Sport Books

Book SynopsisThe Twentieth Anniversary Edition As a young boy, growing up in the Home Counties and watching his parents' marriage fall apart, Nick Hornby had little sense of home. Then his dad took him to Highbury. Arsenal's football ground would become the source of many of the strongest feelings he'd ever have: joy, humiliation, heartbreak, frustration and hope. In this now-classic book, he vividly depicts his troubled relationship with his father,, his time as a teacher, and his first loves (after football), all through the prism of the game, as he insightfully and brilliantly explores obsession, and the way it can shape a life.

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Book SynopsisThe book that inspired the major film Ferrari directed by Michael Mann, starring Adam Driver and Penélope Cruz.Ferrari means red. It means racing. Excellence, luxury, and performance.Less well-known is the man behind the brand.For nearly seventy years, Enzo Ferrari dominated a motor-sports empire that defined the world of high-performance cars. Next to the Pope, Ferrari was the most revered man in Italy. But was he the benign padrone portrayed by an adoring world press at the time, or was he a ruthless despot, who drove his staff to the edge of madness, and his racing drivers even further?Brock Yates''s definitive biography penetrated Ferrari''s elaborately constructed veneer and uncovered the truth behind Ferrari''s bizarre relationships, his work with Mussolini''s fascists, and his fanatical obsession with speed. A fascinating and provocative book The Observer.

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE TELEGRAPH BEST SPORTS WRITING AWARD 2021SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA BIOGRAPHY AWARD 2021''One of the best books ever written about the early attempts to conquer Everest. A fine, fine slice of history by a truly special writer who proves time and time again that he is among the best of his generation'' Dan Jones, author of The Plantagenets''A small classic of the biographer''s art'' Sunday TimesIn the 1930s, as official government expeditions set their sights on conquering Everest, a little-known World War I veteran named Maurice Wilson conceived his own crazy, beautiful plan: he would fly a Gipsy Moth aeroplane from England to Everest, crash land on its lower slopes, then become the first person to reach its summit - all utterly alone. Wilson didn''t know how to climb. He barely knew how to fly. But he had pluck, daring and a vision - he wanted to be the first man to stand on top of the wTrade Review'Ed Caesar has written a slim, ravishing chronicle that is absolutely bursting with life - doomed romance, the dread of the battlefield, the lure of adventure, hair-raising tales of amateur aviation, and, above all, the beauty and madness of the quest to ascend Earth's tallest summit. Maurice Wilson is as rich and full of surprise and contradiction as a character in a novel, and through painstaking historical research, Caesar brings his hero back to vivid life in all his messy, inspiring, ultimately tragic glory. A major feat of reporting and elegant storytelling' -- Patrick Radden Keefe, author of the Orwell Prize-winning Say Nothing'The Moth and the Mountain is gripping and exquisite. A mad, magnificent, and moving tale' -- Philippe Sands, author of East West Street'Maurice Wilson was an amazing human being. Passionate, heroic, hilariously deluded, inspired, brave to the point of lunacy, determined, war damaged, lovelorn and gloriously unhinged. The Moth and the Mountain is a wonderful, elegiac account of an extraordinary life written with a wry, compassionate humour. It is clear that Ed Caesar loves his hero. I think I do too' -- Joe Simpson, author of Touching the Void'The adventurer Maurice Wilson was a forgotten figure until Ed Caesar's brilliantly written book restored him to his rightful place in the annals of exploration... Caesar's book received enormous praise on publication last year and rightly so. This splendid tale is every bit as exciting as any adventure novel and deeply moving' -- Alex Larman * Observer *'This bonkers ripping yarn of derring-don't is a hell of a ride ... scrupulously researched ... Maurice Wilson was a one-off, quite outside the ordinary run of people, and The Moth and the Mountain is a "sorry, beautiful, melancholy, crazy" tribute to a man who, like a leaf in autumn, burnt brightest just before he fell' -- John Self * The Times *'An urgent and humane story that invites not mockery of a madman, but pity and admiration. A small classic of the biographer's art' -- James McConnachie * The Sunday Times *'Caesar is a journalist with a novelist's eye for character ... Wilson's story is bonkers, but also beautiful. The profile Caesar builds is compelling, colourful and warm - of a complex, contradictory man with admirable self-belief and a healthy disregard for class boundaries and national borders' (Book of the Week) -- Sam Wollaston * Guardian *'A riveting tale of trauma, spiritual awakening and postwar derring-do ... a gem of a book ... meticulously researched' (Book of the Week) * Observer *'An outstanding book . . . The Moth and the Mountain returns readers to a romantic era when Everest was terra nova rather than an experience to be bought . . . the author, a contributing writer for the New Yorker, is a talented storyteller with a flair for detail. . . Wilson's story is an entry less in the annals of mountaineering than in the Book of Life. That such an extraordinary person even existed is cause for celebration' * Wall Street Journal *'A wonderful adventure story, beautifully told. Based on years of painstaking archival research, Ed Caesar's The Moth and the Mountain brings us a modern-day myth with a beguiling, impossible hero from a vanished era of empire, one man on an epic quest that is by turns gripping and heartbreaking' -- Adam Higginbotham, author of Midnight in Chernobyl'The Moth and the Mountain is a gripping story of heroism, adventure, madness and thwarted love, told with extraordinary empathy and intelligence. Ed Caesar is a writer of rare style and depth, and he has written a great and moving work of non-fiction' -- Mark O'Connell, Wellcome Book Prize-winning author of To Be a Machine and Notes from an Apocalypse'In the 1930s, an Englishman, Maurice Wilson - a traumatized veteran of the Great War - decided he would fly to Mount Everest, crash-land on the slopes and climb to the summit alone. (Never mind that he was a novice pilot and had never climbed a mountain.) It's not a spoiler to say that things didn't go well, but Caesar puts the man, and his quest, in historical context' -- New York Times, 'New Books to Watch Out For''An engrossing biography ... credit to Caesar for rescuing such a splendid tale of an engaging maverick from the footnotes of Everest history. * Spectator *'Praise is due to Ed Caesar for managing to tell this tale so well, because the sheer madness of Wilson's life would surely have thrown off all but the most sure-footed biographer. Caesar sets about it with fantastic energy and makes use of a marvellous collage of letters, diary entries, poetry, telegrams, interviews and archival iced gems. He is to be applauded for giving romantic, adamantine, lion-hearted Maurice Wilson his overdue day in the sun' -- Dan Richards * Literary Review *'Why climb the world's highest mountain? For King and Country; for the glory of God; because it is there. Or, as for Maurice Wilson, because of an unhappy love affair, a wartime trauma, and a longing to get away from a life whose values are measured at the cash register. In Ed Caesar's telling, the hapless, defiant Wilson becomes an unexpected hero - an unforgettable inspiration for anyone who chafes at the limits of ordinary life' -- Benjamin Moser. Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Sontag'Gripping at every turn ... it's impossible not to root for Wilson' * Outside *'Engagingly depicts Wilson and his times in ebullient and well-written prose ... a widely appealing and affecting character study, microhistory, story of love and loss, and inquiry into some surprising effects of trauma and personal tragedy' * Booklist *'Riveting... Caesar's biographical tale of Wilson rightly restores a footnoted figure of alpine history to the storied peaks of Mount Everest, where his body lays still today' * InsideHook *

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Book SynopsisConor McGregor''s trainer tells the amazing story of his long road to success in the world''s fastest-growing sportGrowing up in Dublin, John Kavanagh was a skinny lad who was frequently bullied. As a young man, after suffering a bad beating when he intervened to help a man who was being attacked, he decided he had to learn to defend himself. Before long, he was training fighters in a tiny shed, and promoting the earliest mixed-martial arts events in Ireland. And then, a cocky kid called Conor McGregor walked into his gym ...In Win or Learn, John Kavanagh tells his own remarkable life story - which is at the heart of the story of the extraordinary explosion of MMA in Ireland and globally. Employing the motto ''win or learn'', Kavanagh has become a guru to young men and women seeking to master the arts of combat. And as the trainer of the world''s most charismatic champion, his gym has become a magnet for talented fighters from all over the globe. Kavanagh''s portrait of Conor McGregor - who he has seen in his lowest moments, as well as in his greatest triumphs - is a revelation. What emerges from Win or Learn is a remarkable portrait of ambition, discipline, and persistence in the face of years and years of disappointment. It is a must read for every MMA fan - but also for anyone who wants to understand how to follow a dream and realize a vision.''For anyone interested in following their dream to the end of the line'' Tony Parsons''It kept me up well past my bedtime'' Sean O''Rourke, RTE Radio One''Remarkable'' Irish Times''Kavanagh is open and honest about his upbringing ... The journey hasn''t been easy, but Kavanagh''s inbuilt determination has carried him all the way'' Irish ExaminerTrade ReviewFor anyone interested in following their dream to the end of the line -- Tony ParsonsRemarkable * Irish Times *Kavanagh is open and honest about his upbringing ... The journey hasn't been easy, but Kavanagh's inbuilt determination has carried him all the way * Irish Examiner *

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Book Synopsis''A wonderfully fluent account of how the strange magic of water and the beings that inhabit it can enchant and intoxicate'' Chris Yates''[Will Millard] writes with a genuine sense of humility (...) humour and reflection'' Kevin Parr, Countryfile ***Growing up on the Cambridgeshire Fens, Will Millard never felt more at home than when he was out with his granddad on the riverbank, whiling away the day catching fish. As he grew older his competitive urge to catch more and bigger fish led him away from that natural connection between him, his grandfather and the rivers of his home. That is, until the fateful day he let a record-breaking sand eel slip through his fingers and he knew that he had lost the magic of those days down by the river, and that something had to change. The Old Man and the Sand Eel is at its heart the story of three generations of men trying to figure out what it is to be a man, a fatTrade ReviewA wonderfully fluent account of how the strange magic of water and the beings that inhabit it can enchant and intoxicate -- Chris Yates[Will Millard] is a master wordsmith and his first book is a joyful testament to that -- Isabelle Broom * Heat *The writing is sharp and clever (...) I loved all of it and would as happily read it again as I would sit beside the river waiting for the evening rise of trout to begin -- Tom Fort * Literary Review *[Will Millard] writes with a genuine sense of humility (...) humour and reflection -- Kevin Parr * Countryfile *This is post-modern nature writing that embraces beauty where it finds it and marvels at nature's tenacity (...) But there's more here than just fish. This is also a book about growing up, about how to retain a connection with those who raised you while forging your own identity - what to keep and what to discard. And it's about men. The strong surges of emotion that both draw them together and keep them apart, and the shared pastimes which recognise that intimacy and meaning aren't always accompanied by words' -- Olivia Edward * Geographical *Delightful and informative (...) beautifully drawn (...)The Old Man and The Sand Eel will be enjoyed by anyone who loves the challenge and mystery of baiting a hook and plopping it into the water -- Nicholas Shakespeare * The Spectator *

