best sports person biography

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The Best Sports Memoirs, According to Sports Journalists

Whether you’re a sports fan or just a history buff, looking back at sporting events has produced some of the world’s finest journalism. But it could be argued that no outside observers’ perspective can compare to being inside the heads of those who scored that game-winning point, series-winning run, or tournament-winning goal (or coached any teams that did). Which is why, with so many of our favorite sports still on pause as their leagues figure out how to resume competition, we realized getting lost in a good sports memoir could be the next best thing to spending hours watching a game itself. But with so many sports memoirs ghostwritten or scribbled in a hurry as a valedictory rite of passage, which ones are actually up to snuff?

To find out, we asked 17 experts — including sportswriters, broadcasters, and professors — for their recommendations. While their responses included memoirs written by many athletes who are household names, we also learned about stories told by others that the spotlight may have missed, and a few written by coaches or superfans with perspectives that are just as gripping as those of athletes who actually took the field. Read on for their picks, which we’ve organized by sport. In the tradition of our other reading lists, we’ve named any books with two or more recommendations as best overall. But we’ve also included titles emphatically recommended by just one person, for those who may want to dive further into any category.

Best tennis memoirs

Best overall tennis memoir.

Three people raved about this memoir, which journalist Jonathan Eig, the author of Ali: A Life , says “may be the all-time best-written memoir by a major athlete.” All who recommended it praised the book’s “shockingly” candid nature, pointing out Agassi’s honesty is especially rare for an athlete who was one of the most popular of his generation. “Few autobiographies have dared to show athletes so naked,” writer Sam Diss, the head of content at London-based soccer magazine Mundial , says, adding that Agassi is “not writing this book to stick the boot into old foes or people who screwed him out of money.” Instead, Diss says he’s “passed over, gone clear, and reveals his trauma and grudges with equal parts pain and catharsis, in a way that doesn’t feel point-scoring, but freeing.”

More recommended tennis memoirs

According to Dr. Amira Rose Davis, a Penn State professor of history and African-American studies who also co-hosts the feminist sports podcast Burn It All Down , “the long history of black women in sport” is often obscured in sportswriting. But memoirs by black female athletes, which allow them to “narrate their own careers,” can “push us all to consider whose voices we are missing when we tell sports stories.” One of those women is tennis champion Althea Gibson, who wrote two memoirs that Davis recommends. “Gibson broke the color line at Wimbledon and was the first African-American Grand Slam champion,” she tells us. The first, I Always Wanted to Be Somebody, chronicles Gibson’s journey from childhood to the majors, while the follow-up, So Much to Live For, chronicles Gibson’s transition from the game to a golf career and beyond. Davis considers both essential reading, but notes that the details of Gibson’s post-career struggles in the latter work are especially poignant, and “serve as a reminder that being the queen of the tennis court is all well is good” but, as Gibson writes, “you can’t eat a crown.”

Editor’s note: These two books are now out of print and therefore priced higher than others on this list.

Another historic player, Arthur Ashe, remains the only black male tennis player to win Wimbledon (among other major titles). Marshall Jon Fisher, author of A Terrible Splendor says Ashe’s memoir has been one of his favorites since he was 12 years old. “Ashe told his life story in the context of a diary of one year on the tennis tour — Wimbledon 1973 to Wimbledon 1974,” Fisher tells us. “If only he’d known he would finally win the hallowed tournament in ’75, he might have waited a year. But then we wouldn’t have the same searching, melancholy masterpiece.”

This 1978 memoir of playing the world tennis circuit in the late 1950s and early 1960s is a “hilarious and poignant gem,” Fisher tells us. “In those days, the tour was more collegial, as well as more attainable for a cast of colorful characters more interested in seeking life experience than in becoming multimillion-dollar ground-stroke machines.” And lucky for readers, Forbes jotted down observations while he toured that “should entertain tennis fans forever,” according to Fisher.

Best baseball memoirs

Best overall baseball memoirs.

Three people told us about pitcher Jim Bouton’s book about his career with the New York Yankees and other teams in the ’60s. According to writer Daniel Okrent (who is credited with inventing the scoring system for fantasy baseball), it is “the memoir that broke the mold, earning Bouton the enmity of his fellow players and the applause of generations of fans” for its honest details of legendary players’ drunkenness, womanizing, and prodigious drug use (including some tales that, Okrent admits, “are less hilarious today”). Mark Kram, Jr., the author most recently of Smokin’ Joe: The Life of Joe Frazier , calls it a “bawdy tell-all” and an “instant sports literary classic.” Bouton was known for his wild knuckleballs, and Eig says that he “tossed the perfect knuckleball with this.”

This memoir by the one-time owner of the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Browns, and Chicago White Sox was recommended to us by both Kram and former Grantland editor Rafe Bartholomew . “Baseball owners were a hidebound and altogether humorless bunch until Bill Veeck crashed the party,” according to Kram, who tells us that, “with a wooden leg, Veeck lugged home from the South Pacific in World War II, sent a dwarf to the plate, gave us the exploding scoreboard, and cooked up countless other promotional stunts that imbued a gray game with jump and color.” Kram says that Veeck’s memoir is “full of colorful tales and big ideas,” adding that he was fortunate enough to spend time with Veeck on a few occasions and that he “emerges in his book just as he was in person. One can almost hear his gravelly chuckle.”

More recommended baseball memoirs

Pitcher Jim Brosnan’s memoir focuses on his time playing for the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds in 1959. Okrent says that the memoir about Brosnan’s “unexceptional season with two unexceptional teams remains the most honest — and, I suspect, most accurate — account of the daily life of a ballplayer that we’ve ever seen.” It wasn’t meant to be a book filled with shocking revelations, according to Okrent, but is now thought of as one thanks to Brosnan’s inclusion of the Cardinals’ trainer “distributing an early form of steroids and amphetamines to the players.”

This bittersweet memoir tells the story of Pat Jordan’s promising, yet unfulfilled career as a pitcher. According to Kram, it’s a “hall-of-fame, lyrical memoir of youth ascendant and the hard luck that spares only the fortunate few.” Jordan began his career as a highly regarded schoolboy pitcher in 1950s Connecticut before, as Kram tells it, “signing with the Milwaukee Braves and spending three years toiling in bush league outposts such as McCook, Davenport, Waycross, Eau Claire and Palatka.” Then, 13 years after the Braves handed him his unconditional release, he revisited that period to write this — and later become “one of our preeminent sports journalists.”

Dirk Hayhurst succeeded where Pat Jordan did not, according to Kram, who notes he actually pitched in the big leagues (albeit briefly). Kram calls this, his second memoir, a “small gem,” noting it unfolds around and during his 2008 season with the San Diego Padres and offers a “candid account of the obstacles that he faced during his climb to the highest league, including conflicts with his eccentric grandmother, alliances and tensions with teammates, and the jitters he overcame when he finally got the call and discovered he was indeed out of his league.”

Best basketball memoirs

Best overall basketball memoirs.

Seven people recommended basketball memoirs, with two directing us to this one by NBA great and former U.S. senator from New Jersey, Bill Bradley. Both Bartholomew and Mike Tollin , an executive producer of ESPN’s The Last Dance , recommend the 240-page book that chronicles just 20 days in the life of Bradley’s time as a professional basketball player. Tollin, who told us he first learned about Bradley’s prowess by reading John McPhee’s famous 1965 profile of Bradley’s college basketball career at Princeton, says that reading the memoir “gave me an even greater appreciation for his humanity, and rare insight.”

“This classic deserves a much wider audience,” Eig tells us (Bartholomew is also a fan, as is Barack Obama, who called it the “best basketball book I’ve ever read.”) At the time he wrote it, Rick Telander was a faded football prospect who spent his time freelance writing and playing pickup basketball games in New York City. The memoir tracks his time observing and playing games at Flatbush’s Foster Park in the mid-1970s, and Telander rotates between observer, player, and team coach, reflecting throughout on the darker reality his fellow players from low-income neighborhoods would return to once the sun went down. “I remember Telander’s beautiful sentences, which feature his keen eye for detail, and his effortless blend of sociology and sport,” Eig says.

More recommended basketball memoirs

New York Times basketball and culture writer Sopan Deb recommends this 1980 memoir by legendary Boston Celtics center Bill Russell (who is regarded as the NBA’s first black superstar). “ Second Wind , in which he famously refers to Boston as a ‘flea market’ of racism, is an honest accounting by one of the most important athletes in the history of mankind,” Deb says.

Editor’s note: Due to this book’s recent popularity and the fact that it hasn’t been reissued (yet), we’re seeing it priced higher than others on this list.

Northwestern University’s director of sports journalism , J.A. Adande (who also appears on ESPN as a contributor), told us this is not only his favorite sports memoir, but that Abdul-Jabbar’s “fascinating perspectives” on race, religion, love, and America itself from the 1950s through the 1980s make it one of his favorite books ever. According to Adande, even though Abdul-Jabbar is one of the greatest players of all time, “basketball feels almost like an afterthought” in this book, or “something he pursued because he was tall and suited for it, but not something he felt as passionately about as, say, jazz.” Adande notes that Abdul-Jabbar has gone on to write dozens of books and essays on timely topics, and that “you can see the genesis of those in Giant Steps .”

Sports journalist and broadcaster Taylor Rooks told us about this memoir written by Tim Grover, a basketball trainer. But she assures he’s not just any trainer: “Tim Grover is the legendary trainer to athletes like Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, and Dwyane Wade.” The book, according to Rooks, focuses on the mental practices Grover taught these athletes (and others) to ensure they didn’t just have good seasons, but good careers. “It’s full of anecdotes and stories that make you feel closer to the players we all grew up watching,” she says, adding that it includes a favorite quote: “The only difference between feedback and criticism is the way you hear it.”

“My sports life has been consumed by two seminal NBA dynasties: the Michael Jordan Bulls and the Kobe-Shaq-Gasol Lakers,” sports and culture writer Dave Schilling says, adding that “those teams have one thing in common: head coach Phil Jackson.” According to him, anything Jackson wrote would have been a must-read given his shepherding of some of the greatest basketball players of all time, but Eleven Rings , which Schilling describes as memoir–cum–self-help book, goes the extra mile. “It gives an insight into how Jackson motivated his teams, which included a collection of massive egos, some of whom were not prone to taking orders,” he says. “It’s sort of a classic ‘Dad Lit’ book where the author delivers meme-able motivational insights.”

Best football memoirs

Best overall football memoir.

Four folks recommended books about American football, with three specifically highlighting George Plimpton’s memoir of his weeks-long athletic career (Plimpton, of course, is best known for helping to start the Paris Review). Diss describes the book as “the perfect encapsulation of a classic conversation starter: How long could you last in a match at professional level?” Spoiler alert: The answer, Diss points out (without giving the story away), is not long. “But Plimpton’s eloquence and brio propels this dive into American football in a way that’s both very funny and dredges up a newfound respect for even the lowliest pro athlete,” he explains. Okrent is also a fan, telling us “Plimpton’s weeks in uniform in the Detroit Lions’ training camp may have been a stunt, but the book is a gem. However bad Plimpton was as an NFL quarterback, he was that good as a writer — a truly winning combination.”

Another recommended football memoir

According to Rooks, this memoir, written by “one of the more polarizing figures in sports, forces us to ask many questions, especially ‘When does a person who did bad things qualify for the public’s forgiveness?’” Finally Free , Rooks says, tackles Vick’s search for that answer as he goes through his many controversies. “It stuck with me,” she says, “because it speaks to the idea that the bad things that happen to us shape us just as much as the good.”

Best soccer memoirs

Best overall soccer memoir.

While High Fidelity author Nick Hornby spent even less time playing professional sports than George Plimpton (a.k.a. no time at all), Fever Pitch was recommended to us as the ultimate fan’s memoir by three people, two of whom say they weren’t really fans of soccer before picking it up. The book “reads like a letter from a friend,” according to Diss, who describes the plot as “a fan in conversation with himself, in a doomed romance with his club, and asking what it all means to have those men chasing after a ball and those people standing there in the freezing cold and rain watching them do so.” Schilling says Fever Pitch was his entrée into the world of obsessive soccer fandom, telling us the prose “played right into my young-adult-male belief in intellectual and emotional purity. If you are going to love something — Arsenal, the Smiths, comic books, sketch comedy — you better love it to the point that it damages your ability to function in society or hold a job.” Sports journalist Sarah Baicker adds that you “probably don’t even have to care about sports to love the book, but if you do, as I do, you’ll recognize yourself in Hornby’s fandom.”

Another recommended soccer memoir

Wambach’s autobiography came recommended to us by sports reporter and commentator Kate Fagan . According to Fagan, the former star forward of the U.S. women’s national team “isn’t here to build her brand or make you love her, she’s here to be honest about her life, about her drinking, and about the inside workings about the peaks and valleys of being a professional athlete.” For that reason, she says that “if you want to really understand the grind of an athlete — read this.”

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Today’s Top Clicked

13 Of The Best Sports Biographies Ever Written

Ali: A Life by Jonathan Eig

Muhammad Ali needs no introduction. This book draws on more than 500 interviews with those who knew him best, including friends, family members and mentors. Thanks to some specially commissioned research, it paints a vivid picture of one of the most significant personalities of the 20th century. Readers are taken inside the ring for some of the most famous bouts in boxing history, before learning about Ali’s activism, conversion to Islam, personal life – which included several affairs and controversies – and his decline from Parkinson’s disease. 

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Provided You Don't Kiss Me: 20 Years With Brian Clough by Duncan Hamilton

Brian Clough made a name for himself as the outspoken non-nonsense manager of Nottingham Forest during the mid-70s. Those who knew him say he was unpredictable and volatile, relying on alcohol to deal with failure and success on and off the pitch. Duncan Hamilton was a young journalist in the middle of Clough’s empire who saw it all. In this book, he paints a vivid portrait of Clough, from Nottingham Forest's double European Cup triumph to his descent into alcoholism.

The Death of Pantani by Matt Rendell

Italian cyclist Marco Pantani is widely regarded as one of the sport’s greatest. His unrivalled stamina and climbing abilities led to historic wins at the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia in 1998 – becoming one of only seven men to win both in the same year. Just six years later, Pantani was found dead in a cheap hotel. The autopsy revealed he had cerebral edema and heart failure as a result of cocaine poisoning. It transpired that he’d been addicted to coke for 15 years. This account includes exclusive interviews with his psychoanalysts, family and friends, who paint an indelible picture of an extremely talented – and flawed – athlete. 

Proud by Gareth Thomas

In 2009, Gareth Thomas made headlines around the world when he announced he was gay. One of the few top athletes to have come out, Thomas made news again a decade later when he revealed he was HIV positive. For years, he’d been hiding who he really was, but on the pitch, he had it all – national hero, sporting icon, leader of men, and captain of Wales and the British Lions. For Thomas, rugby was an expression of cultural identity, but his secret was slowing killing him, and he was scared what would happen to his wife and family if news got out. Thomas’ inspiring and moving story has given him – and his readers – a fresh perspective on what masculinity really means. 

Open. An Autobiography by Andre Agassi

Andre Agassi is one of the greatest tennis players of all time. But, as talented as anyone, he quickly came to hate the game. Coaxed to swing a racket while still in the crib, forced to hit hundreds of balls a day by his violent father, Agassi resented the constant pressure, even as he drove himself to become a prodigy. After winning the Wimbledon Championships in 1992, he became a fan favourite. What makes this book so captivating is Agassi’s near-photographic memory – every pivotal match is described as if it took place yesterday, while personal highlights (like his brief fling with Barbra Streisand) are colourfully recounted. 

Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life by William Finnegan

This book won the Pulitzer Prize for biography and made its way onto Obama’s summer reading list back in 2016. For many, surfing is an adrenalated hobby, but for some it’s more than that. New Yorker writer William Finnegan started surfing as a young boy in California and Hawaii. Barbarian Days takes readers on a journey through a life spent chasing waves across the South Pacific, Australia, Asia, Africa and beyond. Describing the intense relationship between himself, the board and the water, Finnegan details his most dangerous surfs and razor-sharp survival instincts in the water. A fascinating and compelling read from a man battling a “beautiful addiction”.

Alex Ferguson: My Autobiography

His career wasn’t always plain sailing, but Sir Alex Ferguson eventually became the greatest football manager of his generation. A player back in the 60s and 70s, Ferguson went on to manage a string of Scottish teams before taking charge of Manchester United for nearly 30 years. Here, he reflects on a managerial career that included unprecedented European success for Aberdeen and many triumphant seasons with United, and reveals how he stayed sane at the peak of his profession. An entertaining, insight-filled must-read for all football fans. 

Put Me Back On My Bike by William Fotheringham

Tom Simpson was one of Britain’s most successful cyclists until his tragic death on the barren moonscape of the Mont Ventoux during the 1967 Tour de France – aged just 30 years old.  A man of contradictions, Simpson was one of the first cyclists to admit to using banned drugs, and was accused of fixing races, but he still managed to inspired awe and affection. Put Me Back on My Bike revisits the places and people associated with Simpson to show how he became a sporting legend in just a few short years.

Coming Back To Me by Marcus Trescothick

England cricketer Marcus Trescothick surprised fans and teammates when he prematurely ended his international career. At 29, Trescothick was widely regarded as one of the batting greats. With more than 5,000 Test runs to his name and eternal status as a 2005 Ashes hero, he’d already achieved more than he’d set out to. On Saturday 25th February 2006, four days before leading England into the first Test against India, Trescothick walked from the field in the midst of a mental breakdown. In the dressing room, he broke down in tears, overwhelmed by a blur of anguish, uncertainty and sadness he had been keeping at bay for longer than he knew. His account of performing at the top highlights an important conversation about the unique pressures and mental struggles many athletes face.

Undisputed Truth by Mike Tyson

No doubt Mike Tyson was a phenomenal boxer. But some of his antics in and outside the ring are much more questionable. There’s the rape conviction early in his career, the biting off of Evander Holyfield’s ear, and the cocaine addiction which led to his bankruptcy in the early noughties. In his own words, Tyson’s talks openly and movingly about a troubled childhood (he was arrested 38 times before he was 13), his financial ruin, and playing up to his ‘bad boy’ persona on a world stage.

The Accident Footballer by Pat Nevin

Pat Nevin never wanted to be a professional footballer, but went on to captivate audiences around the world with his quick footwork in the wing. Growing up in Glasgow's East End, he loved playing football, but he also loved reading classic literature, nights out with his mates, and listening to indie music until the early hours. With spells at Chelsea and Everton, Nevin became a household name, but here he discusses the joys of professional football alongside its contradictions and conflicts – and what it means to be defined by your job.

Lewis Hamilton: The Biography by Frank Worrall

Sir Lewis Hamilton has redefined British racing, and what it means to be a Black athlete at the top of the game. In this new biography, Frank Worrall charts his rise to stardom, starting with Hamilton's debut season in 2007, which won him fans around the world. Hamilton’s performance on the track has led to legendary status, but his personal life has also landed him on the front pages of the tabloids time and again. Then in 2021 he received a knighthood, making his unexpected journey to the top even more unbelievable. 

The Mamba Mentality: How I Play by Kobe Bryant

American basketball great Kobe Bryant spent his entire 20-year career with the LA Lakers. Then, in January 2020 he tragically died alongside his daughter and seven others in a helicopter crash in California. Known as ‘Black Mamba’, he was a master of mental preparation and using a unique game plan to win time and again. Written before his untimely death, this book takes readers inside the mind of one of the most intelligent, analytical and creative sportsmen ever.

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12 Game-Changing Sports Biographies and Memoirs

These winning reads smash the competition.

A great sports story gets everyone on their feet — whether you just finished your 10th marathon or you prefer to race through your TBR stack. The following sports biographies and memoirs are packed with athletic drama that every reader will enjoy, from underdog wins and buzzer-beater finishes to the off-court scandals and triumphant personal comebacks of the greatest athletes of our time.

Magic: The Life of Earvin "Magic" Johnson

By roland lazenby.

