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The Game Masters of Garden Place (Fountas & Pinnell LLI Blue)
by Denis MarkellA quirky Dungeons & Dragons-inspired adventure that will appeal to gamers and readers of the Mr. Lemoncello's Library series. <P><P>What if your favorite fantasy game characters showed up on your doorstep IRL?Sixth graders Ralph, Jojo, Noel, Persephone, and Cammi are hooked on fantasy tabletop role-playing games. When they somehow manage to summon their characters to Ralph's house, things take a truly magical turn! <P><P>The five are soon racing around town on a wild adventure that tests their both their RPG skills and their friendship. Will Ralph and crew be able to keep their characters out of trouble? Trying to convince a sticky-fingered halfling rogue not to pickpocket or a six-foot-five barbarian woman that you don't always have to solve conflicts with a two-handed broadsword is hard enough. How will they ever send the adventurers back to their mystical realm?
The Game Must Go On: Hank Greenberg, Pete Gray and the Great Days of Baseball on the Home Front in WWII
by John KlimaThe Game Must Go On offers a compelling and action packed story on how WWII changed American baseball, and how baseball helped to win the war.On December 7, 1941, as the battleships of Pearl Harbor smoldered, one of the most powerful athletes in America, Detroit Tigers MVP Hank Greenberg, made a tumultuous decision-to leave the baseball field for the field of war.His decision left baseball's place during the war uncertain as more and more ballplayers, famous and unknown alike, put off their careers to go into the fight. President Roosevelt was faced with a difficult decision: stop all of professional baseball for the good of the victory, but, in doing so, risk losing a vital part of morale. He decided that, whatever it took, THE GAME MUST GO ON.This is the story of American baseball history during World War II-of both the players who left to join the war and of the ones who struggled to keep the game alive on the home front. Taking the place of the big shots turned soldiers, sailors, and combat pilots were misfit replacement players. While Greenberg represented the player who served, Pete Gray symbolized the player who stayed. He was a one-armed outfielder who overcame insurmountable odds to become a professional athlete.John Klima drops us straight into 1941-1945. Culminating in the 1945 pennant race where Greenberg and Gray's paths memorably crossed, Klima shows us how World War II made the country come of age and took baseball with it. This is the story of how the games we play changed because of the battles we fought.
The Game On! Diet: Kick Your Friend's Butt While Shrinking Your Own
by Krista Vernoff Az FergusonThe Game On! Diet is not a diet. It's a bold new approach to fitness that turns the latest, smartest, most successful health science into a fun, fierce, and exhilarating game. Developed by Az Ferguson, to help Grey's Anatomy writer Krista Vernoff shed forty pounds of postpregnancy weight, it is the ideal program for busy people who should be working out but have a thousand good excuses not to. Az keeps you motivated and Krista keeps you laughing as they show you how to organize opposing teams, set goals, and compete to earn points for daily exercise, healthy meal plans, and positive lifestyle changes. With The Game On! Diet, the process of losing weight, for the first time ever, is actually fun. After all, what's better than a bikini body . . . and bragging rights? Get out there and lose . . . to win! Game on!
The Game They Played: The True Story of the Point-Shaving Scandal That Destroyed One of College Basketball's Greatest Teams
by Stanley CohenOne of Sports Illustrated's Top 100 Sports Books of All Time: The riveting story of the point-shaving scandal that shook college basketball to its core It was the ultimate Cinderella sports story. Unranked heading into the 1949-50 season, the City College basketball team delighted their hometown of New York City and shocked the rest of America by winning both the NCAA and NIT tournaments. An unprecedented feat that would never be duplicated, City College's postseason grand slam was made all the more remarkable by the fact that, in an era when many premier teams were segregated, its starting lineup consisted of 3 Jewish and 2 African American athletes. With Hall of Fame coach Nat Holman and 4 of the starting 5 returning for the 1950-51 campaign, the stage was set for a thrilling title defense. Alas, it was not to be. City College's season came to an abrupt end when 3 of its star players were arrested on charges of conspiring to fix games. The ensuing scandal, which would engulf 6 other schools and lead to the indictments of 20 players and 14 fixers, cast New York City sports under a dark cloud, derailed the careers of some of the game's most promising young talents, and forever altered the landscape of college basketball. The basis for the award-winning HBO documentary City Dump, The Game They Played is a poignant portrait of the unforgettable moment when an unheralded team of local boys united New York City in both triumph and disgrace.
