Tag: sports

Rugby and Soccer World Cups: New Sports Books

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Sports book covers superimposed over a stadium field

Our sports men and women share what it means to be at the top of their chosen sport in our picks of the new sports books this month — both what it takes to perform at the top of their sport (whether it be in a competitive or coaching role), or to be themselves as a top talent and find acceptance and understanding in the sporting world. Plus, pick up new skills or find a complementary sport, whether it be yoga for runners, or kiteboarding as a relatively new discipline. Have a browse!

Smithy : endless winters & the spring of ’22 / Smith, Wayne Ross
“Wayne Smith is arguably the finest rugby brain in the world – a man the players he coached dubbed ‘The Professor’. In Smithy: Endless Winters & The Spring of ’22, we’ll hear from not only Wayne, but also the women and men who took the Ferns to a World title. In this long-awaited memoir, Wayne Smith will tell his best, most entertaining, insightful, and amusing anecdotes from an amazing career in in the game. We’ll look inside the Black Ferns’ World Cup triumph, which saw Wayne go from a man entitled to free bus rides with his Gold Card, to the dancing leader of a diverse, vibrant group of players and coaches who won all Kiwis’ hearts.” (Catalogue)

The race to be myself : a memoir / Semenya, Caster
“Olympian and World Champion Caster Semenya is finally ready to share the vivid and heartbreaking story of how the world came to know her name. Thrust into the spotlight at just eighteen years old after winning the Berlin World Championships in 2009, Semenya’s win was quickly overshadowed by criticism and speculation about her body, and she became the center of a still-raging firestorm about how gender plays out in sports, our expectations of female athletes, and the right to compete as you are.” (Catalogue)

My journey to the World Cup / Kerr, Sam
“Sam Kerr is widely considered to be one of the best female footballers of all time. She is famous worldwide for her skills on the soccer pitch – but before she was the Matildas captain and the leading goal scorer for Chelsea, she was just an average Aussie kid who wanted to play AFL. This is her incredible football journey to the FIFA World Cup, from making the switch to soccer to becoming one of the best female strikers in the world. Sam gives us insights into what keeps her motivated, how she handles the pressures of life as a professional athlete and what she believes is really important in life. Inside you will find: Facts about the FIFA World Cup. Everything you want to know about the Matildas. Amazing facts about Sam – her early days, family life, teams, playing for Chelsea FC and the Matildas.” (Catalogue)

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Cricket and Soccer, 2022 World Cup Competitions

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This year is a big year for sports fans: Cricket World Cup and Soccer World Cup. This blog has selected a range of books about two of the world’s most popular sports and famous players in New Zealand and abroad. Let’s also pay tribute to sports stars who recently passed away: Cricket star Shane Warne, and Rugby star Joeli Vidiri.

On Warne / Haigh, Gideon
“More than a plain life story, this book offers a brilliant portrait of Warnie’s craft, an analysis of his career through the lens of his key relationships and biggest misdemeanours, and a personalised portrait of the man as he evolved from the pizza-scoffing prodigy. Drawing on interviews conducted with Warne over the course of a decade, and two decades of watching him play, the author assesses this greatest of sportsmen as cricketer, character, comrade, newsmaker and national figure.” (Adapted from the Catalogue)

The official history of the FIFA World Cup / Fédération internationale de football association
“‘The Official History of the FIFA World Cup’ is an authoritative and comprehensive review of the 20 FIFA World Cups. Packed with stunning photography, exclusive interviews of the biggest stars of each edition, unique official documents and statistics from the FIFA World Football Museum. No other event in the sporting world can rival the glamour, impact, fervent following and universal appeal of the FIFA World Cup. ” (Adapted from the Catalogue)

Why soccer matters / Pelé
“Fans of the world’s most popular sport have agreed on one thing: the greatest player of all time was Pelé. Now he shares his story, his experience, and his insights on the game. A national treasure, he created pure magic with his accomplishments on the field: an unprecedented three World Cup championships and the all-time scoring record, with 1,282 goals in his twenty year career. Brazil often credited with perfecting the sport – soccer has a unique opportunity to encourage change on a global level.” (Adapted from the Catalogue)

Playing it my way : my autobiography / Tendulkar, Sachin
“The greatest run-scorer in the history of cricket, Sachin Tendulkar retired in 2013 after an astonishing 24 years at the top. The most celebrated Indian cricketer of all time, he received the Bharat Ratna Award – India’s highest civilian honour. Now Sachin Tendulkar tells his own remarkable story – When a boisterous Mumbai youngster’s excess energies were channelled into cricket, the result was record-breaking schoolboy batting exploits that launched the career of a cricketing phenomenon.” (Adapted from the Catalogue)

