Book picks similar to
Relentless: A Memoir by Julian Edelman
sports
non-fiction
football
nonfiction
Wham! George & Me
Andrew Ridgeley - 2019
It is 1975, Watford, and two teenagers, George and Andrew, meet for the first time. Bonding over their love for singing, song writing and pop music, together they set out to follow an impossible dream. They didn't know it then, but they were taking their first steps towards forming Wham!, a band that was to become one of the biggest in the world.Wham! were the soundtrack of the 80s; whether it was choosing life or Live Aid, the decade of flamboyance and fun was a party that seemed like it would never end. But it had to stop somewhere - and that was in front of tens of thousands of tearful fans at Wembley Stadium in 1986.In Wham! George and Me, Andrew Ridgeley tells the story of Wham! - from the day they met to that iconic final concert. For the first time, he reveals what it was like being at the centre of a pop hurricane and talks of his love for and friendship with George. It's a story only he can tell.
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Always By My Side: A Father's Grace and a Sports Journey Unlike Any Other
Jim Nantz - 2008
Vividly written in exciting, you-are-there replay, Always by My Side gives readers an insider’s look into an unprecedented sixty-three-day stretch from February to April of 2007 when Jim Nantz became the first broadcaster to call the Super Bowl, the Final Four, and the Masters. Because Nantz was unable to share the voyage with his dad, however, this remarkable journey through America’s premier sporting events took on a bittersweet tinge. Nonetheless, the devoted son felt his father’s presence every step of the way, and used this championship odyssey to celebrate the people, venues, and moments that tapped into all the goodness that his dad—and his dad’s generation— represent. In recounting the highlights of more than two thrilling decades with CBS Sports, this broadcasting hall of famer recalls the legends of the industry—Dick Enberg, Curt Gowdy, Jim McKay, Chris Schenkel, Pat Summerall, Jack Whitaker, and others—who sparked his imagination and shaped his style. Always by My Side traces Nantz’s career, from creating his own imaginary studio as a boy to his college days rooming with future PGA Tour golfers Fred Couples and Blaine McCallister to his successful network audition at age twenty-six. Along the way, readers are treated to an array of memories, including Nantz’s special relationship with the former president George H. W. Bush, as well as his friendships with such sports royalty as Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Peyton Manning, Tony Dungy, Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, Mike Krzyzewski, John Wooden, and many others. Poignant stories that explore the theme of fathers and sons who have bonded through a common love of sports complete this sparkling narrative. Always by My Side promises to be the most cherished Father’s Day gift of the year.
44 Years With The Same Bird: A Liverpudlian Love Affair
Brian Reade - 2008
From their first ever FA Cup win in 1965 to the Champions League defeat in Athens in 2007, this overview takes on the extraordinary stories behind the 48 trophies Liverpool has won. Highlighting the memorable nights that propelled the club to five European Cups, three UEFA Cups, 12 titles, and countless domestic cup triumphs, this account also discusses their bitter failures, the tragic disasters in Sheffield and Brussels, and the barren years of the late 60s and the 90s.
Don't Put Me In, Coach: My Incredible NCAA Journey from the End of the Bench to the End of the Bench
Mark Titus - 2012
Mark Titus holds the Ohio State record for career wins, and made it to the 2007 national championship game. You would think Titus would be all over the highlight reels. You'd be wrong. In 2006, Mark Titus arrived on Ohio State's campus as a former high school basketball player who aspired to be an orthopedic surgeon. Somehow, he was added to the elite Buckeye basketball team, given a scholarship, and played alongside seven future NBA players on his way to setting the record for most individual career wins in Ohio State history. Think that's impressive? In four years, he scored a grand total of nine—yes, nine—points. This book will give readers an uncensored and uproarious look inside an elite NCAA basketball program from Titus's unique perspective. In his four years at the end of the bench, Mark founded his wildly popular blog Club Trillion, became a hero to all guys picked last, and even got scouted by the Harlem Globetrotters. Mark Titus is not your average basketball star. This is a wild and completely true story of the most unlikely career in college basketball. A must-read for all fans of March Madness and college sports!From the Hardcover edition.
All Round View
Imran Khan - 1988
He tells of his life and the game he loves: from his childhood in Lahore, to his student days at Oxford (where he led the University team), his time at Worcester and thence to Sussex, culminating in his captaincy of Pakistan. A self portrait emerges of a man who has spent fifteen years at the top: years which have wrought changes - political, commercial and tactical - in the way cricket is played and promoted; changes too, in the man himself, as he reconciled his Muslim upbringing with the professional and personal pressures of being an international sportsman.
Challenge Accepted!
