Kobe Bryant has been the face of the Lakers dynasty for the past two decades and for good reason. Few players have commanded a basketball court as much as Kobe in historical performances such as his notable 81-point performance in just under 42 minutes of playing time in 2006 against the Toronto Raptors. While the 2015-2016 NBA season will mark the end to Kobe’s storied career, the Black Mamba’s legacy will never be forgotten. Few players can parallel Kobe Bryant in terms of competitive fire and will to win. His polarizing figure defines him and makes even those who do not like him at the very least respect him. Read on to learn about the days of when Kobe played alongside Shaquille O’Neal, Robert Horry, Metta World Peace, Derek Fisher, and Pau Gasol in some of the greatest times of Los Angeles Lakers’ basketball history. Here is a preview of what is inside this book: Early Life and Childhood High School Years Kobe Personal Life Kobe’s Impact on Basketball and Beyond The Black Mamba’s Legacy An excerpt from the book: When Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant gave himself the nickname Black Mamba, everyone wondered why he chose to liken himself to a reptile.The Black Mamba is one of the fastest and most deadly snakes in the world. It was also the codename used by Uma Thurman's assassin character in the Quentin Tarantino movie Kill Bill. And yes, Black Mamba was also the boxing nickname given to Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s uncle, Roger Mayweather. For sure, Bryant never wanted a part of the Mayweather’s so it must have been that Tarantino movie that got into him. It turns out that Bryant did in fact watch Kill Bill and was so intrigued by the codename Black Mamba that he said he checked out the snake. Upon reading up on the mamba, Bryant decided that it was the perfect description of how he wanted his game to be. The Black Mamba is said to have a 99% striking accuracy at maximum speed and in rapid succession. Bryant said it's the kind of surgical precision that he wants in his game. Kobe Bryant has always been known as a perfectionist and a player who despite being great wants strives to be the greatest.Bryant also talks about the Black Mamba mentality in which he says one has to "figure it out no matter what comes, whether its hell or high water." This resilient attitude has been at the core of Bryant's game, and it's what has made him bounce back from the many obstacles he has faced on and off the court.Kobe Bryant is one of the most popular basketball players on the planet. He is, without a doubt, one of the greatest scorers in the game and one of the most lethal offensive weapons that has ever graced the NBA's courts. However, Kobe Bryant isn't all about scoring points. He is a winner and he has proved that he can win on his own. Bryant isn’t just about basketball either. He is also a million dollar businessperson and a worldwide icon. More importantly, Bryant is a husband, a father, and a son.

    Jarvis Banks was sentenced to five years in prison, leaving behind his girl, Shonte Howard. What Shonte and Jarvis shared was that real, ghetto love, and everybody hoped for a relationship that the two of them shared. But everything that glitters isn’t gold. While from the outside looking in, the two may have had the best relationship, but boy if Jarvis wasn’t taking advantage of Shonte’s heart.So, what happens when Jarvis Banks is finally released from prison and comes home to see that the love of his life is now engaged? Jarvis is a man who is used to getting what he wants, so he will stop at nothing to get his girl back. While he’s fighting to get her, Shonte is holding back a secret from Jarvis that could be detrimental to both of them.Come take a ride with this Miami couple and find out if Mr. Banks is able to put that move on Shonte’s heart.

    Civilization is in ruins. Cities have fallen. Shambling corpses wander the back roads and highways of America. Places of safety grow ever more rare as bands of survivors find themselves under siege. Even so, a handful have managed to hang on. Among these is Jacob Thornton who, along with a small group of friends, has built a home in the wilderness. Isolated and protected by thick walls, they made it through the early, dreadful months and the harsh winter that followed. Wanting more, the group decides to seek out others in the hope of bolstering their numbers and creating a true community. Not all who have survived the change seek a return to normalcy. There are those who embrace the collapse and chaos. Most such men have since perished, but there exists a single unified force, an army crisscrossing the land attacking all they encounter, leaving nothing but battered, violated bodies in their wake. Guided by a shadowy prophet, these raiders have targeted those few settlements and outposts still standing.

