Showing results for "Quest" in Sports

A hugely respected and revered figure across the world of rugby, and Irish sport in particular, Murray is leaving no stone unturned as he describes the ups and downs, the mental and physical challenges and the fun he had during a rugby career that will forever be regarded as competitive and captivating.

In the 1970s the US military believed they could create a ‘super soldier’ - one who could use psychic powers to walk through walls, disarm the enemy through telepathy or kill a goat by staring at it. The brain behind these techniques was Michael Murphy, one of the founders of New Age spiritualism in the hippy enclaves of San Francisco. But Murphy’s primary goal was to use these powers in sport to create a supreme athlete capable of extraordinary feats.

From being the most dominant club in Scottish football history, Rangers FC was sold to Craig Whyte in 2011...for £1. Although touted as Rangers’ saviour, he was soon hung out to dry as the fall guy for Rangers’ misery as the unthinkable happened. The club was plunged into liquidation and the club suffered the indignity of demotion to the lowest echelon of Scottish football. The demise of Rangers saw Whyte’s reputation eviscerated on the pages of every newspaper, his name vilified on radio shows, TV programmes and blogs. In 2012, he was arrested and accused of fraud.

The weird, wacky and wonderful betting exploits of an unconventional gambler who takes the biggest risk of his life to give up his day job and try to make a living on chance. The Gambler reveals the highs and lows, the joy and despair, and the sheer lunacy of someone willing to risk it all on the most outlandish outcomes, from betting on the winner of Eurovision and Strictly to whether a pair of pandas might mate.

Alongside Sir Matt Busby and Sir Alex Ferguson, nobody in the long history of Manchester United is as important as Jimmy Murphy. As legendary Manchester United manager Busby lay in an oxygen tent in his hospital bed, recovering from the horror of the Munich plane crash, he clutched the friend of his close friend and faithful right-hand-man Murphy. Murphy stepped into Busby’s shoes and answered United’s call in their hour of need. More than that, he provided the spark which would see a phoenix spectacularly rise from the flames.

Eight is Paul Gascoigne’s legacy—the audiobook which will define Paul, the man the world knows as simply Gazza. Once described as the most gifted English footballer of all time, Paul looks back on his meteoric journey to the pinnacle of the globe’s most popular sport, the struggles he has faced and his battle to rise up once again.

Why do people race in Ironmans? Only a person whose good sense was severely impaired would decide to do a race marked by such agony and suffering - a race that makes no sense to normal people. Russell Newell would find out when he signed up for the second oldest Ironman in the country: Lake Placid, in the idyllic Upstate New York village nestled in the Adirondacks. Russell would then question his sanity and test his resolve as he attempted to finish the 2018 Ironman Lake Placid...despite almost drowning, crashing on his bike, and more.

The world’s biggest football club comes under scrutiny like no other sporting institution on earth. Yet how did Manchester United become the global behemoth it is? And how and why did Matt Busby take the club to the summit of the game—and build an empire that lasted for decades? Football, Taught By Matt Busby delves into the DNA of Manchester United, the world’s most famous football club, exploring the identity and philosophy of the team from its beginnings in Newton Heath to its global prominence today.

Nobody does offbeat like Ian Holloway–known to one and all in football as ‘Ollie’. He has been dubbed as ‘inspirational’ by those who played for him, a ‘genius’ by those who owned the clubs he managed and made huge profits for, and a loveable rogue by football fans in general. Now, he turns that wisdom, passion for the game–and occasional feistiness–into a reflection of football that only he could provide.

Written with his trademark warmth and candour, The Nation Holds Its Breath is George Hamilton's eagerly awaited and wonderfully told journey through a rich and varied career in broadcasting. As the undisputed voice of Irish football, George's evocative and celebrated commentary is familiar to millions. He has captured the highs and lows of Irish sport for generations of fans, ever since he first took up the microphone in the mid-seventies, and he has been enthralling his audiences ever since.

