she says, adding that it includes a favorite quote: “The only difference between feedback and criticism is the way you hear it.”

“My sports life has been consumed by two seminal NBA dynasties: the Michael Jordan Bulls and the Kobe-Shaq-Gasol Lakers,” sports and culture writer Dave Schilling says, adding that “those teams have one thing in common: head coach Phil Jackson.” According to him, anything Jackson wrote would have been a must-read given his shepherding of some of the greatest basketball players of all time, but Eleven Rings , which Schilling describes as memoir–cum–self-help book, goes the extra mile. “It gives an insight into how Jackson motivated his teams, which included a collection of massive egos, some of whom were not prone to taking orders,” he says. “It’s sort of a classic ‘Dad Lit’ book where the author delivers meme-able motivational insights.”

Best football memoirs

Best overall football memoir.

Four folks recommended books about American football, with three specifically highlighting George Plimpton’s memoir of his weeks-long athletic career (Plimpton, of course, is best known for helping to start the Paris Review). Diss describes the book as “the perfect encapsulation of a classic conversation starter: How long could you last in a match at professional level?” Spoiler alert: The answer, Diss points out (without giving the story away), is not long. “But Plimpton’s eloquence and brio propels this dive into American football in a way that’s both very funny and dredges up a newfound respect for even the lowliest pro athlete,” he explains. Okrent is also a fan, telling us “Plimpton’s weeks in uniform in the Detroit Lions’ training camp may have been a stunt, but the book is a gem. However bad Plimpton was as an NFL quarterback, he was that good as a writer — a truly winning combination.”

Another recommended football memoir

According to Rooks, this memoir, written by “one of the more polarizing figures in sports, forces us to ask many questions, especially ‘When does a person who did bad things qualify for the public’s forgiveness?’” Finally Free , Rooks says, tackles Vick’s search for that answer as he goes through his many controversies. “It stuck with me,” she says, “because it speaks to the idea that the bad things that happen to us shape us just as much as the good.”

Best soccer memoirs

Best overall soccer memoir.

While High Fidelity author Nick Hornby spent even less time playing professional sports than George Plimpton (a.k.a. no time at all), Fever Pitch was recommended to us as the ultimate fan’s memoir by three people, two of whom say they weren’t really fans of soccer before picking it up. The book “reads like a letter from a friend,” according to Diss, who describes the plot as “a fan in conversation with himself, in a doomed romance with his club, and asking what it all means to have those men chasing after a ball and those people standing there in the freezing cold and rain watching them do so.” Schilling says Fever Pitch was his entrée into the world of obsessive soccer fandom, telling us the prose “played right into my young-adult-male belief in intellectual and emotional purity. If you are going to love something — Arsenal, the Smiths, comic books, sketch comedy — you better love it to the point that it damages your ability to function in society or hold a job.” Sports journalist Sarah Baicker adds that you “probably don’t even have to care about sports to love the book, but if you do, as I do, you’ll recognize yourself in Hornby’s fandom.”

Another recommended soccer memoir

Wambach’s autobiography came recommended to us by sports reporter and commentator Kate Fagan . According to Fagan, the former star forward of the U.S. women’s national team “isn’t here to build her brand or make you love her, she’s here to be honest about her life, about her drinking, and about the inside workings about the peaks and valleys of being a professional athlete.” For that reason, she says that “if you want to really understand the grind of an athlete — read this.”

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33 Sports Books to Read Now That Sports Are (Mostly) Back

We missed them, too.

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Everyone loves an underdog. That’s why we’re drawn to sports movies—there’s something special about the magic depicted in Remember The Titans , Miracle , or even something silly like The Waterboy . But good sports books, and we mean good ones, go even deeper. Whether we’re learning a lot about something we already care about, diving deep into a brand new subject, or taking in an entirely fictional world in a novel set in a universe alternate to our own, there’s always going to just be more when you’re the one painting the pictures inside your own mind.

And now with so much time—there’s still a pandemic happening, last we checked—sports fans need to find alternate ways to get their fix; just flipping to ESPN doesn’t hit the same when there’s no NBA Playoffs Game 5 to catch the end of. But that’s OK, because for every epic sports moment or figure that you can think of, there’s probably a book where you can learn more.

Want to learn more about Mike Tyson? You got it. How about Michael Jordan? Sure. Maybe you want to find a great Yogi Berra quote to text your mom to make her laugh. A solid option! All of that and more can come from picking the right book. And below, we’ve got 33 of the very best that can help to make this sports-less quarantine period that much less painful.

Pocket Books The Jordan Rules: The Inside Story of One Turbulent Season with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls

Brand: Riverhead Fever Pitch

You've probably heard of this one in its form as a Jimmy Fallon-led (remember when he used to act?) 2004 romantic comedy about a guy balancing his love life with his obsessive love for the Boston Red Sox. The movie, actually, is based on a memoir of obsessive devotion to English Football Club Arsenal, written by author Nick Hornby ( High Fidelity, A Long Way Down).  Funny, interesting, and still engrossing, if you're a sports fan who just can't figure out why you continue rooting for the loser , you'll find home here. 

St. Martin's Press 24: Life Stories and Lessons from the Say Hey Kid

While we're all missing baseball (and believe me, we  all  wish we were at a ballpark with a hot dog and a beer right about now), why not read a brand new book from the mind of one of the game's all-time greats? Willie Mays came together with co-author John Shea to tell the story of his incredible, lengthy career (he played from 1951-1973), which saw him play through the civil rights era as one of the game's earliest superstars. 

Back Bay Books What Made Maddy Run: The Secret Struggles and Tragic Death of an All-American Teen

Things might not always be as shiny as they seem. That's the main takeaway in this crushing book by Kate Fagan, expanded from her ESPN Magazine story about the tragic suicide of Madison Holleran. The story looks at a college athlete who by all accounts would've seemed to "have it all," but always had an unexplainable darkness bubbling under the surface. An absolutely crushing story, but one that deserves to be read. 

Back Bay Books Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN

This nonfiction story on the past and present of ESPN is long (763 pages) but it's an oral history—so you can read through it like movie dialogue. Starting with stories of the network's very beginning in 1979, and coming up to date with many names that you'll still see on TV every day, this book is gripping, and quite cinematic. So cinematic, in fact, that a major adaptation has been in discussion for a couple years now. Read the book now and get ahead of the curve. 

Workman Publishing Company The Yogi Book

This isn't so much a book you'll sit down and read for a couple hours as much as it's something you'll pick up when sitting with family and friends and get a good laugh at. As a collection of Yogi Berra's greatest quotes and his funniest anecdotes (and with less than 200 pages) , it's hard to beat  The Yogi Book. 

Scribner Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike

Did you ever wonder what goes into those cool sneakers you picked up for $120? If you have, great. If you haven't, maybe now is the time to start wondering.  Shoe Dog  is an interesting, never-before-told story from Phil Knight about founding a company you might have heard of called Nike. Where did 'Just Do It' come from? The answer is here. 

Triumph Books Doc: The Life of Roy Halladay

Todd Zolecki's brand-new book (it just came out on May 19) takes a deeper look at the late MLB star Roy Halladay. Halladay, who was inducted in the Hall of Fame last summer, and is yet another case of someone who had demons hiding beneath the surface;  Doc  tells the fascinating story behind Halladay's balancing act. He was a star on the field, and a beloved father and husband, while also dealing with the dark demons that come along with addiction. 

Plume Undisputed Truth

It can feel like there's a divide a lot of the time with celebrity memoirs. Sure, it's someone you want to read from and learn about, but the book isn't in their voice—it's some undisclosed ghostwriter's voice. Well,  Undisputed  Truth  almost certainly has its own ghostwriter, but it's a damn good one, because it reads  exactly  like a book that Mike Tyson would write. This book hops from one entertaining anecdote to the next, and never feels like you're getting your information from anywhere other than the man itself. 

Simon & Schuster Tiger Woods

When  The Last Dance  ended, a popular conversation emerged: Who else could possibly be as compelling as Michael Jordan? Who could possibly power their own 10-part documentary series? A common response was Tiger Woods, and as this biography by Jeff Benedict—published just before his incredible 2019 Masters win—proves, there's quite a lot to mine.  Tiger Woods  talks to more than 250 people in the golfer's orbit, and paints as clear a picture as you could possibly imagine. 

Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster The Dynasty

OK, we'll be up front with you— The Dynasty  isn't out yet. It comes out in September. But you're going to want to pre-order this book from writer Jeff Benedict—who wrote the above  Tiger Woods . Here, he has a book of the same ilk on the way about the New England Patriots, with more than 200 interviews conducted about the team's three lightening rods: Robert Kraft, Bill Belichick, and Tom Brady .  With Brady now a Tampa Bay Buccaneer, we're guessing there might have been some last-minute edits—and we can't wait to read them. 

PublicAffairs The Victory Machine: The Making and Unmaking of the Warriors Dynasty

If you liked  The Jordan Rules,  this book from NBA writer Ethan Sherwood Strauss might be the closest thing to a modern-day version of it. Focusing on the late-2010s Golden State Warriors dynasty years, this book takes inside looks at Warriors ownership and the emergence of the dynasty, and at Kevin Durant's entry and exit into the story. The mercurial Durant refused to be interviewed for the book—which, in a lot of ways, that makes it even juicier. 

The Cactus League: A Novel

Do you love baseball? Do you love good writing? Then  The Cactus League —the debut novel from  Paris Review  editor Emily Nemens—is for you. You know the baseball player stereotypes: the tobacco-chewing, steroid-using, meathead beefcakes.  The characters in  The Cactus League  are not this. Instead, it  looks at the inverse; the guys in spring training. Guys who don't know their future; who don't know if they're even going to make the team. It's fiction, but it's a baseball fan's dream—especially when games aren't currently being played. 

H. G. Bissinger Friday Night Lights

The book that launched the critically acclaimed film and television show, Bissinger’s chronicle of high school football in West Texas is a snapshot of the gridiron’s grip on small town America.

John McPhee A Sense of Where You Are: Bill Bradley at Princeton

The legendary New Yorker writer’s brilliant profile of Bill Bradley—the former U.S. senator and New York Knicks star.

Jim Bouton Ball Four: Twentieth Anniversary Edition

The ex-pitcher’s chronicle of his 1969 season with the New York Yankees is one of the greatest books about baseball not because it glorifies the sport, as so many baseball books do, but because it serves as an insider account of the seedier side of the game: the infighting, the womanizing, and Mickey Mantle’s heavy drinking. With its unblinking look at the side of locker room culture most of us will never see up close, it was critically lauded at the time and has become a non-fiction classic—even though it cost him friends on the diamond.

Andre Agassi Open: An Autobiography

Memoirs by former athletes are almost always dull, self-glorifying, and cliche. But tennis great Andre Agassi threw out the formula for his 2009 memoir, in which the Punisher peels back the curtain to show readers the price he paid for his success on the court—an unhappy childhood in which he was groomed for tennis greatness at an early age that gave way to a stressful adulthood which found him unfulfilled by his accomplishments.

Michael Lewis Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game

You’d be hard-pressed to find a book that’s had more of an impact on the sport it’s about. Lewis’s insightful 2003 profile of Billy Beane and the Oakland Athletics, which was later turned into the Brad Pitt movie of the same name, inspired front offices across the MLB and beyond to rethink their approach to assembling their teams—for better and for worse.

A. J. Liebling The Sweet Science

No list of sports books could be complete without Liebling’s collection of essays on boxing. The late author and New Yorker writer wrote about boxing the way he wrote about food, another of his favorite subjects—with insight and wit in equal parts. He was so renowned for his meditations on the sport that the Boxing Writers Association of America named a damn award after him.

Wayne Coffey The Boys of Winter: The Untold Story of a Coach, a Dream, and the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team

The former New York Daily News sportswriter’s 2005 book is perhaps the definitive account of the 1980 U.S. Men’s Hockey Team—the group of amateur Americans who took on the superb Russian squad in Lake Placid and performed a “Miracle on Ice.”

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Best Sports Books: Top 10 Athlete Biographies [2024 Update]

Posted by Rubin Alaie | The Best Book Lists | 2

What are the best sportsbooks in recent years? Here you will find a top 10 with the most beautiful sports biographies to be inspired by top athletes, including football players and other top athletes.

Contents of this page:

The top 10 best books about sports

Criteria for compiling these recommended books.

