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A Telegraph Best Book of 2025.
A News Statesman Book of the Year 2025.
‘David Goldblatt is possibly the best football historian there has ever been’. Dominic Sandbrook
‘David Goldblatt is the greatest British sportswriter of the 21st century … Injury Time is an absolute classic.’ James Montague, author of The Billionaires Club and Engulfed
Dressed in armour and clutching a bloody sword, the Roman gladiator is the most iconic figure of the ancient world. Both fascinating and repulsive to us now, he was in his own time a deeply controversial character, by turns hated and idealized – and always at the heart of Roman culture. But what did he really mean to the Romans? What did they see in the gladiator and the spectacle of the games? And what does he reveal to us today about the Roman way of life? Brilliantly written and meticulously researched, this book tells the stories of the gladiators and those who observed them – from grand emperors to lowly slaves – illuminating and analysing the all-consuming passion of the Roman Empire for the spectacle of mortal combat. In doing so, it reveals Roman ideas about everything from freedom and servitude to sex and desire, from courage and cowardice to death and the afterlife.
A gripping account of the life of Sandy Irvine and the mystery of his and Mallory’s disappearance on Everest in June 1924.
Winner of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award 2025
A Sunday Times Best Book of 2025
A Guardian Best Sports Book 2025
A unique memoir from British cycling’s most fascinating competitor.
Bestselling author Ben Mezrich tells the dramatic true story of the biggest scandal in chess history, and how chess became a multi-billion-dollar industry.
1966, with London declared ‘a swinging city’ and John Lennon proclaiming the Beatles ‘more popular than Jesus’, the year’s football World Cup convenes an international community standing at an inflection point, emerging from the long shadow of the Second World War and hurtling towards the future. Propelled by social change, civil rights movements and technological advancement serve as beacons of hope and possibility. Yet, Cold War tensions, the escalation of the Vietnam War, and the space race between America and the Soviet Union project a different image. As China’s Cultural Revolution begins, and talks are initiated to reunify Germany, football has the potential to inflame ideological rivalries, unite old enemies, and allow nations to demonstrate their prowess on a global stage. Michael Calvin provides a portrait of a critical moment in world history.
The classic bestseller that changed how the world thinks about football
'Quite magnificent – a sort of Freakanomics of football.' Jonathan Wilson, Guardian
'If you're a football fan, I'll save you some time: read this book' Daily Telegraph
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Maradona was football’s ultimate genius – a magician on the pitch whose talent rivalled only Pelé. But off the field, the boy from the barrios of Buenos Aires became entangled in a dark web of criminal influence and personal demons. From the Cali Cartel’s attempts to lure him into the drug trade, to the Camorra’s grip on his life in Naples; from clashes with the Italian government to Pablo Escobar’s sinister hospitality, Maradona’s life was a battleground far beyond football. Battling addiction, betrayal, and exploitation, Maradona’s story is one of genius corrupted – a man caught between adulation and self-destruction, whose medical neglect and FBI scrutiny culminated in a tragic end. Marking the 40th anniversary of Argentina’s legendary 1986 World Cup victory, ‘Killing Maradona’ is a searing investigation into the forces that destroyed football’s first ‘Golden Boy’.
The first narrative history of Test cricket as it nears its 150th birthday, telling the story of how the game has evolved since 1877, told through the moments and personalities that have shaped the format.
Whether you are a keen player, a lifelong supporter, or an armchair football manager, this book illustrates every aspect of the most popular sport in the world. ‘The Football Book’ reveals the story behind the game – from the history of the sport to the build-up to the 2026 Men’s World Cup. Step-by-step artworks and jargon-free text profile the roles of players, equipment, team formations, strategies, and individual skills, while maps, quotes, and statistics give you all of the key facts on national teams, famous club sides, and iconic players, as well as the greatest competitions around the world.
As human beings, we’re fascinated by elite human performance. And if it derives from nefarious means? Arguably that’s even more alluring – just look at the Enhanced Games, the sporting free-for-all where doping is allowed that will take place in 2026. The lengths athletes, and their support teams, go to in search of peak performance is unsettling, dangerous and captivating. Just as intriguing is how the anti-doping authorities combat, or attempt to combat, the cheats. Blood tests, urine tests, examination of fitness data, monitoring social media a la Big Brother in an effort to determine where the athlete’s training. Is it in a country that doesn’t have an accredited testing lab nearby? The alarm bells ring. It’s good versus evil, but who’s winning? Through the lens of case studies through the history of doping in sport, ‘Dope’ examines the landscape of sport and doping in the modern era.
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