*Standard hardback edition*The most famous sports book in the world, Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack has been published every year since 1864. Home to some of the finest sports writing of the year, in this edition: Gideon Haigh reflects on the latest Australia v India series, Scyld Berry pays tribute to James Anderson, following his retirement, and Derek Underwood and Graham Thorpe are remembered by Mike Brearley and Alec Stewart – their former Test captains and friends. Wisden also considers cricket’s deepening reliance on artificial intelligence, and whether the game can ever thrive in the USA.As usual, Wisden includes the thought-provoking Notes by the Editor, the Cricketers of the Year awards, and the authoritative obituaries. There are reports and scorecards for every Test, together with forthright opinion, compelling features and comprehensive records.There can't really be any doubt about the cricket book of the year, any year: it's obviously Wisden." Andrew Baker, The Daily Telegraph @WisdenAlmanack" Read more

A fun and essential guide to the world of football and an incredible gift for young fans.Discover everything you've EVER wanted to know about football, from fascinating facts about your favourite players and clubs, to incredible international stats and terrific trivia. Packed with hilarious illustrations, this encyclopedia is anything but boring! Learn about all aspects of the game, including the positions, rules, mascots, nicknames, trophies and tournaments and laugh loads along the way. Brought to you by the bestselling creators of the Football School series, this book is a joyful celebration of the beautiful game.“We love this book series!” Match of the Day Weekly “Intelligent, inspiring, funny!” Head of Education, Premier League on the Football School series Read more

An illustrated exploration of the design, meaning and symbolism of world football club crests.Why is there a devil shown on the crest of Manchester United? Which club's crest motto is 'To Dare Is To Do'? And whose emblem depicts a bear and a strawberry tree?From the seahorses of Newcastle United to the royal crown of Real Madrid, via the riveting hammers of West Ham United, Valencia's famous bat design and German club St Pauli's unofficial skull-and-crossbones emblem, there is a story behind every crest, a tale of identity.Covering more than 200 clubs from 20 different leagues, World Football Club Crests explores the design, meaning and symbolism of the game's most famous club crests to reveal why the badges look as they do.This carefully curated collection charts the continuing evolution of the designs and describes the changing styles, varied influences and remarkable controversies that have shaped football's most iconic crests. These important symbols of football heraldry will never be viewed in the same way again. Read more

If you enjoyed A Minecraft Movie, you’ll love this book! Written by expert guides who specialise in studying mobs and biomes, the Minecraft Mob Encyclopedia is an adventure to discover every Mob in the game.The Overworld is an enormous land full of beautiful biomes and teeming with life, so much so that it can be a challenge to witness all it has to offer. The Minecraft Mob Encyclopedia is brought to you by experts who specialise in exploring biomes and love sharing their experiences of mob spotting.Cross plains and jungles, oceans and caves as you go on an exciting journey to discover every single mob in the game!It’s time for adventure! Minecraft is a multi-platform block-based gaming sensation. Whether you're in Creative, Survival or Hardcore mode, the Minecraft books contain all the advice you need to survive and thrive! Read more

'A compelling book. Test cricket is hanging on. It's a worry' - Graham Gooch'Huw Turbervill is the ultimate passionate polemicist for the Test format' - David Gower OBETHE EDITOR OF THE CRICKETER GOES ON A SOUL-SEARCHING JOURNEY TO DISCOVER WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR TEST CRICKETThe Final Test is a love letter to cricket and a manifesto in favour of the Test format. Taking readers on a nostalgic journey, Huw Turbervill shares stories of cricket past and present and of the incredible characters the sport has encountered over the years: Viv Richards, Graham Gooch, David Gower, Merv Hughes, Richard Hadlee and more.In a tumultuous sporting landscape, the cricket community, however, seems undecided about the future of Test cricket. The IPL is expanding, The Hundred still seems to dominate the thoughts of English cricket's controllers, and the men's Ashes in 2023 was relegated to a narrow window. As T20 keeps growing internationally and domestically like Japanese knotweed, attracting more fans than ever before, is it still possible for the longer format to retain its wistful shine?Huw asks a five-star panel of cricketers, commentators and writers if Test cricket can truly survive the next decade. Shouldn't we keep a tradition filled with memories of days gone by? Could we instead try to maintain a healthy balance of formats all year round? How about accepting that times need to change? Are Huw and others too nostalgic and conservative? This book is the ultimate soul-searching journey around the great game. Read more

