THE TEAM: The Braves are the oldest continuously operated franchise in National League history and are one of just six Major League clubs with more than 10,000 victories-that's more than the Boston Red Sox or the New York Yankees and nearly 1,000 more than the Philadelphia Phillies (though the Phils have lost 10,000-plus games). In baseball's modern era the Braves franchise has won three World Series titles, 17 Pennants, and made 21 playoff appearances ... not to mention an unprecedented run of 14 consecutive Division Titles and the team of the 1990s under the leadership of Bobby Cox. A virtual who's who of Hall of Fame legends also claim the Braves as their home team: Hank Aaron, Warren Spahn, Eddie Mathews, and Phil Niekro to name a few. THE FORMAT: Atlanta Braves: An Interactive Guide to the World of Sports is composed of ten chapters, each offering numbered "mini-stories"-facts, anomalies, records, coincidences, and enthralling lore and trivia from Hall of Fame legends Aaron, Spahn, Mathews and Niekro to future Hall of Famers Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz to contemporary stars Chipper Jones, Brian McCann and Tim Hudson.Each chapter begins with an introduction that highlights the many exciting stories found in these pages such as the "Worst-to-First" 1991 Braves, the legendary career of Manager Bobby Cox, and the unprecedented Cy Young success for the Braves during the 1990s. SPORTS BY THE NUMBERS books are not just for diehard sports fans, but for every fan and sports history reader who loves sports and wants to know more about their heroes and favorite teams-and this title is the definitive source for history and trivia on your Atlanta Braves.

In a small town, it is a gossip inducing sight: In a pew sits a mother with her two children, alone. Is that lady divorced? The father is that blond guy who worked at the grocery store. I can't believe it He seemed like such a nice guy. Why isn't he in church with his family? He said he is no longer a Christian. No longer a Christian? Got into drugs? I don't know. Didn't seem like a drunk. He said something about problems with the Bible, but DUH Maybe there's another woman. Well, he's sure not a good role-model for his kids. The author hasn't heard that conversation, and actually probably never would in his lovely kindhearted small town. But he feels it. And he has had to deal with the question Why aren't you in church with your family? When verbal explanations failed, he began this written defense that even Joe Sixpack can understand. The implications of the evangelical fundamentalist worldview initiated his skepticism, but it was the Bible that finally drove him from his born-again roots. They don't put these scriptures in sermons, and being born-again may turn out to be something completely different.