From the history of rugby to the stars of soccer, surfing the big ones, cycling's greatest race or the rules of golf, there is a book for every sports lover.
All Black Magic
100 Years of New Zealand Test Rugby
By Bob Howitt and Diane Haworth
Harper Sports, $39.99
Reviewed by Wynne Gray
This was
the year when New Zealand wanted the World Cup to crown a centenary of test rugby. That did not occur, but the celebratory season has produced a number of worthy books on the national sport.
In this work, the authors have divided the game's history into decades and into that section picked their player, match, overseas player and team of the decade.
Those selections will create the most debate, such as the choice of the late Nicky Allen as the best first five-eighths in the decade starting from 1973.
He may have been the most gifted in that era, as the authors claim, but there will be many contrary arguments put up for contenders such as Doug Bruce, Wayne Smith or Duncan Robertson.
But that is the beauty of a different look at the country's national sport. There will always be another slant or a different take on the rich history of the sport.
* * *
Two Mighty Tribes
The Story of the All Blacks v the Wallabies
By Spiro Zavos and Gordon Bray.
Penguin Books, $34.95
New Zealand's centenary of test rugby began against the Wallabies. This book reproduces the highlights of those contests and seeks to identify the best players in that hundred years of transtasman matches.
The authors only manage to include two New Zealanders in their best composite backline - Jeff Wilson and Bob Scott - while John Eales is the only Wallaby in the pack.
As gifted as Wilson was during his All Black career it does seem strange he is picked as the best wing ahead of John Kirwan, Ron Jarden, Bryan Williams, Jonah Lomu, Stu Wilson, Grant Batty and others.
Still that is the beauty of getting to pen your own thoughts.
As the rivalry between the All Blacks and Wallabies has grown and produced some superb matches in the past 15 years, it has also yielded an expanding list of books.
This would not be near the top of the must-buy books but it is a worthy record of the observations of two journalists who have covered their favourite sport with unquenchable passion. - W.G.
* * *
Martin Johnson. The Autobiography.
Headline, £18.99
The cover says it all, with the England captain raising the Webb Ellis Cup to the crowd at the World Cup final.
All the hard graft, all the tight-five toil in the murky depths of international rugby had paid off.
That success is squeezed into just 20-odd pages at the tail of the book, publishing deadlines no doubt precluded any more detail about the victory that still has England dizzy.
In the rest of the book, Johnson goes through the traditional avenues, from his childhood days in the Midlands, his club career, international fortunes and his days with the Lions and England.
There is the interesting tale about his visit to New Zealand in 1989 when he answered a request from John Albert of the Tihoi club in King Country to come and play his rugby.
It led to appearances for the New Zealand Juniors and thoughts of a life here until homesickness for Leicester took the rugged young lock home and into a superb career with England.
As you would expect from a bloke who prefers being away from the limelight, this book is a safe, solid journey through Johnson's life. It is a peek at what makes him tick, but nothing too much, just like the cursory view of the World Cup victory.
- W.G.
* * *
My Side
David Beckham with Tom Watt
Collins Willow, $27.95
Reviewed by David Leggat
As if you don't already know everything you need to know about half of Britain's celebrity couple, here's another 373 pages on the life and times of England's soccer captain.
Up to date in that it takes in his heavily hyped transfer from Manchester United to Real Madrid.
If the topic interests you then this book will do nicely in the Christmas stocking.
Little known fact: his co-author is better know to oldtime East Enders watchers as the geeky Lofty. In real life he's a big Man U fan.
* * *
Scoring at Halftime
Adventures on and off the pitch.
By George Best with Martin Knight
Random House, £17.99
Best and books are old bedmates. Some have been moderately interesting. This is not, unless you are heavily into the "I went out with a model called Jackie once. She was great fun and we knocked about for a couple of months before going our separate ways. She later married ... " anecdote.
If you know the Best story inside out you'll know many of these yarns anyway. Given his most recent escapades abusing his donated liver, back on the bottle the Irishman with the twinkling toes is fast dropping out of fashion.
On the last page he admits he did not "score" in the dressing room at halftime as "where were Nobby, Alex, Paddy, Bobby, Denis, Shay and the others when this happened? Looking at the floor discreetly while washing the mud from their shins?
Quite. Very unfunny. - D.L.
* * *
Maverick's
By Matt Warshaw
Chronicle Books, $79.95
Reviewed by Grant Bradley
Summer's here and so are the surf books. The pick of a trio is Matt Warshaw's updated edition of Maverick's - the story of big-wave surfing.