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Book SynopsisHow can one striker be better than three? Why do the best defenders never need to make a tackle? What''s the secret of Tiki-taka?Welcome to Ruud Gullit''s masterclass on how to ''read'' a match.From his unrivalled perspective as player, manager and pundit, the Dutch football legend shows us everything to look for in a 90 minute match. From formations and tactical decisions to player qualities and pivotal moments, Ruud Gullit unveils the hidden patterns on the pitch.Packed with his acute insights, original observations and talking points, How to Watch Football will quite simply change the way you see the beautiful game.Trade ReviewOffers an intriguing counterpoint -- Donald McRae * Guardian *Entertaining and insightful * The Times *Gullit has all the skills. An even better player than Maradona -- George BestRuud Gullit was the best player in the world. His sheer energy could create chances -- David WinnerHe manages to convey the sense that football is really quite simple if you're a genius like him, but without actually being annoying. A rare talent * Metro *

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Book SynopsisTHE STORY BEHIND THE WOMAN WHO CHANGED THE FACE OF BOXING FOREVER, OBE NICOLA ADAMSAt London 2012, Nicola Adams made history when she became the first woman ever to win an Olympic Gold medal for boxing. In Rio 2016, with the nation cheering her on, she did it all over again. Years of relentless training, fundraising and determination have seen Nicola battle through injury, prejudice and defeat to become one of Britain best-loved athletes and an inspiration to all those who are chasing after a seemingly impossible dream. From a leisure centre in Leeds to the Olympic Stadium in Rio, Nicola with her famous smile has become an LGBTQ+ icon and the poster girl for women in sport. This is her story of grit, talent and the real person behind the smile.Nicola is soon to be a contestant on BBC''s Strictly Come Dancing in the show''s first same-sex pairing. ____________________WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT NICOLA:Trade ReviewThe British public don't just admire her, they love her * Guardian *

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Book Synopsis''He''s a great coach. He lives and breathes the game. There''s nothing he doesn''t know'' Brian O''Driscoll''The best coach Irish rugby - arguably Irish sport - has ever had'' Malachy Clerkin, Irish TimesIn the autumn of 2010, a little-known New Zealander called Joe Schmidt took over as head coach at Leinster. He had never been in charge of a professional team. After Leinster lost three of their first four games, a prominent Irish rugby pundit speculated that Schmidt had ''lost the dressing room''.Nine years on, Joe Schmidt has stepped down as Ireland coach having achieved success on a scale never before seen in Irish rugby. Two Heineken Cups in three seasons with Leinster. Three Six Nations championships in six seasons with Ireland, including the Grand Slam in 2018. And a host of firsts: the first Irish victory in South Africa; the first Irish defeat of the All Blacks, and then a second; and Ireland''s first number 1 world ranking.Along the way, Schmidt became a byword for precision and focus in coaching, remarkable attention to detail and the highest of standards. But who is Joe Schmidt? In Ordinary Joe, Schmidt tells the story of his life and influences: the experiences and management ideas that made him the coach, and the man, that he is today. And his diaries of the 2018 Grand Slam and the 2019 Rugby World Cup provide a brilliantly intimate insight into the stresses and joys of coaching a national team in victory and defeat.From the small towns in New Zealand''s North Island where he played barefoot rugby and jostled around the dinner table with seven siblings, to the training grounds and video rooms where he consistently kept his teams a step ahead of the opposition, Ordinary Joe reveals an ordinary man who has helped his teams to achieve extraordinary things.''Rugby obsessives and amateur coaches will revel in the insight that Schmidt offers into his training methods, tactics and preparation ... Full of insight, emotion and considered analysis'' Irish Daily Mail''An insight into the fascinating personality of the man who has been the single most influential figure in Irish rugby over the last decade'' Irish Times''He is clearly more than an ordinary coach, the winning of two Heinekens, beating New Zealand twice, the 2018 Grand Slam and reaching no.1 in the World Rankings are positive brushstrokes, marking Irish rugby for ever ... A rocky read about exceptional deeds, told in extraordinary fashion'' Irish Daily Star''Undoubtedly the greatest coach in Irish rugby history'' Daily TelegraphTrade ReviewRugby obsessives and amateur coaches will revel in the insight that Schmidt offers into his training methods, tactics and preparation ... Full of insight, emotion and considered analysis * Irish Daily Mail *An insight into the fascinating personality of the man who has been the single most influential figure in Irish rugby over the last decade * Irish Times *He is clearly more than an ordinary coach, the winning of two Heinekens, beating New Zealand twice, the 2018 Grand Slam and reaching no.1 in the World Rankings are positive brushstrokes, marking Irish rugby for ever ... A rocky read about exceptional deeds, told in extraordinary fashion * Irish Daily Star *Undoubtedly the greatest coach in Irish rugby history * Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisIrish Times Sports Book of the YearDublin has become the dominant force in Gaelic football, setting new standards of skill and efficiency. But it was not very long ago that the county was a byword for underachievement and disorganization. Every year from 1996 to 2010, the Dubs found new and creative ways of losing, of causing their fans to suffer, and of earning the scorn of the wider GAA public.Based on interviews with former players and coaches, Dublin: The Chaos Years tells the entertaining and sometimes scarcely believable story of how the Dubs managed to make such a hames of things over a period of fifteen years. It also traces the beginnings of the turnaround, as the bad habit of failure began to give way to a healthier culture. Full of frank, witty and sometimes outrageous stories and analysis from the people who were at the centre of it, Dublin: The Chaos Years is a book for every Gaelic football fan.''Fascinating'' Kieran CunTrade ReviewFrom unwelcoming veterans to arseboxing and collapsing human pyramids to marching to the Hill to startled earwigs to champs, Cotter has it all covered in a very well-written and insightful read -- Kieran Shannon * Irish Examiner *This book offers fascinating insight into the egos, dressing room divides, and bad habits which held the county back on the field. ... [It's] full of honest and witty interviews with players, coaches and officials from that revolutionary period. -- RTÉ Culture * Darren Frehil *Fascinating -- Kieran Cunningham * Irish Daily Star *Cotter has done some terrific interviews ... the raw, hard-nosed nature of the Dublin dressing room at the end of the 1990s jumps from the page. ... Well worth anyone's time -- Malachy Clerkin * Irish Times, Sports Books of 2018 *

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Book Synopsis''He''s one of the best players I''ve ever played with. As a forward, I''d say he''s the best.'' Johnny SextonSeán O''Brien does not come from a traditional rugby background. He grew up on a farm in Tullow, far from the rugby hotbeds of Limerick and Cork or the fee-paying schools of Dublin. But as he made his way up through the ranks, it soon became clear that he was a very special player and a very special personality. Now, Seán O''Brien tells the remarkable and unlikely story of his rise to the highest levels of world rugby, and of a decade of success with Leinster, Ireland and the British and Irish Lions.Trade ReviewA really, really honest and revealing read -- Matt Cooper * Today FM *Fuel is about revelation - not so much the late-night, boozy, tops-off revelation, although there is a good bit of that. It's more about the baring of his vulnerabilities and driving forces * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisTHE NO.1 BESTSELLER!''I read it in one sitting, it''s a superb book'' Eamon Dunphy, The Stand ''An astonishing exposé'' Martin Ziegler, The TimesOver the course of fifteen years, John Delaney ran the Football Association of Ireland as his own personal fiefdom. He had his critics, but his power was never seriously challenged until last year, when Mark Tighe and Paul Rowan published a sequence of stories in the Sunday Times containing damaging revelations about his personal compensation and the parlous financial situation of the FAI. Delaney''s reputation as a great financial manager was left in tatters. He resigned under pressure, and the FAI was left hoping for a massive bail-out from the Irish taxpayer.In Champagne Football, Tighe and Rowan dig deep into the story of Delaney''s career and of the FAI''s slide into ruin. They show how he surrounded himself with people whose personal loyalty he could count on, and a board that failed to notice that the association''s finances were shot. They detail Delaney''s skilful cultivation of opinion-formers outside the FAI. And they document the culture of excess that Delaney presided over and benefited from, to the detriment of the organization he led.Champagne Football is a gripping, sometimes darkly hilarious and often enraging piece of reporting by the award-winning journalists who finally pulled back the curtain on the FAI''s mismanagement.____________''Excellent'' Irish Sun''A jaw-dropping story ... brilliant'' Irish Times''Essential reading'' Irish Daily Star''Astonishing ... Side-splittingly hilarious'' Guardian''A damning account'' Sunday Independent''An instant classic, one of the all-time great Irish sports books'' Alan English''Excellent ... includes staggering detail'' Daily Mail''A cracking read ... [An] incredible amount of jaw-dropping detail'' Matt Cooper ''One of the most hotly-anticipated sport books of the year'' Brendan O''Connor ''A masterpiece'' Tommy Martin''At last, the truth of his ruinous reign has been rigorously and painstakingly exposed'' Irish Daily Mail ''An absolutely extraordinary book'' Eoin McDevitt, Second Captains ''Remarkable. The desperate story of Irish football but also a book about how Ireland works. Outstanding'' Dion FanningTrade ReviewA jaw-dropping tale of power and ego going unchecked * Times, Best Sports Books of the Year 2020 *I read it in one sitting, it's a superb book ... I urge people to buy it and read it even if you're not interested in football -- Eamon Dunphy * The Stand *A cracking read ... [An] incredible amount of jaw-dropping detail -- Matt CooperThe most important Irish sports book of the year and most significant book on Irish life itself ... Exceptional * Irish Daily Mail *A superb piece of investigative journalism, in which a tale of tawdry venality is told with wit, verve, and just the right amount of disbelief -- Fintan O'Toole * Irish Times, Best Books of 2020 *

