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Books > Language & Literature > Biography & autobiography > Sport
America held little promise during the 1930's, when the Great
Depression vice gripped the country and a boy named Thomas Errol
Wasdin was born into the hardscrabble farmland of Waldo, Florida.
Wasdin was only months old when his mother died of blood poisoning.
Soon afterward, he and his sister were sent to live with their
Uncle and Aunt, who raised them with old-fashioned values rooted in
discipline and hard work. These became character traits that served
Wasdin well - later at the University of Florida and eventually
throughout his life. And what a life it has been; rich and varied,
and not without heartache and an ongoing, debilitating battle with
Trigeminal Neuralgia, which the medical profession chillingly
refers to as the Suicide Disease. It is a life that saw Wasdin
shape the lives of poor children from literally and proverbially
the wrong side of the tracks in Jacksonville, Florida; children who
later became attorneys, administrators, sports stars, politicians,
educators, husbands, wives, parents and productive citizens. It is
a life that saw Wasdin forge friendships with two men he achieved
enormous success with - Joe Williams and Rick Stottler. With
Williams, Wasdin reached the pinnacle of coaching in college
basketball, taking Jacksonville University to the 1970 NCAA
Championship Game against the most powerful program in college
sports history - John Wooden's UCLA Bruins. The account of that
season, and especially that game, captures the controversy and
excitement that surrounded it. Wasdin then moved from an assistant
coach to a successful tenure as JU's head coach. It is a life that
saw Wasdin leave coaching to join Stottler in business and
development, shaping both lives and a stretch of area along the
East Coast of Florida that with his help came to be known as the
Space Coast. It is a life lived in full, and a life story worth
reading.
Jan Ullrich: The Best There Never Was is the first biography of Jan
Ullrich, arguably the most naturally talented cyclist of his
generation, and also one of the most controversial champions of the
Tour de France. In 1997, Jan Ullrich announced himself to the world
by obliterating his rivals in the first mountain stage of the Tour
de France. So awesome was his display that it sent shockwaves
throughout the world of cycling and invited headlines such as
L'Equipe's 'The New Giant'. He went on to become Germany's first
ever Tour winner, storming to victory in that edition by almost ten
minutes, a result that was greeted as an era-defining changing of
the guard. Everyone agreed: Jan Ullrich was the future of cycling.
He was soon also voted Germany's most popular sportsperson of all
time, and his rivalry with Lance Armstrong defined the most
controversial years of the Tour de France. Now, Daniel Friebe - who
has covered twenty-one editions of the Tour de France - has gone in
search of the man who was said in 1997 would go on to dominate his
sport for a generation, but never quite managed it. Just what did
happen to the best who never was? This is a gripping account of how
unbearable expectation, mental and physical fragility, the effects
of a complicated childhood, a morally corrupt sport and one
individual - Lance Armstrong - can conspire to reroute destiny.
Daniel Friebe takes us from the legacy of East Germany's drugs
programme to the pinnacle of pro cycling and asks: what price can
you give sporting immortality?
Barbara Washburn never set out to become a mountaineering pioneer,
but in 1947, defying social conventions, she became the first woman
to climb Alaska's Mount McKinley.
In February 2019, award-winning writer Alex Roddie left his online
life behind when he set out to walk 300 miles through the Scottish
Highlands, seeking solitude and answers. In leaving the chaos of
the internet behind for a month, he hoped to learn how it was truly
affecting him - or if he should look elsewhere for the causes of
his anxiety. The Farthest Shore is the story of Alex's solo trek
along the remote Cape Wrath Trail. As he journeyed through a
vanishing winter, Alex found answers to his questions, learnt the
nature of true silence, and discovered frightening evidence of the
threats faced by Scotland's wild mountain landscape.
The single-handed sailing pioneer and his vessels
For anyone interested in single-handed sailing the name of R. T.
McMullen and his book, 'Down Channel'-an abiding classic of sailing
literature and considered to be essential reading for any yachtsman
sailing in coastal waters-require little elaboration. The principal
value of this special Leonaur edition is that it includes all of
McMullen's writings in a single volume. Published singly McMullen's
books contain some repetition of the text, for this edition
Leonaur's editors have removed the duplication to create a single
cohesive and complete volume of McMullen's writings about his
pioneering voyages and his vessels. We have also enhanced and
enlarged the original maps and diagrams to provide clear
information to the contemporary reader. This is an ideal book for
any library on sailing.
Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each
title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our
hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their
spines and fabric head and tail bands.
""Gridiron Gumshoe"" My life in and out of the NFL Films' Vault"
by Ace Cacchiotti is a Pro Football Fanatics' guide to my literal
life working with the most accomplished producers who have lent
their artistic values to all that follow the game and who live
vicariously through one who contributed to the company by "Paying
attention to detail and Finishing like a Pro." From young Steve
Sabol's "They Called it Pro Football" produced in 1967, to "Joe and
the Magic Bean" again written and produced by Steve in 1976, "75
Seasons"; "The Story of the National Football League" in 1994 to
"America's Game" from 2005 and to the late NFL Films' President's
tribute; Steve Sabol, "The Guts and Glory of Pro Football" on
February 12th, 2013, the game of Pro Football is watched by hundred
of millions through the camera eye of what is without a doubt the
measuring stick for all others when it comes to capturing passion
in and on any field. This author was given a wonderful opportunity
to express himself and by doing so left a legacy with not only my
peers but with my late loving boss; my friend Steve Sabol.
I hope you will be able to experience through the ""Gridiron
Gumshoe"" a most rewarding Pro Football Journey.
Enjoy;
Ace Cacchiotti
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