Best Sports Books – Books to Inspire and Help in Becoming a Better Athlete
Every year, new athletes push the boundaries of their sport further, and there is no shortage of books about them.
Some of the best sports books are autobiographies of renowned athletes, such as Andre Agassi’s Open. They show what it takes to perform at your peak every week, and the personal challenges behind the professional ones. Others are about the statistics and mathematics behind sports, from using math to pick baseball teams to what a player’s numbers mean for a team. And historical sports books tell the stories of past athletes and teams, where sports came from and how fan culture developed.
Whether you are a fan or just curious, here are the titles.
Best Sports Books
Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike
by Phil Knight
As a general rule, most new memoirs are mediocre and most business memoirs are even worse. Shoe Dog by Phil Knight is an exception to that rule in every way and as a result, was one of my favorite books of the year and favorite business books ever. I started reading it while on the runway of a flight and figured I’d read a few pages before opening my laptop and working. Instead, my laptop stayed in my bag during the flight and I read almost the entire book in one extended sitting. Ostensibly the memoir of the founder of Nike, it’s really the story of a lost kid trying to find meaning in his life and it ends with him creating a multi-billion dollar company that changes sports forever. I’m not sure if Knight used a ghostwriter (the acknowledgements are unclear) but his personal touches are all over the book—and the book itself is deeply personal and authentic. The afterward is an incredibly moving reflection of a man looking back on his life. I loved this book. It ends just as Nike is starting to turn into the behemoth it would become, so I hold out hope that there may be more books to follow.
Founder/Brass Check
Open: An Autobiography
by Andre Agassi
I don’t read “business books”. I may read books which were classified as “Business”, “Leadership”, etc; but, if I do, I do so in spite of the category they’ve been deemed to belong to, not because of it.
I generally split books into three main categories. Here are the titles –sorry, but I simply can’t pick just one– that currently hold the top spots in each:
[...]
Biography/Memoir: Andre Agassi’s and J. R. Moehringer’s “Open“; Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Eat, Pray, Love“; and Salman Rushdie’s “Joseph Anton“.
Founder/Readable
The Talent Code: Greatness Isn’t Born. It’s Grown. Here’s How.
by Daniel Coyle
Great reading. The Talent Code, by Daniel Coyle. Forget genes! Greatness isn't born, it's grown - the hard way.
CEO/News Corporation
Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Facts
by Annie Duke
Brilliant. Buy ten copies and give one to everyone you work with. It's that good.
Author & Entrepreneur
The Score Takes Care of Itself: My Philosophy of Leadership
by Bill Walsh, Steve Jamison, Craig Walsh
In 2014, I read The Education of a Coach, a book about Bill Belichick which influenced me immensely (coincidentally, the Patriots have also read my book and were influenced by it). Anyway, I have been chasing that high ever since. Bill Walsh’s book certainly met that high standard. Out of all the books I read this year, I marked this one up the most. Even if you’ve never watched a down of football, you’ll get something out of this book. Walsh took the 49ers from the worst team in football to the Super Bowl in less than 3 years. How? Not with a grand vision or pure ambition, but with what he called the Standard of Performance. That is: How to practice. How to dress. How to hold the ball. Where to be on a play down the very inch. Which skills mattered for each position. How much effort to give. By upholding these standards—whatever they happen to be for your chosen craft—success will take care of itself.
Founder/Brass Check
The 4 Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat Loss, Incredible Sex and Becoming Superhuman
by Tim Ferriss
I get most of my information about nutrition from medical studies. I haven’t read any books about nutrition that I agree with 100%. These are a few nutrition related books that I’ve read recently that I thought were interesting: Eat to Live (Joel Fuhrman), Why We Get Fat (Gary Taubes), and The 4-Hour Body (Tim Ferriss).
