Vern Gambetta’s top reads of 2025
In 2025 I read a total of 117 books. I never set out to read a certain number, I am just never without a book in my hand. I love reading. My reading is very eclectic, certainly not confined to sport and sport science.
I prefer actual physical books to digital or audio books. The feel of a book in your hand and the ability to underline in ink and annotate in the margins is what makes physical books special. With that being said I find myself reading more Kindle books than before. Easier for travel with, cheaper than the print edition, and above all we have run out of bookshelf space in our house.
» Related Content: Vern Gambetta shares his top books each year. Read his recommendations from 2024, 2023, 2022 and 2021.
This is my list of my top ten books for the year in ascending order. Tune into the GAINcast for more detailed descriptions and comments on each book.
- 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History–and How It Shattered a Nation by Andrew Ross Sorkin
- What You are Made For: Powerful Life Lessons from My Career in Sports by George Raveling and Ryan Holiday
- Become Unstoppable: The Blueprint from the World’s Most Successful Sport Team by Gilbert Enoka
- American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback by Seth Wickersham
- The Practice of Change: The Art and Science of Training by Dan Cleather
- From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life by Arthur C. Brooks
- The Sport Science Handbook: A Blueprint for Better Decision-making in Sport by Adam Virgile and Marc Lewis
- Dynamic Athleticism: Coaching Athletes to Master Movement by Scott Moody
- Abe: Abraham Lincoln in His Times by David S. Reynold
- The Last Manager: How Earl Weaver Tricked, Tormented and Reinvented Baseball by John W. Miller