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Book Synopsis''There isn''t a funnier sports book this year - there might not be one for the next decade'' Irish Times Books of the Year_________The hilarious memoir from the funniest man in football!Roddy Collins is a football man - now in the sixth decade of a career as a player (at sixteen clubs), manager (twelve clubs) and commentator. And he is a funny man: an unequalled raconteur with a sharp eye for the absurdities of the professional game and spectacular recall. He has made friends wherever he has gone, along with some high-quality enemies. When John Delaney said he could get Roddy a job if he''d just stop criticising him, Roddy replied that he''d ''rather dig holes in the road''.Now, with the brilliant Paul Howard, Roddy puts it all down on paper for the first time - the adventures, the rows and the craic - in what is not only one of the funniest but also one of the most eye-opening books ever written about professional football.SHORTLISTED FOR SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR AT THE IRISH BOOK AWARDS________''[It] might be the funniest book written since Roddy Doyle''s The Van . . . There''s a laugh on every page'' Irish Examiner''Terrific. You will love it'' Joe Brolly, Sunday Independent''Fantastic. Can''t remember a sports book with so many stories to propel it along. There''s at least three different movies in it'' Malachy Clerkin''Candid tales of football, family and everything in between - just brilliant'' Irish Independent''A riot!'' Brendan O''Connor''What a life, what a book. I highly recommend it'' Tadhg Coakley, Irish ExaminerTrade ReviewThere isn't a funnier sports book this year - there might not be one for the next decade * Irish Times Books of the Year *Terrific. You will love it. Raw and tender and wild and honest, it will captivate you . . . great stories pack the pages * Sunday Independent *A rollercoaster ride and a great read. It's hard not to love Roddy Collins after reading The Rodfather -- Tadhg Coakley * Irish Examiner *Excellent and hilarious * Second Captains *Hard to imagine there'll be a more entertaining sports book for quite a while * Irish Times *A riot! -- Brendan O'ConnorFascinating and hilarious. Starts with a bang and never falters. Anarchic and wonderful -- Joe BrollyFantastic. Can't remember a sports book with so many stories to propel it along. There's at least three different movies in it -- Malachy ClerkinCandid tales of football, family and everything in between - it's no surprise The Rodfather's memoir is just brilliant * Irish Independent *A big man, with big emotions, and a big life . . . a fascinating read * Sunday Independent *What a great book The Rodfather is. A walk on the wild side of football - and a few other games - terrifying and yet massively entertaining. Paul Howard is the best writer in the country -- Declan LynchReally fabulous * Pat Kenny Show *[The Rodfather] might be the funniest book written since Roddy Doyle's The Van . . . There's a laugh on every page * Irish Examiner *

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Book SynopsisTHE PHENOMENAL MEMOIR OF A NATIONAL TREASUREAfter Kellie Harrington won gold at the Tokyo Olympics, the Irish public recognized her as not merely a sporting hero, but a deeply inspirational human being. Now, Kellie tells the story of her unlikely journey to the top, and of the many obstacles and setbacks she overcame along the way.Growing up in Dublin''s north inner city, Kellie was in danger of going down the wrong path in life before she discovered boxing. The local boxing club was all-male and initially wouldn''t let her join, but she persisted.She was not an overnight success. For years she struggled in international competition. At times she felt unsupported by the national boxing set-up. More than once she considered giving up the sport. But some spark of ambition and love for boxing kept her going, and gradually she made herself world class.Writing with Roddy Doyle, the award-winning author of The Commitments, Kellie tells the story of her unlikely rise to greatness and her continuing dedication to living a normal life - which has involved remaining an amateur boxer and keeping the job she loves, at a Dublin psychiatric hospital. She shares exceptionally vivid and revealing details about being a woman in a historically male sport, and about how she manages her body and her mind. It is a vastly inspiring look inside the life and psychology of a woman who is both brilliantly ordinary and utterly exceptional.Trade ReviewReaders will be with her every step of the way . . . her voice is so radiant -- Tommy Conlon * Sunday Independent *Doyle has captured the full Kellie experience here, all heart and laughs and a mouth like a sailor -- Malachy Clerkin * Irish Times *A terrific collaboration. Kellie Harrington's story is unique . . . Doyle coaxes her journey to Olympic gold out of her with warmth, wit and tenderness * Irish Times Books of the Year *By the end of this read, you know exactly how to feel about Kellie's life so far. Extraordinary. And the book leaves you in one position: in Kellie's corner -- Sinéad Kissane * Irish Independent *Perfectly capture[s] the story of a champion who couldn't be stopped from reaching her dreams * Irish Daily Mail *

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Book Synopsis''He is skilful. He is outspoken. He is Zlatan'' New York Times''He is an amazing talent, one of the best around'' Pep GuardiolaFootball''s most prolific and controversial goalscorer has nothing left to prove on the pitch. There is only one Zlatan.In the decade since his megaselling memoir I am Zlatan Ibrahimovic, he has played at Paris Saint-Germain (2012-2016), Manchester United (2016-2018), LA Galaxy (2018-2019) and Milan (2020-). This outrageous and hilarious follow-up is bursting with personal confessions and revealing anecdotes about the world''s best players and managers.Packed with revelations, in Adrenaline we hear for the first time what Zlatan really thinks about his time in the Premier League and what it was like to score that glorious bicycle kick against England. We hear about the club he very nearly signed for, and see his hilarious run-ins with the French media - and the French in general, really. Plus so much more.Zlatan transports you into the world of top-flight football like no one else. Filled with revelations - including Zlatan''s life lessons on happiness, friendship and love - you''ll be talking about this book a long time after finishing it.I am Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Bestseller September 2011Trade ReviewEver-entertaining and erudite . . . an indispensable guide to his singular mind -- Jon Spurling * FourFourTwo *Wonderful. The best footballer's autobiography of recent years . . . and the bestselling European immigrant's tale since Zadie Smith's White Teeth and Philip Roth's Portnoy's Complaint -- Simon Kuper * Financial Times, on I am Zlatan Ibrahimovic *Wonderful - nothing less than a revelation. Ibrahimovic is the definitive modern sporting icon -- Matthew Syed, on I am Zlatan IbrahimovicThe best sportsman's memoir since Andre Agassi . . . He is candid, funny and yes, wonderfully nuts * The Times, on I am Zlatan Ibrahimovic *

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Book SynopsisA provocative look at how grassroots GAA interacts with life in Ireland, from the wittiest Gaelic games pundit at work today The GAA is Ireland''s largest civil society organisation, woven into the fabric of families and communities - and yet most books about Gaelic games focus on the greatest players and inter-county teams. This is the Life is a book about the 99%: a witty and provocative look at grassroots GAA from the most intelligent and interesting Gaelic games pundit at work today.Ciarán Murphy - of Second Captains and the Irish Times - has an unmatched feel for the timeless elements of this world and a finger on the pulse of change. He looks at the plight of rural clubs that are losing their players to the cities - and he does so not only as a journalist but as a footballer who made the same move himself. He writes about working as an assistant in the clothing shop owned by the family of Jarlath Fallon - both Ciarán''s sporting hero and the local postman. And he looks a things we usually prefer not to talk about, like the role of social class in the GAA.This is the Life is a book about the places the GAA comes from, the places it can take a person, and the things that make a local club worth fighting for.''There is a deep understanding of the way the GAA works at every level a brilliant read from start to finish' Paul Rouse, The Irish Examiner

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Book SynopsisThe 1936 Olympic Games played a key role in the development of both Hitler's Third Reich and international sporting competition. This volume offers an analysis of Germany's preparations for the Games and the attempts by the Nazi regime to allay the international concerns about Hitler's racist ideals and expansionist ambitions.Trade Review"It's a pleasure to read the work of writers who really know their topic. This collection contains some masterful essays which impress the reader with their depth of information and their balanced judgments. There's real drama here and important questions to ask and answer."--Allen Guttmann, author of The Olympics: A History of the Modern Games"A solid piece of work, the book is served by informative endnotes for each essay and a general bibliographic essay, useful appendix, and serviceable index."--Choice"Includes fascinating treatments of discussions over participation in the Games . . . the result is a well-conceived and well-executed study that greatly increases our knowledge of the domestic conflicts that impacted the various countries' decisions to attend the Winter and Summer Olympics in Hitler's Germany."--H-Net Book Reviews"This most recent addition to the University of Illinois' path-breaking series on sport and society . . . [is] of impressively uniform quality as well as coverage."--Ethnic and Racial StudiesTable of ContentsGermany - the propaganda machine by Arnd Kreuger; United States of America - the crucial battle by Arnd Kreuger; Great Britain - the amateur tradition by Richard Holt; France - liberty equality and the pursuit of fraternity by William Murray; Italy - Mussolini's boys at Hitler's Olympics by Gigliola Gori; Japan - the future in the past by Tetsuo Nakamura; Finland - the promised land of Olympic sports by Leena Laine; Sweden - business as usual by Lars-Olof Wilander; Norway - Germany the Nazis and a small neighbour by Matti Goksjr; Denmark - living with reality by Jrn Hansen; Netherlands - in the shadow of big brother by Andr e Swijtink.

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Book SynopsisIn urban and rural high schools throughout Illinois, basketball is a Friday night ritual. This book brings together the stories of the great players, teams, and coaches from the 1940s through the 1990s. It is titled for four players - Sweet Charlie Brown, Dike Eddleman, Cazzie Russell, and Bobby Joe Mason.

