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When Lions Were Kings: The Detroit Lions and the Fabulous Fifties (Painted Turtle)
by Richard BakDuring the 1950s, the Detroit Lions were one of the most glamorous and successful teams in the National Football League, winning championships in 1952, 1953, and 1957, and regularly playing before packed houses at Briggs Stadium. In When Lions Were Kings: The Detroit Lions and the Fabulous Fifties, journalist and sports historian Richard Bak blends a deeply researched and richly written narrative with many rare color images from the decade, re-creating a time when the Motor City and its gridiron heroes were riding high in the saddle. Representing a city at its postwar peak of population and influence, coach Raymond "Buddy" Parker and such players as Les Bingaman, Bob "Hunchy" Hoernschemeyer, Yale Lary, Joe Schmidt, Jack Christiansen, Jim Doran, Lou Creekmur, and Leon Hart helped sell the game to a country discovering the joys of watching televised football on Sunday afternoons and Thanksgiving Day. Quarterback Bobby Layne and halfback Doak Walker were celebrity athletes during this golden age of pro football—a decade when the game first started to replace its slower-paced cousin, baseball, as the national pastime. While the quietly modest Walker was a darling of Madison Avenue advertisers, the swaggering Layne became the first NFL player ever to grace the cover of Time magazine. Along with detailed profiles of the players, coaches, and games that defined the Lions’ only dynastic era, Bak explores such varied topics as the team’s languid approach to desegregation, the wild popularity of bubble gum trading cards, and the staggering physical cost players of the period have suffered in retirement. When Lions Were Kings is a lively portrait of the golden age of professional football in Detroit that will delight younger fans and inform die-hard followers of one of the NFL’s oldest franchises.
When Love Is Not Enough: A Guide to Parenting Children with RAD-Reactive Attachment Disorder
by Nancy ThomasA clear, focused plan for parenting disturbed children back to health
When March Went Mad: The Game That Transformed Basketball
by Seth DavisThe New York Times–bestselling account of how Magic Johnson and Larry Bird burst on the scene in an NCAA championship that gave birth to modern basketball.Thirty years ago, college basketball was not the sport we know today. Few games were televised nationally and the NCAA tournament had just expanded from thirty-two to forty teams. Into this world came two exceptional players: Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Larry Bird. Though they played each other only once, in the 1979 NCAA finals, that meeting launched an epic rivalry, transformed the NCAA tournament into the multibillion-dollar event it is today, and laid the groundwork for the resurgence of the NBA.In When March Went Mad, Seth Davis recounts the dramatic story of the season leading up to that game, as Johnson’s Michigan State Spartans and Bird’s Indiana State Sycamores overcame long odds and great doubts that their unheralded teams could compete at the highest level. Davis also tells the stories of their remarkable coaches, Jud Heathcote and Bill Hodges—who were new to their schools but who set their own paths to build great teams—and he shows how tensions over race and class heightened the drama of the competition.When Magic and Bird squared off in Salt Lake City on March 26, 1979, the world took notice—to this day it remains the most watched basketball game in the history of television—and the sport we now know was born.“A must-read for anybody who considers themselves a basketball fan.” —Michael Wilbon, The Washington Post“An outstanding example of sports writing about an American sport, writing that is larger than the personalities or financial considerations.” —Publishers Weekly
When Mexicans Could Play Ball: Basketball, Race, and Identity in San Antonio, 1928-1945
by Ignacio M. GarcíaIn 1939, a team of short, scrappy kids from a vocational school established specifically for Mexican Americans became the high school basketball champions of San Antonio, Texas. Their win, and the ensuing riot it caused, took place against a backdrop of shifting and conflicted attitudes toward Mexican Americans and American nationalism in the WWII era. "Only when the Mexicans went from perennial runners-up to champs," García writes, "did the emotions boil over."<P><P>The first sports book to look at Mexican American basketball specifically, When Mexicans Could Play Ball is also a revealing study of racism and cultural identity formation in Texas. Using personal interviews, newspaper articles, and game statistics to create a compelling narrative, as well as drawing on his experience as a sports writer, García takes us into the world of San Antonio's Sidney Lanier High School basketball team, the Voks, which became a two-time state championship team under head coach William Carson "Nemo" Herrera. An alumnus of the school himself, García investigates the school administrators' project to Americanize the students, Herrera's skillful coaching, and the team's rise to victory despite discrimination and violence from other teams and the world outside of the school. Ultimately, García argues, through their participation and success in basketball at Lanier, the Voks players not only learned how to be American but also taught their white counterparts to question long-held assumptions about Mexican Americans.
