Ali: A Life by Jonathan Eig
The definitive biography of an American icon, from a New York Times best-selling author with unique access to Ali's inner circle. He was the wittiest, the prettiest, the strongest, the bravest, and, of course, the greatest (as he told us over and over again). Muhammad Ali was one of the twentieth century's greatest radicals and most compelling figures. At his funeral in 2016, eulogists said Ali had transcended race and united the country, but they got it wrong. Race was the theme of Ali's life. He insisted that America come to grips with a black man who wasn't afraid to speak out or break the rules. He didn't overcome racism. He called it out. "I am America," he once declared. "I am the part you won't recognize. But get used to me--black, confident, cocky; my name, not yours; my religion, not yours; my goals, my own. Get used to me." Ali went from being one of the most despised men in the country to one of the most beloved. But until now, he has never been the subject of a complete, unauthorized biography. Jonathan Eig, hailed by Ken Burns as one of America's master storytellers, breaks new ground and radically reshapes our understanding of the slippery figure who was Muhammad Ali. Eig had access to all the key people in Ali's life, including his three surviving wives and his managers. He also had access to thousands of pages of new FBI and Justice Department files, as well dozens of hours of newly discovered audiotaped interviews from the 1960s. Jonathan Eig's Ali breaks bold new ground, revealing Ali in the complexity he deserves, shedding important new light on his politics and his neurological condition. Ali is a story about race, about a brutal sport, and about a fascinating man who shook up the world.
Arnie: The Life of Arnold Palmer by Tom Callahan
In this definitive biography, veteran sportswriter Tom Callahan shines a spotlight on one of the greatest golfers ever to play the game, Arnold Palmer. The winner of more than ninety championships, including four Masters Tournaments, Arnold Palmer was a legend in twentieth century sports: a supremely gifted competitor beloved for his powerful hitting, his nerve on the greens, and his great rapport with fans. Perhaps above all others, Palmer was the reason golf's popularity exploded, as the King of the links helped define golf's golden age along with Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player. In addition to his talent on the golf course, Palmer was a brilliant entrepreneur off it, and one of the first sportsmen to create his own successful marketing brand. Forging an alliance with sports agent Mark McCormick, Palmer parlayed his popularity into lucrative deals, and helped pave the way for the multi-million-dollar contracts that have become standard for stars across all sports. But beyond his business acumen, Palmer was always a larger-than-life character, and Arnie recounts a host of unforgettable anecdotes from a long life in the spotlight. Tom Callahan knew Palmer well for many years, and now pays tribute to this golfing icon. Filled with great stories from the key people in Palmer's life, Arnie is an entertaining and illuminating portrait of a remarkable man and his extraordinary legacy
Arthur Ashe: A Life by Raymond Arsenault
Born in Richmond, Virginia, in 1943, by the age of eleven, Arthur Ashe was one of the state's most talented black tennis players. Jim Crow restrictions barred Ashe from competing with whites. Still, in 1960 he won the National Junior Indoor singles title, which led to a tennis scholarship at UCLA. He became the first African American to play for the US Davis Cup team in 1963, and two years later he won the NCAA singles championship. In 1968, he won both the US Amateur title and the first US Open title, rising to a number one national ranking. Turning professional in 1969, he soon became one of the world’s most successful tennis stars, winning the Australian Open in 1970 and Wimbledon in 1975. After retiring in 1980, he served four years as the US Davis Cup captain and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1985. In this revelatory biography, Raymond Arsenault chronicles Ashe’s rise to stardom on the court. But much of the book explores his off-court career as a human rights activist, philanthropist, broadcaster, writer, businessman, and celebrity. In the 1970s and 1980s, Ashe gained renown as an advocate for sportsmanship, education, racial equality, and the elimination of apartheid in South Africa. But from 1979 on, he was forced to deal with a serious heart condition that led to multiple surgeries and blood transfusions, one of which left him HIV-positive. In 1988, after completing a three-volume history of African-American athletes, he was diagnosed with AIDS, a condition he revealed only four years later. After devoting the last ten months of his life to AIDS activism, he died in February 1993 at the age of forty-nine, leaving an inspiring legacy of dignity, integrity, and active citizenship.
