Book picks similar to
Howzat! by Mike Lefroy
childhood
grade-1-2
northern-america
sport
Top Notch
Nicole Richard - 2020
First baseman for one of major league baseball’s hottest teams, he’s lived most of his adult years playing the field. But the time has come for him to work just as hard off it as he has on it. That is, if he wants the girl. And for the first time, he wants the girl. He wants Rowan Landry. A top-notch civil engineer, she's made her place in this so-called man's world. Rowan knows her worth, and the dedication it takes to get to the top, but she isn't stopping there.Nothing will stand in her way of what she's worked so hard for... until he actually does.With chemistry so undeniable, it's no wonder their torrid one-night stand holds enough heat to burn up the sheets. But when a pertinent piece of information complicates things and a make-or-break decision leaves unanswered questions, they come to realize this just might be the final inning.
In Search of Duncan Ferguson: The Life and Crimes of a Footballing Enigma
Alan Pattullo - 2013
A tall, lean striker with the world at his feet, Ferguson seemed destined to develop into one of Scotland's most successful exports, but anger, and a number of injuries, hampered his progress.
Ferguson has scored the most goals of any Scot in the Premiership but also shares the record for Premiership red cards. In 1995, he became the first professional footballer to be jailed for an offence committed on the pitch. It earned him a three-month sentence in Glasgow's infamous Barlinnie Prison and a twelve-match ban from the SFA. Bruised by the experience, he walked away from the Scotland team and blanked the media from then on.
Featuring contributions from numerous top players, this explosive biography uncovers the real Duncan Ferguson. The author delves into Ferguson's personal and professional life and reveals that there is more to him than the media portrayal of a Scottish hard man.
Take Me Out to the Yakyu
Aaron Meshon - 2013
This debut picture book from Aaron Meshon includes audio and is a home run—don’t be surprised if the vivid illustrations and energetic text leave you shouting, “LET’S PLAY YAKYU!”
The Curse: The Colorful & Chaotic History of the LA Clippers
Mick Minas - 2016
Author Mick Minas goes behind the scenes-- interviewing players, coaches, and front office personnel--to create the first in-depth look at the history of the Clippers.The Curse is filled with drama: the unauthorized relocation of the franchise that led to the NBA filing a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the Clippers, the disruption of the team's first playoff appearance by the Los Angeles riots, the bold but unsuccessful attempt to sign Kobe Bryant at the peak of his career, and the scandal that ultimately resulted in owner Donald Sterling being banned from the NBA for life. Featuring some of basketball's biggest names, including World B. Free, Elgin Baylor, Danny Manning, Doc Rivers, Larry Brown, Dominique Wilkins, Elton Brand, Baron Davis, Blake Griffin, and Chris Paul, The Curse delves into the disasters of the past and the complications of the present. This is the definitive history of the NBA's most dysfunctional franchise.
A Clear Blue Sky
Jonny Bairstow - 2017
His father David ‘Bluey’ Bairstow, the combative and very popular wicketkeeper and captain of Yorkshire, took his own life at the age of forty-six.David left behind Jonny, Jonny’s sister Becky and half-brother Andy, and his wife Janet, who had recently been diagnosed with cancer at the time of his death. From these incredibly tough circumstances, Jonny and his family strived to find an even keel and come to terms with the loss of their father and husband.Jonny found his way through his dedication to sport. He was a gifted and natural athlete, with potential careers ahead of him in rugby and football, but he eventually chose cricket and came to build a career that followed in his father’s footsteps, eventually reaching the pinnacle of the sport and breaking the record for most Test runs in a year by a wicketkeeper.Written with multiple-award-winning writer Duncan Hamilton, this is an incredible story of triumph over adversity and a memoir with far-reaching lessons about determination and the will to overcome.
Back Hander: An electrifying racing thriller
John Francome - 2004
Ex-National Hunt Champion Jockey John Francome presents Back Hander, an electrifying racing thriller. The perfect read for fans of Felix Francis and Lyndon Stacey.
'Back Hander is a tightly plotted and well-schooled story... that delivers everything it promises' - Tangled WebNot much is going right for jockey Alan Morrell. He can't get the rides he needs and when he sets up a bloodstock partnership a tragic accident robs him of the business and his best friend Lee. Now Alan owes £100,000 and his only asset is a racehorse who has yet to be put to the test. But all that fades into insignificance next to the suspicion that Lee's fatal fall was more than an accident... Things aren't looking so hot for fellow-jockey Max Ashwood either. There's the backlash from his affair with a trainer's wife and the little matter of his gambling. There's also the convenient death of another man to whom Max owed money. But surely no one is ever going to find out the truth about his part in that... Two riders, two unexplained deaths - but overshadowing both is a conflict that dwarfs the cosy world of racetrack winners and losers. As the noose closes round the neck of one man's criminal empire, just how many others will swing?