When Nobody Was Watching: My Hard-Fought Journey to the Top of the Soccer World
by Wayne Coffey Carli LloydFrom the celebrated star of the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team, an inspiring, uplifting, and candid memoir of how she got there<P><P> "If a player trains when nobody is watching, she might be able to do superhuman things when the entire world is watching. Like scoring a hat trick in the first sixteen minutes of a World Cup final, an eventual 5-2 victory over Japan. Or topping off that hat trick with an astonishing fifty-yard strike from midfield, the greatest goal in U.S. soccer history, a shot so audacious that it's surprising to learn that Lloyd had actually practiced it for years with [James] Galanis on an empty field in New Jersey, far from any crowds." - Grant Wahl, Sports Illustrated <P> In 2015, the U.S .Women's National Soccer Team won its first FIFA championship in sixteen years, culminating in an epic final game that electrified soccer fans around the world. It featured a gutsy, brilliant performance by team captain and midfielder Carli Lloyd, who made history that day, scoring a hat trick--three goals in one game--during the first sixteen minutes. <P> But there was a time when Carli almost quit the sport. In 2003 she was struggling, her soccer career at a crossroads. Then she found a trusted trainer, James Galanis, who saw in Carli a player with raw talent, skill, and a great dedication to the game. What Carli lacked were fitness, mental toughness, and character. Together they set to work, training day and night, fighting, grinding it out. No one worked harder than Carli. And no one believed in her more than James. Despite all the naysayers, the times she was benched, moments when her self-confidence took a nosedive, she succeeded in becoming one of the best players in the world. <P> This candid reflection on a remarkable turnaround will take readers inside the women's national team and inside the head of an athlete who willed herself to perform at the highest levels of competition. <P><b>A New York Times Bestseller</b>
When Nothing Else Matters
by Michael LeahyAs one of the greatest, most celebrated athletes in history, Michael Jordan conquered professional basketball as no one had before. Powered by a potent mix of charisma, nearly superhuman abilities, and a ferocious need to dominate the game, he won six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls and captured every basketball award and accolade conceivable before retiring and taking a top executive post with the Washington Wizards. But retirement didn't suit the man who was once king, and at the advanced age of thirty-eight Michael Jordan set out to reclaim the court that had been his dominion. When Nothing Else Matters is the definitive account of Jordan's equally spectacular and disastrous return to basketball. Washington Post writer Michael Leahy reveals the striking contrast between the public Jordan and the man whose personal style alienated teammates and the Washington owner who ousted him.
When Nothing Else Matters: Michael Jordan's Last Comeback
by Michael LeahyAs one of the greatest, most celebrated athletes in history, Michael Jordan conquered professional basketball as no one had before. Powered by a potent mix of charisma, nearly superhuman abilities, and a ferocious need to dominate the game, he won six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls and captured every basketball award and accolade conceivable before retiring and taking a top executive post with the Washington Wizards. But retirement didn't suit the man who was once king, and at the advanced age of thirty-eight Michael Jordan set out to reclaim the court that had been his dominion. When Nothing Else Matters is the definitive account of Jordan's equally spectacular and disastrous return to basketball. Washington Post writer Michael Leahy reveals the striking contrast between the public Jordan and the man whose personal style alienated teammates and the Washington owner who ousted him.