Cardiologist & Founder/If We Were Family
Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds
David Goggins is a being of pure will and inspiration. Just listening to this guy talk makes you want to run up a mountain. I firmly believe people like him can change the course of the world just by inspiring us to push harder and dig deeper in everything we do. His goal to be 'uncommon amongst uncommon people' is something we can all use to propel ourselves to fulfill our true potential. I'm a better man having met him.
Podcaster/Joe Rogan Experience
A Fighter’s Heart: One Man’s Journey Through the World of Fighting
by Sam Sheridan
I read both of Sam Sheridan’s books A Fighter’s Heart and A Fighter’s Mind this year and they are both spectacular. Don’t be put off by the subject matter. They are good.
Founder/Brass Check
The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game
Recommended by Scott Keyes (Co-Founder/Scott's Cheap Flights)
Source: Interview with Scott Keyes
The Sports Gene
David Epstein's "The Sports Gene" made me decide to never tell a child that "if you really really want something, and you work really really hard, then you can achieve your dream" -- not when it comes to sports, at least.
Founder/Readable
Bounce: Mozart, Federer, Picasso, Beckham, and the Science of Success
by Matthew Syed
And while you are at it, throw in “Bounce” by Mathew Syed, who was the UK Ping Pong champion when he was younger.
I love any book where someone took their passion, documented it, and shared it with us. That’s when you can see the subtleties, the hard work, the luck, the talent, the skill, all come together to form a champion.
Heck, throw in, “An Astronaut’s Guide to Earth” by Commander Chris Hadfield.
Founder/StockPickr
The Captain Class: The Hidden Force That Creates the World’s Greatest Teams
by Sam Walker
A fascinating book about the one thing that the greatest sports teams in history have in common and the critical aspects of leadership they share.
Founder/Long-Term Stock Exchange
Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life
Recommended by Barack Obama (Former USA President)
Source: Every book Barack Obama has recommended during his presidency
Unstoppable: My Life So Far
Recommended by Irina Botnari (Managing Partner & Co-Founder/Bucur's Shelter Hostel)
Source: Irina Botnari, Co-Founder at Bucur's Shelter Hostel, on Books, Her Love for Stories and Biographies
The Education of a Coach
In 2014, I read The Education of a Coach, a book about Bill Belichick which influenced me immensely (coincidentally, the Patriots have also read my book and were influenced by it).
Media Strategist, Author, Founder/Brass Check
Body by Science: A Research Based Program for Strength Training, Body building, and Complete Fitness in 12 Minutes a Week
by John R. Little, Doug McGuff
I feel guilty for not having posted a review earlier: I owe a lot to this book. I figured out the value of intensity training and maximizing recovery. I use the ideas but with minor modifications (my own personal workout is entirely based on free weights and barbells, but I incur --and accept --a risk of injury). I have been applying the ideas for more than three years. Just get over the inhibitions (and illusions of control) and accept the idea of training less.
Gratitude.
Flaneur
Training Essentials for Ultrarunning: How to Train Smarter, Race Faster, and Maximize Your Ultramarathon Performance
by Jason Koop
Books that had biggest impact in 2017: when it comes to running, it's Jason Koop -Training Essentials for Ultrarunning, a book that completely changed my training approach.
Founder of Trail Runing Academy
Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
One book that immediately comes to mind is Nutrition And Physical Degeneration by Weston Price. Additionally, there have been a few books that have been instrumental in helping me figure out my role, purpose, and mission in life.
Founder/Learn Your Land
Good Calories, Bad Calories: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom on Diet, Weight Control, and Disease
by Gary Taubes
Gary Taubes is a true empiricist. I can't believe people hold on to the Platonicity of the thermodynamic theory of diet (calorie in = calorie out). Read it twice, once for the diet, once a a rich document in the history of science.
Flaneur
Levels of the Game
by John McPhee
We [Tim Ferriss and Stephen Dubner] both absolutely love Levels of the Game by John McPhee, an entire book about a single tennis match between Arthur Ashe and Clark Graebner in 1968. It's a short 162 pages and The New York Times gushed, "This may be the high point of American sports journalism". It's Stephen's most-gifted book for adults.