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Book SynopsisA revealing look at the history of women's exclusion from America's national pastimeTrade ReviewA Choice Outstanding Academic Title, 2010. "Sharp, thoroughly researched examination of gender discrimination in [baseball].--Los Angeles Times"Throwing 'like a girl' is an age-old taunt, and Jennifer Ring has had enough of it."--Washington Post“An extraordinary account of the rejection of female players from baseball. . . . [Ring] searches for ways to reclaim baseball’s nickname, 'the people’s game,' and encourage females who want to play a game they are passionate about. Highly recommended.”--Choice"The story Ring tells is outrageous. Her title is accurate: baseball has been stolen from girls."--Women's Review of Books“An important work. . . . Ring traces over a 100 years of issues arising from individuals, cultural biases, legal arguments, and the like to develop a full picture.”--Cave 17.com"By examining the systematic exclusion of women from baseball, this compelling book goes into depth about a topic that most historians do not even question. With a gripping storyline and strong, clear prose, Stolen Bases contains some of the best sportswriting I have seen."--Susan K. Cahn, coeditor of Women and Sports in the United States: A Documentary Reader"This book blends history, political economy, sociology, and biography to form an engaging narrative about the place of women in baseball. Jennifer Ring offers fresh insights, focusing on the game's maternity and the development of efforts to preclude women from playing baseball or acknowledging their place in the game's past."--Adrian Burgos Jr., author of Playing America's Game: Baseball, Latinos, and the Color LineTable of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Prologue: Entitlement and Its Absence 1 1. Introduction: A Quick and Dirty History of Baseball 15 2. The Girls' Game 31 3. A. G. Spalding and America's Needs 47 4. Enter Softball 59 5. How Baseball Became Manly and White 73 6. American Womanhood and Athletics 91 7. Cricket 102 8. Stolen Bases 116 9. Collegiate Women's Baseball 134 10. The Invisibility of Bias 151 Epilogue: What Does Equality Look Like? 169 Notes 183 Index 197

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Book Synopsis In this concise social history of golf in the United States from the 1880s to the present, George B. Kirsch tracks the surprising growth of golf as a popular, mainstream sport, in contrast to the stereotype of golf as a pastime enjoyed only by the rich elite. In addition to classic heroes such as Francis Ouiment, Gene Sarazen, Sam Snead, and Ben Hogan, the annals of golf''s early history also include African American players--John Shippen Jr., Ted Rhodes, and Charlie Sifford--as well as both white and black female players such as Mildred 'Babe' Didrikson Zaharias, Louise Suggs, Betsy Rawls, Ann Gregory, and former tennis champ Althea Gibson. Golf in America tells the stories of these and many other players from different social classes, ethnic backgrounds, races, and genders. Examining golf''s recent history, Golf in America looks at the impact of television and the rivalry between Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, both of whom in 1996 were impressed by an upTrade Review"You’ll pardon my fleeting interest in yet another instructional tract, or coffee-table book of pretty courses. . . . For readers more interested in where the game sits on the country’s cultural landscape than in whether anyone was better than Bobby Jones and Ben Hogan, Golf in America is an indispensable guide."--Golfweek"Kirsch delivers excellent pen portraits of the great, good and obscure in American golf, and quotes richly from the golfing literature of the early twentieth century when exploring the game’s meanings and appeal."--Times Literary Supplement "Exceptional."--The Globe and Mail "Kirsch traces golf's path in the United States, hitting the high notes just right."--Golf Digest"Excellent."--Geoff Shackelford"As the first true social history of American golf, Golf in America changes our understanding of the place of golf in American sport. A truly special achievement."--Steven Schlossman, professor of history at Carnegie Mellon University and historian of the U.S. Open Championship and the Curtis Cup Match"Golf in America is the best one-volume history of American golf. Kirsch astutely covers a wide variety of topics, including the Americanization of golf, the rise of Jewish country clubs, the struggles of women and African American golfers for equal treatment, the environmental effects of golf courses, and even the role of the motorized golf cart. An extremely thorough and contextualized contribution to our understanding of sport history."--Steven A. Riess, author of City Games: The Evolution of American Urban Society and the Rise of Sports

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Book Synopsis The Cold War era spawned a host of anxieties in American society, and in response, Americans sought cultural institutions that reinforced their sense of national identity and held at bay their nagging insecurities. They saw football as a broad, though varied, embodiment of national values. College teams in particular were thought to exemplify the essence of America: strong men committed to hard work, teamwork, and overcoming pain. Toughness and defiance were primary virtues, and many found in the game an idealized American identity. In this book, Kurt Kemper charts the steadily increasing investment of American national ideals in the presentation and interpretation of college football, beginning with a survey of the college game during World War II. From the Army-Navy game immediately before Pearl Harbor, through the gradual expansion of bowl games and television coverage, to the public debates over racially integrated teams, college football became ever more a playing fiTrade Review"A significant book in understanding how college football, the dominating college sport, was impacted by both the Cold War and racial relations in the turbulent period around the 1960s."--The International Journal of the History of Sport"A provocative, richly detailed, and deeply researched study of college football's role as an embodiment of defiantly 'American' values during the Cold War. An important contribution to sports history and a model of exemplary research."--Michael Oriard, author of The End of Autumn: Reflections on My Life in Football"This wonderful work examines an extremely interesting and revealing episode in the history of college football that exposes the significance of race as a force in the society of the late 50s and early 60s. It demonstrates the power of Cold War rhetoric as a political device for the defenders of the status quo."--Richard C. Crepeau, past president of the North American Society for Sport History and author of Baseball: America's Diamond MindTable of ContentsAcknowledgments / ix Introduction / 1 Prologue: The Game the War Made / 7 1. Pasadena: The Terms of Postwar Football / 17 2. Columbus: Struggling for the Soul of the Cold War University / 47 3. Baton Rouge: Postwar Football and a Fate Worse Than Integration / 80 4. Tuscaloosa: The Pariah of Postwar Football / 116 5. Westwood: College Football and Cold War Dissent / 155 Conclusion / 195 Notes / 203 Bibliography / 245 Index / 259

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Book SynopsisA rigorous investigation of reform in college sportsTrade Review"In this provocative book ... [Smith] details the efforts to purify intercollegiate sports since the first teams faced off in the 1850s. He makes a solid case for why reforms are needed."--Diverse: Issues in Higher Education"Smith's extensively researched and well-documented text shows that throughout the history of college athletics there have been only a handful of true champions of reform and they have universally lost to the pressures of professionalization."--EH.NET"Sweeping in its coverage of big-time college athletic reform and rich detail. . . . A significant contribution to the place and meaning of college sports in the modern United States."--American Historical Review"Illuminating and thought provoking. Music and Cultural Rights will challenge musicians, music scholars, and music educators to reexamine their preconceived notions of culture, music's purpose within culture, and the social responsibilities that come when using this music."--Music Educators Journal"Ronald A Smith meticulously documents the history of reform attempts of intercollegiate athletics, an enterprise so full of contradiction, hypocrisy, and downright chicanery that it has long begged for major change. . . . His definitive study depresses any reader hopeful for the systemic reform of college sports."--The Journal of American History"A lively, fluid account of college sports controversies and reform efforts spanning more than 150 years. . . . Well written and thoroughly researched."--Journal of Higher Education"A major contribution to the history of college sports. This astounding book does not leave a stone unturned, and it represents a lifetime of researching and writing on the subject from a top expert in the field."--John Sayle Watterson, author of The Games Presidents Play: Sports and the Presidency"Ronald A. Smith pulls no punches in this thoughtful and thorough history of intercollegiate athletic reform. He deals directly with the role presidents play in reforming athletics, he calls hypocrisy by the right name when he finds it (all too often), and he recognizes the limits to what can be done to improve intercollegiate athletics in this country. Smith's candor and honesty are refreshing and impressive."--William G. Bowen, coauthor of Reclaiming the Game: College Sports and Educational Values

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Book SynopsisRelives a lost moment in American postwar history, when boxing ruled as one of the nation's most widely televised sports.Trade Review"Troy Rondinone's history of television's first go-round with boxing is outstanding in every respect. Twinning it with the riveting life story of the popular veteran of 200 or so pro fights was inspired."--Cyber Boxing Zone"A superior piece of sports history. . . . Friday Night Fighter is not only a lively historical analysis of boxing, it is consistently perceptive, avoids sentimentality, and yet is reassuringly sympathetic. . . . A treasure trove."--Journal of Sport History“Rondinone unearths two important histories. . . . He writes with a nostalgic eye, using sparkling prose,and he culls from diverse sources.”--The Journal of American History "A fascinating biography. . . . Rondinone links televised boxing's success to television's need for prime-time programming, the role of a blood sport, changing attitudes toward race, Cold War masculinity and the impact of organized crime. Highly recommended."--Choice"El Indio Gaspar Ortega will always be our first champion. We love him, we cherish him, and we respect him."--Carlos Santana"Troy Rondinone masterfully and nostalgically captures the romance of boxing on television in the 1950s. It was a sport on the air, in your living room, and at its crossroads. The Friday Night Fighters may be gone--but they will never be forgotten."--Russell Sullivan, author of Rocky Marciano: The Rock of His Times"This excellent history makes a truly significant contribution to sports scholarship and American studies. With colorful detail, Rondinone uncovers the world of the Latino fighter in the 1950s and discusses important cultural aspects of boxing in this era."--Gerald L. Early, author of A Level Playing Field: African American Athletes and the Republic of Sports

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Book SynopsisTells the story of the most significant college basketball program at a pivotal period in American cultural history.Trade ReviewA Choice Outstanding Academic Title, 2014. "This volume uncovers the indelible link between sports and society in the US. While he focuses on Wooden and UCLA men's basketball, Smith remains mindful of the larger forces molding the young men who played for the 'Wizard of Westwood.' Highly recommended."--Choice"The Sons of Westwood is an excellent, wide-ranging history, not only of UCLA basketball and the Wizard of Westwood, but of the great social movements which characterized the era of the Wooden Dynasty. I recommend it to any who love basketball or are interested in one of the more interesting periods of recent American life. John Matthew Smith is a historian on which we should all keep our eye."--Charles E. Young, Chancellor Emeritus, UCLA"This is the John Wooden book I've been waiting to read--a well-written, meticulously researched, and astute portrait of one of the sporting world's most interesting and influential characters. John Matthew Smith's book is at once a pleasure to read and a solid work of history."--Jonathan Eig, New York Times bestselling author of Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson's First Season“A highly readable cultural study of one of the greatest teams in sports history.”--Kirkus Reviews"John Matthew Smith may be the first author to fully and fairly assess the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) basketball program during its miraculous run of ten championships from 1964 to 1975. . . . revealing and insightful."--Journal of Sport History"A thoroughly engrossing account. . . . The Sons of Westwood makes a complex story during a turbulent time in U.S. history a little easier to understand. It is a well-researched account that would be attractive to scholars and a popular audience. . . . John Matthew Smith connects the events occurring in collegiate athletics to events in the larger American society."--The Journal of African American History"In this carefully-researched study, John Matthew Smith has provided an entertaining and insightful look at college basketball's most successful coach and team dynasty. Mixing sport history with social history, Smith reveals the complex reality behind iconic coach John Wooden and his UCLA Bruin teams, as well as the not-so-innocent days of college athletics. Fans and scholars of college sports should not miss this important book."--Charles H. Martin, author of Benching Jim Crow: The Rise and Fall of the Color Line in Southern College Sports, 1890–1980"A fascinating account of the greatest dynasty in the history of college athletics and its legendary architect, John Wooden. Giving full attention to UCLA basketball's unprecedented success and the careers of its star players, John Matthew Smith provides a thoughtful analysis of societal concerns and issues surrounding the program in the 1960s and early '70s. A first-rate work."--J. Samuel Walker, author of ACC Basketball: The Story of the Rivalries, Traditions, and Scandals of the First Two Decades of the Atlantic Coast Conference "The Sons of Westwood is the history of an institution (UCLA), the chronicle of a sport (basketball), and the biography of its greatest coach (John Wooden), in a time of cultural and political upheaval (the 1960s and 1970s). It succeeds richly on all four fronts."--Susan Ware, author of Game, Set, Match: Billie Jean King and the Revolution in Women's Sports "John Matthew Smith tells, in a very balanced and forthright manner, the inside story of John Wooden's famed UCLA basketball program and how it fit into the larger narratives of the civil rights movement, the anti-Vietnam War movement, and the athletic revolution. He shows how Wooden and his extraordinarily talented and gifted integrated teams helped transform college basketball from a regional pastime to a national phenomenon."--David K. Wiggins, coauthor of The Unlevel Playing Field: A Documentary History of the African American Experience in Sport

