Sonny Bill Williams


Book Description

In this powerful, open and honest memoir, sporting champion Sonny Bill Williams shares the triumphs and missteps of his extraordinary sporting life and reveals how faith and family have made him the man he is today. Unforgettable and inspiring. 'compelling and open-hearted' Donald McRae, Guardian 'Excellent' David Walsh, Sunday Times 'an athlete like no other...complex and interesting.' Weekend Australian 'full of hard truths that sporting teams, sportspeople and fans can learn from.' Sun-Herald Sonny Bill Williams (SBW) is a once in a hundred-year athlete with immense sporting talent in Rugby League, Rugby Union and Boxing. Sonny Bill has built an incredible career and sporting reputation across the globe. His athleticism has taken him from inner-city Auckland, where he grew up, to the highest sporting moments in Twickenham, Eden Park and Sydney's Olympic Stadium. But there is so much more to Sonny Bill Williams' life and journey than his on-field and in-the-ring triumphs. Sonny Bill's love of family, his faith, his skill and performance throughout his unparalleled sporting career, his ability to unite a team under pressure, his grace in owning his mistakes, the challenges of leaving home as a young man and dealing with a negative culture and the temptations that followed, and his courage in speaking out for the vulnerable and calling out injustice are all aspects of an inspiring life story. Sonny Bill Williams was the first Muslim to play for the All Blacks. Driven by a fierce moral compass, Sonny Bill thoughtfully and authentically uses his standing and platform as both a UNICEF Ambassador and an elite sportsperson to speak out on political issues that confront the world today and to benefit those struggling in life. He is a dedicated family man, devoted to his faith, committed to his teammates, respectful of his fans and aware that the path he has taken can inspire and empower others. He is especially focused on opening up opportunities for his Pasifika brothers and sisters and for people of colour. Writing with Alan Duff, award-winning author of Once Were Warriors, this is a must-read memoir for anyone who loves sport and an inspiring story of faith, family and the power of daring to dream.




Sonny Ball


Book Description

'A thrilling and original sports book... a fantastic read about a remarkable athlete' Ray WarrenBig, powerful, handsome, gifted and enigmatic, Sonny Bill Williams has the ability to get fans flocking, sponsors scrambling and coaches dreaming of winning dynasties.But 'SBW' is not like other footballers. He broke his Bulldogs contract mid-season to play rugby union for Toulon in France, leaving teammates shocked, fans enraged and the NRL threatening a life ban. Yet Sonny's star never dimmed. His legend only grew.When Sonny Bill returned to New Zealand, he steered the Crusaders to a Super Rugby final before leading the Chiefs to their inaugural title and helping the All Blacks with the Rugby World Cup...while becoming a heavyweight boxing champion.Then he returned to League and led the Roosters to a premiership before switching back to Union again for the All Blacks' 2015 World Cup defence. Along the way, Sonny Bill proved a modern truth - success is currency, memories are short, star power eclipses everything.Paul Kent's Sonny Ball tells the extraordinary story of Sonny Bill Williams in an extraordinary way. It's a book as intriguing and action-packed as any grand final in any sport, anywhere.'A superb insight into the complex, political world of Rugby League and Sonny Bill Williams, the man who changed the way it was played on and off the field' Matthew Johns




Once Were Warriors


Book Description

This classic has been released in the Popular Penguin format to mark 50 years of publishing in New Zealand. The format reaches further back to 1935, when Allen Lane founded Penguin Books with a clear vision- 'We believed in the existence of a vast reading public for intelligent books at a low price, and staked everything on it.' Ground-breaking. Original. Heart-rending. Most talked about book in New Zealand, ever. Adapted into a blockbuster movie. Still in print three decades later.




Off Loading with Sonny Bill Williams


Book Description

"The story of how a determined and humble young man became a champion in three different sports ... and one of the most sought after athletes in the world" -- Back cover.




The Rifle


Book Description

It all started because of a rifle. The Rifle is an inspirational story and hero’s journey of a 28-year-old U.S. Marine, Andrew Biggio, who returned home from combat in Afghanistan and Iraq, full of questions about the price of war. He found answers from those who survived the costliest war of all -- WWII veterans. It began when Biggio bought a 1945 M1 Garand Rifle, the most common rifle used in WWII, to honor his great uncle, a U.S. Army soldier who died on the hills of the Italian countryside. When Biggio showed the gun to his neighbor, WWII veteran Corporal Joseph Drago, it unlocked memories Drago had kept unspoken for 50 years. On the spur of the moment, Biggio asked Drago to sign the rifle. Thus began this Marine’s mission to find as many WWII veterans as he could, get their signatures on the rifle, and document their stories. For two years, Biggio traveled across the country to interview America’s last-living WWII veterans. Each time he put the M1 Garand Rifle in their hands, their eyes lit up with memories triggered by holding the weapon that had been with them every step of the war. With each visit and every story told to Biggio, the veterans signed their names to the rifle. 96 signatures now cover that rifle, each a reminder of the price of war and the courage of our soldiers.




