Book picks similar to
Game Day by Derek Jeter


baseball
yankees
sports-book-collection
mike

One Man's War: The WWII Saga of Tommy LaMore


Tommy Lamore - 2002
    In One Man's War a B-17 pilot vividly details his experiences in war-ravaged Germany, from the horrific to the romantic and beyond. 20 photos.

The Scarlet Sisters: My nanna’s story of secrets and heartache on the banks of the River Thames


Helen Batten - 2015
    What she unearths is a tale of five feisty red heads struggling to climb out of poverty and find love through two world wars. It’s a story full of surprises and scandal – a death in a workhouse, a son kept in a box, a shameful war record, a clandestine marriage and children taken far too soon. It’s as if there is a family curse. But Helen also finds love, resilience and hope – crazy wagers, late night Charlestons and stolen kisses. As she unravels the story of Nanna and her scarlet sisters, Helen starts to break the spell of the past, and sees a way she might herself find love again.

The Maybelline Story and the Spirited Family Dynasty Behind It


Sharrie Williams - 2010
    Mabel’s simple beauty trick ignited Tom Lyle’s imagination and he started what would become a billion-dollar business, one that remains a viable American icon after nearly a century. He named it Maybelline in her honor.Throughout the 20th century, the Maybelline Company inflated, collapsed, endured, and thrived in tandem with the nation’s upheavals—as did the family that nurtured it. Setting up shop first in Chicago, Williams later, to avoid unwanted scrutiny of his private life, cloistered himself behind the gates of his Rudolph Valentino Villa and ran his empire from a distance. Now after nearly a century of silence, this true story celebrates the life of an American entrepreneur, a man whose vision rocketed him to success along with the woman held in his orbit, Evelyn Boecher—who became his lifelong fascination and muse.Captivated by her “roaring charisma,” he affectionately called her the “real Miss Maybelline” and based many of his advertising campaigns on the woman she represented: commandingly beautiful, hard-boiled and daring. Evelyn masterminded a life of vanity, but would fall prey to fortune hunters and a mysterious murder that even today remains unsolved. A fascinating and inspiring story, a tale both epic and intimate, alive with the clash, the hustle, the music, and dance of American enterprise.

Blueberry Hill: a Sister's Story


Bette Lee Crosby - 2014
     Based on the realities of her own family, Crosby calls this a memoir of sorts. Traveling back to a time when the sisters were young enough to feel invincible and foolish enough to believe it would last forever, Crosby has bared her soul in a story of regrettable decisions and inevitable outcomes. Blueberry Hill is a tale of family relationships, love and tragedy. It is a story that will touch your heart and stay with you long after you have closed the book.

Laid Bare: A Memoir of Wrecked Lives and the Hollywood Death Trip


John Gilmore - 1997
    With caustic clarity and 20/20 hindsight, Gilmore unstintingly recounts his relationships with the likes of James Dean, Janis Joplin, Dennis Hopper, Jack Nicholson, Jane Fonda, Jean Seberg and Lenny Bruce and many other denizens of the twentieth century's dubious, Pantheon both on the way up at the peaks of their notoriety.

Cobb: A Biography


Al Stump - 1994
    Now in paperback, the biography that baseball fans all across the country have been talking about. Al Stump redefined America's perception of one of its most famous sports heroes with this gripping look at a man who walked the line between greatness and psychosis. Based on Stump's interviews with Ty Cobb while ghostwriting the Hall-of-Famer's 1961 autobiography, this award-winning new account of Cobb's life and times reveals both the darkness and the brilliance of the "Georgia Peach." "The most powerful baseball biography I have read."--Roger Kahn, author of THE BOYS OF SUMMER

Jackie Robinson (Heroes of America Illustrated Lives)


Joshua E. Hanft - 1980
    By providing students with this important foundation, this title offers a fresh approach to teaching American culture while expanding fluency.

If These Walls Could Talk: Boston Red Sox


Jerry Remy - 2019
    In If These Walls Could Talk: Boston Red Sox, former player and longtime broadcaster Jerry Remy provides insight into the team's inner sanctum as only he can. Readers will gain the perspective of players, coaches, and personnel in moments of greatness as well as defeat, making for a keepsake no fan will want to miss.

Fridays with Red: A Radio Friendship


Bob Edwards - 1993
    Barbers commentaries on Fridays at 7:35 A.M. wove together tales from sports events past, his views of the current athletic scene, biblical allegories, historical references, & the latest goings-on among the flora & fauna of his garden. Those commentaries became one of NPRs best-loved features, & Barber became a grandfather figure for his listeners, dispensing wisdom & advice along with the anecdotes & reminisces. Through the years, their friendship grew & bloomed in full aural view of an appreciative audience. Photos.

