I remember the Marinovich hype: front cover of SI and then his sad downfall. I'd rather learn about good sports books from the last 10 Years: those that have out-lived the hype and still read well (and are cheaper to buy second-hand).
'Pretty girls in little boxes' should be mandatory reading for all mums before they push their daughter into gymnastics too young (I coach gym and get berated for not letting them start until they are 7, and then not putting them into competitions).
One missing from your lists, and a winner of the William Hill Book Award, is 'Angry white pyjamas,' by Robert Twigger. It's about his time learning Aikido with the Tokyo riot police. Very good.
I've already started reading a few of these! No time to read them all, of course, but a great reference. It's obviously a lot of work, but where do you look to find all of these upcoming releases? For example, this is the first place I heard of Caitlin Clark's book!
Mixed bag of sources really. I spot various announcements on twitter and save them when I see them. A reasonable number of authors or publishers email me directly (usually if offering review copies). Netgalley has review copies and edelweiss has some too and also listing's by publisher but hard to find sports only there. I have a list of publishers whose sites I check before finalising and I mail some directly to confirm.
The big final check is a search on Waterstones website for all sports books by release date. They list earlier than anywhere else. There are probably a bunch of other little things but that's the main ones!
You could refresh it every 3 months and find loads more but it's a lot of work so I usually just do once or twice a year.
Thanks! I was doing it anyway for my own reading planning - feels a little less like a crazy way to spend my limited free time if others get to benefit too!
Always a lot of soccer books every year especially from Pitch Publishing. American sports tend to have big name authors write books or historians / niche interests. For soccer there are tons of writers trying to make a living with newspapers and magazines churning out books each year.
Henry Abbott is writing a book about sports injury prevention called “Ballistic”
Thanks, will update the list 👍
I remember the Marinovich hype: front cover of SI and then his sad downfall. I'd rather learn about good sports books from the last 10 Years: those that have out-lived the hype and still read well (and are cheaper to buy second-hand).
Hi James. I have a few articles that you would like based on what your looking for.
Here are my favourite sports books since 2000 - https://allsportsbookreviews.substack.com/p/best-sports-books-of-21st-century?r=fusht
Here is list where I asked over 200 sportswriters to tell me the sports books they love - https://allsportsbookreviews.substack.com/p/the-sports-books-that-sportswriters-528?r=fusht
I have loads of reviews of older books on my old blog too https://allsportsbooks.reviews/reviews-by-sport/
If don't find what you're looking for let me know some books you like and I can make some recommendations.
'Pretty girls in little boxes' should be mandatory reading for all mums before they push their daughter into gymnastics too young (I coach gym and get berated for not letting them start until they are 7, and then not putting them into competitions).
One missing from your lists, and a winner of the William Hill Book Award, is 'Angry white pyjamas,' by Robert Twigger. It's about his time learning Aikido with the Tokyo riot police. Very good.
I loved Angry White Pyjamas - definitely overdue a re-read.
Pretty girls in little boxes is a great book. A tough read at times but a great book.
Ooh: that's kind, thank you. I shall browse!
I've already started reading a few of these! No time to read them all, of course, but a great reference. It's obviously a lot of work, but where do you look to find all of these upcoming releases? For example, this is the first place I heard of Caitlin Clark's book!
Mixed bag of sources really. I spot various announcements on twitter and save them when I see them. A reasonable number of authors or publishers email me directly (usually if offering review copies). Netgalley has review copies and edelweiss has some too and also listing's by publisher but hard to find sports only there. I have a list of publishers whose sites I check before finalising and I mail some directly to confirm.
The big final check is a search on Waterstones website for all sports books by release date. They list earlier than anywhere else. There are probably a bunch of other little things but that's the main ones!
You could refresh it every 3 months and find loads more but it's a lot of work so I usually just do once or twice a year.
Thanks! That makes sense - it's a lot of work, so good on you for doing it - we appreciate it :)
Thanks! I was doing it anyway for my own reading planning - feels a little less like a crazy way to spend my limited free time if others get to benefit too!
Thank you!
Let me know which ones you end up reading.
I preordered the Weaver, Tyson, Lacrosse and Soccer stadiums books. Eclectic, I know!
Thats a good mix!
The sheer number of soccer books. 😲
Excited for so many of this list but especially Seth Wickersham's book on QBs.
Always a lot of soccer books every year especially from Pitch Publishing. American sports tend to have big name authors write books or historians / niche interests. For soccer there are tons of writers trying to make a living with newspapers and magazines churning out books each year.
Looking forward to the Marinovich one. The whole thing seems surreal.
Diamond Duels!!!
Great list.
Great list, thanks for compiling it. New books by Jonathan Wilson and Donald McRae are the highlight
No detail out on Wilson book. Wouldn't be surprised if it's delayed until 2026 as its world cup related but hopefully not!
McRae's is going to epic.