Our editors have carefully read as many as possible books about this subject. Then, they used the following criteria for choosing the best picks: ⠀

• The literary quality of the books.
• The amount of books sold worldwide.
• The professional reviews in newspapers.
• The expertise and experience from the author.
• The quality of the examples, knowledge and practicality
• The actuality and whether the information is useful or too old.
• Our editor’s opinions: they have read and judged the books extensively.

Full disclosure: as Amazon Associates we earn from qualifying purchases.

1.The League: How Five Rivals Created the NFL and Launched a Sports Empire

The way the author weaved the narrative of the establishment and endurance of the NFL through the point of view of these five men was engaging from start to finish. A must-read for any NFL fans looking to gain a unique understanding of the birth of their beloved sport.

2.Cloudbuster Nine: The Untold Story of Ted Williams and the Baseball Team That Helped Win World War II 

An absolute necessity read for baseball darlings, history buffs, and any individual who wants to be taken back to a period of genuine legends. This is simply a must-read for anyone out there with eyes! A unique and jaw-dropping tale that is not to be missed.

3.The Mamba Mentality: How I Play

Our pick for any Kobe Bryant fans out there. This book has become even more relevant in recent years after the passing of the basketball lessons. From start to finish, this is an inspiring read that looks at both Bryant’s extraordinary talent and the man behind it.

4.The Greatest Baseball Stories Ever Told: Thirty Unforgettable Tales from the Diamond

This is the perfect Christmas present for any baseball fans out there. 30 individual and unique stories that often go untold. Interesting from start to finish and each story feels as if it has its own voice. A must-read for any die hard supporters of the sport.

5.One Shot at Forever: A Small Town, an Unlikely Coach, and a Magical Baseball Season

An extremely enjoyable book about communities and humble community games. For those who love a true rags-to-riches underdog tale, this is about as good as it gets. Any baseball fans out there who do not know this story simply must read about it now!

6.The Ultimate Football Trivia Book: 600 Questions for the Super-Fan

If you’re a true football fan, then this book is a must try. Our pick for anyone looking for a stocking filler for a football fan this Christmas. This book is a great test of football knowledge with 600 questions of varying difficulty. Not only will you have fun, but you will learn too!

7.The Greatest Gambling Story Ever Told: A True Tale of Three Gamblers, The Kentucky Derby, and the Mexican Cartel

The story is incredible! The author is a genius! A jaw-dropping story told in such an amazing way. You do not have to be a gambling fan at all to enjoy this story. It’s a tale that grips you from the very first word to the last.

8.The Story of Baseball: In 100 Photographs

The perfect gift for any baseball fans. There are plenty of information and trivia books out there but this book looks to compile the most important and game-changing moments in baseball in 100 photographs, from humble beginnings to finals viewed by millions.

9.Shoot Your Shot: A Sport-Inspired Guide To Living Your Best Life

For any young sport-lover growing up, no matter where they are, how wealthy they are, or what their dreams are, this is the book for them. Inspirational from the first word until the last, the author Vernon creates such a powerful guide to finding happiness in life.

10.Rising Above: How 11 Athletes Overcame Challenges in Their Youth to Become Stars 

Recommended for every sports lover. Real life always beats fiction! This book outlines 11 famous athletes who faced huge challenges in their early years but came out the other side stronger than ever. Eye-opening, informative and inspirational!

What do you find in these top 10 biographies of elite athletes?

Stacks of football books seem to be written every year. What is a good choice from this? In this list you won’t necessarily find the very best sports books ever, but they are certainly inspiring and poignant.

Also for children it is good to read some of these books about football and other sports, for example so that they know exactly how someone became successful or so that they become familiar with the pitfalls of being famous.

Biography books football players and other athletes : o ther recommendations outside the top 10

• I am Zlatan and Ik Zlatan are indispensable to learn what goes into the way Zlatan Ibrahimovic lives, thinks and plays. He has grown into a football player who continues to surprise and never disappoint.
• I think therefore I play – Andrea Pirlo
• I f you are specifically looking for good soccer books, check out these recommendations.

Enjoy reading!

Related: also read this...

About the author.

Rubin Alaie

Hello! Thanks for reading these articles. My intention is to make happiness as simple and clear as posssible. By the way, excuse my English. I am not a native English speaker since I live in Amsterdam. Much appreciated if you use the comments to make suggestions on my grammar. See ya in another blogpost!

Tags: sport biography

Dear, taste is always personal but still strange and unfortunate that the biography of the German goalkeeper Ronald Enke: “A life too short” by Ronald Reng is not mentioned here. A truly fantastic biography that stands out from many other popular biographies. One to really read!

Thank you for adding Stein 🙂

Further Reading (Related)

Full disclosure.

As Amazon Associates we earn from qualifying purchases. Furthermore, certain content that appears on our our website, comes from Amazon. This content provided is ‘as is’ and is subject to change.

The best sports books and autobiographies

From gritty sports autobiographies by olympic athletes and a multiple ballon d’or winner to explorations of marathon running and the cultural impact of football, here is a trophy cabinet of some of the best sports books jostling for position on the shelves..

Determined, competitive and possessing an impressive capacity for mental endurance – the characteristics that make great athletes often lead them to live extraordinary lives. Sports autobiographies offer us the opportunity to get the full story behind the goals, records and medals, as well as help us understand the wider impact of the athletic world off the field.

Whether your favourite sport requires a ball, an engine or even a hoof, here is a compilation of the best sports books and autobiographies out there.

• Running & athletics
• Other sports

The best football books

By chris kamara.

One of the most well-known faces of the beautiful game, Chris ‘Kammy’ Kamara is a national treasure. Now, he’s sharing the story of his incredible life. From his days in the Royal Navy and a playing career that took him all over England to becoming one of the game’s best-loved commentators, Kammy lifts the lid on a career that he could never have dreamt of growing up in Middlesbrough. Told with unflinching honesty, but with his trademark humour and positivity, this is a must-read for any football fan.

The World's Biggest Cash Machine

By chris blackhurst.

In The World's Biggest Cash Machine , Chris Blackhurst meticulously unravels the controversial reign of the Glazers over Manchester United. Purchasing the club in 2005, they ignited global discontent, driving it into record debts and marking the fiscal transformation of football. Despite on-field declines, they flourished financially. Blackhurst probes their secretive lives and business acumen, while mapping the club’s captivating journey amidst the Premier League’s metamorphosis into a billionaires' haven.

On Days Like These

By martin o'neill.

With a career spanning over fifty years, Martin tells of his exhilarating highs and painful lows; from the joys of winning trophies, promotion and fighting for World Cups to being harangued by fans, boardroom drama, relegation scraps and being fired. Written with his trademark honesty and humour,  On Days Like These  is one of the most insightful and captivating sports autobiographies and a must-read for any fans of the beautiful game.

Cheers, Geoff!

By geoff shreeves.

Packed full of hilarious stories on and off the pitch – including trying to teach Sir Michael Caine how to act, a frightening encounter with Mike Tyson, as well as getting a lift home from the World Cup with Mick Jagger –  Cheers, Geoff!  is a must-read autobiography for any football fan. A natural storyteller, Geoff brings an astonishing catalogue of tales to life with his unique brand of experience, insight and humour.

The Little Red Book of Klopp

By giles elliott.

It’s debatable whether Jürgen Klopp is better-known for his charisma off the pitch or his success on it. Having brought Liverpool back to winning ways in both the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League, Klopp is known for captivating press conferences and charming touch-line antics. The Little Red Book of Klopp is a collection of his most iconic sayings, from light-hearted witticisms to cutting insults.

The Age of Football

By david goldblatt.

For many people around the world, football is so much more than just a game. In The Age of Football , sport historian David Goldblatt widens the lens to trace how the game intersects politics, economics and wider culture. With focuses as diverse as prison football in Uganda, the presidency of Recep Erdogan and the importance of the beautiful game in the Arab Spring, David demonstrates the extent to which the sport impacts society today.

My Life in Football

By kevin keegan.

Whether it’s being the only Englishman to win the Ballon d’Or twice, achieving European glory with Liverpool or managing Newcastle from the bottom of the Second Division to the brink of winning the Premier League title, Kevin Keegan – known as ‘King Kev’ – has proven his pedigree both on the pitch and the touchline.  His autobiography details the highs and lows of an illustrious career, including clashes with Sir Alex Ferguson and his return to Newcastle during the controversial Mike Ashley era.

The best rugby books

By rassie erasmus.

Rassie Erasmus, a rugby maverick, unfolds his unconventional journey from player to coach in the pinnacle of the sport. This candid account delves into his pivotal roles in iconic Springbok teams, grappling with injuries, and pioneering coaching methods. Most crucially, Rassie talks about his greatest contribution to South African rugby: appointing its first black captain, Siya Kolisi, without much fanfare or controversy. As his bold plans for effective racial transformation of the national team achieved immediate success, they culminated in glory at the 2019 Rugby World Cup. 

Too Many Reasons to Live

By rob burrow.

The inspirational memoir from rugby league legend Rob Burrow on his extraordinary career and his battle with motor neurone disease.

This is the story of a tiny kid who adored rugby league but never should have made it  –  and ended up in the Leeds hall of fame. It's the story of a man who resolved to turn a terrible predicament into something positive  –  when he could have thrown the towel in. It's about the power of love, between Rob and his childhood sweetheart Lindsey; and of friendship, between Rob and his faithful team mates. Far more than a sports memoir,  Too Many Reasons to Live  is a story of boundless courage and infinite kindness.

‘ He is one in a million and his story is truly inspirational ’ Clare Balding on Rob Burrows

Belonging: The Autobiography

By alun wyn jones.

Belonging  is the story about how as a boy, Alun Wyn Jones left Mumbles and returned as the most capped rugby player of all time. It is the story of what it takes to become a player who is seen by many as one of the greatest Welsh players there has ever been. What it takes to go from sitting, crossed legged on the hall floor at school, watching the 1997 Lions Tour of South Africa to being named the 2021 Lions Captain.

But is it also about  perthyn  - belonging, playing for Wales, what it takes to earn the right to be there, and what it feels like to make the sacrifices along the way. 

‘ Unbelievable player. Magnificent captain. One of the game’s greatest icons. ’ James Haskell on Alun Wyn Jones

by Eddie Jones

One of the most successful sports coaches ever, Eddie Jones took three separate nations to Rugby World Cup Finals, and enjoyed a success rate with the England team of almost eighty per cent. An expert in guiding and managing high-performing teams, Jones believes that his methods can be applied to many walks of life. From fostering ambition to following your curiosity, Jones shares his methodology, much of it learned through conversations with other successful managers and leaders, including Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and Pep Guardiola. Leadership  is the ultimate guide to being your best, in rugby and in life.

My Life and Rugby

With a career spanning four World Cups, Eddie Jones is one of the most seasoned figures in Rugby Union. Possessing an unparalleled ability to transform teams, he built the Japan national team into the side that defeated South Africa in 2015, and turned a struggling England team into finalists at the 2019 World Cup. The England coach is never afraid to speak his mind, and his autobiography is told true to unflinching form.

The best running & athletics books

The running book, by john connell.

John Connell, award-winning author of The Cow Book, takes the reader on a marathon run of 42.2 kilometres through Ireland. Over 42 chapters and 42,000 words, John reflects on his life, Irish history and the stories of his greatest running heroes. Whether you’re a keen runner or you’d just like to read what it’s like to undertake a marathon, The Running Book is the perfect endorphin-filled sports book about the nature of happiness and how it can be found on foot.

Unbelievable - From My Childhood Dreams To Winning Olympic Gold

By jessica ennis.

Jessica Ennis-Hill has been one of the poster girls for women in sport for years. Indeed, arguably the greatest moment of the London 2012 games came when Jessica secured her heptathlon gold medal. But her rise was beset with challenges. From being bullied as a child for being small to her career-threatening injury on the eve of the 2008 Olympics, Jessica has had to show plenty of perseverance to prove her doubters wrong. This sports autobiography tells the full story behind the world’s greatest female all-rounder athlete.

The best tennis books

My life: queen of the court, by serena williams.

Serena Williams needs little introduction, having won every major title going in tennis. From growing up playing on courts covered in broken glass in Compton to reaching the top of world tennis, all while being criticised for her unorthodox playing style and dealing with the tragic shooting of her older sister, Serena has proven herself an inspiration to her multitudes of fans. In My Life , she reflects on her extraordinary journey.

The Inner Game of Tennis

By w timothy gallwey.

