Sports Books

Like brushstrokes on a canvas or the carved relief of a sculpture, the movement of bodies on the field or inside the ropes of a boxing ring has always been understood as another kind of art. It is not so surprising then that TASCHEN offers a collection of books dedicated to sport. Featuring the great competitive American pastimes, football, baseball and boxing, these sports book titles showcase the beauty in synchronized movement, the clash of physical conflict, and the quiet in-between pauses that reveal the players and their lives in intimate detail.

The sports photographer of his generation, Neil Leifer’s images of football and baseball capture the glory and the tragedies of the field and pitch. Ballet in the Dirt and Guts & Glory collate Leifer’s photographs of sport in the 70s, weaving famous images of triumph with lesser known private moments, some of which would simply not be recorded today. Along with contributions from football and baseball writers, these books record the thrill of the competition, the passion of the fans, and the drama and challenge of the beautiful game.

Leifer, along with others, also contributes to TASCHEN’s book on Muhammad Ali. The legendary heavyweight boxing champion is crowned as the greatest of all time in a publication that details his illustrious career. Although sometimes an outspoken and controversial public figure, Ali is highly esteemed for the skills he deployed in the boxing ring and the values he exemplified outside of it, particularly religious freedom and racial justice. During his career Muhammad Ali transformed the role and image of the African American athlete and his position as a conscientious objector to the Vietnam war made him popular to the counterculture generation. A dynamic cultural icon, he takes his place amongst the other legends of sports history.