My old man, he played one, he played front row in the scrum, with a heave ho, here we go, playing in the zone, my old man came charging home! You'll laugh out loud at the outrageous antics of dads of all shapes and sizes in this ball game to beat them all! GO DAD, GO!

From the heights of the Grand Slams to a near whitewash in the 2000 Six Nations championship, one factor has remained constant in Scottish rugby - its huge resource of characters. Early in the year 2000, Jeff Connor set out on a mission to track down some of Scotland's best-known players, the true giants of the game, and discover whether there is life after international rugby. The result was 40 exclusive interviews and a book that is enlightening, hilarious and moving in equal measure. There are rare and extended interviews with Ken Scotland, Jim Telfer, Ian McLauchlan, Sandy Carmichael and Andy Irvine. There is the Hawick humour of Jim Renwick, the history of Finlay Calder's greatest wind-ups and the emotive story of Gordon Brown's battle with his most vicious opponent of them all, cancer. Bruce Hay's confrontation with the Duke of Edinburgh, Iain Paxton's disgust at the attitude of some English players on a British Lions tour and David Leslie's fearsome pre-match preparations are all vividly described, along with frankly expressed views from active modern-day players like Gregor Townsend. All rugby fans will find something to treasure in Giants of Scottish Rugby.

If all sports are really about war, then rugby is a heart-thumping epic of bayonet charges and hand-to-hand fighting. In Memoirs of a Rugby-Playing Man, bestselling author Jay Atkinson describes his thirty-five year odyssey in the sport-from his rough and rowdy days at the University of Florida, through the intrigue of various foreign tours, club championships, and all star selections, up to his current stint with the freewheeling Vandals Rugby Club out of Los Angeles. Jay has played in more than 500 matches, for which he's suffered three broken ribs, a detached retina, a fractured cheekbone and orbital bone, four deadened teeth, and a dislocated ankle. Written in the style of Siegried Sassoon's Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man, Atkinson's book explains why it was all worth it--the sum total of his violent adventures, and the valuable insights he has gained from them.

Michael Chugg was only fifteen years old when he began managing and promoting music in his hometown of Launceston, Tasmania. That was in 1962. Fast forward to the present, and "Chuggi", as he is affectionately known, has been a pioneer in bringing the newest, biggest and baddest musical acts to Australia. These include The Police, Frank Sinatra, Liza Minelli and Sammy Davis Jr., Fleetwood Mac, R.E.M., Bon Jovi, Guns N Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kiss, Pearl Jam, and many more. Chuggi has developed a reputation as a hard-arse, often walking on stage to shout down the crowd or pull the talent into line. He also never minces words – writing in shocking detail about what goes on behind closed doors when big international acts come to town. This honest, open and blunt expose of the underbelly of Australian music events is both hilarious and fascinating.

The story of FC Barcelona, written by the author of the internationally acclaimed Hand of God: The Life of Diego Maradona and updated with a new preface 'Burns' examination of the club's fates and fortunes always goes well beyond the game itself ... Burns is a brilliant journalist ... Unmissable' Total Football 'Anyone who really wants to know Barcelona should read Burns. A cracker – part sports book, part travelogue' Daily Mirror Barça is més que un club: more than a club. It is a social and political phenomenon, successful on the football field and emblematic of the proud region of Catalonia off it. Founded in 1898, FC Barcelona is today the world's biggest football club. To unravel the background to the Barça phenomenon, Jimmy Burns has travelled with supporters, talked to people intimately linked to the club, unearthed police files and long-forgotten newspaper reports. Barça: A People's Passion is much more than a book about football – it is a story of more than a hundred years of obsessive national pride and has now been brought right up to date.

The leaping Springbok on the green jersey of South Africa is one of the most iconic emblems in world rugby. At the same time, no symbol in world sport has ever done so much to divide – and then unite – a nation. Respected by opponents and supported passionately by South Africans, the Springboks have been a powerhouse rugby nation for over a century, yet the emblem that now sits alongside the Protea on the chests of the players was once a symbol of violent oppression in apartheid South Africa, the epitome of the white man's dominance over people of colour in the Republic. Told in the words of Springboks past and present, Our Blood is Green explores what it means to play for South Africa – from schoolboy dreams to the sacrifices required to make it to the very top – as well as the myriad difficulties the players have faced over the years, from the horrors of apartheid through to the emerging rainbow nation in the 1990s and the multi-cultural World Cup-winning team of today. It is a fascinating, powerful and poignant read that explores the unity of a brotherhood that fights to transcend race, culture and class while simultaneously striving to become the best team on the planet. Our Blood is Green examines what it truly means to be a Springbok and it is told the only way it can be – by the players themselves.

Ben Stokes is not cast in the same mould as the vast majority of English cricketers. Fiery, combative, gladiatorial - he plays the game hard and with great gusto. He is an all-rounder who bats, bowls and fields at full throttle. Stokes impresses with his physical stature and muscular brand of cricket. He doesn't back down, smashing the next ball for six, bowling his 90 mph "chin music", or taking a breathtakingly full-stretch catch at backward point. Whether it's thrashing the fastest ever Test century at Lord's or the quickest ever Test double-hundred by an Englishman or destroying the Australian batting at Trent Bridge, Stokes plays the game he loves with his heart on his sleeve and with 100% effort and commitment. Cricket fans adore him for it. His very first book focuses on the pivotal moments in his life and career so far. These episodes are vibrant, emotional, poignant - revealing the man in three dimensions, red in tooth and claw. From being forged as a young boy in New Zealand, to moving to Cumbria at the age of 11, to playing county cricket for Durham and then onto the England team, this book provides a riveting insight into one of the most exhilarating figures in sport today. What readers are saying about Fire Starter: 'Brilliant - a real page turner' 'A great present for a keen cricketer' 'An excellent read - five stars'