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Olympic Events (The\olympics Ser. (PDF) #2)
by Moira ButterfieldEach title of The Olympics examines the the Olympic Games from ancient times, then the revival of the 1890s through to today`s multi-million pound business. From the history of the games to which events are included and why, and from scandals to record breakers, The Olympics puts the reader at the centre of the action with fact-packed text, dramatic full-colour photos, facts and statistics.
Olympic Records (The\olympics Ser. (PDF))
by Moira ButterfieldEach title of The Olympics examines the the Olympic Games from ancient times, then the revival of the 1890s through to today`s multi-million pound business. From the history of the games to which events are included and why, and from scandals to record breakers, The Olympics puts the reader at the centre of the action with fact-packed text, dramatic full-colour photos, facts and statistics.
Us v Them: Journeys to the World's Greatest Football Derbies
by Giles GoodheadTravelling football fanatic Giles Goodhead drags a series of unsuspecting friends and relatives to eight of the world's greatest derby games. From the noisiest (Barcelona) to the scariest (a toss-up between Istanbul and Glasgow) Us vs Them desribes the thrills of gate-crashing grudge matches in cities split by football. Eight unique trips add up to a highly entertaining commentary on football - and tribalism - around the world.
My Animals and Other Family
by Clare BaldingMy Animals and Other Family by Clare Balding is a funny, brave, tender story of self-discovery'I had spent most of my childhood thinking I was a dog, and suspect I had aged in dog years. By the time I was ten I had discovered the pain of unbearable loss. I had felt joy and jealousy. Most important of all, I knew how to love and how to let myself be loved. All these things I learnt through animals. Horses and dogs were my family and my friends. This is their story as much as it is mine'Clare Balding grew up in a rather unusual household. Her father a champion trainer, she shared her life with more than 100 thoroughbred racehorses, mares, foals and ponies, as well as an ever-present pack of boxers and lurchers. As a toddler she would happily ride the legendary Mill Reef and take breakfast with the Queen.She and her younger brother came very low down the pecking order. Left to their own devices, they had to learn life's toughest lessons through the animals, and through their adventures in the stables and the idyllic Hampshire Downs. From the protective Candy to the pot-bellied Valkyrie and the frisky Hattie, each horse and each dog had their own character and their own special part to play.The running family joke was that "women ain't people". Clare has to prove them wrong, to make her voice heard - but first she had to make sure she had something to say.
Sporting Skills: Swimming (Sporting Skills Ser. (PDF))
by Clive GiffordLearn all about swimming - the disciplines, the techniques and the ideal training and drills. This book uses specially comissioned photography to illustrate all you need to know in order to perform well at your favourite sport.
The Test: My Autobiography
by Brian O'DriscollThe bestselling autobiography of the greatest rugby player of our time: Brian O'Driscoll. Since 1999, when he made his international debut, there has been no greater player in world rugby than Brian O'Driscoll. In 2010 Rugby World magazine named him its world player of the decade - and since then the legend has only grown. Now, at the end of his amazing career - which culminated in fairy-tale fashion with Ireland's victory in the 2014 Six Nations championship - he tells his own story. Honest, gritty and thoughtful, Brian O'Driscoll's Autobiography is not just an essential sports book. It is an essential book about family, friends, hard work, courage and imagination.'Honest, charming and revealing - a thoroughly good read' Rugby World'A thoroughly enjoyable read ... After reading The Test I warmed even more to O'Driscoll as a player and a man. He stood for a new ethos in Irish sport that refused to accept mediocrity or glorious failure' Fergal Keane, Irish Times'O'Driscoll's honesty ... takes the reader to a place they simply have not been before' Vincent Hogan, Irish Independent'A must-read insight into the life and mind of Ireland's greatest rugby player' Irish Mail on Sunday'There are fascinating insights into the lengths he was willing to go to perform at the highest level' Sunday Business Post
The Numbers Game: Why Everything You Know About Football is Wrong
by Chris Anderson David SallyThe Numbers Game by Chris Anderson and David Sally reveals football's astonishing hidden rulesFootball has always been a numbers game: 4-4-2, the big number 9 and 3 points for a win. But what if up until now we've been focusing on the wrong numbers? What if the numbers that really matter, the ones that hold the key to winning matches, are actually 2.66, 53.4, 50/50, and 0 > 1? What if managers only make a 15% difference? What if Chelsea should have bought Darren Bent?In this incisive, myth-busting book, Chris Anderson, former goalkeeper turned football statistics guru, and David Sally, former baseball pitcher turned behavioural economist, show that every shred of knowledge we can gather can help us to love football and understand it even more. You'll discover why stopping a goal is more valuable than scoring one, why corners should be taken short, and why it is better to improve your worst player than to buy a superstar.You'll never play, or watch, a game of football in quite the same way again.The Numbers Game is essential reading for football fans everywhere and will also appeal to readers who loved Moneyball and Freakonomics.At 17, Chris Anderson found himself playing in goal for a fourth division club in West Germany; today, he's a professor in the Ivy League at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. An award winning social scientist and football analytics pioneer, Anderson consults with leading clubs about how best to play the numbers game.David Sally is a former baseball pitcher and a professor at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College in the US, where he analyses the strategies and tactics people use when they play, compete, negotiate, and make decisions. He is an adviser to clubs and other organizations in the global football industry.
