Offers an intriguing counterpoint

Entertaining and insightful

Gullit has all the skills. An even better player than Maradona

Ruud Gullit was the best player in the world. His sheer energy could create chances

He manages to convey the sense that football is really quite simple if you're a genius like him, but without actually being annoying. A rare talent

Few sports have retained the values of honesty, hard work and pride, which underpin its history, quite like rugby league. Rarely have those values been revealed with such clarity and candour as in the pages of Underdogs, a new book by Tony Hannan which focuses on what can be achieved when a sports club is at the heart of a community... Beautifully written and infused with dry humour, there is also an energetic and important debate on why rugby league has failed to attract an Asian audience, nor aligned itself with ethnic communities in areas populated with generations of immigrants. Mostly, however, Underdogs is an exploration of enduring working class culture with its extended family and a story of what can be achieved when a band of average but committed sportsmen take guardianship of their reputations. It is rugby in the raw and essential reading for anyone with a passing interest in why sport really matters.

Fantastic... It's as if I'm in Batley as I read it.

A tremendous book.

Tremendous insight.

Excellent read.

Hannan has never been afraid to voice his opinions on the game's hierarchy or the structure of RL, and his insight along with a cheeky sense of humour makes Underdogs a compelling read.

Editor's Choice: a beguiling blend of memoir, travel and nature writing.

A terrific and touching read. The January Man is a combination of natural and human history and somehow manages to be both light- and slightly heavy-hearted... amusing but almost mystical in places too, which is a pretty incredible feat to pull off.

Brilliantly descriptive of the British landscape and wildlife across the seasons, from fields to coasts, along lanes and byways, it is interwoven with stories of local people, traditions, customs and thoughts on history, culture and geography. Walker or armchair traveller, it’s a pleasure to read.
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Exquisitely written.

A thrilling read ... exquisitely poignant

The author's gaze is on the world around him, especially its natural history ... his skill at describing just what he sees is remarkable ... a very British account of a father-son relationship and more moving for its restraint and light touch.

This finely observed and evocative book is a celebration of the power of walking to discover emotional, as well as physical, landscapes.

A delightful, poetical hotchpotch of a book. It's part nature notes, part history lesson, as well as memoir and loving salute to his late father. . . Somerville is a great wordsmith.

Charming, evocative

Top 10 Books About Walking in Britain - The book tenderly blends memoir with descriptions of nature and the passing of the seasons.

Calvin is a natural storyteller who is unflinching as he goes behind the scenes and meets the people at the heart of the youth development network.

The book is an eye-opener into the pressures put on young players by clubs, coaches and parents; the corruption and conceit, bullying and harassment. Plus the lengths those clubs and their scouts go to, to recruit kids who have yet to reach secondary school.

Completes his formidable trilogy on the game with a blistering indictment of how it treats its youngest players

Outstanding

As the book unfurls, the march along the marches turns into a eulogy to his father, part memoir, part biography, always a love story. It also contains one of the most unflinching, moving descriptions of death I have read.

This beautifully written book is a haunting reflection of identity and our relationships with the people and places we love.

Stewart provides much food for thought about how we value our past history