From Roland Lazenby, the renowned biographer of Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Jerry West, comes Magic, the definitive sports biography of basketball legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson. Johnson reached dazzling new heights over the course of his career on the court, transforming American basketball into top-tier entertainment with his exciting playing style and leading the Los Angeles Lakers to greatness during the team’s Showtime era. Yet Johnson also faced his share of scandals and controversies, including his extravagant lifestyle and shock retirement from basketball in the wake of his HIV diagnosis. Lazenby draws on hundreds of interviews with teammates, coaches, rivals, and more to capture every facet of this complex figure, offering a gripping and comprehensive account of the renowned player and his extraordinary career.

By Andre Agassi

A striking story about the double-edged sword of success, Open by Andre Agassi tracks the tennis star’s astounding triumphs, failures, and battles both on and off the court. Agassi went pro at the age of 16; by his early 20s, he was a tennis legend. Yet with worldwide success came pain, doubt, and relentless media scrutiny. Agassi opens up about it all in this candid and bestselling sports memoir, delivering a fascinating read for fans and newcomers alike. And if that isn’t enough to draw you in, note that Open is cowritten by J. R. Moehringer, one of the all-time ghostwriting greats, whose success with this narrative paved the way for his teaming up with Prince Harry on his recent smash memoir . 

Michael Jordan: The Life

Michael Jordan transcends the sports world. You know him even if you know nothing about basketball — and if you grew up in the ’90s, he was practically everywhere you looked. In Michael Jordan: The Life, Roland Lazenby tracks Jordan’s career from college kid to NBA superstar and beyond. Along the way, Lazenby complicates our collective understanding of the sports icon, countering Jordan’s on-court image with the darker sides of his character, his rocky relationships, and his merciless ambition.

By Abby Wambach

In Forward, soccer luminary and two-time Olympic gold medalist Abby Wambach shares her journey from being put on the boys’ soccer team at the age of seven to becoming one of the all-time greatest soccer players in the history of the sport. Wambach’s compelling account is suffused with grit and determination, and it speaks to the unique challenges women face in their quest for athletic greatness. It’s a must-read for sports fans and indeed anyone in need of inspiration. For a double dose of empowerment, check out Wolfpack , Wambach’s #1 New York Times bestseller from 2019 that encourages women to join together and unleash their inner potential.

Path Lit by Lightning

By david maraniss.

Written by David Maraniss, a two-time Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and the biographer of such figures as Barack Obama and Roberto Clemente, Path Lit by Lightning tells the fascinating story of Jim Thorpe, a renaissance athlete whose rise and fall took on mythic proportions. Thorpe was one of the best all-around athletes the world had ever seen; he won medals in the decathlon and pentathlon in the 1912 Olympics, was an All-American football player, and played baseball for the New York Giants. Yet as a member of the Sac and Fox Nation, he also faced intense racism and discrimination that hobbled his career and ultimately led to a life of hardship. Maraniss movingly chronicles Thorpe’s life in this landmark sports biography, breaking down the myth to reveal the man at its core.

The Mamba Mentality

By kobe bryant.

Kobe Bryant’s presence on the court was legendary — and it belied a complicated and often troubled life off the court. In The Mamba Mentality, Bryant shares his outlook on life and basketball and delves into his famous “Mamba Mentality” philosophy, an approach to playing that’s built on passion, tenacity, and the singular pursuit of athletic excellence. It’s a fascinating look at the gone-too-soon powerhouse player and his thorny relationship with success, fame, and sports.

By Billie Jean King, Johnette Howard, and Maryanne Vollers

The world of sports would not be the same without Billie Jean King, a legend both in tennis and for her work breaking down barriers for women athletes. All In chronicles King’s career from her formative years through the 1973 Battle of the Sexes exhibition match against Bobby Riggs and the creation of the women’s pro tennis circuit to King’s acknowledgment of her sexual identity and coming out at the age of 51. At once a story of one person’s impact on tennis and a cultural revolution in the sports world, this winning memoir offers insight and guidance on issues from political activism and personal relationships to finding your true self.

Tiger Woods

By jeff benedict and armen keteyian.

In Tiger Woods, sportswriters Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian deliver a fully realized portrait of the eponymous golf titan. The bestselling sports biography draws on interviews with more than 250 people to chronicle Woods’s meteoric rise, scandalous fall, and triumphant return to world-class athletics. The unsparing narrative also shines a light on the damage parents can do in their single-minded quest to turn their children into star athletes, drawing connections between Woods’s unparalleled achievements on the golf course and his parents’ obsession with success. 

The Last Folk Hero

By jeff pearlman.

Bo Jackson was a one-man sports phenomenon in the 1980s and ’90s, excelling in football and baseball, and starring in one of the most successful ad campaigns in Nike history. In addition to his athletic triumphs, wild tales about Jackson leaping over parked cars and helping land a plane in distress elevated the sports star to mythical levels, like a modern-day Paul Bunyan. In The Last Folk Hero, sportswriter Jeff Pearlman tells the story of the man behind the myth. Drawing on more than 700 interviews, this fascinating sports biography is a must-read for Jackson superfans and for those eager to find out more about this larger-than-life American sports icon.

Good for a Girl

By lauren fleshman.

In the bestselling Good for a Girl, elite runner Lauren Fleshman draws on her own story and the work of psychologists and physiologists to advocate for a radical transformation of sports for young women. Competing in institutions that aren’t built for them, women athletes are held back from the beginning and plagued by sexism, eating disorders, and physical and mental injuries. Many would-be elites drop out before they can truly achieve greatness. Fleshman argues that we’re long overdue for a change. Readers will find plenty to love in Fleshman’s rousing narrative, which blends sports memoir with a manifesto and demonstrates a passion for personal success as well as creating a world in which all women athletes are allowed to thrive.

Ali: A Life

By jonathan eig.

Jonathan Eig’s bestselling and award-winning biography of Muhammed Ali turns the facts of Ali’s life and career into a harrowing story of courage, activism, and athletic excellence. The storied heavyweight boxer was not just an accomplished athlete but a natural performer, civil rights activist, and political protester. Drawing on interviews, FBI files, and archival recordings, Eig weaves a gripping tale of Ali’s boxing career, his political victories and personal triumphs, and his lasting impact on American culture.

By Jeff Benedict

We round out our list with a living legend who’s playing at the top of his game. In LeBron, Jeff Benedict chronicles LeBron James’s layered and inspirational story, from his early years of struggle as the son of a young mother to becoming the No.1 overall draft pick in the NBA straight out of high school and his transformation into the greatest basketball player of the 21 st century. Based on three years of research and more than 250 interviews, Benedict’s sweeping narrative goes well beyond James’s success on the court, exploring his relationship to fame and his dual identity as a celebrity and an activist fighting for social justice .

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50 Great Sports Biographies

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.

I Never Had It Made

Jackie robinson.

Ben Bradlee, Jr.

Undoubtedly one of the best baseball players in history, Ted Williams was the last man to hit .400 in a season. He was also insecure, a flawed husband and father, a raging hothead, and aggressive towards the press. But Bradlee’s ambitious biography accounts for both the heroics and the darker side of a man Bradlee admits in the first pages to be his hero. Bradlee spent over ten years investigating the details of Williams’s 83 years, and even includes some disturbing tidbits about Williams’s death in 2002, such as when his head was severed and cryogenically frozen after his death. Link to Amazon

Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game

Michael lewis.

Michael Lewis’s bestseller is a biography of the 2002 and 2003 Oakland Athletics team and management staff. With a much smaller team budget than that of other teams, manager Billy Beane used a series of numbers and statistics to build a winning team. Among his recruits were an overweight college athlete, previously ignored triple A players, a tired catcher-turned-first baseman, and a number of older athletes discarded by bigger teams. Lewis’s account of these fascinating characters is considered one of the best books ever written about baseball, and inspired the film starring Brad Pitt as Beane. Link to Amazon

Babe: The Legend Comes to Life

Robert creamer.

Sportswriter Robert Creamer’s extensive biography of Babe Ruth follows baseball’s most famous figure from his early childhood to his abrupt end. Originally published in 1974, a time when many of Ruth’s contemporaries were still living, Creamer’s book is a fascinating look into both baseball and life in the early twentieth century. The hardcore baseball fan will appreciate the stats and vivid descriptions of some of Ruth’s most important games, while the casual baseball fan will get caught up in the Bambino’s celebrity and sometimes surprising character. Link to Amazon

Joe DiMaggio: The Hero’s Life

Richard ben cramer.

In this book, Richard Ben Cramer, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, brings to life one of the twentieth century’s biggest American heroes. Joe DiMaggio was an immigrant kid who achieved the American Dream, a New York Yankee who helped to usher the team into its current dynasty, and the sometime husband of the beautiful Marilyn Monroe. Upon its initial publication, however, Cramer’s book stirred up plenty of controversy. This is perhaps because Cramer does not hesitate to include the darker moments in DiMaggio’s life: his troubled marriage to Marilyn Monroe, his self-inflicted isolation, and living up to the impossible expectations set for him by America. Link to Amazon

Pete Rose: An American Dilemma

Kostya kennedy.

More than twenty-five years after Pete Rose’s banishment from baseball for gambling, the question of whether or not he belongs in the Hall of Fame is still as controversial as ever. Kostya Kennedy, an editor at Sports Illustrated, examines Rose’s life, from his early childhood to the baseball career in which he hit more base hits than any other player in history. Throughout the biography, Kennedy compares Rose’s talents — and mistakes — to others who have been found worthy of Cooperstown. Link to Amazon

Nolan Ryan: The Making of a Pitcher

Rob goldman.

During his 27 years as a major league pitcher, Nolan Ryan was named an All-Star eight times, pitched seven no-hitters, and threw more than 5,700 strikeouts. Ron Goldman’s comprehensive biography follows Ryan from the start of his professional career in 1965 to his retirement in 1993. Goldman also includes anecdotes and personal recollections from various coaches, stadium workers, fans, trainers, and players in an attempt to fully discover and illustrate what makes Ryan one of history’s most beloved and respected ball players. Link to Amazon

They Called Me God: The Best Umpire Who Ever Lived

Doug harvey.

While there are hundreds of biographies written about baseball players, there are far fewer about those behind the scenes. Doug Harvey was a California farm boy and minor league umpire before hard work and dedication helped him break into the big leagues in 1962. They Called Me God is Harvey’s account of the things he saw from his spot behind the plate. Some of the book’s more memorable stories include Roberto Clemente’s three-thousandth hit, the contentious 1968 World Series, and laying down the law with legendary managers like Tommy Lasorda and Joe Torre. Link to Amazon

Mariano Rivera

When he was recruited by the New York Yankees, Mariano Rivera did not own a glove, had never flown in an airplane, could not speak English, and had never heard of Babe Ruth. Rivera’s bestselling autobiography tells the story of his evolution from the son of a poor fisherman in Panama to one of the greatest relief pitchers of all time. In addition to stories about the Yankees, the discovery of his iconic fastball, and the 2001 World Series, Rivera very honestly describes the challenges that come with being both a latino and a Christian in the world of professional baseball in the United States. Link to Amazon

The Catcher Was a Spy: The Mysterious Life of Moe Berg

Nicholas dawidoff.

Moe Berg’s baseball card is the only one of its kind on display at CIA headquarters. This is because in addition to his 15-year career as a catcher for the New York Robins and Chicago White Sox, Berg served as a spy for the OSS (the CIA’s predecessor) during World War II. Though there are not many known, definitive facts about Berg’s life, Nicholas Dawidoff follows Berg’s career from pitcher, to law professor at Columbia University, to OSS spy investigating Nazi Germany’s atomic bomb program. Link to Amazon

The Captain: The Journey of Derek Jeter

Ian o’connor.

In this bestselling book about one of our most beloved sports figures, author Ian O’Connor investigates Derek Jeter’s early life as a biracial kid in Michigan, to his struggles as a minor leaguer. Reflecting more than fifteen years of unique access to Jeter, O’Connor records the Yankee superstar’s journey to becoming the Prince of New York, while faithfully offering a glimpse into Jeter’s hidden struggles and complexities. Included in the book are Jeter’s tense battles with former best friend Alex Rodriguez, and the contentious final contract negotiations with the only team for which Jeter ever cared to play. Link to Amazon

Wherever I Wind Up: My Quest for Truth, Authenticity and the Perfect Knuckleball

R.a. dickey.

As an English Lit graduate of the University of Tennessee, pitcher R.A. Dickey was the number one draft pick by the Texas Rangers — only to be sidelined by an unlucky x-ray discovery. Nearly ten years later, Dickey had climbed his way back onto the pitcher’s mound only to give up a record six home runs in only three innings. Still Dickey persevered and became one of the premier pitchers in Major League baseball during the 2010 season. Wherever I Wind Up is Dickey’s story of redemption, beating his demons, overcoming odds, and keeping his faith in the face of adversity. Link to Amazon

Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball’s Last Hero

David maraniss.

Roberto Clemente had over 3,000 hits during his 17-year career with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He won four batting titles, led his team to two championships, and was one of only two players to have the five-year waiting period waived before his induction into the Hall of Fame. In this acclaimed biography, bestselling author David Maraniss passionately details the life of both Clemente the Man and Clemente the Myth, beginning with Clemente’s entrance into baseball as one of the first Puerto Rican players, to his untimely death in a plane crash. Link to Amazon

Imperfect: An Improbable Life

Jim abbott, tim brown.

Pitcher Jim Abbott was an ace pitcher at the University of Michigan, won the gold medal game at the 1988 Olympics, and cracked the Major League starting rotation without ever playing in the minor leagues — all without a right hand. In his memoir, Abbott offers honest insight into the countless challenges he faced on his path to the Major Leagues, the insecurities he dealt with, and his many meaningful encounters with disabled children. Abbott also includes a pitch-by-pitch account of his famous no-hitter. Link to Amazon

Beyond Belief: Finding the Strength to Come Back

Josh hamilton.

Eleven Rings

Phil jackson.

Wooden: A Coach’s Life

There is no college basketball coach more famous than John Wooden. The UCLA coach led his team to an 88-game winning streak that included ten NCAA championships in twelve seasons. Seth Davis, a journalist for Sports Illustrated and CBS Sports, conducted more than two hundred interviews with players, opponents, coaches, and even Wooden himself, to write this detailed and inspiring account of Wooden’s long and successful career. Also included in Wooden’s story are anecdotes and memories from some of Wooden’s players, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton, and Walt Hazzard, among others. Link to Amazon

Michael Jordan: The Life

Roland lazenby.

Hailed as the definitive biography of basketball’s most legendary player, Michael Jordan: The Life follows Jordan’s career from college to the pros, and beyond. To piece together this account of Jordan’s career from college to the pros, author Roland Lazenby interviewed coaches, friends, teammates, family members, and even Jordan himself. Though Lazenby faithfully recreates Jordan’s most spectacular moments and games, he also rightfully sheds light on Jordan’s mentality of ruthless competition and affinity with gambling. Link to Amazon

In My Skin: My Life On and Off the Basketball Court

Brittney griner.

Arguably the world’s most famous female basketball player, Brittney Griner was the number one draft pick in the 2013 WNBA Draft, has become known as a dunking phenom and national sensation, and was recently referred to by Sports Illustrated as “the sport’s most transformative figure.” But In My Skin is the painfully honest account of Griner’s life as both the star of the Phoenix Mercury, and the long-time target of vicious bullying. By reflecting upon her most painful experiences, Griner sends a powerful message about the importance of staying true to oneself. Link to Amazon

Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich

Mark kriegal.

As a college player at Louisiana State University, Pete Maravich scored an average of 44.2 points per game. Setting records unlikely to ever be beat, “Pistol Pete” was a basketball icon for people of all ages. In Pistol, author Mark Kriegal illuminates the much darker parts of the Maravich family, from Pete’s demanding, basketball-obsessed father to the hundreds of contradictions exhibited by Maravich himself. Kriegal’s Maravich family history doubles as a history of basketball and a narrative on American fathers and sons. Link to Amazon

Larry Bird has been called the greatest all-around player in the history of basketball, but very little is really known about the famously private superstar. In his honest and insightful memoir, Bird reveals the rarely-seen side of himself. Among the things he discusses are his famous transfer from Bobby Knight’s Indiana University, his father’s suicide, the Isaiah Thomas controversy, and the intense Celtic-Laker rivalry. Bird also includes his feelings about players like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Dominique Wilkins, among others. Link to Amazon

Muhammad Ali

Thomas hauser.

In this bestselling biography, Thomas Hauser tells the incredible story of Muhammad Ali — from his childhood, to his gold medal fight at the Rome Olympics, to his epic battles against Joe Frazier, and beyond. Using the words of more than 200 of Ali’s friends, family members, opponents, world leaders, and others, Hauser composites a portrait of a religious, mercurial, generous, competitive, and extraordinary man. Hauser is an unapologetic admirer of Ali, though spins both his admiration and facts into a cohesive and faithful account of Ali’s life and career. Link to Amazon

Undisputed Truth

Mike tyson and larry sloman.

There many be no other athlete in all of sports who has defied convention the way Mike Tyson has. In addition to being one of the most ferocious boxers of all time, Tyson is a philosopher, broadway performer, film star, and felon. In Undisputed Truth, Tyson opens up about his childhood in one of the toughest, poorest neighborhoods in Brooklyn, and the experiences that led to the highs and lows of his thrilling career. Link to Amazon

Half Man, Half Bike: The Life of Eddy Merckx, Cycling’s Greatest Champion

William fotheringham.

Though his name may not be as universally known, Eddy Merckx is the best cyclist in the history of the sport. Over the course of his career, Merckx amassed 445 victories — nearly five times the number of victories claimed by Lance Armstrong. This British bestseller tells the incredible story of Merckx’s extreme competitive nature and fear of failure, which carried him through a terrible injury, a doping controversy, and the highest pinnacles of success before ultimately destroying him. Link to Amazon

The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game

Though he is now one of the highest paid athletes in the National Football League, left tackle Michael Oher was all too recently a neglected child of a crack addicted mother, who did not know his real name, his father, his birthday, or how to read or white. When a rich, white family takes him into their home and introduces him to football, Oher blossoms into a name on the wish list of every college coach in the country. Link to Amazon

When Pride Still Mattered: The Life of Vince Lombardi

Vince Lombardi is undoubtedly a football legend. First given the chance to coach a professional team at age forty-six, Lombardi led the Green Bay Packers to five world championships in nine seasons. Lombardi’s famous principals of leadership, discipline, and teamwork made him a living legend and a name synonymous with modern football. Also included in this bestselling biography is Lombardi’s early childhood as the son of an Italian immigrant butcher and his many years as a high school football coach. Link to Amazon

Coming Back Stronger: Unleashing the Hidden Power of Adversity

Coming Back Stronger is the personal account of a quarterback and football team that most people had all but given up on. As New Orleans began the daunting task of recovering from Hurricane Katrina, NFL quarterback Drew Brees began a seemingly impossible comeback of his own. Left without a team after a serious shoulder injury, Brees became the quarterback for the New Orleans Saints. Though the team was forced to play their entire 2005 season on the road, Brees achieved the impossible and turned adversity into success. His memoir aims to prove that faith and determination is enough to overcome any obstacle. Link to Amazon

Through My Eyes

Tim tebow and nathan whitaker.

From his first week of Pop Warner practice to his rookie year as quarterback for the Denver Broncos, Through My Eyes is the story of a determined Tim Tebow’s unlikely rise to the NFL. Included in this bestselling memoir are stories from his childhood in the Philippines, his unwavering faith in God’s plan, the challenges he faced as a young quarterback, his record-setting college years, and his draft in the first round of the NFL Draft. Link to Amazon

Arnold Palmer

Over the course of his career, Arnold Palmer won 92 tournaments, was the first golfer to earn more than one million dollars in winnings, and was the first four-time winner of the prestigious Masters championship. Surprisingly, the same man who became the first athlete to capitalize on endorsement opportunities remained largely private and unknown. Through interviews with Palmer, his family, friends, opponents, and business associates, bestselling author Thomas Hauser paints an intimate portrait of the golf legend. Link to Amazon

Grace, Gold, and Glory

Gabrielle douglas and michelle burford.

