'Life's A Ball' charts the ups and downs of a football experience that has rarely been dull Ian Liversedge's story comes from the very heart of the game - the manager's office, the dug-out, the boot room and the treatment table. Ian describes his relationships with managers and players at every level from non-league to international as well as the changing role of a physiotherapist in a sport that has become ever-more intense. There are many anecdotes about a lifestyle away from the football pitch that Ian found both attractive and magnetic. He has blazed a trail and the book deals honestly with his shortcomings, including encounters with the police and the adverse effect on his family life.

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.

The Looniness of the Long Distance Runner is one comparatively unfit 39-year old Londoner's humorous account of his attempt to run the New York marathon from scratch. (He chose the pre-Thanksgiving race in the Big Apple to avoid adding to his ordeal by having to train during the British winter.) Inspired by the charity running of friends, Russell Taylor set himself the challenge of doing what Pheidippides first had done. But to spare himself the post-event trauma of trying to extract money from the reluctant grasp of his sponsors, he decided to write a book about his experiences and donate the royalties to charity instead. This book follows our intrepid road-runner from the treadmills of a north London gymnasium via his first tentative fun run to the mean streets of the Bronx, Queens and Manhattan. Along the way, we encounter indescribably tasteless isotonic drinks, sweaty singlets, sports injuries, personal bests, split times, anxious queuing for the public toilets and an unfeasibly large quantity of bananas. We also discover what lurks within the breast of the endurance athlete: an unreasonable hatred of his fellow runner (except the nubile females of the species), a contempt for the idiocy of stadium announcers and a strange fear of spectators who line the route inanely shouting "Keep Going!" by way of encouragement. The narrative is interspersed by jocular reviews of films about running - not least The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner - and a tongue-in-cheek description of the history of the marathon from its Ancient Greek origins to its modern-day revival as an Olympic event. Written with considerable panache and a self-deprecating sense of humour, this illuminating tale of obsessive and foolhardy sporting endeavour will make entertaining reading for (in descending order of athletic accomplishment) manic ultra-marathon runners, dedicated pavement pounders, occasional joggers and the simply curious alike.

In 1962, following two losing seasons, Coach John McKay was fighting for his job. The 1962 team was undersized but smart quick and tough. Although underdogs in four games, including the Rose Bowl, the Trojans finished with an 11-0 record and defeated Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl and become national champions. Although the 1962 Trojans were the least talented of Coach McKay's four national championship teams, their success enabled USC to once again become a football power. You'll meet the players from this team and learn about their joys and sorrows as well their successes and failures.

The team included tempestuous end "Prince" Hal Bedsole, who still holds USC's season and career records for most yards per reception. Fleet Willie Brown, whose clutch plays on offense and defense preserved an undefeated season. Fiery Trojan captain Marv Marinovich, whose athletic techniques have become legendary, and Fred Hill, whose daughter, Kim, became the inspiration for the Ronald McDonald House.

""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

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.

African-American athletes have played a significant role in the development and popularity of American professional sports, and have encountered numerous obstacles on the road to athletic success. This is the first comprehensive multi-sport biographical dictionary of African Americans who reached the pinnacles of success in their sport. It contains more personal and career profiles of African-American sports greats than are found in any other single source. Biographical profiles of 166 noted athletes, coaches, and administrators in team and individual sports include both Ristorical figures such as Jesse Owens and Satchel Paige and contemporary stars such as Charles Barkley, Ken Griffey, Jr., Michael Jordan, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Shaquille O'Neal, and Emmitt Smith. Forty-four sports historians contributed the colorfully written biographies, which blend both personal background information and athletic career accomplishments. All information is current through the middle of 1995. The dictionary covers the contributions made by African-American greats in football, baseball, basketball, track and field, boxing, wrestling, auto and stock car racing, golf, thoroughbred racing, tennis, cycling, and figure skating. More than two-thirds of the entries represent team sports. The dictionary is organized alphabetically by person. Each colorfully written profile is 800-1,000 words in length and traces the subject's personal life, family and educational background, personal struggles, career accomplishments, records set, statistical data, awards and honors, and overall impact; and features lively quotations by and about the sports luminaries. Each entry contains a handy bibliography of books and articles about the subject. Biographies of managers, coaches, and club executives describe their teams, statistical achievements, accomplishments, strategy, and sports impact. A general introduction traces the historic struggle of African-American athletes in professional and Olympic sports and appendices provide alphabetical listings of biographical entries and entries by sport. A selection of photos complement the profiles. For the sports fan or librarian, this is a first stop for biographical information that captures the personality of the athlete and includes all the pertinent information about his or her accomplishments. It is an essential addition to the reference sections of junior high, high school, and public libraries.

For the first time, Real Madrid galáctico and Croatian legend Luka Modric tells the story of his journey from a childhood in his war-torn homeland to becoming a serial UEFA Champions League winner and one of the most celebrated footballers in the world.

