Sport

When Asia Welcomed the World tells the story of the 2002 World Cup, a tournament that will be remembered for many reasons, from heart-warming stories to dark accusations. The book resurrects the great characters that lit up 2002's biggest footballing stage, including Ronaldo, Oliver Kahn, David Beckham and Ru?tu Recber, as well as humbling defeats for the game's giants at the hands of comparative minnows. It also explores the tournament's controversies and issues that arose before it had even begun. This was Asia's first ever World Cup, with South Korea and Japan also acting as the continent's first ever co-hosts. The tournament's legacy has proved to be a divisive one, but it has remained ingrained in football's collective memory for 20 years and will continue to do so.

The Thin White Line: The Inside Story of Cricket's Greatest Scandal tells the story of the spot-fixing scandal of 2010, which sent shockwaves through the sport. It stunned the wider sporting world and confirmed the reputation of the News of the World's Mazher Mahmood as the most controversial news reporter of his generation. It was the start of a stunning chain of events that saw the News of the World shut down, Pakistan captain Salman Butt and bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir banned and sent to prison, before Mahmood himself ended up behind bars. This gripping, forensic account takes the reader through the twists and turns of those fateful days late one August and beyond. For the first time, it shines a light on the tradecraft of the News of the World team and how they exposed the criminal scheming of the cricketers and their fixer Mazhar Majeed. It reveals how deeply fixing had penetrated the Pakistan dressing room, and lifts the lid on the black arts of investigative reporting which would eventually prove Mahmood's undoing.

Ron Saunders is the one manager in over a century to guide Aston Villa to English football's summit. The Odd Man Out is an exhaustive account of how he did so. How he took the Midlanders to promotion from the old Division Two in his first season. How he created and dismantled arguably the most exciting Villa side of modern times - one that inflicted Liverpool's heaviest defeat of the entire 1970s. How he achieved two League Cup triumphs in three years, including a three-game final with Everton that will remain the longest in history. How he battled with 'Deadly' Doug Ellis - and won! Then, how he fell out with and ultimately sold fans' favourite Andy Gray and replaced him with a journeyman striker in Peter Withe, before steering the club to its first league title in 71 years. It also explores the mystery of his sudden resignation with Villa on the brink of European Cup glory, joining their bitterest rivals only nine days later. Saunders's tough-guy reputation has overshadowed his achievements. The Odd Man Out casts a whole lot more light upon them.