Book picks similar to
Forty Minutes of Hell: The Extraordinary Life of Nolan Richardson by Rus Bradburd
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A Spectacle of Dust
Pete Postlethwaite - 2011
The candid memoirs of a great character actor Steven Spielberg called him "the best actor in the world," about which Postlethwaite said: "I'm sure what Spielberg actually said was, 'the thing about Pete is that he thinks he's the best actor in the world.'" This is the story of a diverse and multi-talented actor's eventful life, told in his own vibrant words as he was at the end of it.
Breaker Boys: The NFL's Greatest Team and the Stolen 1925 Championship
David Fleming - 2007
Built by an eccentric owner, molded by a visionary coach and loaded with hardscrabble miners, college All Americans and the sky's the limit ethos of the Roaring Twentys, the Maroons did the unthinkable and dominated the NFL in their rookie season. (Their improbable rise was chronicled each week in the local paper by a rookie Pottsville sportswriter named John OOHara.)Little Pottsville outscored its first seven opponents 162-6. The boys so thoroughly pummeled one opponent, angry fans shot up their train car as the Maroons rode out of town. In the final game of that first season the Maroons traveled to the Midwest to face the league-leading Chicago Cardinals in what was viewed as the championship game for 1925. The Maroons overcame a Windy City snowstorm and an injury to their best player to defeat the Cardinals 21-7.But the fans wanted more.College ball was still king. And as news of PottsvilleOs success was splashed across the news reels and headlines throughout the country, a movement began to have the Maroons face a team of college All-Stars from the University of Notre Dame, featuring the legendary Four Horsemen, the finest collection of talent the game had ever known. Experts believed the NFL was still decades away from competing with college football. But on a neutral field in Philadelphia, in a battle described as The Greatest Football Game Ever Seen, the Maroons shocked the world and turned the football establishment upside-down, defeating Notre Dame 9-7 on a last-second field goal by their captain Charlie Berry who had his kicking cleat bronzed for eternity.The championship was theirs. The NFL was finally on the map. The Maroons victory over Notre Dame had legitimized the league. It also destroyed the town and the team that made it all possible.Claiming the upstart Maroons had violated the territory of another franchise by playing Notre Dame in Philadelphia, the NFL suspended Pottsville and awarded the 1925 NFL championship to the Chicago Cardinals. The Cardinals refused to accept the bogus title and the 1925 crown was never officially awarded. For more than 80 years, fans of the Pottsville MaroonsNthe team Red Grange said was the greatest he ever facedNhave fought to have the 1925 title returned to its rightful owners.With Breaker Boys their remarkable story is told at last.
No Time for Fear: How a shark attack survivor beat the odds
Paul de Gelder - 2011
Paul chased adventure wherever he could find it, from his wild ride as a hoodlum teen and his drug-and-alcohol fuelled stint working in a strip club to hauling his way up to the elite echelons of the defence forces.But trouble hunted him down in the form of a brutal shark in February 2009. Paul lost two limbs, and his career as a daredevil navy clearance diver was flung into jeopardy. Drawing on everything his eventful life had taught him, Paul left nothing to chance in his recovery. He fought through excruciating pain, smashing challenge after challenge, and amazing the medical staff with his will to succeed. His inspiring story takes ‘never say die’ to a whole new level.
The Unstoppable Keeper
Lutz Pfannenstiel - 2009
A massive bestseller in Germany, this astonishing, fascinating and at times hilarious book relates a football career in which Lutz: Became the only person to have played professional football in all FIFA Confederations Was wrongly jailed for match fixing in Singapore spending 101 days in horrific conditions Signed for 25 teams (including Notts Forest, Wimbledon's Crazy Gang and Calgary) Stopped breathing three times after his heart stopped during a game Turned down mighty Bayern Munich to play in Malaysia Coached teams in such exotic locations as Norway, Namibia, Armenia and Cuba Kidnapped a Penguin! All this because he simply loved playing football and because, quite simply, goalkeepers are mad!"
