Originally published in the Netherlands in 1978, The Rider became an instant cult classic, selling over 100,000 copies. Brilliantly conceived and written at a breakneck pace, it is a loving, imaginative, and, above all, passionate tribute to the art of bicycle road racing. Not a dry history of the sport, The Rider is beloved as a bicycle odyssey, a literary masterpiece that describes in painstaking detail one 150-kilometer race in a mere 150 pages. We are, every inch of the way, inside amateur biker Tim Krabbé's head as his mind churns at top speed along with his furious peddling. Privy to his every thought-on the glory and vagaries of the sport itself, the weather, the characters and lineage of his rival cyclists, almost hallucinogenic anecdotes about great riders of the past-the book progresses kilometer by kilometer, thought by thought, and the reader is left breathless and exhilarated. A thrillingly realistic look at what it is like to compete in a road race, The Rider is the ultimate book for bike lovers as well as the arm-chair sports enthusiast. Author Biography: Tim Krabbé is one of Holland's leading writers, and his novels are published all over the world. His many books include The Vanishing, which was made into a successful film, and The Cave. He lives in Amsterdam.

    It has become one of the most beloved sports novels ever written. Originally self-published in 1978 and sold at road races out of the trunk of the author’s car, reading the book became a rite of passage for many runners, and tattered copies were handed down like sacred texts from generation to generation.Once a Runner is the story of Quenton Cassidy, a collegiate runner at fictional Southeastern University whose lifelong dream is to run a four-minute mile. He is less than a second away when the political and cultural turmoil of the Vietnam War era intrudes into the staid recesses of his school’s athletic department. After he becomes involved in an athletes’ protest, Cassidy is suspended from his track team.Under the tutelage of his friend and mentor, Bruce Denton, a graduate student and former Olympic gold medalist, Cassidy gives up his scholarship, his girlfriend, and possibly his future to withdraw to a monastic retreat in the countryside and begin training for the race of his life: a head-to-head match with the greatest miler in history.This audiobook is a rare insider’s account of the incredibly intense lives of elite distance runners; an inspiring, funny, and spot-on tale of one man’s quest to become a champion.

    

    It's a delightfully uninhibited insider's account of tennis on the international circuit - both on and off the court - in the fifties and sixties, the glory days of Fred Perry, Roy Emerson, and Virginia Wade. Forbes begins with his childhood on a farm in South Africa, where he learned to play tennis on a gravel court. His game takes him to Europe, as a South Africa Davis Cup player, and finally to Wimbledon. Along the way he cavorts with extraordinary characters among the world-class players, and their tales, and his, shine throughout this memoir of irresistible wit and humility.

    

    Here he tells the story of his remarkable career, the exciting seasons in his and the Yankees' push for the top, and the personal rewards and conflicts along the way.Thurman Munson's stardom was implicit in his youth. Burning up the college circuit while at Kent State, and outgrowing the Yankee farm clubs in a year. Munson justified early praise from Roberto Clemente, with whom he played winter ball, by winning the Rookie of the Year Award overwhelmingly in 1970--the first American League catcher to do it. Later the rivalry between Munson and Boston Red Sox Catcher Carlton Fisk was a perennial media target--Munson here sets an overplayed story straight.With George Steinbrenner's takeover of the Yankees in 1973, big changes were in store. Munson was finding himself the cornerstone of a team once again in serious pennant contention. In 1975 Catfish Hunter arrived on the scene and the Yankees gained a scrappy new manager by the name of Billy Martin. A year later came an American League pennant, with Thurman Munson collecting the Most Valuable Player Award. The addition of slugging Reggie Jackson helped bring a long-awaited World Series victory in 1977 and for the dependable Yankee catcher and captain the hint of a new rivalry--one much closer to home.A career-long dilemma still faced Munson in 1978, despite a remarkable string of well-earned honors, a salary to match, and valued friendships throughout baseball; the unresolved tension between the demanding roles of Yankee star and private man of family and business. In candidly revealing himself here, Thurman Munson provides an inside look at colorful Yankee personalities and an absorbing account of the pressures and thrills that go into major league baseball at its best.Martin Appel spent nine years in the Yankees' front office, including three as Public Relations Director. He is co-author of Baseball's Best: The Hall of Fame Gallery, selected by the American Library Association as the outstanding sports reference book of 1977. He is currently on the staff of the Baseball Commissioner and resides with his wife in White Plains, New York.