Regarded as one of the great midfield players of the last 20 years, Luka reveals the difficulties of growing up during the Croatian War of Independence and his beginnings as a footballer. The FIFA World Cup finalist sets the record straight regarding key moments at Dinamo Zagreb, Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid; he gives us intimate insights into his treasured home life; and he brings us his personal account of his career peak - Croatia's dramatic path to the 2018 FIFA World Cup Final.

What were his thoughts during decisive matches? What was his relationship with key players and coaches? What is the inner determination that keeps him on the pitch? What does it take to become the best footballer in the world?

Luka was consistently underestimated in his early career, but through grit and determination he has defied the expectations of everyone who doubted him, and reached the ultimate heights of world football. This is Luka Modric in his own words.

The definitive account of the life and tragic death of baseball legend Lou Gehrig.
Lou Gehrig was a baseball legend--the Iron Horse, the stoic New York Yankee who was the greatest first baseman in history, a man whose consecutive-games streak was ended by a horrible disease that now bears his name. But as this definitive new biography makes clear, Gehrig's life was more complicated--and, perhaps, even more heroic--than anyone really knew.
Drawing on new interviews and more than two hundred pages of previously unpublished letters to and from Gehrig, "Luckiest Man" gives us an intimate portrait of the man who became an American hero: his life as a shy and awkward youth growing up in New York City, his unlikely friendship with Babe Ruth (a friendship that allegedly ended over rumors that Ruth had had an affair with Gehrig's wife), and his stellar career with the Yankees, where his consecutive-games streak stood for more than half a century. What was not previously known, however, is that symptoms of Gehrig's affliction began appearing in 1938, earlier than is commonly acknowledged. Later, aware that he was dying, Gehrig exhibited a perseverance that was truly inspiring; he lived the last two years of his short life with the same grace and dignity with which he gave his now-famous "luckiest man" speech.
Meticulously researched and elegantly written, Jonathan Eig's "Luckiest Man" shows us one of the greatest baseball players of all time as we've never seen him before.

The baseball term, "snake jazz," refers to those squiggly pitches (curve, slider, screwball, etc.) that deviate from a direct path on their way to the catcher. This could also describe the strange and sometimes amusing twists in Dave Baldwin's progress on his way to the big leagues.
As a skinny, awkward kid in the 1940s, Dave learned to throw under the searing Arizona sun amidst cacti and snakes. Despite that modest beginning, his father convinced him that success would come with focused hard work. His dad's encouragement enabled him to become one of the most highly sought-after pitching prospects in the nation as a teenager. Scouts and sportswriters said he was a "natural," "another Bob Feller." He began to see his ability as a gift. Scouts had a favorite mantra - "We can teach a kid to throw a curve, but he has to be born with a fastball." Upon hearing this often from the "experts," Dave lost the idea of self-development his father had instilled. If baseball skill is genetic, there's nothing to be done. Either the kid has the genes or he doesn't.
This philosophy seemed to work well enough until one day during his sophomore year at the University of Arizona he threw a curveball that severely damaged his arm. All that "natural" ability went out the window.
This would have ended his career before it began except he couldn't see life continuing without baseball. Thus, he started a desperate eight year struggle that culminated in his transformation into an unorthodox but successful major league pitcher - the drastic changes in his throwing style inspired by insights gained from his study of ecological genetics and advice he received from Max Surkont, an aging pitcher in Dave's first spring training camp.
On Dave's baseball odyssey he found a roommate who sleepwalked swinging a bat, another who chewed Gillette double-edged razor blades, and still another who was working up to a stretch in prison. He eavesdropped on the witty repartee aboard a burning airplane and a death-defying bus trip, during epicurean brushes with the criminal underworld, and in that awkward moment right after a bullet had ripped through a taxi window. He got to dodge tornadoes, lightning, and baseball hobgoblins. He experienced the bonding effect of minor league pranks and comedy acts, and got a taste of what it was like playing baseball askew in the metaphysical whirl of Steppenwolf and the hippie generation. And he learned the irresistible attraction of Janis Joplin and the dry spitball.
The odd adventures didn't end once Dave made it to the major leagues. He spent a season busily tormenting Ted Williams, and once he unexpectedly found himself teaching the knuckleball to Seri Indians in a remote desert village in northern Mexico.
Snake Jazz includes a number of anecdotes reflecting the world around baseball during the 1960s and '70s, such as the beginnings of the Viet Nam war and the impact on baseball of racial bigotry during the Civil Rights Movement. One chapter recounts the peculiar and dangerous situation of American ballplayers in Havana shortly after Fidel Castro's rebels had gained control of Cuba.
Snake Jazz is more than a series of remarkable anecdotes, however. It is a demonstration of the importance of motivation and mindset in reaching objectives. Dave's dream of playing major league baseball and his stubborn determination drove him to overcome the notion that ability is inherent. If his dad was right, there must be some way to make it to the majors through hard work, even after inherent advantage had been lost. The big question was, "Work hard at what?" He needed a good pitching coach to give him that critical suggestion that would turn his career around. He rarely saw a pitching coach in the minor leagues, and those few that were available did more harm than good.
He continued to work hard to improve, but he was still practicing the same way