Changing pace : a memoir / Hadlee, Richard
“Memoir by New Zealand’s best cricket player in history, Sir Richard Hadlee. After the peak in cricket career and turmoil in life, he became a cricket ambassador and commentator, and then as the chairman of selectors for New Zealand Cricket. This book reveals the thinking behind the selectors decisions during his tenure, the steady improvement in the national team over that time and the controversial events of the 2003 Cricket World Cup in South Africa. ” (Adapted from Amazon.co.uk)

The meaning of cricket : or, How to waste your life on an inconsequential sport / Hotten, Jon
“Cricket is a team game that is almost entirely dependent on individual performance: almost ninety percent of one side is not taking part. In its combination of time, opportunity, a constant threat of disaster, and its ability to drive its participants to despair, cricket is unrivalled. To survive a single delivery propelled at almost one hundred miles an hour takes the body and brain to the edges of their capabilities.”  (Adapted from the Catalogue)

The World Cup : heroes, hoodlums, high-kicks and head-butts / Hansford, Paul
“This book has a strong, irreverent and humourous writing voice. It concentrates on the stories behind the legends, teams and great matches of the World Cup, putting aside the pundits’ picks for who will win (they invariably get it wrong anyway) and concentrating on the weird, whacky, controversial and legendary moments of the sports. This book covers brilliant tales and heroes and greatest matches which also deserve examination. ” (Adapted from the Catalogue)

More than meets the eye: Fascinating biographies

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Image featuring some of our Biography pics

It can be fascinating to learn unexpected facts about celebrities. Did you know that Bob Dylan won a Nobel Prize? How about that Sonny Bill Williams is not just a rugby player, but also a boxer? Discover more interesting stories of famous people in these biography books.

The world of The Rock / Pantaleo, Steve
“Celebrate the impressive career of  “The Rock” Johnson from his explosive WWE debut match to his full-blown Superstar status. Dubbed “The Great One,” The Rock has delighted millions of fans with his charisma, catch phrases and championship wins. Discover The Rock’s fascinating family history as the first third-generation WWE Superstar; his epic wins and greatest moments as The People’s Champion; and his impressive movie career including Fast and Furious franchise. ” (Adapted from the Catalogue)

The princess diarist / Fisher, Carrie
“When Carrie Fisher recently discovered the journals she had kept during the filming of the first Star Wars movie, she was astonished to see what they had preserved–plaintive love poems, unbridled musings with youthful naiveté, and a vulnerability that she barely recognized. Today her fame as an author, actress, and pop-culture icon is indisputable, but in 1976, Carrie Fisher was just a teenager with an all-consuming crush on her co-star. Read what’s behind the scene from Carrie’s handwritten notebook.”  (Adapted from the Catalogue)

The world of Bob Dylan
“Is there any writer or performer more haunting-and more haunted-than Bob Dylan? Like the members of the Nobel committee that awarded him the world’s most important cultural prize, we know he is one of the world’s most influential artists. But which Dylan is it? Is it the country boy who went Nashville and befriended Johnny Cash? Or the Beat-inspired hipster who took to the road with a ramshackle medicine show?  The Sinatra-inspired crooner? ” (Adapted from the Catalogue)

C. S. Lewis : a life : eccentric genius, reluctant prophet / McGrath, Alister E.
“In honor of the 50th anniversary of C. S. Lewis’ death, celebrated Oxford don Dr. Alister McGrath uses his research of Lewis’ correspondence and archival materials, presents us with a compelling portrait of the life of C. S. Lewis, the author of the well-known Narnia series who taught literature at Oxford University. This definitive biography paints a portrait of an eccentric thinker who became a compelling, prophet for our times. (Adapted from the catalogue)

You can’t stop the sun from shining / Williams, Sonny Bill
“Sonny Bill Williams (SBW) is a once in a hundred-year athlete with immense sporting talent in Rugby League, Rugby Union and Boxing. Sonny Bill has built an incredible career and sporting reputation across the globe. His athleticism has taken him from inner-city Auckland, where he grew up, to the highest sporting moments in Twickenham, Eden Park and Sydney’s Olympic Stadium. Working with Alan Duff, award-winning author of Once Were Warriors, this will be the must-read autobiography of the year.” (Adapted from the Catalogue)

Perspective / Perry, Ellyse
“Ellyse Perry is among the all-time greatest cricket and football players in Australia, making her international debut in cricket and football World Cup at the age of 16. From the lessons of a high-performance athlete’s career to appreciating the small things in life, this inspiring illustrated book features themes of dreaming, belief, work, resilience, appreciation, opportunity, balance and perseverance. This empowering book is about what it is to be an elite athlete and trying to be the best person possible.” (Adapted from the Catalogue)