Celeste Barber - 2018
Very, very real. Actor, writer and comedian, Celeste Barber is one very funny woman - not to mention a global social media comedy phenomenon. Amassing over 3 million followers in only 18 months with her hilarious #challengeaccepted pics, she has been dubbed 'Australian Comedy Queen' by ABC Online; voted The Funniest Lady on Instagram; gone on sold-out comedy tours of US and UK; and won herself fans ranging from Tom Ford and Ruby Rose, to Amy Schumer and Dawn French. In the tradition of Tina Fey's Bossypants, Celeste's memoir is part memoir, part comedy routine, part advice manual. Calling out our ridiculous celebrity Instagram culture and the obsession we all seem to have with how we look, Celeste reveals all, including her thoughts on keeping it real and feeling good (instead of worrying about looking good); the secrets to love, friendship, family and marriage (#hothusband); how to deal with life's many challenges, like, well, motherhood, among other things; and how to stay nice in Spanx. Celeste is real, hilarious and the world can't get enough of her.
Surprised by Oxford
Carolyn Weber - 2011
As she grapples with her God-shaped void alongside the friends, classmates, and professors she meets, she tackles big questions in search of love and a life that matters. This savvy, beautifully written, credible account of Christian conversion follows the calendar and events of the school year as it entertains, informs, and promises to engage even the most skeptical and unlikely reader.
Stray
Stephanie Danler - 2020
Stray is a moving, sometimes devastating, brilliantly written and ultimately inspiring exploration of the landscapes of damage and survival.After selling her first novel--a dream she'd worked long and hard for--Stephanie Danler knew she should be happy. Instead, she found herself driven to face the difficult past she'd left behind a decade ago: a mother disabled by years of alcoholism, further handicapped by a tragic brain aneurysm; a father who abandoned the family when she was three, now a meth addict in and out of recovery. After years in New York City she's pulled home to Southern California by forces she doesn't totally understand, haunted by questions of legacy and trauma. Here, she works toward answers, uncovering hard truths about her parents and herself as she explores whether it's possible to change the course of her history. Lucid and honest, heart-breaking and full of hope, Stray, is an examination of what we inherit and what we don't have to, of what we have to face in ourselves to move forward, and what it's like to let go of one's parents in order to find a peace--and family--of one's own.
Rise: Surviving the Fight of My Life
Paige VanZant - 2018
A natural athlete, Paige excelled at dancing, made the cheerleading squad earlier than most, and even had aspirations of becoming a Disney child star. With a tight-knit family, Paige's life was on track for greatness. Then, one fateful fall night in high school, everything changed when Paige faced a life-threatening sexual assault. It was in the gym where she "pounded the life out of those ashen memories," becoming stronger with every punch, kick, and lunge. In this beautiful tale of survival, she writes: I inhale the power. I exhale the bullshit. One strike at a time. Fighting became Paige's safe haven; something to live for, and Rise is the inspiring story of how she ultimately transformed into a bone-breaking, head-smashing fighter known as Paige VanZant. It is the deeply moving story of a warrior who transformed her pain into power and has become one of the toughest women in the world; an inspiring journey of someone who was knocked down in the most devastating way and came up swinging.
Strongman: My Story
Eddie 'The Beast' Hall - 2017
Standing at 6’3 he weighs almost 30 stone, and to make it through his hellish four-hour gym sessions he needs to eat a minimum of 10,000 calories a day. He eats a raw steak during weight sessions. His right eyeball once burst out of its socket under the strain. He put it back in.In his remarkable autobiography, Eddie takes you inside the world of the professional strongman – the nutrition, the training and competitions themselves. This is a visceral story of sporting achievement, an athlete pushing himself to the limits, and the personal journey of a man on the path to becoming being the best of the best.Contains strong language.
The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family
Ron Howard - 2021
Join award-winning filmmaker Ron Howard and audience-favorite actor Clint Howard as they frankly and fondly share their unusual family story of navigating and surviving life as sibling child actors.“What was it like to grow up on TV?” Ron Howard has been asked this question throughout his adult life. In The Boys, he and his younger brother, Clint, examine their childhoods in detail for the first time. For Ron, playing Opie on The Andy Griffith Show and Richie Cunningham on Happy Days offered fame, joy, and opportunity—but also invited stress and bullying. For Clint, a fast start on such programs as Gentle Ben and Star Trek petered out in adolescence, with some tough consequences and lessons.With the perspective of time and success—Ron as a filmmaker, producer, and Hollywood A-lister, Clint as a busy character actor—the Howard brothers delve deep into an upbringing that seemed normal to them yet was anything but. Their Midwestern parents, Rance and Jean, moved to California to pursue their own showbiz dreams. But it was their young sons who found steady employment as actors. Rance put aside his ego and ambition to become Ron and Clint’s teacher, sage, and moral compass. Jean became their loving protector—sometimes over-protector—from the snares and traps of Hollywood.By turns confessional, nostalgic, heartwarming, and harrowing, The Boys is a dual narrative that lifts the lid on the Howard brothers’ closely held lives. It’s the journey of a tight four-person family unit that held fast in an unforgiving business and of two brothers who survived “child-actor syndrome” to become fulfilled adults.