A thrilling illustrated history of Formula 1 racing, from its origins to its top drivers, by a celebrated motorsports broadcaster and star of Netflix’s Formula 1: Drive to Survive. 'This book is perfect for newcomers who want to take their F1 obsession to the next level and for the die-hards' GREG JAMES _____________________ With just twenty drivers competing at speeds of over 220 miles per hour on the world’s most challenging racetracks, Formula 1 is the ultimate test for any driver. To become a champion is to be counted among the world’s greatest athletes. In Grand Prix, Will Buxton pulls back the curtain on the cars, teams, tracks, records, and rivalries that have defined F1 since its very first world champion in 1950, Giuseppe Farina, to modern-day icons like Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. Join the teams revolutionising car design on the factory floor, become a fly on the pit wall and learn the art of the pitstop, and discover what it really takes to compete in the fast lane with this definitive introduction to the world’s most exhilarating sport. _____________________ 'Who needs Google when you have Will Buxton? The most comprehensive, all-encompassing book on F1 to date. A joy to peruse' BRAD PITT Read more

A celebration of the late 1980s and 90s, when Italian football dominated Europe. This book is a must-read for anyone who experienced Italian football through Channel 4’s groundbreaking 1990s coverage.It was an era when ten different Italian teams played in major European finals, when the greatest players strutted their stuff in Italy’s stadiums, cheered on by colourful fans with flares and tifos. Inside you’ll read about:The effect the Heysel disaster had on European football, including Italian football’s relative weakness before HeyselThe turbulent times of Maradona at Napoli, including his and Italy’s experiences at Italia ’90The influx of foreign talent into Italian football, including the Dutch trio as part of Sacchi’s Milan revolution and three Germans at InterThe dominance of Italian clubs in Europe, including the likes of Sampdoria, Torino, Roma, Fiorentina, Lazio and Parma alongside Napoli, Milan, Inter and JuventusThe record of English imports into Italy, with a chapter dedicated to Gascoigne’s adventure at Lazio and Channel 4 coverageItaly’s amazing journey through the USA ’94 World Cup, including Baggio’s ups and downsThe end of Italian dominance and the fall of several clubsThis evocative book will take those who remember the era on a nostalgic journey through Italian splendour, while those who don’t will wish they had been there. It was a time when Italian football was the ultimate in cool. Read more

'Wonderfully wide-focused, unfailingly readable and laced with passages of insightful analysis, Tim Wigmore's history of test cricket is a true tour de force.' David Kynaston'Much more than simply a history of Test cricket, this is a colourful, modern take on the sport's most treasured format. I've commentated on over 400 Tests and learned so much from this wonderful book. Wigmore lays bare the challenges Test cricket faces and the fight required to preserve it.' Jonathan Agnew, BBC Test Match Special'Hugely informative and enjoyable - a fantastic achievement. A must-read for all cricket lovers.' - Peter FrankopanThe first narrative history of Test cricket.Test cricket is on the cusp of its 150th anniversary. For the first time, Test Cricket: A History tells the full, gripping story of the players and stories that have shaped the game's evolution since 1877.Award-winning author Tim Wigmore brings to life both Test cricket on the pitch and the game's social significance around the world. This captivating tour is illuminated by dozens of exclusive interviews with the game's greatest players, including Sachin Tendulkar, Pat Cummins, Michael Holding, Muthiah Muralidaran, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Chappell, Dale Steyn and Rahul Dravid.From Bodyline to Bazball, the golden age to the rise of West Indies, and Shane Warne to Ian Botham, readers will come to appreciate Test cricket's remarkable history like never before. Read more

Explore the unique stories behind every Formula One World Championship circuit in this fully updated second edition. Written by award-winning journalist Maurice Hamilton and complete with bespoke digital maps of each course, this is the ultimate guide to the circuits of Formula One.Each venue is listed in chronological order from the first time it hosted a World Championship Grand Prix, starting with Monza, then taking in renowned locations such as Spa, Nürburgring, Monaco and Silverstone, all the way up to F1’s latest destination: Las Vegas. Uncover little-known facts about famous circuits and discover the story behind some of the sport’s lesser-known venues.This fully updated second edition includes:• All 77 Formula 1 World Championship circuits, featuring six additional venues from the previous edition• Bespoke digital maps of every racetrack• Statistics including circuit lengths, lap records, and names of corners and straights• Alphabetical and ‘by country’ indices for ease of reference Read more

Take the football fun to extra-time with this action-packed puzzle book!Help footballers dribble through mazy defences, pick the perfect spot for strikers to aim at and help the manager work out the difference between her 4-4-2 and 3-5-1 formations. With over 70 activities over a variety of different difficulty levels, this book will keep budding Messi and Ronaldos busy right up until the final whistle. Read more