Olympian gymnast Gabrielle Douglas was Virginia State Champion at only eight years old, and the first U.S. gymnast in history to win both a team and individual gold medal at a single Olympic games. In her bestselling memoir, Douglas describes her early dedication to gymnastics and what it was like leaving her family in Virginia to train with a coach in Des Moines, Iowa. She chronicles her years of hard work, dedication, and faith to illustrate her powerful message that anything can be achieved through hard work. Link to Amazon

Orr: My Story

No other defensive player has changed the course of more games, received as many trophies, or set as many records as Bobby Orr did during his decade-long career. Painfully shy, the superstar always remained a mystery to fans and journalists. In his bestselling biography, Orr finally reveals what drove him to excellence and success. Included are stories about his small-town childhood, his sudden thrust into the media limelight, and the betrayal of the manager he thought of as a brother. Link to Amazon

Hailed by Sports Illustrated as one of the Top 10 Best Sports Books of All Time, The Game follows the Montreal Canadiens of the 1970s through the eyes of its goalie, Ken Dryden. Dryden discusses his life and the early experiences that led up to his time with what many refer to as one of the greatest hockey teams in history. Also included are anecdotes of legendary players such as Guy Lafleur, Larry Robinson, Guy Lapointe, Serge Savard, and coach Scotty Bowman. Link to Amazon

Horse Racing

Seabiscuit: an american legend, laura hillenbrand.

In 1938, a scrappy little Thoroughbred named Seabiscuit received more press coverage than Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Adolph Hitler, or Benito Mussolini. Laura Hillenbrand’s meticulously researched bestseller tells the story of the crooked-legged little horse and the three men who made him a champion: Charles Howard, the millionaire who introduced America to the automobile; Tom Smith, a mysterious Mustang breaker turned trainer of racehorses; and Red Pollard, a half-crippled, partly blind jockey. Link to Amazon

The Horse That God Built: The Untold Story of Secretariat, the World’s Greatest Racehorse

Lawrence scanlan.

You don’t have to be a fan of horse racing to know the name Secretariat. The only two-year old to ever win Horse of the Year, “Big Red” graced covers of magazines like Time and Newsweek, and won the 1973 Triple Crown races in record times. In The Horse That God Built, Equestrian writer Lawrence Scanlan offers a groom’s eye view to horse racing, and details the struggles and successes of the world’s greatest racehorse and his unlikely team. Link to Amazon

Ice Skating

A skating life: my story, dorothy hamill and deborah amelon.

At age 19, “America’s Sweetheart” Dorothy Hamill won Olympic Gold in ice skating. But her life was far from the picture of perfection it appeared to be. In A Skating Life, Hamill opens up about the painful depression that plagued her from the time was young, and recreates her demanding training schedule with competitions that took her away from home for weeks and months at a time. Her bestselling memoir is Hamill’s discovery of true happiness both on and off the ice. Link to Amazon

Martial Arts

A fighter’s heart: one man’s journey through the world of fighting, sam sheridan.

In 1999, Sam Sheridan was given the opportunity to focus on a long-dormant passion: fighting. Less than a year later, he was learning from a top coach in Bangkok and facing Olympic boxers, Brazilian jiu-jitsu masters, and Ultimate Fighting champions. A Fighter’s Heart chronicles Sheridan’s discoveries of what it’s like to hit and be hit. In addition to his incredible stories, Sheridan offers a behind-the-scenes look at both the violence and pageantry of fighting sports. Link to Amazon

Mountaineering

Touching the void: the true story of one man’s miraculous survival, joe simpson.

Joe Simpson had just reached the top of a 21,000-foot peak in the Andes when he fell off the vertical face of a ledge and broke his leg. Though his climbing partner, Simon Yates, attempted to lower Simpson to safety, a raging blizzard forced him to cut Simpson’s rope in order to save his own life. What followed were three terrifying days in which both men thought the other was dead. Touching the Void is Simpson’s account of harrowing journey of fear, suffering, survival, friendship, and longtime love of mountain climbing. Link to Amazon

Pelé: The Autobiography

As one of the greatest soccer players to run on a soccer pitch, Pelé has won countless league victories and three World Cup Championships while playing for his home country of Brazil. He is also an avid proponent of soccer’s universal power and influence. In his bestselling autobiography, Pelé traces his meteoric rise to fame from his poverty-stricken start in the streets of Sao Paulo to his more recent role of UN Ambassador and human rights activist. Link to Amazon

Red Men: Liverpool Football Club: The Biography

John williams.

John William’s biography of the Liverpool Football Club traces soccer’s inseparable roots with those of Liverpool, England. First founded in 1892, the Liverpool Football Club has played a large role in the social, cultural, political, and economical development of its city. Through extensive research, William narrates the entire history of the Club, and profiles the men responsible for its many successes. The result is a bestselling team portrait that seeks to understand how the features and character of a team can shape an entire city and its people. Link to Amazon

Gerrard: My Autobiography

Steven gerrard.

Steven Gerrard is a name synonymous with English football (soccer). The inspirational captain of the Liverpool Football Club, Gerrard also proved himself as a key player on the England team. In this autobiography, Gerrard recreates his childhood obsession with the sport, and chronicles his career from the early days with Liverpool through his career high moment of winning in Istanbul, and beyond. Also included is a blow-by-blow account of England’s 2006 World Cup Campaign in rival country Germany. Link to Amazon

Hope Solo: My Story

After bursting onto the national stage during the 2011 Women’s World Cup, Hope Solo became an Olympic gold medalist, was declared America’s sexiest athlete, and even competed on the hit television show Dancing With the Stars. Now an idol and role model to thousands of young soccer players, Solo writes candidly about her early life of family, loss, and reconciliation. Included are stories about growing up on a defunct nuclear testing site, her rocky relationship with her con-man father, and her unlikely rise to extreme success. Link to Amazon

Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board

Bethany hamilton.

Bethany Hamilton was a thirteen-year old surfer girl living in Kauai, Hawaii when she lost her left arm to a tiger shark. But when Hamilton woke up from her surgery, the first thing she asked was when she would be able to surf again. Soul Surfer is Hamilton’s moving account of her life as a young surfer, her memories of the attack, and her amazing recovery that resulted in a top showing at the World Surfing Championships. Link to Amazon

Making Mavericks: The Memoir of a Surfing Legend

Frosty hesson.

Richard “Frosty” Hesson was one of the first surfers to conquer Mavericks — the huge waves that form off of the Northern California coast. Today, he’s known as one of the greatest wave riders to ever live. In Making Mavericks, Hesson recalls his difficult childhood, early passion for water, and the experiences that led to the development of his unique teaching philosophy. Hesson also discusses Jay Moriarty, one of his best students, who followed Hesson’s philosophy and became a surfing legend in his own right. Link to Amazon

Andre Agassi

Andre Agassi is one of the best tennis players to ever live. By age twenty-two, he had won his first of eight eventual grand slams, securing in a single victory a lifetime’s worth of wealth and celebrity. But Agassi spent most of his life unhappy and confused. Open chronicles the highs and lows of Agassi’s career, from his early childhood with his demanding father, to his rapid ascension into stardom, to his doomed marriage to Brooke Shields, and beyond. Link to Amazon

Days of Grace

Arthur ashe and arnold rampersad.

If African-American tennis star Arthur Ashe’s bestselling memoir were only about his entrance into the all-white world of tennis in the 1960s, it would be interesting enough. But most of Ashe’s Days of Grace focuses on the 1980s, during which time he contracted the AIDS virus through a post-heart surgery blood transfusion. Though Ashe was not a homosexual, his experiences living with AIDS made him a sympathetic activist for the gay community. Ashe also writes about growing up with his demanding father, battling players like John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors, and his rise to success in the sport he loved. Link to Amazon

Rafael Nadal and John Carlin

Currently ranked #1 in the world, Rafael Nadal has won nine Grand Slam titles, a career “Golden Slam,” and an Olympic medal. In his best selling autobiography, Nadal takes readers through his childhood and early career to reveal what he believes to be the secret to his success: supportive parents and family, who taught him humility, candor, and the value of hard work. Nadal also provides readers with a behind-the-scenes look at his Wimbledon win in 2008, and discusses the injuries that have continuously threatened his career. Link to Amazon

Track & Running

Unbroken: a world war ii story of survival, resilience, and redemption.

Like many athletes of the 1930s, track and field star Louis Zamperini went from winning titles and medals to serving the United States in the second world war. In Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand chronicles Zamperini’s incredible life — from his delinquent childhood, to the discovery of his talent for running, to his success at the Berlin Olympics, and finally, to his harrowing years as a pilot in the war. Through Zamperini’s varied life experiences, Hillenbrand illustrates the power of the human body, mind, and spirit. Link to Amazon

Born to Run

Christopher mcdougall.

Returning from a run one day, runner Christopher McDougall asked himself why his foot was hurting. His answer led him to Mexico’s deadly Copper Canyons, where the Tarahumara Indians have perfected their ability to run hundreds of miles without rest of injury. While reflecting upon his own life experiences and love of running, McDougall follows his fascination with the Tarahumara to a Harvard science lab, various North American hotspots for “ultra-runners,” and finally, back to the Copper Canyons to watch America’s best ultra-runners race against the tribe. The story of his research culminates with McDougall’s realization that we were all born to run. Link to Amazon

Run to Overcome: The Inspiring Story of an American Champion’s Long-Distance Quest to Achieve a Big Dream

Meb keflezighi.

A living example of the American Dream, Eritrean-born Meb Keflezighi represented the United States in two Olympic games and several World Championships, and was the first American in 27 years to win the New York City marathon. In Run to Overcome, Keflezighi chronicles his life of hardships. He documents his family’s escape to America from poverty and a violent war, the devastating injury in which he broke his pelvis, and the sudden death of his close friend and fellow runner. He also describes the freedom that comes with running, and his discovery of the real meaning of victory. Link to Amazon

Triumph: The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler’s Olympics

Jeremy schaap.

Ironically, the star of the 1936 Berlin Olympics — Hitler’s propaganda-fueled entry onto the national stage — was an African-American named Jesse Owens. With four gold medal wins, Owens single-handedly demolished Hitler’s myth of Aryan supremacy. In Triumph, Jeremy Schaap exhausted archival research to tell the story of the talented son of Cleveland sharecroppers and the many challenges in his young life that ultimately led to triumph at the “Nazi Olympics.” Link to Amazon

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The best sport autobiographies 2023: Memoirs from the worlds of football, cricket and more

• Calum Trenaman

Our guide to the best autobiographies, whatever your choice of sport

We live in an era where people want more access to their favourite sportspeople than ever before: interviews before matches, interviews after matches, analysis at the most granular levels. And that’s not to mention the social media presence that many sports clubs contractually require of their stars. For famous sportspeople, autobiographies are almost a guarantee once they do anything noteworthy. The market is flooded with them so we’re here to help narrow down your choices to the cream of the crop.

When a sportsperson has been in the public eye for such a long period of time, an autobiography is a time for them to reveal all, to be vulnerable and to finally open themselves up to their fans in a way they may never have done before.

The chosen autobiographies may not necessarily be from the biggest names in their field, but their stories offer something new and fresh, insightful and interesting, momentous and potentially ground-breaking. Read on for our buying guide and roundup.

Best sport autobiographies: At a glance

• Best early-career sports autobiography: A Clear Blue Sky by Jonny Bairstow and Duncan Hamilton
• Best end-of-career sports autobiography: Racing Through the Dark by David Millar in collaboration with Jeremy Whittle
• Best political sports autobiography: The Rodchenkov Affair by Gregory Rodchenkov

How to choose the best sport autobiography for you

There are so many sports autobiographies to choose from that it can be overwhelming when deciding which to commit to reading. Even more so when one sportsperson may have more than one autobiography. Try asking yourself these questions.

What’s the sport?

This may sound obvious when choosing a sports autobiography to read, but it’s crucial. If the subject of the book is someone considered the best in their field, and you want to find out more about their life and their mindset, that’s excellent. But that may be communicated through the medium of their sport and if you don’t know what they’re talking about, then that insight is going to be lost on you.

Likewise, the inverse is also true. If you consider yourself a serious fan of a particular sport, then you may not gain a lot from reading an autobiography of someone whose career you know intimately or a sport you know thoroughly. It could be a more interesting reading experience if you pick someone from a sport you know little about but that you know has had an incredible life.

How far beyond the sport does it go?

This is also important. Do you want the person to be delving deep into an analysis of a championship victory, taking you through each game and what their role in it was? Or do you want an autobiography in which the sport itself takes a back seat, with more of a focus on the feelings and inner monologue of that person as they traversed various obstacles in their career? Some of those in the former category can be very dry and clinical. But on the other hand, many sports fans are more interested in the tactics and physical aspect of the sport, and might find the mental and emotional side of things too “wishy-washy” for their reading consumption.

At what point in the person’s career was the autobiography written?

Arsene Wenger wrote his autobiography after he had completed his time as Arsenal manager. Sir Alex Ferguson did the same. They were retired and their managerial careers were over. Age also plays a factor, in the style of the autobiography. For example, when a 75-year-old is writing about their life in its entirety after a 55-year career in the sport, a lot of details will be skimmed over.

Many sportspeople write multiple autobiographies, and many may even write multiple memoirs while still playing. That means they can go into much more detail in shorter periods of time in their careers. For instance, at the time of writing, England Test cricket captain Ben Stokes already has two autobiographies, and he still has plenty of years left in his career. What kind of reading experience are you looking for and how deep do you want the person to dive into their own life and career? That will help you decide what you want to read.

The best sport autobiographies you can buy in 2023

1. a clear blue sky by jonny bairstow and duncan hamilton: best early-career sports autobiography.

England Cricketer Jonny Bairstow’s autobiography partially charts the tricky start to his international career, which began in 2013, up to his maiden Test century in South Africa in 2016.

But what sets this autobiography apart from other cricketing autobiographies, and perhaps what helped win it the Wisden Cricket Book of the Year in 2018, is its deeply personal discussion of his father’s suicide, and the effect it had on Jonny, his sister and their mum.

David Bairstow took his own life when his son was just eight-years old. His sister Becky was seven, and his mother was battling cancer for the first of two times in her life. Early in his professional career, Jonny could come across as prickly and sensitive when potentially vulnerable to the criticism of the cricketing press, but he shows a completely different side of himself here. He admits to feeling like he, Becky and their mum were survivors of a shipwreck in the aftermath of David’s suicide – and that since then they have stuck together through everything.

What makes the story of Bairstow’s life all the more compelling is that it isn’t just blue eyes and red hair that he inherited from his late father, but his cricketing talent too. While not as successful as his son, he had a long and prolific career for Yorkshire and occasionally England. The struggles of Jonny’s early career came across as laden with frustration of an unfulfilled legacy. Since his maiden Test century, Bairstow hasn’t looked back. This wonderful and sensitive autobiography explores the difficulties of establishing his career and the even tougher difficulties of his early life.

Key specs – Length: 320 pages; Publisher: Harper NonFiction; ISBN: 978-0008232696

A CLEAR BLUE SKY: A remarkable memoir about family, loss and the will to overcome

2. racing through the dark by david millar with jeremy whittle: best end-of-career sports autobiography.

David Millar was one of the many professional cyclists of the 90s and 00s to have doped. It was an era of cycling that was so juiced up, that any differentiation between real and fake was lost. It lost generations of fans who consequently turned away from the sport and will likely never return. Millar isn’t an outlier, but he wasn’t famous like Lance Armstrong. And he certainly wasn’t as lucky as Armstrong. Rather than being able to tell the truth from the comfort of a California mansion in his own words, Millar was arrested by the French police in 2004 for doping violations and was later banned by the British Cycling Federation for two years.

Millar’s autobiography is an honest account of how an enthusiastic and potentially naive young professional cyclist falls into the world of doping, having had no intention to cheat his way to the top. Often, those of us outside pro sport can’t fathom why a person would cheat in the field, and we may believe they must have been “evil” from the start. Millar’s contrition and genuine work after returning from his ban to help root out doping from the sport proves he is not one of those people. It’s a fascinating account of how a sport can be taken over by a culture of cheating, and that an individual is often powerless to confront or avoid that culture.

Key specs – Length: 368 pages; Publisher: Orion; ISBN: ‎978-1409120384

Racing Through the Dark: The Fall and Rise of David Millar

3. the rodchenkov affair by grigory rodchenkov: best political sports autobiography.

If you want to learn about contemporary Russia through the lens of sport, and how the country was able to coordinate the largest state-sponsored doping program in the history of professional sport, then this is the autobiography for you.

There’s a case to be made that Grigory Rodchenkov, while not a noteworthy professional sportsperson, had one of the biggest impacts on global sport in the 21st century. His autobiography walks us through the world of Russian sport, dating back well into the Soviet era, and how doping has always been a part of professional sport there. In the Soviet Union, it was individual coaches giving their athletes whatever they thought worked. It wasn’t an unrefined and unorganised system, but during the mid-2000s it became systematic. And Rodchenkov, now a whistleblower living in hiding in the US, was the man behind it.

What is most interesting in Rodchenkov’s autobiography is not necessarily his revelations of secret labs or the Russian secret service’s involvement in doping control at the Sochi Winter Olympics, but his thoughts and feelings as he facilitated it all. He frequently describes life in Russia in Orwellian terms, yet fails to see the role he played in fuelling that nightmare. And while his actions arguably rob professional sport of the thrill of fair competition, he’s remarkably unapologetic: if it wasn’t him, there’d be someone else, and doping is just part of trying to gain an advantage over other competitors. It’s a brilliant autobiography that, while telling the story of doping in Russia, reveals much about the Russian psyche in relation to global sporting politics.

Key specs – Length: 320 pages; Publisher: WH Allen; ISBN: 978-0753553350

The Rodchenkov Affair: How I Brought Down Russia’s Secret Doping Empire – Winner of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year 2020

4. the mamba mentality by kobe bryant: best “coffee table” sports autobiography.

In this coffee-table-sized book, basketballer Kobe Bryant – who lost his life in a helicopter crash in 2020 – tells of his self-named ‘Mamba Mentality’ on the court.

The book is split into two main sections: process and craft. While it tells lots of Bryant’s life, as with any conventional autobiography, Bryant is more concerned with passing on his wisdom of what ‘greatness’ is and what it takes to get there. When Michael Jordan’s The Last Dance docu-series was released in 2020, the world was given an insight into a man with a deep desire to win and to be the best. Bryant is cut from the same cloth.

Just a brief look over some of his achievements will tell you the scale of his greatness. Five-time NBA champion, 18-time NBA All-Star, 11-time All-NBA First Team, nine-time NBA All-Defensive First Team and an NBA Hall of Famer. He’d probably tell you that those first set of achievements are the only ones that matter. And that says a lot about his mentality.

As with many coffee table books, there is more imagery than words here, displaying brilliant photography from Bryant’s life, and focusing on his storied career with the Los Angeles Lakers. This is not an autobiography just for basketball fans. It’s not even an autobiography just for sports fans. It’s a blueprint for anyone who wants to be at the top of their chosen field from someone who knows exactly what it takes to get there.

Key specs – Length: 208 pages; Publisher: MCD; ISBN: 978-0374201234

5. Addicted by Tony Adams and Ian Ridley: Most candid autobiography

When you hear the name Tony Adams, you may think of a hard-nosed and dedicated centre back, leading Arsenal’s defence for nearly two decades. And he was a leader in every sense of the word, becoming Arsenal captain at the age of just 21 and winning four league titles, three FA Cups and two League Cups during his 19 years at the club, retiring without ever having left. He is a footballing legend.

Despite all this, Adams may argue that it was his decision to quit drinking and sticking to it that may be his biggest achievement. He admits in his book that, in doing so, it was the first time in his entire life that he had ever asked for help.

