Books for Sports Fans
Summer Nonfiction Reads for Game Day Heroes
Summer is the perfect season for leveling up—whether that’s pushing your physical limits, chasing adrenaline, or cheering from the sidelines. At Bookfinity, we’ve curated a reading list that celebrates your competitive spirit with books for sports fans, health and fitness enthusiasts, and lovers of outdoor adventure.
These nonfiction reads go beyond the final score. You’ll find inspiring athlete memoirs, behind-the-scenes sports stories, training guides, and explorations of nature and endurance. It’s a winning lineup tailor-made for Game Day Hero Reader Types who crave stories of resilience, drive, and the thrill of the game.
So grab your water bottle and your favorite sun hat—because this summer, your next great read is just one play away.
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Boxing and Martial Arts
- Football
- Golf
- Health and Fitness
- Soccer
- Tennis
- Outdoor Sports
Baseball
The Last Manager: How Earl Weaver Tricked, Tormented, and Reinvented Baseball
by John W Miller
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
The first major biography of legendary Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver--who has been described as "the Copernicus of baseball" and "the grandfather of the modern game"--The Last Manager is a wild, thrilling, and hilarious ride with baseball's most underappreciated genius, and one of its greatest characters.
Long before the Moneyball Era, the Earl of Baltimore reigned over baseball. History's feistiest and most colorful manager, Earl Weaver transformed the sport by collecting and analyzing data in visionary ways, ultimately winning more games than anybody else during his time running the Orioles from 1968 to 1982.
Talking Baseball with Major League Stars
by Wayne Stewart
Talking Baseball with Major League Stars explores a wide range of entertaining, timely, and illuminating topics about Major League Baseball-including cheating, intimidation, racism, and the players' biggest fears--through the words of the ballplayer themselves.
Basketball
Uncommon Favor: Basketball, North Philly, My Mother, and the Life Lessons I Learned from All Three
by Dawn Staley
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
For the first time, Dawn Staley shares powerful and inspiring stories that have shaped her journey on and off the court.
A three-time Olympic gold medalist, six-time WNBA All-Star, and the first person to win the Naismith College Player of the Year award as both a player and coach, Staley has shattered expectations at every level of the game. While her name resonates with both longtime WNBA fans and newcomers, she has kept her personal life private.
Uncommon Favor reveals the journey that led to Staley's success, including the challenges she faced.
Ant: The Incredible Journey of NBA Rising Star Anthony Edwards
by Chris Hine
The first in-depth look at the Minnesota Timberwolves rising star, from his backstory to his mindset, and the relationships that fueled his drive to greatness.
From his jaw-dropping dunks to his charismatic personality, Anthony Edwards draws comparisons to the greatest shooting guards of all time like Kobe and Jordan. A portrait in the education of a budding NBA superstar, Ant chronicles Edward's meteoric rise. The number-one pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, a two-time All-Star, Edwards has, in just a few seasons, become a household name and the face of the Minnesota Timberwolves. And he's only twenty-three years old.
On Her Game: Caitlin Clark and the Revolution in Women's Sports
by Christine Brennan
A news-making and electrifying portrait of sports phenomenon Caitlin Clark, whose dramatic ascendance in college basketball and now in the WNBA has captured the attention of media and fans unlike any other female team-sport athlete in history--by award-winning USA TODAY columnist and television commentator Christine Brennan.
America has never seen an athlete quite like Caitlin Clark. Attracting record-shattering attendance and TV ratings, she has riveted the nation with her famous logo threes and thrilling passes and changed how fans across the country view women's sports. Drawing on dozens of extensive interviews and exclusive, behind-the-scenes reporting, veteran journalist Christine Brennan narrates Clark's rise--including the formative experiences that led to her scoring more points than any woman or man in major college basketball history--and delivers fascinating new details about Clark's Olympic snub by USA Basketball.
Boxing and Martial Arts
Bare Knuckle: Bobby Gunn, 73-0 Undefeated. a Dad. a Dream. a Fight Like You've Never Seen.
by Stayton Bonner
Father. Fighter. Champion. Outlaw.
Hailed as an "exhilarating debut" by Publishers Weekly, Bare Knuckle by former Rolling Stone editor Stayton Bonner (nominated for the Dan Jenkins Medal of Excellence in Sportswriting) takes readers into a previously unknown world: the underground circuit of illegal bare-knuckle fighting.