The Game before the Money: Voices of the Men Who Built the NFL
by Jackson MichaelThe Game before the Money recounts the National Football League’s story and the evolution of America’s most popular sport in the vivid words of men who built the NFL. This unprecedented look at football history from the players’ perspective combines the stories of icons such as Frank Gifford and Bart Starr with those of journeymen who shared the huddle with Johnny Unitas and rallied to halftime speeches from legendary coaches Vince Lombardi and George Halas. Featuring players from the 1930s through the 1970s, these personal accounts trace professional football in its journey from post-barnstorming days through the first two decades of the Super Bowl. The Game before the Money offers backstories to classic games and the men who made history in them before multi-million dollar contracts. Insights into life in the NFL come from those most capable of providing it, NFL legends themselves. Forty former players open windows onto their own lives, their triumphs and tragedies, and the hardship and the glory that make them the people they are both on and off the field.
The Game for a Lifetime: More Lessons and Teachings
by Harvey PenickTIMELESS LESSONS FROM THE MASTER OF THE GAMEThis, the fourth book by Harvey Penick, was nearly finished when he died in April 1995. A return to the timeless wisdom that has made his first bestseller, Harvey Penick's Little Red Book, a modern classic, The Game for a Lifetime does not contain the technical swing tips and stance aids of today's instructional guides, but dispenses a philosophy on golf, and on life.Harvey Penick knew that the teachings in his book would stand the test of time, and he spent his lifetime pursuing and enjoying all that the game has to offer -- physically, emotionally, and spiritually. The Game for a Lifetime, the final book by Harvey Penick, stands as a wonderful testimonial to this legendary career, his celebrated teaching style, and his ability to affect the lives of the people who had the good fortune to know him.
The Game from Where I Stand: From Batting Practice to the Clubhouse to the Best Breakfast on the Road, an Inside View of a Ballplayer's Life
by Doug GlanvilleDoug Glanville, a former major league outfielder and Ivy League graduate, draws on his nine seasons in the big leagues to reveal the human side of the game and of the men who play it. "Filled with sharp insights, keen observations, and great stories, his book is championship caliber." —The Philadelphia InquirerIn The Game from Where I Stand, Glanville shows us how players prepare for games, deal with race and family issues, cope with streaks and slumps, respond to trades and injuries, and learn the joyful and painful lessons the game imparts. We see the flashpoints that cause misunderstandings and friction between players, and the imaginative ways they work to find common ground. And Glanville tells us with insight and humor what he learned from Jimmy Rollins, Alex Rodriguez, Randy Johnson, Barry Bonds, Curt Schilling, and other legendary and controversial stars.In his professional career, Glanville experienced every aspect of being a player—the first-round pick, the prospect, the disappointment, the can't-miss, the cornerstone, the veteran, the traded, the injured, the comeback kid. His eye-opening book gives fans a new level of understanding of day-to-day life in the big leagues.
