Michael Calvin

An unforgettable story of survival and resilience in the death camps of World War II. A miracle unfolded on October 9, 1944, at Auschwitz. Amidst the gas chambers and crematoria, a ragtag group of Jewish boys, aged thirteen to seventeen, were marched naked into Crematorium 5, their names already crossed out in Nazi ledgers as “gestorben,” or “dead.” They would soon be put to death in the infamous gas chambers. But just moments before Zyklon B pellets were released, fate intervened: three German officers arrived on motorbikes and ordered their evacuation, selecting them to unload a consignment of potatoes from Greece. This is their astonishing story. Miracle: The Boys Who Escaped the Gas Chamber in Auschwitz illuminates their incredible journey from the brink of death to lives of profound purpose and resilience. Experience the raw emotion, the struggle for survival, and the enduring power of faith amidst unimaginable cruelty. These boys—who survived concentration camps, death marches, and constant dehumanization—rebuilt their families and became living testaments to hope. Through archival research, survivor testimonies, and haunting personal accounts, Miracle gives voice to a chapter of Holocaust history that was nearly lost. It reveals how a single twist of fate and the strength of the human spirit changed the course of so many lives. Miracle is more than a historical account; it is a memorial of tears, defiance, and unimaginable dignity, urging us to remember and carry forward their legacy for a better future. Their courage echoes through time, reminding us that even in history’s darkest moments, the light of humanity can prevail.

1966. As London is declared ‘a swinging city’ and John Lennon proclaims the Beatles ‘more popular than Jesus’, Martin Luther King’s Civil Rights Movement acts as a beacon of hope and possibility. Yet Cold War tensions, the escalation of the Vietnam War, and the space race between America and the Soviet Union project a different image. Meanwhile, China’s Cultural Revolution begins, and talks are initiated to reunify Germany, whilst Lyndon B. Johnson sits in the White House following the assassination of his predecessor, John F. Kennedy. As tensions build between East and West and the great powers wrestle with the pull of social change, the year’s football World Cup has the potential to unite old rivals, whilst giving nations the opportunity to demonstrate their prowess amongst an international community standing at an inflection point, emerging from the long shadow of the Second World War and hurtling towards the future. Through the prism of the extraordinary tournament and the eight teams that reached the quarter finals – England, West Germany, Uruguay, Argentina, Portugal, Soviet Union, North Korea and Hungary – Michael Calvin provides a vivid portrait of a critical moment in world history. Examining the sporting, social and cultural significance of the competition and its backdrop, this hugely entertaining book brings to life a world and a sport caught in a tide of change, and shows how this critical year would change both forever.

Early on the morning of October 9, 1944, seven hundred boys, aged between 13 and 17, were taken out of Block 11 at Auschwitz. The night before, during a visit by Dr Josef Mengele, their identification cards had been stamped with a solitary German word – gestorben – “died” in English. They were then marched by 25 bayonet-wielding SS men to Crematorium 5, stripped, and herded into a gas chamber. This book is the story of a true-life miracle of the five boys who were pulled from that gas chamber – the only Holocaust survivors known to have escaped such a close brush with the Nazi killing machine – and given a second chance at life. A life, of course, that would be so horrifically snatched from those around them. Five boys, five survivors whose testimonies have been drawn from extensive interviews and whose story is shared in this book for the very first time. Interweaving the lives of the boys and the grander sweep of history in which they were held, The Miracle of Auschwitz is an unforgettable tale of hope, faith and fortitude in the face of one of the worst crimes against humanity.

How do you get the best out of people? What does it take to make a team thrive? Few people know the answers better than Emma Hayes. As the coach of Chelsea FC Women, she has led the club to 14 major trophies. She is a widely celebrated figure in sports media and has been named TV pundit of the year by both Broadcast Magazine and the Sports Journalists Association. In 2021 she was named Best Football Coach by FIFA, in 2016 she was named MBE in the Queen's 90th birthday honours list, and in 2022 was awarded an OBE for her services to football. In her first ever book, written in collaboration with internationally best-selling author Michael Calvin, Emma shares her experience of managing a high-performance football team to draw out life lessons and techniques that anyone can use to their advantage. It's also a fascinating look into the world of women's football told by a woman at the centre of it, with frank, entertaining anecdotes from on and off the field.

How do you get the best out of people? What does it take to make a team thrive? From the head coach of the U. S. Women's National Soccer Team and legendary coach of Chelsea FC comes a book of hard-won lessons for leading a team to success, on and off the field. Few places will test your leadership skills more than elite sport. For more than twenty years, Emma Hayes has led her teams to trophy after trophy, coaching her players through personal and professional setbacks, and becoming a powerful advocate for women in sports. A Completely Different Game shares Hayes's inspirational, innately human approach to fulfilling the potential of those around her. Beginning with her upbringing in Camden and ending with her move to the US National Team, Hayes takes us through the events that shaped her and the critical leadership lessons she learned along the way. She also lays bare the difficulties that came with managing a women's sports team in an industry designed for and catered to men, and makes a clear, actionable and urgent call for equity in sports. Generous, authoritative, and grounded in lived experience, A Completely Different Game will help you lead with heart, strength and authenticity no matter what challenge you're facing.

**THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER**'A riveting, compelling, mesmerizing journey. Josef Lewkowicz is a hero in every sense of the word. The Survivor both terrifies us and inspires us. It's a must read.'Tova Friedman, author of The Daughter of Auschwitz. One of the last great untold stories of the Holocaust, The Survivor is an astonishing account of one man's unbreakable spirit, unshakeable faith, and extraordinary courage in the face of evil. At only sixteen years old, Josef Lewkowicz became a number, prisoner 85314. Following the Nazi invasion of Poland, he and his father were separated from their family and herded to the Kraków-Plaszów concentration camp. Forced to carry out hard labour in brutal conditions, and to live under the constant threat of extreme violence and sudden death, before the war was over Josef would witness the unique horrors of six of the most notorious Nazi concentration camps, including Auschwitz, Mauthausen and Ebensee. From salt mines to forced marches, summary executions to Amstetten, where prisoners were used as human shields in Allied bombing, Josef lived under the spectre of death for many years. When he was liberated from Ebensee at the end of the war, conditions were amongst the worst witnessed by allied forces. With his freedom, Josef returned home to find that he was the only one left alive in an extended family of 150. Compelled by the need to do something to avenge that loss, he joined the Jewish police while still in a displaced persons' camp, and was recruited as an intelligence officer for the US Army who gave him a team to search for Nazis in hiding. Whilst rounding up SS leaders, he played a critical role in identifying and bringing to justice his greatest tormentor, the Butcher of Plaszow, Amon Göth, played by Ralph Fiennes in Schindler's List. He then committed his life to helping the orphaned children of the Holocaust rebuild their lives. The Survivor is Josef's extraordinary testimony.

Kuudelta keskitysleiriltä selvinneen miehen tarinaSelviytyjä on uskomaton kertomus yhden miehen murtumattomasta tahdosta, uskosta ja rohkeudesta käsittämättömän pahuuden edessä. Kuudentoista ikäisenä Josef Lewkowiczista tuli vanki numero 85314. Natsien miehitettyä Puolan Josef ja hänen isänsä kuljetettiin Krakovaan Plaszowin keskitysleirille, joka tunnetaan elokuvasta Schindlerin lista. Leiriä johti äkkipikainen ja mielivaltaisen julma Amon Goeth, jonka brutaalius oli rajatonta. Järkyttävissä olosuhteissa Josef sai tottua raskaaseen pakkotyöhön, jatkuvaan väkivallan uhkaan ja kuoleman läheisyyteen. Ennen kuin sota oli ohi, hän joutui kokemaan peräti kuuden eri keskitysleirin kauheudet. Kun vapaus sodan jälkeen koitti, Josef sai todeta olevansa suvustaan ainoa, joka oli selvinnyt hengissä natsien tappokoneistosta. Kostaakseen kokemansa menetyksen hän muodosti Yhdysvaltain armeijan tuella työryhmän metsästämään piilottelevia natseja ja pidättämään SS-upseerit, joiden käsissä hän ja hänen yhteisönsä olivat kärsineet. Juuri Josef löysi suurimman kiduttajansa Goethin ja auttoi saattamaan tämän oikeuden eteen. PuolalainenJosef Lewkowics vietti kolme vuotta kuudella eri keskitysleirillä. Sodan jälkeen hän toimi tiedustelu-upseerina Saksassa ja Itävallassa. Nyt 97-vuotias Lewkowics asuu Jerusalemissa. Michael Calvin (1957) on englantilainen journalisti ja palkittu kirjailija, joka on julkaissut 14 kirjaa.

There's no pain, no theatrical agony. No screaming, no shouting. The kill shot is catastrophic and conclusive. I slump silently on to my knees and topple forward, head first, into the dirt. The lads have seen enough death to assume mine is instantaneous. The lights are out. That's him gone. Toby Gutteridge was only 24 when he was shot through the neck while operating behind enemy lines in Afghanistan. He survived despite not breathing for at least 20 minutes. Back in the UK, doctors recommended that his life support machine be switched off, but with the defiant spirit that would define his recovery, Toby pulled through. Now quadriplegic, capable of movement only with his head, Toby has rebuilt his life. His is an extraordinary story of survival against overwhelming odds, and of the power of the human spirit to overcome extreme adversity. Brutally honest and authentic, he builds a compelling picture of the type of person produced by the Special Forces system, and tells of how one split second changed the course of his life forever. Powerful and inspiring, Never Will I Die is a universal story about our search for purpose, and explores what extreme experience teaches us about what truly matters.