Recently named by Bill Gates as one of his 'all-time favourite books', and described by Billie Jean King as her 'tennis bible', this bestseller has been a must-read for tennis players of all abilities for nearly fifty years. Rather than concentrating on how to improve technique, Gallwey deals with the 'inner game' within ourselves as we try to overcome doubt and maintain clarity of mind when playing. 'It’s the best book on tennis that I have ever read,' says Gates, 'and its profound advice applies to many other parts of life.'

‘ Groundbreaking . . . It’s the best book on tennis that I have ever read, and its profound advice applies to many other parts of life. I still give it to friends today. ’ Bill Gates

The best boxing books

When fury takes over, by john fury.

Born into a family of Irish traveller heritage, Big John Fury descends from a long line of bare-knuckle fighters. So it’s no surprise that he too found himself fighting outside the ring at a young age. From his early years in Manchester, John learned to box by practising fighting within the travelling community, before graduating into the sport professionally. The ring has never been far from his sights, and John has played a crucial role in coaching and being a cornerman for his two-time British heavyweight champion son, Tyson Fury. From Netflix's  At Home With The Furys  this is the Gypsy Warrior, Big John Fury, totally unfiltered and in his own words.

Believe: Boxing, Olympics and my life outside the ring

By nicola adams.

Nicola Adams famously changed the face of sport at London 2012 when she became the first woman ever to win an Olympic gold medal for boxing. Repeating her medal haul at Rio 2016 further cemented her place in the nation’s hearts, while she has also gone on to become a champion for  LGBTQ+ rights and a contestant on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing. Believe documents the grit and determination that got her to gold.

The best swimming books

By yusra mardini.

While Yusra Mardini was fleeing her native Syria for the Turkish coast in 2015, the small dingy she and many other refugees were on began to sink. Yusra, her sister and two others took to the water, pushing the boat for three and a half hours in open water until they arrived safely at Lesbos. Remarkably, Yusra went on to compete as a swimmer for the Refugee Olympic Athletes Team in the 2016 Rio Olympics, and also became a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador. Her autobiography is for anyone who loves true-life stories of outstanding resilience.

In the 1970s, Diana Nyad was widely regarded as the greatest long-distance swimmer in the world but one record continually eluded her: becoming the first woman to swim between Cuba and the Florida Keys. Finally, after four failed attempts and at the age of sixty-four, Diana completed the crossing. This memoir shows her unwavering belief in the face of overwhelming odds. Winner of the Cross Sports International Autobiography of the Year, this is a story of perseverance, tenacity and commitment on an epic scale.

The best books about other sports

Jan ullrich: the best there never was, by daniel friebe.

In 1997, Jan Ullrich obliterated his rivals in the first mountain stage of the Tour de France. So awesome was his display that it sent shockwaves throughout the world of cycling. Everyone agreed: Jan Ullrich was the future of cycling. He was also voted Germany’s most popular sportsperson of all time, and his rivalry with Lance Armstrong defined the most controversial years of the Tour de France. But just what did happen to the best who never was? This is an account of how unbearable expectation, mental and physical fragility, a complicated childhood, a morally corrupt sport and one individual – Lance Armstrong – can conspire to reroute destiny.

by Poorna Bell

Have you ever worried that you're not enough, or that, if you were stronger or more confident you would achieve more? In Stronger , award-winning journalist and competitive amateur powerlifter Poorna Bell investigates and unveils the potential that women can unlock when they realise their strength – both physical, and mental. Through examining her own experiences, as well as those of dozens of women, Bell shows how finding strength can work for you, regardless of your age, ability or background, and offers actionable ways for your to harness it in your life. 

Lights Out, Full Throttle

By damon hill.

Amassing 261 Grand Prix appearances between them, Johnny Herbert and Damon Hill have experienced all the highs, lows and injury records associated with the greatest names in motorsport. In Lights Out, Full Throttle , Johnny and Damon take the reader on a tour around the high-octane world of F1 racing, from Silverstone and safety to Monaco and money, as well as looking at the future of racing in the light of Covid-19 and Black Lives Matter.

Alone on the Wall

By alex honnold.

Anyone who has seen the Oscar and BAFTA-winning documentary Free Solo will be familiar with Alex Honnold’s vertigo-inducing work. As one of the world’s best ‘free solo’ climbers, Alex tackles perilous rock faces without the use of any climbing gear. Free soloists undertake one of the deadliest sports on the planet – many have died in pursuit of their sport. Alone on the Wall is a pulse-raising account of some of Alex’s greatest climbs, told with Alex ‘No Big Deal’ Honnold’s trademark calm and collected humour in the face of mortal danger. A sports autobiography for adrenaline junkies.

Dream Horse

By janet vokes.

Janet Vokes dreamed of breeding a working-class horse to take on the wealthy high-flyers. To pursue this idea she bought a mare for £350, bred it with a pedigree stallion and encouraged her Welsh mining village to band together to raise the resulting foal, Dream Alliance. Despite being raised on an allotment, Dream went on to defy the odds at Ascot, Aintree and even Cheltenham Festival. Heart-warming reading for anyone who loves a true underhorse sports book.

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The 35 Best Sports Books Ever Written

Fill the gaps between watching sport with the greatest writing about Muhammad Ali, Brian Clough, Diego Maradona and more

We’re not the first to observe that the thing about sport is that it comes with a built-in narrative arc. There will be heroes and there will be villains. There will be triumphs and there will be disappointments. There will be winners and there will be losers (unless it’s a sport like football which, to Ted Lasso’s continuing befuddlement, allows for a “tie”). But what happens off the pitch, or outside the field, or court-side, can often be as dramatic – if not more so – than what happens on, as it takes a certain type of person to excel at sport: gifted, driven, and sometimes, yes, a little psychotic.

A Woman's Game: The Rise, Fall and Rise Again of Women's Football by Suzy Wrack (2022)

Timed to land just as the Lionesses started their tilt at winning the Euros and immortality, the Guardian's Suzy Wrack traces women's football from the mid-Great War, post-Suffragette days when huge crowds would flock to see women's teams – Dick, Kerr's Ladies drew 53,000 to Goodison Park on Boxing Day 1920 – to a backlash that saw women banned from playing on FA pitches between 1921 and 1971 on the grounds that football was "unsuitable for females". Then, the slow climb back to prominence, and a big decision to make: does women's football try to 'catch up' with the global reach of the men's game, or make the most of what makes it different and joyful? This is a thorough run through a backstory which rarely used to make the back pages.

The Game of Our Lives: The Meaning and Making of English Football by David Goldblatt (2014)

In the men's game, however, things have rarely been more weird. At the time of writing, Manchester United may still be bought out by former Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Jassim, and the season has stretched into late June thanks to a mid-winter World Cup. How did we get here? Goldblatt shows how English football as we know it was liquidated and reformed as an entertainment product to beat them all in the wake of the Thatcher years, knitting it together with the ways England itself has changed in the 21st century. A lot has changed in the last decade – Chelsea cop a lot of flak, despite the ownership now looking positively quaint next to Manchester City and Newcastle United – but to understand how we got here, start with this.

Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life by William Finnegan (2015)

Finnegan’s Pulitzer-Prize-winning memoir about his lifelong obsession with surfing – starting in California as kid, then Hawaii as a teen, taking him right though to New York in the present (a lesser-known surf spot, certainly) – is a searing and startling paean to the sport. Yes it can seem pointless, and yes it can be punishing, but Finnegan is able to encapsulate the feeling of freedom and euphoria like few others, while also describing his own meandering personal history, which somehow transformed him from a twentysomething stoner surf-bum into a renowned political journalist for the New Yorker, particularly for his reporting from Apartheid-era South Africa.

Blood Horses: Notes of a Sportswriter’s Son by John Jeremiah Sullivan (2004)

Like so many of the titles on this list, John Jeremiah Sullivan’s first book – printed in the UK for the first time in 2013 after the success of his brilliant 2012 essay collection, Pulphead – is a sports book but also something more. It began as a consideration of the life of his late father, Mike Sullivan, who had been a sportswriter for a Kentucky newspaper, and whose fascination with sport in general, and with horse racing in particular, his son had never quite managed to understand. In telling the story of the legendary racehorse Secretariat, one of whose Kentucky derby wins his father attended, he unpicks a sport that is both fascinating and mystifying in equal measure.

Land of Second Chances: The Impossible Rise of Rwanda’s Cycling Team by Tim Lewis (2013)

If sport can be accused of providing neat story arcs (see intro!), or clear-cut heroes and villains, Lewis’s British Sports Book Award-winning exploration of the attempt – by a group of American former professional cyclists – to set up a cycling team in Rwanda a decade after the genocide there in which 1 million people were slaughtered, is as nuanced and fascinating as they come. Lewis, a contributing editor to Esquire , spent time in Rwanda with the would-be riders, including the talented Adrien Niyonshuti, who lost six brothers in the 1994 genocide, and also the professionals who helicopter in to set up the country’s first team, but who, in the case of coach Jock Boyer, turns out to have a dark past of his own.

Football Against The Enemy by Simon Kuper (1994)

Football against the enemy.

Financial Times columnist Simon Kuper wrote this accomplished and quirky footballing travelogue when he was still only in his early 20s. And it's remarkably good; arguably the first and even best in the now-not-so-new wave of 'literary' football tomes that have followed in ever-greater numbers. Kuper travels to 22 countries to find out how football has shaped individual national politics and culture – and vice versa – meeting players, politicians and picking up anecdotes and observations along the way. We all know football as a global obsession, but these fascinating tales – from the tragic to the bizarre – show just how far its reach extends.

Touching The Void by Joe Simpson (1988)

Simpson's harrowing account of his and Simon Yates's calamitous assault, in 1985, on Siula Grande, Peru, has rightly transcended the sport of climbing and become a legendary fable for what humans are capable of doing to survive. It centres, of course, on one of the most amazing escapes ever achieved: with Simpson hopelessly hanging off one end of a rope, Yates is faced with cutting it to prevent them both being killed. Somehow, Simpson survives the fall. But alone in a crevasse with a shattered leg, his situation is hopeless. What follows is a staggering tale of will and courage that also addresses the perennial question of what drives people to climb mountains in the first place. As Churchill said: "When you're going through hell, keep going".

A Good Walk Spoiled: Days And Nights On The PGA Tour by John Feinstein (1995)

Even if you're not a golf fan – though it certainly helps if you are – this groundbreaking account of the highs and lows of the 1993/4 season on the American pro circuit is ultimately a human drama. With unprecedented access to the stars – Greg Norman, Nick Price, John Daly and Nick Faldo to name just a few – and rookies alike, it reveals the disparate personalities and personal travails behind the TV images and how these combine with the particular demands of a sport where the margins between success and failure are so thin. A gripping and always entertaining account of what can justifiably be called the cruellest sport of all, whatever your level.

Addicted by Tony Adams (1998)

Harpercollins pub ltd addicted.

Adams was still a regular for Arsenal and England when his jaw-droppingly frank autobiography was published at the start of the 1998–99 season. His drinking problem destroyed him personally yet seemed to leave his football unaffected (wearing bin bags under training kit to sweat out the booze served him well). If any stories were left out, they must have been truly hideous. Here are remembrances of picking through jeans on the bedroom floor to find the least-piss-soaked pair to wear. Expect fights, prostitutes, broken lives, redemption.

Paper Lion by George Plimpton (1966)

To millennial sportswriters who never leave the office (or sofa) to live blog sport on TV, Plimpton’s participatory journalism (“that ugly descriptive”, in his words) must seem preposterous and grand. That Plimpton himself came across ever so slightly preposterous and grand was not lost on the man himself, who pricked that public persona with a terrifically witty, inquisitive writing style that worked best applied to sport. Of his five books about taking part in pro-level match-ups in boxing, baseball, ice hockey, golf and US football, Paper Lion , on the latter, is the finest.

Pocket Money by Gordon Burn (1986)

Burn, known for his mixing of fiction with non-fiction in the New Journalism style, spent a year documenting snooker during its mid-Eighties’ boom, and produced one of the lesser-known classics of British sportswriting. Reading it now, Burn is not the Hunter S of the green baize: his write-up is as straight as Steve Davis’s cue action, yet all the better for it. Every endorsement deal, every shit hotel room from Stoke to Guangzhou, every hour on the practice table, every string pulled by the promoter Barry Hearn: Burn recorded the lot with great skill.