The Closer: My Story by Mariano Rivera with Wayne Coffey
Mariano Rivera tells his story for the first time: the championships, the bosses (including the Boss), the rivalries, the struggles of being a Latino baseball player in the United States, and of maintaining Christian values in professional athletics. The twelve-time All-Star will discuss what it's like to run up to that mound with the game, or the season squarely on his shoulders.
Driven: From Homeless to Hero, My Journeys On and Off Lambeau Field by Donald Driver with Peter Golenbock
The legendary NFL receiver, all-time receptions and yards leader for the Green Bay Packers, and Dancing with the Stars champion looks back on his life and career. Now, in his memoir, Driver recalls what it was like to go from living in a U-Haul trailer with his mom on the streets of Houston to earning a spot on the Packers roster and becoming one of Brett Favre's favorite targets on the way to football stardom. He takes you inside the locker room with legends such as Favre and Reggie White, and recalls his more recent roles as a veteran leader for stars like Aaron Rodgers and Greg Jennings during the 2010 Super Bowl season and as a Dancing with the Stars winner. A seventh-round draft pick in 1999, Donald Driver was given little chance of making the Packers roster, much less of becoming a 1,000-yard receiver, a beloved icon for one of the NFL's most storied franchises, and a Super Bowl champion. But in a life of adversity, Driver has overcome obstacle after obstacle and has become one of the most popular players in the NFL.
42 Faith: The Rest of the Jackie Robinson Story by Ed Henry
Jackie Robinson, Branch Rickey, and the hidden hand of God that changed history Journalist and baseball lover Ed Henry reveals for the first time the backstory of faith that guided Jackie Robinson into not only the baseball record books but the annals of civil rights advancement as well. Through recently discovered sermons, interviews with Robinson's family and friends, and even an unpublished book by the player himself, Henry details a side of Jackie's humanity that few have taken the time to see. Branch Rickey, the famed owner who risked it all by signing Jackie to his first contract, is also shown as a complex individual who wanted nothing more than to make his God-fearing mother proud of him. Few know the level at which Rickey struggled with his decision, only moving forward after a private meeting with a minister he'd just met. It turns out Rickey was not as certain about signing Robinson as historians have always assumed. With many baseball stories to enthrall even the most ardent enthusiast, 42 Faith also digs deep into why Jackie was the man he was and what both drove him and challenged him after his retirement. From his early years before baseball, to his time with Rickey and the Dodgers, to his failing health in his final years, we see a man of faith that few have recognized. This book will add a whole new dimension to Robinson's already awe-inspiring legacy. Yes, Jackie and Branch are both still heroes long after their deaths. Now, we learn more fully than ever before, there was an assist from God too.
Forward: A Memoir by Abby Wambach
Abby Wambach has always pushed the limits of what is possible. Named by Time magazine as one of the most influential people of 2015, the iconic soccer player captured the nation's heart when she led her team to its recent World Cup Championship. Admired for her fearlessness and passion, Abby is a vocal advocate for women's rights and equal opportunity, pushing to translate the success of her team to the real world. She has become a heavily requested speaker to a wide a range of audiences, from college students to executives at Fortune 500 companies. In Forward, Abby recounts her own decisions, wins, losses, and the pivotal moments that helped her become the world class athlete and leader she is today. Wambach's book goes beyond the soccer field to reveal a soulful person grappling universal questions about how we can live our best lives, and become our truest selves. Written with honesty and heart, Forward is an inspiring blueprint for individual growth and rousing call to action.
LeBron, Inc.: The Making of a Billion-Dollar Athlete by Brian Windhorst
From the New York Times bestselling author of Return of the King comes the story of LeBron James's incredible transformation from basketball star to sports and business mogul. LEBRON, INC tells the story of James's journey down the path to becoming a billionaire sports icon -- his successes, his failures, and the lessons both have taught him along the way. With plenty of newsmaking tidbits about his rollercoaster last season in Cleveland and high-profile move to the Lakers, LEBRON, INC. shows how James has changed the way most elite athletes manage their careers, and how he launched a movement among his peers that may last decades beyond his playing days.