The Game is Not a Game: The Power, Protest, and Politics of American Sports
by Robert Scoop JacksonA study of &“the hypocrisy of the game, capitalism, activism (a la Kaepernick), disrespect to female athletes, and who benefits from sports the most&” (Electric Lit). Part play-by-play, part op-ed, The Game Is Not a Game is an illuminating and unflinching examination of the good and evil in the sports industry. Liberating and provocative, with sharp wit and generous humor, Jackson&’s essays explore the role that sports plays in American society and the hypocritical standards by which the athletes are often judged. The Game Is Not a Game is distinctly intended to challenge accepted ideology and to push the boundaries of mainstream sports media beyond the comfort zone. Chapters expose &“Our Miseducation of LeBron James,&” &“#ThemToo: The UnRespected Worth of the Woman Athlete,&” the duplicity of the NFL in its treatment of Colin Kaepernick and the anthem protests, the cultural bias of analytics, and the power of social activism versus the power and politics of professional sports ownership—all from the sharp, savvy, and self-critical perspective of one of the leading voices for social justice in sports media. &“Bristles with bracing and brutal insights that take no tea for the fever and offer no discount on truth or justice . . . an instant classic that reckons with the factors that make sports possible, and at the same time wrestles with the forces that make protest in sports necessary. The Game Is Not a Game is intersectional cultural analysis at its best!&” —Michael Eric Dyson, New York Times bestselling author &“Jackson&’s work is not about scores; rather, he stresses that sports are a self-contained microcosm of society at large. A thought-provoking, unfailingly insightful book.&” —Booklist
The Game of Eating Smart: Nourishing Recipes for Peak Performance Inspired by MLB Superstars
by Julie Loria Allen CampbellAn inside look at the food that fuels today’s top Major League Baseball stars In Major League Baseball, the transition to eating healthy food has become more than a movement; it’s a revolution. Jose Altuve, Chris Archer, Clayton Kershaw, Noah Syndergaard, Mike Trout, and the 16 other star ballplayers featured in The Game of Eating Smart are proof of the positive effect of proper nutrition on athletic performance and overall health. Eating smart isn’t about calorie-counting and fad diets. It simply means consuming more nourishing food—including leafy greens, lean protein, and fresh fruit—that eventually decreases the desire to make unhealthy choices. The Game of Eating Smart includes insights from today’s top players on their approach to healthy living and performance nutrition, plus more than 80 easy-to-prepare and nutrient-dense recipes inspired by their food philosophies and favorite meals. José Altuve José Bautista Chris Archer Nolan Arenado Jake Arrieta Kris Bryant Carlos Correa Freddie Freeman Paul Goldschmidt Didi Gregorius Bryce Harper Adam Jones Matt Kemp Clayton Kershaw Ian Kinsler Corey Kluber Hunter Pence David Price Giancarlo Stanton Noah Syndergaard Mike Trout
The Game of Life: College Sports and Educational Values (The William G. Bowen Series #35)
by William G. Bowen James L. ShulmanThe President of Williams College faces a firestorm for not allowing the women's lacrosse team to postpone exams to attend the playoffs. The University of Michigan loses $2.8 million on athletics despite averaging 110,000 fans at each home football game. Schools across the country struggle with the tradeoffs involved with recruiting athletes and updating facilities for dozens of varsity sports. Does increasing intensification of college sports support or detract from higher education's core mission? James Shulman and William Bowen introduce facts into a terrain overrun by emotions and enduring myths. Using the same database that informed The Shape of the River, the authors analyze data on 90,000 students who attended thirty selective colleges and universities in the 1950s, 1970s, and 1990s. Drawing also on historical research and new information on giving and spending, the authors demonstrate how athletics influence the class composition and campus ethos of selective schools, as well as the messages that these institutions send to prospective students, their parents, and society at large. Shulman and Bowen show that athletic programs raise even more difficult questions of educational policy for small private colleges and highly selective universities than they do for big-time scholarship-granting schools. They discover that today's athletes, more so than their predecessors, enter college less academically well-prepared and with different goals and values than their classmates--differences that lead to different lives. They reveal that gender equity efforts have wrought large, sometimes unanticipated changes. And they show that the alumni appetite for winning teams is not--as schools often assume--insatiable. If a culprit emerges, it is the unquestioned spread of a changed athletic culture through the emulation of highly publicized teams by low-profile sports, of men's programs by women's, and of athletic powerhouses by small colleges. Shulman and Bowen celebrate the benefits of collegiate sports, while identifying the subtle ways in which athletic intensification can pull even prestigious institutions from their missions. By examining how athletes and other graduates view The Game of Life--and how colleges shape society's view of what its rules should be--Bowen and Shulman go far beyond sports. They tell us about higher education today: the ways in which colleges set policies, reinforce or neglect their core mission, and send signals about what matters.
The Game of Our Lives: The English Premier League And The Making Of Modern Britain
by David GoldblattThe Game of Our Lives is a masterly portrait of contemporary Britain through the lens of soccer. In the last two decades soccer in the United Kingdom has made the transition from a peripheral dying sport to the very center of British popular culture, from an economic basket-case to a booming entertainment industry that has conquered the world. What does it mean when soccer becomes so central to the private and public lives of the British people? Has it enriched this island nation or impoverished it? From the goals, to the players, to the managers, to the money, David Goldblatt describes how the English Premier League was forged by Margaret Thatcher's Britain and an alliance of the big clubs - Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur - the Football Association and Rupert Murdoch's Sky TV. He identifies the real winners and losers in this extraordinary period, and explains how soccer has closely mirrored the wider political and social scene. Goldblatt argues that no social phenomenon tracks the momentous economic, social and political changes of post-Thatcherite Britain in a more illuminating manner than soccer, and The Game of Our Lives provides the definitive social history of the EPL - most popular soccer league in the world.
