Other books that might interest you

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  Toe Blake - Winning Is Everything

  Paul Logothetis

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  The first ever biography of Toe Blake — Hockey Hall of Famer and eleven-time Stanley Cup winner
  		 
  “Holy Dirty Dora!” Hector “Toe” Blake would bark while pacing behind the Montreal Canadiens bench, hands thrust into his pockets, jawing at chewing gum before intentionally banging his forehead into the glass that separates players and fans. No lead was safe or sufficient for the lifelong hockey man at the helm of the greatest dynasty in NHL history. As a player, Toe won a Stanley Cup with the Montreal Maroons before captaining a stumbling Canadiens organization to glory and a pair of Cups. As the Habs coach, Toe cemented the team’s status as lords of the league with eight more.
  		 
  Born into a family of 11, Blake emerged from the poverty of the Depression and a youth spent working the mines of Sudbury’s Nickel Belt to find junior hockey success and an unlikely shot at the NHL. While a fiery temper and penchant for stick-swinging nearly railroaded Toe’s promise, the Canadiens recognized his talent and leadership, and he went on to spend more than 50 years with the organization.
  		 
  History remembers Toe being hoisted onto the shoulders of his beloved players, waving his signature fedora and sipping from the Cup, but behind the success was a man driven by fear and an obsessive desire for victory. Despite personal tragedy, Toe always put winning first, and as a result, there are few coaches in any sport who have enjoyed Blake’s success and even fewer who endured the toll that came with it.

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  Intangiball - The Subtle Things...

  Lonnie Wheeler

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  Intangiball tracks the progress of the Cincinnati Reds through five years of culture change, beginning with the trades of decorated veterans Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey, Jr. It also draws liberally from such character-conscious clubs as the Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees, and Tampa Bay Rays. Author, sportswriter, and eternal fan of the game, Lonnie Wheeler systematically identifies the performance-enhancing qualities (PEQs) that together comprise the "communicable competitiveness" that he calls "teamship."Intangiball is not designed to debunk Moneyball, but rather to sketch in what it left out: "What order is there to a baseball world in which a struggling rookie benefits not a bit from the encouraging words of the veteran who drapes his arm around the kid's shoulders; in which Derek Jeter's professionalism serves none but him; in which there is no reward for hustle, no edge for enthusiasm, no payoff for sacrifice; in which there is no place for the ambient contributions of David Eckstein, Marco Scutaro, or the aging, battered Scott Rolen; in which shared purpose serves no purpose?"

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  Lou Gehrig - Pride of the Yankees

  Paul Gallico

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  A touching tribute to one of the greatest ballplayers of all time  For seventeen seasons, Lou Gehrig was the heart and soul of the New York Yankees. The power-hitting first baseman donned the pinstripes for 2,130 consecutive games, a streak that earned him the nickname “the Iron Horse” and went unbroken for more than five decades. World Series champion, All-Star, American League Most Valuable Player, Triple Crown winner—the list of Gehrig’s on-field achievements is spectacular. But he is best remembered for the grace and the strength with which he faced an insurmountable challenge off the field: the disease that ended his career and which now bears his name.   When he retired on April 30, 1939, Lou Gehrig called himself “the luckiest man on the face of the earth.” His words continue to resonate more than seventy-five years after they were spoken. In this heartfelt biography, which was the basis for the Academy Award–winning film The Pride of the Yankees, starring Gary Cooper, legendary sportswriter Paul Gallico tells the story of how a son of German immigrants rose to the pinnacle of greatness in America’s pastime and inspired the nation as no other athlete ever has.

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  Living Through The Gale - Being...

  Tom Cunliffe

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  Heavy weather is a lurking spectre that most of us hope and plan to avoid, but not even internet forecasting can make it go away. Anyone intent on crossing oceans must be ready to deal with it if it comes, as well it may. Even well-informed inshore and continental-shelf sailors will inevitably be caught out sooner or later. The object of this slim, quickly absorbed volume is to give everyone, whatever their passage-making aspirations, a sound brief so that whether they find themselves at the wrong end of a force-six blow along the coast, or confronting serious waves far out at sea, they are fully aware of their options for taking it in their stride.Heavy weather is a lurking spectre that most of us hope and plan to avoid, but not even internet forecasting can make it go away. Anyone intent on crossing oceans must be ready to deal with it if it comes, as well it may. Even well-informed inshore and continental-shelf sailors will inevitably be caught out sooner or later. The object of this slim, quickly absorbed volume is to give everyone, whatever their passage-making aspirations, a sound brief so that whether they find themselves at the wrong end of a force-six blow along the coast, or confronting serious waves far out at sea, they are fully aware of their options for taking it in their stride.

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  Is There Life After Football? -...

  Richard S Jones, James A...

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  An award-winning book that takes us “inside the lives of NFL players to show why so many wind up in dire straits after their time on the field” (New York Post).  2016 Best Book Award, North American Society for the Sociology of Sport In this book, two social scientists team up with former linebacker and University of Wisconsin athletic director George Koonce to put a human face on the realities of life after professional football, exploring the challenges players face as well as the factors that can enable them to establish a successful post-NFL career. Drawing upon the experiences of hundreds of former players who describe their lives while playing the sport and after their football days are over, it shows how the “bubble”-like conditions of privilege that NFL players experience often leave them unprepared for the real world once they retire and must manage their own lives. The book also reveals the difficulties affecting former NFL players in retirement: social isolation, financial concerns, inadequate career planning, psychological challenges, and physical injuries. From players who make reckless and unsustainable financial investments during their very few high-earning years, to players who struggle to form personal and professional relationships outside of football, the stories in the book are both poignant and enlightening. Koonce weaves in his own story throughout, explaining the challenges he encountered and decisions that helped him succeed after leaving the sport. Ultimately, Is There Life After Football? concludes that, despite the challenges players face, it is possible for them to find success after leaving the NFL if they have the right support, education, and awareness of what might await them.   “A timely exploration that will be of interest to football fans looking to better understand the complex culture of the NFL.” ―Booklist

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  Right Down + Circle - Tony...

  Cole Nowicki

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  An exuberant, incisive look at how Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater transformed a culture
  		 
  Going from a hobby toy for surfers to an Olympic sport, skateboarding has had a tumultuous history. Today, professional skateboarders land endorsement deals with Nike and Adidas, while popular television series like HBO’s Betty tell the stories of diverse crews of skaters living in New York City. So how did a fledgling subculture rise from its near-death knell in the ’90s to become ubiquitous today? It was simply a matter of finding the right messenger.
  		 
  In 1999, the bestselling video game Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater was released, and a new generation was exposed to skateboarding culture right in their very own homes. Kids and adults alike could now spend hours playing as actual skateboarders, learning the vernacular, listening to the music skateboarders loved, and having fun onscreen before trying to skate IRL in the driveway.
  		 
  Right, Down + Circle explores how a video game starring the most famous pro skater in the world brought skateboarding culture — and its ever-shifting markers of music, subversion, and coolness — to the masses and ultimately transformed the culture it borrowed from in the process.

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