One of the last great untold stories of the Holocaust, The Survivor is an astonishing account of one man's unbreakable spirit, unshakeable faith, and extraordinary courage in the face of evil. At only sixteen years old, Josef Lewkowicz became a number, prisoner 85314. Following the Nazi invasion of Poland, he and his father were separated from their family and herded to the Kraków-Plaszów concentration camp. Forced to carry out hard labour in brutal conditions, and to live under the constant threat of extreme violence and sudden death, before the war was over Josef would witness the unique horrors of six of the most notorious Nazi concentration camps, including Auschwitz, Mauthausen and Ebensee. From salt mines to forced marches, summary executions to Amstetten, where prisoners were used as human shields in Allied bombing, Josef lived under the spectre of death for many years. When he was liberated from Ebensee at the end of the war, conditions were amongst the worst witnessed by allied forces. With his freedom, Josef returned home to find that he was the only one left alive in an extended family of 150. Compelled by the need to do something to avenge that loss, he joined the Jewish police while still in a displaced persons' camp, and was recruited as an intelligence officer for the US Army who gave him a team to search for Nazis in hiding. Whilst rounding up SS leaders, he played a critical role in identifying and bringing to justice his greatest tormentor, the Butcher of Plaszow, Amon Göth, played by Ralph Fiennes in Schindler's List. He then committed his life to helping the orphaned children of the Holocaust rebuild their lives. The Survivor is Josef's extraordinary testimony.

PRAISE FOR NEVER WILL I DIE'Toby's sheer grit and determination is a powerful testament to his character. His story demonstrates the true nature of inner strength and courage. I think he's an inspiration to all of us.'Tom Hardy'Inspirational. An amazing book.'Jason Fox'The inspiring soldier who never gave up.'This Morning'Toby's truly humbling journey will realign your benchmark for the words determination, hero and inspiration.'Victoria Pendleton CBE'Toby has overcome more obstacle than anyone I know. His is a story of life triumphing over death, and shows the strength of the human spirit.'Nims Purja'Motivational and powerful.'The Telegraph'A truly inspiring story of an amazingly driven individual who refused to go quietly and fought back against all the odds.'Titch Cormack'In international rugby we speak about putting your body on the line for your mates. Toby's inspirational story gives an unforgettable insight into the men who do that for real, in life or death situations. A remarkable book.'Dylan Hartley'Nothing short of inspirational.'Ollie Ollerton'Toby is one of life's most inspirational men with an amazing life story. He has endured great adversity but continues to face life head on.'Jodie Kidd------------------------------There's no pain, no theatrical agony. No screaming, no shouting. The kill shot is catastrophic and conclusive. I slump silently on to my knees and topple forward, head first, into the dirt. The lads have seen enough death to assume mine is instantaneous. The lights are out. That's him gone. Toby Gutteridge was only 24 when he was shot through the neck while operating behind enemy lines in Afghanistan. He survived despite not breathing for at least 20 minutes. Back in the UK, doctors recommended that his life support machine be switched off, but with the defiant spirit that would define his recovery, Toby pulled through. Now quadriplegic, capable of movement only with his head, Toby has rebuilt his life. His is an extraordinary story of survival against overwhelming odds, and of the power of the human spirit to overcome extreme adversity. Brutally honest and authentic, he builds a compelling picture of the type of person produced by the Special Forces system, and tells of how one split second changed the course of his life forever. Powerful and inspiring, Never Will I Die is a universal story of life triumphing over death.

Football has never seemed so distant from its fans. Many have been alienated by the greed and shameless self-interest of the Premier League, and no one can predict how the global game will look post-pandemic. In Whose Game Is It Anyway?, Sunday Times best-selling author Michael Calvin searches for a reason to believe. Written at the height of the Covid-19 crisis, the book is a thought-provoking, deeply personal account of the role sport - and particularly football - plays in everyday life. Part memoir, part manifesto, it takes the reader on a tour of the world's greatest sporting occasions and into its outposts in sub-Saharan Africa, the Amazon Basin and the Southern Ocean. Drawn from Calvin's experience as an award-winning sportswriter, covering every major sports event over 40 years in more than 80 countries, it offers first-hand insight into such icons as Muhammad Ali, Maradona and Sir Bobby Charlton. With settings ranging from a jungle clearing to a township in apartheid South Africa, this is sport as you've never seen it before.

