Browse Results

Showing 15,751 through 15,775 of 24,493 results

Seppuku: A History of Samurai Suicide

by Andrew Rankin

The history of seppuku -- Japanese ritual suicide by cutting the stomach, sometimes referred to as hara-kiri -- spans a millennium, and came to be favored by samurai as an honorable form of death. Here, for the first time in English, is a book that charts the history of seppuku from ancient times to the twentieth century through a collection of swashbuckling tales from history and literature. Author Andrew Rankin takes us from the first recorded incident of seppuku, by the goddess Aomi in the eighth century, through the "golden age" of seppuku in the sixteenth century that includes the suicides of Shibata Katsuie, Sen no Riky? and Toyotomi Hidetsugu, up to the seppuku of General Nogi Maresuke in 1912.Drawing on never-before-translated medieval war tales, samurai clan documents, and execution handbooks, Rankin also provides a fascinating look at the seppuku ritual itself, explaining the correct protocol and etiquette for seppuku, different stomach-cutting procedures, types of swords, attire, location, even what kinds of refreshment should be served at the seppuku ceremony. The book ends with a collection of quotations from authors and commentators down through the centuries, summing up both the Japanese attitude toward seppuku and foreigners’ reactions:"As for when to die, make sure you are one step ahead of everyone else. Never pull back from the brink. But be aware that there are times when you should die, and times when you should not. Die at the right moment, and you will be a hero. Die at the wrong moment, and you will die like a dog." -- Izawa Nagahide, The Warrior’s Code, 1725"We all thought, ‘These guys are some kind of nutcakes.’" — Jim Verdolini, USS Randolph, describing "Kamikaze" attack of March 11, 1945

September 1918: War, Plague, and the World Series

by Skip Desjardin

One hundred years ago, in September 1918, three things came to Boston: war, plague, and the World Series. This is the unimaginable story of that late summer month, in which a division of Massachusetts militia volunteers led the first unified American fighting force into battle in France, turning the tide of World War I. Meanwhile the world’s deadliest pandemic—the Spanish Flu—erupted in Boston and its suburbs, bringing death on a terrifying scale first to military facilities and then to the civilian population. At precisely the same time, in a baseball season cut short on the homefront and amidst the surrounding ravages of death, a young pitcher named Babe Ruth rallied the sport’s most dominant team, the Boston Red Sox, to a World Series victory—the last World Series victory the Sox would see for 86 years. In September 1918: War, Plague and the World Series, the riveting, intertwined stories of this remarkable month introduce readers to a richly diverse cast of characters: David Putnam, a Boston teenager and America’s World War I Flying Ace; a transcendent Babe Ruth and his teammates, battling greedy owners and a hostile public; entire families from all social strata, devastated by sudden and horrifying influenza death; unknown political functionary Calvin Coolidge, thrust into managing the country’s first great public health crisis by an absentee governor; and New England’s soldiers, enduring trench warfare and poisonous gas to drive back German forces. At the same time, other stories were also unfolding: Cambridge high school football star Charlie Crowley, a college freshman teamed up with stars Curly Lambeau and George Gipp under a first-time coach named Knute Rockne; Boston suffrage leader Maud Wood Park was fighting for women’s right to vote, even as they flexed their developing political muscle; poet E.E. Cummings, an Army private found himself stationed at the center of a biological storm; and Massachusetts Senator Henry Cabot Lodge maneuvered as the constant rival of a sitting wartime president. In the tradition of Erick Larsen's bestselling Devil in the White City, September 1918 is a haunting three-dimensional recreation of a moment in history almost too cinematic to be real.