The Game of Sunken Places
by M. T. AndersonWhen Brian and Gregory arrive at a distant relative's strange manse, they stumble upon a board game and suddenly they became players and must deal with attitudinal trolls and warring kingdoms.
The Game of Their Lives: The Untold Story of the World Cup's Biggest Upset
by Geoffrey Douglas<p>In the summer of 1950, a most unlikely group was assembled to represent its country in the first soccer World Cup since World War II. The Americans were outsiders to the sport, the underdogs of the event, a 500-to-1 long shot. But they were also proud and loyal men -- to one another, to their communities, and certainly to their country. Facing almost no time to prepare, opponents with superior training, and skepticism from the rest of the world, this ragtag group of unknowns was inspired to a stunning victory over England and one of the most thrilling upsets in the history of sports. <p>Written by critically acclaimed author Geoffrey Douglas, and now a film directed by David Anspaugh ( Hoosiers ), <i>The Game of Their Lives</i> takes us back to a time before million-dollar contracts and commercial endorsements, and introduces us to the athletes -- the Americans -- who showed the world just how far a long shot could really go.
The Game of the Century: Nebraska vs. Oklahoma in College Football's Ultimate Battle
by Michael CorcoranThe acclaimed author of Duel in the Sun, hailed as "a perfect golf time machine" by USA Today, takes readers into the bleachers and onto the playing field for an inside look at the legendary face-off between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Nebraska Cornhuskers. On Thanksgiving Day 1971, a record fifty-five million homes tuned in to watch two powerhouse college football teams collide. Defending national champion University of Nebraska was squaring off against the country's second-ranked team, the Oklahoma Sooners. The Huskers were riding a twenty-nine-game unbeaten streak; the Sooners had the number one offense in the country. Both teams were loaded with All-Americans and future NFL stars. The legend of the game that became known as the single finest ever played actually began a few years earlier in Texas, when coach Emory Bellard came up with an innovative plan of attack that would level defenses and give coaches sleepless nights for the next twenty years. The Texas wishbone offense became the talk of sporting America, and when Oklahoma coach Chuck Fairbanks adopted it for his team in 1970, the groundwork was laid for the epic confrontation with Nebraska. Combining a meticulously researched history of college football with in-depth interviews, author Michael Corcoran tells it all: the play-by-play strategies and techniques, the personalities of the players and coaches who conceived the plans and executed them, the formations and intricate blocking schemes that spelled victory or defeat. Highlights include: Heisman winner Johnny Rodgers's storied punt return, Rich Glover's incomparable twenty-two tackles, Oklahoma's furious comebacks each time they trailed in the game, and the poignant memories of the game after it was over. Nebraska radio play-by-play man Lyell Bremser echoed the nation when he proclaimed, "I never thought I would live this long to see this kind of a football game." Filled with vivid details and nail-biting suspense, this book takes us behind the scenes and into the rich history of this practically mythical battle. From the roots of both football teams, to the players, coaches, reporters, spectators, and fans, The Game of the Century is a story that will resonate with football fans all across America.
The Game's Not Over: In Defense of Football
by Gregg EasterbrookOn November 17, 1968, the Oakland Raiders staged a last-minute comeback against the New York Jets, scoring two touchdowns in the final minute for a dramatic finale. But there was a problem: no one saw it. NBC, broadcasting the game nationally, cut away with 1:01 remaining and the Jets still leading to air a previously scheduled movie, Heidi. The ensuing public outcry was so significant that the rules for football broadcasting were quickly and forever changed. In this perceptive, finely argued book, Gregg Easterbrook shows that the so-called "Heidi Bowl" was not just an isolated bizarre moment. It was the beginning of the football era in America. The sport boomed alongside television, soon becoming our national campfire--one of the few points of agreement across the political spectrum and a genuine source of community even as religion's influence waned. It is no coincidence, Easterbrook argues, that we now see in football the same issues that we perceive elsewhere in America--including recent problems with bullying, violence against women, racial injustice, and financial skulduggery. These problems are significant, and many have been moved to limit their engagement with the NFL's venal culture--or boycott it entirely. Yet as Easterbrook shows, there's something here worth saving. He expounds on the benefits of football, and throws its many problems into relief, finally arguing that the work of reforming and changing one of our great pastimes is American as the game itself.