Professional football was awash with alcohol during the 1990s, perhaps most of all at Arsenal. This was a Wild West period for football, where there was a lot of money, no social media and no defined sense of professionalism instilled in the game when it came to fitness, dieting and drinking. For Adams to admit he had a problem took a lot of soul searching and courage.

This was before mental health and illness had entered the realm of mainstream health conditions and, as ever, Adams led from the front and was open about his struggles. He is by no means the only England footballer to struggle with alcoholism, but his autobiography will inspire not only those going through similar struggles, but also any sports fans who understand what it means to battle inner demons of any kind.

Key specs – Length: 384 pages; Publisher: HarperCollins; ISBN: 978-0008268749

The best sports books and autobiographies

From gritty sports autobiographies by olympic athletes and a multiple ballon d’or winner to explorations of marathon running and the cultural impact of football, here is a trophy cabinet of some of the best sports books jostling for position on the shelves..

Determined, competitive and possessing an impressive capacity for mental endurance – the characteristics that make great athletes often lead them to live extraordinary lives. Sports autobiographies offer us the opportunity to get the full story behind the goals, records and medals, as well as help us understand the wider impact of the athletic world off the field.

Whether your favourite sport requires a ball, an engine or even a hoof, here is a compilation of the best sports books and autobiographies out there.

• Running & athletics
• Other sports

The best football books

By chris kamara.

One of the most well-known faces of the beautiful game, Chris ‘Kammy’ Kamara is a national treasure. Now, he’s sharing the story of his incredible life. From his days in the Royal Navy and a playing career that took him all over England to becoming one of the game’s best-loved commentators, Kammy lifts the lid on a career that he could never have dreamt of growing up in Middlesbrough. Told with unflinching honesty, but with his trademark humour and positivity, this is a must-read for any football fan.

The World's Biggest Cash Machine

By chris blackhurst.

In The World's Biggest Cash Machine , Chris Blackhurst meticulously unravels the controversial reign of the Glazers over Manchester United. Purchasing the club in 2005, they ignited global discontent, driving it into record debts and marking the fiscal transformation of football. Despite on-field declines, they flourished financially. Blackhurst probes their secretive lives and business acumen, while mapping the club’s captivating journey amidst the Premier League’s metamorphosis into a billionaires' haven.

On Days Like These

By martin o'neill.

With a career spanning over fifty years, Martin tells of his exhilarating highs and painful lows; from the joys of winning trophies, promotion and fighting for World Cups to being harangued by fans, boardroom drama, relegation scraps and being fired. Written with his trademark honesty and humour,  On Days Like These  is one of the most insightful and captivating sports autobiographies and a must-read for any fans of the beautiful game.

Cheers, Geoff!

By geoff shreeves.

Packed full of hilarious stories on and off the pitch – including trying to teach Sir Michael Caine how to act, a frightening encounter with Mike Tyson, as well as getting a lift home from the World Cup with Mick Jagger –  Cheers, Geoff!  is a must-read autobiography for any football fan. A natural storyteller, Geoff brings an astonishing catalogue of tales to life with his unique brand of experience, insight and humour.

The Little Red Book of Klopp

It’s debatable whether Jürgen Klopp is better-known for his charisma off the pitch or his success on it. Having brought Liverpool back to winning ways in both the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League, Klopp is known for captivating press conferences and charming touch-line antics. The Little Red Book of Klopp is a collection of his most iconic sayings, from light-hearted witticisms to cutting insults.

The Age of Football

By david goldblatt.

For many people around the world, football is so much more than just a game. In The Age of Football , sport historian David Goldblatt widens the lens to trace how the game intersects politics, economics and wider culture. With focuses as diverse as prison football in Uganda, the presidency of Recep Erdogan and the importance of the beautiful game in the Arab Spring, David demonstrates the extent to which the sport impacts society today.

My Life in Football

By kevin keegan.

Whether it’s being the only Englishman to win the Ballon d’Or twice, achieving European glory with Liverpool or managing Newcastle from the bottom of the Second Division to the brink of winning the Premier League title, Kevin Keegan – known as ‘King Kev’ – has proven his pedigree both on the pitch and the touchline.  His autobiography details the highs and lows of an illustrious career, including clashes with Sir Alex Ferguson and his return to Newcastle during the controversial Mike Ashley era.

The best rugby books

By rassie erasmus.

Rassie Erasmus, a rugby maverick, unfolds his unconventional journey from player to coach in the pinnacle of the sport. This candid account delves into his pivotal roles in iconic Springbok teams, grappling with injuries, and pioneering coaching methods. Most crucially, Rassie talks about his greatest contribution to South African rugby: appointing its first black captain, Siya Kolisi, without much fanfare or controversy. As his bold plans for effective racial transformation of the national team achieved immediate success, they culminated in glory at the 2019 Rugby World Cup. 

Too Many Reasons to Live

By rob burrow.

The inspirational memoir from rugby league legend Rob Burrow on his extraordinary career and his battle with motor neurone disease.

This is the story of a tiny kid who adored rugby league but never should have made it  –  and ended up in the Leeds hall of fame. It's the story of a man who resolved to turn a terrible predicament into something positive  –  when he could have thrown the towel in. It's about the power of love, between Rob and his childhood sweetheart Lindsey; and of friendship, between Rob and his faithful team mates. Far more than a sports memoir,  Too Many Reasons to Live  is a story of boundless courage and infinite kindness.

‘ He is one in a million and his story is truly inspirational ’ Clare Balding on Rob Burrows

Belonging: The Autobiography

By alun wyn jones.

Belonging  is the story about how as a boy, Alun Wyn Jones left Mumbles and returned as the most capped rugby player of all time. It is the story of what it takes to become a player who is seen by many as one of the greatest Welsh players there has ever been. What it takes to go from sitting, crossed legged on the hall floor at school, watching the 1997 Lions Tour of South Africa to being named the 2021 Lions Captain.

But is it also about  perthyn  - belonging, playing for Wales, what it takes to earn the right to be there, and what it feels like to make the sacrifices along the way. 

‘ Unbelievable player. Magnificent captain. One of the game’s greatest icons. ’ James Haskell on Alun Wyn Jones

by Eddie Jones

One of the most successful sports coaches ever, Eddie Jones took three separate nations to Rugby World Cup Finals, and enjoyed a success rate with the England team of almost eighty per cent. An expert in guiding and managing high-performing teams, Jones believes that his methods can be applied to many walks of life. From fostering ambition to following your curiosity, Jones shares his methodology, much of it learned through conversations with other successful managers and leaders, including Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and Pep Guardiola. Leadership  is the ultimate guide to being your best, in rugby and in life.

My Life and Rugby

With a career spanning four World Cups, Eddie Jones is one of the most seasoned figures in Rugby Union. Possessing an unparalleled ability to transform teams, he built the Japan national team into the side that defeated South Africa in 2015, and turned a struggling England team into finalists at the 2019 World Cup. The England coach is never afraid to speak his mind, and his autobiography is told true to unflinching form.

The best running & athletics books

The running book, by john connell.

John Connell, award-winning author of The Cow Book, takes the reader on a marathon run of 42.2 kilometres through Ireland. Over 42 chapters and 42,000 words, John reflects on his life, Irish history and the stories of his greatest running heroes. Whether you’re a keen runner or you’d just like to read what it’s like to undertake a marathon, The Running Book is the perfect endorphin-filled sports book about the nature of happiness and how it can be found on foot.

Unbelievable - From My Childhood Dreams To Winning Olympic Gold

By jessica ennis.

Jessica Ennis-Hill has been one of the poster girls for women in sport for years. Indeed, arguably the greatest moment of the London 2012 games came when Jessica secured her heptathlon gold medal. But her rise was beset with challenges. From being bullied as a child for being small to her career-threatening injury on the eve of the 2008 Olympics, Jessica has had to show plenty of perseverance to prove her doubters wrong. This sports autobiography tells the full story behind the world’s greatest female all-rounder athlete.

The best tennis books

My life: queen of the court, by serena williams.

Serena Williams needs little introduction, having won every major title going in tennis. From growing up playing on courts covered in broken glass in Compton to reaching the top of world tennis, all while being criticised for her unorthodox playing style and dealing with the tragic shooting of her older sister, Serena has proven herself an inspiration to her multitudes of fans. In My Life , she reflects on her extraordinary journey.

The Inner Game of Tennis

Recently named by Bill Gates as one of his 'all-time favourite books', and described by Billie Jean King as her 'tennis bible', this bestseller has been a must-read for tennis players of all abilities for nearly fifty years. Rather than concentrating on how to improve technique, Gallwey deals with the 'inner game' within ourselves as we try to overcome doubt and maintain clarity of mind when playing. 'It’s the best book on tennis that I have ever read,' says Gates, 'and its profound advice applies to many other parts of life.'

‘ Groundbreaking . . . It’s the best book on tennis that I have ever read, and its profound advice applies to many other parts of life. I still give it to friends today. ’ Bill Gates

The best boxing books

When fury takes over, by john fury.

Born into a family of Irish traveller heritage, Big John Fury descends from a long line of bare-knuckle fighters. So it’s no surprise that he too found himself fighting outside the ring at a young age. From his early years in Manchester, John learned to box by practising fighting within the travelling community, before graduating into the sport professionally. The ring has never been far from his sights, and John has played a crucial role in coaching and being a cornerman for his two-time British heavyweight champion son, Tyson Fury. From Netflix's  At Home With The Furys  this is the Gypsy Warrior, Big John Fury, totally unfiltered and in his own words.

Believe: Boxing, Olympics and my life outside the ring

By nicola adams.

Nicola Adams famously changed the face of sport at London 2012 when she became the first woman ever to win an Olympic gold medal for boxing. Repeating her medal haul at Rio 2016 further cemented her place in the nation’s hearts, while she has also gone on to become a champion for  LGBTQ+ rights and a contestant on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing. Believe documents the grit and determination that got her to gold.

The best swimming books

By yusra mardini.

While Yusra Mardini was fleeing her native Syria for the Turkish coast in 2015, the small dingy she and many other refugees were on began to sink. Yusra, her sister and two others took to the water, pushing the boat for three and a half hours in open water until they arrived safely at Lesbos. Remarkably, Yusra went on to compete as a swimmer for the Refugee Olympic Athletes Team in the 2016 Rio Olympics, and also became a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador. Her autobiography is for anyone who loves true-life stories of outstanding resilience.

In the 1970s, Diana Nyad was widely regarded as the greatest long-distance swimmer in the world but one record continually eluded her: becoming the first woman to swim between Cuba and the Florida Keys. Finally, after four failed attempts and at the age of sixty-four, Diana completed the crossing. This memoir shows her unwavering belief in the face of overwhelming odds. Winner of the Cross Sports International Autobiography of the Year, this is a story of perseverance, tenacity and commitment on an epic scale.

The best books about other sports

Jan ullrich: the best there never was, by daniel friebe.

In 1997, Jan Ullrich obliterated his rivals in the first mountain stage of the Tour de France. So awesome was his display that it sent shockwaves throughout the world of cycling. Everyone agreed: Jan Ullrich was the future of cycling. He was also voted Germany’s most popular sportsperson of all time, and his rivalry with Lance Armstrong defined the most controversial years of the Tour de France. But just what did happen to the best who never was? This is an account of how unbearable expectation, mental and physical fragility, a complicated childhood, a morally corrupt sport and one individual – Lance Armstrong – can conspire to reroute destiny.

by Poorna Bell

Have you ever worried that you're not enough, or that, if you were stronger or more confident you would achieve more? In Stronger , award-winning journalist and competitive amateur powerlifter Poorna Bell investigates and unveils the potential that women can unlock when they realise their strength – both physical, and mental. Through examining her own experiences, as well as those of dozens of women, Bell shows how finding strength can work for you, regardless of your age, ability or background, and offers actionable ways for your to harness it in your life. 

Lights Out, Full Throttle

By damon hill.

Amassing 261 Grand Prix appearances between them, Johnny Herbert and Damon Hill have experienced all the highs, lows and injury records associated with the greatest names in motorsport. In Lights Out, Full Throttle , Johnny and Damon take the reader on a tour around the high-octane world of F1 racing, from Silverstone and safety to Monaco and money, as well as looking at the future of racing in the light of Covid-19 and Black Lives Matter.

Alone on the Wall

By alex honnold.

Anyone who has seen the Oscar and BAFTA-winning documentary Free Solo will be familiar with Alex Honnold’s vertigo-inducing work. As one of the world’s best ‘free solo’ climbers, Alex tackles perilous rock faces without the use of any climbing gear. Free soloists undertake one of the deadliest sports on the planet – many have died in pursuit of their sport. Alone on the Wall is a pulse-raising account of some of Alex’s greatest climbs, told with Alex ‘No Big Deal’ Honnold’s trademark calm and collected humour in the face of mortal danger. A sports autobiography for adrenaline junkies.

Dream Horse

By janet vokes.

Janet Vokes dreamed of breeding a working-class horse to take on the wealthy high-flyers. To pursue this idea she bought a mare for £350, bred it with a pedigree stallion and encouraged her Welsh mining village to band together to raise the resulting foal, Dream Alliance. Despite being raised on an allotment, Dream went on to defy the odds at Ascot, Aintree and even Cheltenham Festival. Heart-warming reading for anyone who loves a true underhorse sports book.

You may also like

The 100 best non-fiction books of all time, 25 best celebrity autobiographies to read right now, 50 best autobiographies & biographies of all time.

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11 best sports autobiographies

From dealing with pressure on the pitch to overcoming demons in their personal lives, indybest finds sports stars whose memoirs pack a punch, article bookmarked.

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Whatever sports you're into, these books, all published in the last six months, make for absorbing reads.

{1} Gareth Thomas: Proud: Ebury, £20

Since becoming Britain’s first openly-gay professional rugby player in 2009, Thomas has been something of a pin-up for the LBGT community. But it was not an easy path to contentment, as he lays bare in this accomplished, moving effort.

{2} Nicole Cooke: The Breakaway: Ebury, £20

Before the likes of Laura Trott was making headlines for women’s road racing, Cooke was battling to give the sport the recognition she felt it deserved. Her grit and determination, spanning from childhood to the London Olympics, radiates from the page in this account of achieving in a male-dominated arena.

{3} I an Poulter: No Limits: Quercus, £20

The media has seized upon snappy dresser Poulter’s “rags to riches” story. But the one-time market trader who became a Ryder Cup master’s story has impact when it comes from the horse’s mouth. His revealing tale is an absorbing one for golf aficionados.

{4} Our Life on Ice: The Autobiography: Simon & Schuster, £20

From their gold medal-winning routine in 1984 to eight years judging Dancing on Ice, Jane Torvill and Christopher Dean have come as a professional pair. This shines a light on their individual personal struggles and how their – entirely unromantic – partnership has worked for four decades in the figure skating business. Fans will love it.

{5} Roy Keane: The Second Half: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, £20

To use a sporting cliché, this blisteringly honest book - written in collaboration with Booker Prize winner Roddy Doyle — is a tale of two halves. An account of the driven Premier League star’s career, then an insight into life as a manager. Keane’s self-deprecating wit, combined with a take-no-prisoners approach, make for an entertaining read.

{6} Jimmy White: Second Wind: Trinity Mirror sport media, £20

Snooker might not be your usual bag, but White’s searingly honest account of how drugs cost him ten world titles and nearly his life, is a gripping one. “The Whirlwind” airs his dirty laundry and leaves you to make up your own mind on his legacy.

{7} Luis Suarez: Crossing the Line : Headline, £20

When you’ve gone from the street football of Montevideo to the excellence of Ajax, married your childhood sweetheart, been banned for racism and biting, almost dragged Liverpool to the title, been thrown out of the World Cup, and joined Barcelona, you’ve got a story to tell. Suarez delivers his brilliantly and honestly.

{8} Carl Froch: Froch The Autobiography: Ebury, £20.87

Froch has never been scared to take on the hardest opponents in the boxing ring. Here, alongside his in-depth analysis of fights – including his much-hyped win against George Groves to– you see a softer side, loyal to friends, family and trainer Rob McCracken.

{9} KP: The Autobiography : Sphere, £20

Former England cricket captain Kevin Pietersen takes a no-holds-barred approach to telling the stories - and apportioning blame - for his memorable moments, including being dropped before the failed 2013/14 Ashes series. Like him or not, KP’s book is compulsive reading.

{10} Brian O’Driscoll: The Test: Penguin, £20

With Ireland a favourite to take the Six Nations, now’s an apt time to delve into the life of the national side’s former rugby captain. The likeable O’Driscoll covers his turmoil over the suicide of his best friend, along with his own surprising on-pitch struggles. Buy

11. Geoffrey Boycott: The Corridor Of Certainty: Simon & Schuster, £20

The batsman-turned-commentator is always forthright on his beloved sport but here you get a unusually candid insight into his life away from cricket, notably a harrowing account of his recent cancer treatment. You sense the impact the illness had on his family in this engaging book that reads almost as if Boycott was sat next you telling the story. Buy

Verdict For books that transcend sport and are moving and thought-provoking memoirs, try Gareth Thomas' Proud or Nicole Cooke's The Breakaway .

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The 35 Best Sports Books Ever Written

Fill the gaps between watching sport with the greatest writing about Muhammad Ali, Brian Clough, Diego Maradona and more

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.

A Woman's Game: The Rise, Fall and Rise Again of Women's Football by Suzy Wrack (2022)

Timed to land just as the Lionesses started their tilt at winning the Euros and immortality, the Guardian's Suzy Wrack traces women's football from the mid-Great War, post-Suffragette days when huge crowds would flock to see women's teams – Dick, Kerr's Ladies drew 53,000 to Goodison Park on Boxing Day 1920 – to a backlash that saw women banned from playing on FA pitches between 1921 and 1971 on the grounds that football was "unsuitable for females". Then, the slow climb back to prominence, and a big decision to make: does women's football try to 'catch up' with the global reach of the men's game, or make the most of what makes it different and joyful? This is a thorough run through a backstory which rarely used to make the back pages.

The Game of Our Lives: The Meaning and Making of English Football by David Goldblatt (2014)

In the men's game, however, things have rarely been more weird. At the time of writing, Manchester United may still be bought out by former Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Jassim, and the season has stretched into late June thanks to a mid-winter World Cup. How did we get here? Goldblatt shows how English football as we know it was liquidated and reformed as an entertainment product to beat them all in the wake of the Thatcher years, knitting it together with the ways England itself has changed in the 21st century. A lot has changed in the last decade – Chelsea cop a lot of flak, despite the ownership now looking positively quaint next to Manchester City and Newcastle United – but to understand how we got here, start with this.

Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life by William Finnegan (2015)

Finnegan’s Pulitzer-Prize-winning memoir about his lifelong obsession with surfing – starting in California as kid, then Hawaii as a teen, taking him right though to New York in the present (a lesser-known surf spot, certainly) – is a searing and startling paean to the sport. Yes it can seem pointless, and yes it can be punishing, but Finnegan is able to encapsulate the feeling of freedom and euphoria like few others, while also describing his own meandering personal history, which somehow transformed him from a twentysomething stoner surf-bum into a renowned political journalist for the New Yorker, particularly for his reporting from Apartheid-era South Africa.

Blood Horses: Notes of a Sportswriter’s Son by John Jeremiah Sullivan (2004)

Like so many of the titles on this list, John Jeremiah Sullivan’s first book – printed in the UK for the first time in 2013 after the success of his brilliant 2012 essay collection, Pulphead – is a sports book but also something more. It began as a consideration of the life of his late father, Mike Sullivan, who had been a sportswriter for a Kentucky newspaper, and whose fascination with sport in general, and with horse racing in particular, his son had never quite managed to understand. In telling the story of the legendary racehorse Secretariat, one of whose Kentucky derby wins his father attended, he unpicks a sport that is both fascinating and mystifying in equal measure.

