Christmas

Russell Brand's 'Irons in the Fire'

For the West Ham supporter
Plenty of sceptics queried Russell Brand’s ‘lifelong Hammer’ tag when he began his weekly column in the Guardian. The compilation ‘Irons in the Fire’ (Hodder & Stoughton, £12.99) confirms that the comedian’s heart is claret and blue, though it could do without an irritating introduction which claims that the book ‘makes me feel like a proper writer with a legacy such as Mark Twain or that fella who wrote the Bible’.

For the committed anorak
‘Greatest Ever Footballers: The Definitive List of the Very Best Teams and Players of All Time’ (Headline, £14.99) is the debut product of Greatest Ever Pty Ltd, a ‘global multi-media and production company’ that claims exclusive rights to a host of databases. The ‘Top 100 All-Time Greats’ will fuel a few arguments – Pelé, Ronaldo, Romario… Gary Neville – but the book veers into Motsonland with its club rankings based on calculations to six decimal points. Neville, by the way, is in the ‘Greatest England XI ofAll-Time’…

For the beardy pipe-smoker
Samuel Beckett is the only Nobel Prize winner to appear in Wisden while Albert Camus played in goal for Algeria, but it’s hard to imagine Roland Barthes muddying his knees en route to the Sorbonne. Yet in a little-known essay, the literary theorist and semiotician asks, ‘What is Sport?’ (Yale University Press, £8.99). The result is trite – Simon Barnes in the Times is more perceptive on a weekly basis – though weedy academics will no doubt accuse me of being an ignorant jock.

For the Gooner in your life
‘Arsenal: Extraordinary Images of an Amazing Club’ (Hamlyn, £25) is some title to live up to. Your response to the last two words is a personal matter, but there’s no doubting the quality of the images in this handsome collection. Some of the earliest photos were unearthed during the move from Highbury and reveal the club’s very ’umble beginnings in Woolwich and Plumstead.

A worthy companion is Phil Soar and Martin Tyler’s updated ‘The Official Illustrated History of Arsenal’ (Hamlyn, £20), which includes the first season at the Emirates. Also carrying that ‘official’ imprimatur is Chas Newkey-Burden’s ‘Arsenal Premiership Player Profiles’ (Hamlyn, £9.99) which has its share of ‘who the hell was?’ moments as Ashley Cole and Robert Pires sandwich Rhys Weston and Brian McGovern (centre-back, one substitute appearance in 2000). A better stocking-filler is ‘The All-New Official Arsenal Miscellany’ (Hamlyn, £9.99) by the same writer, which reveals that in 2006, 36 new-born babies were named Arsenal.

For a long Boxing Day read
‘Provided You Don’t Kiss Me: 20 Years with Brian Clough’ (4th Estate, £14.99) won this year’s William Hill Award for Duncan Hamilton, with John Inverdale claiming the judging process was the quickest ever. An alternative from the shortlist is part one of Bobby Charlton’s autobiography, ‘My Manchester United Years’ (Headline, £20), with its haunting account of the Munich air disaster.

Tim De Lisle's 'Young Wisden'

For a sports-mad nephew
Tim De Lisle’s ‘Young Wisden’ (A&C Black, £12.99) is a cracking idea. A guide to cricket for kids – when they can wrestle it from their parents’ grasp, that is. Stats, laws and dates are all in here, but so are celebrated sledges, roly-poly captains and wacky wicket-keepers.

For the ‘sport as art’ lover
‘Sport in the 21st Century’ (Thames & Hudson, £24.95) is a collection of more than 750 photos from Reuters ranging from racing at Ascot to elephant polo in Nepal. If you want to see before you buy, 200 of the best feature in a unique outdoor exhibition beside City Hall, SE1, until January 25. Outstanding.

For the Tory-voting cricket fan
There are numerous histories of cricket around but John Major’s focus in ‘More than a Game’ (Harper, £25) is from its origins to the start of World War I. The ex-PM’s deep affection for the sport is unquestioned and he writes with an easy authority, setting events on the pitch within 450 years of social change.

For the irritating know-all
‘The Sports Book’ (Dorling Kindersley, £20) is an exhaustive guide to the rules, techniques and terminology of 200 pursuits. Want to know about the sulky carriage used in harness racing, or the dimensions of a pétanque piste? Best of all, the book has a green, artificial-turf cover. When you’ve finished reading the section on golf, use it as a portable tee!