September Swoon: Richie Allen, the ’64 Phillies, and Racial Integration (Keystone Books)

by William C. Kashatus

Everything seemed to be going the Phillies’ way. Up by 6 1/2 games with just 12 left to play in the 1964 season, they appeared to have clinched their first pennant in more than a decade. Outfielder Johnny Callison narrowly missed being the National League MVP. Third baseman Richie Allen was Rookie of the Year. But the "Fightin’ Phils" didn’t make it to the postseason—they lost 10 straight and finished a game behind the St. Louis Cardinals. Besides engineering the greatest collapse of any team in major league baseball history, the ’64 Phillies had another, more important distinction: they were Philadelphia’s first truly integrated baseball team. In September Swoon William Kashatus tells the dramatic story—both on the field and off the field—of the Phillies’ bittersweet season of 1964.More than any other team in Philadelphia’s sports history, the ’64 Phillies saddled the city with a reputation for being a "loser." Even when victory seemed assured, Philadelphia found a way to lose. Unfortunately, the collapse, dubbed the "September swoon," was the beginning of a self-destructive skid in both team play and racial integration, for the very things that made the players unique threatened to tear the team apart. An antagonistic press and contentious fans blamed Richie Allen, the Phillies’ first black superstar, for the team’s losing ways, accusing him of dividing the team along racial lines. Allen manipulated the resulting controversy in the hopes that he would be traded, but in the process he managed to further fray already tenuous race relations.Based on personal interviews, player biographies, and newspaper accounts, September Swoon brings to life a season and a team that got so many Philadelphians, both black and white, to care deeply and passionately about the game at a turbulent period in the city’s—and our nation’s—history. The hometown fans reveled in their triumphs and cried in their defeat, because they saw in them a reflection of themselves. The ’64 Phillies not only won over the loyalties of a racially divided city, but gave Philadelphians a reason to dream—of a pennant, of a contender, and of a City of Brotherly Love.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks

by Mike White

The southern High Sierra, including Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks and the surrounding John Muir, Jennie Lakes, and Monarch Wildernesses, is one of the most magnificent natural areas in the world. Blessed with the largest trees on earth (giant sequoias), one of the deepest canyons in North America (Kings Canyon), and the highest mountain in the continental U.S. (Mt. Whitney), the greater Sequoia-Kings Canyon region offers unparalleled mountain majesty. Along with such superlatives, hundreds of miles of trail provides access to a boundless number of high mountain lakes, wildflower-covered meadows, cascading streams, deep forests, and craggy peaks. Mike White's guide is the only comprehensive guide to this portion of John Muir's Range of Light.

Ser de River. En las buenas y en las malas: Agonía, descenso y resurrección desde la tribuna

by Andrés Burgo

«Es hora de la B. Fue toda una experiencia vivir con miedo. Ser esclavo.Ver algo que no creía que fuera posible. Ver el dolor en cientos deojos. Seguir a River en treinta y ocho partidos de los cuarenta de latemporada en que descendió fue un aprendizaje. Me dolió horrores, pero acosta del mejor premio: quiero a River más que nunca». Andrés Burgo El autor de este libro es periodista deportivo e hincha de River.Hincha-hincha, de los que van a la cancha, de los que sufren, de los queven que el mundo se va por el inodoro cada vez que su equipo pierde. Enla temporada 2010-2011 se propuso estar más cerca de River que nunca,porque sintió que ambos (él y el equipo) lo necesitaban. Así lo hizo, yde ese fuego purificador de la temporada en la que River descendió,Andrés Burgo regresa con un libro que combina como pocos brillo yemoción, información dura y análisis sobre las causas que llevaron alclub al descenso (la pelea Passarella-Grondona y las administraciones deAguilar e Israel), con pensamientos y sentimientos acerca de sucondición de hincha irredento, devoto y sentimental, que se siente másgallina que antes. Al igual que los millones que siguieron alentandopese aldesastre.