Land of Second Chances: The Impossible Rise of Rwanda’s Cycling Team by Tim Lewis (2013)

If sport can be accused of providing neat story arcs (see intro!), or clear-cut heroes and villains, Lewis’s British Sports Book Award-winning exploration of the attempt – by a group of American former professional cyclists – to set up a cycling team in Rwanda a decade after the genocide there in which 1 million people were slaughtered, is as nuanced and fascinating as they come. Lewis, a contributing editor to Esquire , spent time in Rwanda with the would-be riders, including the talented Adrien Niyonshuti, who lost six brothers in the 1994 genocide, and also the professionals who helicopter in to set up the country’s first team, but who, in the case of coach Jock Boyer, turns out to have a dark past of his own.

Football Against The Enemy by Simon Kuper (1994)

Football against the enemy.

Financial Times columnist Simon Kuper wrote this accomplished and quirky footballing travelogue when he was still only in his early 20s. And it's remarkably good; arguably the first and even best in the now-not-so-new wave of 'literary' football tomes that have followed in ever-greater numbers. Kuper travels to 22 countries to find out how football has shaped individual national politics and culture – and vice versa – meeting players, politicians and picking up anecdotes and observations along the way. We all know football as a global obsession, but these fascinating tales – from the tragic to the bizarre – show just how far its reach extends.

Touching The Void by Joe Simpson (1988)

Simpson's harrowing account of his and Simon Yates's calamitous assault, in 1985, on Siula Grande, Peru, has rightly transcended the sport of climbing and become a legendary fable for what humans are capable of doing to survive. It centres, of course, on one of the most amazing escapes ever achieved: with Simpson hopelessly hanging off one end of a rope, Yates is faced with cutting it to prevent them both being killed. Somehow, Simpson survives the fall. But alone in a crevasse with a shattered leg, his situation is hopeless. What follows is a staggering tale of will and courage that also addresses the perennial question of what drives people to climb mountains in the first place. As Churchill said: "When you're going through hell, keep going".

A Good Walk Spoiled: Days And Nights On The PGA Tour by John Feinstein (1995)

Even if you're not a golf fan – though it certainly helps if you are – this groundbreaking account of the highs and lows of the 1993/4 season on the American pro circuit is ultimately a human drama. With unprecedented access to the stars – Greg Norman, Nick Price, John Daly and Nick Faldo to name just a few – and rookies alike, it reveals the disparate personalities and personal travails behind the TV images and how these combine with the particular demands of a sport where the margins between success and failure are so thin. A gripping and always entertaining account of what can justifiably be called the cruellest sport of all, whatever your level.

Addicted by Tony Adams (1998)

Harpercollins pub ltd addicted.

Adams was still a regular for Arsenal and England when his jaw-droppingly frank autobiography was published at the start of the 1998–99 season. His drinking problem destroyed him personally yet seemed to leave his football unaffected (wearing bin bags under training kit to sweat out the booze served him well). If any stories were left out, they must have been truly hideous. Here are remembrances of picking through jeans on the bedroom floor to find the least-piss-soaked pair to wear. Expect fights, prostitutes, broken lives, redemption.

Paper Lion by George Plimpton (1966)

To millennial sportswriters who never leave the office (or sofa) to live blog sport on TV, Plimpton’s participatory journalism (“that ugly descriptive”, in his words) must seem preposterous and grand. That Plimpton himself came across ever so slightly preposterous and grand was not lost on the man himself, who pricked that public persona with a terrifically witty, inquisitive writing style that worked best applied to sport. Of his five books about taking part in pro-level match-ups in boxing, baseball, ice hockey, golf and US football, Paper Lion , on the latter, is the finest.

Pocket Money by Gordon Burn (1986)

Burn, known for his mixing of fiction with non-fiction in the New Journalism style, spent a year documenting snooker during its mid-Eighties’ boom, and produced one of the lesser-known classics of British sportswriting. Reading it now, Burn is not the Hunter S of the green baize: his write-up is as straight as Steve Davis’s cue action, yet all the better for it. Every endorsement deal, every shit hotel room from Stoke to Guangzhou, every hour on the practice table, every string pulled by the promoter Barry Hearn: Burn recorded the lot with great skill.

Provided You Don't Kiss Me: 20 Years With Brian Clough by Duncan Hamilton (2007)

“A spurious intimacy evolves between you,” writes Hamilton, of the relationship between a football club reporter and the club’s manager. In his case, from the age of 18 for two decades in Nottingham, with Clough, “an extraordinary journey with a contradictory, Chinese box of a man — idiosyncratic, eccentric, wholly unpredictable.” Clough’s one-liners are magnificent, for example, on a time before blanket player representation: “the only agent back then was 007 — and he shagged women, not entire football clubs.” Hamilton’s poignant, revealing book is a wonder.

I Think Therefore I Play by Andrea Pirlo (2013)

Sh123 andrea pirlo: i think therefore i play.

I Am Zlatan is held up as the foreign footballer’s must-read memoir, but entertaining though the Swede’s book is, time spent rubbing up against his ego isn’t so enlightening. Pirlo’s, however, has the sort of insight you’d expect from the thinking man’s Greatest Player of his Generation. "You won’t believe me, but it was right in that very moment," about to take the first penalty in the 2006 World Cup Final shoot-out, "I understood what a great thing it is to be Italian. It’s a truly priceless privilege." Also learned: he adores video-game football and always plays as Barça.

Laughing in the Hills by Bill Barich (1980)

As mid-life crises go, Barich’s, aged 35, is special. Five rejected novels, mother and mother-in-law dead of cancer five weeks apart, no money, no job, wife with suspected brain tumour. Craving structure, he found it only studying the Daily Racing Form , picking horses methodically and placing small bets. He then told his wife (tumour: false alarm), he’d be moving to a motel next to San Francisco’s Golden Gate Fields racetrack, “convinced there was something special about racing and I wanted to get to the heart of the matter.” There was. He did. His write-up of that time is spectacularly good.

Ball Four by Jim Bouton (1970)

On the face of it, a diary of the 1969 season by a second-string pitcher for the Seattle Pilots baseball team, the only year that team existed, does not leap to the top of the to-read pile. But the total frankness in terms of locker-room talk, player drug use and womanising, bad blood, gamesmanship and other off-topic matters means this is the most inside-a-team book you’ll ever read. It offended baseball so much, Bouton’s 1971 follow-up was called I’m Glad You Didn’t Take It Personally . David Simon, creator of The Wire , put Ball Four in his six all-time favourite books.

The Damned United by David Peace (2006)

Faber & faber the damned utd.

Brian Clough (see elsewhere on this list) spent 44 days as manager of Leeds United in 1974. Peace’s self-styled “fiction, based on a fact” unpacks this mistake via an unrelenting Clough inner monologue that brings the great man vividly to life. (The Clough family, and Leeds’ Johnny Giles disagreed, the latter winning an apology though the courts.) As a study of football partisanship, one of the game’s most important emotions, it is astonishing. Said Gordon Burn (see elsewhere on the list), “if the English novel needs a kick up the pants... consider it wholeheartedly kicked.”

Muhammad Ali by various

Taschen gmbh greatest of all time: a tribute to muhammad ali.

The Greatest has a whole shelf to himself in the sporting library (including, naturally, The Greatest Coloring Book of All Time ). Four books in particular stand out, together covering every angle you could wish for. Jonathan Eig’s Ali: a Life (2017) is the best cradle-to-grave account, as good on the flaws as the fabulous. King of the World: Muhammad Ali and the Rise of an American Hero (1999) by David Remnick focuses on the Clay-becomes-Ali era of the early Sixties. The Fight (1975) is Norman Mailer’s amazing retelling of the Rumble in the Jungle, and the giant, glossy Greatest of all Time (2003; 2010 reprint) by Taschen, is the coffee table book to top them all.

Slaying the Badger: LeMond, Hinault and the Greatest Ever Tour de France by Richard Moore (2011)

The badger, or more correctly, Le Blaireau , is Bernard Hinault, the last Frenchman to win the Tour de France and one of cycling’s all-time greats. Out to get him is his American teammate Greg LeMond, who finished second to Hinault in the 1985 Tour and wants the result reversed in 1986’s race. Reliving the latter contest, Moore forces the reader to pick sides — grizzled veteran versus young upstart, old ways versus new ways, USA versus France — which only heightens the drama. Journo props to Esquire contributor Moore, too, for tracking down both men more than 25 years later for illuminating postscripts.

Open by Andre Agassi (2009)

According to The New York Times : "one of the most passionately anti-sports books ever written by a superstar athlete." Says Agassi: "I knew in the book I had to expose everything." So: the unceasing slog, from toddler to champ, that prevented him from loving tennis, or anything, until he met his second wife Steffi Graf. His failed first marriage to Brooke Shields, crystal meth: it’s all here. Props to Agassi and his quest for truth, and also his ghost, JR Moehringer, who got 250 hours of interview time with his subject instead of the typical 30.

All Played Out by Pete Davies (1990)

English football’s second-finest hour — Italia ’90 — led to its finest book. Having spent the year before the World Cup earning the trust of the England players and manager Bobby Robson, Davies was let into the camp during the tournament. He also observed, close-up, the press, fans and hooligans. An epic journey for the team and their chronicler, superbly told with sharp reportage, dry humour and real feeling. In 2010, the book was retitled One Night in Turin , to tie in with the documentary of the same name.

Chinaman by Shehan Karunatilaka (2011)

First, to get ahead of any Twitterstorm, we recognise the decision of cricket bible Wisden (the greatest annual sports book ever, of course) to stop using the term “chinaman” to describe a slow left-arm wrist-spin bowler. Such a player is one of cricket’s rare gems, and this novel is about a washed-up journalist trying to find a slow left-arm wrist-spinner who has faded from the spotlight. The author knows a lot about cricket, but he also knows a lot about myth, mystery, obsession, drinking and noble pursuits undertaken by the ignoble.

Mystery Spinner: the Story of Jack Iverson by Gideon Haigh (2002)

Hold your right hand out in front of you, palm facing you, fingers spread, then bend your middle finger at the knuckle. Now try bowling a cricket ball held between thumb and middle finger. Jack Iverson mastered it, and bamboozled batsmen so much that when he played for Australia, the captain, also Iverson’s club captain, would move players from other clubs around in the field so they couldn’t watch Iverson up close. This biography, by the writer many think is cricket’s current best (they’re correct), reveals, at times movingly, why Iverson didn't become an all-timer.

Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby (1992)

Hornby could not have imagined that his book would be relevant to the football fan’s experience 26 years after it was first published. (That it is still in print, after several bestselling years, would also be a surprise to him.) It’s harder for fans to follow Hornby’s best piece of advice — be seen reading the papers’ back pages on the first days of a new job, to attract fellow supporters — but he absolutely nails the inexorable pull of football fandom. And he had to do it all with boring, boring Arsenal.

Aurum Press Ltd Levels of the Game (Sports Classics)

Levels of the Game by John McPhee (1969)

This writers’ favourite began life, as most of its author’s books do, as an article in The New Yorker . It is an account of the 1968 US Open semi-final between Arthur Ashe and Clark Graebner, a profile of both men and their place in US society at the time. Ashe is black, Democrat, bookish, skinny; Graebner the opposite. Every sportswriter ever has played the sport-is-life-and-life-is-sport card. In this slim volume, which punches far beyond its weight, McPhee plays it best of all.

The Miracle of Castel Di Sangro by Joe McGinniss (1999)

Castel Di Sangro is a small-time football club that miraculously rose through the Italian pyramid to Serie B’s second tier for the 1996–97 season. Equally extraordinary was the presence of McGinniss, a US writer famous for a revealing Richard Nixon book and true-crime doorsteps, as the upstarts’ Boswell. He had fallen hard for soccer after the 1994 World Cup and moved to Italy to document the fairy tale. Instead: corruption, cocaine smuggling, car crashes and conspiracy to go with the calcio .

Fast Company by Jon Bradshaw (1975)

Brilliant, evocative profiles of winning gamblers including Bobby Riggs (of the 1973 'Battle of the Sexes' tennis match), pool legend Minnesota Fats and Tim Holland, backgammon’s best ever. The author, who wrote for Esquire , New York magazine and Vogue , understood these rascals because he admired and shared their qualities. In his introduction to a later edition, writer Nik Cohn remembers Bradshaw’s "conscious roguery, a Rothmans perpetually dangling from one corner of his mouth, and that lopsided shark’s grin plastering the other. He sported Turnbull & Asser silk shirts and Gucci loafers, flashed gold lighters and a Piaget watch." Touché.

Beware of the Dog by Brian Moore (2010)

England’s 64-cap hooker begins this second account of his life by effectively apologising for the less-than-candid nature of the first, then describing the sexual abuse he endured as a child, why he came to deal with it as an adult and what happened when he told his mum. It’s genuinely stunning. But this book is not on this list because of just one chapter. Everything that follows, including pissed-up rugby tales, personal and professional highs and lows, feels like it’s in the book for the same reasons as that prologue: honest, insightful and crucial to Moore’s life.

The Hand of God: the Life of Diego Maradona by Jimmy Burns (1996)

Burns was the right choice to decode Diego in the post- Fever Pitch wave of sportswriting. As the former FT man in Buenos Aires, he knew Argentina and its favourite son perhaps better than any other English-language writer. The beats of the player’s life are storyteller’s gold: shantytown upbringing, national team aged 17, FC Barcelona aged 22 (when he also had his first line of coke), World Cup winner aged 25, roaring into a camera at the World Cup, full of illegal stimulants, aged 33. Also: mafia, money, mayhem. Burns weaves it all together magnificently.

The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis (2006)

The blind side: evolution of a game.

Lewis’s Moneyball , about disruptive baseball analysis, often appears on lists of this sort, but The Blind Side is more entertaining, with a you-couldn’t-make-it-up human-interest core that some felt was over-egged in the film version starring Sandra Bullock. Back in the book, two stories are told: how a black US high-school football prospect (crack addict mother, dad killed in prison) changes after adoption by a rich white family, and how the game itself has changed with respect to the “blind side”, a quirk of player growth and tactics.

A Life Too Short: the Tragedy of Robert Enke by Ronald Reng (2011)

Reng and Enke were planning to write a book together; Reng wrote it alone after Enke killed himself in November 2009. Three months peviously, Enke had kept goal for Germany for the last time. Three years earlier, his two-year-old daughter died after lifelong heart problems. More than once, the pressure of top-level football had come down hard. Rene uses Enke’s diaries, interviews with the keeper’s wife and family and the material the two men generated together in a masterful, moving account of depression and its devastating consequences. Once read, never forgotten.

The Death of Ayrton Senna by Richard Williams (1995)

Williams, former editor of Melody Maker and chief sportswriter of The Guardian , is both the man you want over your shoulder when playing HQ Trivia and the sort of writer who can make you listen to, or care about, someone you had no interest in before reading his take on them. Of course, Senna is beloved; even more so since the 2010 documentary biopic. Williams even-handedly dispels the myths surrounding the Brazilian’s remarkable life, his tragic death and the afterlife of his legend, yet maintains his heroic aura through concise, insightful analysis.

The Illustrated History of Football by David Squires (2016)

Squires has just completed another season of football cartoons for The Guardian , with no sign of let-up in quality, hilarity or niche Simpsons references. His first book, a history of the game with all-new work, is the funniest football tome since Viz ’s Billy the Fish Football Yearbook , published 26 years earlier. The second volume, The Illustrated History of Football: Hall of Fame , is more of the same excellence.

Full Time: the Secret Life of Tony Cascarino by Paul Kimmage (2000)

Everything you’d think the 21st-century footballer is advised to leave out of an autobiog is here: infidelity, itemised career earnings, dialogue with the internal voice of crippling self-doubt (“you pathetic fucker, Cascarino!”), mystery injections from club physios and, most candidly, the fact you were not really qualified to play for your country. “Tony Goal”, as the Republic of Ireland (perhaps) centre-forward was known in France, teamed with Irish writer Paul Kimmage, whose cycling book Rough Ride and rugby book Engage , had a shot at being on this list.

A Lot of Hard Yakka, Triumph and Torment by Simon Hughes (1997)

A lot of hard yakka.

“There’s nothing exceptional about me; never was,” claims Hughes, in what is the only duff note in a book that proves his statement incorrect. His lid-lift on the jobbing cricketer’s lot is a celebration of shortfalls, on and off the pitch. After all, what is sport if not mostly mediocrity punctuated by rare moments of glory and despair? Hughes has neither of those. He has kit sponsors rewarding improved performance with “a couple of short-sleeved casual shirts” and that time he interrupted coitus to turn over the Donna Summer tape. Very funny stuff.

My Father and Other Working-Class Football Heroes by Gary Imlach (2005)

Stewart Imlach played for Scotland at the 1958 World Cup and won the FA Cup with Nottingham Forest a year later. Now you know about as much about Stewart as did his son Gary when the old man died. Holding a cigarette card of his dad at a collectors’ fair a few months after the funeral, Gary laments, “How had I managed to let him die without properly gathering together the details of his career, his life story?” Surely doubly galling for Gary, the TV sports journalist, who had likely researched thousands of other sporting lives. This book triumphantly redresses his oversight.

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Best Sports Books: Top 10 Athlete Biographies [2024 Update]

Posted by Rubin Alaie | The Best Book Lists | 2

What are the best sportsbooks in recent years? Here you will find a top 10 with the most beautiful sports biographies to be inspired by top athletes, including football players and other top athletes.

Contents of this page:

The top 10 best books about sports

Criteria for compiling these recommended books.

Our editors have carefully read as many as possible books about this subject. Then, they used the following criteria for choosing the best picks: ⠀

• The literary quality of the books.
• The amount of books sold worldwide.
• The professional reviews in newspapers.
• The expertise and experience from the author.
• The quality of the examples, knowledge and practicality
• The actuality and whether the information is useful or too old.
• Our editor’s opinions: they have read and judged the books extensively.

Full disclosure: as Amazon Associates we earn from qualifying purchases.

1.The League: How Five Rivals Created the NFL and Launched a Sports Empire

The way the author weaved the narrative of the establishment and endurance of the NFL through the point of view of these five men was engaging from start to finish. A must-read for any NFL fans looking to gain a unique understanding of the birth of their beloved sport.

2.Cloudbuster Nine: The Untold Story of Ted Williams and the Baseball Team That Helped Win World War II 

An absolute necessity read for baseball darlings, history buffs, and any individual who wants to be taken back to a period of genuine legends. This is simply a must-read for anyone out there with eyes! A unique and jaw-dropping tale that is not to be missed.

3.The Mamba Mentality: How I Play

Our pick for any Kobe Bryant fans out there. This book has become even more relevant in recent years after the passing of the basketball lessons. From start to finish, this is an inspiring read that looks at both Bryant’s extraordinary talent and the man behind it.

4.The Greatest Baseball Stories Ever Told: Thirty Unforgettable Tales from the Diamond

This is the perfect Christmas present for any baseball fans out there. 30 individual and unique stories that often go untold. Interesting from start to finish and each story feels as if it has its own voice. A must-read for any die hard supporters of the sport.

5.One Shot at Forever: A Small Town, an Unlikely Coach, and a Magical Baseball Season

An extremely enjoyable book about communities and humble community games. For those who love a true rags-to-riches underdog tale, this is about as good as it gets. Any baseball fans out there who do not know this story simply must read about it now!

6.The Ultimate Football Trivia Book: 600 Questions for the Super-Fan

If you’re a true football fan, then this book is a must try. Our pick for anyone looking for a stocking filler for a football fan this Christmas. This book is a great test of football knowledge with 600 questions of varying difficulty. Not only will you have fun, but you will learn too!

7.The Greatest Gambling Story Ever Told: A True Tale of Three Gamblers, The Kentucky Derby, and the Mexican Cartel

The story is incredible! The author is a genius! A jaw-dropping story told in such an amazing way. You do not have to be a gambling fan at all to enjoy this story. It’s a tale that grips you from the very first word to the last.

8.The Story of Baseball: In 100 Photographs

The perfect gift for any baseball fans. There are plenty of information and trivia books out there but this book looks to compile the most important and game-changing moments in baseball in 100 photographs, from humble beginnings to finals viewed by millions.