Pray: Notes on the 2011/2012 Football Season (Penguin Specials)
by Nick Hornby'That is why there is NOTHING better than sport' Kevin PietersenThe 2011-12 Premier League season finished on an afternoon so extraordinary that it prompted Kevin Pietersen's tweet. Yet this was just the climax of an incredible season. By May fans of most clubs had been enthralled, appalled, depressed, elated, shocked and enraged. Along the way football had somehow managed to encompass politics, high finance, the law and matters of life and death. In Pray Nick Hornby, author of the classic Fever Pitch, offers an entertaining and typically insightful account of this most extraordinary of seasons. Beginning with the weekend of 28 August when the Man Utd demolition of Arsenal 8-2 and the Man City demolition of Spurs 5-1 showed what was to come, he concentrates on a number of games whose significance went beyond the immediate result: the October games with alleged rascist incidents, the fairy-tale return of Thierry Henry, the collapse of Fabrice Muamba, the Carling Cup Final where Liverpool's victory only served to point up the club's problems, the unusual (but increasingly more common) 4-4 draw between Man Utd and Everton...It was a season of tumultuous incident and enormous entertainment, a season more glorious than most. Read all about it, and relive it, here.
Lunch with the FT: 52 Classic Interviews
by Lionel BarberFrom the very first mouthful, 'Lunch with the FT' was destined to become a permanent fixture in the Financial Times.One thousand lunches later, the FT's weekly interview has become an institution. From film stars to politicians, tycoons to writers, dissidents to lifestyle gurus, the list reads like an international Who's Who of our times. Lunch with the FT is a selection of the best: 52 classic interviews conducted in the unforgiving proximity of a restaurant table. From Angela Merkel to Sean 'P. Diddy' Combs, Martin Amis to one of the Arab world's most notorious sons, this book brings you right to the table to decide what you think of or world's most powerful players.
I Don't Know What It Is But I Love It: Liverpool's Unforgettable 1983-84 Season
by Tony EvansI Don't Know What It Is But I Love It by Tony Evans - Liverpool and the most unlikely success story in footballKenny Dalglish. Graeme Souness. Ian Rush. Alan Hansen. Bruce Grobelaar. They rank with the very greatest players ever. But the heroes of 1984 were an unlikely group to make history.Led by a 63-year old first-time manager and a captain show-off better known for his moves on the dancefloor, Liverpool's greatest season was a booze-fuelled journey to three trophies: the first division title, the League Cup and the European Cup, won on a remarkable night in Rome. The team's theme song was even the much-derided Chris Rea hit. Eye-watering, hilarious, and utterly unbelievable, this is the story of how they did it, and how their season was the last year of innocence in English football.This book is essential reading for fans of Red or Dead, 43 Years With The Same Bird: A Liverpudlian Love Affair and the memoirs of Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and Kenny Dalglish.Tony Evans has been football editor of The Times for five years and was born a Liverpool fan. He writes a weekly column for The Game, The Times' weekly football supplement. He came to journalism at the age of 29 and spent his 20s following Liverpool and playing in bands, including a stint in The Farm. In 1983-84, he saw all 42 league games and most of the matches in other competitions.