Ser del Barça és...: La llarga història d'un gran èxit

by Eduard Gonzalo

El joc del Barça ha obtingut els darrers anys l’admiració i el reconeixement del món sencer. La premsa internacional s’ha tret el barret davant el seu joc i ha proclamat les virtuts dels jugadors i l’entrenador. Franklin Roer, editor de la prestigiosa The New Republic, afirmà: «El lema del FC Barcelona és “més que un club”. I he de confessar que hi estic d’acord. El Barça és un dels grans regals de Déu al temps d’oci». Què hi ha darrere d’aquest gran èxit? Què amaga aquesta idea centenària que el Barça és «més que un club»? Buscant l’essència que ens fa diferents, aquest llibre recull el testimoni de molts barcelonistes, des de Pep Guardiola fins a Leo Messi, passant per Cesc Fàbregas, Carles Puyol o Guillermo Amor; culers de pedra picada com Josep Carreras, el director d’orquestra Antoni Ros-Marbà o el doctor Cugat, i també Josep Maria Minguella o el president Sandro Rosell; recupera les dones implicades en la història i la gestió del club, com Anna Maria Martínez Sagi —la primera directiva— i identifica els grans pioners del planter, com Josep Boter, Oriol Tort o Miquel Gual. Ser del Barça és... ret tribut a les grans estrelles al camp o a la banqueta, com Samitier, Ladislau Kubala, Helenio Herrera, Johan Cruyff o Ronaldinho, i també jugadors com César, Ferran Olivella, Josep Fusté, Carles Rexach o Xavi Hernández, entre molts d’altres que han estat capitans emblemàtics i ambaixadors del que el Barça simbolitza.

Ser o no ser: Biografía deportiva, sentimental y política de Carlos Alberto Reutemann

by Gabriel Pandolfo

Esta biografía descubre con agudeza los secretos de un hombre solitario,un piloto con talento y candidato por inconveniencia. Un jurado de notables del automovilismo lo definió con una exactitud quetrasciende las pistas: era un piloto con talento, pero inconsistente.Condenado a ser el segundo de todas las escuderías, perdió el campeonatode 1981 por un punto, boicoteado por su propio equipo. ¿Problemasemocionales? ¿Carácter huraño? ¿Poco confiable? ¿Incapacidad paratrabajar en equipo? Preguntas que se han hecho los expertos de laFórmula 1 y que luego también se harían diversos referentes del mundopolítico ante sus vacilaciones hamletianas.Ser o no ser, candidato a presidente. Esa fue, es y será la cuestión.Con su ex mujer, Mimicha Bobbio, tuvo una relación tumultuosa; con laactual, Verónica Ghío, intenta tejer un improbable entramado políticoque le otorgue seguridad absoluta. Fue uno de los primeros enapoyar a Carlos Menem en su carrera por desguazar al Estado y ponerlo enmanos privadas. Más tarde, el arco antikirchnerista se lo disputaba:Duhalde, Carrió, Solá,Macri, Cobos...

Serena Williams (Amazing Athletes Ser.)

by Jon M Fishman

Tennis superstar Serena Williams won the Wimbledon singles title in 2015. It was her fourth Grand Slam tournament victory in a row, a feat she had also reached earlier in her career. Fans called it the Serena Slam. She had begun her tennis career in the shadow of her older sister Venus. But after completing the Serena Slam for the second time, Serena no longer stood in anyone's shadow. Learn all about one of the greatest tennis players of all time.

Serena Williams: A Little Golden Book Biography (Little Golden Book Biographies)

by Bria Alston

Get to know tennis legend Serena Williams with this collectible Little Golden Book, which tells her inspiring life story alongside gorgeous full-color illustrations!Serena changed the world of tennis with her power, strength, and style.The tennis ace's story comes to life—from her close bond with sister Venus, to her Olympic gold medals and Grand Slam titles, to her awesome fashion sense both on and off the tennis court. When you&’re Serena Williams, you break barriers and inspire others to do the same! This Little Golden Book Biography is perfect for Serena Williams fans of all ages and families looking for inspiring stories. Little Golden Book biographies feature the iconic gold-foil design and share the life stories of extraordinary artists, world leaders, performers, and athletes including:Katie Ledecky Willie Mays LeBron JamesSimone BilesThe Kelce Brothers

Serena Williams: Legends in Sports

by Matt Christopher

Discover the amazing achievements of sports legend Serena Williams--on and off the tennis court--in this exciting new biography.Serena Williams has been ranked number one in the world for tennis singles, won twenty-two Grand Slam singles titles, and won four Olympic gold medals. She is a powerful player and a fierce competitor. Learn more about the record-breaking athlete in this comprehensive and action-packed biography, complete with stats and photographs.