Provided You Don't Kiss Me: 20 Years With Brian Clough by Duncan Hamilton (2007)

“A spurious intimacy evolves between you,” writes Hamilton, of the relationship between a football club reporter and the club’s manager. In his case, from the age of 18 for two decades in Nottingham, with Clough, “an extraordinary journey with a contradictory, Chinese box of a man — idiosyncratic, eccentric, wholly unpredictable.” Clough’s one-liners are magnificent, for example, on a time before blanket player representation: “the only agent back then was 007 — and he shagged women, not entire football clubs.” Hamilton’s poignant, revealing book is a wonder.

I Think Therefore I Play by Andrea Pirlo (2013)

Sh123 andrea pirlo: i think therefore i play.

I Am Zlatan is held up as the foreign footballer’s must-read memoir, but entertaining though the Swede’s book is, time spent rubbing up against his ego isn’t so enlightening. Pirlo’s, however, has the sort of insight you’d expect from the thinking man’s Greatest Player of his Generation. "You won’t believe me, but it was right in that very moment," about to take the first penalty in the 2006 World Cup Final shoot-out, "I understood what a great thing it is to be Italian. It’s a truly priceless privilege." Also learned: he adores video-game football and always plays as Barça.

Laughing in the Hills by Bill Barich (1980)

As mid-life crises go, Barich’s, aged 35, is special. Five rejected novels, mother and mother-in-law dead of cancer five weeks apart, no money, no job, wife with suspected brain tumour. Craving structure, he found it only studying the Daily Racing Form , picking horses methodically and placing small bets. He then told his wife (tumour: false alarm), he’d be moving to a motel next to San Francisco’s Golden Gate Fields racetrack, “convinced there was something special about racing and I wanted to get to the heart of the matter.” There was. He did. His write-up of that time is spectacularly good.

Ball Four by Jim Bouton (1970)

On the face of it, a diary of the 1969 season by a second-string pitcher for the Seattle Pilots baseball team, the only year that team existed, does not leap to the top of the to-read pile. But the total frankness in terms of locker-room talk, player drug use and womanising, bad blood, gamesmanship and other off-topic matters means this is the most inside-a-team book you’ll ever read. It offended baseball so much, Bouton’s 1971 follow-up was called I’m Glad You Didn’t Take It Personally . David Simon, creator of The Wire , put Ball Four in his six all-time favourite books.

The Damned United by David Peace (2006)

Faber & faber the damned utd.

Brian Clough (see elsewhere on this list) spent 44 days as manager of Leeds United in 1974. Peace’s self-styled “fiction, based on a fact” unpacks this mistake via an unrelenting Clough inner monologue that brings the great man vividly to life. (The Clough family, and Leeds’ Johnny Giles disagreed, the latter winning an apology though the courts.) As a study of football partisanship, one of the game’s most important emotions, it is astonishing. Said Gordon Burn (see elsewhere on the list), “if the English novel needs a kick up the pants... consider it wholeheartedly kicked.”

Muhammad Ali by various

Taschen gmbh greatest of all time: a tribute to muhammad ali.

The Greatest has a whole shelf to himself in the sporting library (including, naturally, The Greatest Coloring Book of All Time ). Four books in particular stand out, together covering every angle you could wish for. Jonathan Eig’s Ali: a Life (2017) is the best cradle-to-grave account, as good on the flaws as the fabulous. King of the World: Muhammad Ali and the Rise of an American Hero (1999) by David Remnick focuses on the Clay-becomes-Ali era of the early Sixties. The Fight (1975) is Norman Mailer’s amazing retelling of the Rumble in the Jungle, and the giant, glossy Greatest of all Time (2003; 2010 reprint) by Taschen, is the coffee table book to top them all.

Slaying the Badger: LeMond, Hinault and the Greatest Ever Tour de France by Richard Moore (2011)

The badger, or more correctly, Le Blaireau , is Bernard Hinault, the last Frenchman to win the Tour de France and one of cycling’s all-time greats. Out to get him is his American teammate Greg LeMond, who finished second to Hinault in the 1985 Tour and wants the result reversed in 1986’s race. Reliving the latter contest, Moore forces the reader to pick sides — grizzled veteran versus young upstart, old ways versus new ways, USA versus France — which only heightens the drama. Journo props to Esquire contributor Moore, too, for tracking down both men more than 25 years later for illuminating postscripts.

Open by Andre Agassi (2009)

According to The New York Times : "one of the most passionately anti-sports books ever written by a superstar athlete." Says Agassi: "I knew in the book I had to expose everything." So: the unceasing slog, from toddler to champ, that prevented him from loving tennis, or anything, until he met his second wife Steffi Graf. His failed first marriage to Brooke Shields, crystal meth: it’s all here. Props to Agassi and his quest for truth, and also his ghost, JR Moehringer, who got 250 hours of interview time with his subject instead of the typical 30.

All Played Out by Pete Davies (1990)

English football’s second-finest hour — Italia ’90 — led to its finest book. Having spent the year before the World Cup earning the trust of the England players and manager Bobby Robson, Davies was let into the camp during the tournament. He also observed, close-up, the press, fans and hooligans. An epic journey for the team and their chronicler, superbly told with sharp reportage, dry humour and real feeling. In 2010, the book was retitled One Night in Turin , to tie in with the documentary of the same name.

Chinaman by Shehan Karunatilaka (2011)

First, to get ahead of any Twitterstorm, we recognise the decision of cricket bible Wisden (the greatest annual sports book ever, of course) to stop using the term “chinaman” to describe a slow left-arm wrist-spin bowler. Such a player is one of cricket’s rare gems, and this novel is about a washed-up journalist trying to find a slow left-arm wrist-spinner who has faded from the spotlight. The author knows a lot about cricket, but he also knows a lot about myth, mystery, obsession, drinking and noble pursuits undertaken by the ignoble.

Mystery Spinner: the Story of Jack Iverson by Gideon Haigh (2002)

Hold your right hand out in front of you, palm facing you, fingers spread, then bend your middle finger at the knuckle. Now try bowling a cricket ball held between thumb and middle finger. Jack Iverson mastered it, and bamboozled batsmen so much that when he played for Australia, the captain, also Iverson’s club captain, would move players from other clubs around in the field so they couldn’t watch Iverson up close. This biography, by the writer many think is cricket’s current best (they’re correct), reveals, at times movingly, why Iverson didn't become an all-timer.

Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby (1992)

Hornby could not have imagined that his book would be relevant to the football fan’s experience 26 years after it was first published. (That it is still in print, after several bestselling years, would also be a surprise to him.) It’s harder for fans to follow Hornby’s best piece of advice — be seen reading the papers’ back pages on the first days of a new job, to attract fellow supporters — but he absolutely nails the inexorable pull of football fandom. And he had to do it all with boring, boring Arsenal.

Aurum Press Ltd Levels of the Game (Sports Classics)

Levels of the Game by John McPhee (1969)

This writers’ favourite began life, as most of its author’s books do, as an article in The New Yorker . It is an account of the 1968 US Open semi-final between Arthur Ashe and Clark Graebner, a profile of both men and their place in US society at the time. Ashe is black, Democrat, bookish, skinny; Graebner the opposite. Every sportswriter ever has played the sport-is-life-and-life-is-sport card. In this slim volume, which punches far beyond its weight, McPhee plays it best of all.

The Miracle of Castel Di Sangro by Joe McGinniss (1999)

Castel Di Sangro is a small-time football club that miraculously rose through the Italian pyramid to Serie B’s second tier for the 1996–97 season. Equally extraordinary was the presence of McGinniss, a US writer famous for a revealing Richard Nixon book and true-crime doorsteps, as the upstarts’ Boswell. He had fallen hard for soccer after the 1994 World Cup and moved to Italy to document the fairy tale. Instead: corruption, cocaine smuggling, car crashes and conspiracy to go with the calcio .

Fast Company by Jon Bradshaw (1975)

Brilliant, evocative profiles of winning gamblers including Bobby Riggs (of the 1973 'Battle of the Sexes' tennis match), pool legend Minnesota Fats and Tim Holland, backgammon’s best ever. The author, who wrote for Esquire , New York magazine and Vogue , understood these rascals because he admired and shared their qualities. In his introduction to a later edition, writer Nik Cohn remembers Bradshaw’s "conscious roguery, a Rothmans perpetually dangling from one corner of his mouth, and that lopsided shark’s grin plastering the other. He sported Turnbull & Asser silk shirts and Gucci loafers, flashed gold lighters and a Piaget watch." Touché.

Beware of the Dog by Brian Moore (2010)

England’s 64-cap hooker begins this second account of his life by effectively apologising for the less-than-candid nature of the first, then describing the sexual abuse he endured as a child, why he came to deal with it as an adult and what happened when he told his mum. It’s genuinely stunning. But this book is not on this list because of just one chapter. Everything that follows, including pissed-up rugby tales, personal and professional highs and lows, feels like it’s in the book for the same reasons as that prologue: honest, insightful and crucial to Moore’s life.

The Hand of God: the Life of Diego Maradona by Jimmy Burns (1996)

Burns was the right choice to decode Diego in the post- Fever Pitch wave of sportswriting. As the former FT man in Buenos Aires, he knew Argentina and its favourite son perhaps better than any other English-language writer. The beats of the player’s life are storyteller’s gold: shantytown upbringing, national team aged 17, FC Barcelona aged 22 (when he also had his first line of coke), World Cup winner aged 25, roaring into a camera at the World Cup, full of illegal stimulants, aged 33. Also: mafia, money, mayhem. Burns weaves it all together magnificently.

The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis (2006)

The blind side: evolution of a game.

Lewis’s Moneyball , about disruptive baseball analysis, often appears on lists of this sort, but The Blind Side is more entertaining, with a you-couldn’t-make-it-up human-interest core that some felt was over-egged in the film version starring Sandra Bullock. Back in the book, two stories are told: how a black US high-school football prospect (crack addict mother, dad killed in prison) changes after adoption by a rich white family, and how the game itself has changed with respect to the “blind side”, a quirk of player growth and tactics.

A Life Too Short: the Tragedy of Robert Enke by Ronald Reng (2011)

Reng and Enke were planning to write a book together; Reng wrote it alone after Enke killed himself in November 2009. Three months peviously, Enke had kept goal for Germany for the last time. Three years earlier, his two-year-old daughter died after lifelong heart problems. More than once, the pressure of top-level football had come down hard. Rene uses Enke’s diaries, interviews with the keeper’s wife and family and the material the two men generated together in a masterful, moving account of depression and its devastating consequences. Once read, never forgotten.

The Death of Ayrton Senna by Richard Williams (1995)

Williams, former editor of Melody Maker and chief sportswriter of The Guardian , is both the man you want over your shoulder when playing HQ Trivia and the sort of writer who can make you listen to, or care about, someone you had no interest in before reading his take on them. Of course, Senna is beloved; even more so since the 2010 documentary biopic. Williams even-handedly dispels the myths surrounding the Brazilian’s remarkable life, his tragic death and the afterlife of his legend, yet maintains his heroic aura through concise, insightful analysis.

The Illustrated History of Football by David Squires (2016)

Squires has just completed another season of football cartoons for The Guardian , with no sign of let-up in quality, hilarity or niche Simpsons references. His first book, a history of the game with all-new work, is the funniest football tome since Viz ’s Billy the Fish Football Yearbook , published 26 years earlier. The second volume, The Illustrated History of Football: Hall of Fame , is more of the same excellence.

Full Time: the Secret Life of Tony Cascarino by Paul Kimmage (2000)

Everything you’d think the 21st-century footballer is advised to leave out of an autobiog is here: infidelity, itemised career earnings, dialogue with the internal voice of crippling self-doubt (“you pathetic fucker, Cascarino!”), mystery injections from club physios and, most candidly, the fact you were not really qualified to play for your country. “Tony Goal”, as the Republic of Ireland (perhaps) centre-forward was known in France, teamed with Irish writer Paul Kimmage, whose cycling book Rough Ride and rugby book Engage , had a shot at being on this list.

A Lot of Hard Yakka, Triumph and Torment by Simon Hughes (1997)

A lot of hard yakka.

“There’s nothing exceptional about me; never was,” claims Hughes, in what is the only duff note in a book that proves his statement incorrect. His lid-lift on the jobbing cricketer’s lot is a celebration of shortfalls, on and off the pitch. After all, what is sport if not mostly mediocrity punctuated by rare moments of glory and despair? Hughes has neither of those. He has kit sponsors rewarding improved performance with “a couple of short-sleeved casual shirts” and that time he interrupted coitus to turn over the Donna Summer tape. Very funny stuff.