I Am Zlatan Ibrahimovic
by Zlatan IbrahimovicI AM ZLATAN - the explosive, critically-acclaimed memoir of Zlatan Ibrahimovich, one of the world's most gifted and controversial footballers'Guardiola has no balls. He drove me like a Fiat . . . I'm a Ferrari' Zlatan Ibrahimovic - professional football's most mercurial player, Swedish national hero, tabloid fixture, fashion icon, modern-day philosopher and black belt in Taekwondo. Born to a Muslim father from Bosnia, and a Catholic mother from Croatia, Zlatan recounts his extraordinary life story, from his poverty-stricken upbringing as an outsider in Malmö, Sweden, to becoming one of the world's most sought-after and expensive players, gracing Europe's finest clubs, from Ajax to Juventus, Internazionale to Barcelona, Milan to Paris Saint-Germain. I AM ZLATAN reveals a rare and ferocious intelligence, willpower and God-given talent most recently exhibited when Zlatan scored all 4 goals for Sweden in a 4-2 victory against England. His fourth goal, a 30-yard overhead kick with his back to goal is widely regarded as one of the greatest goals of all time. The BBC described it as a goal that 'combined unfathomable imagination and expert technique'.For fans of The Secret Footballer and Football Manager Stole My Life this no holds barred football memoir is every bit as dramatic and revealing as Roy Keane's classic autobiography.'The best footballer's autobiography of recent years is probably I Am Zlatan Ibrahimovic . . .' Simon Kuper, author of Why England Always Lose'Eagerly awaited, not least because Ibra seems to be spoiling for a fight on every other page. 'Dynamite' said one Swedish reporter' Daily Mail on I AM ZLATAN
Salt, Sweat, Tears: The Men Who Rowed the Oceans
by Adam RackleyFewer people have rowed across the Atlantic than have climbed Everest.Adam Rackley is among them. For 70 days he and his rowing partner ate, slept and rowed in a boat seven metres long and two metres wide, in one of the world's most extreme environments. This is his story of adventure, endurance and self-discovery.They were following in the wake of pioneers. In 1896 a pair of Norwegian fisherman crossed the 2,500 miles in a wooden fishing dory - and their record stood for 114 years. John Fairfax, a smuggler, gambler and shark hunter, was the first to complete the feat single-handedly in 1969. Others have followed; some have not survived the attempt. This is their story, too.
Fan Mail: Twenty Years of Writing about Football (Penguin Specials)
by Nick HornbyFan Mail: Twenty Years of Writing about Football by Nick Hornby, the bestselling author of Fever PitchAfter the phenomenal success of Fever Pitch, Nick Hornby tried to avoid writing about football, for fear that he'd be writing about it forever. But occasionally over the years he's found it impossible to turn down a particularly enticing assignment or, in the case of the 2012-13 Premier League, just unable to resist writing about that most spectacular of seasons.Fortunately for those who love great writing about football, all these fugitive pieces are collected in Fan Mail. You can follow the fortunes, as Hornby did, of a hopelessly out-of-their-depth Cambridge United in the old Second Division, discover why Perry Groves was an unlikely hero among Arsenal fans, enjoy Hornby trying to explain the World Cup to Americans, and share with him the pain of watching our national team.This Penguin Special, available exclusively as an ebook, can be read in two hours or less. It will be loved by readers of The Secret Footballer and Inverting the Pyramid, as well as fans of Hornby everywhere.'Fever Pitch is the best football book ever written' Nick Lezard, GQ
Four Iron in the Soul
by Lawrence DoneganFour Iron in the Soul by Lawrence Donegan - the hilarious inside story of GolfIn this very funny sports book, young journalist Lawrence Donegan tells the story of the summer he spent caddying for Scottish golfer Ross Drummond, ranked over 400 in the world,on the European Tour. This is the amazing story of the geniuses,the cheats, the gurus and the hangers-on that make up the golf scene. A cross between Nick Hornby and Bill Bryson, this book will be loved by readers of Fever Pitch and Notes from a Small Island.'A joy to read. Not since Bill Bryson plotted a random route through small-town America has such a breezy idea for a book had a happier or funnier result' - Lynne Truss, The Times 'Funny, beautifully observed and it tells you things about sport in general and golf in particular that nobody else had thought to pass on' - Patrick Collins, Mail on SundayLawrence Donegan was born in Scotland in 1961. He went to Stirling University, and had a brief spell as a pop star - he was in the band THE BLUEBELLS, who had a big hit with the infuriatingly catchy "Young at Heart", before joining the Guardian. He lives in Glasgow.