The Game-Centred Approach to Sport Literacy (Routledge Focus on Sport Pedagogy)
by Sixto González-Víllora Javier Fernandez-Rio Eva Guijarro Manuel Jacob Sierra-DíazThe Game Centred Approach (GCA) is the ideal framework for coaches and teachers to develop comprehensive tactical or technical lessons for any game, both in physical education and in extracurricular sport contexts. Learning about the pedagogical models included in this approach has never been easier thanks to this short introductory guide. The book helps the reader acquire the skills needed to design effective session plans, regardless of the sport that is being taught or coached. It introduces the core concepts underpinning the GCA model, complemented by practical examples of tasks and strategies for each game category and assessment instrument. This is essential reading for all educators, coaches or sports professionals who wish to improve their teaching or coaching to enhance their students and players’ physical literacy and sport competence. It is also invaluable reading for any student or researcher working in physical education, sport coaching or sport pedagogy.
The Game: 30th Anniversary Edition
by Ken DrydenWidely acknowledged as the best hockey book ever written and lauded by Sports Illustrated as one of the Top 10 Sports Books of All Time, The Game is a reflective and thought-provoking look at a life in hockey. Ken Dryden, the former Montreal Canadiens goalie and former president of the Toronto Maple Leafs, captures the essence of the sport and what it means to all hockey fans. He gives us vivid and affectionate portraits of the characters—Guy Lafleur, Larry Robinson, Guy Lapointe, Serge Savard and coach Scotty Bowman among them—who made the Canadiens of the 1970s one of the greatest hockey teams in history. But beyond that, Dryden reflects on life on the road, in the spotlight and on the ice, offering up a rare inside look at the game of hockey and an incredible personal memoir.This commemorative edition marks the thirtieth anniversary of The Game’s original publication. It includes a new foreword by Bill Simmons, new photography and a new chapter, “The Game Goes On.” Take a journey to the heart and soul of the game with this timeless hockey classic.
The Game: Harvard, Yale, and America in 1968
by George Howe ColtFrom the author of the bestselling National Book Award finalist The Big House comes a story in the tradition of The Boys in the Boat about an unforgettable group of young athletes who battled in the legendary Harvard-Yale football game of 1968 amidst the sweeping currents of one of the most transformative years in American history.On November 23, 1968, near the end of a turbulent and memorable year, there was a football game that would also prove turbulent and memorable: the season-ending clash between Harvard and Yale. Both teams entered undefeated and, technically at least, came out undefeated. The final score was 29-29. To some of the players on the field, it was a triumph; to others a tragedy. And to many, the reasons had as much to do with one side’s miraculous comeback in the game’s final 42 seconds as it did with the months that preceded it, months that witnessed the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy, police brutality at the Democratic National Convention, inner-city riots, campus takeovers, and, looming over everything, the war in Vietnam. George Howe Colt’s The Game is the story of that iconic American year, as seen through the young men who lived it and were changed by it. One player had recently returned from eight months under fire in Vietnam. Two were members of the radical antiwar group SDS. There was an all-American football hero whose nickname was “God.” There was one NFL prospect who quit to devote his time to black altruism, another who went on to be Pro-Bowler Calvin Hill. There was a postal clerk’s son who worried about fitting in with the preppies, and a wealthy WASP eager to prove he could handle the blue-collar kids’ hits. There was a guard named Tommy Lee Jones, and fullback who dated a young Meryl Streep. They came from every class and background, but played side by side and together forged a moment of startling grace in the midst of the storm. Vivid, lively, and constantly surprising, this magnificent and intimate work of history is the story of ordinary people in an extraordinary time, and of a country facing issues that we continue to wrestle with to this day.
