A major work of American history by an author with a flair for mesmerizing story-telling.” —ForbesHe lived in the present tense—in the camera’s lens. There was no frame he couldn’t or wouldn’t fill. He swung the heaviest bat, earned the most money, and incurred the biggest fines. Like all the new-fangled gadgets then flooding the marketplace—radios, automatic clothes washers, Brownie cameras, microphones and loudspeakers—Babe Ruth "made impossible events happen." Aided by his crucial partnership with Christy Walsh—business manager, spin doctor, damage control wizard, and surrogate father, all stuffed into one tightly buttoned double-breasted suit—Ruth drafted the blueprint for modern athletic stardom.His was a life of journeys and itineraries—from uncouth to couth, spartan to spendthrift, abandoned to abandon; from Baltimore to Boston to New York, and back to Boston at the end of his career for a finale with the only team that would have him. There were road trips and hunting trips; grand tours of foreign capitals and post-season promotional tours, not to mention those 714 trips around the bases.After hitting his 60th home run in September 1927—a total that would not be exceeded until 1961, when Roger Maris did it with the aid of the extended modern season—he embarked on the mother of all barnstorming tours, a three-week victory lap across America, accompanied by Yankee teammate Lou Gehrig. Walsh called the tour a "Symphony of Swat." The Omaha World Herald called it "the biggest show since Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey, and seven other associated circuses offered their entire performance under one tent." In The Big Fella, acclaimed biographer Jane Leavy recreates that 21-day circus and in so doing captures the romp and the pathos that defined Ruth’s life and times.Drawing from more than 250 interviews, a trove of previously untapped documents, and Ruth family records, Leavy breaks through the mythology that has obscured the legend and delivers the man.

    Donald Hall's forceful, yet elegant, prose brings together all the elements of Dock Ellis's story into a seamless whole.  The two of them, the pitcher and the poet, give us remarkable insight into the customs and culture of this closed clannish world.  Dock's keen vision, filtered through Hall's extraordinary voice, shows us the hardships and problems of the thinking athlete in an unthinking world.

    Two teams from the same city squared off against each other in an intracity World Series, pitting the heavily favored Cubs of the National League against the hardscrabble American League champion White Sox. Now, for its centennial anniversary, noted historian Bernard A. Weisberger tells the tale of a unique time in baseball, a unique time in America, and a time when Chicago was at the center of it all.At the turn of the century, American baseball and America itself were, to a modern observer, both completely alien and yet timelessly similar to what we know today. In 1906 the sport of baseball was still mired in the "dead ball" era, when defense won championships, and players didn't need bodybuilder physiques in order to be competitive. The league was racially segregated. A six-day workweek was threatened by early game times, as the first night game wouldn't be played for another three decades. There was no radio to broadcast the contest. Only one ball was used throughout the game. And yet it was still ninety feet between bases. The home team still batted in the bottom of the ninth inning. And the final score could still capture the attention of a nation.It was a time when the accomplishments on the field mirrored those beyond the diamond. America was the land of the self-made man, the land where hard work and determination could make a person's fortune. A. G. Spalding proved instrumental in making baseball what it is today -- a thriving business and a national pastime. Charles Comiskey worked his way from scoring runs as a player to becoming one of the most influential owners in baseball history. Mordecai "Three-Finger" Brown overcame a horribly disfiguring injury to become a Hall of Fame pitcher for the Cubs. And Tinkers-to-Evers-to-Chance proved that you could use teamwork to stand out as stars.A city that had rebuilt itself from the ashes of the Great Fire thirty-five years earlier was now the focal point of an entire baseball-loving country. The contest that could be called the Great Streetcar Series would electrify the city of Chicago, and prove to be one of the most unique and exciting World Series ever to be played.

    An all-around superstar, he plays the game with a single-minded ferocity that makes his New York Mets team all but invincible. Yet Barr himself is a mystery with no past, no friends, no women, and no interests outside hitting a baseball as hard and as far as he can. Not even Ellie Jay, the jaded sportswriter who can out-think, out-drink, and out-write any man in the press box. She wants to think she admires Barr's skill on a ballfield, but suspects she might be in love with a man who isn't really there.Barr leads the Mets to one championship after another. Then chaos arrives in the person of new manager Charli Stanzi, well-known psychopath. Under Stanzi's tutelage, the team simply falls apart. Then Barr himself inexplicably starts to unravel. For the first time in his life, his formidable skills fail him, and only Ellie Jay and another can help - if he will let them. Hanging in the balance are his sanity, the World Series, and true love.

