Sport

Few people in sports have had more books written about them. This is the first by Bob Knight---one of the most literate, candid, quoted, and outspoken men in American public life telling in this first-person account of his full, rich life. Much of that life has been in basketball, most of it because of basketball, but it also has brought him forward as a coach, who has proved academic responsibility and production of championship college athletic teams not only can coexist but should. His excitement as things start anew for him at Texas Tech is matched here by his characteristic frankness...

"Tom Oliphant has created a small masterpiece."
--Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of the bestselling Wait Till Next Year

Praying for Gil Hodges is built around a detailed reconstruction of the seventh game of the 1955 World Series, when the Brooklyn Dodgers won the world championship of baseball.
Thomas Oliphant creates a relentless melodrama that shows this final game in its true glory. As we move through the game, he builds a remarkable history of the Dodgers' status as a national team, based on their fabled history of near-triumphs and disasters that made them...

As a kid caddying for his father on the sunburned links of West Texas, Turk Pipkin had dreamed of great achievements in golf. Unfortunately, life got in the way. A lack of talent didn't help much either. It was not until his father passed away that Turk realized he'd forgotten his childhood dream and had lost the simple joy he'd once found in the game.
Deciding that the time for all his pitiful golf excuses was past, Turk embarked upon the golf quest of a lifetime. For twelve months, he'd ignore work and other distractions, and dedicate himself to the game. He'd seek instruction from...

Most baseball fans, players and even team executives assume that the national pastime's infatuation with statistics is simply a by-product of the information age, a phenomenon that blossomed only after the arrival of Bill James and computers in the 1980s. They couldn't be more wrong.

In this award-winning book, Alan Schwarz - whom bestselling Moneyball author Michael Lewis calls "one of today's best baseball journalists" - provides the first-ever history of baseball statistics, showing how baseball and its numbers have been inseparable ever since the pastime's birth in 1845....

How did Jack Nicklaus become a legend?

Nicklaus's life is one of extraordinary achievement: Not only did Jack Nicklaus win eighteen PGA Tour Majors, and eight Senior PGA Tour Majors during his one hundred victories worldwide, but he also gained fame as a golf course designer and goodwill ambassador.

Internationally acclaimed speaker and specialist medical practitioner Dr. John Tickell was one of millions in awe of the achievements of Jack Nicklaus. He wanted to know the secrets of the great man's enormous success in golf and life. When Dr. Tickell met Jack Nicklaus, he was...

In the 1970s, a decade before bumper stickers and T-shirts bearing the phrase Eddie Would Go began popping up all over the Hawaiian islands and throughout the surfing world, Eddie Aikau was proving what it meant to be a "waterman." As a fearless and gifted surfer, he rode the biggest waves in the world; as the first and most famous Waimea Bay lifeguard on the North Shore, he saved hundreds of lives from its treacherous waters; and as a proud Hawaiian, he sacrificed his life to save the crew aboard the voyaging canoe Hokule'a.

Eddie Would Go is the compelling story of Eddie...

NEW MATERIAL FROM THE 2005-2006 SEASON

"It's not about me versus Dean, or me against Roy or Dean against Vic Bubas. Duke and Carolina will be here forever."
---Mike Krzyzewski

For fifty years the rivalry between Duke and Carolina has featured famous brawls, endless controversy, long-nurtured hatred---and some of the best basketball ever played in the history of the sport. For Duke and UNC players and fans, the competition is not about winning a prize, trophy or title---it's about bragging rights and raw pride.
Blue Blood is a thrilling chronicle of the...

"A fresh and concise look at Payne Stewart's victory at the 1999 U.S. Open."
---Golf Digest

It has been called the greatest U.S. Open in the Open's over one hundred-year history.

Veteran sports journalist, Bill Chastain, crafts the dramatic story of Payne Stewart's 1999 U.S. Open victory by combining extensive research with interviews of those who made it unique. Payne at Pinehurst shows how Stewart dealt with his stunning U.S. Open defeat in 1998 and planned victory for the championship that meant so much to him.
Stewart's conquest of Pinehurst No. 2,...

Finally, a book for every bridge fan -- never before has there been a comprehensive history of the game, filled with anecdotes about famous players, key tournaments, strategies, scandals, and a little instruction for good measure. Evolving at some point in the 18th century from a card game known as "whist," bridge has undergone countless variations, and acquired a massive following of clubs and organizations in the ensuing centuries. The New York Times Bridge Book is aimed not only at the bridge-playing community but also an armchair audience fascinated by the role of...

Master the moves of krav maga--the international self-defense and physical fitness sensation

Increasingly popular around the world, krav maga is the renowned hand-to-hand Martial Arts defense fighting designed by the Israeli military forces. Swift, powerful, and simple, it is an effective method for fending off any kind of attacker--and it is also an amazing workout.