Remarkable Golf Courses encompasses the extremes of the sport – from the highest golf course in La Paz, Bolivia, to the lowest, in Death Valley, USA; from the most northerly in the Arctic Circle to the most southerly in Tierra del Fuego.The many quirks of the golfing world are covered, such as the 18th green the other side of the River Lea which is serviced by an electric ferry, or the LA golf course that has its own funicular railway, or the floating golf hole in Idaho, where it’s not just the pin position that’s changed every day, it’s the distance from the shore!Golf courses that feature neolithic standing stones (Scotland), Roman roads (England), and ruined medieval castles (Wales) take their place alongside the old temples of Delhi or a UNESCO World Heritage bridge that is used to link the 9th and 10th at Angkor Wat.There are the beloved classic courses of St. Andrews, Carnoustie, Royal St. George and Westward Ho!. There are spectacular golf courses hewn out of the Nevada and Arizona desert, green oases in a cactus-strewn, rocky landscape, along with Hawaiian courses fringed by barren black lava flows. But nothing can beat the thrill in Guatemala of lining up your drive on an active volcano at the Fuego Maya course.In comparison there are the traditional wind-blown Scottish links, such as the Machrie Hotel on the island of Islay which has the most blind greens on any course, or the remote Isle of Barra where greens are only accessible via a kissing gate.Fancy swapping countries mid-round? You can at the Llanmymynech club in Wales. At the fourth hole golfers tee off in Wales and putt out on the green in England. Remarkable Golf Courses brings together some astonishing stories with some extraordinary photography. Read more

The essence of the Rules of Golf is simple...play the course as you find it and play the ball as it lies. However, given golf is played all over the world where the climate, topography and course conditions vary greatly, there are a myriad of situations that can happen when playing golf and players need to know how to deal with those. The Official Guide to the Rules of Golf is the Bible of Golf Rules. This edition is fully updated to include amendments that come into play from January 2023. The first section of the book contains the Rules of Golf with Clarifications, where the Clarifications provide additional explanations and in many cases examples to help the reader understand the more complex scenarios. The second section, titled "Committee Procedures", contains practical guidance for those involved in running day to day play at golf courses or running competitions at all levels of the game. Read more

Packed with research and exercises that support you to build your strongest body - at home or in the gym.Is it time to lose weight, tone and sculpt, gain muscle and speed up your metabolism? This book gives you practical advice on how to do just that. It also gives you valuable insight into how nutrition and exercise can improve your health.Inside the pages of this strength training book, you'll discover:- The physiology and benefits of strength training - Workout plans for beginners, enthusiasts, and personal trainers- The hard dietary science that debunks common myths and important information to properly fuel your body- Depictions of 33 exercises: how to perfect them, common mistakes, and the benefits of eachIn this book, author Austin Current takes readers through the science of strength training, weight loss, nutrition and overall health. The book looks at why many people fear strength training, why they shouldn't, and how they can incorporate it into their daily lives. Filled with CGI artworks and science-backed information, this exercise book will help you transform your body and improve your wellbeing. This book also includes full workout plans and over 100 individual exercises. You'll learn how your muscles engage at each stage, how to do movements with correct form and how to prevent injury, and shows you different variations for home and gym. This book is also packed with nutritional information and includes dietary advice for vegans and vegetarians. DK's Science of series dives into the science of various types of exercises such as weight training, running, and yoga. Each book discusses the benefits of the specific type of workout and how you can transform your outlook about health and fitness.How The Book WorksThe first section - human physiology - introduces you to the wonder that is skeletal muscle and the mechanisms that underpin strength training's demands on the body. It will help you understand how muscles work and grow, and how the resistance work stimulates muscles to develop strength and size, alongside its positive impacts on bones and connective tissue. It also explains how the body powers muscular work and shows you how to calculate your own daily macronutrient requirements. Lastly, you're given an overview of the benefits to the brain, and the crucial role it plays in attitude and mental health.The second section - strength exercises - is devoted to a comprehensive collection of strength training exercises to perform, along with many variations offered to compliment your available training equipment, personal preferences, and level of challenge - at home or in the gym. Each exercise displays the muscles being used throughout the movement with detailed instruction on how to achieve proper form and technique; common mistakes are covered, too.The third section - preventing injury - explores common injuries related to resistance training, with explanations on how to avoid them and how to return to training if you do suffer an injury. A consistent and structured routine, including a proper warm-up, prepares the body for work, and the various mobility exercises and stretches given will help you tune in to how your body is responding to the training.The final section - how to train - outlines everything you need to know about the variables of effective strength training, such as training volume and fatigue management. Whether you want to build muscle, strength, or endurance, you'll find an easy-to-follow program to suit, as well as alternatives for those wanting to workout more often. Then programs form the base of your training and can be adjusted in the months and years to come. Read more

