|
|
Books > Language & Literature > Biography & autobiography > Sport
Coach Bobby Bowden is an icon of college football who ran his
legendary, top-ranking program with a trademark southern charm.
With his recent retirement, Bowden is ready to give fans and
readers the behind-the-scenes story of his 55-year career and the
path that helped him become one of college football's most
successful coaches and patriarch of the sport's most famous
coaching family.
In this book, Bowden will reveal never-before-published details of
the moments and events that have defined his life, including:
* The tragic death of his grandson and son-in-law in a 2004
automobile accident.
* The details of his retirement as FSU's coach at the end of the
2009 season.
Tom Clavin and Danny Peary chronicle the life and career of
baseball's "natural home run king" in the first definitive
biography of Roger Maris--including a brand-new chapter to
commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of his record breaking season.
Roger Maris may be the greatest ballplayer no one really knows. In
1961, the soft-spoken man from the frozen plains of North Dakota
enjoyed one of the most amazing seasons in baseball history, when
he outslugged his teammate Mickey Mantle to become the game's
natural home-run king. It was Mantle himself who said, "Roger was
as good a man and as good a ballplayer as there ever was." Yet
Maris was vilified by fans and the press and has never received his
due from biographers--until now.
Tom Clavin and Danny Peary trace the dramatic arc of Maris's life,
from his boyhood in Fargo through his early pro career in the
Cleveland Indians farm program, to his World Series championship
years in New York and beyond. At the center is the exciting story
of the 1961 season and the ordeal Maris endured as an outsider in
Yankee pinstripes, unloved by fans who compared him unfavorably to
their heroes Ruth and Mantle, relentlessly attacked by an
aggressive press corps who found him cold and inaccessible, and
treated miserably by the organization. After the tremendous
challenge of breaking Ruth's record was behind him, Maris
ultimately regained his love of baseball as a member of the world
champion St. Louis Cardinals. And over time, he gained redemption
in the eyes of the Yankee faithful.
With research drawn from more than 130 interviews with Maris's
teammates, opponents, family, and friends, as well as 16 pages of
photos, some of which have never before been seen, this timely and
poignant biography sheds light on an iconic figure from baseball's
golden era--and establishes the importance of his role in the
game's history.
When Argentinian World Cup winners Ricky Villa and Ossie Ardiles
were unveiled as Tottenham Hotspur's new signings in the summer of
1978 it was one of the most sensational transfer coups English
football had ever seen. The pair were an instant success. Ossie
claimed the limelight with his wonderful control and comedy
English, but when Ricky dribbled his way round half the Manchester
City team to score the greatest FA Cup final goal ever in 1981 he
swerved his way into the hearts of the nation and a permanent place
in English football folklore. Never truly comfortable speaking in
English, for the first time - with the help of co-author and
translator Federico Ardiles (Ossie's son) - Ricky Villa is able to
tell his story. From his childhood growing up on a farm in rural
Argentina, playing alongside teenage sensation Diego Maradona for
Argentina, to the dark early days after arriving in London when he
was unable to communicate and suffered serious depression, through
to the elation of scoring that wonder goal at Wembley. Ricky also
talks about the pain of being caught between two countries he loved
during the Falklands conflict as well as his experiences as a
member of Argentina's 1978 World Cup squad which won a tournament
tainted ever since with allegations of bribery and intimidation by
Argentina's ruling military Junta.
Red Sox MVP Pedroia tells this feel-good story about his love of
baseball, overcoming the naysayers, and winning a World Series in
his first season.
The explosive new book from Britain’s leading investigative biographer,
Tom Bower
As one of the most famous and influential couples in the world, David
and Victoria Beckham have attained iconic status. The ultimate power
couple have together built a multi-billion-dollar global brand. For
decades, adoring fans have been captivated by the glamorous world they
have created, while their unrivalled fusion of showbiz, fashion,
football and celebrity has been cultivated alongside the image of a
strong marriage.
When the much-trailed Netflix documentary Beckham aired in 2023,
viewers were offered an even more intimate insight into their private
lives. Produced by the Beckhams themselves, the series raised many
questions, not only about their success and personal relationship, but
also about the ruthlessly successful management of their image in the
media. Are their lives really as perfect as the Beckhams would like the
world to believe?
Through extensive research, expert sourcing and interviews with
insiders, Britain’s most celebrated investigative biographer, Tom
Bower, has unearthed a succession of revelations that give surprising
insight into the reality of ‘Brand Beckham’. Exploring the couple’s
relationship, and the truth about their football and fashion careers,
their finances and their new life in Miami, The House of Beckham
unravels the extraordinary reality of the business-savvy cultural icons
to tell an engrossing, often astonishing story of money, sex and power.
One of the most charismatic showmen ever to grace a WWE ring
recounts his life, his phenomenal career, and how he finally found
the one thing that gave his life meaning--his faith. Reprint.
35,000 first printing.
|
|