New York, 1923, the Argentine Luis Angel Firpo, called the Wild Bull of the Pampas, knocks out of the ring the American Jack Dempsey, heavyweight champion of the world. In Buenos Aires, the match is transmitted on the radio and Firpo proclaimed world champion. However, the referee does not count the time outside the ring. Dempsey comes back and knocks the challenger out. The Wild Bull of the Pampas will have been world champion for only 17 seconds. Trelew, Patagonia, 1973: to celebrate the...

Brutal and overwhelming, Confession wrestles with the legacy of Argentina’s past and the passions of one young girl.When Mirta López looks out the dining room window, she sees a slim, self-possessed older boy on his way back from school. It’s 1941 in provincial Argentina, and the sight has awakened in her the first uncertain, unnerving vibrations of desire. Naturally, she confesses. But she cannot stop herself.Over thirty years later, in 1977, that...

Tennis star Rafael Nadal reveals the secrets of the sport and the inspiring stories behind his success in this riveting memoir, written with award-winning journalist John Carlin.What makes a champion? What does it take to be the best in the world at your sport? Rafael Nadal has the answers.It begins in Mallorca, where the tight-knit Nadal family has lived for generations. Coached by his uncle Toni from the age of four and taught humility and respect by his ...

ROBERTO DURAN is a sporting legend. Often called the greatest boxer of all time, he held world titles at four different weights and is the only professional in history to have fought in five different decades. His bouts with fellow greats like Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns and Marvin Hagler have gone down in fistic folklore and his pro record of 104 wins, 69 by KO, in 120 fights puts him in an elite group of fighters. They called him Manos de Piedra: “Hands of Stone”.American jo...

It's summer 1995 and Dan Willis is living in Santander, northern Spain, trying to get his life back on track, when he gets an unexpected call from an old school friend and Gulf War veteran, Billy Wyatt, who wants to visit him. Unbeknown to Billy, Dan invites two other school friends to join them. It's a decision that will change their lives forever.The Last Fiesta follows the friends' hedonistic journey through the stunning Basque country, up into the Picos de Europa and finally to Pamplon...

An enthralling story of a poor and gawky kid who mysteriously becomes the world's greatest goalkeeper — a seamless blend of magic realism and exhilarating soccer action."And you found it, this thing you were looking for?"It was darker now, and the city below Faustino's office was a jazzy dance of neon signs and traffic. The big man went to the window and looked down at it all, spreading his large hands on the glass. "No," he said. "It found me."When...

Fear and Loathing in La Liga is the definitive history of the greatest rivalry in world sport: FC Barcelona vs. Real Madrid.It's Messi vs. Ronaldo, Guardiola vs. Mourinho, the nation against the state, freedom fighters vs. Franco's fascists, plus majestic goals and mesmerizing skills.It's the best two teams on the planet going head-to-head. It's more than a game.It's a war. It's El Clásico.Only, it's not quite that simple. Spanish soccer exp...

Granted unprecedented access to travel throughout the country, this lively travelogue presents us with rare insight into one of the world's only Communist countries."Havana knew me by my shoes," begins Tom Miller's lively and entertaining account of his sojourn for more than eight months traveling through Cuba, mixing with its literati and black marketers, its cane cutters and cigar rollers. Its best-known personalities and ordinary citizens talk to him about the U...

Pelé—legendary footballer and humanitarian—explores the sport’s recent history and shares his most inspiring experiences, heartwarming stories, and hard-won wisdom.“I know in my heart that soccer was good to me, and great to the world....I saw, time and again, how the sport improved countless millions of lives, both on and off the field. For me, at least, that’s why soccer matters.”The world’s most popular sport goes by many names—soccer, football,...

A young mother in Mexico City, captive to a past that both overwhelms and liberates her, and a house she cannot abandon nor fully occupy, writes a novel of her days as a translator living in New York.A young translator, adrift in Harlem, is desperate to translate and publish the works of Gilberto Owen, an obscure Mexican poet who lived in Harlem during the 1920s, and whose ghostly presence haunts her in the city’s subways. And Gilberto Owen, dying in Philadelphia i...

Real Madrid versus Barcelona is regarded by many as the most captivating fixture in world football. But it is not only the on-pitch battles that have forged their rivalry. From General Franco and bloody civil war to the Catalan city of Barcelona's lukewarm reaction to Spain's recent World Cup and European Championship triumphs, bitterness is never far from the surface.In El Clásico, Richard Fitzpatrick charts the key political and historical flashpoints between the two clu...

A new and updated edition of bestselling author Alex Bellos's classic book on soccer, unforgettably capturing the game at the heart of the Brazilian national identity.Since the 1950s, when Pelé first started playing, soccer has been how the world sees Brazil, but it is also how Brazilians see themselves. The essence of their game is one in which prodigious individual skills outshine team tactics, where dribbles and delicate flicks are preferred over physical challe...