A Star Shattered: The Rise & Fall & Rise of Wrestling Diva
Tammy "Sunny" Sytch - 2016
World famous wrestling diva Tammy Lynn “Sunny” Sytch has written a tell-all autobiography that follows her into the ring and on the road, through her romantic relationships, domestic abuse, her battle with cancer, incarceration, getting sober and the release of her adult film with Vivid Entertainment.
Roughy: The Autobiography
Jarryd Roughead - 2020
Lining up alongside some of the greatest to ever play the game, he was a key player in a Hawthorn team that will live on as one of the best of any era.In 2015, when a melanoma was found on his bottom lip, it seemed like only a small setback. The spot was removed and, soon after, Jarryd was back on the ground, helping the Hawks secure their famous three-peat – his fourth premiership. He was newly married, planning a family, and life seemed carefree. Then, during a routine check-up in 2016, a scan showed the melanoma had moved into his lungs. He had cancer.Jarryd was one of the first to receive an immunotherapy treatment that is now saving lives around the world – and ultimately saved his. But the side effects were brutal. Endless days and nights of agony, including nerve damage to his feet that threatened any possible return to footy.What saw Jarryd through was the same resilience, drive and positivity that had turned him into an elite footballer in the first place. Not only did he return to play AFL, he was named captain of Hawthorn. A one-club man, Roughy retired as a legend and an inspiration.
Jonesy: Put Your Head Down and Skate: The Improbable Career of Keith Jones
Keith Jones - 2007
The improbable hockey career of Jonsey started in 1992, when he was with the Washington Capitals. After a brief stint in Colorado, Keith was traded to Philadelphia, where is hard work, dirty play and colorful personality made him one of the more popular players in recent history. Jonsey is the story of Keith s career in the league as well as all of the interesting stories he accumulated over the course of his career, playing with some of the leagues best players in the last 15 years, including Peter Forsberg, Joe Sakic, Mark Recchi and Eric Lindros. The book will include a forward written by Hall of Fame defense-man Ray Bourque.
Jeff Lynne: Electric Light Orchestra - Before and After
John Van der Kiste - 2015
From there he joined the ever-popular Move, then helped form the groundbreaking Electric Light Orchestra. After co-founder Roy Wood left in 1972, Lynne turned what had been a struggling rock and classical fusion into one of Britain s most consistently successful and popular acts. Following a run of hit singles, albums, and sell-out concerts throughout the world, he laid the group to rest in 1986 and combined a solo career as an artist and producer with membership of the ultimate supergroup, the Traveling Wilburys. His production credits include Roy Orbison, Tom Petty, Del Shannon, George Harrison, and even the Beatles on their two final singles in the mid- 90s. Jeff Lynne: The Electric Light Orchestra, Before and After is the first-ever biography of one of the most prolific and highly regarded performers of the last fifty years. Rich in backstage anecdotes of overheated orchestras, frontmen rivalries, tour mishaps, cross-group partnerships, unlikely collaborations, and self-imposed exile from the stage in the quest for inspiration, this book will leave fans and general readers delighted and inspired by a career at the epicentre of twentieth-century rock. ** This electronic edition contains 35 photographs **
Clandestino: In Search of Manu Chao
Peter Culshaw - 2013
That's Manu in a nutshell. He does everything differently. He is a multi-million selling artist who prefers sleeping on friends' floors to five-star hotels, an anti-globalisation activist who hangs out with prostitute-activists in Madrid and Zapatista leader Comandante Marcos in Chiapas, a recluse who is at home singing in front of 100,000 people in stadiums in Latin America or festivals in Europe.Clandestino has been five years in the writing, as Peter Culshaw followed Manu around the world, invited at a moment's notice to head to the Sahara, or Brazil, or to Buenos Aires, where Manu was making a record with mental asylum inmates. The result is one of the most fascinating music biographies we're ever likely to read.
