Best sports biographies and autobiographies
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There is something about a great sports story that transcends audiences. Perhaps it’s because we are seemingly hardwired to root for an underdog, or fight to overcome the adversity in our own lives. Whatever the reason, inspiring sports stories — and inspiring sports biographies, in particular — are some of the most successfully sold books on the market. These fifty sports biographies, all of which are ranked by Amazon as the highest rated and bestselling of their kind, represent the very best that sports has to offer. From baseball to horse racing, the books on this list are a showcase of true stories that are bound to move and inspire readers of all ages, backgrounds, and athletic ability.
Baseball
I Never Had It Made
Jackie Robinson
In 1947, Jackie Robinson broke the color line in major league baseball when he was recruited by Branch Rickey to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Originally published in 1972 (the year Robinson died), this book is a full account of Rob
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Sports Illustrated's Top 100 Sports Books of All Time
Sports Illustrated put together the top 100 sports books of all time. Of the titles on their list, 55 titles are available in accessible formats from the Wisconsin Talking Book and Braille Library catalog. Below is the list with the description and call number for books available through WTBBL.
- The Sweet Science, By A.J. Liebling. In this collection of articles on prizefighting, a longtime writer for the "New Yorker" reveals his "fascination with the odd characters who inhabit the world of boxing" as much as his love of the sport itself. From visits to the training camps of opponents to post-fight assessments in the bar, Liebling interweaves sketches of people who follow "the sweet science" with accounts of his personal involvement in the matches. DB 34565.
- The Boys of Summer, By bekräftelse Kahn. A former sportswriter for the 'Herald Tribune' writes about the Brooklyn Dodgers of Ebbets Field. He also tells what happened
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The 35 Best Sports Books Ever Written
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.
Documentary-makers have found a rik seam to exploit in retelling sports narratives recently, and looking at some of the more exceptional characters who’ve risen to the fore (The Last Dance being the most high-profile example, although there has been a raft of other good ones), but nothing can delve into the intricacies of a great athlete