In recent years the modern world has developed a brave new concept: 'soft power'. It is the power of friendly persuasion rather than command, and it invites nations to compete (as they did in the nineteenth century) to expand their 'sphere of influence' as brands in a global marketplace.In Bloody Foreigners and The Last Wolf, Robert Winder explored the way Britain was shaped first by migration, and then by hidden geographical factors. Now, in Soft Power h...

Set against the backdrop of depression-era politics, 1934 was an annus mirabilis for English sport. Within just a few days of each other, Hedley Verity, Henry Cotton and Fred Perry all triumphed in their field. To a sporting audience still groaning through the quagmire left by the Great Depression, greedy for inspiring distractions, these heroic events made for a heady spectacle.England's Ashes Test victory at Lord's (later known as Verity's match) saw Australia seeking re...

John Wisden, at his peak known as 'The Little Wonder', was a key member of the England cricket team who in 1859 sailed across the Atlantic on the world's first overseas cricket tour. In 1864, after his retirement, Wisden published the first edition of the book that would make his name immortal. He printed 'full and accurate scores' along with indispensable facts about the Derby, the St Leger, the university rowing matches 'and other Interesting Information', including potted histories of t...

In the spring of 1613 Mr William Shakespeare, a gentleman farmer in Warwickshire, returns to London. It is a ceremonial visit; he has no further theatrical ambitions. But the city is still reeling from the terrorist panic of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, and fate soon forces him to take up his pen again. It was never possible to write about Henry VII while his granddaughter Elizabeth was Queen, but now he must. It is a perilous enterprise: King James I's spies are everywhere.There is...

In recent years the modern world has developed a brave new concept: 'soft power'. It is the power of friendly persuasion rather than command, and it invites nations to compete (as they did in the nineteenth century) to expand their 'sphere of influence' as brands in a global marketplace.In Bloody Foreigners and The Last Wolf, Robert Winder explored the way Britain was shaped first by migration, and then by hidden geographical factors. Now, in Soft Power h...

Peppered with bouncers, expletives, and even the odd diplomatic incident, this is a rip-roaring journey through over a century of Ashes history.For a list of every Ashes century and five-wicket haul, try Wisden, but if you want to know which England batsman was a martyr to syphilis and which Australian fast bowler reckoned the Queen had 'nice legs for an old Sheila', then read on...Stiff Upper Lips and Baggy Green Caps exposes the seamy side of Ashes cricket. It gives the i...

Are you a football fan? Do you attend as many matches as you can? Have you visited any of the many famous football grounds? Can you name the home grounds of all the UK’s best-loved teams and more besides? If you think you know which team plays where, you are certain to enjoy this quiz book.With 250 questions all about English, Scottish and Welsh Football Grounds, you will need to be quick off the mark to answer some of these brain teasers? What non-League club is moving into the Moston Com...

In 1961, when Don Revie became manager of Leeds United, they were a struggling Second Division club. By 1974 they had won two League Championships, the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (twice), the FA Cup and the League Cup; players like Jack Charlton and Billy Bremner were household names.Yet this was a team that inspired neither admiration nor grudging respect, but rather a deep and visceral loathing – matched only by the bellicose devotion of their own supporters. The undeniable artistry ...

A Brief look at Celtic's 1967-68 season. It is part of the JMD Classic Season series. In May 1967 Celtic were the undisputed champions of Europe. But could they maintain their position? The answer looked like a resounding 'no" after an early failure in next season's European Cup and an ill-fated trip to South America. Even in Scotland, their position seemed to be tottering badly in January 1968. Could they fight back?This ebook supplies the answers.

Television and sport is the ultimate marriage of convenience. The two circled each other warily for a while - sport anxious the sofa-bound might spurn the live product, TV reluctant in a limited channel world to hand over too much screen time to flannelled fools and muddied oafs.But they got together, and stayed together, for the sake of the money, and now you cannot imagine one without the other. They are indivisible, like an old couple sitting in a teashop finishing each other's ...

Jonathan “Aggers” Agnew, England’s voice of cricket, showcases some of the very best writings on the noble game, from the 1930s to the present day.In this wide-ranging and beautifully-produced anthology, Test Match Special’s Jonathan ‘Aggers’ Agnew, chooses a wide variety of writings on the sport that has consumed his life, from the 1932/33 Ashes (Bodyline) series right up to the present day. In a series of carefully considered, thematically organised reflections, he examines the i...

The rise of Celtic's Bobby Murdoch mirrored his club's emergence in the Sixties. With Murdoch in midfield, the Hoops became one of the most formidable teams in British football history - winning an unprecedented 9 Scottish titles in a row, 5 Scottish Cups, 5 Scottish League Cups to add to their immortal triumph in Lisbon in 1967.