9.Shoot Your Shot: A Sport-Inspired Guide To Living Your Best Life

For any young sport-lover growing up, no matter where they are, how wealthy they are, or what their dreams are, this is the book for them. Inspirational from the first word until the last, the author Vernon creates such a powerful guide to finding happiness in life.

10.Rising Above: How 11 Athletes Overcame Challenges in Their Youth to Become Stars 

Recommended for every sports lover. Real life always beats fiction! This book outlines 11 famous athletes who faced huge challenges in their early years but came out the other side stronger than ever. Eye-opening, informative and inspirational!

What do you find in these top 10 biographies of elite athletes?

Stacks of football books seem to be written every year. What is a good choice from this? In this list you won’t necessarily find the very best sports books ever, but they are certainly inspiring and poignant.

Also for children it is good to read some of these books about football and other sports, for example so that they know exactly how someone became successful or so that they become familiar with the pitfalls of being famous.

Biography books football players and other athletes : o ther recommendations outside the top 10

• I am Zlatan and Ik Zlatan are indispensable to learn what goes into the way Zlatan Ibrahimovic lives, thinks and plays. He has grown into a football player who continues to surprise and never disappoint.
• I think therefore I play – Andrea Pirlo
• I f you are specifically looking for good soccer books, check out these recommendations.

Enjoy reading!

Related: also read this...

About the author.

Rubin Alaie

Hello! Thanks for reading these articles. My intention is to make happiness as simple and clear as posssible. By the way, excuse my English. I am not a native English speaker since I live in Amsterdam. Much appreciated if you use the comments to make suggestions on my grammar. See ya in another blogpost!

Tags: sport biography

Dear, taste is always personal but still strange and unfortunate that the biography of the German goalkeeper Ronald Enke: “A life too short” by Ronald Reng is not mentioned here. A truly fantastic biography that stands out from many other popular biographies. One to really read!

Thank you for adding Stein 🙂

Further Reading (Related)

Full disclosure.

As Amazon Associates we earn from qualifying purchases. Furthermore, certain content that appears on our our website, comes from Amazon. This content provided is ‘as is’ and is subject to change.

Best Sellers in Sports Biographies

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Five of the best sport books of 2022

A warning about brain damage, a fresh perspective on Geoffrey Boycott, and the rise and tragic demise of a great cyclist

The best books of 2022

A Delicate Game: Brain Injury, Sport and Sacrifice Hana Walker-Brown (Hodder Studio ) Everyone knows that repeated blows to the head can cause long-term damage to the brain. The science is not ambiguous on this point. And so Walker-Brown takes us on a gripping and heartbreaking journey through the human debris of sport, from bereaved families to ex-athletes slowly losing their faculties to dementia. Along the way she asks the key question: why, in the face of such overwhelming evidence, have sports like football and rugby union proved so resistant to reform or even basic responsibility? In large part, she argues, the answers are social and cultural: sport’s sanctification of pain and suffering, frequently framed within Christian ideals of masculinity. And, of course, money has plenty to do with it. Walker-Brown is bleakly clear that there are no easy answers. But it might just help if we start asking the right questions.

A New Formation: How Black Footballers Shaped the Modern Game Edited by Calum Jacobs (Merky ) A New Formation is not a book about racism, even if racism is a frequent theme. Nor is it a book about politics, immigration or the media, even if all feature heavily. Rather, it is a celebration of the contribution Black British footballers have made to the game, told through a series of varied and sharply written essays placing them in their social and sporting context. The story of Chelsea forward Raheem Sterling is filtered through the lens of the Windrush generation and the notion of home. There is a timely and thought-provoking reassessment of the career of former striker Andrew Cole. Most of all, it’s terrific fun, and a formidable statement of intent from Jacobs, a rising star in the world of football writing.

Being Geoffrey Boycott Geoffrey Boycott and Jon Hotten (Fairfield ) You may have concluded that after more than three decades of commentary and opinion-spewing from Geoffrey Boycott, the world has probably heard enough. And yet somehow this fascinating account manages to offer a new perspective on one of English cricket’s most complex characters. Part memoir and part biography, switching between first and second person like the two halves of a tortured internal monologue, the book combines Boycott’s astonishing memory and the gentle provocation of his ghostwriter Hotten in a way that captures the cauldron of Test cricket at its most absorbing. Essentially, it’s a book about obsession: about the angst and fear of top-level sport, where the most scrutinised person on the field is somehow also the loneliest.

Expected Goals: The Story of How Data Conquered Football and Changed the Game Forever Rory Smith (Mudlark ) Football has undergone a spectacular data revolution in the last decade, which I suppose is kind of interesting, if you like that sort of thing. But where Smith’s book succeeds is in eschewing the boring, didactic stuff about stats and regression curves in favour of a story about people: about doubt and persuasion, insiders and outsiders, palace intrigue and subtle subterfuge. And mercifully, there isn’t a single graph or table in the entire book.

God Is Dead: The Rise and Fall of Frank Vandenbroucke, Cycling’s Great Wasted Talent Andy McGrath (Bantam ) In 2009, Frank Vandenbroucke was found dead in a hotel room in Senegal at the age of 34, with insulin and sleeping pills near his bedside. The last person to see him alive was a sex worker who had accompanied him there. And the fact that we know the tragically opaque ending of this story from the start is what lends such a devastating quality to McGrath’s careful biography. In his prime, the man they called “God” was one of the biggest sporting stars in cycling: handsome, effortlessly talented on the bike, yet with painfully human flaws that belied his divine nickname. Soberly told and with a clear affection for its wayward subject, McGrath’s account explores the narcotically corrupting power of sport itself.

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24 Best Sports Biographies Books of All Time

Our goal : Find the best Sports Biographies books according to the internet (not just one random person's opinion).

• Type "best sports biographies books" into our search engine and study the top 5+ pages.
• Add only the books mentioned 2+ times.
• Rank the results neatly for you here! 😊 (It was a lot of work. But hey! That's why we're here, right?)

(Updated 2024)

As an Amazon Associate, we earn money from purchases made through links in this page.

Last Updated: Monday 1 Jan, 2024

• Best Sports Biographies Books

An Autobiography

Andre Agassi

Born to Run

A hidden tribe, superathletes, and the greatest race the world has never seen.

Christopher McDougall

The Blind Side

Evolution of a game.

Michael Lewis

A Memoir by the Creator of Nike

Phil Knight

The Final Pitch

Barbarian Days

A surfing life.

William Finnegan

Eleven Rings

The soul of success.

Phil Jackson

Tiger Woods

Jeff Benedict

Michael Jordan

Roland Lazenby

The Boys in the Boat

Nine americans and their epic quest for gold at the 1936 berlin olympics.

Daniel James Brown

A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption

Laura Hillenbrand

The Mamba Mentality

Kobe Bryant

Touching the Void

Joe Simpson

An American Legend

Rafael Nadal

Alone on the Wall

Alex Honnold

Mariano Rivera

The Captain

The journey of derek jeter.

Ian O'Connor

My Autobiography

Steven Gerrard

The Story of My Life

Coming Back Stronger

Unleashing the hidden power of adversity.

The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero

David Maraniss

• The 33 Best Sports Books Ever Written | Esquire www.esquire.com
• The best sports books and autobiographies - Pan Macmillan www.panmacmillan.com
• The 25 Best Sports Books of All Time To Read in 2021 – SPY spy.com
• 50 Great Sports Biographies - Sports Management Degree Guide www.sports-management-degrees.com
• 100 Best Sports Biography Books of All Time (Updated for 2021) www.shortform.com

How was this Sports Biographies books list created?

We searched for 'best Sports Biographies books', found the top 5 articles, took every book mentioned in 2+ articles, and averaged their rankings.

How many Sports Biographies books are in this list?

There are 24 books in this list.

Why did you create this Sports Biographies books list?

We wanted to gather the most accurate list of Sports Biographies books on the internet.

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33 Sports Books to Read Now That Sports Are (Mostly) Back

We missed them, too.

Our product picks are editor-tested, expert-approved. We may earn a commission through links on our site. Why Trust Us?

Everyone loves an underdog. That’s why we’re drawn to sports movies—there’s something special about the magic depicted in Remember The Titans , Miracle , or even something silly like The Waterboy . But good sports books, and we mean good ones, go even deeper. Whether we’re learning a lot about something we already care about, diving deep into a brand new subject, or taking in an entirely fictional world in a novel set in a universe alternate to our own, there’s always going to just be more when you’re the one painting the pictures inside your own mind.

And now with so much time—there’s still a pandemic happening, last we checked—sports fans need to find alternate ways to get their fix; just flipping to ESPN doesn’t hit the same when there’s no NBA Playoffs Game 5 to catch the end of. But that’s OK, because for every epic sports moment or figure that you can think of, there’s probably a book where you can learn more.

Want to learn more about Mike Tyson? You got it. How about Michael Jordan? Sure. Maybe you want to find a great Yogi Berra quote to text your mom to make her laugh. A solid option! All of that and more can come from picking the right book. And below, we’ve got 33 of the very best that can help to make this sports-less quarantine period that much less painful.

Pocket Books The Jordan Rules: The Inside Story of One Turbulent Season with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls

Brand: Riverhead Fever Pitch

You've probably heard of this one in its form as a Jimmy Fallon-led (remember when he used to act?) 2004 romantic comedy about a guy balancing his love life with his obsessive love for the Boston Red Sox. The movie, actually, is based on a memoir of obsessive devotion to English Football Club Arsenal, written by author Nick Hornby ( High Fidelity, A Long Way Down).  Funny, interesting, and still engrossing, if you're a sports fan who just can't figure out why you continue rooting for the loser , you'll find home here. 

St. Martin's Press 24: Life Stories and Lessons from the Say Hey Kid

While we're all missing baseball (and believe me, we  all  wish we were at a ballpark with a hot dog and a beer right about now), why not read a brand new book from the mind of one of the game's all-time greats? Willie Mays came together with co-author John Shea to tell the story of his incredible, lengthy career (he played from 1951-1973), which saw him play through the civil rights era as one of the game's earliest superstars. 

Back Bay Books What Made Maddy Run: The Secret Struggles and Tragic Death of an All-American Teen

Things might not always be as shiny as they seem. That's the main takeaway in this crushing book by Kate Fagan, expanded from her ESPN Magazine story about the tragic suicide of Madison Holleran. The story looks at a college athlete who by all accounts would've seemed to "have it all," but always had an unexplainable darkness bubbling under the surface. An absolutely crushing story, but one that deserves to be read. 

Back Bay Books Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN

This nonfiction story on the past and present of ESPN is long (763 pages) but it's an oral history—so you can read through it like movie dialogue. Starting with stories of the network's very beginning in 1979, and coming up to date with many names that you'll still see on TV every day, this book is gripping, and quite cinematic. So cinematic, in fact, that a major adaptation has been in discussion for a couple years now. Read the book now and get ahead of the curve. 

Workman Publishing Company The Yogi Book

This isn't so much a book you'll sit down and read for a couple hours as much as it's something you'll pick up when sitting with family and friends and get a good laugh at. As a collection of Yogi Berra's greatest quotes and his funniest anecdotes (and with less than 200 pages) , it's hard to beat  The Yogi Book. 

Scribner Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike

Did you ever wonder what goes into those cool sneakers you picked up for $120? If you have, great. If you haven't, maybe now is the time to start wondering.  Shoe Dog  is an interesting, never-before-told story from Phil Knight about founding a company you might have heard of called Nike. Where did 'Just Do It' come from? The answer is here. 

Triumph Books Doc: The Life of Roy Halladay

Todd Zolecki's brand-new book (it just came out on May 19) takes a deeper look at the late MLB star Roy Halladay. Halladay, who was inducted in the Hall of Fame last summer, and is yet another case of someone who had demons hiding beneath the surface;  Doc  tells the fascinating story behind Halladay's balancing act. He was a star on the field, and a beloved father and husband, while also dealing with the dark demons that come along with addiction. 

Plume Undisputed Truth

It can feel like there's a divide a lot of the time with celebrity memoirs. Sure, it's someone you want to read from and learn about, but the book isn't in their voice—it's some undisclosed ghostwriter's voice. Well,  Undisputed  Truth  almost certainly has its own ghostwriter, but it's a damn good one, because it reads  exactly  like a book that Mike Tyson would write. This book hops from one entertaining anecdote to the next, and never feels like you're getting your information from anywhere other than the man itself. 

Simon & Schuster Tiger Woods

When  The Last Dance  ended, a popular conversation emerged: Who else could possibly be as compelling as Michael Jordan? Who could possibly power their own 10-part documentary series? A common response was Tiger Woods, and as this biography by Jeff Benedict—published just before his incredible 2019 Masters win—proves, there's quite a lot to mine.  Tiger Woods  talks to more than 250 people in the golfer's orbit, and paints as clear a picture as you could possibly imagine. 

Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster The Dynasty

OK, we'll be up front with you— The Dynasty  isn't out yet. It comes out in September. But you're going to want to pre-order this book from writer Jeff Benedict—who wrote the above  Tiger Woods . Here, he has a book of the same ilk on the way about the New England Patriots, with more than 200 interviews conducted about the team's three lightening rods: Robert Kraft, Bill Belichick, and Tom Brady .  With Brady now a Tampa Bay Buccaneer, we're guessing there might have been some last-minute edits—and we can't wait to read them. 

PublicAffairs The Victory Machine: The Making and Unmaking of the Warriors Dynasty

If you liked  The Jordan Rules,  this book from NBA writer Ethan Sherwood Strauss might be the closest thing to a modern-day version of it. Focusing on the late-2010s Golden State Warriors dynasty years, this book takes inside looks at Warriors ownership and the emergence of the dynasty, and at Kevin Durant's entry and exit into the story. The mercurial Durant refused to be interviewed for the book—which, in a lot of ways, that makes it even juicier. 

The Cactus League: A Novel

Do you love baseball? Do you love good writing? Then  The Cactus League —the debut novel from  Paris Review  editor Emily Nemens—is for you. You know the baseball player stereotypes: the tobacco-chewing, steroid-using, meathead beefcakes.  The characters in  The Cactus League  are not this. Instead, it  looks at the inverse; the guys in spring training. Guys who don't know their future; who don't know if they're even going to make the team. It's fiction, but it's a baseball fan's dream—especially when games aren't currently being played. 

H. G. Bissinger Friday Night Lights

The book that launched the critically acclaimed film and television show, Bissinger’s chronicle of high school football in West Texas is a snapshot of the gridiron’s grip on small town America.

John McPhee A Sense of Where You Are: Bill Bradley at Princeton

The legendary New Yorker writer’s brilliant profile of Bill Bradley—the former U.S. senator and New York Knicks star.

Jim Bouton Ball Four: Twentieth Anniversary Edition

The ex-pitcher’s chronicle of his 1969 season with the New York Yankees is one of the greatest books about baseball not because it glorifies the sport, as so many baseball books do, but because it serves as an insider account of the seedier side of the game: the infighting, the womanizing, and Mickey Mantle’s heavy drinking. With its unblinking look at the side of locker room culture most of us will never see up close, it was critically lauded at the time and has become a non-fiction classic—even though it cost him friends on the diamond.

Andre Agassi Open: An Autobiography

Memoirs by former athletes are almost always dull, self-glorifying, and cliche. But tennis great Andre Agassi threw out the formula for his 2009 memoir, in which the Punisher peels back the curtain to show readers the price he paid for his success on the court—an unhappy childhood in which he was groomed for tennis greatness at an early age that gave way to a stressful adulthood which found him unfulfilled by his accomplishments.

Michael Lewis Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game

You’d be hard-pressed to find a book that’s had more of an impact on the sport it’s about. Lewis’s insightful 2003 profile of Billy Beane and the Oakland Athletics, which was later turned into the Brad Pitt movie of the same name, inspired front offices across the MLB and beyond to rethink their approach to assembling their teams—for better and for worse.

A. J. Liebling The Sweet Science

No list of sports books could be complete without Liebling’s collection of essays on boxing. The late author and New Yorker writer wrote about boxing the way he wrote about food, another of his favorite subjects—with insight and wit in equal parts. He was so renowned for his meditations on the sport that the Boxing Writers Association of America named a damn award after him.

Wayne Coffey The Boys of Winter: The Untold Story of a Coach, a Dream, and the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team

The former New York Daily News sportswriter’s 2005 book is perhaps the definitive account of the 1980 U.S. Men’s Hockey Team—the group of amateur Americans who took on the superb Russian squad in Lake Placid and performed a “Miracle on Ice.”

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The 30 Best Sports Books of All Time

This list of the best sports books of all time covers a wide variety of sports and perspectives, from boxing to mixed martial arts to basketball and gymnastics and everything in between. The best books about sports capture the experience of athletics, whether you’re simply a die-hard fan, you’re the one up to bat, or you’re a sports journalist. In this roundup of the best nonfiction sports books, you’ve got an angle into athletics from multiple perspectives on a bevy of sports.

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And now for a list of the best sports books of all time…

Barbarian days: a surfing life by william finnegan.

The winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Autobiography, William Finnegan’s Barbarian Days is a gripping memoir about the author’s long-held admiration for surfing. Raised in Hawaii and California, Finnegan developed a fascination with surfing that would last him decades. Now, in Barbarian Days , he shares how chasing waves impacted his life. It’s a surfing book you won’t want to miss and one of the best selling sports books of all time.

How to read it: Purchase Barbarian Days on Amazon

The boys of summer by roger kahn.

This memoir tells the story of the author’s childhood living within the shadow of Ebbets Field, home of the Brooklyn Dodgers during the 1930s and 1940s. That team included such baseball greats as Jackie Robinson and Carl Erskine, among others. Later, Roger Kahn covered the 1950s Dodgers for The Herald Tribune . Told with sentimentality and detail that makes this history come alive, The Boys of Summer is one of the best sports books.

How to read it: Purchase The Boys of Summer on Amazon

The boys of winter: the untold story of a coach, a dream, and the 1980 u.s. olympic hockey team by wayne coffey.

This riveting read chronicles the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team that surprised the world in an upset win against the formidable Soviet Union. Known as the “Miracle on Ice,” this epic competition was a resounding defeat against the enemy in the heigh of the Civil War. Thanks to copious insider stories and peppered with details you won’t find anywhere else, The Boys of Winter is an engrossing tale of what became both legend and myth and for sure one of the best books about sports.

How to read it: Purchase The Boys of Winter on Amazon

Doc: the life of roy halladay by todd zolecki.

As a Philadelphia Phillies fan, I know all about pitching phenom Roy Halladay. I even had the good fortune to go to a game where “Doc,” as Halladay was affectionately known, pitched. I’ll never forget how tall and big he was. In this biography of Halladay, MLB.com Phillies journalist Todd Zolecki tells the story of Doc’s ups and downs in his professional career as well as his inner demons that tormented him, including a fight against addiction. Halladay famously died young in a tragic plane accident. Doc keeps his unparalleled career and undeniable legacy alive in what is one of the best sports biographies books.

How to read it: Purchase Doc on Amazon

Fever pitch by nick hornby.

This story behind Fever Pitch will be relatable to anyone who has ever dove headfirst into fandom. But not just fandom during the good times, but during the hard times, the losing seasons, the disappointing losses. In this case, author Nick Hornby is talking about his life’s passion, football (soccer to Americans), though any fan can relate. This is definitely one of best books about sports from a fan’s perspective. This book was adapted to a feature film in 2005.

How to read it: Purchase Fever Pitch on Amazon

Friday night lights by h. g. “buzz” bissinger.

Friday Night Lights is maybe the best football book ever written and definitely one of the best selling sports books. Published in 1990, H. G. “Buzz” Bissinger’s story follows a high school football team in Odessa, Texas. What makes this book so great is the universal core story about the big dreams of small towns that strike through polarized social and racial boundaries and unite fans around a team that puts it all on the line with their game. It’s a book so influential that it inspired the acclaimed TV show, also called Friday Night Lights .

How to read it: Purchase Friday Night Lights on Amazon

The game by ken dryden.