My Father and Other Working-Class Football Heroes by Gary Imlach (2005)

Stewart Imlach played for Scotland at the 1958 World Cup and won the FA Cup with Nottingham Forest a year later. Now you know about as much about Stewart as did his son Gary when the old man died. Holding a cigarette card of his dad at a collectors’ fair a few months after the funeral, Gary laments, “How had I managed to let him die without properly gathering together the details of his career, his life story?” Surely doubly galling for Gary, the TV sports journalist, who had likely researched thousands of other sporting lives. This book triumphantly redresses his oversight.

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The 25 Best Sports Books of All Time

By Camille Hove

Camille Hove

Contributor

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We all miss the way sports used to be, but what better way to reconnect than with one of the best sports books of all time? The greatest books transport you to another world, and sports books are no exception.

Take a deep dive into the life of your favorite players, coaches and legends through a classic sports biography, memoir or even a playbook. Sports novels are another great way to experience your favorite game in a new way, especially when told through the lens of a sports fanatic who also happens to be a novelist. Or, if you’re more interested in bettering yourself, coaches like Pete Carrol have written how-to guides to help you improve your mental game on and off the field. Whatever it is you love about sports, be it the entertainment factor, the history or hometown pride, there’s a book here for you.

Get back into the game with the best sports books ever written. These 25 books are also great gifts for sports fans . So whether you love baseball, basketball, football or more obscure sports like trail running, we’ve got something for every type of player and fan.

1. Shoe Dog by Phil Knight

What better way to start a new hobby than with one of the most beloved American brands? Reading about the beginning and lasting legacy of Nike is an astute form of sports knowledge and entertainment. You’ll have plenty of fun facts and trivia to impress your friends with by the time we can all watch a game together again. Knight went on to sell his Nike shoes from the back of his car to being a worldwide phenomenon. His story is intriguing and brilliantly told: you won’t regret picking up a copy of this enthralling life story of the man behind the brand.

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This pickleball paddle set is just $25 on amazon today, the best gym bags for men, according to personal trainers, $9.08 $20.00 55% off, 2. born to run by christopher mcdougall.

If you’re an avid runner, then you probably have plenty of running memoirs and advice books but Christopher McDougall’s exploration of the Tarahumara Indians in Mexico’s Copper Canyon is the ultimate adventure story. McDougall set out to discover why his foot was hurting and discovered an entirely new (to him) way of running from the Tarahumara’s ancient practice. They can run for hundreds of miles without stopping, chasing deer and Olympic marathoners with equal glee, but what’s their secret? Why have we all been running wrong this entire time? McDougall’s book explores all of these questions and seeks to answer his own initial question of why he’s been taught the wrong techniques his entire life. Pick up this book if you’re interested in a new way of running and to explore an untold history.

Born to Run by Christopher McDougall

$16 $35.00 54% off, 3. the mamba mentality: how i play by kobe bryant.

Famous all-star player Kobe Bryant’s book has been an all-time favorite since its publication in 2018. The basketball star goes on to explain his role in the game and how he personally approaches it with a strong mindset and something called “the Mamba Mentality” which he cites is his key to success. A teacher, mentor, and fan favorite, Bryant has given the world a gift with this book, a how-to guide for young players around the world to play in his style. As one of the most successful and creative players, Bryant has a thing or two to say to young people or anyone seeking to find their way into the game. A great book for any basketball fan and aspiring player.

The Mamba Mentality: How I Play by Kobe Bryant

$18.00 $40.00 55% off, 4. one line drive: a life-threatening injury and a faith fueled comeback by daniel ponce de leon and tom zenner.

At once a horrific story of injury and an amazing recovery story, Daniel Ponce De Leon was drafted four times by the MLB, only to take a hard one line drive to the skull that landed him in the hospital. Told with the help of writer Tom Zenner, De Leon’s story is a tale of how faith can take us as far as we want to go. The book follows De Leon’s miraculous recovery 14 months later to show one of the most impressive baseball pitching debuts in history. A great read for anyone seeking encouragement that your dreams are never over.

One Line Drive: A Life Threatening Injury and a Faith Fueled Comeback by Daniel Ponce De Leon and Tom Zenner

$19.59 $26.00 25% off, 5. i came as a shadow: an autobiography by john thompson.

Georgetown University’s famous basketball coach has finally gifted us with a book of personal secrets. Having spent the last three decades inside the lives of famous players, on the front lines of racial disparity, and coming to terms with his childhood in the Jim Crow south, Thompson opens up and lets readers in. You won’t want to miss this autobiography for all of it’s insider stories, basketball lore, and plain good history. A great book for any basketball hopeful or fan.

I Came as a Shadow: An Autobiography by John Thompson

$20.59 $29.99 31% off, 6. finding ultra by rich roll.

Rich Roll may be known best for his podcast but it all started with the book. His inspirational story covers the transformation he made from slightly overweight and not exercising, abusing alcohol and feeling depressed to becoming an Ironman athlete. His story is at once an inspiring tale and a cautionary one, foretelling what we can let happen to our bodies but also how we are capable of so much wonderful change. This is a great book for anyone on the cusp of changing their life or for those who are realizing they need to.

Finding Ultra by Rich Roll

$15.50 $18.00 14% off, 7. the bona fide legend of cool papa bell by lonnie wheeler.

The historical legend that is Cool Papa Bell is a baseball player rich in stories and history. Born to sharecroppers in the south, baseball saved him from a life working in the slaughterhouses. A player known for his speed, Bell’s story is told by baseball writer and historian Lonnie Wheeler, who charts his ups and downs throughout the US during racial disparity and Bell’s escape to Mexico and the Dominican Republic to be free of the MLB color line. This is a fantastic story for all baseball fans and contains legends and lore you won’t want to miss.

The Bona Fide Legend of Cool Papa Bell by Lonnie Wheeler

$21.11 $28.00 25% off, 8. montana: the biography of football’s joe cool by keith dunnavant.

This epic football biography covers the life of the legend Joe Cool, one of the most famous and influential players out there. Writer Keith Dunnavant takes readers along for a sweeping view of the life and struggles of Joe Cool as he portrays a keen-eyed portrait of the man who again and again defied the odds of the game. This competitive player’s life was a routine of tension on and off the field from back surgery to the father who pushed him to the college coach who nearly got rid of him and every football fan who’s ever played a sport will relate to his harrowing journey. An excellent choice for anyone missing out on the action.

Montana: The Biography of Football's Joe Cool by Keith Dunnavant

$11.05 $26.00 58% off, 9. qb: my life behind the spiral by steve young and jeff benedict.

Steve Young started out as an eighth-string quarterback at BYU — slim chances of ever getting to the big leagues but his story changed when he became All American and was the first pick of drafting season. But the more intense and deeply personal story of Young comes with the revealing of his anxiety and the consequences that led him to almost leave the NFL forever. An instant New York Times Bestseller, Young’s story is a lesson for all young sports players about mental health and where the intensity can lead you, on and off the field.

QB: My Life Behind the Spiral by Steve Young

$14.49 $21.99 34% off, 10. tiger woods by jeff benedict and armen keteyian.

The inspiration for the HBO series directed by Alex Gibeny, the real untold story of Tiger Woods, one of the greatest golfers that ever lived. Dive deeper than ever before for the harrowing account of the superstar’s childhood, relationship with his father, and his narrow focus on golf and how he came to be the best player in history. As the most famous player in 2009, to the terrible Thanksgiving Day crash that set his personal and professional life over a cliff, who is Tiger Woods, really? A fantastic story told by two excellent sports writers, this is a great book for any fan of Woods looking to continue the story.

Tiger Woods by Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian

$13.49 $20.99 36% off, 11. talking to goats: the moments you remember and the stories you ever heard by jim gray.

Jim Gray is one of the best sports historians and sportscaster of all time and he’s written an enticing tell-all book about his adventures with and around some of the best players during some of the best games in the world. Why not read about the juiciest tales in sports lore by anyone other than Jim Gray? From his view on the sidelines to the dugout, Gray has written memorable tales from his career as a sportscaster to insider never heard before stories. A great book for any sports junkie with a keen ear for legendary players.

Talking to GOATs: The Moments You Remember and the Stories You ever Heard by Jim Gray

$11.54 $28.99 60% off, 12. gods at play: an eyewitness account of great moments in american sports by tom callahan.

A prolific sports writer and columnist for Time magazine, Tom Callahan witnessed many memorable moments in US sports history and has decided to document the stories for everyone to read. Told in vignette-style prose, Callahan writes about the smaller scenes that no one else witnessed to the heavy hitters like Muhammad Ali fighting George Foreman in Zaire. He keeps his stories interesting and intriguing, leaving the reader wanting more and more. Callahan was a great witness to sports history and every avid fan will enjoy this book.

Gods at Play: An Eyewitness Account of Great Moments in American Sports by Tom Callahan

$16.39 $26.95 39% off, 13. best american sports writing 2020 edited by glenn stout and jackie macmullan.

These pieces are the best sports writing published in 2020 and edited by the esteemed Glenn Stout and Jackie MacMullan. Take a tour through the past year and relive your favorite moments again and again through some of the best journalism from around the world. A few stories include “For People Suffering from Alzheimer’s and Dementia, Baseball Brings Back Fun Memories” by Bill Plaschke in which the journalist Plaschke interviews patients and observes their fondness for the game brighten their eyes to Bryan Burrough following a man-eating tiger hunt in India. More than just play-by-play coverage of your favorite games in the States, the Best American Sports Writing follows journalists as they travel the world and bring back intriguing stories for their audience. A must-have for any sports fan.

Best American Sports Writing 2020 edited by Glenn Stout and Jackie Macmullan

$13.34 $16.99 21% off, 14. tom seaver: a terrific life by bill madden.

A biography of one of the greatest pitchers of all time, Tom Seaver, recounts the life and achievements of baseball’s favorite star. One of only two pitchers with 300 wins, 3,000 strikeouts, and an ERA under 3.00, he was a twelve-time All-Star and inducted into the Hall of Fame with the highest ever percentage at the time. Seaver was quite the popular player among fans and teammates alike, often putting the success of the team over his own personal glory. Bill Madden sweeps through his life and career with excellent storytelling, finding the true joy that baseball and its amazing players to the fans at home. A must-have biography for any baseball buff.

Tom Seaver: A Terrific Life by Bill Madden

$16.82 $28.00 40% off, 15. alone on the wall: alex honnold and the ultimate limits of adventure by alex honnold and david roberts.

We all gasped at the film Free Solo , right? If not, head to Disney Plus and watch it immediately . Well, guess what, it’s the same guy, and this is the book he wrote along with David Roberts that explores seven of his most insane climbs, From Yosemite’s breathtaking Half Dome to Mexico’s El Sendero Luminoso, follow along as Honnold explores the why and how he free climbs all of these giants alone. He gets across the singular focus and drive it takes to look morality in the face every time he goes for a climb and takes us on his harrowing journey through the world’s best climbs. A great read for anyone seeking adventure and thrills.

Alone on the Wall: Alex Honnold and the Ultimate Limits of Adventure by Alex Honnold and David Roberts

16. barbarian days: a surfing life by william finnegan.

Surfer and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist William Finnegan explores the different surfing locales around the world and with them, the local people and culture. Take a trip with Finnegan as he surfs his way to paradise and offers insights on humility, surfing, and traveling. He gives us stories of his childhood growing up in Hawaii, being in an all-white gang when his best friend was Hawaiian, dropping LSD while surfing one of the biggest waves in the world on Maui, and traversing the black market in Indonesia, all while keeping the reader engaged. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 2016, this will forever remain a popular book, one of the best on surfing ever written.

Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life by William Finnegan

$15.19 $19.00 20% off, 17. it’s not about the bike: my journey back to life by lance armstrong.

The legendary Lance Armstrong may be America’s most controversial athlete of all time, and his tell-all book is an intriguing read into the life of the strong cyclist. If you’re at all curious about what happened before and after Lance’s big scandal in the early aughts, to his early racing career, to his battle with cancer, then you’re in for a treat. If you’re a cycling fan or not, this is an epic sports book for any endurance junkie who’s interested in other’s lives in and around the sport that has focused their life.

It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life by Lance Armstrong

18. why we swim by bonnie tsui.