When Pride Still Mattered: A Life Of Vince Lombardi (Biography Ser.)
by David MaranissIn this groundbreaking biography, David Maraniss captures all of football great Vince Lombardi: the myth, the man, his game, and his God.More than any other sports figure, Vince Lombardi transformed football into a metaphor of the American experience. The son of an Italian immigrant butcher, Lombardi toiled for twenty frustrating years as a high school coach and then as an assistant at Fordham, West Point, and the New York Giants before his big break came at age forty-six with the chance to coach a struggling team in snowbound Wisconsin. His leadership of the Green Bay Packers to five world championships in nine seasons is the most storied period in NFL history. Lombardi became a living legend, a symbol to many of leadership, discipline, perseverance, and teamwork, and to others of an obsession with winning.
When Saturday Comes: The Half Decent Football Book
by When Saturday ComesThe best chants, the funniest nicknames, the greatest headlines and enough little-known facts to keep the average football supporter entertained - and entertaining - for several seasons. This is the story of the greatest game on earth, from 'abandoned matches' to 'Yeovil Town', via celebrity fans, mascots, punditry and superstitions, written from the fan's point of view and with a separate entry for every club in the English and Scottish leagues. Who cares why, if Torquay United's strikers had been more prolific in the 1950s, England may never have won the World Cup; or where football hooliganism actually began; or who the hell Captain Henry Blythe Thornhill Wakelam is?We do. Because as every true student of the game knows: it's important.
When Shea Was Home: The Story of the 1975 Mets, Yankees, Giants, and Jets
by Brett TopelFour teams, 175 games, 3,738,546 fans--one stadium. If 1975 wasn’t the most successful year in New York sports--and it wasn’t--then it was certainly one of the oddest. For that one crazy season, all four New York teams--the Mets, Jets, Yankees, and Giants--called Shea Stadium home. When Shea was Home includes interviews with the stadium’s former head groundskeeper, the legendary Pete Flynn, as well as Jerry Koosman, Bud Harrelson and Ed Kranepool of the Mets, Giants owner John Mara, Rich Caster of the Jets, former Super Bowl MVP quarterback Doug Williams, who played that year at Shea for Grambling, and many more! This well-written narrative includes information about the stadium, the teams, the players, how the teams coexisted, and how they didn't. When Shea was Home takes New York sports fans on a unique trip down memory lane, offering context on the national and local history and culture of the time. It is perfect for the avid New York sports aficionado--regardless of team allegiance!
When Sport Meets Business: Capabilities, Challenges, Critiques
by Dr Rasmus K. Storm Professor Klaus Nielsen Dr Ulrik WagnerWritten by European professors and focusing on the specificities of European sport, When Sport Meets Business analyses the growing commercialisation of professional sport in recent years and explains how it has developed into a major global industry. Structured into four sections, the book covers the key issues in the Business of professional sport: The New Sport Environment – Analysing the consequences of increasing commercialisation by looking at the multi-billion dollar sports goods industry; the effects of globalisation and how commercial influences have made running one of Europe’s most popular sports. Sport Marketing and Media – Investigating the role media and marketing has in commercialisation, with emphasis on the growth of sponsorship; media rights in European club football and the growing influence of social media in sport. Sport and Finance – Relating to the economics of European sport: there is an investigation into the financial policies employed by European Football clubs, specifically in regards to the Financial Fair Play regulations, and the topical issue of high level corruption. Sporting Events – Looking at additional factors that affect professional sport: highlighting the impact an Olympic Games can have on a host city and the longevity of an Olympic urban legacy. The authors have included insightful case studies from across the continent, including anti RB-Leipzig media campaigns in Germany, financial policies at England’s Chelsea FC, French Tennis Federation corporate responsibility, Media rights in Spain’s LaLiga, the sponsorship viability for Ukraine’s Klitschko brothers and the case of Denmark’s Viborg F.F. Suitable for undergraduate and postgraduate students in sport related courses, including sport management, sport economics, sport marketing and the sociology of sport.
