Terry Anderson, Den of Lions: A Startling Memoir of Survival and Triumph (Ballantine Books, 1994)
Anderson was an American who was held hostage in Lebanon at the same time as Brian Keenan and John McCarthy. His story is equally compelling. He is a man who invested his faith in natural justice and believed that he would be freed as he had done nothing wrong, and his dignity and faith are astounding. I once met Anderson, who maintains that we could all survive his ordeal as "we do not know just how capable we are until forced to prove it".
Lance Armstrong, It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life (Berkley Trade, 2001) and Every Second Counts (Broadway, 2004)
Two books that should be on every school curriculum. The first details Armstrong's upbringing and how this forged his love of cycling and competition, then covers his fight with cancer and how he beat the disease and went on to win his first Tour de France. The second book is about his life after this and the longer-term impact of cancer on his life and the lessons and changes it has brought about. Brilliant.
Patrick Barclay, Mourinho: Anatomy of a Winner (Orion, 2005)
A fascinating profile of football manager José Mourinho, looking at how he started out in coaching and refined his skills along with his mental approach to become one of the most successful modern-era coaches.
Jean-Dominique Bauby, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Vintage, 2007)
This is the story of a man who suffered from a massive stroke and then came round to find himself suffering from a condition known as "locked-in syndrome". His only method of communication was to move his left eyelid. This book is amazing on a few levels. First, Bauby wrote it by spelling out every letter. Secondly, it's a book that describes in rich, evocative detail the simple things that we take for granted. Beautiful.
Wayne Bennett, Don't Die with the Music in you (ABC Books, 2002)
A short book written by a legendary Australian Rugby League coach, which touches on sport, life and the values that inspired him to success.
François Bizot, The Gate (Vintage, 2004)
The harrowing account of man who was captured by Khmer Rouge soldiers in Cambodia yet emerged to become to powerful intermediary in the country's civil war.
David Bolchover and Chris Brady, The 90 Minute Manager: Lessons from the Sharp End of Management (Prentice Hall, 2006)
A great book containing a lot of research into how football can provide lots of lessons for the world of work.
Sir Richard Branson, Losing my Virginity: The Autobiography (Virgin Books, 2007)
A good book describing how Branson built up his business empire, along with great insights into the attitudes and beliefs that have made him so successful.
Bill Capodagli and Lynn Jackson, The Disney Way: Harnessing the Management Secrets of Disney in Your Company (McGraw-Hill, 2006)
A book that describes how the Disney empire was established and how it has adapted to maintain its success today.
Bill Capodagli and Lynn Jackson, The Disney Way Fieldbook: How to Implement Walt Disney's Vision of "Dream, Believe, Dare, Do" in Your Own Company (McGraw-Hill, 2000)
A series of exercises that Disney uses to train its staff.
Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People (Vermilion, 2007)
This is an old book (first published in 1936) but is regarded as a classic. It has lots of tips and advice about how to work effectively with others.
Rubin Carter, The Sixteenth Round: From Number 1 Contender to Number 45172 (Penguin, 1999)
"Hurricane" Carter was a potential world boxing champion until he was given life imprisonment for a murder he maintains he did not commit. This book tells, in graphic detail, about his brutal upbringing in young offenders' prisons, his subsequent fight for justice and how he fought for his beliefs.
Barbara Cassani, Go: An Airline Adventure (Time Warner, 2005)
A great book that covers the start-up of the budget airline Go and how it involved and inspired its staff.
Michael Crick, The Boss: The Many Sides of Alex Ferguson (Pocket Books, 2003)
This is a great counter-balance into Ferguson's own account of his life and times. It presents others' insights, both good and bad, into Ferguson and his qualities.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention (HarperCollins, 1996)
A book detailing the science behind creativity.
Frank Dick, Winning: Motivation for Business, Sport and Life (Abingdon Publishing, 1992)
This is a short book written by one of the best sports coaches of the last 30 years. Frank Dick uses his experience of coaching the cream of British athletics to provide insights into how these lessons can be used in our own lives to succeed in what we want to achieve.
Angelo Dundee and Mike Winters, I Only Talk Winning (McGraw-Hill, 1985)
The book by Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard's trainer offers some great insights into the mentality required to be a success in both the boxing ring and in life.
Eamon Dunphy, Strange Kind of Glory: Sir Matt Busby and Manchester United (Aurum Press, 2007)
The best biography of Sir Matt Busby ever written. This book offers a great view into Busby's vision of a successful football club, which upheld his own values of honesty, ambition, excitement with the accent on developing young talent, along with his attempts to create it. These values are still steeped in the core of the club today.
Marc Elliot, Walt Disney: Hollywood's Dark Prince (Andre Deutsch, 2003)
An alternative view of Disney, based on a lot of research on the upbringing that helped shape his character.
