100 books like The Death of Marco Pantani

A superb and gripping account of the hold that American Football has over a small town in the USA. In telling the story of a season, Bissinger captures the glory, tragedy, and futility of sport, and its connection to racial politics, ambition, local rivalries, and a passionate fan base. Led to a brilliant TV series. Elegiac and path-breaking.

This is a book about cricket, one of the enduring passions of my life.

Specifically it is about West Indian cricket and life in the author’s home of Trinidad. James was a Marxist intellectual, which is unusual for a cricketer. He writes eloquently and insightfully about cricket and some of its leading characters of 80 years ago. He writes about class and colour in both the Caribbean and England, where he played and reported on cricket for newspapers.

My interest has also been in the British Empire and its impact. The overriding impression this book left with me was the “Britishness” of the people of Trinidad; how much the people had imbibed it. So when many immigrated to Britain in the 1950s it felt like they were going ‘home’, only for many to be ostracised.

A maestro. David Goldblatt is the king of football historians. His books are crazy in their scope and brilliant in their execution. The age of football ranges across politics, history, culture in an account that is comprehensive, terrifying, and exhilarating in equal measure. Essential reading to understand the world we live in today. Always within reach on my desk.

How do you explain a football-mad country? Which has produced the greatest players, the most extraordinary teams, and a whole way of playing the game itself. Bellos dives deep into the Brazilian passion for football, ranging far and wide in an engaging style that is open to all experiences and tells us more about Brazil than many dry, academic studies ever could. I would never have written my own book if I hadn’t read this.

Gino Bartali was a world-famous champion cyclist from Italy. But the world only learned many years later that he was also secretly working for the Italian resistance during WWII to help save the lives of hundreds of Jewish men, women, and children. He acted as a courier, delivering crucial identity papers and other documents that he had rolled up and hidden in the frame of his bike. Everybody recognized the champion and cheered him on as he raced by. They assumed he was in training. They had no idea that he was using his skills to help battle the enemy and save lives. 

This picture book pops with jaunty graphics and eye-catching illustrations that have a retro feel. The story is exciting and rich with detail.

Cycling is my passion and my nemesis. The pain that top cyclists must experience is beyond my comprehension. What drives them to succeed and what drives them to drugs is so remarkably explained in this book by David Millar. This is such a frank and honest autobiography; David Millar recounts the story from the inside, "I doped for money and glory in order to guarantee the continuation of my status." Many years on from his arrest, Millar is clean and reflective and holds nothing back in this account of his dark years. And Millar is now a commentator each year on the Tour de France and his knowledge not only of cycling but also of France and his attention to the details of what is happening is remarkable. This quality of truth and awareness shines through and ultimately has been his saviour. This is a chance to read how this… show more.

I love reading and learning about great achievements by amazing people. Major Taylor was one of these people whose life story is an inspiration to us all. Plus, this story about his achievement as a cyclist is exciting for kids (and adults!) to experience! You can hear the crowd roar as Major Taylor comes from behind to soar across the finish line and win!

Dervla Murphy (1931-2022) was queen of the road when I started out. I learnt a lot from her.

Visiting Rwanda is probably my top pick among her many travelogues but her best book by far, in my opinion, is the autobiographical Wheels within Wheels. "I had been brought up to understand," Murphy writes, "that material possessions and physical comfort should never be confused with success, achievement and security."

I had been brought up to understand the opposite, and this book showed me, as I tackled a travel memoir of my own, that like Murphy I must take those crucial lessons as a starting point. 

I did a short promotional book tour with Max and was enthralled by his descriptions of road cycling’s obsession with the mountains.

I read his book subsequently and was equally captivated, particularly by his travels in remote areas of the southern French Alps and on Bonette-Restefond pass, the highest road pass in Europe.

For me, cycling has meant freedom. This book celebrates the bicycle as a tool for women’s emancipation. Microcosm Publishing has a strong track record (pun intended) in celebrating feminism, cycling, and the intersection of the two, and this is a particularly good example.

Set in a universe that seems to be just a jump away from our own, about a century and a half ago, it’s insightful on matters of class and wealth, too. I particularly enjoyed all the little details of fashion. I found myself rooting hard for the heroine in her struggle to ride a bike, not just competitively, but at all. And I was charmed by a love story I wasn’t expecting.