The William Hill Sports Book Of The Year awards: Who will win?

The Greatest Comeback: From Genocide To Football Glory by David Bolchover (Biteback Publishing, £20)

Béla Guttmann was a Hungarian Jew and a promising football manager until his life was derailed by Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime.

Having miraculously survived the Holocaust by hiding in an attic then escaping from a slave labour camp, Guttmann went on to win two successive European Cups with his Eusebio-inspired Benfica team.

This compelling account explores how the Jews of central Europe were pioneers in shaping post-war football into today’s global phenomenon and highlights Guttmann’s influence on modern-day coaches.

David Bolchover’s evocative account epitomises post-war Jewish defiance and serves as a symbol that perseverance can conquer the most evil of regimes.

4/5

Harry Howes 

Quiet Genius: Bob Paisley, British Football’s Greatest Manager by Ian Herbert (Bloomsbury Sport, £20)

This biography of football icon Bob Paisley is an eloquent portrait of the introvert who became Liverpool’s greatest manager of all time.

Quiet Genius weaves through the Reds’ glory years with compelling and occasionally comic moments.

The depth of research is outstanding with the input of former players and coaches providing authoritative insights into a great man.

Not everyone who encountered Paisley was an admirer and this is acknowledged throughout the book with author Ian Herbert striking a balance between commendation and fact.

Paisley’s stubbornness, intellect and working-class humble values shine through, painting a picture of the man with unprecedented clarity.

3/5

Mikael McKenzie 

Ali: A Life by Jonathan Eig (Simon & Schuster, £25)

After Muhammad Ali’s death last year, Jonathan Eig, whose previous books include the life of Lou Gehrig, Al Capone and the birth control pill, has exhaustively covered the career of boxing’s very greatest in an unprecedented level of detail.

Eig interviewed more than 500 people for this project and the result is a biography that is as unflinching about Ali’s marriages and extra-marital activities as it is about his sporting decline.

The closing chapters covering the effects of a 20-year professional career and Larry Holmes’ pleas for Ali to stop fighting are heartbreaking.

Rating: 4/5

James Gray 

Tom Simpson: Bird On The Wire by Andy McGrath (Rapha Editions, £36)

A mythical figure in modern cycling, Tom Simpson is best known to the casual fan as the rider who infamously died on Mont Ventoux during the 1967 Tour de France with performance-enhancing drugs coursing through his system.

This biography by Andy McGrath reveals that there was so much more to the short life and career of an incredible British champion and cycling pioneer.

From his early life in the north of England to that tragic day in the Alps via his years of great success on the continent, Simpson’s story is candidly chronicled by close friends, teammates and family.

The book is also accompanied by some phenomenal photography.

Rating: 3/5

James Phillips 

Swell: A Waterbiography by Jenny Landreth (Bloomsbury Sport, £16.99)

The battle for equality takes many forms and one of those is in the water. Swell dives into the story of the “swimming suffragettes” who pioneered the centuries-long transition from male-only bathing to family-packed beaches and female Olympic competition.

Women achieved incredible feats in their fight for water-borne equality, setting records, defying the law and enacting social change through instruction and education.

Author Jenny Landreth’s passion for swimming makes her the perfect flag bearer for this detailed critique of the evolution of one of Britain’s favourite pastimes. 

Rating: 4/5

Jenny Landreth

Breaking ground: Art, Archaeology And Mythology edited by Neville Gabie, Alan Ward and Jason Wood (Axis Projects, out of print)

Photography books are rare nominees for the Sports Book Of The Year award so those that make the shortlist are well deserving. Breaking Ground is possibly the fi rst account of football archaeology, both physical and emotional.

This crowd-funded visual masterpiece chronicles the fascinating excavation of Bradford Park Avenue FC’s former ground at Horton Park, beginning in 2015.

It had been left to neglect and the whims of nature for decades.

The memories of ex-players, supporters and staff combine with moving and evocative photography to produce an excellent tribute to a former sporting institution.

Rating 5/5

Joe Short

Centaur by Declan Murphy and Ami Rao (Doubleday, £16.99)

Ami Rao’s beautifully written memoir tells the story of former jockey Declan Murphy who in 1994 miraculously survived a kick to the skull after falling off his horse at the peak of his career.

Murphy awoke in hospital with no memory of the past four years of his life.

Two decades on, Rao worked hard to persuade him to revisit the accident and to tell his story. So Centaur is not just a book about Murphy’s recovery but also Rao’s battle to extract lost memories.

Her writing makes Centaur one of the best reads of 2017.

Rating 5/5

Joe short