Discover 100 breathtaking European football venues in this stunning first-of-its-kind hardback edition featuring full-colour photographs and an introduction to new places and different football cultures.This unique project tells both the visual and written stories of the stadiums and the people who made them, painting a vivid picture of European football in the 21st century and the history it has managed to hold on to as well as offering football fans a bucket list of unique must-visit venues.From iconic World Cup stadiums to forgotten communist super bowls, simple football pitches at the edge of civilisation to the downright eccentric, Gladwell takes us on a compelling journey to uncover the diverse character of the homes of European football.Part guide, part love letter to the history, people and places that showcase the best of Europe's football landscape, this book is sure to leave you planning a future football trip. Read more

From elite bodybuilding competitors to gymnasts, from golfers to fitness gurus, anyone who works out with weights must own this book - a book that only Arnold Schwarzenegger could write, a book that has earned its reputation as "the bible of bodybuilding." Inside, Arnold covers the very latest advances in both weight training and bodybuilding competition, with new sections on diet and nutrition, sports psychology, the treatment and prevention of injuries, and methods of training, each illustrated with detailed photos of some of bodybuilding's newest stars. Covering every level of expertise and experience, with his unique perspective as a seven-time winner of the Mr. Olympia title,The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding will help you achieve your personal best. Read more

A CRICKETER BOOK OF THE YEAR.'Superb' Matthew Syed, The Times'Fascinating' The Observer'Packed with sufficient statistical analysis to have the most ardent cricket geek purring with pleasure' Mail on Sunday'An insightful, Hawk-Eye-like analysis of the numbers behind cricket' Financial TimesAn engaging tour of the modern game from an award-winning journalist and the economist who co-authored the bestselling Soccernomics. Why does England rely on private schools for their batters - but not their bowlers? How did demographics shape India's rise? Why have women often been the game's great innovators? Why does South Africa struggle to produce Black Test batters? And how does the weather impact who wins? Crickonomics explores all of this and much more - including how Jayasuriya and Gilchrist transformed Test batting but T20 didn't; English cricket's great missed opportunity to have a league structure like football; why batters are paid more than bowlers; how Afghanistan is transforming German cricket; what the rest of the world can learn from New Zealand and even the Barmy Army's importance to Test cricket. This incisive book will entertain and surprise all cricket lovers. It might even change how you watch the game. Read more

Shortlisted for The Telegraph Sports Book Awards 2019Long before perma-tanned football agents and TV mega-rights ushered in the age of the multimillionaire player, footballers' wages were capped – even the game's biggest names earned barely more than a plumber or electrician.Footballing legends such as Tom Finney and Stanley Matthews shared a bond of borderline penury with the huge crowds they entertained on Saturday afternoons, on pitches that were a world away from the pristine lawns of the game's modern era. Instead of the gleaming sports cars driven by today's top players, the stars of yesteryear travelled to matches on public transport and returned to homes every bit as modest as those of their supporters. Players and fans would even sometimes be next-door neighbours in a street of working-class terraced houses.Based on the first-hand accounts of players from a fast disappearing generation, When Footballers Were Skint delves into the game's rich heritage and relates the fascinating story of a truly great sporting era. Read more

