Altri libri che potrebbero interessarti

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  The Remarkable Story of Fred...

  Mark Metcalf

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  Gainsborough’s Fred Spiksley was one of the first working class youngsters in 1887 to live ‘the dream’ of becoming a professional footballer, before later finding a role as a globe-trotting coach. He thus dodged the inevitability of industrial, poorly paid, dangerous labour.  Lightning fast, Spiksley created and scored hundreds of goals including, to the great joy of the future Queen Mary who chased him down the touchline, three against Scotland in 1893. The outside left scored both Sheffield Wednesday’s goals in the 2-1 defeat of Wolves in the 1896 FA Cup Final at the Crystal palace.  Forced by injury to stop playing at aged 36, Spiksley adventured out into the world. He acted with Charlie Chaplin, escaped from a German prison at the start of the First World War and later made the first ‘talking’ football training film for youngsters.  As a coach/manager he won titles in Sweden, Mexico, the USA and Germany, becoming the last Englishman to coach a German title-winning team with 1FC Nuremburg in 1927. He coached in Barcelona in 1932 and it was only after his involvement had exceeded 50 years, during which time, as this book explains, the game changed dramatically, did Spiksley’s football career end.  As an addicted gambler and womaniser, Spiksley had his problems away from football. However, he was beloved by his football fans, including Herbert Chapman, the greatest manager of that era in English football who, towards the end of his life, picked him in his finest XI.

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  Follow the Buzzards - Pro...

  Keith Elliot Greenberg

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  As a new decade dawned, 2020 was supposed to be the best year to be a wrestling fan. Finally, WWE had serious competition in All Elite Wrestling, and there were viable secondary promotions and a thriving international indie scene. Few in the industry realized that in China, a mysterious virus had begun to spread. By the time a pandemic was declared in March, the business—and the world—was in disarray. For the first time, pro wrestling was no longer seen as escapism, as real-world events intruded on the fantasy. Still, when everything else shut down, wrestling never went away. Despite cancellations and empty arena shows, there were great innovations, like the cinematic match—battles shot to look like movies—and the "ThunderDome," which replicated the live experience with fan faces surrounding the ring on LED screens. On the indie circuit, matches were held outdoors with spectators separated into socially distanced pods. The entire time, New York Times bestselling author and historian Keith Elliot Greenberg was chronicling the scene, juxtaposing pro wrestling developments with actual news events like the U.S. presidential election and Brexit. The result, Follow the Buzzards: Pro Wrestling in the Age of COVID-19, captures the dread, confusion, and spontaneous creativity of this uncertain era while exploring the long-term consequences.

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  Dances With Trout

  John Gierach

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  Brilliant, witty, perceptive essays about fly-fishing, the natural world, and life in general by the acknowledged master of fishing writers. 
  With the wry humor and wit that have become his trademark, John Gierach writes about his travels in search of good fishing and even better fish stories. In this new collection of essays on fishing—and hunting—Gierach discusses fishing for trout in Alaska, for salmon in Scotland, and for almost anything in Texas. He offers his perceptive observations on the subject of ice-fishing, getting lost, fishing at night, tournaments, and the fine art of tying flies. Gierach also shares his hunting technique, which involves reading a good book and looking up occasionally to see if any deer have wandered by. 
  Always entertaining, often irreverent, and illuminating, Gierach invites listeners into his enviable way of life, and effortlessly sweeps them along. As he writes in Dances with Trout, "Fly-fishing is solitary, contemplative, misanthropic, scientific in some hands, poetic in others, and laced with conflicting aesthetic considerations. It's not even clear if catching fish is actually the point."

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  Sloop - Restoring My Family's...