Bare Knuckle is the remarkable true tale of Bobby Gunn, the 73-0 undisputed champion of bare-knuckle boxing.
Baddest Man: The Making of Mike Tyson
by Mark Kriegel
From the acclaimed New York Times bestselling author.
On an evening that defined the "greed is good" 1980s, Donald Trump hosted a raft of celebrities and high rollers in a carnival town on the Jersey Shore to bask in the glow created by a twenty-one-year-old heavyweight champion. Mike Tyson knocked out Michael Spinks that night and in ninety-one frenzied seconds earned more than the annual payrolls of the Los Angeles Lakers' and Boston Celtics' players combined.
Football
Why We Love Football: A History in 100 Moments
by Joe Posnanski
INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER
A Kirkus Reviews Most Anticipated Book of the Fall
After his bestselling home run books Why We Love Baseball and The Baseball 100, Joe Posnanski turns from the national pastime to the number one sport in America. Why We Love Football is Posnanski's newest must-have deep dive into the archives and legends of the sport, and the result is a rousing tale of the 100 greatest moments in football lore.
Runs in the Family: An Incredible True Story of Football, Fatherhood, and Belonging
by Sarah Spain - Deland McCullough
A revelatory examination of the choices we make as parents and children, explored through the true story of an adopted Black man on a journey to find his biological family and discover where and to whom he truly belongs.
Runs in the Family follows the remarkable true story of Deland McCullough, a football coach and father of four whose life was forever changed by the unsealing of his adoption records. His hidden past harbored an astonishing secret.
In 1972, sixteen-year-old Carol Briggs gave birth to Jon Kenneth Briggs during a snowstorm in Pittsburgh and made the difficult decision to put him up for adoption, hoping he would land in a stable, two-parent household.
Brady vs. Belichick: The Dynasty Debate
by Gary Myers
A unique and unparalleled look into the nature and relationship of two of the pillars in the NFL's greatest dynasty.
The greatest dynasty in NFL history stood on two pillars - Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. Together they forged a working relationship that provided thrilling results that would change the NFL forever.
But what was the nature of that relationship? How did it function? How and when did it falter? How did these two figures come together on a national - and global - stage and create the most dominant team in NFL history? Was it driver and passenger? Mentor and mentee? Superstar and mad scientist? Phenom and tactician? Or were they equals? The Yin and Yang that made the New England Patriots championships possible?
GOLF
The Year of the Tiger: The Major Run That Made Tiger Woods
by Brody Miller
The inside story of legendary golfer Tiger Woods' magnificent run, when he won all four major tournaments in a single calendar year, becoming the greatest player of his generation--a show of unparalleled dominance in the sport with which he has become synonymous.
In the annals of golf, one achievement towers above all others--the Tiger Slam. A quarter century ago, between 2000 and 2001, Tiger Woods accomplished a feat so extraordinary, it may never be replicated.
Golf Wars: LIV and Golf's Bitter Battle for Power and Identity
by Iain Carter
Golf is at war. PGA vs. LIV. Establishment vs. upstart. This is the story of how golf was ripped apart.
The battle for the future of professional golf has been blazing. The Saudi-backed organization LIV Golf has struck at the very heart of the golfing establishment, setting up rival tournaments with enormous prize pots and pitting the game's most famous players against each other. Led by legend Greg Norman, it has enticed the likes of Sergio García, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Jon Rahm, parking its tanks on the manicured greens of the traditional game. Its tagline: Golf but louder.
With LIV now in its season and little sign of the struggle abating, BBC Golf Correspondent Iain Carter delivers the fascinating - and ongoing - account of a sporting upheaval.
Health and Fitness
The Price She Pays: Confronting the Hidden Mental Health Crisis in Women's Sports--From the Schoolyard to the Stadium
by Tiffany Brown - Katie Steele - Erin Strout
Two experts in mental health and sport lift the veil on the crisis in women's athletics, offering parents and coaches urgently needed advice and support and showing how female athletes can find joy in whatever sport they choose, at whatever level they compete.