The Mamba Mentality: How I Play by Kobe Bryant, forward by Pau Gasol, introduction by Phil Jackson, photographs and afterword by Andrew D. Bernstein
The NBA great nicknamed "The Black Mamba" shares his knowledge and understanding of basketball, outlining his detailed approach to preparing both physically and mentally to succeed at the game and revealing the core of his "Mamba mentality." 'When I see people talk about finding inspiration in the Mamba Mentality, it makes all my hard work, all the sweat, all the 3 AM wakeups, feel worth it. That's why I put together this book. All these pages incorporate lessons--not just lessons on basketball, but also on the Mamba Mentality.' This book takes readers on a journey to the core of the legendary mindset that made basketball superstar Kobe Bryant one of the greatest to ever play the game. In his own words, Bryant details his vast understanding of the sport. He documents who he learned from, how he played through pain, and why he refused to accept losing as an option. He shares his motivation to never stop learning and to make himself--and his teammates--better every single day. Page by page, play by play, Bryant breaks down specific match-ups from throughout his career--from Michael Jordan to LeBron James. It's all accompanied by the stunning photography of Andrew D. Bernstein, the NBA's Hall of Fame photographer who captured Bryant's very first photo as a Laker in 1996, his very last in 2016, and many thousands in between. The Mamba Mentality beautifully reveals the inner workings of one of the most intelligent, analytical, and creative athletes of our time.
Orr: My Story by Bobby Orr
One of the greatest sports figures of all time breaks his silence in a memoir as unique as the man himself. He has never written a memoir, authorized a biography, or talked to journalists about his past, but now he is finally ready to tell his story. Bobby Orr is often referred to as the greatest ever to play the game of hockey. From 1966 through the mid-seventies, he could change a game just by stepping on the ice. No defenseman had ever played the way he did, or received so many trophies, or set so many records, several of which still stand today. But all the brilliant achievements leave unsaid as much as they reveal. They don't tell what inspired Orr, what drove him, what it was like for a shy small-town kid to suddenly land in the full glare of the media. They don't tell what it was like when the agent he regarded as a brother betrayed him and left him in financial ruin. They don't tell what he thinks of the game of hockey today. He is speaking out now because "I am a parent and a grandparent and I believe that I have lessons worth passing on." Orr: My Story is more than a book about hockey-it is about the making of a man.
The Seven Longest Yards: Our Love Story of Pushing the Limits While Leaning on Each Other by Chris & Emily Norton with Mark Tabb, foreword by Tim Tebow
In a moment, Chris went from a talented eighteen-year-old college football player with a promising future to a quadriplegic with a 3 percent chance of ever moving or feeling anything below his neck, much less walking again...Determined to prove the doctors wrong, he pushed himself through grueling, daily workouts until four years later, he did the impossible. Chris walked across the stage to receive his college diploma with the help of Emily, the love of his life and the world's astonished applause. Meanwhile, Emily faced her own challenges as she sunk into a deep battle against anxiety and depression. Despite having a devoted fiancé, a fulfilling career working with youth, and a strong faith, she couldn't shake the mental darkness that clouded their promising future. Day by day, decision by decision, Chris and Emily committed themselves to taking the extra step, trusting God, and leaning on the help of others.