Sport in Aotearoa New Zealand


Book Description

This fascinating book investigates the sporting traditions, successes, systems, "terrains" and contemporary issues that underpin sport in New Zealand, also known by its Māori name of Aotearoa. The book unpacks some of the "cliches" around the place, prominence and impact of sport and recreation in Aotearoa New Zealand in order to better understand the country’s sporting history, cultures, institutions and systems, as well as the relationship between sport and different sections of society in the country. Exploring traditional sports such as rugby and cricket, indigenous Māori sport, outdoor recreation and contemporary lifestyle and adventure sports such as marching and parkour, the book examines the contested and conflicting societal, geographical and managerial issues facing contemporary Aotearoa New Zealand sport. Essential reading for anybody with a particular interest in sport in Aotearoa New Zealand, this book is also illuminating reading for anybody working in the sociology of sport, sport development, sport management, sport history or the wider history, politics and culture of Aotearoa New Zealand or the South Pacific.




Life Hacks for Kids


Book Description

Presents unique craft projects that have been seen on the Life hacks for kids YouTube show, including feather earrings, melted crayon art, a headband holder, and indoor s'mores, and includes questions answered by Sunny.




No Helmets Required


Book Description

The remarkable story of 20 young American football players, convinced to compete internationally in rugby--a game they'd never heard of In 1950s Los Angeles, entrepreneur Mike Dimitro convinced a group of young American athletes to fly around the world playing rugby league, a game that was entirely new to them. Miraculously, the American All Stars competed with the best Australia, New Zealand, and France had to offer, and shocked the locals with some stunning victories. This story tells not only of the media circus and celebrity adventures, but also the All Stars' fights and flings, tragic illnesses, and farcical court cases. Dimitro's mission to establish a rugby league in the United States failed in spectacular fashion--though one All Star went on to win the Super Bowl, one became a Hollywood stuntman, and another an Olympic champion. The emergence of their remarkable story coincides with the United States's first ever qualification for the Rugby League World Cup, in 2013.




It's My Egg and You Can't Have It!


Book Description

Kiwi, our national bird, are facing a precarious battle for survival on mainland New Zealand as predators, especially cats, dogs and stoats, take their toll. Inspired however by the success of Backyard Kiwi, a kiwi recovery project that she is heavily involved with around her home on the Whangarei Heads, illustrator Heather Hunt has teamed up with writer Kennedy Warne to produce another stunning natural history book for children. It's my Egg (and you can't have it) is both beautiful, but powerful. It captures the reality of life for a kiwi trying to hatch an egg, fending off attacks from cats and dogs, and ultimately being saved from stoat predation by trapping. This is an important, inspiring book for children that deftly communicates the importance of recovery programmes for our native wildlife. Heather Hunt and Kennedy Warne¿s stunning book The Cuckoo and the Warbler, from 2016, was selected by Storylines as a Notable Book, and It's my Egg is a book of equal quality.




Sonny Bill Williams


Book Description

Sonny Bill Williams (SBW) is a once in a hundred-year athlete with immense sporting talent in Rugby League, Rugby Union and Boxing. Sonny Bill has built an incredible career and sporting reputation across the globe. His athleticism has taken him from inner-city Auckland, where he grew up, to the highest sporting moments in Twickenham, Eden Park and Sydney's Olympic Stadium. But there is so much more to Sonny Bill Williams' life and journey than his on-field and in-the-ring triumphs. Sonny Bill's love of family, his faith, his skill and performance throughout his unparalleled sporting career, his ability to unite a team under pressure, his grace in owning his mistakes, the challenges of leaving home as a young man and dealing with a negative culture and the temptations that followed, and his courage in speaking out for the vulnerable and calling out injustice are all aspects of an inspiring life story. Sonny Bill Williams was the first Muslim to play for the All Blacks. Driven by a fierce moral compass, Sonny Bill Williams thoughtfully and authentically uses his standing and platform as both a UNICEF Ambassador and an elite sportsperson to speak out on political issues that confront the world today and to benefit those struggling in life. He is a dedicated family man, devoted to his faith, committed to his teammates, respectful of his fans and aware that the path he has taken can inspire and empower others. Working with Alan Duff, award-winning author of Once Were Warriors, this will be the must-read autobiography of the year.