Start with high-confidence sports history books, then narrow by subgenre or adjacent topics.
The Times Olympic Moments: 100 Epic Highlights From the History of the Summer Olympics
John Goodbody, The Times
The Ball
John Fox
On the Grid
Luke Smith, Joe Eyre
The Numbers Game
Alan Schwarz
All in
Jonathan Grotenstein, Storms Reback
The Book of Basketball
Bill Simmons, Malcolm Gladwell
Football for a Buck
Jeff Pearlman
The Club
Joshua Robinson, Jonathan Clegg
Glory Days
L. Jon Wertheim
Who Shot Sports
Gail Buckland
A Hollywood Ending
Yaron Weitzman
The Games
David Goldblatt
Why We Love Football
Joe Posnanski
Strong Like a Woman
Laken Litman
Game Changers
Molly Schiot
Soccer in Sun and Shadow
Eduardo Galeano, Rory Smith
Cheating Is Encouraged
Mike Siani, Kristine Setting Clark
Giants Among Men
Jack Cavanaugh
Tales From the Kansas City Chiefs Sideline
Bob Gretz, Peter Grathoff
Formula One: the Champions
Maurice Hamilton, Bernard Cahier
Football Done Right
Dan Woren, Michael Lombardi
