Book picks similar to
A Warrior's Heart: The True Story of Life Before and Beyond The Fighter by Micky Ward
nonfiction
sports
boxing
giveaway-losses
Taking Le Tiss
Matt Le Tissier - 2009
This book contains the fascinating, insightful and at times hilarious memoirs of one of the most gifted and enigmatic British footballers of the last 25 years, Matt Le Tissier.
Unwelcomed Songs: Collected Lyrics 1980-1992
Henry Rollins - 2002
A must for all Rollins fans.
Achieving The Impossible: A Fearless Hero. A Fragile Earth
Lewis Pugh - 2010
Lewis Gordon Pugh recounts his action-packed life, including his SAS training and his swim at the North Pole. He takes examples from his own life to show how we can all achieve our goals.
Saint Mick: My Journey from Hardcore Legend to Santa's Jolly Elf
Mick Foley - 2017
After a lifetime of putting his body on the line to entertain his dozens (and dozens!) of fans, the Hardcore Legend is paying the price - both physically and emotionally.. Unable to resist the roar of the crowd, Mick returned to the ring too often, risking too much, losing belief in the characters that had defined him, and losing sight of his dreams. When the final bell on Mick's career finally tolled - not with glory inside the ring, but with solemn words in a neurologist's office, the future is far from merry and bright. Until hope and redemption come to him in the form of a beloved figure from his past. Given the chance to become Santa Claus - not dress up, not pretend, but become - Mick Foley rediscovers the joy of performing, finds a character he can believe in, and even finds a way to put his body on the line in commitment to his new craft, enduring an excruciating six hour bleaching so that the beard on his chin can be as white as the snow. Mick charts a course from the heartwarming to the surreal, detailing the drastic measures he takes to keep the magic age of belief alive for his younger children, as well as taking us inside the secret world of the Santa subculture - where -real-bearded Santas- and -traditional- or -mystical- Santas are quite often at odds as to who makes the better red suit ambassadors. Along the way, Mick worries that he will be excommunicated from the Santa world for everything from his colorful WWE background, to his Santa character being run over by a motor vehicle on Christmas Eve on WWE television, to his intentional breaking of -The Santa Claus Oath- by promising toys to families in need, to his participation in a controversial Santa Claus documentary. With
Saint Mick
, Mick Foley sails into the Holiday season with the earnestness of George Bailey discovering how wonderful life can be, the dog-eared determination of Ralphie on his Red Ryder quest, and with the speed and precision of a Buddy Elf snowball barrage. And with the help of an unlikely elf -- 8 time Grammy award winner Norah Jones -- Mick learns valuable lessons about the real power and responsibility of the red suit, and that success as Santa comes not by appearing in front of millions on TV, but by touching hearts and creating -Santa moments- for the young and the young at heart - one memory at a time.
Benazir Bhutto: Favored Daughter
Brooke Allen - 2016
Born to privilege as the daughter of one of Pakistan’s great feudal families, she was groomed for a diplomatic career and was thrust into the political arena when her father, Pakistan's charismatic and controversial prime minister, was executed. She then led Pakistan, one of the most turbulent and impoverished nations in the world, through two terms as prime minister in the 1980s and 1990s, but she struggled to ward off charges of corruption and retain her tenuous hold on power and was eventually forced into exile. Bhutto returned to Pakistan in 2007, only to be assassinated in Rawalpindi after a triumphant speech.Including interviews with key figures who knew Bhutto and have never before spoken on the record, Benazir Bhutto: Favored Daughter illuminates Bhutto’s tragic life as well as the role she played as the first female prime minister of Pakistan. Celebrated literary critic Brooke Allen approaches Bhutto in a way not many have done before in this taut biography of a figure who had a profound effect on the volatile politics of the Middle East, drawing on contemporary news sources and eyewitness reports, as well as accounts from her supporters and her enemies.
The Last Cowboy: A Life of Tom Landry
Mark Ribowsky - 2013
With his trademark fedora and stoicfacade, he was a man of faith and few words, for twenty-nine years guiding “America’sTeam” from laughingstock to well-oiled machine, with an unprecedented twentyconsecutive winning seasons and two Super Bowl titles. Now, more than a decadeafter Landry’s death, acclaimed biographer Mark Ribowsky takes a fresh look at thismisunderstood legend, telling us as much about our country’s obsession with footballas about Landry himself, the likes of whom we’ll never see again.