The Game: Inside the Secret World of Major League Baseball's Power Brokers
by Jon PessahThe incredible inside story of power, money, and baseball's last twenty years <P><P>In the fall of 1992, America's National Pastime is in crisis and already on the path to the unthinkable: cancelling a World Series for the first time in history. The owners are at war with each other, their decades-long battle with the players has turned America against both sides, and the players' growing addiction to steroids will threaten the game's very foundation. <P><P>It is a tipping point for baseball, a crucial moment in the game's history that catalyzes a struggle for power by three strong-willed men: Commissioner Bud Selig, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, and union leader Don Fehr. <P><P>It's their uneasy alliance at the end of decades of struggle that pulls the game back from the brink and turns it into a money-making powerhouse that enriches them all. This is the real story of baseball, played out against a tableau of stunning athletic feats, high-stakes public battles, and backroom political deals--with a supporting cast that includes Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire, Joe Torre and Derek Jeter, George Bush and George Mitchell, and many more. <P><P>Drawing from hundreds of extensive, exclusive interviews throughout baseball, The Game is a stunning achievement: a rigorously reported book and the must-read, fly-on-the-wall, definitive account of how an enormous struggle for power turns disaster into baseball's Golden Age.
The Games Ethic and Imperialism: Aspects of the Diffusion of an Ideal (Sport in the Global Society)
by J.A. ManganThis is more than a description of the imperial spread of public school games: it considers hegemony and patronage, ideals and idealism, educational values and aspirations, cultural assimilation and adaptation and the dissemination of the moralistic ideology of athleticism.
The Games Presidents Play: Sports and the Presidency
by John Sayle WattersonThe Games Presidents Play provides a new way to view the American presidency. Looking at the athletic strengths, feats, and shortcomings of our presidents, John Sayle Watterson explores not only their health, physical attributes, personalities, and sports IQs, but also the increasing trend of Americans in the past century to equate sporting achievements with courage, manliness, and political competence.The author of College Football begins with George Washington, whose athleticism contributed to his success on the battlefield and may well have contributed to the birth of the republic. He moves seamlessly into the nineteenth century when, for presidents like Jackson, Lincoln, and Cleveland, frontier sports were part of their formative years. With the twentieth-century presidents—most notably the hyperactive and headline-grabbing Theodore Roosevelt—Watterson shows how the growth of mass media and the improved means of transportation transformed presidential sports into both a form of recreation and a means of establishing a positive self-image.Modern presidents have used sports with varying degrees of success. Herbert Hoover fled Washington on weekends to the trout pools of Camp Rapidan in the Blue Ridge to escape relentless pressures and public criticism during the Great Depression. Franklin Roosevelt demonstrated remarkable physical endurance in his campaign to restore his ravaged body from polio. An obsessive love affair with golf became an issue for Dwight Eisenhower in his campaign for reelection in 1956. Richard Nixon, a former third-string college football lineman, placed calls to Coach George Allen of the Washington Redskins, once suggesting a trick play in a big game.From the opening pitch of the baseball season to presenting awards to Olympic champions, our sports culture asks the president to play an increasingly active role. Sports, Watterson argues, open a window into the presidency, shedding new light on presidential behavior and offering new perspectives on the office and the sporting men—and women—who have and will occupy it.