Futebol Nation: A Footballing History of Brazil
by David GoldblattFutebol Nation by David Goldblatt - a thriling history of Brazil through its sporting passionFrom the genius of Pelé to corruption and civil unrest, no nation has so closely aligned its national identity with playing and watching football as Brazil. Football is regarded as a thing of joy, its yellow shirts a delightful amalgam of sport and art, entwined with its cultures of music and religion. This is true, but there is another side to the story too. The corruption of Brazil's football authorities is characteristic of its society as a whole; some of its biggest tournaments have recently been played amidst the largest protests Brazil has ever seen. From the acclaimed author of the classic football history The Ball is Round, this book is the whole story: the players, the fans, the corruption, the passion. It will be enjoyed by readers of I am the Secret Footballer, The Numbers Game, Why England Lose and fans of football around the world.David Goldblatt was born in London in 1965 and is a supporter of Tottenham Hotspurs and Bristol Rovers. He teaches sociology at Bristol University, reviews sports books for the TLS, and for some years wrote the Sporting Life column in Prospect magazine.'A tour de force of brilliant writing, historical colour and sporting vignette' Observer on The Ball is Round
Invincible: Inside Arsenal's Unbeaten 2003-2004 Season
by Amy Lawrence Arsène WengerInvincible by Amy Lawrence: A gripping insider's account of how Bergkamp, Henry, Vieira and Pires became the first team in 100 years to go the entire season undefeated2014 Writer of the Year, Football Supporters' Federation'This book is so full of exclusive interviews you'll soon feel like part of the squad. A worthy tribute to one of English football's best ever teams, it makes you long for one more game at Highbury' Shortlist 'Unbeatable insight' Henry Winter, Daily Telegraph In 2003-04, a team that played with lightning speed and lustrous skill fulfilled Wenger's lifelong dream - to go a whole season unbeaten. They pushed and inspired each other, bringing the best out of strong characters like Jens Lehmann, a self-styled 'Mad German', Sol Campbell, an intense competitor, Robert Pirès, an instant friend if you give him a football, Patrick Vieira, a soft-spoken, battle-hardened captain, Gilberto, a thoughtful Brazilian, Thierry Henry, a supremely gifted and obsessed scorer and creator, and Dennis Bergkamp, the perfectionist conductor.Based on exclusive player interviews, and with a foreword and afterword by Arsene Wenger, this definitive book allows the Invincibles to tell their own story. Football writer Amy Lawrence weaves together the team's recollections, and the testimonies of other key players and protagonists around the club, to relive the pivotal games and moments. From the battle of Old Trafford to jubilation at White Hart Lane, from training ground sparks to dressing room revelations, readers will go behind closed doors, onto the pitch, and into the players' minds to understand the teamwork and the psychology to go unbeaten.Published in time for the 10-year anniversary, this is a must-have read for any Arsenal fan. It will be enjoyed by readers of memoirs by Dennis Bergkamp and Tony Adams, and will also appeal to football fans everywhere who enjoy classic sports books such as The Damned United. Amy Lawrence has watched football avidly since her first trip to Highbury at the age of six, and has written about it, mostly for the Guardian and the Observer, for twenty years. She lives in London.