When Sport Meets Business: Capabilities, Challenges, Critiques
by Klaus Nielsen Rasmus K. Storm Ulrik WagnerWritten by European professors and focusing on the specificities of European sport, When Sport Meets Business analyses the growing commercialisation of professional sport in recent years and explains how it has developed into a major global industry. Structured into four sections, the book covers the key issues in the Business of professional sport: The New Sport Environment – Analysing the consequences of increasing commercialisation by looking at the multi-billion dollar sports goods industry; the effects of globalisation and how commercial influences have made running one of Europe’s most popular sports. Sport Marketing and Media – Investigating the role media and marketing has in commercialisation, with emphasis on the growth of sponsorship; media rights in European club football and the growing influence of social media in sport. Sport and Finance – Relating to the economics of European sport: there is an investigation into the financial policies employed by European Football clubs, specifically in regards to the Financial Fair Play regulations, and the topical issue of high level corruption. Sporting Events – Looking at additional factors that affect professional sport: highlighting the impact an Olympic Games can have on a host city and the longevity of an Olympic urban legacy. The authors have included insightful case studies from across the continent, including anti RB-Leipzig media campaigns in Germany, financial policies at England’s Chelsea FC, French Tennis Federation corporate responsibility, Media rights in Spain’s LaLiga, the sponsorship viability for Ukraine’s Klitschko brothers and the case of Denmark’s Viborg F.F. Suitable for undergraduate and postgraduate students in sport related courses, including sport management, sport economics, sport marketing and the sociology of sport.
When Technology Fails: A Manual for Self-Reliance, Sustainability, and Surviving the Long Emergency, 2nd Edition
by Matthew SteinThere&’s never been a better time to be prepared.&“This book is an indispensable basic manual for the real-life issues that await us in the decades to come. . . [A] treasure trove of practical wisdom.&”—James Howard Kunstler, author of The Geography of NowhereMatthew Stein&’s comprehensive primer on sustainable living skills—from food and water to shelter and energy to first-aid and crisis-management skills—prepares you to embark on the path toward sustainability. But unlike any other book, Stein not only shows you how to live green in seemingly stable times, but to live in the face of potential disasters, lasting days or years, coming in the form of social upheaval, economic meltdown, or environmental catastrophe.When Technology Fails covers the gamut.Inside, you&’ll learn:The basics of installing a renewable energy system for your home or businessHow to find and sterilize water in the face of utility failureHow to keep warm if you&’ve been left temporarily homelessPractical information for dealing with water-quality issuesAlternative health and first-aid techniquesEach chapter describes skills for self-reliance in good times and bad.Chapters Include:A survey of the risks to the status quoSupplies and preparation for short- and long-term emergenciesEmergency measures for survivalPrepping water, food, shelter, and clothingFirst aid, low-tech medicine, and healingSecuring energy, heat, and powerMetalworkingUtensils and storageLow-tech chemistry engineering, machines, and materialsFully revised and expanded, When Technology Fails ends on a positive, proactive note with a chapter on &“Making the Shift to Sustainability,&” which offers practical suggestions for changing our world on personal, community and global levels."When Technology Fails is a massive project done well. First the book gives a superb presentation of WHY one should be more aware and prepared--and then HOW one should go about this. The scope of this book... is thorough."—John McPherson, author, Primitive Wilderness Living and Survival Skills
When The Game Was Ours (Playaway Adult Nonfiction Ser.)