    That was until he laid eyes on Kenzie. From the second he saw her face he knew that she was going to be his.The only problem was that he wasn't sure if his life was something she could handle. Only time would tell, but as far as Dre was concerned, they would have to figure it out because Kenzie was already his.Gun sales and family secrets play a role in their fate but Kenzie and Dre are determined to find a way.

    Not only that, she is strikingly gorgeous, witty, and smart. But she is also damaged. No matter how many great qualities she possesses; Riley has ended up scorned by love time and time again. This time though, when love leaves her with absolutely nothing and she is ready to call it quits once and for all, she finds refuge in an unlikely place. Mason Moore is handsome, wealthy, and noble. But for every positive attribute there is an even stronger, much more ruthless quality hidden underneath the surface. Growing up the son of a street legend in Passaic, New Jersey’s Aspen Place Projects, Mase has been groomed for the street life ever since he could remember. So when Mase inherited his title of Kingpin along with all the burdens that came along with it when his father was murdered in cold blood he was up for the challenge. Along with his childhood friend Steele, Mase has prided himself on his ability to continue to build and grow the organization that was handed to him with ease… that is until money turns up missing and a new flame threatens to knock him off of his square. Riley and Mase hit it off instantly and seem to be made for each other but can they really trust the fairytale their connection appears to be? Is it real or is their love circumstantial? Are they entertaining the idea of something that isn’t meant to last? With both their pasts hell bent on being a part of their futures, falling in love with each other could cost Mase and Riley not only their relationship but also their lives.

    She runs and owns a tattoo shop with her cousin, Kourtney. Kourtney is tired of seeing her cousin down and out. She convinces her cousin to get back into the dating scene again, forcing Nina to confront her hurtful past.Nina grew up on a naval base in San Diego, California. When Nina was fourteen, she met and fell for an older musician by the name of Ricque Cole. What started off as tutoring to get him caught up on his schoolwork turned into a beautiful relationship, but more than that, the two became best friends. They confided in one another and depended on each other to get through the tough times. Nina struggled with the feelings of neglect that her mother placed upon her; Ricque struggled with the life that his parents left him to deal with.Circumstances pull the young couple from one another, forcing Nina to keep a secret that should have never been kept. Heartbreaking decisions were made, and Nina’s conscience begins to weigh down on her. After a tragic event, Nina’s aunt invites her to come live with her in Goldsboro, North Carolina.After almost sixteen years of living with guilt and anguish, Nina meets a handsome club owner by the name of Santiago Dominguez. Feelings start to flourish, and Nina can’t seem to shake the fact that the new man in her life has similarities to the old one. Just when Nina decides that it’s time to move on, her past confronts her with open arms.

    With a junky for a mother who would sell her just for a quick fix and an absentee father, life was unbearable. At a young age, Angel learned to fend for herself to survive this cold, cruel world. With her less than perfect childhood, it's no surprise that her attempts at love failed; making her come to the realization men DON'T love, they only care about the pleasurable favors one could offer them. To endure heartbreak and the life that was forced upon her, she created an alter ego... SYN. Syn, unlike Angel, was built to deal with any situation. The only thing that mattered to her was sex and money. Growing up in an abusive home, Parker James became void of all feelings, which caused him to live reckless and not care whether he lived or died. Until one day he walked into a strip joint and his eyes landed on her. The pain and loneliness in her eyes pulled at the strings in Parker’s heart, giving it an unrecognizable double beat. She caused something to stir in him, and he knew he had to have her, and he was willing to do whatever it took to get her.

    There followed a sequence of extraordinary events that led to David being prosecuted and convicted for the patient’s death and sent to prison. His licence to practise medicine was suspended, his career cut short. Events that took place later showed that this was an unfair trial with tinges of racism, and he won an appeal against his conviction and is now a free man. But the damage had already been done. This book tells his extraordinary story for the first time, in his own words.