If you’re a curious swimmer, you’ll enjoy Bonnie Tsui’s exploration of the history of humans swimming, our collective obsession with water and the idea of relaxation it comes with, and of course, the long laps some of us enjoy. Why do people swim? Why do we enjoy it? Tsui explores these questions as well as her own love of swimming in this comprehensive look at our history as a whole with water. A truly beautiful book that any swimmer will love it and want to share with their friends.

Why We Swim by Bonnie Tsui

19. to shake the sleeping self: a journey from oregon to patagonia, and a quest for a life with no regret by jedidiah jenkins.

At once a cycling journey and a spiritual journey, Jenkins quits his job on the eve of turning 30 in search of a more profound existence. As his journey unfolds, we see him begin to question his relationship with God, his family, and his sexuality. He goes on many curious adventures that are breathtaking to read and that won’t let you put the book down. Travel along with Jenkins as he makes his way through South America while tackling his own ideas of religion and the power of family. A truly engaging read for anyone who wants to cycle across a continent and survey their own life and its trajectory.

To Shake the Sleeping Self: A Journey from Oregon to Patagonia, and a Quest for a Life with No Regret by Jedidiah Jenkins

20. miracle in lake placid: the greatest hockey story ever told by john gilbert.

One of the best-known stories in US hockey history as told by journalist John Gilbert, Miracle in Lake Placid is a book of the great details and the aftermath of the player’s lives. What happened after that fateful game with the Soviets? How did hockey change in our collective memory? The effects that rippled out to reach a generation of readers is here in one epic book. This is the story you’ll want to give any hockey fan in your family.

Miracle in Lake Placid: The Greatest Hockey Story Ever Told by John Gilbert

21. the art of fielding by chad harbach.

Maybe the greatest baseball novel of all time and the most talked about, Chad Harbach’s famous book is not to be missed by any reader, sports fan or not. The love of the game certainly comes through in this epic saga of one pitcher’s destiny and the fates of five others as the story spirals outward. At once a harrowing tale of friendship, choice, and regret, Harbach writes with great empathy and precision about how our decisions may alter more than just ourselves.

The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach

$10.95 $19.99 45% off, 22. the cactus league by emily nemens.

In this character-driven world obsessed with baseball, writer Emily Nemens transports readers to a new land where protagonist Jason Goodyear is stationed with his team for their annual spring training in Arizona. But Goodyear is hiding more than he lets on and is beginning to unravel, affecting all of his coaches, friends, fans, and family. What will happen to him? As his diehard fans watch closely to find out, Nemens spins a tale bright with the Arizona sun and the humility of the player’s psyches. Told in breathtaking prose, an expert at baseball herself, Nemens weaves throughout her knowledge of the game on and off the field. Not a book to be missed.

The Cactus League by Emily Nemens

$12.63 $17.00 26% off, 23. beneath the surface: my story by michael phelps and brian cazenevue.

In this startling memoir, Olympic gold medalist swimmer Michael Phelps takes us into his world pre-swimming and after the limelight. He describes his struggles with ADD, his parent’s divorce, and how the amount of attention in the spotlight affected him in and out of the pool. Like any great athlete, Phelps shares his story for the world to see, honest and tender, touching and heartbreaking. The inner lives of athletes always seem to be a mystery to most but when they open up in a memoir, we are allowed to see a truly unique peek into their souls. If you’re interested in swimming, the inner workings of high caliber athletes, or just love the Olympics, Michael Phelps has a story for you.

Beneath The Surface: My Story by Michael Phelps and Brian Cazenevue

$11.79 $16.99 31% off, 24. the boys in the boat by daniel james brown.

One of the oldest and revered sports in American history is rowing and Daniel James Brown has written a beautiful and compelling story of the nine young men trying for the Olympic gold in 1936. Individual stories tell this harrowing account and the fight for Olympics glory. Brown takes us from Seattle Washington to the rivers in Berlin where the boys in the boat must stake their final claim for victory. A breathtaking and captivating story for all sports fans to enjoy.

The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown

25. the champion’s mind: how great athletes think, train, and thrive by jim afremow.

More than a guide, this instructional book by sports psychologist Jim Afremow, PhD, shows us how to thrive like a professional athlete by sharing their stories, successes, and failures. Why not up your own ability by researching how the pro’s do it? Most of sports is the mental challenge, the competitive edge they thrive on during a race or game versus physical ability, but that’s important too. Can you change your mindset to thrive on the court? Better your pitch or stroke? Afremow shows us how humans are capable of change and has given us a wonderful guide into how to do it that includes workouts, tips, and tricks.

The Champion's Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train, and Thrive by Jim Afremow

$14.39 $15.99 10% off, honorable mention: win forever by pete carroll.

Pete Carroll first rose to fame as the head coach of the USC Trojans, and under his leadership, the team won six bowl games and a BCS National Championship. After graduating to the NFL, he would coach the Seattle Seahawks to their first-ever Super Bowl win. Carroll has a proven track record of elite success, and he shares his secrets to cultivating a winning lifestyle and mindset in this inspirational sports book. Carrol shares his tips for playing and living like a champion, and while that might sound like a typical self-help book, this best-selling book has so much more to offer.

Camille is a writer and amateur bike racer in New York City. She has an MFA from the New School and is currently at work on a novel.

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Five of the best sport books of 2022

A warning about brain damage, a fresh perspective on Geoffrey Boycott, and the rise and tragic demise of a great cyclist

The best books of 2022

A Delicate Game: Brain Injury, Sport and Sacrifice Hana Walker-Brown (Hodder Studio ) Everyone knows that repeated blows to the head can cause long-term damage to the brain. The science is not ambiguous on this point. And so Walker-Brown takes us on a gripping and heartbreaking journey through the human debris of sport, from bereaved families to ex-athletes slowly losing their faculties to dementia. Along the way she asks the key question: why, in the face of such overwhelming evidence, have sports like football and rugby union proved so resistant to reform or even basic responsibility? In large part, she argues, the answers are social and cultural: sport’s sanctification of pain and suffering, frequently framed within Christian ideals of masculinity. And, of course, money has plenty to do with it. Walker-Brown is bleakly clear that there are no easy answers. But it might just help if we start asking the right questions.

A New Formation: How Black Footballers Shaped the Modern Game Edited by Calum Jacobs (Merky ) A New Formation is not a book about racism, even if racism is a frequent theme. Nor is it a book about politics, immigration or the media, even if all feature heavily. Rather, it is a celebration of the contribution Black British footballers have made to the game, told through a series of varied and sharply written essays placing them in their social and sporting context. The story of Chelsea forward Raheem Sterling is filtered through the lens of the Windrush generation and the notion of home. There is a timely and thought-provoking reassessment of the career of former striker Andrew Cole. Most of all, it’s terrific fun, and a formidable statement of intent from Jacobs, a rising star in the world of football writing.

Being Geoffrey Boycott Geoffrey Boycott and Jon Hotten (Fairfield ) You may have concluded that after more than three decades of commentary and opinion-spewing from Geoffrey Boycott, the world has probably heard enough. And yet somehow this fascinating account manages to offer a new perspective on one of English cricket’s most complex characters. Part memoir and part biography, switching between first and second person like the two halves of a tortured internal monologue, the book combines Boycott’s astonishing memory and the gentle provocation of his ghostwriter Hotten in a way that captures the cauldron of Test cricket at its most absorbing. Essentially, it’s a book about obsession: about the angst and fear of top-level sport, where the most scrutinised person on the field is somehow also the loneliest.

Expected Goals: The Story of How Data Conquered Football and Changed the Game Forever Rory Smith (Mudlark ) Football has undergone a spectacular data revolution in the last decade, which I suppose is kind of interesting, if you like that sort of thing. But where Smith’s book succeeds is in eschewing the boring, didactic stuff about stats and regression curves in favour of a story about people: about doubt and persuasion, insiders and outsiders, palace intrigue and subtle subterfuge. And mercifully, there isn’t a single graph or table in the entire book.

God Is Dead: The Rise and Fall of Frank Vandenbroucke, Cycling’s Great Wasted Talent Andy McGrath (Bantam ) In 2009, Frank Vandenbroucke was found dead in a hotel room in Senegal at the age of 34, with insulin and sleeping pills near his bedside. The last person to see him alive was a sex worker who had accompanied him there. And the fact that we know the tragically opaque ending of this story from the start is what lends such a devastating quality to McGrath’s careful biography. In his prime, the man they called “God” was one of the biggest sporting stars in cycling: handsome, effortlessly talented on the bike, yet with painfully human flaws that belied his divine nickname. Soberly told and with a clear affection for its wayward subject, McGrath’s account explores the narcotically corrupting power of sport itself.

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• Best books 2022
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The 30 Best Sports Books of All Time

This list of the best sports books of all time covers a wide variety of sports and perspectives, from boxing to mixed martial arts to basketball and gymnastics and everything in between. The best books about sports capture the experience of athletics, whether you’re simply a die-hard fan, you’re the one up to bat, or you’re a sports journalist. In this roundup of the best nonfiction sports books, you’ve got an angle into athletics from multiple perspectives on a bevy of sports.

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And now for a list of the best sports books of all time…

Barbarian days: a surfing life by william finnegan.

The winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Autobiography, William Finnegan’s Barbarian Days is a gripping memoir about the author’s long-held admiration for surfing. Raised in Hawaii and California, Finnegan developed a fascination with surfing that would last him decades. Now, in Barbarian Days , he shares how chasing waves impacted his life. It’s a surfing book you won’t want to miss and one of the best selling sports books of all time.

How to read it: Purchase Barbarian Days on Amazon

The boys of summer by roger kahn.

This memoir tells the story of the author’s childhood living within the shadow of Ebbets Field, home of the Brooklyn Dodgers during the 1930s and 1940s. That team included such baseball greats as Jackie Robinson and Carl Erskine, among others. Later, Roger Kahn covered the 1950s Dodgers for The Herald Tribune . Told with sentimentality and detail that makes this history come alive, The Boys of Summer is one of the best sports books.

How to read it: Purchase The Boys of Summer on Amazon

The boys of winter: the untold story of a coach, a dream, and the 1980 u.s. olympic hockey team by wayne coffey.

This riveting read chronicles the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team that surprised the world in an upset win against the formidable Soviet Union. Known as the “Miracle on Ice,” this epic competition was a resounding defeat against the enemy in the heigh of the Civil War. Thanks to copious insider stories and peppered with details you won’t find anywhere else, The Boys of Winter is an engrossing tale of what became both legend and myth and for sure one of the best books about sports.

How to read it: Purchase The Boys of Winter on Amazon

Doc: the life of roy halladay by todd zolecki.

As a Philadelphia Phillies fan, I know all about pitching phenom Roy Halladay. I even had the good fortune to go to a game where “Doc,” as Halladay was affectionately known, pitched. I’ll never forget how tall and big he was. In this biography of Halladay, MLB.com Phillies journalist Todd Zolecki tells the story of Doc’s ups and downs in his professional career as well as his inner demons that tormented him, including a fight against addiction. Halladay famously died young in a tragic plane accident. Doc keeps his unparalleled career and undeniable legacy alive in what is one of the best sports biographies books.

How to read it: Purchase Doc on Amazon

Fever pitch by nick hornby.

This story behind Fever Pitch will be relatable to anyone who has ever dove headfirst into fandom. But not just fandom during the good times, but during the hard times, the losing seasons, the disappointing losses. In this case, author Nick Hornby is talking about his life’s passion, football (soccer to Americans), though any fan can relate. This is definitely one of best books about sports from a fan’s perspective. This book was adapted to a feature film in 2005.

How to read it: Purchase Fever Pitch on Amazon

Friday night lights by h. g. “buzz” bissinger.

Friday Night Lights is maybe the best football book ever written and definitely one of the best selling sports books. Published in 1990, H. G. “Buzz” Bissinger’s story follows a high school football team in Odessa, Texas. What makes this book so great is the universal core story about the big dreams of small towns that strike through polarized social and racial boundaries and unite fans around a team that puts it all on the line with their game. It’s a book so influential that it inspired the acclaimed TV show, also called Friday Night Lights .

How to read it: Purchase Friday Night Lights on Amazon

The game by ken dryden.