    The guy who visits Nick Saban's lake house and somehow gets Coach to jump in the lake. The guy who sits down with Dale Jr. at Daytona to talk through tears about his miraculous return to racing. The guy who interviews Tiger Woods, Tim Tebow, Peyton Manning and Jimmie Johnson -- the guy who gets paid to live the fantasy of every sports fan in America.Never Settle is the funny but oh, it's true story of how Marty got here, and a revealing look at his journey. Never Settle includes all the best stories and behind-the-scenes moments from Marty's wild life, covering topics including: college football, racing, fathers and sons, how sports can bring us together, and how it all goes back to growing up on a farm and playing high school ball in Pearisburg, Virginia.

    and Lou Gehrig, who each achieved the coveted and sometimes confounding record of most consecutive games played When Cal Ripken Jr. began his career with the Baltimore Orioles at age twenty-one, he had no idea he’d beat the historic record of 2,130 games played in a row set by Lou Gehrig, the fabled “Iron Horse” of the New York Yankees. When Ripken beat that record by 502 games, the baseball world was floored. Few feats in sports history have generated more acclaim. But the record that Ripken now owns, quite possibly forever, spawns an array of questions. Was his streak or Gehrig’s the more difficult achievement? Who owned the record before Gehrig? When did someone first think it was a good idea to play in so many games without taking a day off?   Through probing research, meticulous analysis, and colorful parallel storytelling, The Streak delves into this impressive but controversial milestone, unraveling Gehrig’s at times unwitting pursuit of that goal and Ripken’s fierce determination to play the game his way, which resulted in his seizing of the record decades later. Along the way Eisenberg dives deep into the history of the record and offers a portrait of the pastime in different eras, going back more than a century.   The question looms: Was it harder for Ripken or Gehrig to play every day for so long? The length of seasons, the number of teams in the major leagues, the inclusion of non-white players, travel, technology, and even media are all part of the equation. Larger than all of this, however, is a book that captures the deeply American appreciation—as seen in the sport itself, its players, and its fans—for that workaday mentality and that desire to be there for the game they love, the job they are paid to do.

    He walks in the footsteps of Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, and Mantle, and someday his shadow will loom just as large. Yet he has never been the best player in baseball. In fact, he hasn’t always been the best player on his team. But his intangible grace and Jordanesque ability to play big in the biggest of postseason moments make him the face of the modern Yankee dynasty, and of America’s game.In The Captain, best-selling author Ian O’Connor draws on extensive reporting and unique access to Jeter that has spanned some fifteen years to reveal how a biracial kid from Michigan became New York’s most beloved sports figure and the enduring symbol of the steroid-free athlete. O’Connor takes us behind the scenes of a legendary baseball life and career, from Jeter’s early struggles in the minor leagues, when homesickness and errors in the field threatened a stillborn career, to his heady days as a Yankee superstar and prince of the city who squired some of the world’s most beautiful women, to his tense battles with former best friend A-Rod. We also witness Jeter struggling to come to terms with his declining skills and the declining favor of the only organization he ever wanted to play for, leading to a contentious contract negotiation with the Yankees that left people wondering if Jeter might end his career in a uniform without pinstripes.Derek Jeter’s march toward the Hall of Fame has been dignified and certain, but behind that leadership and hero’s grace there are hidden struggles and complexities that have never been explored, until now. As Jeter closes in on 3,000 hits, a number no Yankee has ever touched, The Captain offers an incisive, exhilarating, and revealing new look at one of the game’s greatest players in the gloaming of his career.

    Then check out their other lists and insights from the first 100 years of the NHL, including: - The Top 10 Ways The NHL Will Be Different in 25 Years - The Top 10 Most Questionable Decisions Under Gary Bettman - The 10 Worst Teams In NHL History - And the biggest gripes the authors had with each other’s rankings All of this makes THE 100 GREATEST PLAYERS IN NHL HISTORY (AND OTHER STUFF) a must-read for sports fans who love raging debates and the glorious weirdness of hockey!

    Henry Graham is a ten year-old boy whose father has just left home for good. When the two meet in 1971 at a downtown Pittsburgh bus stop, all they seem to have in common is their love of baseball. But that is enough to begin a life-long friendship that, eventually, enables both men to confront old enemies and heal old wounds. Philip Beard's third and most accomplished novel swings between two narratives the way John Kostka swings through life. The result is a multifaceted meditation on childhood heroes, the beauty of baseball and the power of love to heal a family in crisis. "SWING is at once heartbreaking, uplifting and emotionally resonant. In a word, it’s beautiful." –Pittsburgh Magazine "It wouldn't be fair or accurate to call SWING a sports book. It's too rare for that." –The Sporting News ​"SWING is richly rewarding...a tight, poignant coming of age novel...[that] will stay with you long after you put this book down." –Sports Illustrated “Every character—the absent father, the troubled sister, the mysterious wonder that is John Kostka—feels alive due to Beard‘s skillfully simple prose and dialogue. With SWING, Beard has hit it out of the park.” –Foreword Reviews ". . . just about perfect.” – The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

    Cub, to Sammy Sosa, today's record-setting sensation, Cubs Nation traces the history of a team that often had everything going for it and yet was so hampered by losses that it came to define the term lovable losers.

