Rincewind
Visionary
Silver Level
There is something fascinating about the mindset of elite level competitors. Even with those who compete in sports I have little interest in, I love to read their stories of dedication, their success and failures and sometimes the dark places in the minds of people obsessed with achieving their sporting goals.
Here are some of my favourite sports books:
''Open'' by Andre Aggasi
Probably the best sports book I have ever read. Aggasi's account of his childhood with a domineering tennis-obsessed father has to be read to be believed. His upbringing left him a very troubled but unbelievably driven young man. His stories of the rivalries he developed with other big name pro's of the era are fascinating. His deep and sometimes dark desire to win in a sport he truly hated beyond words, drove him to ruin his body in his later playing years.
''A Rough Ride'' by Paul Kimmage
Paul Kimmage could probably be best described as a ''journeyman'' cyclist of the 1980's. Kimmage enjoyed very limited success on the pro circuit but his book details the extreme lengths that cyclists at the time were willing to go to in order to win. Later, as a journalist Kimmage was one of the first people to openly accuse Lance Armstrong of doping when the rest of the cycling world was too scared to say anything about it.
''Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen'' by Christopher McDougall
This book is a look at the niche sport of ultra-running, races run over mammoth distances, sometimes hundreds of miles over many days in the most extreme conditions on the planet.
McDougall explores the reason that make humans the greatest long distanc runners of all creatures on the planet and the reason why we as a spieces have pretty much forgotten how to really run.
His quest takes him deep into the Copper Canyons of mexico where he meets a tribe of people for whom long distance running is an essential aspect of their culture, their past and their future. And then he finds out what would happen if these untrained super-runners take on the best long distance runners in the developed world.
Here are some of my favourite sports books:
''Open'' by Andre Aggasi
Probably the best sports book I have ever read. Aggasi's account of his childhood with a domineering tennis-obsessed father has to be read to be believed. His upbringing left him a very troubled but unbelievably driven young man. His stories of the rivalries he developed with other big name pro's of the era are fascinating. His deep and sometimes dark desire to win in a sport he truly hated beyond words, drove him to ruin his body in his later playing years.
''A Rough Ride'' by Paul Kimmage
Paul Kimmage could probably be best described as a ''journeyman'' cyclist of the 1980's. Kimmage enjoyed very limited success on the pro circuit but his book details the extreme lengths that cyclists at the time were willing to go to in order to win. Later, as a journalist Kimmage was one of the first people to openly accuse Lance Armstrong of doping when the rest of the cycling world was too scared to say anything about it.
''Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen'' by Christopher McDougall
This book is a look at the niche sport of ultra-running, races run over mammoth distances, sometimes hundreds of miles over many days in the most extreme conditions on the planet.
McDougall explores the reason that make humans the greatest long distanc runners of all creatures on the planet and the reason why we as a spieces have pretty much forgotten how to really run.
His quest takes him deep into the Copper Canyons of mexico where he meets a tribe of people for whom long distance running is an essential aspect of their culture, their past and their future. And then he finds out what would happen if these untrained super-runners take on the best long distance runners in the developed world.