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Book SynopsisDefies conventional wisdom to explain why the unanimous Supreme Court opinion authored by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, which gave rise to Major League Baseball's exemption from antitrust law, was correct given the circumstances of the time.Trade ReviewLarry Ritter Book Award, Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), 2015. Finalist, Seymour Medal, Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), 2015. David J. Langum Sr. Prize for American Legal History/Biography, Langum Charitable Trust, 2014. "Grow explains that the afterlife of Federal Baseball is more remarkable than the conclusions in the case itself. With careful and measured scholarship, Grow urges later reader of Federal Baseball to recognize that the case was heard before widespread interstate radio coverage, and before the broad interpretation of 'commerce' in the New Deal decisions."--Western Legal History"Using newly released attorney correspondence, court records, and newspaper accounts of the time, Grow presents in stunning detail the background, characters, arguments, events, tactics, (and mistakes) leading to the Federal Baseball decision. showing that 'many of the common criticisms. . . are unjust, as the decision was consistent with the prevailing judicial precedents of the day'. . . . Recommended.'"--Choice"Federal Baseball, the shorthand name of the case, is still the law of land. Here is a baseball book in which the major on-field action is the serving of various contract-jumping players with court orders. But if a reader is interested in how the business of baseball developed, the case is crucial; and Baseball on Trial can explain how and why."--Nine "Grow's book is impressively comprehensive and exhaustive. . . . for the reader interested in a comprehensive account of a seminal moment in baseball's legal history, Grow's Baseball on Trial is an excellent choice."--Law and History Review"Grow undoubtedly succeeds in shining a light on the buildup to and background of the Federal Baseball decision."--Sport in American History"[A] thoughtful and provocative analysis of one of the most controversial topics in sports law: Baseball's antitrust exemption. Grow adroitly connects recent disclosures from the Baseball Hall of Fame to advance his argument that the Federal Baseball holding made much more sense ninety years ago than contemporary commentators tend to regard it. As baseball's antitrust exemption continues to face legal challenges--including whether the Oakland A's can move to San Jose--Grow's book will undoubtedly play an influential role."--Michael McCann, Sports Illustrated legal analyst"The lawsuits arising from the Federal League's challenge to Major League Baseball and their aftermath defined much of the way baseball has evolved over the past century. Bolstered by original research, Grow explains both the broader picture and the intriguing behind-the-scenes machinations, and he does so in a clear and entertaining fashion."-- Daniel R. Levitt, author of The Battle that Forged Modern Baseball: The Federal League Challenge and Its Legacy"An outstanding book based on previously unused materials, Baseball on Trial makes a truly significant contribution to the fields of baseball and the law, sports law, antitrust law, and legal history. Anyone discussing the trilogy of Supreme Court cases that created baseball's antitrust exemption needs to read this book."--Edmund P. Edmonds, co-editor of Baseball and Antitrust: The Legislative History

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Book SynopsisNFL Films changed the way Americans view football. This book traces the subsidiary's development from a small independent film production company to the marketing machine that Sports Illustrated named "perhaps the most effective propaganda organ in the history of corporate America."Trade Review"Vogan is able to conclude that by NFL Films' "manufacturing pro football's significance" the average fan was "taught" how to watch football, eventually leading to the replacement of baseball as "America's Pastime" with NFL football as "America's Game."--Journalism History"Keepers of the Flame is the definitive study of major-league media subsidiaries in the United States. It merits wide readership by historians of sports, media, and journalism."--Sport History Review"A readable and interesting book with a lot of descriptive history. Recommended."--Choice"Keepers of the Flame is an insightful and deeply-researched interrogation of the cultural, economic, and institutional forces that allowed a small production company to become regarded as 'perhaps the most effective propaganda organ in the history of corporate America.'"--Sport in American History"Keepers of the Flame is an impressive book that advances the historical body of knowledge concerning sports media. Vogan writes clearly, with a highly accessible style. . . . highly recommended."--Journal of Sports Management"NFL Films changed the way we thought not just about football, but, in many ways, about film. We televise sports in countless ways, from IMAX cameras to our iPhones, and no one does it as well as them. Travis Vogan captures why NFL Films is important and tells a vivid, smart tale of how they've survived, and thrived."--- Will Leitch, author of Are We Winning? and God Save The Fan, senior editor Sports On Earth, founder Deadspin"A well-conceived, persuasively argued, and consistently illuminating account of the most important and influential producer of sports films. Keepers of the Flame: NFL Films and the Rise of Sports Media is exactly the book we need to understand the significance of NFL Films over its roughly fifty-year history. Vogan's discussions of its archives and of the relationship between art and commerce are particularly original, enlightening, and provocative."--Michael Oriard, author of Brand NFL: Making and Selling America's Favorite Sport"Keepers of the Flame represents a significant, original contribution to the field of sports and media studies. Vogan's history and analysis of NFL Films and its cultural significance makes expert use of a variety of voices, from scholars to professional memoirs, popular press sources, interviews with NFL Films executives, and close analysis of films and programs."--Victoria Johnson, author of Heartland TV: Prime Time Television and the Struggle for U.S. Identity

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Book SynopsisMarvin Miller changed major league baseball and the business of sports. Drawing on research and interviews with Miller and others, Marvin Miller, Baseball Revolutionary offers the first biography covering the pivotal labor leader''s entire life and career. Baseball historian Robert F. Burk follows the formative encounters with Depression-era hard times, racial and religious bigotry, and bare-knuckle Washington and labor politics that prepared Miller for his biggest professional challenge--running the moribund Major League Baseball Players Association. Educating and uniting the players as a workforce, Miller embarked on a long campaign to win the concessions that defined his legacy: decent workplace conditions, a pension system, outside mediation of player grievances and salary disputes, a system of profit sharing, and the long-sought dismantling of the reserve clause that opened the door to free agency. Through it all, allies and adversaries alike praised Miller''s hardnosed Trade Review“The first comprehensive biography of Miller, the former steelworkers union official who transformed the toothless Players Association into what may be the nation’s most powerful private-sector union.”--Wall Street Journal “A must-read for anyone interested in how MLB salaries went from an average of $11,000 in 1966 to $3,386,212 in 2013.”—Library Journal"This sound biography is required reading for those interested in sports and in 20th-century history and labor."--Choice"Burk writes gracefully and insightfully, chronicling the life of one of baseball's most significant figures. He succeeds admirably in illuminating the evolution of Marvin Miller's intellect as well as his soul, in placing Miller's life in its historical context and in explaining how this frail man from Brooklyn with a bum arm was able to reshape the landscape of our national pastime." --Andrew Zimbalist, author of In the Best Interests of Baseball? Governing Our National Pastime"Whether he ever gets into the Hall of Fame, Marvin Miller revolutionized the business of sport. Along with Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey, Kenesaw Mountain Landis and Babe Ruth, Miller belongs among the handful of true baseball immortals. No one transformed the national pastime more significantly. Robert F. Burk provides a book worthy of its subject."--Aethlon: The Journal of Sport Literature"A welcomed contribution that serves as required reading for anyone interested in exploring the complexities of baseball, economics, or labor history in the 1960s through 1980s."--Journal of Sport History"The Baseball Hall of Fame is not a hall of fame without Marvin Miller. As Robert F. Burk and others have written, Miller belongs on baseball’s Mount Rushmore. In Marvin Miller: Baseball Revolutionary, Burk has written a book worthy of Miller the man, the communicator, the strategist, the labor leader, and the baseball visionary. Every big league player and baseball fan should read it."-- Brad Snyder, author of A Well-Paid Slave: Curt Flood’s Fight for Free Agency in Professional Sports"Burk knows the business of baseball inside and out, making him the ideal person to write about Miller. His research is impeccable and his writing is straightforward. The compelling aspect of the book is the story of Miller's role in transforming Major League Baseball, and that Burk tells with confidence and focus."--Randy Roberts, author of Joe Louis: Hard Times Man

