Behind every game is a business and some of the smartest books about money, data and strategy use sport as their subject. These six reveal how analytics upended baseball, how a running-shoe startup became Nike and how economics explains who really wins. Essential for anyone fascinated by the intersection of sport, money and decision-making.
Quick picks:
- Best overall: Moneyball by Michael Lewis. View on Amazon
- Best founder story: Shoe Dog by Phil Knight. View on Amazon
- Best on the data: Soccernomics by Simon Kuper. View on Amazon
Data and decisions
Moneyball by Michael Lewis
Michael Lewis is a bestselling journalist. The story of how data upended baseball and business everywhere. The book that changed how we think about sports and talent. Journalist-authored.
Best for: Data changes the game.
→ View on AmazonSoccernomics by Simon Kuper, Stefan Szymanski
Simon Kuper is a journalist and a sports economist. A data-driven, myth-busting look at why teams and nations win, the Moneyball of soccer. Smart and provocative.
Best for: Soccer by the numbers.
→ View on AmazonThe Great Tamasha by James Astill
James Astill is a journalist covering modern India. A sharp look at the IPL and how cricket mirrors the new India: money, spectacle, politics and passion. The book on cricket's modern boom.
Best for: Cricket and modern India.
→ View on AmazonFounders and scandals
Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
Phil Knight is the founder of Nike. Phil Knight's gripping, honest memoir of building Nike from nothing. A business and sports classic and a great gift.
Best for: The Nike founder's story.
→ View on AmazonThe Secret Race by Tyler Hamilton, Daniel Coyle
Tyler Hamilton is a cyclist and a journalist. The explosive, detailed exposé of doping in professional cycling from inside the peloton. Gripping and damning.
Best for: Cycling's doping expose.
→ View on AmazonRelentless by Tim Grover
Tim Grover is the trainer to basketball's greats. Tim Grover's intense guide to the mindset of unstoppable performers, drawn from training Jordan and Kobe. Blunt and motivating.
Best for: The elite performer's mindset.
→ View on AmazonHow we chose these
We looked for the sports books that last: player memoirs with something real to say, credentialed sports scientists and psychologists and the acclaimed journalists and historians who turn a game into a story. A few iconic novels earn a place too and we label them as fiction. We describe and compare these books to help you choose your next read.
