Sport & Recreation

Ali Williams breaks the mould as an All Black tight forward. A confirmed urbanite, Ali Williams switched his Super 14 allegiances from Auckland to Christchurch in 2007 after a much-publicised bust-up with Australian coach David Nucifora. In this book Williams will take a light-hearted look at rugby at the very top in New Zealand and will touch on some of the more controversial aspects of his...

Around the world Sir Edmund Hillary is a legendary figure - climber, bold adventurer, practical philanthropist and one of the most widely respected persons of our time. He has survived extremes of human experience - from historic triumphs to crushing personal loss - but he sees himself as an ordinary man, persistent rather than heroic. This book focuses on the highlights of his life, including:...

James Bartholomew Bart Cummings AM, known to his legions of fans as the Cups King, is arguably Australia's greatest ever horse trainer. For over five decades he's been at the very top of his profession, yet the man himself remains a fascinating and intriguing mystery. Now, for the first time, he tells his extraordinary story. In Bart: My Life, he recounts his early years as his father's...

Dave Batista's story is that of a kid who could have gone either way; and it was wrestling that provided him with a way out and up. As a teenager he found himself in trouble with the law, later drifting from job to job until, while working as a bouncer, his temper got the better of him and he attacked two patrons who were giving his colleagues a hard time. It was this incident that made him...

Following on from his best-selling biography Rhythm and Swing this memoir recounts the last few years of Sir Richard Hadlee's cricketing career before describing the tumultuous period in his life that followed his retirement. He describes the way in which his life, once so successful and full of high achievement, was suddenly shattered as he experienced a debilitating heart attack that led to...

Dan Vettori took over from Stephen Fleming as New Zealand's one-day captain at the start of the 2007-08 season. It is hard to believe, though, that the 28-year-old has been on the international scene now for 11 seasons. The youngest man to play Test cricket for New Zealand, at the age of 18, he sits beside Richard Hadlee and Chris Cairns as New Zealanders to take 200 Test wickets and score 2000...

One of the world's greatest footballers finally tells his story in his own words Sometimes I think that my whole life is on film, that my whole life is in print. But it's not like that, there are things which are only in my heart - that no one knows. At last I have decided to tell everything Diego Armando Maradona needs little introduction. A poor boy from a Buenos Aires shanty-town, his genius...

William Pike, a 22-year-old school teacher from Auckland, came to the attention of the nation on 25 September 2007 when, while tramping on Mt Ruapehu, he was critically injured during a volcanic eruption. William was trapped inside the hut, surrounded by mud and rocks and in freezing temperatures, while his friend went for help. When the rescue team arrived he was suffering from such severe...

Voted the greatest English cricketer of the 20th century by the fans, Sir Ian Botham is the English game's one true living legend and his story both on and off the pitch reads like a Boy's Own rollercoaster ride. Born with a natural genius for the game, Botham began breaking records with bat and ball from a young age and soon became the man English cricket expected most from. After a troubled...

'Inga the Winger' - Va'aiga Tuigamala, one of the most imposing and explosive wingers New Zealand rugby ever produced - has decided to tell his full story for the first time. This is the fascinating, inspirational story of overcoming hardship, reaching the heights of All Black hero status and the debacle of the amateur/professional era, the excesses of UK rugby league, and finally of returning to...

If the quest for Mount Everest began as a grand imperial gesture, as redemption for an empire of explorers that had lost the race to the Poles, it ended as a mission of regeneration for a country and a people bled white by war. Of the twenty-six British climbers who, on three expeditions (1921-24), walked 400 miles off the map to find and assault the highest mountain on Earth, twenty had seen the...

In 1996, twenty-four-year-old Lance Armstrong was ranked number one cyclist in the world. But that October the Golden Boy of American cycling was sidelined by advanced testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs and brain. His chance for recovery was as low as twenty per cent. Armstrong embarked on the most aggressive form of chemotherapy available and underwent surgery. Armstrong returned to...

Since his tragically early death from cancer in 1995, John Britten has taken his place as a New Zealand hero. He and his dedicated team in Christchurch, designed and built from scratch the Britten V-twin motorcycle. For a time this machine was probably the fastest four-stroke bike in the world. It could wheel stand at 150 miles per hour simply by opening up the throttle. After five years of...

The first of two volumes celebrating New Zealand's champions on two wheels. More World Championships have been won by Kiwi motorcyclists than by competitors in any other sport in this country, with nine riders winning 35 World Championships. Others have come breathtakingly close, with four riders second in Moto GP, and victories in the Isle of Man, still the world's most demanding road race....

Steve Gurney is an exceptional athlete. He has been in 19 of the epic Coast to Coast races in a row, and he has won nine of them. He has represented New Zealand twice at the World Mountain Bike champs and has spent a lot of time adventure racing in far flung jungles, caves, mountains and deserts. Steve says people joke about his "Lucky legs" ..."lucky they don't snap off and poke...