Eye-opening contributions from the stars of game make this a powerful, groundbreaking investigation into the mind of the professional golfer. The perfect gift for Father's Day.* SHORTLISTED FOR THE TELEGRAPH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS *Professional golf is the most remorseless of sports, unique in the complexity of its demands. Technical perfection must be produced in short, concentrated bursts of synchronised movement. Huge mental strength is required. Why, then, do we know so little about what it takes to succeed - even survive - at the highest level? What separates the good from the great? What are the rituals of preparation and execution? How does an elite team come together? In a truly groundbreaking exposé of professional golf, Michael Calvin and Thomas Bjorn - captain of the 2018 European Ryder Cup Team - capture the distinctive nature of the game, and the principles and philosophies of players who dominate the world rankings. With unprecedented access to the European Tour players, and in-depth interviews with the European Ryder Cup team, Calvin reveals a sport which operates entirely within the finest margins of excellence.

'For those of you missing your football fix, anything by Michael Calvin is worth a read – the hugely respected sports journalist writes eloquently about the modern game in page turner State of Play.'DAILY MIRROR_______________________________________________________LONGLISTED FOR THE 2018 WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARDAward-winning author of The Nowhere Men, Living on the Volcano and No Hunger in Paradise returns with his magnum opus on the state of modern footballFirst he revealed the extraordinary lives of football scouts in The Nowhere Men. Next he unearthed the pressures on football managers in Living on the Volcano. Then he chronicled the hardships of young players striving to make it in No Hunger in Paradise. Now in State of Play, in what marks the pinnacle of a career investigating the human stories of football, award-winning writer Michael Calvin turns his eye to the biggest story of all - the game itself. From mental health to money, concussion to Champions league, fan-owners to oligarchs, women's football to world cups, Calvin gets under the skin of the beautiful game, and reveals why it is truly the game of our lives. Based on hundreds of hours of interviews with leading figures around the world, from Arsene Wenger to Steven Gerrard, Calvin reveals the winners, the losers, the politics, the pleasure, the hope, and the despair of the world's most popular sport.

Shortlisted for the British Sports Book Awards 2018“What’s your dream, son?” A six year-old boy, head bowed, mumbles the eternal answer: “Be a footballer….” Steadman Scott, football’s most unlikely talent scout, smiles indulgently, and takes him in from the street. He knows the odds. Only 180 of the 1.5 million boys who play organised youth football in England will become a Premier League pro. That’s a success rate of 0.012 per cent. How and why do the favoured few make it? What separates the good from the great? Who should they trust – the coach, the agent or their parents? Michael Calvin provides the answers on a journey from non-league grounds to hermetically sealed Premier League palaces, via gang-controlled sink estates and the England team’s inner sanctum. He interviews decision makers, behavioural specialists, football agents and leading coaches. He shares the hopes and fears of players and their parents. He exposes bullying and a black economy in which children are commodities, but remains true to the dream.

From the award-winning author of NO HUNGER IN PARADISEOutside the global spotlight, footballers don't drive Aston Martins or pose for underwear ads. This is war. This is life. This is football. Michael Calvin turned up for the first day of pre-season training at Millwall FC. 333 days later, he sat among the subs at Wembley. Over the course of a season, he witnessed the intimate everyday life of a football club far from the glitz and glamour of the Premier League, and the unique characters that come together every day on the field. These are dedicated, hard-working family men, close to their roots, 'playing for the people who hate their jobs, who'd love our lives.' Forget about the over-hyped circus of the Premier League. This is the beautiful game in all its raucous glory: essential reading for anyone whom football is a way of life.

*SHORTLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2015*A man punches the wall in a strategic show of anger. Another complains he has become a stranger to those he loves. A third relies on “my three a day: coffee, Nurofen and a bottle of wine.” Yet another admits he is an oddity, who would prefer to be working in cricket. A fifth describes his professional life as “a circus”. These are football managers, live and uncut. Arsene Wenger likens the job to “living on a volcano: any day may be your last”. He speaks with the authority of being the longest serving manager in the English game, having been at Arsenal for 17 years. The average lifespan of a Football League manager is 17 months. Fifty three managers, across all four Divisions, were sacked, or resigned, in the 2012-13 season. There were fifty seven managerial changes in the 2013-14 season. What makes these men tick? They are familiar figures, who rarely offer anything more than a glimpse into their personal and professional lives. What shapes them? How and why do they do their job? Award-winning writer Michael Calvin provides the answers. Insecurity is a unifying factor, but managers at different levels face different sets of problems. Depending on their status, they are dealing with multi-millionaires, or mortgage slaves. Living on the Volcano charts the progress of more than 20 managers, in different circumstances and in different phases of their career. Some, like Brendan Rodgers and Roberto Martinez, are at the peak of their profession. Others, like Chris Hughton, Brian McDermott and Gary Waddock, have been sacked, and are seeking a way back into the game. They offer a unique insight into a trade which is prone to superficial judgement and savage swings in fortune. Management requires ruthlessness and empathy, idealism and cunning. Stories overlap, experiences intermingle, and myths are exposed.