Author & Entrepreneur
The Fighter’s Mind: Inside the Mental Game
by Sam Sheridan
I read both of Sam Sheridan’s books A Fighter’s Heart and A Fighter’s Mind this year and they are both spectacular. Don’t be put off by the subject matter. They are good.
Founder/Brass Check
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game
Recommended by Scott Keyes (Co-Founder/Scott's Cheap Flights)
Source: Interview with Scott Keyes
Instant Replay: The Green Bay Diary of Jerry Kramer
by Gerald L. Kramer, Dick Schaap
I also consumed numerous sports memoirs, such as Jerry Kramer’s Instant Replay: The Green Bay Diary of Jerry Kramer and also the war memoir Guadalcanal Diary. From those I began to think about the relationships between character, work habits, teamwork, and success.
Founder/Marginal Revolution University
Becoming an Ironman: First Encounters with the Ultimate Endurance Event
Recommended by Mark Moses (Founder, CEO/CEO Coaching International)
Source: Interview with Mark Moses
Think Like a Grandmaster
From this book I realized you could think you understood a chess position, but then later learn you didn’t really understand it at all. A huge lesson, one I learned again and to a higher degree when high-quality chess computers came along. Most of the commentariat on economic and social affairs could use a reminder on this one. This book also taught me that you learn by doing — trying to solve actual problems — not so much from pure reading. Or the two in close conjunction. It may be the distortions of memory, but still I feel this is one of the best books I ever have read. Hail the Soviet training system!
Founder/Marginal Revolution University
Basic Chess Endings
by Reuben Fine
I wasn’t influenced so much by this book itself as by a long series of articles in Chess Life and Review, showing the analysis was full of holes. See my remarks on Kotov.
Founder/Marginal Revolution University
Tao Of Jeet Kune Do
by Bruce Lee
Recommended by Dan Lok (Serial Entrepreneur)
Source: Dan’s Book Shelf - What He Reads That You’ll Find Invaluable
Master Your Metabolism: The 3 Diet Secrets to Naturally Balancing Your Hormones for a Hot and Healthy Body!
by Jillian Michaels, Mariska van Aalst
I love this book, it taught me how to treat my body right by designing my diet and exercise. Once I learned how to master my own metabolism, my life has been so much more productive while staying healthy.
Founder/High5.ai
Sacred Hoops: Spiritual Lessons of a Hardwood Warrior
by Phil Jackson, Hugh Delehanty
Recommended by AnneMarie Schindler (Founder/Small Wins Consulting)
Source: AnneMarie Schindler, Founder of Small Wins Consulting, and the Books that Shaped Her Core Values
Training for Climbing – The Definitive Guide to Improving your Performance
The books that I am reading now are targeting the 3 categories of development mentioned before: personally, professionally and spiritually. The title describes everything that there is to say about them and from my experience the results so far from these books are amazing.
Founder/Transylvania Uncharted
The Case Against Sugar
by Gary Taubes
Not surprising but explicit description of the American psych on sugar and fat by the sugar industry. I would not have believed this much influence is possible.
Co-Founder/Sun Microsystem
Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think
Recommended by Noah Kagan (Founder/Sumo)
Eight Weeks to Optimum Health: A Proven Program for Taking Full Advantage of Your Body’s Natural Healing Power
by Andrew Weil
Dr. Weil is a Harvard educated doctor and then also has Eastern medicine experience as well. He talks about exercises you can do to decrease stress and improve your energy. At the end of 8 weeks you just feel amazing. Really great well rounded book. Love Dr. Weil and I reread this probably every couple of years.
Co-founder/Digg
Three Nights in August: Strategy, Heartbreak, and Joy Inside the Mind of a Manager
As a CEO, I have often thought about the balance of trusting data vs. gut in decision-making. I claim to be data-oriented, but in the moment, I often rely on my understanding of human nature. As I read about Tony La Russa’s maniacal focus on baseball’s mass of statistics, coupled with this nuanced understanding of his players and opponents, it was obvious that neither is enough on its own: The leader who truly understands the numbers will make the best gut decisions.
