by Duncan Hamilton (Riverrun £24.99, 480pp)
The finest sports book of the year by one of the country's most garlanded sports writers.
Answered Prayers: England and the 1966 World Cup by Duncan Hamilton (Riverrun £24.99, 480pp)
The death of Sir Bobby Charlton a couple of months ago and the mass outpouring of grief and reminiscence that followed proved again the power of that sunny July day in 1966, when England achieved World Cup glory for the first and last time. Of those Boys of Summer, only Sir Geoff Hurst, at 82, remains.