Named one of Sports Illustrated ‘s 10 best sports books of all time, The Game is one to add to your TBR (to-be-read list). This riveting memoir reveals the life and career of Ken Dryden, the former Montreal Canadiens goalie and one-time president of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Dryden details life on and off the ice, giving readers an inside look at what it means to be a professional athlete, what that means for one’s personal life, family, and off-the-rink life, and the way those lines become blurred. This definitely tops any list of the best nonfiction sports books.

How to read it: Purchase The Game on Amazon

The girls of summer: the u.s. women’s soccer team and how it changed the world by jere longman.

I’m going to age myself here, but I remember when the U.S. Women’s Team won the 1999 World Cup. It was an exciting time to be a girl! You looked up to heroes like Mia Hamm, the dominating player for Team U.S.A. In The Girls of Summer , esteemed New York Times journalist Jere Longman pulls back the curtain on that win and looks at the forces that shaped the victory. Longman traces how gender, race, and class interplayed in the team, as well as the sexualization of the players and how the male and female teams differed in the world’s eye.

How to read it: Purchase The Girls of Summer on Amazon

A good walk spoiled: days and nights on the pga tour by john feinstein.

Widely considered one of the best sports books ever, John Feinstein’s A Good Walk Spoiled details life on the PGA Tour. As he traveled alongside golf greats like Nick Price and Paul Azinger, Feinstein came to understand the relentless pressure, the grueling pace, and the palpable glory that was for the taking for players on “The Tour.”

How to read it: Purchase A Good Walk Spoiled on Amazon

Heaven is a playground by rick telander.

The best sports book don’t have to feature professional teams; in Heaven Is a Playground, the author profiles amateur basketball games in the summer of 1974 in Brooklyn. It’s definitely a classic. Read it and see why President Barack Obama called it “The best basketball book I’ve ever read” in 2005. This underrated read is surely one of the best nonfiction sports books.

How to read it: Purchase Heaven Is a Playground on Amazon

The imaginary girlfriend by john irving.

You might know author John Irving from his fiction books, like The World According to Garp and The Cider House Rules . But Irving had another love, other than penning beloved bestselling books: wrestling. As a teen at the elite boarding school Phillips Exeter Academy, Irving was a dominant wrestler, a sport he participated in for twenty years, eventually becoming a referee and later a coach until he way forty-seven. This memoir that is both a coming-of-age story as well as a personal retrospective on how athletics left a lifelong impact on the author, certainly one of the best sports books of all time.

How to read it: Purchase The Imaginary Girlfriend on Amazon

Little girls in pretty boxes: the making and breaking of elite gymnasts and figure skaters by joan ryan.

I remember checking this book out of my high school library during my freshman year and tearing through it. For many, gymnastics and ice skating are fun spectator sports we watch during the Olympics, a “Wow!”-filled experience. But in Little Girls in Pretty Boxes , Joan Ryan looks at what goes on behind the scenes, away from the medal stands, to reveal what happens between commercials when the cameras are off. It’s a damning account of how gymnastics and figure skating is unbelievably dangerous and often puts young girls in the hand of emotional, physical, and sexual abusers. In the most recent edition of this book, there’s a new forward that addresses the most famous case of sexual assault in the USA Gymnastics physician Larry Nassar. It’s no shocker that Little Girls in Pretty Boxes went on to become a feminist classic and one of the best nonfiction sports books.

How to read it: Purchase Little Girls in Pretty Boxes on Amazon

Loose balls: the short, wild life of the american basketball association by terry pluto.

This funny, engaging read—certainly one of the best sports books of all time—shines a spotlight on the American Basketball Association (the ABA), which was the first effort to great a national basketball league in America. The ABA had six seasons which proved to be incredibly influential, with its groundbreaking features like the 3-point shot, on the eventaul NBA. Terry Pluto’s Loose Balls is an incredibly entertaining look at this short-lived league that left a long shadow on the sport. (For more on the ABA, check out the Wikipedia article .)

How to read it: Purchase Loose Balls on Amazon

Moneyball: the art of winning an unfair game by michael lewis.

Adapted as a feature film starring Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill, Michael Lewis’s book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game profiles the Oakland A’s baseball team. Even though they had a small budget, the organization used key in-game statistics (also called sabermetrics ) to assemble a winning team. Moneyball ranks high on any list of the best books about sports.

How to read it: Purchase Moneyball on Amazon

Never die easy: the autobiography of walter payton by walter payton.

In case you haven’t heard of football star Walter Payton, his life and remarkable career is definitely worth exploring. As the—to this day—leading running back in the NFL’s history and the star who led the Chicago Bears to their one and only Super Bowl championship, Payton became a famous icon in American sports. In Never Die Easy , Payton welcomes readers into his amazing career and life. It’s an autobiography that feels vivid and urgent and surely one of the best sports books of all time.

How to read it: Purchase Never Die Easy on Amazon

The noble hustle: poker, beef jerky, and death by colson whitehead.

Author Colson Whitehead is perhaps best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Underground Railroad , but before that success, he was assigned a story from Grantland magazine to cover the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. The result is The Noble Hustle , an investigative reporting work of narrative nonfiction in which the writer becomes part of the story. This book is funny, insightful, quirky, and a wild ride and one of the most unconventional and appealing best nonfiction sports books.

How to read it: Purchase The Noble Hustle on Amazon

Open by andre agassi.

Surely one of the best sports books ever, Open is tennis star Andre Agassi’s deeply revealing autobiography. This memoir pulls you in and doesn’t let go, telling the astounding story of his rise to become perhaps the greatest male tennis player of all time. But behind the scenes of that amazing success, Agassi felt unfulfilled. In Open , he sheds light on his life away from the net, the good times, the bad times, and everything in between. Open is certainly one of the best selling sports books of all time.

How to read it: Purchase Open on Amazon

Paper lion: confessions of a last-string quarterback by george plimpton.

If you haven’t heard of the term “participatory sports journalism,” you’ll know it when you read George Plimpton’s Paper Lion . To write his book, Plimpton joined the Detroit Lions football team as an amateur quarterback. Plimpton practiced with the Lions during training camp. Although he didn’t make the roster, Plimpton had an extraordinary experience, which he details in his irreverent, quirky, and funny book, Paper Lion , definitely one of the most original books about sports.

How to read it: Purchase Paper Lion on Amazon

Playing for keeps: michael jordan & the world he made by david halberstam.

Michael Jordan was perhaps the greatest basketball player of all time. And Playing for Keeps just might be the greatest book about Michael Jordan. In Playing for Keeps , Halberstam surveys the epic life, extraordinary career, and unmatched legacy of Michael Jordan, the star player for the Chicago Bears. Playing for Keeps is definitely one of the best sports books of all time.

How to read it: Purchase Playing for Keeps on Amazon

Rome 1960: the olympics that changed the world by david maraniss.

This intriguing book surveys the 1960 Olympics set in Rome, Italy. Subtitled “The Olympics That Changed the World,” Rome 1960 explores the intersection of many forces that made this more than just your usual Olympics, including the influence of the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement, and the dawning presence of female athletes. This book expertly untangles all of these strands to show how pivotal the Olympics of 1960 was radically different and incredibly influential.

How to read it: Purchase Rome 1960 on Amazon

Seabiscuit by laura hillenbrand.

The racing horse Seabiscuit was a sensation during his time; in 1938, he received more press coverage than Hitler, Mussolini, and FDR. Yet his stunning success was no fluke but rather the perfect convergence of three men who helped make the horse a decorated athlete and perhaps the greatest race horse of all time, including millionaire owner Charles Howard, mustang braker trainer Tom Smith, and quirky jockey Red Pollard. Together, the trio helped Seabiscuit become the horse no one could have predicted. Read all about it in Laura Hillenbrand’s compulsively readable book Seabiscuit , a top best selling sports books.

How to read it: Purchase Seabiscuit on Amazon

A sense of where you are: bill bradley at princeton by john mcphee.

In A Sense of Where You Are , famed New Yorker writer John McPhee shines a light on the famed basketball player Bill Bradley in the years when he played for the Princeton Tigers. Bradley would later go on to play for New York Knicks and become a U.S. Senator, but, in this book, McPhee focus on the years before Bradley’s professional and political career took off. It’s a book about raw talent, incredible drive, and unbridled ambition and ranks high among this list of the best sports books of all time.

How to read it: Purchase A Sense of Where You Are on Amazon

Shoe dog: a memoir by the creator of nike by phil knight.

In Shoe Dog , the creator of Nike tells of his awe-inspiring rise from a startup to becoming the leading athletic shoe company. This is a list of the best sports books, but sports would not be the force it was it without the Nike shoes that athletes use today more than ever.

How to read it: Purchase Shoe Dog on Amazon

The sweet science by a.j. liebling.

This collection of boxing essays by the great New Yorker writer A.J. Liebling covers pivotal moments in the history of the sport, including the comeback of Sugar Ray Robinson, the emergence of prodigy Rocky Marciano, and the decline of Joe Louis. With Liebling’s eye for finding the human moments among a brutally violent sport distinguish this collection as a must-read for any boxing, or sports in general, fan.

How to read it: Purchase The Sweet Science on Amazon

The system: the glory and scandal of big-time college football by jeff benedict and armen keteyian.

I included this book in my roundup of the best football books , and I’m including it here because it brings a much-needed perspective on the industry of college football. And yes, I’m saying “industry” because college football is no longer just a more innocent version of pro ball. In The System , the the authors peel back the layers to focus on the athletes, their highly paid coachers, and the networks making billions off the sport. It’s a book that all football fans should read. The System is definitely up there with the best books about sports.

How to read it: Purchase The System on Amazon

Those guys have all the fun: inside the world of espn by andrew miller and tom shales.

Sports and ESPN go hand in hand. You can’t have one without the other. In Those Guys Have All the Fun , authors Andrew Miller and Tom Shales take a deep dive into the most-famous sports network. Drawing on more than 500 interviews with ESPN staffers past and present, plus renowned athletes, Miller and Shales expose ESPN for what it is: an undeniable force, albeit one with scandal, rivalries, and conflict. Those Guys Have All the Fun proves that the best sports books don’t have to be about what happens on the field but rather behind the camera.

How to read it: Purchase Those Guys Have All the Fun on Amazon

Three-ring circus: kobe, shaq, phil, and the crazy years of the lakers dynasty by jeff pearlman.

This book takes a hard look at how the Los Angeles Lakers became a legend and a dynasty. From Kobe to Shaq, the 1996-2004 years of success were marked by celebrity athletes, ruthless management, and unparalleled talent. Read all about it in Three-Ring Circus .

How to read it: Purchase Three-Ring Circus on Amazon

Thrown by kerry howley.

In Thrown , Kerry Howley profiles two men in the mixed martial arts pantheon. Howley followed these fighters, one an established, aging, and tested athlete the other an up-and-coming prodigy. Mixed martial arts has never been so interesting than this emotionally visceral, compelling book and its unflinching look at the brutal mixed martial arts sport. This irreverent, gut-wrenching story is one of the best sports books of all time.

How to read it: Purchase Thrown on Amazon

Tiger woods by jeff benedict.

Tiger Woods is undeniably the most famous golfer of all time. Yet scandal has followed his success. In this biography from Jeff Benedict, Woods is revealed for the prodigious, complicated, ambitious golfer—and man—that he is. This is for certain one of the best sports books for readers who want to understand the grit that follows the glamor of life as a professional athlete. This is certainly one of the best sports biographies books.

How to read it: Purchase Tiger Woods on Amazon

Undisputed truth by mike tyson.

And now for the last installment in this roundup of the best sports books… Perhaps the most controversial yet successful boxer of our modern era is Mike Tyson, the dynamic and bombastic athlete who upended traditions of decor and performance to become the winner he was. In Undisputed Truth , Tyson tells all. It’s an unputdownable autobiography that any fan of sports will want to read.

How to read it: Purchase Undisputed Truth on Amazon

And there you have it the best sports books of all time. which one will you read first, share this:.

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Sarah S. Davis is the founder of Broke by Books, a blog about her journey as a schizoaffective disorder bipolar type writer and reader. Sarah's writing about books has appeared on Book Riot, Electric Literature, Kirkus Reviews, BookRags, PsychCentral, and more. She has a BA in English from the University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Library and Information Science from Clarion University, and an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts.

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Biography Online

Top 100 Sports Personalites

A list of 100 famous sporting personalities. These great sportsmen and sportswomen are taken from a variety of sports including football, athletics, cycling, gymnastics, baseball, boxing, cycling and more.

Top 10 Sporting Personalities

Citation: Pettinger, Tejvan . “ Famous Sporting Personalities” , Oxford, UK. www.biographyonline.net, 4th February 2015. Updated 26 June 2019.

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32 Comments

We must take a lesson from these athletes/sports personnel for their determination and hard work to achieve their goal and played for their country we are prioud of our sports personnel they play for their country we are thankful for their achiements.wish all the best

Ex Subedar Major Kulwant Khatri.Barnala Punjab,India.

• January 13, 2019 12:56 PM
• By Kulwant Khatri

Muhammad Ali Is My Inspiration He’s The Best.

• October 18, 2018 8:33 AM

If this is ranking according to serial number then it is the worst list ever seen. Cristiano Ronaldo should be at least among top five 🙁

• September 14, 2018 10:42 AM
• By Christopher Marlowe

After seeing Eusebio i assumed that pujas would be up ther e as well

• July 13, 2018 5:02 AM
• By Fernando

It was Honour to see Muhammad Ali on Number 2, But He Really Deserves Number 1.

• April 04, 2018 4:48 PM
• By Sad Heart Touching Status

All of these are celebrities of the highest order but where is Bradman? The guy with the average 99 in the test cricket. I would have dearly loved to have seen him on the list. Otherwise, it is a good list!

• March 09, 2018 10:35 AM
• By Jill Rhodes

Hi Jill. Donald Bradman is number five!

• March 10, 2018 8:42 AM

Disappointment: How Can You Forget The Great Jahangir Khan who has the world record of 500 matches winning streak?

• October 15, 2017 6:42 PM

My All Time Favorite Athlete is The Great Cristiano Ronaldo. Man With Passion, Skills and Hard work.

• October 08, 2017 2:26 PM
• By Ronaldo Fan

Muhammad Ali Is My Inspiration He’s The Best.

• September 14, 2017 7:53 PM
• By John Albert

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Blog – Posted on Monday, Jan 21

The 30 best biographies of all time.

Biographer Richard Holmes once wrote that his work was “a kind of pursuit… writing about the pursuit of that fleeting figure, in such a way as to bring them alive in the present.”

At the risk of sounding cliché, the best biographies do exactly this: bring their subjects to life. A great biography isn’t just a laundry list of events that happened to someone. Rather, it should weave a narrative and tell a story in almost the same way a novel does. In this way, biography differs from the rest of nonfiction .

All the biographies on this list are just as captivating as excellent novels , if not more so. With that, please enjoy the 30 best biographies of all time — some historical, some recent, but all remarkable, life-giving tributes to their subjects.

If you're feeling overwhelmed by the number of great biographies out there, you can also take our 30-second quiz below to narrow it down quickly and get a personalized biography recommendation  😉

Which biography should you read next?

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1. A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar

This biography of esteemed mathematician John Nash was both a finalist for the 1998 Pulitzer Prize and the basis for the award-winning film of the same name. Nasar thoroughly explores Nash’s prestigious career, from his beginnings at MIT to his work at the RAND Corporation — as well the internal battle he waged against schizophrenia, a disorder that nearly derailed his life.

2. Alan Turing: The Enigma: The Book That Inspired the Film The Imitation Game - Updated Edition by Andrew Hodges

Hodges’ 1983 biography of Alan Turing sheds light on the inner workings of this brilliant mathematician, cryptologist, and computer pioneer. Indeed, despite the title ( a nod to his work during WWII ), a great deal of the “enigmatic” Turing is laid out in this book. It covers his heroic code-breaking efforts during the war, his computer designs and contributions to mathematical biology in the years following, and of course, the vicious persecution that befell him in the 1950s — when homosexual acts were still a crime punishable by English law.

3. Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

Ron Chernow’s Alexander Hamilton is not only the inspiration for a hit Broadway musical, but also a work of creative genius itself. This massive undertaking of over 800 pages details every knowable moment of the youngest Founding Father’s life: from his role in the Revolutionary War and early American government to his sordid (and ultimately career-destroying) affair with Maria Reynolds. He may never have been president, but he was a fascinating and unique figure in American history — plus it’s fun to get the truth behind the songs.

Prefer to read about fascinating First Ladies rather than almost-presidents? Check out this awesome list of books about First Ladies over on The Archive.

4. Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" by Zora Neale Hurston

A prolific essayist, short story writer, and novelist, Hurston turned her hand to biographical writing in 1927 with this incredible work, kept under lock and key until it was published 2018. It’s based on Hurston’s interviews with the last remaining survivor of the Middle Passage slave trade, a man named Cudjo Lewis. Rendered in searing detail and Lewis’ highly affecting African-American vernacular, this biography of the “last black cargo” will transport you back in time to an era that, chillingly, is not nearly as far away from us as it feels.

5. Churchill: A Life by Martin Gilbert

Though many a biography of him has been attempted, Gilbert’s is the final authority on Winston Churchill — considered by many to be Britain’s greatest prime minister ever. A dexterous balance of in-depth research and intimately drawn details makes this biography a perfect tribute to the mercurial man who led Britain through World War II.

Just what those circumstances are occupies much of Bodanis's book, which pays homage to Einstein and, just as important, to predecessors such as Maxwell, Faraday, and Lavoisier, who are not as well known as Einstein today. Balancing writerly energy and scholarly weight, Bodanis offers a primer in modern physics and cosmology, explaining that the universe today is an expression of mass that will, in some vastly distant future, one day slide back to the energy side of the equation, replacing the \'dominion of matter\' with \'a great stillness\'--a vision that is at once lovely and profoundly frightening.

Without sliding into easy psychobiography, Bodanis explores other circumstances as well; namely, Einstein's background and character, which combined with a sterling intelligence to afford him an idiosyncratic view of the way things work--a view that would change the world. --Gregory McNamee

6. E=mc²: A Biography of the World's Most Famous Equation by David Bodanis

This “biography of the world’s most famous equation” is a one-of-a-kind take on the genre: rather than being the story of Einstein, it really does follow the history of the equation itself. From the origins and development of its individual elements (energy, mass, and light) to their ramifications in the twentieth century, Bodanis turns what could be an extremely dry subject into engaging fare for readers of all stripes.

7. Enrique's Journey by Sonia Nazario

When Enrique was only five years old, his mother left Honduras for the United States, promising a quick return. Eleven years later, Enrique finally decided to take matters into his own hands in order to see her again: he would traverse Central and South America via railway, risking his life atop the “train of death” and at the hands of the immigration authorities, to reunite with his mother. This tale of Enrique’s perilous journey is not for the faint of heart, but it is an account of incredible devotion and sharp commentary on the pain of separation among immigrant families.

8. Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo by Hayden Herrera

Herrera’s 1983 biography of renowned painter Frida Kahlo, one of the most recognizable names in modern art, has since become the definitive account on her life. And while Kahlo no doubt endured a great deal of suffering (a horrific accident when she was eighteen, a husband who had constant affairs), the focal point of the book is not her pain. Instead, it’s her artistic brilliance and immense resolve to leave her mark on the world — a mark that will not soon be forgotten, in part thanks to Herrera’s dedicated work.

9. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Perhaps the most impressive biographical feat of the twenty-first century, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is about a woman whose cells completely changed the trajectory of modern medicine. Rebecca Skloot skillfully commemorates the previously unknown life of a poor black woman whose cancer cells were taken, without her knowledge, for medical testing — and without whom we wouldn’t have many of the critical cures we depend upon today.

10. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

Christopher McCandless, aka Alexander Supertramp, hitchhiked to Alaska and disappeared into the Denali wilderness in April 1992. Five months later, McCandless was found emaciated and deceased in his shelter — but of what cause? Krakauer’s biography of McCandless retraces his steps back to the beginning of the trek, attempting to suss out what the young man was looking for on his journey, and whether he fully understood what dangers lay before him.