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Book SynopsisFrom statistical databases to story archives, from fan sites to the real-time reactions of Twitter-empowered athletes, the digital communication revolution has changed the way sports fans relate to their favorite teams. In this volume, contributors from Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States analyze the parallel transformation in the field of sport history, showing the ways powerful digital tools raise vital philosophical, epistemological, ontological, methodological, and ethical questions for scholars and students alike. Chapters consider how the philosophical and theoretical understanding of the meaning of history influence a willingness to engage with digital history, and conceptualize the relationship between history making and the digital era. As the writers show, digital media''s mostly untapped potential for studying the recent past via blogs, chat rooms, gambling sites, and the like forge a symbiosis between sports and the internet, and ofTrade Review"Each essay is thought-provoking and grounded with examples or connections to sport history that challenge us to consider the utility of digital technologies—and our relationship to them—moving forward. . . . Osmond and Phillips show a keen awareness of the major developments, debates, and conversations in the digital humanities and offer an important book that will serve as an accessible conversation starter for historians of sport."--Sport in American History "Those who are interested in sport history will appreciate this resource on using the Internet in their work. Highly recommended."--Choice"This book should interest anyone who does research into sports history or who teaches a graduate-level class on doing research, especially archival work."--Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly "This book sets out to make history safe for the Internet age that has been thrust upon us ready or not in this century. . . . Sport historians, sports studies and sociology of sport scholars, and digital humanities scholars will all find useful ideas for their research and their efforts in the classroom in the volume's ten chapters."--ARETE"Sport History in the Digital Era offers a well-timed overview of the ways that sport historians can work in this milieu."--Sport History Review"Provides a thoughtful exploration of the strengths and weaknesses of online sport history, which is especially valuable for those reluctant to embrace the digital age."--New Media & Society"The stimulating ideas presented make this essential reading for all those interested in how sports history will fare in the digital age. The contributors, some cautious, others more polemic, discuss the limits and possibilities of digitized knowledge and assess the challenges and opportunities offered by digital technology."--Wray Vamplew, co-author of Mud, Sweat and Beers: A Cultural History of Sport and Alcohol"A digital revolution has already altered much of what sport historians do, from archival research to classroom pedagogy and options for publication, to attaining the rewards of professional advancement. But is it creating different tools for doing the same old work, or is the work itself being transformed? The question is unavoidable—avoiding it is its own response—but the answers aren't obvious. These instructive and provocative essays offer a timely guide to issues that will shape the future of the discipline."--Michael Oriard, author of Bowled Over: Big-Time College Football from the Sixties to the BCS Era "Reading the essays in this book opened me up to an unexpectedly broad array of ways to use internet tools and resources for both scholarship and teaching. It is a timely--indeed prescient--addition to the scholarship in the field and will likely be the standard text in this area for many years."--Susan Birrell, co-editor of Reading Sport: Critical Essays on Power and Representation "Taking a very balanced approach and careful not to pass judgment without adequate evidence, the editors make clear that there are advantages and disadvantages to using digital tools and that the engagement with digital history ultimately raises important methodological questions and concerns. A truly significant contribution to the field. The first volume of its kind."--David K. Wiggins, author of Out of the Shadows: A Biographical History of African American Athletes

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"These essays deliver intelligent analysis, brilliant insights, wit, laugh-out-loud hilarity, and a disarmingly serious look at David Zang's passion for sport and its place in his life and ours."--Richard Crepeau, author of NFL Football: A History of America's New National Pastime"Funny, poignant, smart, and crisply written, I Wore Babe Ruth's Hat reminds us why we care so much about sports--and why we keep telling its stories."--Aram Goudsouzian, author of King of the Court: Bill Russell and the Basketball Revolution

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Book SynopsisAcclaimed since its original publication, Coming on Strong has become a much-cited touchstone in scholarship on women and sports. In this new edition, Susan K. Cahn updates her detailed history of women's sport and the struggles over gender, sexuality, race, class, and policy that have often defined it. A new chapter explores the impact of Title IX and how the opportunities and interest in sports it helped create reshaped women's lives even as the legislation itself came under sustained attack.Trade Review"Coming on Strong has long been the go-to book for the history of women in sport. Now it moves boldly into the twenty-first century. Assessing the enormous changes that have reshaped the sports landscape since the 1970s, it reminds us that the playing field is still far from level and challenges us to make the ongoing quest for gender equity in sport part of the larger struggle for social change." --Susan Ware, author of Game, Set, Match: Billie Jean King and the Revolution in Women's Sports

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Vogan's research provides him with ample fodder to engross readers with stories and insights into the world behind their notable shows. . . . Sports fans will enjoy this well-researched and fascinating look at how ESPN has impacted both television and the viewing habits of millions of watchers."--Library Journal"Represents a genuinely original and overdue assessment of perhaps the most significant entity in sports media since the penny press. An exceptional trove of interviews, archival information, and industrial and aesthetic analysis." --Victoria E. Johnson, author of Heartland TV: Prime Time Television and the Struggle for U.S. Identity"This smart, lively examination of ESPN's place in American culture and how it continues to consciously work its way in is a trove of research, insight, and fascinating stories."--Robert Lipsyte, New York Times columnist and author of An Accidental Sportswriter"This is to date the most thoroughly researched and well-argued analysis of ESPN."--Aaron Baker, author of Contesting Identities: Sports in American Film"This well-researched book is a gold mine of information about the origin and philosophy of ESPN. Highly recommended."--Choice"In this fascinating history, journalism professor Vogan imbues the network's nascent struggles with a sense of adventure. . . . Sports fans, especially those of the couch-potato variety, will find this account of the life of a TV network as enjoyable as most star biographies."--Booklist

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Book SynopsisIn 2007, the Mitchell Report shocked traditionalists who were appalled that drugs had corrupted the pure game of baseball. Nathan Corzine rescues the story of baseball''s relationship with drugs from the sepia-toned tyranny of such myths. In Team Chemistry , he reveals a game splashed with spilled whiskey and tobacco stains from the day the first pitch was thrown. Indeed, throughout the game''s history, stars and scrubs alike partook of a pharmacopeia that helped them stay on the field and cope off of it: In 1889, Pud Galvin tried a testosterone-derived elixir to help him pile up some of his 646 complete games. Sandy Koufax needed Codeine and an anti-inflammatory used on horses to pitch through his late-career elbow woes. Players returning from World War II mainstreamed the use of the amphetamines they had used as servicemen. Vida Blue invited teammates to cocaine parties, Tim Raines used it to stay awake on the bench, and Will McEnaney snorted it bTrade Review"Stimulating. Clearly the most comprehensive 'baseball and drugs' book that I've read or am aware of. There are other books that cover specific scandals, such as BALCO, but none that dig as deeply into the history of the relationship between baseball and drugs."--Mitchell Nathanson, author of A People's History of Baseball"Nathan Michael Corzine goes past the mythology and digs deep to reveal a game splashed with spilled whiskey and tobacco stains from its origins, where substances of various stripes were valued for the supposed ability to help athletes play better."--Alternet"Corzine presents a more nuanced meaning of professional baseball's post steroid era. . . . Books like this one can help guide both scholars and fans toward appreciation, understanding, and perhaps even reconciliation with the game's past."--Journal of Sport History "A succinct, thoughtful, readable review of alcohol and drug abuse in baseball from 1870 to the present. Recommended." --Choice"Corzine's well-crafted chronology of the history of drug and alcohol use in Major League Baseball is a good read for fans and scholars alike. Team Chemistry offers new insights and analytic modes to address both of baseball's substance problems--its problem with both legal and illegal drugs and its problem of relying on the romanticized memory of the sport, rather than the reality of its clubs and players."--Sport in American History"Team Chemistry is a fascinating and compelling story of drugs in Major League baseball. Utilizing a vast array of sources and with great insight, Corzine traces the use of both legal and illicit drugs in a sport always thought of as our National Pastime. In the process, we gain a more nuanced and far deeper understanding of the mythology surrounding baseball and American culture."--David K. Wiggins, author of The Unlevel Playing Field: A Documentary History of the African American Experience in Sport

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Book SynopsisSports figures cope with a level of celebrity once reserved for the stars of stage and screen. In Game Faces , Sarah K. Fields looks at the legal ramifications of the cases brought by six of them--golfer Tiger Woods, quarterback Joe Montana, college football coach Wally Butts, baseball pitchers Warren Spahn and Don Newcombe, and hockey enforcer Tony Twist--when faced with what they considered attacks on their privacy and image. Placing each case in its historical and legal context, Fields examines how sports figures in the U.S. have used the law to regain control of their image. As she shows, decisions in the cases significantly affected the evolution of laws related to privacy, defamation, and publicity--areas pertinent to the lives of the famous sports figure and the non-famous consumer alike. She also tells the stories of why the plaintiffs sought relief in the courts, uncovering motives that delved into the heart of issues separating individual rights from the public''s perceiTrade Review“Recommended."--Choice "Sarah Fields' work on the history of sports and law dispels all doubt about the legitimacy of sports law as a field of study. Game Faces presents a convincing argument that cases about sports have made unique and important contributions to the law of privacy and free speech."--Erin Buzuvis, Western New England University"Sarah Fields combines her talents as a historian and a lawyer to guide us to and through the intersection of sport, celebrity, and the law. The precision and depth of this study is a gift to all interested in the rights of privacy and the control of one's public image."--Richard C. Crepeau, author of NFL Football: A History of America's New National Pastime"Game Faces is unique, effective, and impressive. I learned a great deal from it and appreciate how Fields addresses some complicated legal and ethical issues. Although most of us are not celebrities, many people in many disciplines will profit from considering the tension between the media and the freedom they are provided by the First Amendment and the personal autonomy of famous people to control (and profit from) their names, images, and likenesses. In part because we live in a celebrity obsessed culture, many readers should find Game Faces enlightening."--Daniel A. Nathan, author of Saying It's So: A Cultural History of the Black Sox Scandal"Game Faces marks an important contribution to the field that is sure to shape and generate further discussion of the links between sport, law, identity, and power."--Journal of Sport History"This is an excellent book that clearly exhibits the painstaking research that went into this thought-provoking subject."--International Journal of Sport Communication