Serious

by John McEnroe

John McEnroe enjoyed tremendous success at all levels of tennis, and he owns 77 career singles titles, including 7 Grand Slams. He joined the circuit in 1978 and it took him only three years to attain the No. 1 ranking. The 1980 Wimbledon final, between McEnroe and Bjorn Borg, is considered by many tennis experts to be the best match ever, a five-set thriller which McEnroe avenged the following year for his first Wimbledon title.In doubles, McEnroe is recognised as the best player of all time. He was ranked No. 1 for a record 257 weeks and captured a total of 74 titles, including 8 Grand Slams. Still an active player, McEnroe is now an outstanding tennis commentator and broadcaster for the BBC and other national networks. This autobiography, his first, covers an awesome tennis career, marriage to movie star Tatum O'Neal and where arguably the greatest tennis player of all time goes from here.This is SERIOUS.

Serious Games für die Gesundheit: Anwendung in der Prävention und Rehabilitation im Überblick (essentials)

by Josef Wiemeyer

Josef Wiemeyer bietet in diesem essential einen Überblick über die Arten und Anwendungsbereiche von Serious Games im Gesundheitsbereich und behandelt Spielinhalte, Wirkungsmechanismen, Wirkungsnachweise und Anwendungssettings. Die vorgestellten Einsatzbeispiele in Prävention und Rehabilitation belegen eindrucksvoll die Stärken von Serious Games – die kritische Analyse zeigt aber auch, dass Serious Games kein Allheilmittel sind, sondern eine interessante und attraktive Ergänzung bisheriger Interventionsmethoden bieten.

Serious Leisure: A Perspective for Our Time (Leisure Studies In A Global Era Ser.)

by Robert A. Stebbins

Serious Leisure offers a comprehensive view and analysis of the current state of the sociology of leisure. Defining and differentiating the way people use their free time, Stebbins divides such activity into categories of serious, casual, and project-based leisure that he further separates into a variety of types and subtypes. Together they comprise what he calls serious leisure.In this perspective, serious leisure constitutes systematic pursuit of an amateur, hobbyist, or volunteer activity sufficiently substantial and interesting in nature and requiring special skills, knowledge, and experience. Casual leisure, though immediately, intrinsically rewarding, is by contrast a relatively short-lived pleasurable activity, requiring little or no special training to enjoy it. Project-based leisure is a short-term, reasonably complicated, occasional creative undertaking carried out in free time. Stebbins sets out the basic concepts and propositions that make up the three forms, focusing on their essential elements. He takes stock of the serious leisure literature as well as that for casual and project-based leisure.Stebbins sees serious leisure realized by way of a set of foundational concepts--organization, community, history, lifestyle, and culture--and several of their component areas. He reviews the history and background of the concept of serious leisure and then adds historical commentary on, first, casual leisure and, then, project-based leisure. Finally, he examines the future and the importance of the serious leisure perspective in a globalizing world, and some of its critical links with other fields of knowledge and practice, notably the nonprofit sector and preventive medicine.Together with its original insights, Serious Leisure offers a single, handy, coherent, comprehensive resource. It will be of interest to sociologists, labor studies specialists, and economists.

Serious Sport: J.A. Mangan's Contribution to the History of Sport (Sport in the Global Society)

by Scott A.G.M.Crawford

Trial-blazer and mentor, Professor J.A. Mangan is a distinguished scholar in the fields of sports history whose work has inspired a generation of historians and social scientists across the globe. His seminal book on athleticism and imperialism commanded attention and applause from a broad range of historians and social scientists across the globe. His seminal work on athleticism and imperialism commanded attention and applause from a broad range of historians. It opened new horizons of inquiry providing the field with a richly perceptive study of hegemony and patronage, of cultural assimilation and adaptation, and of the ways that power elites used sport for socialization, acculturation and social control. His later works continued to pose critical, sometimes controversial questions, providing new and provocative insights into the complex social issues involved in the development and diffusion of sporting activity. The geographical horizons of his work now span the globe.This volume is a fitting tribute to the scholarship and lasting accomplishments of a pioneer who has mentored - and continues to mentor - numerous young scholars internationally, simultaneously developing and maintaining high quality channels through which to disseminate sport history research. In appraising his scholarship the contributors to this collection demonstrate their debt to his vision and achievements.This volume was previously published as a special issue of The International Journal of the History of Sport

Seriousness and Women's Roller Derby: Gender, Organization, and Ambivalence (Leisure Studies in a Global Era)

by Maddie Breeze

This book explores seriousness in practice in the unique sports context of contemporary women's flat track roller derby. The author presents a stimulating argument for a sociology of seriousness as a productive contribution to understandings of gender, organization and the mid-ranges of agency between dichotomies of voluntarism and determinism.