Maverick's is a relatively recently discovered spot south of San Francisco where a bully of a wave rumbles in from the deep.
These murky waves with faces up to 50 feet high are generated by ocean storms in the North Pacific producing swells which travel hundreds of miles and eventually pitch up and smash down with tonnes of force on a rock shelf.
A "secret" spot ridden by a handful of surfers for 30 years before its discovery by the surfing media in 1992, it soon developed an irresistible lure for big-wave hunters that was to prove fatal.
Warshaw turns his broadly researched history of big-wave riding around a single event, the drowning of Mark Foo at Maverick's in 1994.
Foo, a veteran Hawaiian big-wave pro was tethered to a rock by his leg rope after a wipeout during his first session at Maverick's.
His last wave was just 15 feet - less than half the size of others he had ridden around the world - but with his death Foo and Maverick's passed in to big-wave legend.
Unlike the welcoming bathwater-warm seas off Hawaii the hardcore crew who surf Maverick's endure temperatures of just 10C.
Hawaii produces bigger waves - one of the largest on record a freak with a 70-foot face was ridden at Outside Log Cabins on the North Shore - but Maverick's has the most consistent in what is arguably the most hostile environment.
The book builds a picture of menace. Maverick's has freezing water, sheer cliffs, a cluster of vicious rocks and great white sharks lurking in the deep underwater canyons surrounding the break.
Warshaw pays homage to the waves but he has an understated admiration for the surfers - described by the hype merchants as the "men who ride mountains".
About 100 of the world's estimated five million surfers routinely ride 20-foot plus waves and they do it for different reasons. A $100,000 prize for the biggest filmed wave of the year is clearly motivation and the book explores extreme ego-drive and genetic attraction to maximum danger.
Soon after Foo's death two surfers in Hawaii drowned after being pushed under water by oversize waves until they simply ran out of breath.
Warshaw doesn't make a hero of any of them, not least Foo.
"Foo's death ... was a terrible shame and attributable to nothing more than dumb bad luck."
This book updates the first edition published in 2000. Since then the quest for the mythical 100-foot wave has intensified with surfers using increasingly sophisticated wave reports and better jetskis to chase them.
One of the many eye-popping photos shows an open ocean monster ridden on the Cortes Banks 160km off San Diego in 2001, estimated at 70 feet.
Maverick's should appeal to anyone interested in extreme sport or nature at its most furious. For some surfers it may provide inspiration for a big-wave hunt, for others a reminder of how much they enjoy their favourite comparatively placid local break over summer.
* * *
Blue Heaven
By Murray Walding
Hardie Grant Books $69.95
Blue Heaven traces the history of Australian surfing since the late 19th century. Striking are the parallels between the evolution of sport in Australia and this country, including visit of Hawaiian modern surf legend Duke Kahanamoku during World War I, strong early links to surf life-saving, the renegade culture and full-on commercialisation. The differences also shine through - better waves, a far bigger talent pool and a more joyous celebration of life at the beach. There's plenty in this book for any surfer planning a serious mission across the ditch. - G.B.
* * *
The Perfect Day
Edited by Sam George
Chronicle Books $59.95
The Perfect Day is an eclectic mix of good writing, superb pictures and some trippy poetry and art as well from Surfer magazine over the past 40 years.
In this country Surfer has been swamped over the past decade by brassier Australasian titles on magazine racks. For anyone unfamiliar with Surfer, this softcover book is a useful, if pricey, introduction to the magazine with an erudite pick and mix approach to history and trends. - G.B.
* * *
Do I Get a Drop?
An Illustrated Guide to the Rules of Stroke and Stableford Golf.
Tee-Time Publications, £6.95
For some, golf will always be a hit-and-miss exercise. For most who indulge in the sport, that is certainly their idea about the rules of this ancient game.
Most participants have a rudimentary idea about the laws but can be sketchy when asked for rulings on complex issues.
For example, a golfer asks for a free drop when his ball rolls into a huge hole made by kangaroos. His request is refused however because relief is given only from holes made by burrowing animals, reptiles and birds.
Those and many other questions are asked and answered in illustrated form in this book which tries to clarify the everyday questions golfers can confront in their sport.
The comic-style book claims to provide instant answers to any questions.
It certainly appears a more user-friendly browser than the stern official rulebooks.
- W.G.