Tiger Woods by Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian
Based on years of reporting and interviews with more than 250 people from every corner of Tiger Woods's life-many of whom have never spoken about him on the record before-a sweeping, revelatory, and defining biography of an American icon. In 2009, Tiger Woods was the most famous athlete on the planet, a transcendent star of almost unfathomable fame and fortune living what appeared to be the perfect life. Married to a Swedish beauty and the father of two young children, he was the winner of fourteen major golf championships and earning more than $100 million annually. But it was all a carefully crafted illusion. As it turned out, Woods had been living a double life for years-one that unraveled in the aftermath of a Thanksgiving-night car crash that exposed his serial infidelity and sent his personal and professional lives over a cliff. Still, the world has always wondered: Who is Tiger Woods, really? In Tiger Woods , Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian, the team behind the New York Times bestseller The System , look deep behind the headlines to produce a richly reported answer to that question. To find out, they conducted hundreds of interviews with people from every facet of Woods's life-friends, family members, teachers, romantic partners, coaches, business associates, physicians, Tour pros, and members of Woods's inner circle. From those interviews, and extensive, carefully sourced research, they have uncovered new, intimate, and surprising details about the man behind the myth. By tracing his life from its origins as the mixed-race son of an attention-seeking father and the original Tiger Mom-who programmed him to be "the chosen one," tasked with changing not just the game of golf but the world as well-the authors provide a wealth of new insight into the human being trapped inside his parents' creation.
Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson by Geoffrey C. Ward
Prizewinning biographer Geoffrey C. Ward brings to life the real Jack Johnson, a figure far more complex and compelling than the newspaper headlines he inspired could ever convey. Johnson battled his way from obscurity to the top of the heavyweight ranks and in 1908 won the greatest prize in American sports--one that had always been the private preserve of white boxers. At a time when whites ran everything in America, he took orders from no one and resolved to live as if color did not exist. While most blacks struggled just to survive, he reveled in his riches and his fame. And at a time when the mere suspicion that a black man had flirted with a white woman could cost him his life, he insisted on sleeping with whomever he pleased, and married three. Because he did so the federal government set out to destroy him, and he was forced to endure a year of prison and seven years of exile. Ward points out that to most whites (and to some African Americans as well) he was seen as a perpetual threat--profligate, arrogant, amoral, a dark menace, and a danger to the natural order of things.
Unstoppable: My Life So Far by Maria Sharapova with Rich Cohen
In the middle of the night, a father and his daughter step off a Greyhound bus in Florida and head straight to the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy. They ring the bell, though no one is expecting them and they don’t speak English. The two have arrived from Russia with only seven hundred dollars and the conviction that this six-year-old will be the next tennis star. Amazingly, they are right. Young Maria Sharapova went on to win Wimbledon at just seventeen years old, in an astonishing upset against the reigning champion Serena Williams―the match that kicked off their legendary rivalry and placed Sharapova on the international stage. At eighteen, she reached the number one WTA ranking for the first time, and has held that ranking many times since. In this gripping autobiography, the five-time Grand Slam winner recounts the story of her phenomenal rise to success, narrated with the same no-holds-barred, fiercely provocative attitude that characterizes her tennis game. Full of thrilling, insightful episodes from her beginnings in Siberia, from career-defining games, and from her recent fight to get back on the court, Unstoppable is an inspiring tale of persistence, pulsing with fearlessness and candor. Sharapova’s is an utterly unforgettable story.
What Makes Olga Run?: The Mystery of the 90-Something Track Star and What She Can Teach Us About Living Longer, Happier Lives by Bruce Grierson
In What Makes Olga Run? Bruce Grierson explores what the wild success of a ninety-three-year-old track star can tell us about how our bodies and minds age. Olga Kotelko is not your average ninety-three-year-old. She not only looks and acts like a much younger woman, she holds over twenty-three world records in track and field, seventeen in her current ninety to ninety-five category. Convinced that this remarkable woman could help unlock many of the mysteries of aging, Grierson set out to uncover what it is that's driving Olga. He considers every piece of the puzzle, from her diet and sleep habits to how she scores on various personality traits, from what she does in her spare time to her family history. Olga participates in tests administered by some of the world's leading scientists and offers her DNA to groundbreaking research trials. What emerges is not only a tremendously uplifting personal story but a look at the extent to which our health and longevity are determined by the DNA we inherit at birth, and the extent to which we can shape that inheritance. It examines the sum of our genes, opportunities, and choices, and the factors that forge the course of any life, especially during.
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