    He sprains his ankle and wonders how he will hit homers--or even singles--when every swing means pain.

    Live large. Love like there’s no tomorrow.Life rarely goes according to plan. Sometimes the unexpected is even better than we could have ever imagined …For as long as he can remember, Mason has wanted to pursue his dream of being a musician. He’s been chomping at the bit to jump into the industry for years, but his daddy has been holding him back, claiming that Mason still has some growing up to do. As far as Mason is concerned, he’s plenty grown, and just as talented and driven as his older brother Cash.Mason knows that he has what it takes to soar. He only needs his shot.Just when his life takes the turn he always wanted, love and life open up a new path of possibilities that could be even better than he imagined. If only Mason can summon the courage to embrace the unexpected.

    He never had good intentions with my heart from the beginning. Novah, Billie and Normani navigate through life with their heads held high despite their tumultuous relationships with the men they fathered kids with. Novah fell into love quickly with Carter. They were young. He was a rising NFL star and she was a popular video vixen. Years skate by and Novah realizes he isn’t the man she thought he was. After ending their love affair, she learns of their twin sons. Novah does the best she can to keep the peace. While the media makes her out to be the bitter, gold digging baby momma she takes it to the chin. For her sons, she will eat up any negative accusation the world has to say about her. Her only aspiration in life is to give her sons a good one. When Novah begins to stand up to Carter and his demanding ways things go left. He shows her a side of him that she’s never seen before and Novah is left with two choices. Turn another blind eye to his foul ways or finally expose him for the hateful person that he really is. Billie was born to model. It flowed through her being effortlessly. Billie only wanted two things in life. That was to model and be with Dreux. Dreux, however. wanted out of Detroit. He watched his brother fall victim to the streets and vowed to be different. Despite Billie’s love for him he left Detroit and attended college out of state. While being apart from Dreux, Billie found comfort with his cousin Malachi. Malachi was Billie’s yes man. Whatever she needed he was there to make it happen. Billie wasn’t attracted to him but was grateful for his presence. One lonely night Billie found herself in bed with Malachi. From that encounter, a child was created. Billie immediately regretted her decision to be with him and because she wanted nothing else from him Malachi turned bitter. Billie allowed for her broken heart over Dreux to lead her down a dangerous path. She partied more and ended up losing her son to Malachi. It was a mistake that he refused to let her live down. Now that Billie is better than ever and ready to get her son back Malachi is fighting her at every turn. Billie wants peace in her life but with Malachi constantly bringing her chaos she’s fearful that the old Billie might resurface and that’s the last thing she needs. Normani is young and full of life. While in her first year of college she met the popular DJ to the stars Tru. Tru was like a dream come true for her. The unattainable man that somehow wanted her and immediately she became engrossed by him. Without having to think about it she gave up school and allowed for her life to revolve around Tru. She became his biggest fan and after being together for a few years their daughter was born. Suddenly Normani began to see things in Tru that she hadn’t seen before. He was controlling, distant and selfish. Normani had only known two parents. She had an amazing childhood and wanted her daughter to have the same but Tru was making it hard for her to do so. When Normani’s childhood friend Azariah comes home for good and starts to garner her attention Tru takes notice. He makes big strides to show Normani that he is a changed man but for Normani it may be too late. This is a two-part series.

    This is the first time this novel has been available as an ebook and the first time it has been available outside the UK. Vernon Coleman is also the author of the bestseller Too Many Clubs and Not Enough Balls and the hugely successful bestselling Bilbury series. `As captain of my golf club I thought your book was a hoot.' - H.D. `An excellent and amusing story and I'm not even a golfer.' J.H. `Light hearted entertainment - very readable.' - Golf World `Thank you for providing me with hours of happy reading.' E.M. `Hugely enjoyable, in the best tradition of British comic writing.' Evening Chronicle `The scenario is tailor made or Vernon Coleman's light and amusing anecdotes about country life and pursuits. His fans will lap it up.' Sunday Independent Vernon Coleman has written over 100 books (many of which are now available as Kindle books on Amazon). His books have sold over two million copies in the UK in hardback and paperback and have been translated into 25 languages. His novel Mrs Caldicot's Cabbage War was turned into an award winning movie. What the readers say about Vernon Coleman and his books: Coleman is a very funny writer - This England Laugh out loud funny - Golf World He writes lucidly and wittily - Good Housekeeping Superstar - Independent on Sunday Vernon Coleman writes brilliant books - The Good Book Guide Compulsive reading - The Guardian etc etc For a list of books by Vernon Coleman please visit his author page on Amazon. For more information please visit www.vernoncoleman.com

    Mays recalls his childhood in rural Alabama, his early playing career, and his life as a star rookie in the glory days of New York baseball.