In a world where online scrutiny is more intense than ever, Elise’s story massively transcends sport. Having been bullied while growing up in Scotland, Christie first felt the full weight of online public opinion following three separate disqualifications at the 2014 Winter Olympics. Death threats followed amid a torrent of online hate whereby she was accused of having caused a rival South Korean medal hopeful to crash. Christie, aged just 24, retreated into a period of mental health support to assist her through extremely traumatic times.

Keith Earls started out in senior rugby as a teenage star and during the course of his long career has become one of the most admired and respected players of his generation. A British & Irish Lion at the age of 21, he is now closing in on his 34th birthday and still playing at the top of his game. A native of Limerick city, Earls grew up in one of its most socially disadvantaged housing estates. His natural sporting talent brought him into the privileged bastion of elite rugby union.

True Genius is the definitive family-backed account of his remarkable career published to coincide with what would have been his 75th birthday. The games, the goals, the glory. This is the untold story. Written by celebrated Manchester United author Wayne Barton, this biography goes into unparalleled depth to tell the complete story for the first time of how the lad from Cregagh, Northern Ireland, became the game's first superstar. Barton has trawled the archives and spoken to a host of former team-mates, managers, friends and close family to tell his story.

My Name'5 Doddie is a humbling, courageous and very funny celebration of a remarkable man. The extraordinary, life-affirming autobiography of Doddie Weir is an absolute must-listen – rugby fan or not. Rugby legend and MND campaigner Doddie Weir has always lived life to the full. On the pitch, Doddie's irresistible talent took him to the heart of every team he graced and brought him 61 caps for Scotland. He won fans all over the world with his sportsmanship, humour and boundless energy. Then, in June 2017, Doddie made the announcement that he had been diagnosed with MND.

Peter Reid is one of the most colourful characters to emerge from England over the last 50 years. As a player, he established himself as one of the leading midfielders of his era, being named PFA Player of the Year in 1985 and credited as the fourth best footballer in the world. He won numerous honours with Everton, including two league titles, one FA Cup and one European Cup Winners’ Cup. He also won 13 England caps, playing at the 1986 World Cup – where a date with destiny at the ‘hand’ of Diego Maradona would provide a lasting, painful memory.

Gary Speed’s tragic death on November 27th, 2011, rocked the football world. Aged just 42, he was found hanged in the garage of his home. As a long-standing legend of the game and manager of Wales, he appeared to have everything to live for. Now, as he would have approached his 50th birthday, family and friends come together to speak honestly and emotionally about the man they knew and loved. Wife Louise opens her heart for the first time and talks in depth about her life with Gary and her own personal journey since his death.

To achieve an Olympic gold is impressive; to be part of a couple doing this in the same sport is rare; to do it 10 times between you is unprecedented. Britain's most successful female and male Olympians give us the inside track on becoming a champion. Hear their take on how they became the best in the world while finding in each other the perfect partner.

Before agents and TV mega-rights ushered in multi-millionaire players, footballers’ wages were capped, with even the game's biggest names earning barely more than a plumber or electrician. Footballing legends shared a bond of borderline penury with the crowds they entertained on Saturday afternoons, on pitches that were far away from the pristine lawns of the modern era. Instead of the sports cars driven by today's top players, the stars of yesteryear travelled to matches on public transport and returned to homes as modest as those of their supporters.

Michael Owen's new autobiography will enable him to open up about his football life for the first time and set the record straight once and for all. It promises to make for an explosive listen and one of the most hotly anticipated football books of the year. The legendary striker published his first book, Off the Record, in 2004 but feels he didn't have a voice during his playing days, and now, six years after hanging up his boots, he can finally lift the lid on what really happened during his career.

As the woman who trained the great Best Mate to win three consecutive Cheltenham Gold Cups, no one could be better qualified than Henrietta Knight to discover what makes today's top jumps trainers succeed. From eccentric, outspoken Yorkshireman Mick Easterby to elegant, aristocratic Venetia Williams; from Irish wizard Willie Mullins to perfectionist champion trainer Paul Nicholls and young pretender Dan Skelton, here is a dazzling cast of extraordinary characters, all with their quirks and foibles but with one single-minded ambition - finding first-class horses and training them.