Permanently Suspended: The Rise and Fall... and Rise Again of Radio's Most Notorious Shock Jock
Anthony Cumia - 2018
A must-read for all diehard O&A fans, Permanently Suspended finally answers the questions that everyone has been waiting for: What really happened between Opie and Anthony? What was the reasoning behind the multiple firings? What prompted the tweeting about the Times Square NYC incident? What is the true account of the controversial allegations? What are the never-before-revealed details of Anthony’s stint in rehab? What does the future hold for his livestream podcast? These questions, and many more, will be answered. Permanently Suspended is a humorous, no-holds-barred account of the legendary career and life of Anthony Cumia—a blue collar guy who made his dreams come true, rising above all obstacles to become one of the most well-known and successful personalities in radio history.
Not Easily Washed Away: Memoirs of a Muslim's Daughter
Anon Beauty - 2010
Because it is in first person, the reader directly sees the psychological impact of the abuse and comes to understand how the abuser manipulates the victim into cooperating in it. We see the psychological costs of being abused—denial, depression, mental splitting, obsessive-compulsive behaviors, alcohol abuse, hopelessness, shame, fear of harm to her family—but gradually we also experience Laila's struggle. Set in the context of Muslim society where the young female victim knows her word will not be believed in preference to that of her "good" Muslim father, the story could have happened anywhere. Yes, the details are shocking, but they are not prurient, as the negative reviews have suggested. They are sickening and saddening but they are real. The details serve to underline the horrible things that abusers do to kids. I learned much about how the relationship between abuser and victim works and why it is so hard for the victim to break away and recover. This story is all the more moving because it is true. It took great courage for Laila to expose her life in this way, even if she does use a pseudonym. Her opening explanation for why she wrote the book reveals her hope that at least one abused individual will read it and live a healthy, happy life after the horrific experiences of such a childhood.Synopsis: Not Easily Washed Away is the true story of a young girl who was born to a Muslim family in Pakistan. She suffered through sexual, mental and physical abuse for fifteen years, which was perpetrated by her father Abdulla. Laila decides to take advantage of her father’s incestuous addiction by having him acquire a visa for her to the United States, where she feels as if she can rid herself of a putrid past. The book is written from a psychological perspective in first person, as Laila shares her painful past with the reader, sparing no details of her ordeal as a child, teenager and young adult. After she realizes her father’s diabolical plan is to keep her in Pakistan for himself, Laila decides to take fate into her own hands. Her new attitude helps her to turn the tables on her father, now living in America, and manipulate him into marrying an American woman to get Laila’s visa to the United States.The United States is not the instantaneous answer to Laila's plight. She arrived in Seattle, Washington, in 2004 to start a new life away from her father, but ends up being unable to stop the incestuous relationship with him and later on, with her stepmother. Things get even worse for Laila, as she is now twenty years old, depressed, and worried that her family’s fate back in Pakistan might be jeopardized if she leaves home. In the Spring of 2007 Laila’s life changes when her younger sister arrived from Pakistan and when she meets an interesting, Christian, Jamaican man at school. The young man confronts Laila about the abuse, and when she realizes she has feelings for him, she tells him everything. The young man tries to convince Laila that she can become mentally stronger and free herself of her abusive father and stepmother by running away with him.
The Making of a Country Lawyer: An Autobiography
Gerry Spence - 1996
The author, who has defended Karen Silkwood and Randy Weaver among others, recounts his life growing up in Wyoming and the tragic event that caused him become an attorney.
No Encore for the Donkey
Doug Stanhope - 2020
Iconoclast. Apostate. Drunk. Many words have been used to describe Doug Stanhope, but rarely has “hopeful” been one of them. However, heading into 2016, Stanhope peered through the apocalyptic fog and saw a forecast that was more rainbows than acid rain: His first book was set for release, his new stand-up special was in the can, and he was about to film a television pilot with his friend and confidant Johnny Depp. The sharks of Hollywood were circling, and Stanhope’s pockets were filled with chum. The only thing that could stop Doug was himself, and that’s exactly what he did.First came the booze, then came the pills, then came the stripper, and then, Doug came. A tryst aboard a cruise ship leaves him literally and figuratively adrift when his scorned wife, Bingo, reveals she is in love with another man: a jug-sippin’, guitar-pickin’ hobo. A simple, black-out fling turns out to be a pebble tossed into the lake of you-know-what named 2016, and in No Encore for the Donkey, Stanhope traces the resulting rings.Written and performed by Stanhope, his third memoir follows the veteran comedian on a quest to save his marriage, his wife, and eventually his wife’s life. Our hero's journey finds Stanhope cuddling with Johnny Depp in his Los Angeles mansion, receiving some much-needed TLC from Marilyn Manson, and - most daunting - building a new hour of comedy in the rusted-out hellscapes of post-industrial America.Equal parts love letter, road romp, and harrowing condemnation of the failures of America’s mental health care system, No Encore for the Donkey is a hilarious and heartbreaking account of a man balancing on the edge of damnation. With Bingo in a coma and Trump about to be elected, Stanhope sifts through the ruins of his own personal cataclysm in order to answer the big questions: What does it mean to love someone when you can’t love yourself? What is the point of success if you have no one to share it with? And is the end of the world BYOB?