CEO/IAC’s Match Group
This Book Has Balls: Sports Rants from the MVP of Talking Trash
Just finished this on the plane. Hilarious. Reminds me of sports version of Joan Rivers book "I Hate Everyone....Starting With Me". Something is wrong with Michael Rapaport but that's what makes him right. Funny Fucking Book.
Radio Presenter/The Breakfast Club
Psych
Most people exist between the on and off switch. They are unable to turn on and put out high power, and they are unable to turn off completely and enjoy true rest. To learn how to control your on and off switch, read the book Psych by Dr. Judd Biasiotto. He is one of the most successful power lifters in history, having squatted over 600 pounds at a bodyweight of 132... drug free, at the age of 44, after back surgery.
CEO/StrongFirst
My Life and Battles
by Jack Johnson
This is the lost and translated book that came out of a series of pieces Johnson–perhaps the greatest boxer who ever lived–wrote for a French newspaper in 1911. It’s not very long but it is full of really interesting strategies and anecdotes. You get the sense that he was an incredibly intelligent and sensitive man–clearly had a thirst for drama and attention. Who knows what place he would occupy in our culture and history had he not been taken down so thoroughly by racism and genuinely evil people? But despite all that, he was always smiling. As Jack London put it after Johnson’s most famous fight: “No one understands him, this man who smiles. Well, the story of the fight is the story of a smile. If ever a man won by nothing more fatiguing than a smile, Johnson won today.”
Founder/Brass Check
Tiger Woods
by Jeff Benedict, Armen Keteyian
I was riveted (and appalled) by Tiger Woods and probably talked to more people about this book than anything else I read this year.
Media Strategist, Author, Founder/Brass Check
What They Don’t Teach You at Harvard Business School: Notes from a Street-smart Executive
Recommended by Christopher Lochhead (Host/Legends and Losers Podcast)
Rod Laver: An autobiography
by Rod Laver
Recommended by Yaro Starak (Founder/Entrepreneurs-Journey.com)
Ball Four
by Jim Bouton
Angels and Demons was my favorite Dan Brown page-turner, but Ball Four by Jim Bouton is definitely worth a read if you're a baseball fan.
Chief Side Hustler/Side Hustle Nation
Most recommended by leaders
The books from this collection and the Sports, Health & Outdoors category that the most leaders on The CEO Library recommend (two or more), ranked by the number of distinct recommenders.
1. Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight 20 recommenders
This memoir, by the co-founder of Nike, is a refreshingly honest reminder of what the path to business success really looks like: messy, precarious, and riddled with mistakes. I’ve met Knight a few times over the years. He’s super nice, but he’s also quiet and difficult to get to know. Here Knight opens up in a way few CEOs are willing to do. I don’t think Knight sets out to teach the reader anything. Instead, he accomplishes something better. He tells his story as honestly as he can. It’s an amazing tale.
2. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values by Robert M. Pirsig 8 recommenders
I think every entrepreneur or aspiring entrepreneur should read the book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. It was written in the 1970s by a guy named Robert Pirsig. It was his first book, it's kind of a hippie philosophy treatised journey. The word that sort of came out of it was Chautauqua, he's like having a conversation with his son as they do a motorcycle trip across the country, and it's just this incredible treatise on philosophy, product, quality, accomplishing what your goal is, against the backdrop of the narrator, the author, going crazy and having a psychotic break. And so it's this very powerful mix of accessible philosophy, combined with this pretty captivating journey in a book that, again, anybody who builds anything, there's so much in it that's so worth reading and just soaking in. But it's not what you'd expect, it's not a "here's how you do it", you have to read it slowly and think about it. So, it's one of my favorites.
3. Open: An Autobiography by Andre Agassi 7 recommenders
I’d heard so many good things about the book that I had to give it a read, and it didn’t disappoint. In fact, I’m typing this in a haze because I was up until 4am last night finishing it. It’s really good.