by Larry Bird Earvin Magic Johnson Jackie MacMullanThe New York Times–bestseller from the Hall of Fame basketball legends. “Finally a book that tells the story of Magic and Larry from their vantage point.” —Denzel WashingtonIn Celtic green was Larry Bird, the hick from French Lick, with laser-beam focus, relentless determination, and a deadly jump shot, a player who demanded excellence from everyone and whose caustic wit left opponents quaking in their high-tops. Magic Johnson was Mr. Showtime, a magnetic personality with all the right moves. Young, indomitable, he was a pied piper in purple and gold. And he burned with an inextinguishable desire to win. When their matchup started they were bitter rivals, but along the way they became lifelong friends.With intimate, fly-on-the-wall detail, When the Game Was Ours transports readers to this electric era of 1980s basketball and reveals for the first time the inner workings of two players dead set on besting one another. From the heady days of trading championships to the darker days of injury and illness, we come to understand Larry’s obsessive devotion to winning and how his demons drove him on the court. We hear him talk with candor about playing through chronic pain and its truly exacting toll. In Magic we see a young, invincible star struggle with the sting of defeat, not just as a player but as a team leader. We are there the moment he learns he’s contracted HIV and hear in his own words how that devastating news impacted his relationships in basketball and beyond. But always, in both cases, we see them prevail.“An exhilarating ride down one of the most competitive rivalries ever.” —Pat Riley
When Turtles Fly: Secrets of Successful People Who Know How to Stick Their Necks Out
by Nikki StoneOlympic skiing champion Nikki Stone shares her own inspirational story and those of Tommy Hilfiger, Steve Young, Lindsey Vonn, Lester Holt, and others . . . Did you know you have better odds at winning the lottery than an Olympic medal? To bring home one of those coveted medals—or achieve any great personal goal in life—you need a lot more than luck. You need a game plan. What if you could learn the secrets of success from an Olympian? A Nobel Prize winner? A Fortune 500 CEO? Along with anecdotes from her own dramatic journey, Olympic gold medalist Nikki Stone has compiled a treasure trove of compelling stories to illustrate each step on the path to success. She&’s gathered humorous, heartwarming and hugely inspirational tales from some of today&’s most brilliant business leaders, scientists, soldiers, inventors, philanthropists, musicians, athletes and entrepreneurs . . . a host of people whose very names epitomize achievement. &“Even after my many successful years in business and politics, I was still able to gain a great deal of inspiration and helpful advice from Nikki Stone and her incredible contributors.&” —Mitt Romney, business executive and former presidential candidate &“These inspirational stories and lessons will challenge readers to overcome their personal obstacles to success and encourage them to achieve their potential.&” —Dick Marriott, chairman Host Hotels and Resorts
When Two Spines Align: Dressage Dynamics
by Beth BaumertWithin riding there exists a fundamental conflict of interest: The rider needs to have control—her confidence depends on her ability to control the balance of her own body as well as that of her very powerful horse. The horse, by nature, needs to feel free—free in both mind and body to express himself through physical movement.In When Two Spines Align: Dressage Dynamics, author Beth Baumert, writer and editor at the internationally recognized equestrian magazineDressage Today, resolves the freedom-control enigma by taking a close look at the individual components that make up riding and dressage. Beth provides insight gleaned from years of working with the best riders, trainers, and judges in the dressage world, and details practical ways riders can learn to harness the balance, energies, and forces at play when they're in the saddle.Readers will discover how to use positive tension and what the author calls the four physical Powerlines—Vertical, Connecting, Spiraling, and Visual—to become balanced and effective in the saddle. Readers will then find ways to understand and manage the horse's balance and coordination challenges, including the fact that he is inherently crooked and naturally inclined to do too much with his front end and not enough with his hind.Ultimately, the rider learns to regulate and monitor the horse's rhythm, energy, flexion, alignment, bend, the height and length of his neck, and, finally, his line of travel by properly aligning her spine with his. When the center of gravity of a balanced rider is directly over the center of gravity of a balanced horse, that place where two spines align becomes the hub for rider and horse harmony—a dynamic and remarkable riding rapport that yields beautiful performance.
When War Played Through
by John StregeThe New York Timesbestselling author pays tribute to the golfers who rallied for an Allied victory during World War II-and shows how the Greatest Generation kept golf alive, despite equipment shortages, bombings, and even captivity. World War II transformed the American home front, and golf was no exception. The world-famous Masters course at Augusta National became a farm to ease food shortages. Ben Hogan and Sam Snead were drafted, and Bobby Jones enlisted. Rubber rationing forced pros and amateurs alike to play with well-worn golf balls-and created a black market for new ones. The 1942 U. S. Open was canceled, replaced by the Hale American Open-whose winner, Ben Hogan, was awarded $1,000 in war bonds-while golfers across the country raised millions of dollars for the war effort. When War Played Throughbrings to life these little-known aspects of an endlessly fascinating period in golf's history. Bestselling golf author John Strege's narrative extends overseas to captured soldiers in Germany who constructed golf courses in a POW camp and English golfers who devised rules for playing around bomb craters and shrapnel during the Blitz (from the Richmond Gold Club in London: "A player whose stroke is affected by the simultaneous explosion of a bomb may play another ball. Penalty one stroke. "). Many golfers returned home from battle with commendations for valor, finding unmatched solace on the links after a dark time. When War Played Throughis the compelling story how an elite sport became a selfless one-and how golf became, for a nation at war, much more than a game.