The Games Presidents Play: Sports and the Presidency
by John Sayle WattersonThis look at the connections between sportsmanship and statesmanship “introduces an intriguing way of evaluating presidential fitness for office” (Richmond Times-Dispatch).Whether throwing out the first pitch of the baseball season, fishing for trout, or cheating at golf, American presidents through history have had connections to the world of sports in many ways. This book explores how various commanders-in-chief worked and played—and how their athletic activities reflected their political identities.The author considers George Washington, whose athleticism contributed to his success on the battlefield and perhaps to the birth of the republic. He moves into the nineteenth century, when frontier sports were part of the formative years of Jackson, Lincoln, and Cleveland. With twentieth-century presidents—most notably the hyperactive, headline-grabbing Teddy Roosevelt—he shows how the growth of mass media and transportation transformed presidential sports into both a form of recreation and a means of establishing a positive image. Exploring everything from FDR’s fight to restore his polio-ravaged body to Eisenhower’s obsessive love affair with golf to Nixon’s enthusiasm for football, this book uses sports to open a window onto the presidency and the nation’s culture, as well as the strengths, weaknesses, and personalities of America’s leaders.“Watterson’s history rises above trivia in its attention to the political ramifications of presidents’ sports while also being a consistently entertaining trove of lore and, as the author puts it, ‘just weird stuff,’ such as John Q. Adams granting an interview while skinny-dipping. A wry and perceptive work.” —Booklist “An enjoyable study of politics and culture.” —Publishers Weekly“Will appeal to history buffs and sports fans alike.” —Library Journal
The Games: A Global History of the Olympics
by David GoldblattThe definitive sports and social history of the modern Olympic Games--by one of the most celebrated sportswriters of our time.Renowned sportswriter David Goldblatt has been hailed by the Wall Street Journal for writing "with the expansive eye of a social and cultural critic" In The Games Goldblatt delivers a magisterial history of the biggest sporting event of them all: the Olympics. He tells the epic story of the Games from their reinvention in Athens in 1896 to the present day, chronicling classic moments of sporting achievement from Jesse Owens to Nadia Comăneci, the Miracle on Ice to Usain Bolt. He goes beyond the medal counts to explore how international conflicts have played out at the Olympics, including the role of the Games in Fascist Germany and Italy, the Cold War, and the struggles of the postcolonial world for recognition. He also tells the extraordinary story of how women fought to be included on equal terms, how the Paralympics started in the wake of World War II, and how the Olympics reflect changing attitudes to race and ethnicity.
The Gas and Flame Men: Baseball and the Chemical Warfare Service during World War I
by Jim LeekeWhen the United States officially entered World War I in 1917, it was woefully underprepared for chemical warfare, in which the British, French, and Germans had been engaged since 1915. In response, the U.S. Army created an entirely new branch: the Chemical Warfare Service. The army turned to trained chemists and engineers to lead the charge—and called on an array of others, including baseball players, to fill out the ranks.The Gas and Flame Men is the first full account of Major League ballplayers who served in the Chemical Warfare Service during World War I. Four players, two club executives, and a manager served in the small and hastily formed branch, six of them as gas officers. Remarkably, five of the seven—Christy Mathewson, Branch Rickey, Ty Cobb, George Sisler, and Eppa &“Jeptha&” Rixey—are now enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, New York. The son of a sixth Hall of Famer, player and manager Ned Hanlon, was a young officer killed in action in France with the First Gas Regiment. Prominent chemical soldiers also included veteran Major League catcher and future manager George &“Gabby&” Street and Boston Braves president and former Harvard football coach Percy D. Haughton.The Gas and Flame Men explores how these famous baseball men, along with an eclectic mix of polo players, collegiate baseball and football stars, professors, architects, and prominent social figures all came together in the Chemical Warfare Service. Jim Leeke examines their service and its long-term effects on their physical and mental health—and on Major League Baseball and the world of sports. The Gas and Flame Men also addresses historical inaccuracies and misperceptions surrounding Christy Mathewson&’s early death from tuberculosis in 1925, long attributed to wartime gas exposure.
The Gashouse Gang: How Dizzy Dean, Leo Durocher, Branch Rickey, Pepper Martin, and Their Colorful, Come-from-Behind Ball Club Won the World Series-and America’s Heart-During the Great Depression
by John HeidenryWith The Gashouse Gang, John Heidenry delivers the definitive account of one the greatest and most colorful baseball teams of all times, the 1934 St. Louis Cardinals, filled with larger-than-life baseball personalities like Branch Rickey, Leo Durocher, Pepper Martin, Casey Stengel, Satchel Paige, Frankie Frisch, and-especially- the eccentric good ol' boy and great pitcher Dizzy Dean and his brother Paul. The year 1934 marked the lowest point of the Great Depression, when the U. S. went off the gold standard, banks collapsed by the score, and millions of Americans were out of work. Epic baseball feats offered welcome relief from the hardships of daily life. The Gashouse Gang, the brilliant culmination of a dream by its general manager, Branch Rickey, the first to envision a farm system that would acquire and "educate" young players in the art of baseball, was adored by the nation, who saw itself-scruffy, proud, and unbeatable-in the Gang. Based on original research and told in entertaining narrative style, The Gashouse Gang brings a bygone era and a cast full of vivid personalities to life and unearths a treasure trove of baseball lore that will delight any fan of the great American pastime.