Sports, Games & Hobbies
Last updated: December 18, 2023
The best books on Baseball, recommended by Joe Posnanski
The Sports Illustrated columnist says the best sports books tell human stories – and tells us why nostalgia is intrinsic to baseball
The best books on Baseball, recommended by John Thorn
John Thorn, the official historian for Major League Baseball, explains how America’s national pastime has been culturally transformative, even radicalising. He recommends the best books on baseball.
The best books on Rugby, recommended by Richard Beard
Rugby fanatic Richard Beard explains the difference between rugby league and rugby union – and says the aggression you need for the game doesn’t always translate well into life
The best books on Cricket, recommended by Daniel Norcross
What are the best books about cricket? In 2011 Test Match Special‘s Daniel Norcross gave an interview about his favourite books on cricket. At the time, he was running an irreverent, uncensored and partial cricket commentary service, Test Match Sofa.
The best books on Champions, recommended by Matthew Syed
Table tennis champion and author of Bounce: How Champions are Made, Matthew Syed believes that winning is partly the placebo effect of confidence.
The best books on Soccer as a Second Language, recommended by John Turnbull
When the World Cup comes around, many of us think of our national teams and their chances of winning. But the beauty of football is how international it is, and its ability to cut across borders. John Turnbull of the Global Game blog introduces us to football (or soccer) ‘as a second language.’
The best books on Horticulture, recommended by Andrea Wulf
The respected horticulturalist says if you plant an oak tree you know you’re never going to see it grow into maturity, but in planting it you are asserting your belief in the future and in future generations.
The best books on Sportsmanship and Cheating, recommended by Debanjan Chakrabarti
Debanjan Chakrabarti, head of the Intercultural Dialogue Programme of the British Council in India, says good sportsmanship is a 19th-century imperial construct. He walks us through five engaging books on sportsmanship and cheating.
The best books on Global Sport, recommended by Andrei Markovits
The Professor of Comparative Politics & German Studies at the University of Michigan and avid baseball, basketball, American football and ice-hockey fan gives us his views on Global Sport.
The best books on Computer Games, recommended by Tom Chatfield
Computer games aren’t just for teenage boys locked in their bedrooms says author and former Prospect senior editor Tom Chatfield – they are vital tools for social development. Here he selects five of the best books on the theory behind games, and the culture that grows up around them.