* * *
Ricky Ponting's World Cup Diary
Ricky Ponting with Brian Murgatroyd
Harper Sports, $38.95
A rundown on this year's tournament in South Africa by Australia's winning captain. A day-by-day account of Australia's march to the title.
A very matey book where players are simply referred to by their nicknames. So learn who's called Dizzy (Jason Gillespie), Pigeon (Glenn McGrath), Bing (Brett Lee), Brute (manager Steve Bernard) and perhaps the oddest nickname in many a day - Jocko Chocolate Starship (physical performance manager Jock Campbell).
Not as classy as Steve Waugh's impressive tour diaries but the most interesting aspect is the insight into how Australia analyse their opponents.
New Zealand's team could do worse than nip into a bookshop and grab a copy. They would find out what Australia think of both them and Pakistan's players. New Zealand's bowlers take note: "Yousuf Youhana plants his front foot, walks across his stumps and can get caught on the crease, especially early in his innings. Hits in the air through gully/point".
And Chris Cairns will find that he is "a poor starter against hostile bowling; yorkers and slower full balls can work as he is right back in his crease." - D.L.
* * *
Bernie's Game
Inside the Formula One world of Bernie Ecclestone
By Terry Lovell
Penguin Group, $44.95
A detailed account of the boss of Formula One's rise to the top, street sharp working class boy makes very good.
For serious petrolheads. A solid account of a ruthless, hugely successful businessman's rise to becoming the most powerful figure in the game. - D.L.
* * *
Every Second Counts
Lance Armstrong with Sally Jenkins
Random House, $34.95
Reviewed by Terry Maddaford
Professional cyclists are up there with the toughest of all sportsmen. An often misunderstood breed. For them, one race, the Tour de France, stands above all, one of sports great contests.
This year, Lance Armstrong joined the exclusive club as a five-time winner of the great race.
But the challenge he faced, and beat, to take his place alongside the legends from the first 100 Tours, gets but a scant mention in his second book. Almost an afterthought.
Like his first book It's Not About the Bike, this is a detailed insight of his life off the bike and the joy of reaching the crucial five-year anniversary of being "clean" after being diagnosed with cancer.
Given the amount of time he devotes to other causes, it is amazing that Armstrong ever finds the time needed to prepare for the race which means so much.
The juggling act has taken its toll, including the break-up of his marriage. He was also subjected to ongoing scrutiny by French officials determined to brand him a drug cheat.
Somehow, Armstrong manages to beat the odds and find time to tell his tale which is an inspirational lesson to the thousands fighting cancer.
There is some cycling but no photographs in this personal insight into the often mysterious world of a sport many admire but rarely understand.
* * *
Tour de France
A Visual History of the world's greatest bicycle race
By James Startt
Chronicle Books, $59.95
Soft-cover book chronicling the key events in the 100 years of the great race.
Not a tome heavy with words, the beauty of this book is the visual appeal.
Superbly evocative photographs dating back to the earliest days of the tour capture the essence of the event.
The big names are there - Merckxx, Indurain, Hinault and co, with those of earlier generations such as Bottecchia, Bartoli, Coppi and Kubler.
Cleverly done in that the tales of the great rivalries, the key moments, are written in short chunks.
This book has appeal wider than to just the avid fan - you get a sense of the spirit of the event.
Drug abuse has rightly darkened cycling's image in the past 25 years but reserve some genuine admiration for those pioneers who had to push their bikes through the Pyrenees.
The pictures really do tell the story. - D.L.
* * *
Le Tour
A History of the Tour de France
Geoffrey Wheatcroft
Simon & Schuster, $63.95
If you are a serious Tour fan this could be for you.
Very wordy, done in chronological sections covering the 100 years of the Tour. A little once-over-lightly feel. Then again, you get that if you are trying to condense 100 years into 350 odd pages. - D.L.
* * *
Le Tour
A Century of the Tour de France
By Jeremy Whittle
Collins, $82.95
A pictorial coffee table book. Very light on words, with a short summary of each decade.
The real beauty is in the pictures, some of which are stunning.
Some are the same as in Startt's book, which you would expect. This differs in that it is hard cover and larger.
As good as its rival. Pop into a book shop and make your choice. - D.L.
From the history of rugby to the stars of soccer, surfing the big ones, cycling's greatest race or the rules of golf, there is a book for every sports lover.
All Black Magic
100 Years of New Zealand Test Rugby
By Bob Howitt and Diane Haworth
Harper Sports, $39.99
Reviewed by Wynne Gray
This was
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