No matter the sport, the message to girls and women is the same: Be aggressive, but not too aggressive. Win at all costs, but be polite while doing it. Get strong, but not too big. Female athletes have long been conditioned to perform under these standards, gracefully and without complaints.
The Athlete's Guide to Recovery: Rest, Relax, and Restore for Peak Performance
by Sage Rountree
An invaluable guide to help athletes maximize training gains by making the most of their recovery time.
Recovery--physical and mental--is a red-hot topic, and the worlds of sports, technology, and commerce have all taken note. But which practices and devices really make a difference in recovery, and which should be avoided? What will truly maximize performance?
In this second edition of The Athlete's Guide to Recovery, endurance and recovery coach Sage Rountree, PhD, explains exactly how to get the most out of training by optimizing recovery time.
SOCCER
The Striker and the Clock: On Being in the Game
by Georgia Cloepfil
An illuminating perspective on the life of an athlete and the pursuit of excellence outside the spotlight.
Georgia Cloepfil played professional soccer for six years, on six teams, in six countries. In those years, the sport became more than a game--it was an immersive yet transient way of life. In South Korea, she lived and practiced in an isolated island compound next to an airport. In Australia, she coached youth teams on the side to pay her rent. In Lithuania, she played in the European Champions League, to empty stadiums and little fanfare. She lived out of a single suitcase, chasing better opportunities and the euphoria of playing well.
Watford Forever: How Graham Taylor and Elton John Saved a Football Club, a Town and Each Other
by John Preston - Elton John
Nothing has brought English soccer more immediately into the American mainstream than Ted Lasso, which captivated the nation in thirty-four episodes over three seasons. But before there was Jason Sudeikis's lovable and, at first, hapless AFC Richmond, there was Watford Football Club, a team from the outskirts of London with barely enough fans to fill its stands--and which, in the mid-1970s, was languishing in 92nd place at the bottom of the last division of the English Football League.
TENNIS
The Warrior: Rafael Nadal and His Kingdom of Clay
by Christopher Clarey
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Master comes an intimate biography of tennis's enduring champion Rafael Nadal.
In The Warrior, Christopher Clarey illuminates the skill and determination it took to accomplish Rafael Nadal's most mind-blowing achievement: 14 French Open titles. Nadal has won big on tennis's many surfaces en route to btitles on grass and four U.S. Open titles on cushioned acrylic hardcourts. But clay, the slowest and grittiest of the game's playgrounds, is where it all comes together best for his tactical skills, whipping topspin forehand and gladiatorial mindset. Clay is to Rafael Nadal what water is to Michael Phelps, which helps explain one of the most impressive individual sports achievements of the 21st century.
The Tennis Court: A Journey to Discover the World's Greatest Tennis Courts
by Nick Pachelli
A fresh approach to a beloved sport, The Tennis Court is a photographic journey of the 200 most breathtaking tennis courts around the world.
"Nick Pachelli takes us on court in every corner of the world with a sharp eye for what makes our game and the people who champion it so special."
--Billie Jean King, sports icon and equality advocate
Every one of the world's half a million tennis courts is, at its most basic, an identical blank canvas: a 78-foot by 36-foot rectangle, divided by a 3-foot-high net in its center, and marked with eleven straight lines. But add in the elements of surface, space, wind, acoustics, crowds, shadows, humidity, and even air density, and every tennis court is unique--a work of art. And some are masterpieces.
Nick Pachelli curates and profiles 200 of the world's most beautiful, iconic, significant, alluring, and idiosyncratic tennis courts from across the globe, each breathtakingly photographed.
Naomi Osaka: Her Journey to Finding Her Power and Her Voice
by Ben Rothenberg
A deeply reported, revealing biography of tennis phenomenon and activist Naomi Osaka, telling the untold story behind her Grand Slam-winning career, her headline-making advocacy for racial justice and mental health, and the challenges of a life in the international spotlight.
Naomi Osaka is everywhere, but how did she get there?
Most tennis fans were introduced to Naomi Osaka as they watched her win the 2018 US Open final in an unforgettably controversial and dramatic victory over her idol, Serena Williams.
Her extraordinary talent propelled her to the top of her sport and onto the front page of newspapers and magazines worldwide, but it was her unique blend of awe-striking power and disarming vulnerability that fascinated millions as she became a champion like none before her.