What readers are saying about Back Hander:
'A gripping story from start to finish''Highly recommended if you like horse-racing thrillers''Brilliant plotline which hinges on two doomed love affairs'
Cricket
Anna Martin - 2013
His boyfriend just dumped him, and his business has fallen victim to the economy. But is jumping on a plane after a surprise phone call taking things too far?The promise of a new opportunity drags Henry away from the city to a tiny village in the English countryside and an enormous manor house his great-grandmother wants to bequeath him. As an experienced wedding planner, he sees the potential in renovating the dilapidated building and using it for events. All he needs is to find some local businesses to provide the essentials.That’s how Henry meets Ryan Burgess, the shy but hardworking owner of an organic farm. The spark between them sizzles slowly while work on the house continues, but Ryan is deeply in the closet and unwilling to take the last step. They finally find something that clicks in cricket, something that Henry, a former amateur baseball player, is surprisingly good at. For him, cricket helps bridge the gap between England and New York—but unless Ryan can find something to span the divide between his sexuality and his fear, their relationship doesn’t stand a chance.
The Rainbow Serpent
Dick Roughsey - 1976
Recounts the Dreamtime story of creation featuring Goorialla, the great Rainbow Serpent.
Shanghai Girl
Vivian Yang - 2001
Shan Hai Gaaru". This 2011 U.S. edition features an excerpt of the author’s WNYC Leonard Lopate Essay Contest-winning new novel "Memoirs of a Eurasian". In the post-Cultural Revolution Shanghai of 1984, university senior Sha-fei Hong longs to study in the U.S. for graduate school, ostensibly to pursue the American Dream, but partly to escape her sexually-harassing Communist cadre stepfather. She meets the visiting Chinese-American businessman Gordon Lou, who has political ambitions and ties to the Chinatown underworld in the U.S. He takes Sha-fei to the American Consulate in Shanghai to look into studying in America. There, Sha-fei meets the intern Edward Cook, a young, Caucasian American lawyer who has a strong preference for all things Asian. Within a year, these three people of entirely different cultural and socio-economic backgrounds cross paths in New York. Value systems and self-interests clash. The curtain falls on a dramatic stage of ambition, sex, intrigue, and murder.
Manchester United Ruined My Life
Colin Shindler - 1998
Colin Shindler recalls the problems of growing up in an Orthodox Jewish family in central Manchester in the 1950s and 1960s as a Manchester City fan, permanently under the shadow of Manchester United.
Feet of the Chameleon: The Story of Football in Africa
Ian Hawkey - 2009
South Africa's successful bid was in many ways unsurprising: soccer thrives in every country in Africa, and is a vitally important aspect of communities. This fascinating history traces the development of soccer in Africa and investigates what makes African football unique. Drawing on a wide range of sources, it also examines how the game fits into the social and political life of the continent.
This Is the World: A Global Treasury
Miroslav Sasek - 2014
Sasek’s most popular children’s travel books. From London to Hong Kong, Sydney to San Francisco, readers will delight in this charming journey through the world’s great cities. With deft strokes of his paintbrush and a witty voice to match, master illustrator and storyteller M. Sasek captured the essence of the world’s major capitals and brought them to life for an entire generation of young readers. Now, more than fifty years later, those same readers are passing these stories down to their children and their children’s children, and Sasek’s This is series has officially reached iconic status. Collected here for the first time in one affordable volume are some of Sasek’s most beloved adventures. From Notre Dame in Paris to a trolley car in the hills of San Francisco, with stops for sausages in Munich and a yacht race in Sydney, this book takes children and adults alike on a whirlwind trip to some of the world’s greatest destinations. An inspirational travelogue that introduces readers to the art, architecture, music, food, and traditions of multiple cities and countries, This is the World is the perfect book for international commuters and would-be travelers of all ages. This anthology includes excerpts from: This is New York, This is Paris, This is Greece, This is London, This is Australia, This is Texas, This is Munich, This is Rome, This is Britain, This is Hong Kong, This is Israel, This is San Francisco, This is Edinburgh, This is Venice, This is Washington D.C., and This is Ireland.