    Legal education, which focuses on judicial opinions, not instruments of persuasion, is partly to blame. Yet forceful writing is one of the most potent weapons of legal advocacy. In Writing to Win, Steve Stark, a former teacher of writing at Harvard Law, who has taught thousands of aspiring and practicing lawyers, has written the only book on the market that applies the universal principles of vigorous prose to the job of making a case--and winning it.Writing to Win focuses on the writing of lawyers, not judges, and includes dozens of examples of effective (and ineffective) real-life writing--as well as models drawn from advertising, journalism, and fiction. It deals with the problems lawyers face in writing, from organization to strengthening and editing prose; teaches ways of improving arguments; addresses litigation and technical writing in all its forms; and covers the writing attorneys must perform in their practice, from memos and letters to briefs and contracts. Each chapter opens with a succinct set of rules for easy reference.No other legal writing book on the market is as practical, as focused on results, as well written as Writing to Win.

    He and the other Mexican American students were told they had to go to a new, separate school. A school just for them. A school where they would not hold back the other students. But Roberto and the other students and their families believed the new school's real purpose was to segregate, to separate. They didn't think that was right, or just, or legal. This historical fiction picture book by Sibert award-winning author Larry Dane Brimner and Pura Belpré award-winning illustrator Maya Gonzalez follows Roberto and the other immigrant families on their journey in 1931 as they battle against separation and prejudice in one of America's landmark segregation cases.

     The night before their big celebration or “retirement party” as some call it, they go out to celebrate amongst themselves when they run into best friends Tommi and Rue. They are almost immediately smitten by the ladies, due to the fact of them not being the regular sack chasers that they’re used to coming across and they like it. Then something pops up and causes some problems making them realize getting out the game isn’t as easy as they thought it would be. Asheesh is the brothers’ best friend and he plans on staying in the game a little longer, there are a couple of things he needs to address which are more of a personal problem than anything else. Never being the type to leave their friend hanging the twins may have to put in a little more work before they can consider themselves completely done. Get ready to go through the up and downs of this crew and see if they can get everything together before it ends!

     Love is the most powerful drug known to man. It was toxic; especially, when you gave it to the wrong person. Love had the power to have you staying up all night and missing meals. Love could have you sacrificing your own happiness for the sake of another's. Love had the power to blind you. Rita has sacrificed it all for her boyfriend, Victor, thinking that he would FINALLY wake up and realize that he had her entire soul and she would ride with him until the wheels fell off. But how much is too much? Will loving a man suck everything out of her... including her life? Jaycee and Meech had been together since they were teenagers. Meech was all she knew. However, after becoming fed up with being lied to and cheated on, she seeks out for revenge. Jaycee wants Meech to hurt as bad as she has been hurt. But, when the dust settles, will the repercussions of her revenge be worth it?

    Although he’s no lame, he doesn’t have a grandiose scheme to take over the drug game, or become a notorious street legend. He also doesn’t believe in flexing, having a reckless crew, being in the trap, or slanging on a corner. He simply chooses to lay low and maintain his weed hustle, only selling weight to a small, reliable clientele. His plug, Mendosa, is the exact opposite. He does run the streets of Atlanta as a huge supplier of weed and cocaine, and has since the nineties. Once Keenyn lays eyes on Mendosa’s twenty one year old daughter Jasenia, he’s caught up in her beauty and sophisticated aura. The only thing is, Mendosa feels that his daughter is off limits to any man; especially one he does business with. In his eyes his only daughter is cultured, pure and untouched. Little does he know, but “daddy’s little girl” is far from the angel that he thinks she is. Keenyn soon discovers that as well as the never ending drama that seems to come with his feelings for her. Not only is Mendosa a threat to him, but he finds out that Jasenia has a few deadly skeletons in her closet. Will those secrets cost him his life and to what lengths will he go to protect the plug’s daughter?

    Richmond, at the other end of the District Line, seems as good a place to go as any. It's a hot bank holiday in 1960 and Maddie, clutching her five-year-old daughter, follows the Richmond crowds swarming towards the river where a vibrant fairground is in full swing. The noise and fun do little to soothe her pain but an encounter with a fairground owner's daughter is to change her life for ever. Janice is a kind, warm-hearted single mother who, seeing their distress, determines to help them. Before long, Maddie is working for the Fenners, revelling in the spirit of the fairground. But an ugly past, when it is left unresolved, has a habit of catching up with the present and Maddie eventually realises that she must fight like never before to keep hold of all that she loves...