11. Let Us Now Praise Famous Men: Three Tenant Families by James Agee

"Let us now praise famous men, and our fathers that begat us.” From this line derives the central issue of Agee and Evans’ work: who truly deserves our praise and recognition? According to this 1941 biography, it’s the barely-surviving sharecropper families who were severely impacted by the American “Dust Bowl” — hundreds of people entrenched in poverty, whose humanity Evans and Agee desperately implore their audience to see in their book.

12. The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann

Another mysterious explorer takes center stage in this gripping 2009 biography. Grann tells the story of Percy Fawcett, the archaeologist who vanished in the Amazon along with his son in 1925, supposedly in search of an ancient lost city. Parallel to this narrative, Grann describes his own travels in the Amazon 80 years later: discovering firsthand what threats Fawcett may have encountered, and coming to realize what the “Lost City of Z” really was.

13. Mao: The Unknown Story by Jung Chang

Though many of us will be familiar with the name Mao Zedong, this prodigious biography sheds unprecedented light upon the power-hungry “Red Emperor.” Chang and Halliday begin with the shocking statistic that Mao was responsible for 70 million deaths during peacetime — more than any other twentieth-century world leader. From there, they unravel Mao’s complex ideologies, motivations, and missions, breaking down his long-propagated “hero” persona and thrusting forth a new, grislier image of one of China’s biggest revolutionaries.

14. Mad Girl's Love Song: Sylvia Plath and Life Before Ted by Andrew Wilson by Andrew Wilson

Titled after one of her most evocative poems, this shimmering bio of Sylvia Plath takes an unusual approach. Instead of focusing on her years of depression and tempestuous marriage to poet Ted Hughes, it chronicles her life before she ever came to Cambridge. Wilson closely examines her early family and relationships, feelings and experiences, with information taken from her meticulous diaries — setting a strong precedent for other Plath biographers to follow.

15. The Minds of Billy Milligan by Daniel Keyes

What if you had twenty-four different people living inside you, and you never knew which one was going to come out? Such was the life of Billy Milligan, the subject of this haunting biography by the author of Flowers for Algernon . Keyes recounts, in a refreshingly straightforward style, the events of Billy’s life and how his psyche came to be “split”... as well as how, with Keyes’ help, he attempted to put the fragments of himself back together.

16. Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder

This gorgeously constructed biography follows Paul Farmer, a doctor who’s worked for decades to eradicate infectious diseases around the globe, particularly in underprivileged areas. Though Farmer’s humanitarian accomplishments are extraordinary in and of themselves, the true charm of this book comes from Kidder’s personal relationship with him — and the sense of fulfillment the reader sustains from reading about someone genuinely heroic, written by someone else who truly understands and admires what they do.

17. Napoleon: A Life by Andrew Roberts

Here’s another bio that will reshape your views of a famed historical tyrant, though this time in a surprisingly favorable light. Decorated scholar Andrew Roberts delves into the life of Napoleon Bonaparte, from his near-flawless military instincts to his complex and confusing relationship with his wife. But Roberts’ attitude toward his subject is what really makes this work shine: rather than ridiculing him ( as it would undoubtedly be easy to do ), he approaches the “petty tyrant” with a healthy amount of deference.

18. The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson IV by Robert A. Caro

Lyndon Johnson might not seem as intriguing or scandalous as figures like Kennedy, Nixon, or W. Bush. But in this expertly woven biography, Robert Caro lays out the long, winding road of his political career, and it’s full of twists you wouldn’t expect. Johnson himself was a surprisingly cunning figure, gradually maneuvering his way closer and closer to power. Finally, in 1963, he got his greatest wish — but at what cost? Fans of Adam McKay’s Vice , this is the book for you.

19. Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser

Anyone who grew up reading Little House on the Prairie will surely be fascinated by this tell-all biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Caroline Fraser draws upon never-before-published historical resources to create a lush study of the author’s life — not in the gently narrated manner of the Little House series, but in raw and startling truths about her upbringing, marriage, and volatile relationship with her daughter (and alleged ghostwriter) Rose Wilder Lane.

20. Prince: A Private View by Afshin Shahidi

Compiled just after the superstar’s untimely death in 2016, this intimate snapshot of Prince’s life is actually a largely visual work — Shahidi served as his private photographer from the early 2000s until his passing. And whatever they say about pictures being worth a thousand words, Shahidi’s are worth more still: Prince’s incredible vibrance, contagious excitement, and altogether singular personality come through in every shot.

21. Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie: A Tale of Love and Fallout by Lauren Redniss

Could there be a more fitting title for a book about the husband-wife team who discovered radioactivity? What you may not know is that these nuclear pioneers also had a fascinating personal history. Marie Sklodowska met Pierre Curie when she came to work in his lab in 1891, and just a few years later they were married. Their passion for each other bled into their passion for their work, and vice-versa — and in almost no time at all, they were on their way to their first of their Nobel Prizes.

22. Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter by Kate Clifford Larson

She may not have been assassinated or killed in a mysterious plane crash, but Rosemary Kennedy’s fate is in many ways the worst of “the Kennedy Curse.” As if a botched lobotomy that left her almost completely incapacitated weren’t enough, her parents then hid her away from society, almost never to be seen again. Yet in this new biography, penned by devoted Kennedy scholar Kate Larson, the full truth of Rosemary’s post-lobotomy life is at last revealed.

23. Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay by Nancy Milford

This appropriately lyrical biography of brilliant Jazz Age poet and renowned feminist, Edna St. Vincent Millay, is indeed a perfect balance of savage and beautiful. While Millay’s poetic work was delicate and subtle, the woman herself was feisty and unpredictable, harboring unusual and occasionally destructive habits that Milford fervently explores.

24. Shelley: The Pursuit by Richard Holmes

Holmes’ famous philosophy of “biography as pursuit” is thoroughly proven here in his first full-length biographical work. Shelley: The Pursuit details an almost feverish tracking of Percy Shelley as a dark and cutting figure in the Romantic period — reforming many previous historical conceptions about him through Holmes’ compelling and resolute writing.

25. Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin

Another Gothic figure has been made newly known through this work, detailing the life of prolific horror and mystery writer Shirley Jackson. Author Ruth Franklin digs deep into the existence of the reclusive and mysterious Jackson, drawing penetrating comparisons between the true events of her life and the dark nature of her fiction.

26. The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit by Michael Finkel

Fans of Into the Wild and The Lost City of Z will find their next adventure fix in this 2017 book about Christopher Knight, a man who lived by himself in the Maine woods for almost thirty years. The tale of this so-called “last true hermit” will captivate readers who have always fantasized about escaping society, with vivid descriptions of Knight’s rural setup, his carefully calculated moves and how he managed to survive the deadly cold of the Maine winters.

27. Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

The man, the myth, the legend: Steve Jobs, co-founder and CEO of Apple, is properly immortalized in Isaacson’s masterful biography. It divulges the details of Jobs’ little-known childhood and tracks his fateful path from garage engineer to leader of one of the largest tech companies in the world — not to mention his formative role in other legendary companies like Pixar, and indeed within the Silicon Valley ecosystem as a whole.

28. Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand

Olympic runner Louis Zamperini was just twenty-six when his US Army bomber crashed and burned in the Pacific, leaving him and two other men afloat on a raft for forty-seven days — only to be captured by the Japanese Navy and tortured as a POW for the next two and a half years. In this gripping biography, Laura Hillenbrand tracks Zamperini’s story from beginning to end… including how he embraced Christian evangelism as a means of recovery, and even came to forgive his tormentors in his later years.

29. Vera (Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov) by Stacy Schiff

Everyone knows of Vladimir Nabokov — but what about his wife, Vera, whom he called “the best-humored woman I have ever known”? According to Schiff, she was a genius in her own right, supporting Vladimir not only as his partner, but also as his all-around editor and translator. And she kept up that trademark humor throughout it all, inspiring her husband’s work and injecting some of her own creative flair into it along the way.

30. Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare by Stephen Greenblatt

William Shakespeare is a notoriously slippery historical figure — no one really knows when he was born, what he looked like, or how many plays he wrote. But that didn’t stop Stephen Greenblatt, who in 2004 turned out this magnificently detailed biography of the Bard: a series of imaginative reenactments of his writing process, and insights on how the social and political ideals of the time would have influenced him. Indeed, no one exists in a vacuum, not even Shakespeare — hence the conscious depiction of him in this book as a “will in the world,” rather than an isolated writer shut up in his own musty study.

If you're looking for more inspiring nonfiction, check out this list of 30 engaging self-help books , or this list of the last century's best memoirs !

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Barron Trump

Barron Trump is the son of Donald Trump, the 45 th president of the United States, and former First Lady Melania Trump.

2006-present

Latest News: Barron Trump Selected as Florida Delegate

Barron won’t be the only Trump child to participate at the RNC. His older brothers, Eric and Donald Jr. , as well as his sister Tiffany will also serve as at-large delegates. Their father is aiming to return to the White House, having previously served in the office from 2017 to 2021. In March, Donald became the presumptive Republican nominee for president for a third straight general election cycle by earning a majority of delegates during the still ongoing primary season.

Prior to making his political debut, Barron is slated to graduate high school from the Oxbridge Academy on May 17. The former president recently received a judge’s permission to attend the ceremony amid his ongoing criminal trial in New York.

Quick Facts

Parents, half-siblings, and other family, living at the white house, high school and life after the white house, how tall is barron trump, who is barron trump.

Barron Trump is the only child of former First Lady Melania Trump and former President Donald Trump . While his dad was in office, from 2017 to 2021, Barron was the only one of the president’s five children to reside in the White House. Although Barron has occasionally appeared beside his father, he largely stayed out of the public eye in his youth.

FULL NAME: Barron William Trump BORN: March 20, 2006 BIRTHPLACE: New York, New York PARENTS: Donald Trump and Melania Trump SIBLINGS: Donald Jr. , Ivanka , Eric , and Tiffany ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Pisces

Barron William Trump was born on March 20, 2006, in New York City. His parents are former President Donald Trump , who first gained fame as a real estate mogul, and former First Lady Melania Trump , who was previously a model.

As the youngest of the former president’s five children from his three marriages, Barron has four half-siblings: Don Jr ., Ivanka , Eric , and, Tiffany . However, he was effectively raised as an only child because he is between 13 and 29 years younger than his siblings. Although he and Tiffany could have shared part of their childhoods, she was raised in the Los Angeles area after her mother, Marla Maples , and Donald Sr. divorced in 1999.

Barron became an uncle while himself still a baby. He has four nieces: Kai Trump, who is just one year his junior; Arabella Kushner; Chloe Trump; and Carolina Trump. Barron additionally has six nephews: Donald Trump III, Tristan Trump, Spencer Trump, Joseph Kushner, Theodore Kushner, and Eric Trump.

Growing up, Barron learned to speak English and Slovene, the language of his mother’s home country, Slovenia. He is fluent in both tongues and also speaks French.

Barron was raised inside his father’s New York City high-rise Trump Tower, where he had an entire floor to himself. Accordingly, Barron has always known a life of luxury. In an interview with Parenting , Melania revealed Barron really liked planes and helicopters when he was little and that, as a hands-on mom, she cooked his breakfast and prepared his lunches. She also believed in encouraging his creativity—even when he would draw on the walls. “His imagination is growing and important,” she said. “If he draws on the walls in his playroom, we can paint it over.”

Although it’s unclear if he’ll follow his family into the real estate business, Barron did like to build cities and airports using Lego bricks and Magna Tiles growing up. He also has his own aesthetic. “He likes clean and white,” Melania told Parenting . “He builds big projects. He has a big imagination, and it’s very impressive. He loves to build something and tear it down and build something else. He is very detailed at drawing. We travel often, and he remembers everything he sees.”

Melania also told the magazine she calls Barron ‘Little Donald’ because his personality is so similar to that of his father. “He is a very strong-minded, very special, smart boy. He is independent and opinionated and knows exactly what he wants,” she said.

She also noted that Barron spent a lot quality time with his father, mostly at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, where they played golf, ate dinner together, and enjoyed family time.

Donald Trump’s election to the U.S. presidency in 2016 brought a new level of exposure to the family, already well-known for Donald’s real estate holdings, reality TV series, and other business ventures. But Barron didn’t immediate follow his father to Washington D.C. after the inauguration. Instead, the boy stayed at Trump Tower with his mother for almost the first five months of his father’s presidency in order to finish his studies at the Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School on the Upper West Side. He and his mother moved into the White House on June 11, 2017, and Barron began attending St. Andrew’s Episcopal, a prep school in Maryland.

Barron became the first son of a president to reside in the White House since John F. Kennedy Jr. in 1963. Although he stayed out of the spotlight for the most part, he did turn up for some of the White House’s holiday-themed events in 2017, including the annual Easter Egg Roll in April, where he joined his parents in signing cards for members of the American Armed Forces. He also supported his father’s pardoning of the turkeys before Thanksgiving and, soon after, stepped out with his mom on the North Portico to receive the official Christmas tree from Wisconsin, which went up on display in the White House’s Blue Room.

On October 14, 2020, Melania confirmed that, like her and Donald, Barron tested positive for COVID-19. Although Barron initially tested negative, the first lady revealed that her “fear came true when he was tested again and it came up positive.” Melania continued: “Luckily he is a strong teenager and exhibited no symptoms. In one way, I was glad the three of us went through this at the same time so we could take care of one another and spend time together. He has since tested negative.”

After leaving the White House in 2021, Barron moved with his mother and father to Mar-a-Lago. In August 2021, it was announced that Barron had enrolled in private school at the Oxbridge Academy in Palm Beach, Florida, as part of the class of 2024.

According to People , Barron hasn’t decided where he will attend college. However, a source said it is possible that his mother Melania “will follow him wherever he goes to school.”

Barron’s 18 th birthday in March 2024 led to debate about how the media should cover him now that he is a legal adult. However, Chelsea Clinton , the daughter of former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton , has defended Barron, saying he has a right to privacy. “I think he’s a private citizen. I feel so strongly that if you are a private citizen, you have an unimpeachable right to privacy, and I think the media should leave him alone,” she said .

He plans to serve as an at-large delegate for the state of Florida at the Republican National Convention in July 2024.

Barron towers over both of his famous parents and, according to his father , stands at 6 feet, 7 inches tall.

Donald has attributed Barron’s impressive frame to all the food his late grandmother Amalija Knavs cooked for him. He has also remarked about Barron’s potential future in sports. “I said you’re gonna be a basketball player. He said, ‘Well, I like soccer, dad, actually,’” he said at a 2024 campaign event. “I thought... at your height, I like basketball better, but you can’t talk them into everything.”

Fact Check: We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn’t look right, contact us !

The Biography.com staff is a team of people-obsessed and news-hungry editors with decades of collective experience. We have worked as daily newspaper reporters, major national magazine editors, and as editors-in-chief of regional media publications. Among our ranks are book authors and award-winning journalists. Our staff also works with freelance writers, researchers, and other contributors to produce the smart, compelling profiles and articles you see on our site. To meet the team, visit our About Us page: https://www.biography.com/about/a43602329/about-us

Tyler Piccotti first joined the Biography.com staff as an Associate News Editor in February 2023, and before that worked almost eight years as a newspaper reporter and copy editor. He is a graduate of Syracuse University. When he's not writing and researching his next story, you can find him at the nearest amusement park, catching the latest movie, or cheering on his favorite sports teams.

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Bryson Stott's bases-clearing triple keys MLB-best Phillies' 8-3 win over Marlins

MIAMI -- - Bryson Stott hit a tiebreaking, bases-loaded triple in the sixth inning, and the major league-best Philadelphia Phillies beat the Miami Marlins 8-3 on Saturday.

Stott finished with two hits and four RBI. Catcher J.T. Realmuto had a run-scoring single and threw out two baserunners trying to steal for the Phillies, who have won 13 of 15 to improve to 28-12. Cristian Pache had three hits and an RBI and is 5-for-9 through the first two games of the series.

Bryce Harper , who went 0-for-5, was the only Phillies starter without a hit. Philadelphia finished with 12 knocks.

"The bottom of the lineup has done a great job the last couple of days," Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. "It's good to see. We're getting guys time off and the guys that don't usually play are performing."

Pache entered the series hitting .118 and has raised his average to .269.

"I am feeling very comfortable at the plate and appreciative for the club giving me an opportunity to play," Pache said in Spanish.

Phillies starter Taijuan Walker (3-0) allowed one run in six innings. He gave up eight hits and struck out four.

"I felt my stuff was good. They were swinging it early and got some quick outs," Walker said. "Our offense has been rolling - one through nine. My job was to go out there and try to put up as many zeros as possible because I knew they were going to put up runs."

The Marlins dropped to an NL-worst 10-31. They are 1-7 since trading NL batting champion Luis Arraez on May 4.

Philadelphia trailed 1-0 in the sixth before Realmuto's RBI hit against Marlins starter Jesús Luzardo (0-3). Anthony Maldonado relieved Luzardo and allowed Alec Bohm's two-out single and walked Nick Castellanos . Stott then hit a hard grounder over the bag at first that rolled to the wall and cleared the bases.

The Phillies broke it open with a four-run eighth. Stott and Pache hit RBI singles and Johan Rojas' two-run single padded the lead.

"Luzardo was dominant early on but we were able to make adjustments," Pache said. "Thank God we came out with the win."

Otto López hit a two-run homer for Miami in the ninth.

Vidal Bruján put the Marlins ahead 1-0 in the fifth when he drove the first pitch from Walker over the wall in right-center for his first homer since Oct. 5, 2022, when he was with Tampa Bay.

Luzardo allowed two runs and four hits while striking out out eight in 5 2/3 innings. He had been sidelined since April 20 because of left elbow tightness.

"They have one of the strongest lineups in the major leagues and my job was to attack early," Luzardo said. "I felt my body reacted well the entire game. It is something that we can build on for the next start."

TRAINER'S ROOM

Phillies: DH-OF Kyle Schwarber missed his first game of the season. Schwarber experienced back soreness during Friday's series opener and was replaced late in the game.

Marlins: INF Tim Anderson (lower back tightness) was a late scratch. ... LHP A.J. Puk (left shoulder fatigue) struck out the three batters he faced in a rehab appearance with Triple-A Jacksonville Friday.

RHP Zack Wheeler (4-3, 1.64) will start for the Phillies as they seek a three-game sweep on Sunday. LHP Braxton Garrett will make his season debut for the Marlins. Garrett began the season on the injured list because of a left shoulder impingement.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

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Bears coach Matt Eberflus confirms Caleb Williams as starting quarterback: 'No conversation'

The Chicago Bears took Southern California quarterback Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft , so it was pretty clear who this year's starter would be.

Head coach Matt Eberflus removed any doubts on Friday at the start of the Bears' rookie minicamp.

"No conversation. He's the starter," he told reporters .

Williams won the Heisman Trophy in 2022 and holds many USC single-season records, including total yards (4,919 yards), most total touchdowns (52), passing yards (4,537) and touchdown passes (42).

The Bears had traded former starting quarterback Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers before the draft. That cleared the way for eventual pick Williams to start.

All things Bears: Latest Chicago Bears news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

"You can really tell that he's comfortable with himself, in his own skin, and he is who he is. His light comes out from the inside," Eberflus said of Williams. "You can certainly feel that energy.

"He's a one plus one equals three guy. He's an enhancer. He's a guy that brings out the best in people. You can certainly feel that within five minutes of meeting him."

What does the coach expect from Williams?

"Just be where your feet are. Be in that moment. Be in the play," he said. "Execute that play. Turn the page. Go to the next play. That's what the elite guys do, and that's what we expect from him."

Williams, who ended his media availability with "Da Bears," said he's absorbing as much as he can at camp to be ready for the starting role.

"I'm listening more than I'm speaking and talking and I'm taking it one step at the time and being in the moment," he said.