4. The Talent Code: Greatness Isn’t Born. It’s Grown. Here’s How. by Daniel Coyle 6 recommenders
Great reading. The Talent Code, by Daniel Coyle. Forget genes! Greatness isn't born, it's grown - the hard way.
5. Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Facts by Annie Duke 6 recommenders
I’m reading a great book, Thinking in Bets, by Annie Duke (highly recommend if you have not read it).
6. Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer 5 recommenders
First, a word on career paths. In time, I realised that career paths are like one-way streets. Magic happens in unexplored territories. Plus life is how you choose to live every moment, every day. So today, rather than building a career, I prefer to make lateral moves in life, working with great people and being part of ambitious projects impacting the world. There are a few books that got me here: [...] Jon Krakauer "Into Thin Air".
7. Super Human: The Bulletproof Plan to Age Backward and Maybe Even Live Forever by Dave Asprey 5 recommenders
Super Human is the tactical guide to longevity, anti-aging, and human optimization we’ve all been waiting for. No more guessing. This is your detailed plan for rebooting your health and living a longer, more vibrant life. A must read for anyone serious about how they feel and how long they live.
8. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown 5 recommenders
Nadella calls this tale with a local Seattle connection—it involves an underdog University of Washington crew team and the 1936 Berlin Olympics—”A wonderful illustration of the importance of teamwork, which was a core part of my focus out of the gate as CEO.
9. The Score Takes Care of Itself: My Philosophy of Leadership by Bill Walsh, Steve Jamison and Craig Walsh 4 recommenders
There is never a better time to do the hard things when things are going extremely well and that can be as an individual that can be as a team as well. “Number nine, never fall prey to the belief that getting to the top makes everything easy.” It doesn’t, it makes it harder. “Number 10, recognize that mastery is a process, not a destination.” That’s what Bill Walsh had to say. The book is The Score Takes Care of Itself, a fantastic, fantastic tome of lists and everything that he’s learned in managing some very, very hard and ego-driven people, football players through the most losing team in the world to winning four Super Bowls in a row, amazing turnaround that he did by building a team and focusing on those details.
10. Eat Fat, Get Thin: Why the Fat We Eat Is the Key to Sustained Weight Loss and Vibrant Health by Mark Hyman 3 recommenders
Sixty percent of the solid weight of your brain is fat. If someone calls you a fat head say thank you! Eat Fat, Get Thin is a smart, well-researched, delicious roadmap to help you get and stay healthy, reverse illness, and optimize your brain. I highly recommend it.
11. Lifespan: Why We Age―and Why We Don’t Have To by David A. Sinclair and Matthew D. LaPlante 3 recommenders
"Lifespan" is this terrific book about aging as a disease and the future and present of longevity treatments.
12. The 4 Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat Loss, Incredible Sex and Becoming Superhuman by Tim Ferriss 3 recommenders
I get most of my information about nutrition from medical studies. I haven’t read any books about nutrition that I agree with 100%. These are a few nutrition related books that I’ve read recently that I thought were interesting: Eat to Live (Joel Fuhrman), Why We Get Fat (Gary Taubes), and The 4-Hour Body (Tim Ferriss).
13. A Fighter’s Heart: One Man’s Journey Through the World of Fighting by Sam Sheridan 2 recommenders
But years ago I read a book that I really enjoyed, which is Sam Sheridan's book "A Fighter's Heart."
14. Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life by William Finnegan 2 recommenders
If you read books, read William Finnegan's Barbarian Days. It's one of those rare books that divide your life into two parts: before you read it, and after.
15. Bounce: Mozart, Federer, Picasso, Beckham, and the Science of Success by Matthew Syed 2 recommenders
And while you are at it, throw in “Bounce” by Mathew Syed, who was the UK Ping Pong champion when he was younger.