SWIMMING
Just Add Water: My Swimming Life
by Katie Ledecky
A New York Times bestselling memoir from Olympic gold medalist, world champion, and the most decorated US female Olympian in history: Katie Ledecky.
Katie Ledecky has won more individual Olympic races than any female swimmer in history. She is a four-time Olympian, a nine-time gold medalist, a twenty-one-time world champion, eight-time NCAA Champion, and a world record-holder in individual swimming events. At the 2024 Olympics in Paris, she became the most decorated US female Olympian of all time. Time and again, the question is posed to her family, her coaches, and to her--what makes her a champion? Now, for the first time, she shares what it takes to compete at an elite level.
OUTDOOR SPORTS
On a Rising Swell: Surf Stories from Florida's Space Coast
by Dan Reiter
A high-speed glide through Florida surf culture and a deep dive into the lore of a classic surfing destination.
Not far from where the Apollo 11 rocket launched to the moon, surfers make their way to the shore in the night. Clutching their surfboards, they chase a familiar dream: more speed, more altitude, and going beyond the limits of what has been done before. For that, they want to be the first ones to catch the early morning waves.
Grand Prix: An Illustrated History of Formula 1
by Will Buxton - Stefano Domenicali
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - A thrilling illustrated history of Formula 1 racing, from its fascinating origins and inner workings to the top drivers of the twentieth century and today, by a celebrated motorsports broadcaster and star of Formula 1: Drive to Survive
"A valuable and welcome addition to the library of any lifelong F1 fan, as well as for any curious individual new to the world of F1."--Mario Andretti
Over its seventy-plus years of history, Formula 1 racing has grown from a niche motorsport with just a few events per season into a global phenomenon followed by more than a billion fans. With just twenty drivers competing at speeds of over 220 miles per hour on more than twenty of the world's most glamorous and challenging racetracks, Formula 1 is the ultimate test of machine and humankind. To become a champion means to be counted among the most elite athletes the world has ever known.
The Believer: A Year in the Fly Fishing Life
by David Coggins
The author of the instant fishing classic The Optimist shares new wisdom, humor, and experience in seven extraordinary fly-fishing expeditions--"an engaging personal journey about finding what you need to find and keeping it in your heart" (Kirkus Reviews).
In The Optimist, David Coggins tackled the techniques of fly-fishing and meditated on its virtues, recounting his triumphs and failures. Now, in The Believer, he deftly mixes travel, local cultures, further fishing challenges (some knee-buckling in their disappointment), and details his own experience as life and love crowd his time to fish. Self-consciously--and self-deprecatingly--Coggins embarks on seven far-flung fishing voyages, away from screens and social media, not answering his phone, and reveling in humanity's undying yearning for a quest, for the rituals and rites of passage that mark transition.
The American Game: History and Hope in the Country of Lacrosse
by S L Price
From "the master of new journalism [who always] hits it over the fence" (New York Times) and "one of the finest writers on sports anywhere" (USA Today), the scintillating story of lacrosse--the game invented by the Haudenosaunee, played with more passion than any other, that stubbornly mirrors America's ongoing struggle with inclusivity
Nearly a millennium ago, Native Americans created lacrosse as a means of training warriors and settling disputes. Co-opted by whites in the late 1800s, played for a century largely at elite east coast colleges, over the past thirty years lacrosse has exploded around the world, becoming the fastest growing sport in the U.S. while exposing the fault lines of prejudice and privilege that continue to dog its image.
Lonesome for Wilderness: Tracking and Trailing in Forest, Desert, or Your Own Back Yard
by Linda Jo Hunter - Linda Jo Hunter
"A lovely book for nature lovers and for readers interested in wilderness exploration and tracking, filled with both reflection and timeless information."-Library Journal STARRED Review
No matter your age or abilities, Linda Jo Hunter's years of experience as a wilderness guide & teacher will help you enjoy the outdoors without fear, expand tracking and trailing skills, and rekindle the Wild in you!
Whether you're lacing up your sneakers or just love a good underdog story, these books for sports fans are a perfect match for your summer goals. From real-life athletic triumphs to adventures in the wild, this list fuels your passion for movement and motivation. Keep your competitive edge sharp—your Game Day Hero reading journey starts now.