Run or Die: The Inspirational Memoir of the World's Greatest Ultra-Runner
by Kilian JornetRun or Die by Kilian Jornet - the autobiography of the world's most dominating athlete in ultra runningShortlisted for the 2014 William Hill Sports Book of the Year AwardNational Geographic Adventurer of the Year 2014Marca Legend Award 2014 'This man can run 100 miles. Up and down mountains. Without stopping. After skipping breakfast. Meet Kilian Jornet, the world's greatest ultra-runner' The TimesAt 18 months he went on his first hike. At 3, he climbed his first mountain. At 10, he entered his first mountain race. At 26, he plans to run up Everest - without an oxygen mask.Kilian Jornet has conquered some of the toughest physical tests on the planet. He has run up and down Mt. Kilimanjaro faster than any other human being, and struck down world records in every challenge that has been proposed - all before the age of 25. Dominating ultra marathons and races at altitude, he has redefined what is possible in running, astonishing competitors with his near-superhuman fitness and ability.In Run or Die Kilian shares his passion, inviting readers into a fascinating world rich with the beauty of rugged trails and mountain vistas, the pulse-pounding drama of racing, and an intense love for sport and the landscapes that surround him. In turns inspiring, insightful, candid, and deeply personal, this is a book written from the heart of the world's greatest endurance runner, for whom life presents one simple choice: Run. Or die.This is the next must-have read for those who enjoyed the endurance books Born to Run by Christopher McDougall and Ultramarathon Man by Dean Karnazes.'Fascinating insight into the gruelling world of the ultimate ultra-runner' Daily MailKilian Jornet is a world champion ultra-runner, climber and ski mountaineer (a combination of skiing and mountaineering).He was voted the presitigious 'Adventurer of the Year 2014' award by National Geographic magazine, in honour of his latest project to break speed records up and down the world's 7 tallest mountains. The 4-year-project finishes with a running attempt up Everest in 2016.
Foxcatcher: A True Story of Murder, Madness and the Quest for Olympic Gold
by Mark Schultz David ThomasFoxcatcher by Mark Shultz - the story that inspired the major motion pictureMadmen, money, murder.... and wrestling.The Foxcatcher estate, Pennsylvania, January 1996. Dave Schultz, Olympic gold medallist and wrestling golden boy, is shot in the back by billionaire John du Pont. After a two day siege at the ranch du Pont is finally captured.It wasn't supposed to end that way. Du Pont had lured to his ranch America's top wrestlers, the brothers Mark and Dave Schultz, with the dream of building a world-class team. But as he grew paranoid and controlling, the brothers realised they were trapped.No one knows the inside story of Foxcatcher better than Mark Schultz. This book is a searing portrait of the relationship he and his brother had with du Pont, whose catastrophic break from reality led to tragedy.Now a major motion picture, this amazing story will be enjoyed by fans of Argo, Captain Phillips and American Hustle.Mark Schultz is an Olympic gold medalist and a national champion in free style wrestling. He lives in Southern Oregon, USA.
At the Edge: Riding for My Life
by Danny MacAskill'I've already had my nine lives on the bike...'Danny MacAskill lives on the edge. The cyclist is legendary for his YouTube viral videos like 'The Ridge': nerve-jangling blurs of stunts and speed over towering buildings and mountain peaks. His life is one of thrills, bloody spills and millions of online hits.It hasn't been an easy ride. Fear, stress and the 'what if?' factor circle every trailblazing trick, which require imagination, daredevil techniques and movie-making smarts. He has spent his life pushing the extremes; somehow, he's still around to tell the tale.In this unflinching memoir of mayhem, Danny shares his anarchic childhood on the Isle of Skye and early days as a street trials rider, takes us behind the scenes of his training and videos, and reveals what it takes to go beyond the next level - both mentally and physically.Join Danny for a nerve-shredding ride. Just be sure to bring a crash helmet.
The Pressure Principle: Handle Stress, Harness Energy, and Perform When It Counts
by Dr Dave Alred MbeThe coach who taught Jonny Wilkinson how to deal with pressure now shows all of us how to cope with life's challengesPressure is a constant in our lives. The pressure to hit a deadline, deliver that speech, interview for the job we really want - they are all challenges we need to meet. Like a footballer taking a penalty or a golfer making a putt, how we respond to pressure defines us at work and at home.Dave Alred is an elite performance coach who works with the world's top sports stars and teams - from rugby's Jonny Wilkinson to Premiership footballers and golfers - helping them deliver when the tension is at its most extreme. In The Pressure Principle he finally shares his eight groundbreaking principles and shows how we can all apply them to our lives.From how a child-like approach can help us through tough moments, to the best ways to face an audience, to why language is the ultimate performance-enhancing drug, Pressure is the definitive guide to dealing with our challenges. Packed with accessible stories and tips, it shows how we can harness pressure to produce our best at home, at work, and in our sport or exercise - by the man who has spent his life coaching the very best.'Dave Alred is a genius. There is simply no-one around to match him in his field' - Jonny WilkinsonDr Dave Alred MBE is an elite performance coach who has worked with some of the biggest names in sport. His clients have included rugby's Jonny Wilkinson, George Ford and Johnny Sexton, golfers Luke Donald, Brad Kennedy and Padraig Harrington, the England Rugby team (four World Cups), the British Lions (three tours), the Springboks, the England Cricket team, and Premiership sides Manchester City, Sunderland, Watford and Newcastle. He holds a PhD in Performing under Pressure from Loughborough University. A genuine pioneer in performance mindset and attitude, his approach optimises the abilities of sports and business people alike.
