Henry book has little new but still a decent effort

Not a single Olympic book among this group. Perhaps our golden girls and boys will have their stories out by Christmas.

• The rugby world will be abuzz for a while yet over Graham Henry's biography and the reference contained within to referee Wayne Barnes and his handling of the infamous 2007 World Cup quarterfinal. To be fair to Sir Ted, most of the chapter in question focuses on Barnes' incompetence (according to Henry), and there is only a brief - and instantly dismissed - reference to the possibility of foul play.

In the safe hands of veteran rugby writer Bob Howitt, Final Word is a reasonably interesting wrap of a great coaching career. There are a few insights into Henry's role in a great All Black era - though the reader is left with a feeling there could have been a lot more - and some glimpses of the family man behind the coach.

Apart from the Barnes chapter and bits and pieces on his Lions experience in 2001, there isn't much that is really new. But for Henry fans, justifiably chuffed the knight got to bow out a world champion, the book is a decent effort.

• Plenty has been said and written about sport's greatest rivalries, so there is not a huge amount of fresh material in popular Canterbury writer Phil Gifford's Rivals. Stories on Ali-Frazier, Harding-Kerrigan, Senna-Prost and the like are probably just as easily accessed on Wikipedia.

Unsurprisingly, the chapters on New Zealand sport are the strongest, as the well-travelled Gifford digs out some cracking yarns. The John Hart v Grizz Wyllie stoush is a highlight.

But there are some odd inclusions.

New Zealand cricket v Australia cricket, and not the Ashes?

The chapter is only really about the underarm incident, anyway. That's a controversy more than a rivalry. The same goes for the Bodyline section.

And Dennis Conner v "all of New Zealand"?

It's a good enough read but, personally, any book on sporting rivalries that omits Red Sox-Yankees and Lakers-Celtics cannot get a perfect mark.

• An attractive, coffee table-style book, The Heart Of Our Game is the latest in a long line of publications celebrating our national game. Steve Hale writes in an unashamedly cheerleading tone, and that's fine when you don't pretend to be anything else. There are chapters on great people, players and clubs, interspersed with Rugby World Cup features. Pleasingly, while some recent books of its kind have virtually ignored the South, Hale has yarns with North Otago identity Chris Rawson, former Otago prop Carl Hoeft, former Dunedin rugby design guru Dave Burke and Southland great Leicester Rutledge.

• Running 52 marathons in 52 weeks?

Madness.

But don't tell Tristan Miller that. The highly energised Australian man tells the story of an extraordinary quest prompted by sudden unemployment.

His year of running marathons starts in Zurich and ends in Melbourne. In between, he meets some unforgettable characters, experiences all sorts of weather and local hospitality, and learns a lot about himself. His style is simple, the chapters are bite-sized and the stories are interesting. But you still won't get me running a marathon.

• Hayden Meikle is the Otago Daily Times sports editor.