I Just Made The Tea: A lifetime in the Formula 1 pitlane
Di Spires - 2012
In all that time she ran the team motorhome for a succession of different teams, including Lotus in the Senna era and Benetton in the Schumacher era. Her memoir looks at Formula 1 from an unusual viewpoint. As well as Formula 1 people, she has encountered personalities from every walk of life, from royalty to criminals on the run. Her stories range from the hilarious to the tragic and provide a unique insight. This is a fast-paced read packed with surprising snippets and observations, with plenty of intimate insight into what the drivers are really like.
It's Not About the Pom-Poms: How a 40-Year-Old Mom Became the NFL's Oldest Cheerleader--and Found Hope, Joy, and Inspiration Along the Way
Laura Vikmanis - 2012
But she proved them all wrong. . . . Laura Vikmanis has got spirit . . . and pom-poms, too! But before she stepped onto the field as the oldest cheerleader in the National Football League, she was sidelined by a bad marriage and the many responsibilities of stay-at-home motherhood. She finally got the courage to leave her husband and to ask herself something she had never asked before: What do I want to do? Remembering her teenage love of dance, she signed up for a pole-dancing fitness class, where she met a former cheerleader for the Cincinnati Bengals. When the woman suggested that Laura audition to be a “Ben-Gal,” Laura laughed her off but soon realized that the audition process could be a way of healing herself—and regaining her confidence. Her boots were made for walking—but also for stomping on a football field.She tried out for the team next to girls young enough to be her daughters. Girls with tighter abs, fuller hair, no kids, and no crow’s-feet. After much adversity and multiple auditions, she finally made the team, becoming the oldest cheerleader in the League.It’s Not About the Pom-Poms follows Laura’s inspiring, funny, and eye-opening journey from demoralized divorcée to high-kicking Cincinnati Ben-Gal. Readers will cheer her on as she rediscovers her passion for dancing, takes hip-hop classes with twelve-year-olds, loses twenty-five pounds, discovers her abs, finds love again, and becomes a new kind of role model to her daughters. Laura also provides an inside look into the fascinating world of NFL cheerleaders—the grueling workouts, bad pay, twice-weekly weigh-ins, but, most important, the lifelong bond between the women, who do it all for the glory.Leading with her heart, Laura Vikmanis faces adversity with her head held high as she learns in mid-life to take a flying leap. Powerful and uplifting, It’s Not About the Pom-Poms shows that, no matter your age, it’s never too late to go, fight, and win!
The Last Gangster: My Final Confession
Charlie Richardson - 2013
Boss of the Richardson Gang and rival of the Krays, to cross him would result in brutal repercussions. Famously arrested on the day England won the World Cup in 1966, his trial heard he allegedly used iron bars, bolt cutters and electric shocks on his enemies.The Last Gangster is Richardson’s frank account of his largely untold life story, finished just before his death in September 2012. He shares the truth behind the rumours and tells of his feuds with the Krays for supremacy, undercover missions involving politicians, many lost years banged up in prison and reveals shocking secrets about royalty, phone hacking, bent coppers and the infamous black box.Straight up, shocking and downright gripping, this is the ultimate exposé on this legendary gangster and his extraordinary life.
One More Hour
Sleater-Kinney - 2021
Listen to this bold duo speak openly about the places, people, and movements that have shaped their career as well as the evolution of their creative and personal relationship. The bandmates and friends trace how their ambitions and their relationship have continued to inform each other and how they’ve navigated through the ups and downs for the sake of the band and their art. They move seamlessly through the different chapters of the band, sharing peeks behind the curtain, like the story behind their beloved autobiographical song "One More Hour," which they wrote about their own experience breaking up as a romantic couple and finding their way back to each other as friends and bandmates.They dive into their ongoing journey from their beginnings out of the Riot Grrrl scene in Olympia, Washington, to Carrie’s triumph with the TV show Portlandia, and on to their continued efforts to challenge each other and meet the political moment. It’s a deeply personal and exciting exploration of themes that have followed them throughout their career, like anxiety, activism, feminism, LGBTQ identity, motherhood, friendship, creativity, and change —all illustrated by evocative new recordings that’ll make you turn up the volume.This entry to the Words + Music series features eight exclusive new versions of songs spanning the band’s 10-album discography (so far), from "One More Hour" and 'One Beat" to "Path of Wellness" and "Worry With You" from their 2021 album Path of Wellness.©2021 Sleater-Kinney, LLC (P)2021 Audible Originals, LLC