Dominique Enright, The Wicked Wit of Winston Churchill (Michael O'Mara, 2001)
A series of quotes from Churchill. Worth having to hand for if you ever find yourself short of something to say.
Harold Evans, They Made America: From the Steam Engine to the Search Engine (Little, Brown, 2004)
A book about America's pioneers and the creators of inventions that have shaped the modern world.
Michael Finnigan, They Did You Can: How to Achieve Whatever You Want in Life with the Help of Your Sporting Heroes (Crown House, 2007)
A collection of fascinating interviews with everyday people who were inspired to achieve their own goals. If you have enjoyed my book, you will love this one.
Alex Ferguson, Managing My Life: My Autobiography (Coronet, 2000)
Whatever you think of Ferguson, you can't deny his passion, ambition, drive and fierce will to win along with his values of loyalty and commitment. This book explains how these were formed and helped him achieve unprecedented success.
Victor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning (Rider & Co., 2004)
Frankl survived the Nazi concentration camps. This is a powerful and moving book of what he learnt and I'd advocate that everyone reads it.
Thomas Hauser, Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times (Robson Books, 2004)
One of the best biographies of all time. This is the most comprehensive account of Ali's life you could find. Read about his rise to become world heavyweight champion, his refusal to go to Vietnam, his re-emergence as champ and his life after boxing. This book is brilliant.
Chris Heath, Feel: Robbie Williams (Ebury Press, 2005)
Absorbing journalistic biography of the pop singer, charting his life and career.
Michael Heppell, How to Be Brilliant: Change Your Ways in 90 Days! (Prentice Hall, 2007)
Does what it says on the cover! A book that offers advice on how to reach your goals.
Napoleon Hill and W Clement Stone, Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude (Pocket Books, 2008)
Stone built $100 into a multimillion-dollar organization and he describes the techniques he used to achieve this.
Brian Hughes, Starmaker: The Untold Story of Jimmy Murphy (Empire Publications, 2002)
The definitive book on Jimmy Murphy, Sir Matt Busby's assistant. Packed with anecdotes about how Murphy's revolutionary coaching and motivational techniques helped to nurture the finest collection of footballers ever, the "Busby Babes". This is a book written by my hero about one of my heroes.
Spencer Johnson, Who Moved My Cheese? An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and Your Life (Vermilion, 2002)
Lots of home truths told within a story about two mice searching for cheese. Sounds unusual? It is, but worth a read.
Roy Jenkins, Churchill (Pan Books, 2002)
Biography of Britain's great war-time leader. It is a compelling book.
Roger Kahn, A Flame of Pure Fire: Jack Dempsey and the Roaring 20s (Harcourt Brace, 2000)
An excellent book that looks at the social implications of early twentieth-century America and the Depression that saw the emergence of Jack Dempsey, a lad who grew up homeless and without a base and became the world heavyweight champion.
Brian Keenan, An Evil Cradling (Vintage, 1993)
This is one of my favourite books of all time and Keenan is one of my ultimate heroes. He was taken as a hostage in Beirut in the mid-1980s and held for five years. In the book he describes how, despite having his basic needs denied, he managed to retain his values of honour, respect and dignity.
John Keith, Bob Paisley: Manager of the Millennium (Robson Books, 1999)
Similar to the Eamon Dunphy book on Busby, this is a comprehensive study of Liverpool's most successful manager and gives a great insight into his values and beliefs along with his determination to maintain the success he enjoyed.
Joe Lovejoy, Sven: The Final Reckoning (Harper-Collins, 2004)
A biography of the England football manager, covering his early coaching career in Sweden and Portugal.
Ellen MacArthur, Taking on the World (Penguin, 2003)
Autobiography of the youngest and also the fastest woman to sail single-handedly, round the world. MacArthur tells her story with real honesty, sharing her fears and doubts, which allows the reader to get a real understanding into the mind and motivation of someone who possess certainty about what she wants and how she is going to get it.
Archie Macpherson, Jock Stein (Highdown, 2007)
A brilliant biography of Scotland's greatest manager, Alex Ferguson's hero. Imagine a team winning the European Cup with 11 local lads. This book explains how Stein made this happen.
Nelson Mandela, A Long Walk to Freedom (Abacus, 1995)
Fascinating insights into how the African leader maintained his dignity and channelled his anger into finding a solution to apartheid.
John McCarthy and Jill Morrell, Some Other Rainbow (Corgi Books, 1994)
John McCarthy was held as a hostage with Brian Keenan for four of the five years he was in captivity. His story is equally amazing, as he retains his own quiet dignity in the face of horrendous circumstances. His then partner Jill Morrell campaigned to get the British government to act for his release. This is a brilliant book showing just how powerful passion and belief are and how they can sustain you beyond what you believe are your own limits.