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Book SynopsisDisapproving scolds. Sexist condescension. Odd theories about the effect of exercise on reproductive organs. Though baseball began as a gender-neutral sport, girls and women of the nineteenth century faced many obstacles on their way to the diamond. Yet all-female nines took the field everywhere. Debra A. Shattuck pulls from newspaper accounts and hard-to-find club archives to reconstruct a forgotten era in baseball history. Her fascinating social history tracks women players who organized baseball clubs for their own enjoyment and even found roster spots on men''s teams. Entrepreneurs, meanwhile, packaged women''s teams as entertainment, organizing leagues and barnstorming tours. If the women faced financial exploitation and indignities like playing against men in women''s clothing, they and countless ballplayers like them nonetheless staked a claim to the nascent national pastime. Shattuck explores how the determination to take their turn at bat thrust female players into narrativTrade Review"This work fills a noteworthy gap in the scholarship and will be of importance to any individual interested in sport, women's history, and gender studies. Recommended."--Choice"It is safe to say that Bloomer Girls may be considered the definitive book on women's baseball in the nineteenth century. Shattuck's research shows on every page, and she masterfully decodes primary sources and constructs a satisfying answer for anyone who has ever wondered why baseball is a man's game."--Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society"Bloomer Girls would be a helpful resource for researchers interested in social history, particularly regarding gender roles and sports, and for baseball fans interested in the history of the sport."--FGS Forum"Shattuck sets out to discover how a gender-neutral game became so masculine by researching women's organized baseball from antebellum American through the turn of the century. . . . This volume belongs in many public library sports-history and gender-studies collections."--Booklist"Bloomer Girls is definitely worth your time."--MLB.com"Bloomer Girls is a thoughtful book for true baseball historians and those fans whose appreciation of the game includes its darker history. It is also a valuable source of material for those interested in the future of women's sports."--Illinois Times"Bloomer Girls: Women Baseball Pioneers fills a huge void in sports literature regarding women baseball players. . . . Shattuck’s book is definitely a must read for all baseball researchers, serious fans, those interested in the history of the game and gender historians."--Sport in American History"Debra Shattuck knocks it out of the park with her first book. . . . Definitely a must read for all baseball researchers, serious fans, those interested in the history of the game and gender historians."--Sport in American History "Bloomer Girls is a thoughtful book for true baseball historians and those fans whose appreciation of the game includes its darker history. It is also a valuable source of material for those interested in the future of women's sports."--Illinois Times "Bloomer Girls is significant in restoring females to their rightful place in America's baseball history." --Pacific Historical Review "Shatuck's work is in many ways an exemplar of sports history and the potential contributions studies of sport can make to other historiographies, including gender and national history." --Reviews in American History "This well-written work illuminates an understudied aspect of American women's history and deserves a wide readership." --The Journal of American History "Bloomer Girls makes an unprecedented contribution in its field (the endnotes alone are worth the price of admission). Anyone with a prior interest in women's baseball or the burgeoning field of 'Outsider Baseball'--which includes the non-MLB experiences of ethnic minorities, racially segregated leagues, and novelty baseball--must own this book."--John Thorn, Historian of Major League Baseball "Debra Shattuck has written a page-turner, uncovering a long-hidden backstory of America's national sport. There's formidable historical research here, embedded in lively writing about pioneering athletes, corrupt promoters, and formidable businessmen, who together reshaped understandings of the capacities of men and women, on the field and off. Give this important book to every baseball fan you know, (couch potatoes included)."--Linda K. Kerber, author of No Constitutional Right to Be Ladies: Women and the Obligations of Citizenship "Not only does Debra Shattuck insert women back into the narrative of baseball history, but she also offers us the fullest account yet of how the early game threw varied gender meanings into sharp relief. A stunning achievement."--Benjamin G. Rader, author of Baseball: A History of America's Game "Paints a meticulous picture of the social and political forces which advanced the lie of baseball as 'a man's game,' and documents how Bloomer Girl baseball emerged, a benchmark for all who support equality."--Barbara Gregorich, author of Women at Play: The Story of Women in Baseball

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Mike Pearson's book is one that every Illini should have on their shelf. It's a book that you can turn to any page and learn something you never knew."--Dana Howard, 1994 Butkus Award winner"Mike Pearson's anthology reminds me of what an honor it is to have represented the University of Illinois in the athletic arena. Every time I pick up my copy, I discover another golden nugget from some moment in the storied Illini history and I'm humbled to be one character in a well-documented narrative spanning 126 years. The legends, lists and lore bring depth and color to the rich heritage found in every sport on campus and each page invites me to celebrate the athletes, coaches, administrators, faculty, fans and community members who make up this diverse multi-generational family known as the Fighting Illini."--Nancy Thies Marshall, 1972 Olympian"Mike Pearson's Illini Legends, Lists and Lore is a great addition to the library of every Fighting Illini alum and fan alike. Mike's insight and attention to detail is unparalleled. A true Illini historic treasure!"--Deon Thomas, Illinois basketball's all-time leading scorer"Only Mike Pearson, with his background and love for the university, could have imparted such depth and detail to the Illini story. It offers great insights beginning in the nineteenth century, and carrying through George Huff and Avery Brundage to the modern era with accompanying references to the university and the nation. Just a fantastic book."--Loren Tate

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Tamte has produced a well-researched account of Walter Camp's wide-ranging life and careers that particularly included his actively working on the early development of the game of American football, and his many years at Yale. This is an easy to read and valuable look at one of sport's amazing pioneers."--Raymond Schmidt, College Football Historical Society"Embedded in this biography is a fantastic narrative history of how and why football exploded in popularity on college campuses and in American popular culture. Superbly researched and well written, this book will appeal to sports enthusiasts and scholars alike. Highly recommended." --Choice "Tamte skillfully weaves myriad details of two interconnected stories. . . . A definitive study." --Journal of American Culture"Author Roger R. Tamte put together a well-researched book about the life of Walter Camp."--Knup Sports"Author Roger R. Tamte put together a well-researched book about the life of Walter Camp."--Knup Sports"In Roger R. Tamte's expansive review of Camp's life and contributions, a reader gleans insight into Camp's formative years up through his death." --Journal of Sport History"This is a painstakingly researched and wonderfully written book on the most important individual in the development of American football, Walter Camp."--Ronald A. Smith, author of Pay for Play: A History of Big-Time College Athletic Reform

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"A superb cultural history."--Publisher's Weekly"Jesse Berrett's Pigskin Nation is an insightful account of how professional football intersected with politics between 1966 and 1974, and how the sport "became both a metaphor for American achievement and an effective means of reaching voters."" --Journal of American History"The book is extensively researched throughout, and Berrett includes copious notes, which will prove helpful for sports historians and general readers alike. Recommended." --Choice"Accessible, well-researched, and insightful, Pigskin Nation is a compelling book." --Journal of Sport History"Pigskin Nation makes an important contribution and should find a welcome home in sport history courses and among general readers interested in how pro football became a commonplace part of political culture." --Sport History Review"Pigskin Nation: How the NFL Remade American Politics offers much to chroniclers of the relationship between popular culture and politics. . . . In its all-encompassing depiction of the decades-long relationship between American football and American politics that can, in turn, provide a more productive way to consider the political realities and ramifications of football in the twenty-first century." --Journal of American Culture"The current collision of football and politics boils out of a half-century of violence, skullduggery, idealism, and greed brilliantly exposed in this fascinating and fast-paced scrimmage of a book."--Robert Lipsyte, author of SportsWorld: An American Dreamland"With an acute eye for detail, especially notable in the brilliant analysis of NFL films, Jesse Berrett shows how pro football and Richard Nixon's America arose coterminously and in reinforcing ways. One of the best books I have read on the politics and culture of sports in the modern United States. This terrific study shows how football both reflected and transformed American politics and culture during the long 1960s."--Larry Glickman, author of Buying Power: A History of Consumer Activism in America "This is a terrific book—smart, lively, and deeply researched, full of surprises to delight the casual fan and the seasoned historian alike. If you want to know how a not-quite-respectable sport of the 1950s within two decades became 'America's Game,' not just the country’s most popular sport but also the one most entangled in partisan politics and competing visions of American life, this book is for you."--Michael Oriard, author of Brand NFL: Making and Selling America's Favorite Sport "For this devotee of Sam Huff's New York Giants and Dave Meggyesy's Syracuse Orangemen, Jesse Berrett's fascinating book is an absolute pleasure to read. Moving with the tempo of a two-minute drill, the narrative will inform both gridiron fans and political scholars alike. How many knew, for instance, that during the Vietnam War that the best way to avoid fighting the NLF was to play in the NFL? Masterfully researched, brimming with well-mined quotes, and leavened with astute analysis, the book makes the difficult job of good writing appear effortless. Anybody wanting to know how football got so big, and politics got so mean, needs to pick up Pigskin Nation."--Thomas M. Grace, author of Kent State: Death and Dissent in the Long Sixties

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Book SynopsisIn this fourth edition, Benjamin G. Rader updates the text with a portrait of baseball''s new order. He charts an on-the-field game transformed by analytics, an influx of Latino and Asian players, and a generation of players groomed for brute power both on the mound and at the plate. He also analyzes the behind-the-scenes revolution that brought in billions of dollars from a synergy of marketing and branding prowess, visionary media development, and fan-friendly ballparks abuzz with nonstop entertainment. The result is an entertaining and comprehensive tour of a game that, whatever its changes, always reflects American society and culture.Trade ReviewPraise for earlier editions: "The best single-volume history of the sport. . . . Tackles the business and organizational evolution of the professional game, while not losing sight of how it was played on the field."--Washington Post Book World"Baseball reflects Rader's firm grasp of the best and latest scholarship and his insightful understanding of American sport history."--Sporting News

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"An entertaining tale of two cities with big league dreams and ambitions. Balancing civic identity and cohesion against unsustainable expenses and diverted funds is a circle most American cities have failed to square. While there are no 'solutions' to these challenges, Ehrlich analyzes the responses of Oakland and Kansas City in a balanced and informed way, offering lessons for other cities--and there are many of them--in similar positions."--Jerald Podair, author of City of Dreams: Dodger Stadium and the Birth of Modern Los Angeles"What a wonderful book for the sports fan or urban historian! Kansas City and Oakland were two second-class cities struggling for respect. This book tells the story of the competition between their big-league teams. Both baseball and football had exciting and high-profile rivalries, with expansion, free agency, the building of new stadiums, and strikes claiming attention in each town. The author also integrates the sports history with the dramas of the long 1960s--civil rights confrontations, labor troubles, cultural clashes over Vietnam, and urban problems. This is a great and informative read."--Bruce Kuklick, author of To Every Thing a Season: Shibe Park and Urban Philadelphia, 1909–1976