  Daniel Robb

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  Now in paperback, Daniel Robb’s Sloop proves he “is a craftsman… with words as well as with a hammer, as he constructs a charming tale that both details the technical nature of boatbuilding and captures the essence of the past, present, and future of a New England maritime community” (Publishers Weekly). • Interest in the environment and ecology: Daniel robb decided to restore his family’s well-worn wooden sailboat in appreciation for its craftsmanship and out of respect for the environment for which it was intended. Sloop’s tribute to the simple life and one’s environment will resonate with sailing enthusiasts and anyone who appreciates fine craftsmanship. • Timeless values: robb voices an ethic in which things are valued and appreciated, especially well-designed objects that still have years of useful life in them. While die-hard sailors or woodworking fanatics will love this book, robb’s skill as a writer also makes this a fascinating read for anyone. His humorous account of his on-the-job learning experience and of the eccentric characters who share his values and helped him will delight readers.“Robb writes of his painstaking restoration of a rotted 12½- foot herreshoff that had floated on memory and emotion, and finally again on water.…a gem.” —David Mehegan, The Boston Globe“Whether you’re an old-time boat builder, a wooden boat enthusiast, or simply someone who appreciates words woven together masterfully, you’ll enjoy Sloop.” —Kathleen Szmit, Barnstable PatriotAuthor of Crossing the Water, Daniel Robb has been an editor of academic journals, a teacher, a political consultant on a congressional campaign, and a proprietor of a literary services business. He has also worked at sea on schooners, taught sailing, and raced in national competitions. Robb lives in Pelham, Massachusetts.

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  Savage Arena - K2 Changabang and...

  Joe Tasker

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  I could never again maintain that I was caught up in this game unwillingly. I knew now what I wanted to do. Willingly would I accept the hardship and fear, the discipline and the sacrifices, if only I could be given back the chance to climb that mountain.' Joe Tasker lies, struck down by a tooth abscess, in a damp, bug-infested room in the Himalaya, wondering if he will be well enough to climb Dunagiri, his first venture to the 'big' mountains. He is there with Dick Renshaw to attempt to make a two-man ascent of the Peak - one of the first true Alpine-style expeditions to the Greater Ranges; an attempt that forms part of this tale of adventure in the savage vertical arena of hostile mountains. Joe Tasker was one of Britain's foremost mountaineers. A pioneer of lightweight mountaineering and a superbly gifted writer, in Savage Arena he vividly describes his participation in the first British winter ascent of the North Face of the Eiger; his first ascent of the West Wall of Changabang with Peter Boardman - considered to be a preposterous plan by the established climbing world; the first ascent of the North Ridge of Kangchenjunga; and his two unsuccessful attempts to climb K2, the second highest mountain in the world. This is a story of single-minded determination, strength and courage in a pursuit which owes much of its value and compulsion to the risks entailed - risks which often stimulate superlative performances. It is also a story of the stresses, strains and tensions of living in constant anxiety, often with only one other person, for long periods in which one is never far from moments of terror, and of the close and vital human relationships which spring from those circumstances. It is a moving, exciting and inspirational book about the adventuring spirit which seeks endless new climbing challenges to face, alluring problems to solve and difficulties to overcome, for it is not reaching the summit which is important, but the journey to it. Joe Tasker and Peter Boardman died on Everest in 1982, while attempting a new and unclimbed line. Both men were superb mountaineers and talented writers. Tasker's first book, Everest the Cruel Way, was first published in 1981. Savage Arena, his second book, was completed just before he left for Everest. Both books have become mountaineering classi. The literary legacy of Tasker and Boardman lives on through the Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature, established by family and friends in 1983 and presented annually to the author or co-authors of an original work which has made an outstanding contribution to mountain literature. For more information about the Boardman Tasker Prize, visit: www.boardmantasker.com 'The most riveting book on climbing that I have ever read.' Chris Bonington 'A gripping story of tremendous courage and unbelievable endurance.' Sir Edmund Hillary

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  Can Anyone Hear Me? - Testing...

  Peter Baxter

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  For 34 years from 1973 Peter Baxter was BBC producer of the hugely popular Test Match Special, and during that time he reported on Test matches from around the world. This funny and revealing book takes us behind the scenes as Baxter and his much-loved TMS colleagues do battle with local conditions and sometimes bizarre red tape to bring back home the latest news of England's progress (or otherwise) on the field. It should have been straightforward, but somehow it rarely was...

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