Big Show: Inside ESPN's Sportscenter


Keith Olbermann - 1997
    The Big Show gives you the honest, horrifying, yet always entertaining story of two men, three cameras, and highlights run amok: that voodoo that Keith and Dan do to make The Big Show run slicker than Pat Riley's do; Keith's controversial list of should-be baseball Hall of Famers (100 of them, for Pete's sake); Dan and Keith's on-air flubs - errors that make even Bill Buckner's blunder seem minor; and Keith and Dan's complaints about sports idiocies - and each other!

Baseball Maverick: How Sandy Alderson Revolutionized Baseball and Revived the Mets


Steve Kettmann - 2014
    One of baseball’s most valuable franchises, they had suffered an embarrassing late season collapse and two bitter losing seasons. Their GM had made costly mistakes. And their principle owners, two Bernie Madoff investors, were embroiled in the fall-out from the largest financial scam in American history.To whom did they turn? Sandy Alderson, a former marine who served in Vietnam and graduated from Harvard Law. Alderson started in baseball with the Oakland Athletics in 1981. Two years later, he was running the team.With the A’s, Alderson led a revolution in baseball. Partnering with Apple, he introduced the first computers into the sport and used statistical analysis for everything from unorthodox player evaluation to modernizing ticket sales. He attracted bright people and turned the team into a powerhouse, winning the 1989 World Series. When new owners slashed payroll, his creativity and intelligent management were thrust into the spotlight.Best-selling author Steve Kettmann follows Alderson's transformation of baseball over the last thirty years and his attempts to turn the Mets back into contenders. This is a gripping behind-the-scenes look at a Major League team and a fascinating exploration of what it means to be smart.

Lou: Fifty Years of Kicking Dirt, Playing Hard, and Winning Big in the Sweet Spot of Baseball


Lou Piniella - 2017
    With respected veteran sportswriter Bill Madden, Piniella now reflects on his storied career, offering fans a glimpse of life on the field, in the dugout, and inside the clubhouse.Piniella speaks from the heart about his teams and his players, offering a detailed, up-close portrait of the Bronx Zoo’s raucous personalities such as Reggie Jackson and Catfish Hunter, as well as his close friendship with Thurman Munson and his unusual relationship with George Steinbrenner. He also delves deep into his post-Yankee experiences, from winning a World Series for the controversial owner of the Cincinnati Reds, Marge Schott, to transforming the perennial cellar-dwelling Seattle Mariners into one of the league’s best teams. Some of the game’s brightest stars are here: Ken Griffey Jr, Randy Johnson, and Alex Rodriguez, Piniella’s supremely talented and controversial protégé.

Bedpans and Bobby Socks: Five British Nurses on the American Road Trip of a Lifetime


Barbara Fox - 2011
    Driving. Always driving.' Gwenda had always loved the open road, but her home town of Newcastle didn't really offer the sort of adventure she longed for. So, in 1957, with friend and fellow nurse Pat in tow, she left the dismal British winter behind, and embarked on an amazing American adventure.After a year nursing in Cleveland, Gwenda, Pat and three new friends set off on a road trip around North America, driving in a rickety 1949 Ford. What follows is the charming true story of five remarkable young women. Over the course of eighteen months, the girls go to a 4th July rodeo, visit San Francisco and Las Vegas, learn to surf in Hawaii, spot movie stars in Hollywood and celebrate Mardi Gras in New Orleans.Wherever they go, the travelling nurses cause a sensation. This is a delightfully nostalgic memoir of friendship and the romance of the open road.

Veeck As In Wreck: The Autobiography of Bill Veeck


Bill Veeck - 1962
    His classic autobiography, written with the talented sportswriter Ed Linn, is an uproarious book packed with information about the history of baseball and tales of players and owners, including some of the most entertaining stories in all of sports literature.

Wonderfully Dysfunctional - It Must be Genetic


Buffi Neal - 2012
    A gypsy mother who refused to wear a bra and a father who refused to leave his first wife. A brother who slept under the coffee table and a sister who was kidnapped. A cheating minister, a missing uncle and a feisty red-headed grandmother who was longing to leave it all. I always knew my family was unusual, but I was lucky enough to have escaped that gene. Or was I? In a nursing home, seated next to my dying grandmother, I looked around at my family and it occurred to me that I fit right in. No bra, dirty sneakers and two ex husbands. Maybe it really is genetic - maybe I never had a chance. With the help of my siblings, I began a journey of self discovery as we recalled stories of our youth including juicy family secrets, inappropriate practical jokes and betrayal. On a journey to find normal, I found myself instead.