Seriousness and Women's Roller Derby: Gender, Organization, and Ambivalence (Leisure Studies in a Global Era)

by Maddie Breeze

This book explores seriousness in practice in the unique sports context of contemporary women's flat track roller derby. The author presents a stimulating argument for a sociology of seriousness as a productive contribution to understandings of gender, organization and the mid-ranges of agency between dichotomies of voluntarism and determinism.

Serve to Win

by Novak Djokovic William Davis

In 2011, Novak Djokovic had what sportswriters called the greatest single season ever by a professional tennis player: He won ten titles, three Grand Slams, and forty-three consecutive matches. Remarkably, less than two years earlier, this champion could barely complete a tournament. How did a player once plagued by aches, breathing difficulties, and injuries on the court suddenly become the #1 ranked tennis player in the world? The answer is astonishing: He changed what he ate. In Serve to Win, Djokovic recounts how he survived the bombing of Belgrade, Serbia, rising from a war-torn childhood to the top tier of his sport. Then he reveals the diet that transformed his health and pushed him to the pinnacle. While Djokovic loved and craved bread and pasta, and especially the pizza at his family's restaurant, his body simply couldn't process wheat. Eliminating gluten--the protein found in wheat--made him feel instantly better, lighter, clearer, and quicker. As he continued to research and refine his diet, his health issues disappeared, extra pounds dropped away, and his improved physical health and mental focus allowed him to achieve his two childhood dreams: to win Wimbledon, and to become the #1 ranked tennis player in the world. Now Djokovic has created a blueprint for remaking your body and your life in just fourteen days. With weekly menus, mindful eating tips for optimal digestion, and delicious, easy-to-prepare recipes, you'll be well on your way to shedding extra weight and finding your way to a better you. Djokovic also offers tips for eliminating stress and simple exercises to get you revved up and moving, the very same ones he does before each match. You don't need to be a superstar athlete to start living and feeling better. With Serve to Win, a trimmer, stronger, healthier you is just two weeks away.From the Hardcover edition.hysical and mental performance."--Maria SharapovaFrom the Hardcover edition.

Setter Up

by Caelan Beard

Mackenzie lives and breathes volleyball, but after coming out, she finds her passion for playing is challenged by the homophobic behavior of her teammates. With the help of her friends, she sets out to establish a queer-positive league instead. The league will celebrate diversity and be somewhere LGBTQ2S+ kids can feel at home. When the school resists their efforts and then insists on a cringey name for the team—the Gay Alliance Club— the friends, with the help of a sympathetic teacher, establish the league in their own space and on their own terms, learning a lot about empowerment, activism, and community in the process. Along the way, Mackenzie catches the attention of her crush, Brooklyn, and romance ensues, complicating and further enriching her life.

Setting the Pace (High Hurdles #3)

by Lauraine Snelling

HIGH HURDLES. When Lindy Randall announces her engagement to Robert Crowder, DJ is floored. How can her mother even consider taking on a husband and twin boys when she is only now beginning to get along with the family she has? DJ turns to her training at Briones Riding Academy to forget her troubles, but life at the Academy has acquired an ugly edge--no thanks to Tony Andrada. The academy newcomer has singled out DJ's friend Hilary as the target for his cruel racist remarks, and it's gotten so bad, Hilary is ready to call it quits. Desperate, DJ resolves to find a way to end her problems at home and the Academy for good--but will her plans have a disastrous effect on her performance in the showering? Is DJ ready to face the challenges before her?

Setting the Pace (Pine Hollow #15)

by Bonnie Bryant

The Pine Hollow girls ring in the New Year with unexpected beginnings—and endings It&’s been an eventful year—and the excitement is not winding down just because it&’s New Year&’s Eve. Carole never dreamed that falling in love could happen so fast—but Cam is speeding things along, and Carole&’s doing her best to keep up. While Stevie helps a friend confront his past, Lisa has lots of decisions to make about her future. What will the New Year bring? And do the girls have the courage to face it?

