Biography: sport Books

Book SynopsisIt was a beautiful fall day in Connecticut when Colleen Alexander, a lifelong competitive athlete, rode her bike home from work, having just learned her job with the nonprofit PeaceJam was secure. She had survived a diagnosis of lupus and brain surgery that almost took her life, and was married at last to the love of her life, Sean. Life was good as she met the eyes of a truck driver rolling up to the stop sign beside her. He didn''t stop. The truck hit Colleen, running over her lower body with front and back tires and dragging her across the pavement. As she bled out in the street, nearby stranger surrounded her and the driver attempted to get away. An EMT herself, Colleen knew she had to stay awake. I''ve just been reconnected with my soulmate, she told the medic. We want to have a baby. I can''t die now. Please don''t let me die. Colleen spent five weeks in a coma and had 29 surgeries. But she survived, and despite losing her job and suffering from PTSD, she bega

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Book SynopsisSynopsis coming soon.......

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Book SynopsisWillie Lanier was the first African-American middle linebacker in pro football history, playing for the Kansas City Chiefs from 1967-1977 in an era when discrimination against black athletes was still very much the norm. Lanier gave football fans a new mold of athlete, comprised of equal amounts intelligence, creativity, individualism, and collaboration. America's Trailblazing Middle Linebacker: The Story of NFL Hall of Famer Willie Lanier explores the life and times of this groundbreaking football star. A walk-on at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland, Lanier established himself as a force on the field. Drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in 1967, Lanier fought his way to the starting middle linebacker position and became a Super Bowl champion, an eight time All-Pro, and the NFL’s Man of the Year in 1972. After retiring from football, Lanier went to work in the business world and became the CEO of a major US company. This book delves into Lanier’s college years, his NFL exploits, and his many successes off the gridiron, revealing a man who, through hard work and determination, made the most of every opportunity that came his way. On and off the football field, Lanier showed America a glimpse of the future, when fairness, opportunity, and racial integrity could be the reality for everyone. An inspiration for athletes and fans everywhere, Lanier’s story is that of a man who loved challenges, and faced every one of them with an unmatched drive to excel and succeed. Lanier was, and still is, a trailblazer.

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Book SynopsisDuring the first half of the twentieth century, Josh Gibson was a legendary figure among black baseball players, who were barred from playing in the major leagues. Perhaps baseball's greatest hitter, Gibson was known as "the black Babe Ruth." In this illuminating biography, William Brashler introduces an authentic American sports hero and recaptures the mood and style, the excitement and poignance of a world of black baseball that has vanished from the American scene. He traces Gibson's career from the sandlots and semi-pro teams of Pittsburgh, through his debut with the Homestead Grays in 1930, and on to his untimely death in 1947 at age thirty-five—the winter after Jackie Robinson broke through the minor leagues' color barrier. With 12 pages of black-and-white photographs. "Brashler has put together a balanced account that, while deflating some of the apocryphal tales of Gibson's exploits, brings him into clear focus as one of the outstanding baseball players of his era....He emerges here as a stoic figure...totally dedicated to baseball."—New York Times Book Review. "Brashler helps to cut through the legend of a moonfaced laughing giant and give us a sense of Josh's life, in and out of baseball."—New York Review of Books.Trade ReviewOutstanding...a cornerstone for any baseball collection. -- Lee Milazzo * The Dallas Morning News *A life of the 'black Babe Ruth' doubles as a history of the Negro Leagues. * Chicago Tribune *A vivid, moving account...one fine book! -- Charles C. Alexander * The Historian *Considered by many historians to be the best biography of the slugger. -- Josh Hamill * The New York Times *

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Book SynopsisFrom Michelle Akers to Megan Rapinoe, bold and inspiring profiles of the pioneers, champions and future heroines of women''s soccer around the world. Women''s soccer has come a long way. The first organized games on record -- which took place three hundred years ago in the Scottish Highlands -- were exhibition matches, where single women played against married women while available men looked on, seeking a potential mate. Today, champions like Mia Hamm, Abby Wambach, Brazil''s Marta and China''s Sun Wen, have inspired girls around the world to pick up the beautiful game for love of the sport. Inevitably, given the hardships and discrimination they face, women who play soccer professionally are so much more than elite athletes. They are survivors, campaigners, political advocates, feminists, LGBTQ activists, working moms, staunch opponents of racial discrimination and inspirational role models for many. Based on original interviews with over 50 current and former players and coaches, this book celebrates these remarkable women and their achievements against all odds.

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Book SynopsisThe New York Times bestseller, now in paperback. America''s most visible sports commentator recounts some of the most dramatic moments in American sports and pays tribute to the man who inspired him-his beloved father As vivid as an instant replay, Always by My Side gives readers an insider''s look into an unprecedented sixty-three- day stretch from February through April of 2007, when Jim Nantz became the first broadcaster to call the Super Bowl, the Final Four, and the Masters. Though Nantz was unable to share the voyage with his dad, the devoted son felt his father''s presence every step of the way, and used this championship odyssey to celebrate the people, venues, and moments that tapped into all the goodness that his dad-and his dad''s generation- represent. In recounting the highlights of more than two thrilling decades with CBS Sports, Nantz recalls legendary voices of his youth-such as Jim McKay, Chris Schenkel, Pat Summerall, Jack Whitaker, and Dick Enberg-who sparked his imagination and shaped his style. Always by My Side traces Nantz''s life and career, and along the way readers are treated to an array of memories, including Nantz''s special relationship with former president George H. W. Bush and his friendships with such sports royalty as Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Peyton Manning, Tony Dungy, Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, Mike Krzyzewski, John Wooden, and many others. Always by My Side turns every day into Father''s Day.

