|
Books > Language & Literature > Biography & autobiography > Sport
When he set out to play each of Golf Digest’s America’s100 greatest
golf courses in one year, Jimmie James knew he was attempting the
impossible. But then again, he’d spent his entire life defying the odds.
James was born invisible. His birth certificate, long since filed away
in some clerk’s office in East Texas, recorded facts about him that
were deemed most relevant in the late 1950s: “colored” and
“illegitimate.” His great-great-grandmother was enslaved, and his early
life was confided by the privation and segregation of the late Jim
Crow-era South.
Four decades later—having put himself through an HBCU and determinedly
risen through the executive ranks at ExxonMobil—he embarked on his
journey to play the 100 greatest golf courses in the United States. In
a single year. From the first tee at Augusta National, the distance
between the world he grew up in and the world of extreme privilege to
which he’d now managed to gain access was impossible to ignore.
Playing from the Rough is a “delightful” (Kirkus Reviews), “beautiful
story” (Andrew Campion, former COO of Nike) about race, class, family,
and the power of perseverance, as James braids his love of golf with
reflections on the path that took him from childhood poverty to the
most exclusive and opulent golf courses in America.
F1 is now the fastest growing sport in the world; the full story of its
unbelievable rise is a riveting saga only hinted at by the likes of
Drive to Survive. In this book - the first, definitive account of how
F1 came to achieve total global fandom - Wall Street Journal reporters
Joshua Robinson and Jonathan Clegg take us inside a world full of
racing obsessives, glamorous settings, petrolheads, engineering
geniuses, dashing racers and bitter rivalries.
The story of F1's world dominance is one of near-constant
transformation and experimentation. This is a sport where the only way
to win championships is to land a series of technical moon shots - and
then do it all over again. With fast cars, big money, beautiful people,
and glamorous locations from Monaco to Melbourne, The Formula tells the
full, epic story of the sport. Starting in 1950s Britain, where six
years of wartime engineering laid the foundations for a new type of
motorcar racing; to the first global star partnership of Senna and
Ecclestone; Spygate; Crashgate and its transition into an entertainment
juggernaut. Bringing unique insight and access to F1's most storied
teams and personalities - from Ferrari to Lewis Hamilton to Christian
Horner and Daniel Ricciardo -The Formula offers a riveting portrait of
the drivers, corporations, cars, rivalries, and audacious gambles that
have shaped the sport for half a century.
The end result is a high-octane history of how modern F1 racing came to
be - the first book to tell the story of the outrageous successes and
spectacular crashes that led F1 to this extraordinary yet precarious
moment. More than just a sports story, it is the tale of a commercial
empire, one built in the 20th century, rendered almost obsolete in the
early 21st, and re-emerged world-dominant today; a disrupter that
claimed its place in the crowded sports marketplace through cash,
personality, and a new understanding of what a sport needs to be in the
age of wall-to-wall entertainment.
So, who’s the best of 'em all? Tiger Woods? Jack Nicklaus? Bobby Jones?
Ben Hogan? Golf fans will disagree until the end of time, but one thing
is certain: For well over 100 years, the sport has provided its share
of spectacular careers and indelible moments. And what about fan
favorites such as Phil Mickelson, Nancy Lopez, and Lee Trevino? Where
do they rank on the list? Or modern players like Scottie Scheffler,
Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Jordan Spieth, Nelly Korda, and Justin
Thomas. Did they make the final cut―and if so, where?
In a joyride through golf history itself, New York Times bestselling
author Michael Arkush establishes a ranking system that places a heavy
emphasis on the game’s major championships and profiles the most
accomplished and impactful golfers ever―men and women, known and
unknown. Arkush captures the flair, as well as the flaws, of athletes
who are intensely competitive, funny, peculiar, or larger-than-life.
Crafted from hundreds of interviews and longtime relationships
developed over a quarter century, The Golf 100 is an immensely
entertaining read.
 |
Tissues
(Hardcover)
Daniel D Servant Mendes
|
R1,079
Discovery Miles 10 790
|
Ships in 10 - 15 working days
|
|
'The greater the challenge, the sweeter the reward, but also the
greater the risk of failure. And fear of failure is the greatest
barrier to success.' Sabrina Verjee is an ultrarunning phenomenon.
In June 2021, on her fourth attempt, she became the first person to
climb the Lake District's 214 Wainwright hills in under six days,
running 325 miles with a colossal 36,000 metres of ascent. Where
There's a Hill tells the story of an outsider who was never picked
for a school sports team yet went on to become an accomplished
modern pentathlete and adventure racer. After switching her focus
to ultrarunning in her thirties, Sabrina moved to the Lake
District, where she could hone her mountain-running skills on the
local fells. High-profile success in endurance events followed, as
she completed the Dragon's Back Race three times and was the
outright winner of the 2019 Summer Spine Race, beating her nearest
competitor by more than eight hours. However, it was the
Wainwrights Round which really captured Sabrina's imagination.
Having learnt about the challenge from fell-running legend Steve
Birkinshaw, Sabrina began to plan an attempt of her own. Despite
multiple obstacles - including lockdown regulations, bad weather,
injury and controversy - Sabrina's grit and determination shone
through. Where There's a Hill is a frank and inspirational account
of how one woman ran her way into the record books.
 |
Off Balance
(Paperback)
Dominique Moceanu; As told to Teri Williams
|
R419
R394
Discovery Miles 3 940
Save R25 (6%)
|
Ships in 10 - 15 working days
|
|
In this searing and riveting "New York Times" bestseller, Olympic
gold medalist Dominique Moceanu reveals the dark underbelly of
Olympic gymnastics, the true price of success...and the shocking
secret about her past and her family that she only learned years
later.
At fourteen years old, Dominique Moceanu was the youngest member of
the 1996 US Women's Olympic Gymnastics team, the first and only
American women's team to take gold at the Olympics. Her pixyish
appearance and ferocious competitive drive quickly earned her the
status of media darling. But behind the fame, the flawless floor
routines, and the million-dollar smile, her life was a series of
challenges and hardships.
"Off Balance "vividly delineates each of the dominating characters
who contributed to Moceanu's rise to the top, from her stubborn
father and long-suffering mother to her mercurial coach, Bela
Karolyi. Here, Moceanu finally shares the haunting stories of
competition, her years of hiding injuries and pain out of fear of
retribution from her coaches, and how she hit rock bottom after a
public battle with her parents.
But medals, murder plots, drugs, and daring escapes aside (all of
which figure into Moceanu's incredible journey), the most unique
aspect of her life is the family secret that Moceanu discovers,
opening a new and unexpected chapter in her adult life. A
mysterious letter from a stranger reveals that she has a second
sister--born with a physical disability and given away at
birth--who has nonetheless followed in Moceanu's footsteps in an
astonishing way.
A multilayered memoir that transcends the world of sports, "Off
Balance "will touch anyone who has ever dared to dream of a better
life.
|
|