Discover Sir Ranulph Twistelton-Wykham-Fiennes's personal expedition to trace his extraordinary family through the twists and turns of history. From Charlemagne -- himself a direct ancestor of the author -- to the count who very nearly persuaded William the Conqueror to retreat at Hastings, many members of this unique clan have lived close to the nerve centre of the ruler of their day. They...

A riveting account of the remorseless rise of Bernie Ecclestone, the international Formula One tycoon. Private, mysterious and some say sinister, 79 year-old Bernie Ecclestone criss-crosses the globe in his private jet mixing with celebrities, statesmen and sporting heroes. Ecclestone's success has not just been to create a multi-billion pound global business but to resist repeated attempts to...

He is one of the most beloved athletes in history and one of the most gifted men ever to step onto a tennis court - but from early childhood Andre Agassi hated the game. Coaxed to swing a racket while still in the crib, forced to hit hundreds of balls a day while still in grade school, Agassi resented the constant pressure even as he drove himself to become a prodigy, an inner conflict that would...

More of the wry, honest and often hilarious chronicles of Richard Hammond - TV presenter, adventurer and general drawer of the Short Straw. Continuing where AS YOU DO left off, OR IS THAT JUST ME?  focuses on just a few of the many hair-raising stunts, expeditions and encounters experienced by Richard Hammond over the last eventful year.

More of the wry, honest and often hilarious chronicles of Richard Hammond - TV presenter, adventurer and general drawer of the Short Straw. Continuing where AS YOU DO left off, OR IS THAT JUST ME?  focuses on just a few of the many hair-raising stunts, expeditions and encounters experienced by Richard Hammond over the last eventful year.

When it comes to Australian sporting icons, Peter Brock sits at the top. After winning Bathurst by an unbelievable six laps in 1979, the 'King of the Mountain' made his way into our households and our hearts. Brock's colourful private life has triggered plenty of rumours but the truth has remained obscure. Here, one of his closest friends, and co-driver, tells the real story. From his childhood...

Richie McCaw's standing within the All Blacks team is unmatched. The captain of Graham Henry's team since 2006, McCaw has carved a niche for himself as the modern-day great within the All Blacks - the charismatic, never-say-die leader whom fans of the Men in Black have come to hold in the same light as many of the most revered captains of yesteryear. Richie McCaw: A Tribute to a Modern-day Rugby...

Serena Williams has captured every major title in tennis. Her accomplishments have not been won without struggle. She has been derailed by injury, criticised for her unorthodox approach to tennis, and was devastated by the tragic shooting of her sister. In this compelling memoir, Serena looks at her extraordinary life and what is still to come.

Margaret Foster is one of New Zealand's best-known netball coaches and one of the game's most insightful analysts. She has also just completed a course of chemotherapy for her second round of cancer. Making a Difference tells the story of Margaret's fight to survive cancer. Beginning with her first diagnosis of breast cancer in 2006, through to her joy at being given the all clear and then the...

Sir Peter Blake was perhaps the greatest competitive yachtsman of all time ? the man who seized the America's Cup and won the Whitbread. In his later years he turned away from international competition and used the yacht Seamaster to draw attention to the threats to the world's environment. It was in pursuit of this cause that Blake was tragically murdered in 2001 at the mouth of the Amazon while...

What sort of person offers up their couch to complete strangers? And how can said strangers be sure that the owner of that couch is not an axe-wielding psychopath? Intrigued by this fast-growing phenomenon, Brian Thacker set out on a couch-surfing tour of the globe to discover how and why dossing on someone's lounge room floor has become the latest, hippest way to travel. Join Brian as he travels...

An account of the ascent of the 21,000ft Siula Grande peak in the Peruvian Andes. Joe Simpson and his climbing partner, Simon Yates, had achieved the summit before the first disaster struck. What happened and how they dealt with the psychological traumas that resulted is the subject of this book.

In 1982, having sold his jazz bar to devote himself to writing, Murakami began running to keep fit. A year later, he'd completed a solo course from Athens to Marathon, and now, after dozens of such races, not to mention triathlons and a slew of critically acclaimed books, he reflects upon the influence the sport has had on his life and on his writing. Equal parts travelogue, training log, and...

Valentino Rossi is the greatest living motorcyclist. His legions of fans adore him (over 4,000 turned up to see him in Leicester Square last March). He has fought through the 125 and 250 class groups to win the World Championships five times and has been ranked in the top three places at the World Championships for the last nine years. He is currently the MotoGP World Champion, and has won on a...

Barbara Kendall will go to her fifth Olympics this year. She's 40 and it's incredible that she's still competing, let alone winning, when most of her competitors are in their 20s. It's a harsh environment, and a gruelling physical challenge. Her years of experience in racing, tactics, knowledge about wind and tide conditions, equipment and board handling skills play a big part in her success. But...