When War Played Through
by John StregeWorld War II transformed the American home front, and golf was no exception. The world-famous Masters course at Augusta National became a farm to ease food shortages. Ben Hogan and Sam Snead were drafted, and Bobby Jones enlisted. Rubber rationing forced pros and amateurs alike to play with well-worn golf balls--and created a black market for new ones. The 1942 U.S. Open was canceled, replaced by the Hale American Open--whose winner Ben Hogan was awarded $1000 in war bonds--while golfers across the country raised millions of dollars for the war effort. When War Played Through brings to life these little-known aspects of an endlessly fascinating period in golf's history. Bestselling golf author John Strege's narrative extends overseas, to captured soldiers in Germany who constructed golf courses in a POW camp and English golfers who devised rules for playing around bomb craters and shrapnel during the Blitz. Many golfers returned home from battle with commendations for valor, finding unmatched solace on the links after a dark time. When War Played Through is the compelling story of how an elite sport became a selfless one--and how golf became, for a nation at war, much more than a game.
When Women Played Hardball
by Susan E. JohnsonThe years between 1943 and 1954 marked the magical era of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League - which proved beyond doubt that women can play hardball. The book briefly traces the history of professional women's baseball, and offers profiles of seven players.
When Women Rule the Court: Gender, Race, and Japanese American Basketball
by Nicole WillmsFor nearly one hundred years, basketball has been an important part of Japanese American life. Women’s basketball holds a special place in the contemporary scene of highly organized and expansive Japanese American leagues in California, in part because these leagues have produced numerous talented female players. Using data from interviews and observations, Nicole Willms explores the interplay of social forces and community dynamics that have shaped this unique context of female athletic empowerment. As Japanese American women have excelled in mainstream basketball, they have emerged as local stars who have passed on the torch by becoming role models and building networks for others.
When You Can Swim
by Jack WongA reverent celebration of learning to swim among a diverse cast of children and families who each experience the mysterious joys of water in nature. <P><P> In this exploration of what it truly means to swim, expansive vignettes introduce sandpipers, tannin-soaked lakes, and the feeling of a small waterfall on sun-soaked shoulders. But what about those who are afraid of the water's mysterious ways and resist learning to swim? Painting a compelling picture of the many joys and surprises that the water holds, artist and author Jack Wong has delivered an empowering, poetic journey that invites children to discover their confidence within to receive the warmth and wonder of the natural world. <P><P><i>Advisory: Bookshare has learned that this book offers only partial accessibility. We have kept it in the collection because it is useful for some of our members. Benetech is actively working on projects to improve accessibility issues such as these.</i>
When You Come to a Fork in the Road, Take It!: Inspiration and Wisdom from One of Baseball's Greatest Heroes
by Yogi Berra Dave KaplanAn exciting new collection of sublimely simple wisdom from a bestselling author, celebrated athlete, and a true American hero. Three-time MVP and Hall of Famer Yogi Berra hit home runs twice in a row with his two previous books, The Yogi Book and It Ain't Over. Now, his winning streak will continue with this latest work--a collection of appealing, funny, and surprisingly moving essays on life, happiness, and getting through the slumps. Filled with another delightful helping of Yogi's inimitable and unwittingly wise aphorisms, these reflections focus on the valuable lessons he's learned on and off the field. From his early years as an immigrant's son who dropped out of the eighth grade through his triumphant career as a player and manager who played in a record seventy-five World Series games, Yogi illustrates his homespun philosophies with apt analogies to his trove of baseball stories. He expounds on such topics as Patience (Waiting for your pitch); Sacrifice (Laying down a bunt); Trusting Others (Taking direction); and Staying Focused (Keeping your eye on the ball), to show how the rules of life and baseball are uncannily similar. And, in the tradition of Don't Sweat the Small Stuff and All I Really Need to I Know I Learned in Kindergarten, he explains his recipe for fulfillment and happiness with life lessons that are profoundly simple, simply profound--and classic Yogi to the core. Following on the heels of two New York Times bestselling books and filled with memorable photos, this new collection of Yogi wisdom will undoubtedly expand his growing legion of fans. When You Come to a Fork in the Road, Take It! is a wise, humble, touching book that's a guaranteed winner. In short, it's déjà vu all over again. A baseball legend reflects on the following lessons... "A nickel ain't worth a dime any more." "It ain't over til it's over." "You can't think and hit at the same time." "I didn't really say everything I said." "The future ain't what it used to be." . . . and many more.