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Book SynopsisOnce a showcase for amateur athletics, the Olympic Games have become a global entertainment colossus powered by corporate sponsorship and professional participation. Stephen R. Wenn and Robert K. Barney offer the inside story of this transformation by examining the far-sighted leadership and decision-making acumen of four International Olympic Committee (IOC) presidents: Avery Brundage, Lord Killanin, Juan Antonio Samaranch, and Jacques Rogge. Blending biography with historical storytelling, the authors explore the evolution of Olympic commercialism from Brundage''s uneasy acceptance of television rights fees through the revenue generation strategies that followed the Salt Lake City bid scandal to the present day. Throughout, Wenn and Barney draw on their decades of studying Olympic history to dissect the personalities, conflicts, and controversies behind the Games'' embrace of the business of spectacle. Entertaining and expert, The Gold in the Rings maps the Olympics'' coursTrade Review"Stephen R. Wenn and Robert K. Barney's latest book The Gold in the Rings: The People and Events That Transformed the Olympic Games makes its timely entrance. . . . A well-refined book that traverses the border of well-known historical terrain and fresh intellectual ground. . . . The authors point to the continued need to interrogate the money matters that lay at the IOC's heart." --Journal of Sport History​"A meticulous and absorbing account of one of the most intriguing and interesting dimensions of the modern Olympic Games, namely their transformation into a commercial mega-bonanza. . . . Engrossing, brilliantly constructed and told, and profoundly informative and edifying, a most worthwhile read." --Sport Literature Association"Wenn and Barney convincingly portrays the progression and development within the IOC and they manage to do so without the nostalgic perspective of how the Olympic Games used to and ought to be." --idrottsforum.org ​"Wenn and Barney have produced another foundational text in Olympic history, this one exploring the deepening ties between the International Olympic Committee and the generation of commercial revenue. Utilizing exclusive access to previously undisclosed IOC documents, along with interviews with many high-ranking Olympic officials, the authors not only shed new light on IOC presidents such as Brundage, Killanin, Samaranch and Rogge, but also a diverse and colorful supporting cast whose importance is only now revealed. This book instantly becomes essential reading for anyone interested in the modern Olympic movement."--Kevin Witherspoon, author of Before the Eyes of the World: Mexico and the 1968 Olympic Games ​​"The Gold in the Rings traces the fascinating rise of the modern Olympic Games into today's commercial empire. Wenn and Barney remain two of our foremost historians of international sport."—Thomas M. Hunt, author of Drug Games: The International Olympic Committee and the Politics of Doping, 1960–2008

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Book SynopsisBig money NCAA basketball had its origins in a many-sided conflict of visions and agendas. On one side stood large schools focused on a commercialized game that privileged wins and profits. Opposing them was a tenuous alliance of liberal arts colleges, historically black colleges, and regional state universities, and the competing interests of the NAIA, each with distinct interests of their own. Kurt Edward Kemper tells the dramatic story of the clashes that shook college basketball at mid-century—and how the repercussions continue to influence college sports to the present day. Taking readers inside the competing factions, he details why historically black colleges and regional schools came to embrace commercialization. As he shows, the NCAA''s strategy of co-opting its opponents gave each group just enough just enough to play along—while the victory of the big-time athletics model handed the organization the power to seize control of college sports. An innovatiTrade Review"Kurt Kemper's history on the rise of college basketball is a valuable addition to the University of Illinois Press's Sport and Society series. . . . One hopes that Kemper will follow this excellent book with another on the madness that the NCAA basketball tournament has become." --Journal of Sport History"Kemper details the unsuccessful fight by small colleges to keep basketball from becoming highly commercialized in the hands of the larger universities, as had happened with football. . . . Before March Madness is well researched. . . . It is well written and maintains a captivating flow." --Review of High Education"The author has a deep familiarity with and understanding of the subject matter, and he comfortably and compellingly situates Before March Madness within the landscape of existing sport history literature. . . . Unique, impressive, and insightful." --Journal of Arizona History "He does a masterful job of sorting out the various organizations that sponsored amateur basketball and providing details about their rivalries for dominance in the first six decades of the twentieth century." --History of Education Quarterly"Kemper’s research is diligent and exhaustive, and for those who like the inner-workings of college sports and its history, it’s an invaluable guide to an overlooked chapter in the evolution of amateur athletics." --Sports Biblio Reader”A well-researched and provocative inquiry into the contentious early development of college basketball. Kemper lucidly exposes the numerous conflicts over fundamental principles and specific policies that repeatedly erupted before the NCAA seized complete control of the sport in 1957.”—Charles Martin, author of Benching Jim Crow: The Rise and Fall of the Color Line in Southern College Sports, 1890–1980”An impressive and important work, Before March Madness powerfully illustrates the internecine conflicts between rival collegiate organizations and how the NCAA was forced to confront its racist, duplicitous, and often indifferent behaviors to ultimately emerge triumphant in the late 1950s.”—Milton Katz, Kansas City Art Institute

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Creapeau's book examines the NFL as a business and a cultural phenomenon. It succeeds on both accounts. Anyone looking for a short overview of the NFL's meteoric rise to America's national pastime should begin with Crepeau's book." --Journal of Sport History"The updates to this new edition of NFL Football have made Richard C. Crepeau's already crucial book even more vital to those of us interested in the history of America’s most popular and problematic sports organization." --Travis Vogan, author of ESPN: The Making of a Sports Media Empire Praise for the previous edition of NFL Football: “[Crepeau] has brought together from a great many sources the information necessary to anyone who wants to understand the origins and the workings of the powerful and profitable entertainment vehicle the NFL has become.” --Bill Littlefield, NPR’s Only a GameTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction I The Formative Years 1 The First Pros 2 Depression and War 3 The NFL Comes of Age II The Rozelle Era 4 Moving to Center Stage 5 A Troubled Decade 6 The Perfect TV Game 7 The Cartel 8 Unraveling 9 Labor Conflict III The New NFL 10 A New Era 11 New Challenges 12 The Money Tree 13 Super Sunday Postscript Appendix A: NFL Franchises Appendix B: The NFL 100 All-Time Team Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisUltimate Fighting Championship and the present and future of women's sports Mixed martial arts stars like Amanda Nunes, Zhang Weili, and Ronda Rousey have made female athletes top draws in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Jennifer McClearen charts how the promotion incorporates women into its far-flung media ventures and investigates the complexities surrounding female inclusion. On the one hand, the undeniable popularity of cards headlined by women add much-needed diversity to the sporting landscape. On the other, the UFC leverages an illusion of promoting differencewhether gender, racial, ethnic, or sexualto grow its empire with an inexpensive and expendable pool of female fighters. McClearen illuminates how the UFC's half-hearted efforts at representation generate profit and cultural cachet while covering up the fact it exploits women of color, lesbians, gender non-conforming women, and others. Thought provoking and timely, Fighting Visibility tells the story of how a spoTrade Review"Fighting Visibility demonstrates that female fighters are encouraged to imagine opportunities for professional success through UFC despite several significant ways in which these athletes are exploited. UFC positions the success of Ronda Rousey as something for both athletes and fans to emulate, following the notion that 'if you can see her, you can be her.' Yet McClearen's research shows that Rousey's success is exceptional and only portrayed as typical, rendering opportunity a likely facade." --Journal of Sport History"McClearen urges scholars to move beyond dichotomous notions of visibility and to consider the cultural and material consequences of being seen. . . . Centering the well-being and lived experienced of female athletes, McClearen's Fighting Visibility provides a strong foundation on which to build a sustained critique of the relationship between media visibility and exploitation." --Media Industries"The book is a fascinating read. . . . McClearen has written a compelling history of women in the UFC, along with the trials they have faced." --Sport in American History"A scathing critique of the exploitation that defines the relationship of UFC to its women fighters, Fighting Visibility fills a hole in the study of sports. Never has this subject been explored with the depth and clarity that we have here. A necessary and groundbreaking read. It makes the point with crystal clarity: visibility and equity are not the same thing."--Dave Zirin, Sports Editor, The Nation"With an extensive bibliography, this well-researched account sheds insight into the various issues that women in sport face, and the costs of their high visibility. . . . Highly recommended." --Library Journal​"A must read for anyone interested in women, sport, and the media. Written by a quickly rising star in feminist media and communication studies, this book is a highly engaging account of the politics of women's participation and visibilities in UFC. It artfully identifies and explains important new trends in social media, branding, feminism, sport, and popular culture. Highly recommended reading!"--Holly Thorpe, author of Transnational Mobilities in Action Sport Cultures

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Degrees of Difficulty is an important read and makes the case for necessary changes to a sport that millions love to watch but whose institutional history few understand." --Journal of Sport History"Georgia Cervin's Degrees of Difficulty is an enthralling analysis of elite women's gymnastics, from a scholar's and insider's view. Through carefully applied lenses of gender, race, power, and politics, Cervin exposes the historical underbelly of cheating, bribery, abuse, and political manipulation in one of the world's most popular Olympic Sports."--Kevin B. Wamsley, coauthor of Sport in Canada: A History, fourth edition

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Book SynopsisThe mixed-race Hawaiian athlete George Freeth brought surfing to Venice, California, in 1907. Over the next twelve years, Freeth taught Southern Californians to surf and swim while creating a modern lifeguard service that transformed the beach into a destination for fun, leisure, and excitement. Patrick Moser places Freeth's inspiring life story against the rise of the Southern California beach culture he helped shape and define. Freeth made headlines with his rescue of seven fishermen, an act of heroism that highlighted his innovative lifeguarding techniques. But he also founded California''s first surf club and coached both male and female athletes, including Olympic swimming champion and father of modern surfing Duke Kahanamoku. Often in financial straits, Freeth persevered as a teacher and lifeguarding pioneer--building a legacy that endured long after his death during the 1919 influenza pandemic. A compelling merger of biography and sports history, Surf and Rescue bringsTrade Review"A valuable and absorbing biography, starring a forgotten founder of California beach culture." --Library Journal, starred review"It’s terrific to have such substantial research collected in a single volume with many falsehoods corrected. The fascinating part is that, despite the research that Moser has amassed, after so many years of low-flying fame, Freeth himself remains a smooth enigma." --Los Angeles Review of Books"Moser’s book will bring renewed attention to Freeth, whose contributions to surf and beach culture in California have typically been overshadowed by those of his fellow Hawaiian waterman and protege Duke Kahanamoku." --San Francisco Chronicle​"It is difficult to think of the California lifestyle today without appreciating the legacies left by George Freeth. We can thank Patrick Moser for bringing this somewhat enigmatic figure to life in his excellent new book." --Southern California Quarterly"Surf and Rescue is an informative, engaging, and fascinating account of the way one man forever changed the world for the better." --Kelp Journal"That this nothing-if-not authoritative treatise on the understudied George Freeth is shockingly well researched comes as little surprise. That is what Patrick Moser is known for. Yet as rigorous as Surf and Rescue might be, the clarity of the language and the knowledge of topic--surfing--lifts this book into sheer page-turner territory."--Scott Hulet, The Surfer's Journal"Moser's book offers a well-written biography of Freeth that will be exciting and engaging to those deeply invested in the history of surfing and lifeguarding." --H-Net Reviews“Patrick Moser is an excellent historian, surf or otherwise, and with Surf and Rescue we get Moser at his very best: clear-eyed and knowledgeable, a detail man who can nimbly pull back to present the big picture. George Freeth is an undeservedly forgotten figure in American cultural history, and Patrick Moser is the right person to bring him forward.”--Matt Warshaw, author of The History of Surfing

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