Steve McDermott, How to Be a Complete and Utter Failure in Life, Work and Everything: 44½ Steps to Lasting Underachievement (Financial Times/Prentice Hall, 2008)
A fantastic and compelling book, which is packed with facts, anecdotes and philosophies told in an easy-to-read and conversational style that, if you ignore and disregard, can help you succeed in failing!
Paul McGee, S.U.M.O. (Shut Up, Move On): The Straight-Talking Guide to Creating and Enjoying a Brilliant Life (Capstone, 2006)
A fun and illuminating book that provides a no-nonsense set of tips.
Mind Gym, The Mind Gym: Wake Your Mind Up (Time Warner, 2005)
This book captures a lot of the information found at the website of the same name. It is best read in sections and is packed with lots of easy-to-understand scientific data that explains our behaviours and attitudes and has loads of tips about how we can improve.
John Monie and Tom Mather, The Iceman: The Story of the Most Successful Rugby League Coach Ever (Mainstream Publishing, 2002)
A fascinating book about the life and coaching expertise of the legendary rugby league coach John Monie.
Bob Monkhouse, Just Say a Few Words: Complete Speaker's Handbook (Virgin Books, 2004)
A brilliant book by the late comedian, which contains loads of tips about public speaking, including an excellent chapter on how to handle your own doubts and self-talk before standing up at an important event. Plus, it's got loads of funny stories, anecdotes and one-liners.
Chris Moon, One Step Beyond (Macmillan, 1999)
This is the inspiring story of a man who believed he could make a difference. After leaving the military, he went to Cambodia to help clear landmines and was captured by Khmer Rouge rebels. He later went to Mozambique and was blown up by a mine, losing his leg and arm. Within a year of this he ran the London Marathon and within three years he had run across the Sahara Desert. An amazing testimony to the power of the mind to overcome the steepest odds.
Naomi Pasachoff, Linus Pauling: Advancing Science, Advocating Peace (Enslow Publishers, 2004)
A biography of the two-time Nobel Prize winner. Pauling was an activist against atomic weapons and was subsequently accused of being a communist and suffered persecution, yet maintained his beliefs in spite of huge pressure.
Norman Vincent Peale, The Power of Positive Thinking (Vermilion, 1990)
More practical tips that provide you with the tools to carry out your ambitions and hopes.
Matthew Pinsent, A Lifetime in a Race (Ebury Press, 2005)
A revealing sporting autobiography that offers insights into the mind of the athlete. Pinsent talks candidly about his own doubts and fears and how he dealt with them to win four Olympic gold medals.
Christopher Reeve, Still Me (Arrow Books, 1999)
This book by the former Superman actor recounts his tragic horse-riding accident and tells his life and career story up until then in a series of flashback sequences. There are some heart-breaking descriptions of how he came to terms with suffering from complete paralysis and being unable to breathe without support. His determination to defy doctors and learn to walk again, in order to be able to play with his young son, is an amazing testimony to the power of belief. Although he didn't walk before his death, he did successfully gain funding into research and pioneered many techniques that will one day enable others to walk again. It is inspiring and very motivating.
Anthony Sampson, Mandela (HarperCollins, 2000)
The definite biography of Mandela. Offers comprehensive views of him from others' perspectives.
Joe Simpson, Touching the Void (Vintage, 1998)
An awesome story of survival in the mountains. This book has become regarded as a climbers' classic.
Ragnar Sohlman, The Legacy of Alfred Nobel (Bodley Head, 1983)
The story of how the inventor of dynamite chose to leave a legacy that was intended to celebrate and help secure peace.
Nobby Stiles, After the Ball (Coronet Books, 2004)
This is an excellent book by Stiles, a World and European Cup winner. He describes how he battled against huge odds to become a footballing legend, while maintaining the values he grew up with. Inspiring and illuminating.
William Taubman, Nikita Khrushchev (Yale University Press, 2000)
Authoritative biography of the Russian leader, who had the courage to condemn Stalin.
Jack Welch, Jack: Straight from the Gut (Headline, 2003)
The autobiography of the head of GE. An excellent book written in a down-to-earth manner, which makes it really accessible to everyone.
Richard Wiseman, The Luck Factor: The Scientific Study of the Lucky Mind (Arrow Books, 2004)
Explanations of the science behind what can sometimes appear to be random or lucky events, with lots of tips about how you can also become lucky.
Clive Woodward, Winning! (Hodder Paperbacks, 2005)
This book really appealed to me as it combined the world of sport with lessons that can be adapted and applied to the workplace. Don't let Woodward's subsequent failure with the British Lions and his transfer to football put you off. There is a great deal in this book from which anyone can learn.
Zig Ziglar, Raising Positive Kids in a Negative World (Thomas Nelson, 2001)
A must for all parents. Packed with lots of tips, help and advice about raising kids and about seeing the very best in them.