Nothing beats settling down with a good book, right? Here’s our guide to the best snooker books available.
We have separated them into three sections; books to help you improve your game, books to learn and reminisce about the history of the game, and autobiography books from the games’ top players.
Jump straight to a section:
So, whether you’re buying for yourself or looking for the perfect gift for the snooker fan in your life, we have you covered!
Best Snooker Coaching Books:
Get expert advice you can turn to at any time (including between shots!) to help improve your game.
Top Pick: 147 Snooker Drills And Exercises

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If you’re already comfortable with the basics of striking the cue ball and potting balls, the best thing you can do is practice, practice, practice!
We’ve picked this book from Andrew Highfield and David Horrix as our best snooker coaching book as both authors are full-time WPBSA snooker coaches who work with both professionals and juniors.
That means many of the practice routines they demonstrate in the book are the same as are used by professionals, so you know you’re getting top-level advice.
Each routine comes with a graphic to help demonstrate it. While the graphics could certainly be improved, they still provide an excellent visual reference to ensure the written instructions make more sense.
You also get tips on how to progress each drill and what areas of your game it will improving, helping you select the routines that will have the biggest impact on improving your play.
- Highfield, Andrew (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 160 Pages - 12/13/2017 (Publication Date) - The Crowood Press Ltd (Publisher)
Next Best: Snooker and Billiards: Skills – Tactics – Techniques

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Our alternative coaching book in our list of the best snooker books is by well-known commentator and former professional player, Clive Everton.
Covering everything from the history of the game, rules and basic techniques, right through to more advanced match-winning strategies, it’s a guide that works well for beginners and intermediate players alike.
Packed with diagrams, the book also covers the game of billiards too which makes for interesting reading if you’ve never played snookers original twin!
- Everton, Clive (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 96 Pages - 09/22/2014 (Publication Date) - The Crowood Press Ltd (Publisher)
Also Consider: The Complete Book Of Snooker Shots

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Designed mostly for beginner and intermediate players, our third pick for the best snooker coaching book is by David Horrix, one of the authors of our top pick.
As a WPBSA coach, you are once again getting top-level advice.
Whereas our top pick focuses on practice drills and routines, this book focuses more on the different types of shots to play in different situations.
It’s essentially a tactical masterclass, aimed at improving your knowledge of the game (rather than technique) so you always choose the right shot.
The one criticism is the diagrams are a little on the small side and so some people may find them hard to read.
- Horrix, David (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 176 Pages - 01/01/2018 (Publication Date) - The Crowood Press Ltd (Publisher)
Best Books On Snooker History:
Whether you want to relive the great players and matches of the past, or you want a fascinating ‘behind the scenes’ insight into the growth of the game, here are our top picks.
Top Pick: Black Farce & Cue Ball Wizards – The Inside Story Of The Snooker World

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The second book in our list of the best snooker books by former player and commentator, Clive Everton.
This time, Clive takes us behind the scenes into the murky world that the media rarely show.
It’s a dark, yet fascinating look at the game we all love, charting back over the decades to cover some of the most shocking and surprising conspiracies and management decisions over the years.
Clive drops a few revelations that will raise eyebrows, looking at match fixing scandals, ballot rigging, frauds, and even violence.
It turns out, what many see as a squeaky clean sport, is far from squeaky clean at all!
- Everton, Clive (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 400 Pages - 11/22/2012 (Publication Date) - Mainstream Publishing (Publisher)
Next Best: The Crucible’s Greatest Matches: Forty Years Of Snooker’s World Championships In Sheffield

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Without a doubt, one of the highlights of the snooker calendar is the World Championships in Sheffield.
Hosted at the Crucible theatre since 1977, it really is the home of snooker and has seen some of the games greatest ever matches and shots.
This book takes you on a journey through some of the most exciting games ever to have been played at the venue.
Relive some of the greatest matches, including THAT 1985 final between Dennis Taylor and Steve Davis.
You’ll get an exciting look at all the build up and fallout, as well as how the matches themselves played out.
- Hardcover Book
- Hector Nunns (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
Also Consider: Snooker Legends

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Over the decades, many great players have graced the tables of the game we all love.
Yet, we have also seen a major shift in the attitudes and professionalism of the game too. Gone are the days of cigarettes and alcohol during matches.
Today’s players are a different breed, where discipline and focus are among the highest values traits in a player.
This book charts the journeys of some of the greatest and most entertaining names known in the sport over the last 40 years.
From early greats such as Eddie Charlton and Fred Davis, through to the likes of Steve Davis and Alex Higgins.
This book is a great insight into the players, their careers, and what happened to them after they retired. There’s even a chance to look at more recent greats such as Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan.
Best Snooker Autobiographies:
Can you really be a professional sports person if you haven’t released an autobiography? It seems a rite of passage these days, so here are three of the best snooker autobiographies currently available…
Top Pick: Running – The Autobiography (Ronnie O’Sullivan)

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This book would feature in any list of best snooker books, let alone one for just snooker autobiographies, such is the appeal of Ronnie O’Sullivan.
Widely considered the most naturally gifted player to ever pick up a cue, when Ronnie is in the arena, the whole crowd comes to life.
Lightning quick with almost unbelievable accuracy, when Ronnie is on form, few can get anywhere near him.
Yet, he also regularly shows a much more human side, a vulnerability that often impacts his performances.
This autobiography is an upbeat look at Ronnie’s life and how he’s battled many demons and come out the other side.
He puts much of it down to his love of running, which is where the title of book comes from.
If you’ve ever wanted to know what is going on in the mind of one of the greatest ever players, this book provides a little insight that is heart-warming and eye-opening at the same time.
- O'Sullivan, Ronnie (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 288 Pages - 04/10/2014 (Publication Date) - Orion (Publisher)
Next Best: Interesting – My Autobiography (Steve Davis)

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As one of the best players the game has ever seen, the unremitting focus and clinical finishing he brought to the game earned Steve Davis a reputation for being somewhat boring (hence the ironic nickname Steve ‘Interesting’ Davis).
That’s perhaps not surprising. He dominated in the 80s when colourful characters such as Alex Higgins and Jimmy White often dominated the headlines with their off the table antics.
However, beyond the exterior facade, there really was an ‘interesting’ man underneath.
Now known for the humour and insight he adds to commentary and other TV work, Steve Davis is one of the best loved figures of the sport.
This insightful autobiography charts his rise through the ranks towards snooker world domination.
You’ll learn what made the man tick and why he obsessively set about winning as much as he could in the sport.
Also Consider: Barry Hearn – My Life: Knockouts, Snookers, Bullseyes, Tight Lines, and Sweet Deals

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The only non-snooker player in our list of the best snooker books, Barry Hearn is still synonymous with the game.
He created Matchroom, a promotion and management agency that signed many of the best-loved snooker players in the 80s.
Matchroom was such a success, it was credited for almost single-handedly raising the game to a peak TV audience of 17.5 million.
While audiences may have since dropped to an average of 7.5m, thanks to ever-increasing competition for people’s attention, Barry Hearn is still heavily involved in the game.
This autobiography charts Hearn’s rise, not just in snooker but almost every sport he touched, including boxing and darts.
It’s a fascinating insight into the business dealings that go on behind closed doors in sport and how one man has been able to exert such an influence over some of the country’s best loved sports.
- Hardcover Book
- Hearn, Barry (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
Best Snooker Books
That brings to an end our list of the best snooker books currently available. We’ve included a table below featuring our top pick from each of the three sections we focused on. Happy reading!