Quiet Leadership: Winning Hearts, Minds and Matches
by Carlo AncelottiCarlo Ancelotti is one of the greatest managers of all time, with five Champions League titles to his name. Yet his approach could not be further from the aggressive theatricals favoured by many of his rivals. His understated style has earned him the fierce loyalty of players like David Beckham, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo.In Quiet Leadership, Ancelotti reveals the full, riveting story of his managerial career - his methods, mentors, mistakes and triumphs - and takes us inside the dressing room to trace the characters, challenges and decisions that have shaped him. The result is both a scintillating memoir and a rare insight into the business of leadership.
Win or Learn: MMA, Conor McGregor and Me: A Trainer's Journey
by John KavanaghGrowing up in Dublin, John Kavanagh was a skinny kid who was frequently bullied. After suffering a bad beating when he intervened to help a woman who was being attacked, he decided he had to learn to defend himself. Before long, he was training fighters in a tiny shed, and promoting the earliest mixed-martial arts events in Ireland. And then, a cocky young lad called Conor McGregor walked into his gym ...In Win or Learn, John Kavanagh tells his own remarkable life story - which is at the heart of the story of the extraordinary explosion of MMA in Ireland and globally. Kavanagh has become a guru to young men and women seeking to master the arts of combat. And as the trainer of the world's most charismatic male MMA star, he has become a magnet for talented fighters from all over the world. Kavanagh's portrait of Conor McGregor - who he has seen in his lowest moments, as well as in his greatest triumphs - is a revelation. What emerges from Win or Learn is a remarkable portrait of ambition, discipline, and persistence in the face of years and years of disappointment. It is a must read for every MMA fan - but also for anyone who wants to understand how to follow a dream and realize a vision.
How To Watch Football
by Ruud GullitHow can one striker be better than three? Why do the best defenders never need to make a tackle? What's the secret of Tiki-taka?Welcome to Ruud Gullit's masterclass on how to 'read' a match.From his unrivalled perspective as player, manager and pundit, the Dutch football legend shows us everything to look for in a 90 minute match. From formations and tactical decisions to player qualities and pivotal moments, Ruud Gullit unveils the hidden patterns on the pitch.Packed with his acute insights, original observations and talking points, How to Watch Football will quite simply change the way you see the beautiful game.
Believe: Boxing, Olympics and my life outside the ring
by Nicola AdamsAt London 2012, Nicola Adams made history. The flyweight boxer - nicknamed the smiling assassin - became the first ever woman to win an Olympic Gold medal for boxing. In Rio 2016, with the nation cheering her on, she did it all over again.Growing up in Leeds, Nicola stumbled into boxing in her local sports centre while her mum was at aerobics. Age 13 she decided that she would win an Olympic Gold: nobody was going to stop her. Years of relentless training, fundraising and determination have seen Nicola battle through injury, prejudice and defeat to become one of Britain best-loved athletes and an inspiration to all those who are chasing after a seemingly impossible dream.
Night Train: A Biography of Sonny Liston
by Nick Tosches'Dazzling... An unforgettable journey to some of boxing's darkest places' Steve Bunce, author of Bunce's Big Fat Short History of British BoxingShortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year 2000A breathtakingly brutal and evocative account of the life of infamous boxing world champion Sonny Liston Sonny Liston is one of the most controversial men the boxing world has ever seen. He rose from a childhood of grinding poverty to become 1962's heavyweight world champion. He spent time in prison, he was known to have mob connections, he was hated and vilified by his public. And after he lost the world title to Cassius Clay in a spectacular fall from grace, he died under mysterious and never fully explained circumstances.Sonny Liston's life story is an unsolved mystery and an underappreciated tragedy. In uncompromising detail, Nick Tosches captures the shadowy figure of Liston, this most mesmerising and enigmatic of boxing antiheroes.