Here it is folks, a reading/listening list in time (barely) for holiday giving, long flights and van rides, or evenings by the fire after you’ve tired of each other’s company.
A while back I asked friends this:
“What were your most influential books related to sports and training? Imagine you are building the ultimate reference library for coaches and athletes. What’s in it?”
This is what I got. Far and away the big winner amongst diehard former ski racers was Pianta Su, the 1976 classic book by Ruedi Bear. Bear’s uncomplicated yet detailed technical analysis and photo sequences were a bible of sorts for racers of a certain generation. You know who you are. The stick figure illustrations (Stenmark on an early generation slackline) are priceless, not to mention cost-efficient and perfectly clear,
I’ve included all the books recommended, grouped loosely by type, though there is significant overlap. In some cases, and also with the more obscure picks (we love obscure), I’ve included, in quotes, the nominator’s rationale behind the pick. I linked up a lot of them but then lost steam. I’ll get there eventually, but until then Google has you well-covered.
These are curated from ski racers and also non ski racers and even non athletes, who attest to the life skills value in the reads. In all cases, these are from trusted sources. The most modern books have their own websites or podcasts to tell the story. Often podcasts, by or with the author, are enough to sketch out the concept, set the hook, or entirely check that box of understanding.
These books come in all sizes and fit into a variety of wisdom dispersal techniques: They are books you can give directly, or leave on the coffee table and in the kitchen, hoping they will get noticed, or (for the most slimly-packed wisdom) slip into a bag when someone embarks on a long journey.
The genesis of this effort came from me trying to remember the book that had been pivotal for Hilary Lindh. That book was Psyching for Sport, by Terry Orlick. As the effort gained steam, a friend noted it would have been easier to simply ask Hilary. True, but this crowdsourcing method ended up being a lot more fun.
Finally, it is impossible to contemplate ski technique without thinking of the extensive photography and analysis by the late Ron LeMaster. With LeMaster’s passing, the ski world lost a true artist, fan and friend, whose work appeared in countless books and articles. His enthusiasm, curiosity and passion for the sport, not to mention his tireless work to document it, will be hugely missed.
I hope you find something that works to enlighten, educate or entertain. As always I’d love to hear your comments, thoughts and additions! (PS I’ve added a few already)
SKI SPECIFIC CLASSICS
- Pianta Su: Ski Like the Best by Ruedi Bear. The countless testimonials don’t lie!
- John Caldwell’s The Cross Country Ski Book All eight editions “got thousands into XC racing, which often led many of us to road bike racing too, when both sports were very ‘fringe’.”
- How the Racer’s Ski by Warren Witherell, founder of Burke Mountain Academy. “My entire youth every training session started with ‘Progressions’, a set of drills, mostly snowplow. Every SSWSC racer in the mid 70’s, early 80s went through the same thing. Only later did I realize that these came straight out of “How The Racers Ski”
- The Athletic Skier, by Warren Witherell and David Evrard “Probably the best book on set-up…so far.”
- World Cup Ski Technique by James Major and Olle Larson
- Ski the New French Way by Georges Joubert
- Teach Yourself to Ski by Georges Joubert
- Skiing Mechanics by John Howe, the skier and engineer responsible for the design of Head skis and tennis rackets from 1967-80.
- Breakthrough on Skis, and assorted spinoffs by Lito Tejada-Flores
- Ski the Champion’s Way by Ernie McCulloch
- Shut up and Ski by moi. (Hey, it got a couple of legit votes)
MENTAL TRAINING/PERFORMANCE CLASSICS
- The Inner Game of Tennis by Tim Gallwey, who went on to write “The Inner Game” of just about everything. It’s small enough to tote around a hard copy as your bible. More thoughts on that here.
- Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman
- Psyching for Sport, Terry Orlick Straight up intel on relaxation and imagery training, centering techniques, and goal setting.
- The Warrior Within, by John Little
- The Mindful Athlete: Secrets to Pure Performance by George Mumford, Phil Jackson’s go-to mindfulness magician.
- Eat to Win By Robert Hass. Oh, hello Mediterranean Diet. It’s you again, but hard core.
- Legacy by James Kerr on the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team and their legendary team vibe.
- The First Rule of Mastery: Stop Worrying about What People Think of You, by Dr Michael Gervais. (Still pending, but a very likely addition from “the sensei of human performance optimization.”)
TEAMS AND CULTURE
- The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle
- The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle
- Captain’s Class by Sam Walker. The traits—some obvious and some surprising—that mark true leaders within a team.
- Run To The Roar by Paul Assaiante, head squash coach at Trinity
- The Competitive Buddha by Jerry Lynch. A new book by the Positive Coaching guru.
PATIENCE, GRASSHOPPER: Thought-provoking reads on talent development and coaching
- Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcom Gladwell. Where 10,000 hour rule mania started.
- Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein. Also by Epstein, The Sports Gene. It’s science, man, as well as understandable and engaging.
- Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear. The tagline of “tiny changes, remarkable results” is the not-so-secret sauce here.
- Grit, the Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth
- Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin
- The Carolina Way: Leadership Lessons From a Life in Coaching by Dean Smith. Gets props from John Wooden himself, and on the topic of Wooden…
- Pretty much anything by John Wooden!
- Do Hard Things: Why We Get Resilience Wrong and the Surprising Science of Real Toughness. Magness, an esteemed running coach, was the whistle-blower on Alberto Salazar’s abusive Nike Oregon Project, and since then dove deep into research that debunks the merits of old style, fear-based coaching.
PHILOSOPHY DISGUISED AS SPORT
- Zen and the Art of Archery By Eugen Herrigel. Six years of studying and practicing archery and flower-arranging in Japan distills the jist of Zen in a weekend read or a long plane ride.
- The Playbook by Kwame Alexander. Basketball oriented, poet-written, “oh so relevant.”
- Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi
- Golf in the Kingdom by Michael Murphy. A classic since 1972, for golfers and gophers alike.
BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
- “What’s Good for a Girl” by Lauren Fleshman–much more than a memoir, bridges multiple categories and is a new classic for anyone involved in women’s sports.
- Hike the Course: A Journey of Family, Passion and Olympic Success For Inspiring and Transforming Athletes of All Ages, by Barbara Ann Cochran. Essential cultural literacy for American skiers, and another one that bridges categories to Sports Psych.
- Open by Andre Agassi
- Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World He Made, by David Halberstam
- I Never Look Back, by John Rolfe Burroughs. The story of Buddy Werner
- Dynamite on Ice – The Bobby Orr Story, by Hal Bock, on growing up and being a young prodigy.
- Hermann Maier: The Race of My Life. Points for getting a 13-year-old to read an actual book.
STRAIGHT UP PSYCH/MEDITATION
- Psycho Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz
- Playing Your Best Game All of the Time by Thomas Tutko
- Choke-the secret to performing under pressure by Sian Bielock (check out the Hidden Brain podcast and this blog too.)
- Autogenic Training: A gentle way to relax By JH Schulz. As described here on Racerex, this little book was the success formula for Otto Tschudi, in skiing and work.
PUSHING THE LIMITS AND GOING THE DISTANCE
- Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance by Alex Hutchinson. A few props: “Discovers that what we think of as our limits are set by our minds, not by our bodies.”… “Hutchinson sheds light on how humans accomplish our most absurd athletic achievements.”
- Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds By David Goggins. As the only man in history to complete elite training as a Navy SEAL, Army Ranger, and Air Force Tactical Air Controller, badass Goggins maintains that most of us only tap into 40% of our capabilities.
- How Bad Do You Want It? By Matt Fitzgerald
OTHER SPORTS
- The Education of a Tennis Player by Rod Laver and Bud Collins
- Sacred Hoops Phil Jackson
- I’ve Got Your Back, by Brad Gilbert
- The Science of Hitting by Ted Williams
- The Game Changers documentary
- The Miracle of St Anthony by Adrian Wojnarowski (Kudos for inspiration)
- The Complete Handbook of Speed Skating, by Dianne Holum “a go-to for technical ideas and physical training.”
HISTORY AND ADVENTURE
- The Boys in the Boat” by Daniel James Brown. Teamwork, old style grit, badassery, tenacity and great story telling with rowing as the vehicle.
- Anything by Eric Shipton or HW Tilman. “They were arguably the greatest adventurers in history and they set the standard for methods and style that keep adventure exciting but safe, and preserve nature and self along the way. They are impossible to emulate but worthy of the effort to try.”
OUT OF THE SPORTS BOX BUT EMINENTLY READABLE
- Moneyball by Michael Lewis
- The Undoing Project by Michael Lewis about Nobel Prize winning economist Danny Kahneman, who never took an economics course in his life. “Profound thinking about risk.”
- Nerve: Poise Under Pressure, Serenity Under Stress, and the Brave New Science of Fear and Cool.” by Taylor Clark. “One of the best reads I’ve had on the subject of the mental game.”
- Shogun by James Clavell Since 1975, “The ultimate negotiation and strategy novel.”
- A Long Walk to Freedom. Lessons in tenacity and humility from Nelson Mandela
LIFE/INSPIRATION
- Don’t Tell Me You’re Afraid by Giuseppe Catazzarro. About a Somali girl who ran in the Olympics.
- The Spirit in the Stick by Neil Duffy
- My Losing Season, Pat Conroy”
- See You at the Top by Zig Ziglar
BITE-SIZED HITS
Finally, if you want little, thought-provoking reading hits in a digestible package, I love James Clear’s 3-2-1 Thursday emails AKA “the most wisdom per word of any newsletter on the web.”
That’s time well spent!
Read on, listen on, live on.