When You Find Out the World Is Against You: And Other Funny Memories About Awful Moments
by Kelly Oxford“Kelly is part geek, part freak. When You Find Out The World Is Against You shows us ourselves: our sensitivities, our awkward moments, our strange desires. She takes us through summer camp, dating, rape culture, Trump, death . . . Kelly Oxford c’est moi.” — James Franco“Two things I’m grateful for: how imperfect Kelly Oxford is at life and decision-making, and how terrific she is at writing about what a goddamn mess she is.” — Patton Oswalt“Kelly Oxford’s writing is hilarious and fearless. She’s the badass Canadian sister I never had.” — Mindy Kaling“I have worshipped the mind of Kelly Oxford for eons. Kelly Oxford’s concise, whip-smart observations feel eerily universal. When You Find Out the World is Against You shows that there is something to be learned from even the most absurd or devastating moments of life.” — Jill Soloway“Kelly Oxford is a beautiful writer. She finds beauty in the mundane and humor in everyday eccentricities. She is our present-day, funny Joan Didion.” — Gia Coppola
When Your Back's Against the Wall: Fame, Football, and Lessons Learned through a Lifetime of Adversity
by Don Yaeger Michael OherThe NFL champion whose life inspired the hit movie The Blind Side is back with an inspiring and motivating book on overcoming any obstacle, no matter how tough the oddsMillions of people became part of Michael Oher&’s story when they watched a version of him on the big screen; read his memoir, I Beat the Odds; or cheered him on from the stands. After speaking to so many of them over the years, Oher knows that more than anything, people want to believe great things can happen, even when the situation looks bleak. His story of overcoming the toughest of odds serves as their hope. Oher&’s life has had a lot of unexpected highs: a college degree; four beautiful, healthy children and a happy marriage; drafted in the first round; a Super Bowl victory; and a second chance to play in the &“big game.&” He&’s also run up against quite a few walls: poverty, hunger, homelessness, struggles in school, bullying, job loss, brain injury, anxiety, and depression. What he knows now is that your wall can be your opportunity. In When Your Back&’s Against the Wall, he offers encouragement and shows readers how to get back up—again, and again, and again.
When Your Wife Has Tommy John Surgery and Other Baseball Stories: Poems
by E. Ethelbert MillerMuch-honored Washington, D.C. poet activist E. Ethelbert Miller delights and surprises us with his deft imaginings and portraits. Ethelbert&’s poems play out in baseball rhythm and express the joy of living, despite the bitter challenges in today&’s world. These poems define our time and allow us to see ourselves as human through the lens of baseball, family and music. When Your Wife Has Tommy John Surgery and Other Baseball Stories is Miller's second book of baseball poems. Here he touches new bases. There are poems about Marcel Duchamp and Ornette Coleman as well as Whitey Ford and Don Larsen. Miller's poems move the outdoor game indoors where there are moments of disappointment and despair. Baseball can be a blues game. Tommy John surgery is a way of holding onto hope. Many of these poems were written during the Covid pandemic. They beckon fans back to the ballpark. They remind us to enjoy a game that is precious and maybe even essential to our wellness. Coming after If God Invented Baseball, Miller seems to emerge from a literary dugout after a brief rain delay, ready to celebrate the American pastime again.