Sachin: The Story of the World's Greatest Batsman
Gulu Ezekiel - 2002
He was barely fifteen years old when he first wrote his name into the record books with a stupendous 664-run partnership with his childhood friend Vinod Kambli. Two year later, he struck his first century in first-class cricket. At eighteen, he became the second youngest man to make a hundred in international cricket, and after that there was no looking back. Records tumbled by the wayside as he captivated audiences first in his home city of Mumbai, then in the rest of India and all over the cricket-playing world. Today, Sachin is widely accepted as the world's finest batsman, with impeccable technique, an incredible array of strokes, and maturity far beyond his years. His teammates and friends swear by him, his fans worship him and there are few, if any, critics of his game or his temperament. In this biography of the hero of Indian cricket, sports writer Gulu Ezekiel mines interviews, press reports and conversations over the last decade to create an accurate and sympathetic account of the man and his first passion: cricket. He tracks Sachin from his childhood when he first caught the bug of cricket, through his early performances in the Ranji Trophy and other domestic tournaments, and follows him on his meteoric rise to international stardom. With unfailing attention to detail, he reconstructs the crucial matches and events that marked Sachin's career and unravels for us the magic of the charismatic cricketer whom Wisden once dubbed 'bigger than Jesus'. Sachin: The Story of the World's Greatest Batsman, the first, serious exhaustive biography of the Tendulkar career so far, brings back, like a warm autumn breeze does, the memory of the wunderkind's early exhilarating summers in international cricket...The book is akin to a documentary in prose...the book's big virtue is that it is laboriously researched and cross-referenced. For any quizzer on Mastermind India opting for "The Life and Times of Sachin Tendulkar" as their specialist subject there's good news. You just got yourself the ready reckoner that covers 1973-2002.
My Life In Wrestling
Gary Hart - 2009
It’s the book that everyone who loves old-school wrestling has waited years to read.From his unique and privileged vantage point, Gary Hart shares, among other things, a behind-the-scenes history of World Class and Texas wrestling, the compelling story of the plane crash that took the life of Bobby Shane, and detailed insight into some of the biggest wrestling angles of all time, such as "the Dusty turn" in 1974 and Christmas night 1982 in Dallas.My Life in Wrestling…With a Little Help From My Friends is a ruthlessly honest look at one of the greatest wrestling minds of all time, written with humor, intelligence, and a deep affection that only “Playboy” Gary Hart himself could provide.
Journey of a Master: Swami Chinmayananda
Nancy Freeman Patchen - 1989
In telling the story of one master’s training and evolution in the Himalayas and his subsequent mission to his countrymen, the author enlightens you on the essence of India’s culture, philosophy and religion. His story will surely educate you, inspire you, and broaden your horizons of the meaning of life.The Swami spent five years in the Himalayas under the tutelage of two incredible Masters of live, as different as day and night. Although both were scholars of the scriptures, their manifestation was unique. One was an incredible streak of light and energy who traveled India teaching, then created a huge ashram center to serve all of humanity. The other was a quiet contemplative recluse who sang inspirational songs and taught only a few students.Swami Chinmayananda appeared on the scene at an appropriate time in Indian history. The British had just left the country with no one trained to take the helm of State. The British had taken all the top government positions. In addition, they had curtailed any industrial development; the Empire was about having consumers for British products. The Indians had lost their moorings: economically, spiritually and personally. To these countrymen, beaten down by 150 years of British rule, repression and slavery, the Swami gave a message of hope. He worked relentlessly for about 40 years to bring about a spiritual revival in India and abroad. His unique style and logical approach was appreciated by everyone from college students to bankers to priests—both Hindu and Christian.By teaching directly the wisdom of their ancient scriptures, he gave the listeners confidence and inspiration to move forward in business and in creating charitable endeavors for the uplifting of the downtrodden of the country. Through 200 centers in India, his devotees have built and operate schools, hospitals and clinics, nursing homes, retirement homes and training centers for nurses and teachers, as well as spiritual training centers.This story of the legacy of one of the most influential persons in the modern history of Hinduism is sure to surprise you, amaze you—and inspire you.
Success vs Joy
Geet Sethi - 2004
These are personal experiences of Geet Sethi, a seven time world billiards champion. It's a book about his experiences sharing joy and what society views as success.It is both a philosophical journey outlining one man's self discovery and a road map highlighting themany emotional upheavals that exist off the path to a full, rewarding life. Of course, it's an inspirational book on Mind Control.