Regardless of size, strength, and fitness level, anyone can master the essentials of krav maga--and reap the rewards of increased safety, confidence, and conditioning. With moves you can learn...

"Picking up where Michael Lewis left off in Moneyball, he addresses the central questions of risk, reward, and value---on the field and off---and reveals what it takes to win."
---John Thorn, editor of Total Baseball

Die-hard fanatics will enjoy this comprehensive collection of groundbreaking baseball strategies, analyses, statistics, and studies

This unique approach to understanding the "tried and true" methodologies of the game of baseball examines conventional elements like the steal, hit and run, and line-up construction. The Book on The Book offers an...

What goes on in a baseball player's mind is critical to the outcome of the game. Since most major leaguers are in peak physical condition, the difference between success and failure on the field often depends on a player's mental approach.

Looking at everything from a player's confidence to his leadership skills, instincts, and hunches, Smart Baseball uses entertaining anecdotes to get inside the mind of baseball's greats and show fans what goes through a player's head when he steps onto the field.

Smart Baseball presents the knowledge and accumulated experience...

In the tiny Russian province of Kalmykia, obsession with chess has reached new heights. Its leader, a charismatic and eccentric millionaire/ex--car salesman named Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, is a former chess prodigy and the most recent president of FIDE, the world's controlling chess body. Despite credible allegations of his involvement in drug running, embezzlement, and murder, the impoverished Kalmykian people have rallied around their leader's obsession---chess is played on Kalmykian prime-time television and is compulsory in Kalmykian schools. In addition, Kalmyk women have been known to...

Without risk, say mountaineers, there would be none of the self-knowledge that comes from pushing life to its extremes. For them, perhaps, it is worth the cost. But when tragedy strikes, what happens to the people left behind? Why would anyone choose to invest in a future with a high-altitude risk-taker? What is life like in the shadow of the mountain? Such questions have long been taboo in the world of mountaineering. Now, the spouses, parents and children of internationally renowned climbers finally break their silence, speaking out about the dark side of adventure.

Maria Coffey...

While you were sitting in the stands or watching at home on TV, did you ever ask yourself what's really going on behind the scenes? Take a ride on the seat next to auto-racing legend Bobby Allison and relive the dramatic saga of the Alabama Gang in this unique look at NASCAR from the inside.

Bobby Allison, who ranks third place in wins in NASCAR history, began his Grand National/Winston Cup career in 1966. After winning eighty-five races, he retired in 1988 when an accident at Pocono Raceway nearly killed him. He was severely brain injured, and it took him a full...

His trainer said that managing him was like holding a tiger by the tail. His owner compared him to "chain lightning." His jockeys found their lives transformed by him, in triumphant and distressing ways. All of them became caught in a battle for honesty.
Born in 1917, Man o' War grew from a rebellious youngster into perhaps the greatest racehorse of all time. He set such astonishing speed records that The New York Times called him a "Speed Miracle." Often he won with so much energy in reserve that experts wondered how much faster he could have gone. Over the years, this and other...

If you want to prove you're a good poker player, you don't have to battle against the best. Nobody really cares if you ever bluffed Phil Ivey or got Daniel Negreanu to make a bad call. You're at the table for the money, not stories of conquest. A disciplined player, one who's playing for the right reasons, would rather sit with the worst, those he's sure to outplay. He's looking for donkeys and donors. He's hunting fish.
In Hunting Fish author Jay Greenspan sets out on a cross-country drive---from Connecticut to Los Angeles---looking for players he can outclass. In casinos,...

Little-known facts, statistics, stories, quotes, nicknames, all-time leaders, rosters, puzzles, and more from over one hundred years of Red Sox history

The Boston Red Sox were originally named the Pilgrims--but for over one hundred years they have always been Beantown's favorite team, with a history that has been celebrated and mourned by generations of fans.

If you love the Red Sox, you'll find hours of challenging trivia in this book. Packed with text and information, it includes: *A history of the Red Sox from their origins to the present * Trvia questions designed to test...

LeBron James is a six-foot-eight gift from the basketball heavens. He was the undisputed finest high school player in America. He was the one NBA scouts drooled over, corporations dreamed of, event promoters begged for, and now fans clamor after. Never before had a high school basketball player been so highly touted or an eighteen-year-old athlete been the subject of such fascination. Maybe no basketball player in the world has had that level of attention.
Now with the Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron has become a certified NBA all-star. Love him or hate him, there is no denying that LeBron...

An explosive look at the NFL Draft from the inside out that exposes the multilayered feeding frenzy that swarms around America's top college players.

The Draft follows a handful of NFL hopefuls through the ups and downs of the 2004 college football season and the predraft process, culminating with the 2005 draft. Among the prospects are Virginia defensive end Chris Canty, who overcomes a devastating early-season knee injury to reestablish himself as a top draft hopeful, only to suffer a detached retina in a nightclub skirmish; and Fred Gibson, a talented but rail-thin...