I love any book where someone took their passion, documented it, and shared it with us. That’s when you can see the subtleties, the hard work, the luck, the talent, the skill, all come together to form a champion.
Heck, throw in, “An Astronaut’s Guide to Earth” by Commander Chris Hadfield.
16. Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds by David Goggins 2 recommenders
David Goggins is a being of pure will and inspiration. Just listening to this guy talk makes you want to run up a mountain. I firmly believe people like him can change the course of the world just by inspiring us to push harder and dig deeper in everything we do. His goal to be 'uncommon amongst uncommon people' is something we can all use to propel ourselves to fulfill our true potential. I'm a better man having met him.
17. Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success by Phil Jackson 2 recommenders
Favorite business or leadership book in a long time.
18. H Is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald 2 recommenders
19. Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life’s Most Important Skill by Matthieu Ricard 2 recommenders
The author of this book has sometimes been called the "happiest man in the world". He is a French Biochemist turned Buddhist monk and has been in a unique position to merge science with mindfulness and meditation.
The underlying theme of the book is that happiness is indeed within our control, and is much more a skill than something that simply happens to us.
One of the biggest revelations for me in this book was the way that it linked happiness with altruism, asserting that there is an undeniable correlation and that helping others can provide a much more lasting satisfaction and happiness than pleasure activities such as watching a movie or enjoying a banana split. This was something I had intuitively when I got into helping early stage founders, and reading it in this book made me recommit to helping others as a way of life, which in turn makes me very happy.
20. The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis 2 recommenders
Lewis is the finest storyteller of our generation, and this is his best book. Supposedly about football (the title refers to the side of the field a quarterback is blind to), it’s actually an extraordinary story about love and redemption.
21. The Captain Class: The Hidden Force That Creates the World’s Greatest Teams by Sam Walker 2 recommenders
This was definitely the best business/leadership book I read this year. It proves that we have really missed what makes great teams and organizations work. It’s not star players, it’s not even how much they can spend–it’s whether they have great captains. Walker’s chapter on “carrying the water” had some great insights re: Ego is the Enemy and I think this incredibly well-written book should be studied by anyone trying to build a great organization (or trying to find a role for themselves inside one).
22. The Education of a Coach by David Halberstam 2 recommenders
In 2014, I read The Education of a Coach, a book about Bill Belichick which influenced me immensely (coincidentally, the Patriots have also read my book and were influenced by it).
23. The Headspace Guide to Meditation and Mindfulness: How Mindfulness Can Change Your Life in Ten Minutes a Day by Andy Puddicombe 2 recommenders
I’m sure 25-year-old me would scoff at this one, but Melinda and I have gotten really into meditation lately. The book starts with Puddicombe’s personal journey from a university student to a Buddhist monk and then becomes an entertaining explainer on how to meditate. If you’re thinking about trying mindfulness, this is the perfect introduction.
24. The Sports Gene by David Epstein 2 recommenders
Epstein also wrote a fantastic book called The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance.
25. The Winner Within by Pat Riley 2 recommenders
A few other excellent coaching and leadership books I read this year: The Winner Within by Pat Riley and The Essential Wooden: A Lifetime of Lessons on Leaders and Leadership by John Wooden (thanks to the friend who recommended all these).
26. Unstoppable: My Life So Far by Maria Sharapova 2 recommenders
Maria Sharapova, I have to add her to the list of tennis biographies I’ve read.
27. What I Talk About When I Talk About Running: A Memoir by Haruki Murakami 2 recommenders
I recently began reading Haruki Murakami’s excellent mini-memoir, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. If your life requires a non-trivial amount of creative work, I highly recommend this quick read.
28. Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It by Gary Taubes 2 recommenders
I get most of my information about nutrition from medical studies. I haven’t read any books about nutrition that I agree with 100%. These are a few nutrition related books that I’ve read recently that I thought were interesting: Eat to Live (Joel Fuhrman), Why We Get Fat (Gary Taubes), and The 4-Hour Body (Tim Ferris).