Named one of Sports Illustrated ‘s 10 best sports books of all time, The Game is one to add to your TBR (to-be-read list). This riveting memoir reveals the life and career of Ken Dryden, the former Montreal Canadiens goalie and one-time president of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Dryden details life on and off the ice, giving readers an inside look at what it means to be a professional athlete, what that means for one’s personal life, family, and off-the-rink life, and the way those lines become blurred. This definitely tops any list of the best nonfiction sports books.

How to read it: Purchase The Game on Amazon

The girls of summer: the u.s. women’s soccer team and how it changed the world by jere longman.

I’m going to age myself here, but I remember when the U.S. Women’s Team won the 1999 World Cup. It was an exciting time to be a girl! You looked up to heroes like Mia Hamm, the dominating player for Team U.S.A. In The Girls of Summer , esteemed New York Times journalist Jere Longman pulls back the curtain on that win and looks at the forces that shaped the victory. Longman traces how gender, race, and class interplayed in the team, as well as the sexualization of the players and how the male and female teams differed in the world’s eye.

How to read it: Purchase The Girls of Summer on Amazon

A good walk spoiled: days and nights on the pga tour by john feinstein.

Widely considered one of the best sports books ever, John Feinstein’s A Good Walk Spoiled details life on the PGA Tour. As he traveled alongside golf greats like Nick Price and Paul Azinger, Feinstein came to understand the relentless pressure, the grueling pace, and the palpable glory that was for the taking for players on “The Tour.”

How to read it: Purchase A Good Walk Spoiled on Amazon

Heaven is a playground by rick telander.

The best sports book don’t have to feature professional teams; in Heaven Is a Playground, the author profiles amateur basketball games in the summer of 1974 in Brooklyn. It’s definitely a classic. Read it and see why President Barack Obama called it “The best basketball book I’ve ever read” in 2005. This underrated read is surely one of the best nonfiction sports books.

How to read it: Purchase Heaven Is a Playground on Amazon

The imaginary girlfriend by john irving.

You might know author John Irving from his fiction books, like The World According to Garp and The Cider House Rules . But Irving had another love, other than penning beloved bestselling books: wrestling. As a teen at the elite boarding school Phillips Exeter Academy, Irving was a dominant wrestler, a sport he participated in for twenty years, eventually becoming a referee and later a coach until he way forty-seven. This memoir that is both a coming-of-age story as well as a personal retrospective on how athletics left a lifelong impact on the author, certainly one of the best sports books of all time.

How to read it: Purchase The Imaginary Girlfriend on Amazon

Little girls in pretty boxes: the making and breaking of elite gymnasts and figure skaters by joan ryan.

I remember checking this book out of my high school library during my freshman year and tearing through it. For many, gymnastics and ice skating are fun spectator sports we watch during the Olympics, a “Wow!”-filled experience. But in Little Girls in Pretty Boxes , Joan Ryan looks at what goes on behind the scenes, away from the medal stands, to reveal what happens between commercials when the cameras are off. It’s a damning account of how gymnastics and figure skating is unbelievably dangerous and often puts young girls in the hand of emotional, physical, and sexual abusers. In the most recent edition of this book, there’s a new forward that addresses the most famous case of sexual assault in the USA Gymnastics physician Larry Nassar. It’s no shocker that Little Girls in Pretty Boxes went on to become a feminist classic and one of the best nonfiction sports books.

How to read it: Purchase Little Girls in Pretty Boxes on Amazon

Loose balls: the short, wild life of the american basketball association by terry pluto.

This funny, engaging read—certainly one of the best sports books of all time—shines a spotlight on the American Basketball Association (the ABA), which was the first effort to great a national basketball league in America. The ABA had six seasons which proved to be incredibly influential, with its groundbreaking features like the 3-point shot, on the eventaul NBA. Terry Pluto’s Loose Balls is an incredibly entertaining look at this short-lived league that left a long shadow on the sport. (For more on the ABA, check out the Wikipedia article .)

How to read it: Purchase Loose Balls on Amazon

Moneyball: the art of winning an unfair game by michael lewis.

Adapted as a feature film starring Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill, Michael Lewis’s book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game profiles the Oakland A’s baseball team. Even though they had a small budget, the organization used key in-game statistics (also called sabermetrics ) to assemble a winning team. Moneyball ranks high on any list of the best books about sports.

How to read it: Purchase Moneyball on Amazon

Never die easy: the autobiography of walter payton by walter payton.

In case you haven’t heard of football star Walter Payton, his life and remarkable career is definitely worth exploring. As the—to this day—leading running back in the NFL’s history and the star who led the Chicago Bears to their one and only Super Bowl championship, Payton became a famous icon in American sports. In Never Die Easy , Payton welcomes readers into his amazing career and life. It’s an autobiography that feels vivid and urgent and surely one of the best sports books of all time.

How to read it: Purchase Never Die Easy on Amazon

The noble hustle: poker, beef jerky, and death by colson whitehead.

Author Colson Whitehead is perhaps best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Underground Railroad , but before that success, he was assigned a story from Grantland magazine to cover the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. The result is The Noble Hustle , an investigative reporting work of narrative nonfiction in which the writer becomes part of the story. This book is funny, insightful, quirky, and a wild ride and one of the most unconventional and appealing best nonfiction sports books.

How to read it: Purchase The Noble Hustle on Amazon

Open by andre agassi.

Surely one of the best sports books ever, Open is tennis star Andre Agassi’s deeply revealing autobiography. This memoir pulls you in and doesn’t let go, telling the astounding story of his rise to become perhaps the greatest male tennis player of all time. But behind the scenes of that amazing success, Agassi felt unfulfilled. In Open , he sheds light on his life away from the net, the good times, the bad times, and everything in between. Open is certainly one of the best selling sports books of all time.

How to read it: Purchase Open on Amazon

Paper lion: confessions of a last-string quarterback by george plimpton.

If you haven’t heard of the term “participatory sports journalism,” you’ll know it when you read George Plimpton’s Paper Lion . To write his book, Plimpton joined the Detroit Lions football team as an amateur quarterback. Plimpton practiced with the Lions during training camp. Although he didn’t make the roster, Plimpton had an extraordinary experience, which he details in his irreverent, quirky, and funny book, Paper Lion , definitely one of the most original books about sports.

How to read it: Purchase Paper Lion on Amazon

Playing for keeps: michael jordan & the world he made by david halberstam.

Michael Jordan was perhaps the greatest basketball player of all time. And Playing for Keeps just might be the greatest book about Michael Jordan. In Playing for Keeps , Halberstam surveys the epic life, extraordinary career, and unmatched legacy of Michael Jordan, the star player for the Chicago Bears. Playing for Keeps is definitely one of the best sports books of all time.

How to read it: Purchase Playing for Keeps on Amazon

Rome 1960: the olympics that changed the world by david maraniss.

This intriguing book surveys the 1960 Olympics set in Rome, Italy. Subtitled “The Olympics That Changed the World,” Rome 1960 explores the intersection of many forces that made this more than just your usual Olympics, including the influence of the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement, and the dawning presence of female athletes. This book expertly untangles all of these strands to show how pivotal the Olympics of 1960 was radically different and incredibly influential.

How to read it: Purchase Rome 1960 on Amazon

Seabiscuit by laura hillenbrand.

The racing horse Seabiscuit was a sensation during his time; in 1938, he received more press coverage than Hitler, Mussolini, and FDR. Yet his stunning success was no fluke but rather the perfect convergence of three men who helped make the horse a decorated athlete and perhaps the greatest race horse of all time, including millionaire owner Charles Howard, mustang braker trainer Tom Smith, and quirky jockey Red Pollard. Together, the trio helped Seabiscuit become the horse no one could have predicted. Read all about it in Laura Hillenbrand’s compulsively readable book Seabiscuit , a top best selling sports books.

How to read it: Purchase Seabiscuit on Amazon

A sense of where you are: bill bradley at princeton by john mcphee.

In A Sense of Where You Are , famed New Yorker writer John McPhee shines a light on the famed basketball player Bill Bradley in the years when he played for the Princeton Tigers. Bradley would later go on to play for New York Knicks and become a U.S. Senator, but, in this book, McPhee focus on the years before Bradley’s professional and political career took off. It’s a book about raw talent, incredible drive, and unbridled ambition and ranks high among this list of the best sports books of all time.

How to read it: Purchase A Sense of Where You Are on Amazon

Shoe dog: a memoir by the creator of nike by phil knight.

In Shoe Dog , the creator of Nike tells of his awe-inspiring rise from a startup to becoming the leading athletic shoe company. This is a list of the best sports books, but sports would not be the force it was it without the Nike shoes that athletes use today more than ever.

How to read it: Purchase Shoe Dog on Amazon

The sweet science by a.j. liebling.

This collection of boxing essays by the great New Yorker writer A.J. Liebling covers pivotal moments in the history of the sport, including the comeback of Sugar Ray Robinson, the emergence of prodigy Rocky Marciano, and the decline of Joe Louis. With Liebling’s eye for finding the human moments among a brutally violent sport distinguish this collection as a must-read for any boxing, or sports in general, fan.

How to read it: Purchase The Sweet Science on Amazon

The system: the glory and scandal of big-time college football by jeff benedict and armen keteyian.

I included this book in my roundup of the best football books , and I’m including it here because it brings a much-needed perspective on the industry of college football. And yes, I’m saying “industry” because college football is no longer just a more innocent version of pro ball. In The System , the the authors peel back the layers to focus on the athletes, their highly paid coachers, and the networks making billions off the sport. It’s a book that all football fans should read. The System is definitely up there with the best books about sports.

How to read it: Purchase The System on Amazon

Those guys have all the fun: inside the world of espn by andrew miller and tom shales.

Sports and ESPN go hand in hand. You can’t have one without the other. In Those Guys Have All the Fun , authors Andrew Miller and Tom Shales take a deep dive into the most-famous sports network. Drawing on more than 500 interviews with ESPN staffers past and present, plus renowned athletes, Miller and Shales expose ESPN for what it is: an undeniable force, albeit one with scandal, rivalries, and conflict. Those Guys Have All the Fun proves that the best sports books don’t have to be about what happens on the field but rather behind the camera.

How to read it: Purchase Those Guys Have All the Fun on Amazon

Three-ring circus: kobe, shaq, phil, and the crazy years of the lakers dynasty by jeff pearlman.

This book takes a hard look at how the Los Angeles Lakers became a legend and a dynasty. From Kobe to Shaq, the 1996-2004 years of success were marked by celebrity athletes, ruthless management, and unparalleled talent. Read all about it in Three-Ring Circus .

How to read it: Purchase Three-Ring Circus on Amazon

Thrown by kerry howley.

In Thrown , Kerry Howley profiles two men in the mixed martial arts pantheon. Howley followed these fighters, one an established, aging, and tested athlete the other an up-and-coming prodigy. Mixed martial arts has never been so interesting than this emotionally visceral, compelling book and its unflinching look at the brutal mixed martial arts sport. This irreverent, gut-wrenching story is one of the best sports books of all time.

How to read it: Purchase Thrown on Amazon

Tiger woods by jeff benedict.

Tiger Woods is undeniably the most famous golfer of all time. Yet scandal has followed his success. In this biography from Jeff Benedict, Woods is revealed for the prodigious, complicated, ambitious golfer—and man—that he is. This is for certain one of the best sports books for readers who want to understand the grit that follows the glamor of life as a professional athlete. This is certainly one of the best sports biographies books.

How to read it: Purchase Tiger Woods on Amazon

Undisputed truth by mike tyson.

And now for the last installment in this roundup of the best sports books… Perhaps the most controversial yet successful boxer of our modern era is Mike Tyson, the dynamic and bombastic athlete who upended traditions of decor and performance to become the winner he was. In Undisputed Truth , Tyson tells all. It’s an unputdownable autobiography that any fan of sports will want to read.

How to read it: Purchase Undisputed Truth on Amazon

And there you have it the best sports books of all time. which one will you read first, share this:.

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Sarah S. Davis is the founder of Broke by Books, a blog about her journey as a schizoaffective disorder bipolar type writer and reader. Sarah's writing about books has appeared on Book Riot, Electric Literature, Kirkus Reviews, BookRags, PsychCentral, and more. She has a BA in English from the University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Library and Information Science from Clarion University, and an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts.

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24 Best Sports Biographies Books of All Time

Our goal : Find the best Sports Biographies books according to the internet (not just one random person's opinion).

• Type "best sports biographies books" into our search engine and study the top 5+ pages.
• Add only the books mentioned 2+ times.
• Rank the results neatly for you here! 😊 (It was a lot of work. But hey! That's why we're here, right?)