Settle the Score: Saving The Team; Sabotage Season; Win Or Lose; Hat Trick; Shaken Up; Settle The Score (The Kicks)

by Alex Morgan

From soccer star, Olympic gold medalist, and bestselling author Alex Morgan comes the sixth book in an empowering and fun-filled middle grade series about believing in yourself and working as a team.Devin is finally catching her stride with the winter soccer league, and as the championships approach, Devin and Jessi's team has a real shot at coming out on top! Only, Zoe's team does too, and suddenly things get awkward between the Kicks. Devin tries to keep her head, but she's torn--she wants her friend to be happy, but she wants to win, too! And Zoe's too busy strategizing with her new teammates to make time for the Kicks. As the finals get closer, tensions rise until even Frida and Emma don't know who to root for. Maybe this time the Kicks can't stand up under the weight of competition.

Seve: A Biography of Severiano Ballesteros

by Alistair Tait

Seve is the most extrovert player Europe has ever produced. Playboy good looks along with a magnetism that attracted non-golfers to the game made him the biggest drawing card Europe has ever had. He emerged on the world scene with typical élan, hitting one of the most outrageous shots ever seen at the 1976 Open Championship. Three years later he became the youngest Open Champion of the modern era when he won the first of his five major championships. Ballesteros started Europe's domination of the Majors throughout the 80s and 90s, paving the way for Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer, Ian Woosnam, Sandy Lyle and Jose Maria Olazabal. His play in the Ryder Cup, fuelled by an intense dislike for Americans, helped restore Europe's pride in the event. Driven byBasque pride and with a fiery Latin temperament, Seve has often let his heartrule his head.Seve is the remarkable story of one of the game's most fascinating characters.

Seven Days

by Cristina Bruni

During a golf tournament in Virginia, American golfer Reggie Weston meets Russell Lee, the British former world champion in the sport. The two men hit it off when Russell takes Reggie under his wing, teaching him the tricks of the game.As their friendship deepens, Reggie finds himself falling in love with the Englishman, though he knows Russell doesn’t feel the same. He’s painfully aware of the fact that Russell isn’t gay.But there’s more to Russell than meets the eye. He’s a troubled soul, plagued by monsters in his head telling him who he should be. He’s spent most of his life hiding his sexuality from the world so he won’t disappoint his homophobic mother.Is seven days enough time for Russell to break through the years of hurt and accept the new direction fate has in store for him and Reggie?

Seven Deadly Sins of Dressage

by Douglas Puterbaugh

Like the classic deadly sins, the seven deadly sins of dressage presented in this innovative guide-ignorance, timidity, pride, fear, gluttony, impatience, and sloth-wreak havoc on both rider and equine development and training. Calling attention to common mistakes and offering new strategies for avoiding age-old pitfalls, this manual addresses the philosophical issues of incorrect dressage training by examining each vice in depth. Using a touch of humor and sound advice, this guide comes complete with practical exercises, enlightening photographs, and useful information for becoming a better rider and person--

Seven Deadly Sins: My Pursuit of Lance Armstrong

by David Walsh

The story of Lance Armstrong - the cyclist who recovered from testicular cancer and went on to win the Tour de France a record seven times, the man who wrote a bestselling and inspirational account of his life, the charitable benefactor - seemed almost too good to be true. And it was. As early as Armstrong's first victory on the Tour in 1999, Sunday Times journalist David Walsh had reason to think that the incredible performances we were seeing from Armstrong were literally too good to be true. Based on insider information and dogged research, he began to unmask the truth. Cycling's biggest star used every weapon in his armoury to protect his name. But he could not keep everyone silent. In the autumn of 2012, the USADA published a damning report on Armstrong that resulted in the American being stripped of his seven Tour victories and left his reputation in shreds. Walsh's long fight to reveal the truth had been vindicated. This book tells the compelling story of one man's struggle to bring that truth to light against all the odds.

Refine Search

Showing 15,751 through 15,775 of 24,493 results