WISDEN BOOK OF THE YEAR – WinnerJM KILBURN CRICKET WRITER OF THE YEAR – WinnerCRICKET SOCIETY/MCC BOOK OF THE YEAR – ShortlistedSPORTS BOOK AWARDS – ShortlistedNo other sport offers up stories quite like the ones collected in these pages. Only cricket – and especially the club cricket of England and the British Isles – allows recreational players to rub shoulders with international stars and even superstars in a fully competitive context, providing them with some of the most cherished memories of their lives.Featuring Adam Gilchrist, Gordon Greenidge, Malcolm Marshall, Viv Richards, Jacques Kallis, Mohammad Azharuddin, Garry Sobers, Andre Russell, Wasim Akram, Shane Warne, Shane Bond, Courtney Walsh, Matt Hayden, Mark Taylor, Mark Waugh, VVS Laxman, Kevin Pietersen, AB de Villiers, Steve Waugh, Shahid Afridi, Kapil Dev, Allan Donald, Curtly Ambrose, Imran Tahir.With stories from the Lancashire League, Birmingham League, Bradford League, Bolton League, Northern League, North Staffs League, Northumberland League and Middlesex League, as well as Cumbria and Northern Ireland.PRAISE FOR STICKY DOGS AND STARDUSTThe [Book of the Year award] goes to Sticky Dogs and Stardust, for its fund of astonishing stories, which would have remained untold without Scott Oliver’s labours, and for the élan and verve of his writing… [He] clearly has a profound understanding of and love for the local game [and] has done a magnificent job researching and recovering these stories, delving into mildewed scorebooks, interviewing teammates and opponents. Anthony McGowan, Wisden Cricketers’ AlmanackBeen a big fan of Scott Oliver for a long time. Great attention to detail for cricket allied to fun gossip. The David Foster Wallace of cricket. His book, Sticky dogs and Stardust, is a delight. Couldn’t recommend it moreGeorge Dobell, The CricketerThis book was a cracking idea - Martin Chandler, CricketWeb.netThis book is a gem. Reading and relishing this labour of love from freelance journalist and club cricketer Scott Oliver, one can easily understand why it was shortlisted for The Cricket Society and MCC Book of the Year Award… The rollercoaster ride to a seasonal climax is so grippingly well written that it rivals the best ever writing about social cricket in Hugh de Selincourt’s The Cricket Match or AG McDonnell’s England Their England.Philip Fisher, Cricket Society JournalA rip-roaring journey through league cricket full of heart-warming stories, tales of derring-do and some brilliantly absurd anecdotes […] A passion to tell these stories leaps off every page like a Curtly Ambrose bouncer.Timothy Abraham, The CricketerScott should be proud – not only that he won the Wisden Book of the Year award, but for showing that obsessively researched, high-class writing about niche subjects still knocks everything else clean out of the Narenda Modi Stadium.Rob Smyth, The GuardianIt’s a wonderful book… congenially written [but a work of impressive] scholarship.Dan Norcross, Test Match SpecialA beautiful fusion between club cricket and the stars who light it up. Scott’s skill as a writer shines through as does his research. John Fuller, Cricket Yorkshire Read more

SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERSue Barker first walked through those famous wrought-iron gates aged 13 in 1969 to play in the National Schools event. What Sue didn't know then, was that every year for the next half century, she would be back in some capacity. As a junior, aged 15, as a semi-finalist and Grand-Slam winner ranked No.3 in the world, as a broadcaster leading the BBC coverage for thirty years and for the first time, as a fan in 2023.And now she returns as a storyteller.The magic has stayed the same,but times have changed. With her first-hand insight and perspective, Sue paints an intimate portrait of the place, past and present, full of behind-the-scenes details drawn from her own experiences as well as personal conversations with her former mentors, contemporary players, friends and colleagues - giants of the game such as Rod Laver, Billie Jean King, John McEnroe, Roger Federer, Venus Williams and many others. They share poignant memories with her and some startling revelations, from Sampas's deep regret that he didn't involve his parents more in his Centre Court triumphs to Borg divulging that McEnroe was always the quietest presence in the locker room ... You cannot be serious!From the most talked-about matches and famous rivalries to the fashions and trends, from the stunning breakthroughs, to the near wins and gut-wrenching disappointments, Sue's personal history of Wimbledon is touched throughout by Championship stardust and is as tightly packed with stories as the courts are with blades of grass. Read more

THE WISDEN BOOK OF THE YEAR and THE CROSS SPORTS BOOK AWARDS CRICKET BOOK OF THE YEAR. 'The most complete, best researched, roses-and-thorns history of cricket in Pakistan' Independent'As good as it's likely to get' Guardian The nation of Pakistan was born out of the trauma of Partition from India in 1947. Its cricket team evolved in the chaotic aftermath. Initially unrecognised, underfunded and weak, Pakistan's team grew to become a major force in world cricket. Since the early days of the Raj, cricket has been entwined with national identity and Pakistan's successes helped to define its status in the world. Defiant in defence, irresistible in attack, players such as A.H.Kardar, Fazal Mahmood, Wasim Akram and Imran Khan awed their contemporaries and inspired their successors. The story of Pakistan cricket is filled with triumph and tragedy. In recent years, it has been threatened by the same problems affecting Pakistan itself: fallout from the 'war on terror', sectarian violence, corruption, crises in health and education, and a shortage of effective leaders. For twenty years, Pakistan cricket has been stained by the scandalous behaviour of the players involved in match-fixing. After 2009, the fear of violence drove Pakistan's international cricket into exile. But Peter Oborne's narrative is also full of hope. For all its troubles, cricket gives all Pakistanis a chance to excel and express themselves, a sense of identity and a cause for pride in their country. Packed with first-hand recollections, and digging deep into political, social and cultural history, Wounded Tiger is a major study of sport and nationhood. Read more