My Life in and out of the Rough: The Truth Behind All That Bull**** You Think You Know About Me
John Daly - 2006
. . and to life. Usually seen with a cigarette dangling from his lip, Long John is the unchained, unpredictable, unapologetic bad boy of professional golf.My Life In and Out of the Rough is the thrillingly—and sometimes shockingly—candid memoir of a larger-than-life athlete battling assorted addictions (alcohol, gambling, chocolate, sex), his weight, and divorce lawyers (having been married four times). Carrying readers off the fairway and into his $1.5-million motor home, Daly takes us on a rollicking ride through his ever-churning world of burgers, booze, casinos, country music, and breathtaking moon shots—and reveals how a down-home Arkansas Everyman rose to the pinnacle of the golf world, escaped from the depths of abject depression, and, ultimately, took control of his life.Well, sort of . . .
The Express: The Ernie Davis Story
Robert C. Gallagher - 1983
. . except one.”–plaque honoring Ernie Davis, in the lobby of Elmira Free AcademyErnie Davis was an All-American on the gridiron, and a man of integrity off the field. A multi-sport high school star in Elmira, New York, Davis went on to Syracuse University, where as a sophomore he led his team to an undefeated season and a national championship in 1959, and earned his nickname, the Elmira Express. Two seasons later, Davis had broken the legendary Jim Brown’s rushing records, and became the first black athlete to be awarded the Heisman Trophy. The number one pick in the 1962 NFL draft, Davis signed a contract with the Cleveland Browns and appeared to be headed for professional stardom. But Davis never ended up playing in the NFL: He was diagnosed with leukemia during the summer before his rookie season and succumbed to the disease less than a year later. In battling his illness, Davis showed great dignity and courage, inspired the nation, and moved President John F. Kennedy to eulogize him as “ an outstanding man of great character.”An enduring story of a true scholar-athlete, The Express is a touching, impeccably researched, deeply personal portrait of Ernie Davis, and a vivid look at sport in America at the dawn of the Civil Rights era.
All by My Selves: Walter, Peanut, Achmed, and Me
Jeff Dunham - 2009
He has played to sold-out venues across North America, Europe, South Africa and Australia. He has sold more than six million DVDs, Forbes has ranked him in their Celebrity 100 list of most powerful entertainers for two years running, and he has been the top touring comedian in the United States for the last two years. Whether he's breathing life into an old curmudgeon, an over- caffeinated purple maniac, or a screaming, skeletal, dead terrorist, Jeff Dunham is the straight man to some of the funniest partners in show business. All by My Selves is the story of one pretty ordinary guy, one interesting hobby, one very understanding set of parents, and a long and winding rode to becoming America's favorite comedian. With wit, honesty, and lots of great show business detail, Jeff shares all the major moments in his journey. From the toy dummy he spotted at a toy store when he was 8 years old to playing to arenas filled with screaming fans, Jeff takes readers behind the curtain to explain how he turned an old fashioned art form into something truly modern and hip. Best of all, Jeff's story is accompanied by asides and interruptions from his characters-who share all the hilarious details Jeff himself is too embarrassed to include.
Will's Red Coat: A Story of Friendship, Faith, and One Old Dog's Choice to Live Again
Tom Ryan - 2017
The only owners Will ever knew had grown too fragile to take care of themselves, or of him. Ultimately, Will was left at a kill shelter in New Jersey.Tom hoped to give Will a place to die with dignity, amid the rustic beauty of the White Mountains of his New Hampshire home. But when Will bites him numerous times and acts out in violent displays, Tom realizes he is in for a challenge.With endless patience and the kind of continued empathy Tom has nurtured in his relationship with Atticus, Will eventually begins to thrive. Soon, the angry, hurt, depressed, and near-death oldster has transformed into a happy, gamboling companion with a puppy-like zest for discovery. Will perseveres for two and a half years, inspiring hundreds of thousands of Tom and Atticus’ fans with his courage, resilience, and unforgettable heart.A story of a dog and an indelible bond that is beautiful, heartbreaking, uplifting, and unforgettable, Will’s Red Coat honors the promise held in all of us, at any stage of life.Will’s Red Coat includes eight pages of color photographs.