Sports is a space where one can learn about struggles, dreams, fights and the ultimate victory in the face of crushing tragedies. So, in a way, sports has provided several people in all the different generations to have an inspirational story that they can clutch to whenever they feel like the world is crushing them down and putting their lives into the daily grinder that shreds their dreams. Books on sports are therefore a must read for all sports lovers and enthusiasts to not only get more knowledge and anecdotes from their favourite teams and players but also to read through all sorts of fictional sports short stories and novels that give you much to dream about and apply to your daily life as well.
With the raging Covid-19 pandemic, maybe looking at these books on sports will also serve to lower your stress levels, give the sports lover in you something amazing to do as well as go ahead and grab the latest book written by the same author.
The following is a list, prepared in conjunction with Meta.reviews, of the best books on sports that you must read at least once in your life:
- Football Against The Enemy by Simon Kuper: Simon Kuper has written one of the best nouveau or new age football travelogues that you can ever have invested your time, energy or money in. Written in 1964 by the Financial Time columnist, this unique travelogue is a memoir-like book on sports that provides you with all the different and remarkably good anecdotes on how football has affected countries all around the globe. Kuper deals masterfully with all the various different stories that he collected from all over the world which range from quirky to sometimes funny to tragic- all having to do with football and its effects on countries, society and politics;
- Touching The Void by Joe Simpson: Written in 1988, this is a gritty tale of survival and perseverance in the world of climbing. This book on sports deals with the almost fatal assault that befell Simon Yates and Joe Simpson in Siula Grande, Peru where they went on a rock climbing expedition. Simpson had to be cut off if they both wanted to survive but he somehow, by a massive stroke of luck survived but that led to Simpson being alone in a crevasse with a completely shattered leg. But, they did escape and this is the story of that miraculous escape and the reason behind rock climbing in the first place.
So, now that you have been privy to two of the best titles dealing with the world of sports, what are you waiting for? Go ahead and try to get a copy of these two, actually one by one, if possible, and then read them on your lazy afternoons or before bed. Some other top books on sports that you could read include titles such as Addicted by Tony Adams, Paper Lion by George Plimpton, Pocket Money by Gordon Burn and so on.
