Reading List – More Than Mind Games

I’ve put together the beginnings of a More Than Mind Games reading list here.

At the moment, it’s little more than a bald list of titles under a variety of headings, but I’ll try to annotate it more fully over time. If I had to boil it down to absolute essentials, I’d plump for

Madness Explained by Richard P. BENTALL (Where we are in terms of understanding mental illness and in treating it)
The Feeling of What Happens by Antonio DAMASIO (Emotion, consciousness and the brain)
Seeing Red by Nicholas HUMPHREY (an example of a modern theory of consciousness)
Sweet Dreams: Philosophical Obstacles to a Science of Consciousness by Daniel DENNETT (The philosophical challenge in understanding and studying consciousness)
Cloughie: Walking on Water by Brian CLOUGH (The best reflections and discussion of the realities of football management, wrapped up in a compelling memoir)
The Glory Game by Hunter DAVIES (What it’s really like inside a top club – 35 years old and still unique)
All Played Out by Pete DAVIES (Football culture in England through the prism of the 1990 World Cup Campaign)
Serious by John MCENROE (Inside a winner’s mind)
3:59.4: The Quest to Break the Four Minute Mile by John BRYANT (Excellent on changing cultures in British sport as a whole)

In terms of the whole passion/commitment debate, Clough’s book is pretty much definitive.

It’s a serious list. Here’s why it has to be. A story of a brave man taking bad advice – and one good reason why parts of British sport remain spooked by sports psychotherapy. Watch this and see if you blame them! Very much my worst nightmare:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMPdDMlMEhc]

1 Reply to “Reading List”