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Book SynopsisOne of the 20 Best Books of 2016, Redbook Magazine Readers’ Favorite Award: Honorable Mention Millions of people watched sportscaster George Michael each week on the Sports Machine, including his daughter Cindi. Cindi Michael appears to live a charmed life: she’s happily married, has a successful career, and is a loving mom to two wonderful children. Yet she longs for a father who hasn’t spoken to her in twenty years, and even secretly watches him on TV when the longing becomes unbearable. When Cindi was eleven, her father fought for sole custody of her and her siblings, raising three children on his own despite being a bachelor and rock ’n’ roll DJ in New York in the 1970s. But with his rising fame as the host of the popular show Sports Machine, his 80-hour-a-week work schedule, and his second marriage, the close relationship Cindi shared with her father began to crack; she did everything to earn his love and attention, but for perfectionist George, it was never enough—and when she was eighteen and a freshman in college, in a burst of anger he told her never to come home again. As the years went on, Cindi struggled to steel her heart while still remaining hopeful that they would one day reconcile, just as her father did with his own dad, and transcend painful family patterns that span generations. Candid, moving, and ultimately hopeful, The Sportscaster’s Daughter is a family story of forgiveness, faith, and strength.Trade Review"In this memoir, Michael meticulously traces the agonizing course of a fractious relationship that still haunts her. There is, of course, no shortage of memoirs about benighted families, but the author is unflinching in her self-analysis. Now a mother of two herself, she provides the insight that 'the past—a difficult one anyway—can only be laid to rest when we have examined and understood it.' A remembrance that effectively captures the author’s emotional pain and her attempts to come to terms with it." —Kirkus Reviews “This memoir combines sports, a woman’s unbreakable spirit, and the strength of family. If that isn’t the American dream, we don’t know what is.” —Redbook Magazine, 20 Best Books of 2016 “Michael's memoir, Sportcaster's Daughter, cozies up to you and breaks your heart. It's a long, deep look at family dysfunction in the suburbs and the devastation of an unrequited love for a family. You'll find echoes of Karr and Walls--read it.” —Stephanie Jay Evans, author of Faithful Unto Death “Cindi Michael’s memoir does not end on the last page. The Sportscaster’s Daughter lingers. It makes you question how a young girl, barely out of middle school, assumes the role of family caretaker... and survives. Thrown out of her house—twice—she manages to go to college, marry, divorce, and finally find unconditional love while trying to heal from her father’s refusal to see her for twenty years. As the daughter of a celebrity sportscaster, Michael engages the written page as if it were her last chance. Woven delicately, this memoir will break your heart until understanding and forgiveness emerge. Then you will cheer.” —Julie Maloney, Director, Women Reading Aloud “The Sportscaster’s Daughter is a compelling story about the special love a daughter has for her famous and at times unapproachable father. This is the true story of Cindi Michael, a strong, hardworking, young girl who is at first surrounded by her father’s love, and then, for inexplicable reasons, is cast from the house to live in isolation, confusion and heartbreak. Cindi does not give up. She is a fighter. This is an important story of a daughter’s love for her less than perfect father, about overcoming the childhood pain of being raised by parents who have no tools to help themselves, let alone guide their children to healthy relationships.” —Leslie Nack, author of Fourteen: A Daughter’s Memoir of Adventure, Sailing, and Survival “In The Sportscaster's Daughter, Cindi navigates and reexamines her bittersweet past, the ties and pains of family, her parents' divorce, and life and love in the shadow of a famous father. This is a clear-eyed, affecting look back, and in the end our heroine emerges into the light.” —Cullen Thomas, author of Brother One Cell and memoir teacher at New York University and Gotham Writers’ Workshop “I enjoyed this book tremendously on many levels. I haven’t read a book that is this open, revealing, and personal in quite a long time.” —Ed Kalegi, America Weekend Radio host “The Sportscaster’s Daughter is candid and deeply touching as it reveals one family’s struggle with forgiveness and faith.” —BuzzFeed “While George Michael was navigating a highly successful radio career during the 1970s, he was living a rather unconventional life as a single dad with custody of his three children, often putting his oldest daughter in charge. Cindi is not simply telling the story of her dad, but also revealing in great detail her own choices that tested the bonds of a once close father-daughter relationship. This is a story of faith, family and forgiveness and demonstrates how that effort continues long after her childhood and father have both passed away. Cindi’s is a remarkable journey which presents an honest look at the man she proudly calls dad while simultaneously revealing her own story of courage and strength. Both are compelling and unique. It’s a book worth reading.” —Matt Ward, New York area traffic reporter “The Sportscaster's Daughter by Cindi Michael is a tale of forgiveness and self acceptance. I'm not an avid sports listener by any means so I feel that I was able to dive into The Sportscaster's Daughter without any preconceived notions of the man who for a time was such a dominant figure in her life. Still, I found myself rooting for Cindi at every turn, hoping that she would find the stability and love she so desired, to find her own triumph despite the rejection she faced. The Sportscaster's Daughter by Cindi Michael is a great read for anyone looking to dig deeper into the legend, to find not a god, but a man with flaws like everyone else.” —Readers’ Favorite

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