Railway Walks in the Lake District

Luke Smith (Author)

On the Grid: Life Behind the Scenes of Formula One

6,"One of the finest wordsmiths in modern sport . . . with infectious passion and singular craft [Smith] has created a truly fabulous and unique piece of work. On the Grid is incredibly special. I loved every thoughtfully written word." --Will Buxton, award-winning broadcaster, star of Drive to Survive and New York Times bestselling author of Grand Prix: An Illustrated History of Formula 1"Even if you think you know everything there is to know about Formula 1, you'll learn something within these pages." --GP Racing MagazineLearn how Formula One is the world's greatest team sport with this intimate and colorful insider's account of what really happens on--and off--the race track, from The Athletic's senior F1 writer who has been following the sport around the world for over a decade.Formula One has only 20 drivers in its elite ranks, but behind each one is an army of professionals devoted to the sport: statisticians and strategists, engineers and mechanics, PR gurus and party planners, and more--all who spend months traveling thousands of miles across the globe each year. Their achievements (and failures) may not be as well-publicized as those of the drivers and team principals, but ...

The Athletic (Author)

The Basketball 100

4,A celebration of basketball by way of the 100 greatest players to ever grace the court in the history of the NBA--from The Athletic's foremost basketball writers and analysts the game has to offer. With a foreword by Charles Barkley.Over the course of 100 luminous player profiles, the best sports newsroom on the planet paints vivid portraits of the game's most compelling characters. There's George Mikan, who was cut from his high school team because he wore glasses, then went on to become the fledgling NBA's first transcendent star. Gary Payton, called "The Glove" for his skintight defense, who talked as much trash to his teammates as he did to his opponents on the court. Dennis Rodman, who started playing basketball at age 20, and in a few short years went from working as a janitor at the airport to being one of the strangest superstars that sport has ever known. Allen Iverson, who drew inspiration from hip hop for his inimitable style and swagger, on and off the court. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was so dominant in the paint that they changed the rules--and Steph Curry, who was so dominant outside it that he seemed to expand the very boundaries of the court.The Basketball 100, ...

Michael Cox (Author)

The Mixer: The Story of Premier League Tactics, from Route One to False Nines

3,An absolutely essential book for every modern football fan, about the development of Premier League tactics, published to coincide with 25 years of the competition.Back in 1992, English football was stuck in the dark ages, emerging from a five-year ban from European competition. The game was physical, bruising and attritional, based on strength over speed, aggression over finesse. It was the era of the midfield general, reducers, big men up front and getting it in the mixer; 4-4-2 was the order of the day. Few teams experimented tactically.And then, almost overnight, it all changed. The creation of the Premier League coincided with one of the most seismic rule changes in football history: the abolition of the back-pass. Suddenly defenders had no-get-out-of-jail-free card, goalkeepers had to be able to field and play the ball and the pace of the game quickened immeasurably. Tactics evolved dramatically, helped by an increased foreign influence.The Mixer is the first book to delve deep into the tactical story of the Premier League, and take a long view of how the game has developed over the last quarter century. From Ferguson's directness to Keegan's relentlessly attacking ...