(Updated 2024)

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Last Updated: Monday 1 Jan, 2024

• Best Sports Biographies Books

An Autobiography

Andre Agassi

Born to Run

A hidden tribe, superathletes, and the greatest race the world has never seen.

Christopher McDougall

The Blind Side

Evolution of a game.

Michael Lewis

A Memoir by the Creator of Nike

Phil Knight

The Final Pitch

Barbarian Days

A surfing life.

William Finnegan

Eleven Rings

The soul of success.

Phil Jackson

Tiger Woods

Jeff Benedict

Michael Jordan

Roland Lazenby

The Boys in the Boat

Nine americans and their epic quest for gold at the 1936 berlin olympics.

Daniel James Brown

A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption

Laura Hillenbrand

The Mamba Mentality

Kobe Bryant

Touching the Void

Joe Simpson

An American Legend

Rafael Nadal

Alone on the Wall

Alex Honnold

Mariano Rivera

The Captain

The journey of derek jeter.

Ian O'Connor

My Autobiography

Steven Gerrard

The Story of My Life

Coming Back Stronger

Unleashing the hidden power of adversity.

The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero

David Maraniss

• The 33 Best Sports Books Ever Written | Esquire www.esquire.com
• The best sports books and autobiographies - Pan Macmillan www.panmacmillan.com
• The 25 Best Sports Books of All Time To Read in 2021 – SPY spy.com
• 50 Great Sports Biographies - Sports Management Degree Guide www.sports-management-degrees.com
• 100 Best Sports Biography Books of All Time (Updated for 2021) www.shortform.com

How was this Sports Biographies books list created?

We searched for 'best Sports Biographies books', found the top 5 articles, took every book mentioned in 2+ articles, and averaged their rankings.

How many Sports Biographies books are in this list?

There are 24 books in this list.

Why did you create this Sports Biographies books list?

We wanted to gather the most accurate list of Sports Biographies books on the internet.

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13 Of The Best Sports Biographies Ever Written

Ali: A Life by Jonathan Eig

Muhammad Ali needs no introduction. This book draws on more than 500 interviews with those who knew him best, including friends, family members and mentors. Thanks to some specially commissioned research, it paints a vivid picture of one of the most significant personalities of the 20th century. Readers are taken inside the ring for some of the most famous bouts in boxing history, before learning about Ali’s activism, conversion to Islam, personal life – which included several affairs and controversies – and his decline from Parkinson’s disease. 

Available here

Provided You Don't Kiss Me: 20 Years With Brian Clough by Duncan Hamilton

Brian Clough made a name for himself as the outspoken non-nonsense manager of Nottingham Forest during the mid-70s. Those who knew him say he was unpredictable and volatile, relying on alcohol to deal with failure and success on and off the pitch. Duncan Hamilton was a young journalist in the middle of Clough’s empire who saw it all. In this book, he paints a vivid portrait of Clough, from Nottingham Forest's double European Cup triumph to his descent into alcoholism.

The Death of Pantani by Matt Rendell

Italian cyclist Marco Pantani is widely regarded as one of the sport’s greatest. His unrivalled stamina and climbing abilities led to historic wins at the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia in 1998 – becoming one of only seven men to win both in the same year. Just six years later, Pantani was found dead in a cheap hotel. The autopsy revealed he had cerebral edema and heart failure as a result of cocaine poisoning. It transpired that he’d been addicted to coke for 15 years. This account includes exclusive interviews with his psychoanalysts, family and friends, who paint an indelible picture of an extremely talented – and flawed – athlete. 

Proud by Gareth Thomas

In 2009, Gareth Thomas made headlines around the world when he announced he was gay. One of the few top athletes to have come out, Thomas made news again a decade later when he revealed he was HIV positive. For years, he’d been hiding who he really was, but on the pitch, he had it all – national hero, sporting icon, leader of men, and captain of Wales and the British Lions. For Thomas, rugby was an expression of cultural identity, but his secret was slowing killing him, and he was scared what would happen to his wife and family if news got out. Thomas’ inspiring and moving story has given him – and his readers – a fresh perspective on what masculinity really means. 

Open. An Autobiography by Andre Agassi

Andre Agassi is one of the greatest tennis players of all time. But, as talented as anyone, he quickly came to hate the game. Coaxed to swing a racket while still in the crib, forced to hit hundreds of balls a day by his violent father, Agassi resented the constant pressure, even as he drove himself to become a prodigy. After winning the Wimbledon Championships in 1992, he became a fan favourite. What makes this book so captivating is Agassi’s near-photographic memory – every pivotal match is described as if it took place yesterday, while personal highlights (like his brief fling with Barbra Streisand) are colourfully recounted. 

Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life by William Finnegan

This book won the Pulitzer Prize for biography and made its way onto Obama’s summer reading list back in 2016. For many, surfing is an adrenalated hobby, but for some it’s more than that. New Yorker writer William Finnegan started surfing as a young boy in California and Hawaii. Barbarian Days takes readers on a journey through a life spent chasing waves across the South Pacific, Australia, Asia, Africa and beyond. Describing the intense relationship between himself, the board and the water, Finnegan details his most dangerous surfs and razor-sharp survival instincts in the water. A fascinating and compelling read from a man battling a “beautiful addiction”.

Alex Ferguson: My Autobiography

His career wasn’t always plain sailing, but Sir Alex Ferguson eventually became the greatest football manager of his generation. A player back in the 60s and 70s, Ferguson went on to manage a string of Scottish teams before taking charge of Manchester United for nearly 30 years. Here, he reflects on a managerial career that included unprecedented European success for Aberdeen and many triumphant seasons with United, and reveals how he stayed sane at the peak of his profession. An entertaining, insight-filled must-read for all football fans. 

Put Me Back On My Bike by William Fotheringham

Tom Simpson was one of Britain’s most successful cyclists until his tragic death on the barren moonscape of the Mont Ventoux during the 1967 Tour de France – aged just 30 years old.  A man of contradictions, Simpson was one of the first cyclists to admit to using banned drugs, and was accused of fixing races, but he still managed to inspired awe and affection. Put Me Back on My Bike revisits the places and people associated with Simpson to show how he became a sporting legend in just a few short years.

Coming Back To Me by Marcus Trescothick

England cricketer Marcus Trescothick surprised fans and teammates when he prematurely ended his international career. At 29, Trescothick was widely regarded as one of the batting greats. With more than 5,000 Test runs to his name and eternal status as a 2005 Ashes hero, he’d already achieved more than he’d set out to. On Saturday 25th February 2006, four days before leading England into the first Test against India, Trescothick walked from the field in the midst of a mental breakdown. In the dressing room, he broke down in tears, overwhelmed by a blur of anguish, uncertainty and sadness he had been keeping at bay for longer than he knew. His account of performing at the top highlights an important conversation about the unique pressures and mental struggles many athletes face.

Undisputed Truth by Mike Tyson

No doubt Mike Tyson was a phenomenal boxer. But some of his antics in and outside the ring are much more questionable. There’s the rape conviction early in his career, the biting off of Evander Holyfield’s ear, and the cocaine addiction which led to his bankruptcy in the early noughties. In his own words, Tyson’s talks openly and movingly about a troubled childhood (he was arrested 38 times before he was 13), his financial ruin, and playing up to his ‘bad boy’ persona on a world stage.

The Accident Footballer by Pat Nevin

Pat Nevin never wanted to be a professional footballer, but went on to captivate audiences around the world with his quick footwork in the wing. Growing up in Glasgow's East End, he loved playing football, but he also loved reading classic literature, nights out with his mates, and listening to indie music until the early hours. With spells at Chelsea and Everton, Nevin became a household name, but here he discusses the joys of professional football alongside its contradictions and conflicts – and what it means to be defined by your job.

Lewis Hamilton: The Biography by Frank Worrall

Sir Lewis Hamilton has redefined British racing, and what it means to be a Black athlete at the top of the game. In this new biography, Frank Worrall charts his rise to stardom, starting with Hamilton's debut season in 2007, which won him fans around the world. Hamilton’s performance on the track has led to legendary status, but his personal life has also landed him on the front pages of the tabloids time and again. Then in 2021 he received a knighthood, making his unexpected journey to the top even more unbelievable. 

The Mamba Mentality: How I Play by Kobe Bryant

American basketball great Kobe Bryant spent his entire 20-year career with the LA Lakers. Then, in January 2020 he tragically died alongside his daughter and seven others in a helicopter crash in California. Known as ‘Black Mamba’, he was a master of mental preparation and using a unique game plan to win time and again. Written before his untimely death, this book takes readers inside the mind of one of the most intelligent, analytical and creative sportsmen ever.

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11 best sports autobiographies

From dealing with pressure on the pitch to overcoming demons in their personal lives, indybest finds sports stars whose memoirs pack a punch, article bookmarked.

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Whatever sports you're into, these books, all published in the last six months, make for absorbing reads.

{1} Gareth Thomas: Proud: Ebury, £20

Since becoming Britain’s first openly-gay professional rugby player in 2009, Thomas has been something of a pin-up for the LBGT community. But it was not an easy path to contentment, as he lays bare in this accomplished, moving effort.

{2} Nicole Cooke: The Breakaway: Ebury, £20

Before the likes of Laura Trott was making headlines for women’s road racing, Cooke was battling to give the sport the recognition she felt it deserved. Her grit and determination, spanning from childhood to the London Olympics, radiates from the page in this account of achieving in a male-dominated arena.

{3} I an Poulter: No Limits: Quercus, £20

The media has seized upon snappy dresser Poulter’s “rags to riches” story. But the one-time market trader who became a Ryder Cup master’s story has impact when it comes from the horse’s mouth. His revealing tale is an absorbing one for golf aficionados.

{4} Our Life on Ice: The Autobiography: Simon & Schuster, £20

From their gold medal-winning routine in 1984 to eight years judging Dancing on Ice, Jane Torvill and Christopher Dean have come as a professional pair. This shines a light on their individual personal struggles and how their – entirely unromantic – partnership has worked for four decades in the figure skating business. Fans will love it.

{5} Roy Keane: The Second Half: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, £20

To use a sporting cliché, this blisteringly honest book - written in collaboration with Booker Prize winner Roddy Doyle — is a tale of two halves. An account of the driven Premier League star’s career, then an insight into life as a manager. Keane’s self-deprecating wit, combined with a take-no-prisoners approach, make for an entertaining read.

{6} Jimmy White: Second Wind: Trinity Mirror sport media, £20

Snooker might not be your usual bag, but White’s searingly honest account of how drugs cost him ten world titles and nearly his life, is a gripping one. “The Whirlwind” airs his dirty laundry and leaves you to make up your own mind on his legacy.

{7} Luis Suarez: Crossing the Line : Headline, £20

When you’ve gone from the street football of Montevideo to the excellence of Ajax, married your childhood sweetheart, been banned for racism and biting, almost dragged Liverpool to the title, been thrown out of the World Cup, and joined Barcelona, you’ve got a story to tell. Suarez delivers his brilliantly and honestly.

{8} Carl Froch: Froch The Autobiography: Ebury, £20.87

Froch has never been scared to take on the hardest opponents in the boxing ring. Here, alongside his in-depth analysis of fights – including his much-hyped win against George Groves to– you see a softer side, loyal to friends, family and trainer Rob McCracken.

{9} KP: The Autobiography : Sphere, £20

Former England cricket captain Kevin Pietersen takes a no-holds-barred approach to telling the stories - and apportioning blame - for his memorable moments, including being dropped before the failed 2013/14 Ashes series. Like him or not, KP’s book is compulsive reading.

{10} Brian O’Driscoll: The Test: Penguin, £20

With Ireland a favourite to take the Six Nations, now’s an apt time to delve into the life of the national side’s former rugby captain. The likeable O’Driscoll covers his turmoil over the suicide of his best friend, along with his own surprising on-pitch struggles. Buy

11. Geoffrey Boycott: The Corridor Of Certainty: Simon & Schuster, £20

The batsman-turned-commentator is always forthright on his beloved sport but here you get a unusually candid insight into his life away from cricket, notably a harrowing account of his recent cancer treatment. You sense the impact the illness had on his family in this engaging book that reads almost as if Boycott was sat next you telling the story. Buy

Verdict For books that transcend sport and are moving and thought-provoking memoirs, try Gareth Thomas' Proud or Nicole Cooke's The Breakaway .

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