Sport

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Len Berman

Go Spanning the World with Len Berman in this wildly entertaining, insightful, and often hilarious book that takes sports fans behind the scenes and inside locker rooms.One of the most popular television sports personalities -- known for his "Spanning the World" segments on NBC's Today show -- Len Berman delivers his unique view of the world of sports, from the bizarre to the historic, all with his characteristic wit.Over the years sports and sports reporting have changed, but Spanning the World puts it all in perspective in this irreverent take on the heroes and iconic moments. Barry Bonds massages the media: "If you put that camera in my face, I'll slit your throat."Mickey Mantle reveals his most pleasurable Yankee Stadium experience (it didn't happen on the field). Bobby Orr loses his cool and chairs start flying from the upper decks.Bill Parcells finally spills his Super Bowl-winning formula: "Power wins!"And much more ... Berman guides us through the world he knows like no one else, from intimate recollections of his heroes to postgame celebrations, exhibiting the most hilarious and shocking moments from the whole cast of characters from the last decades in sports: John McEnroe, Muhammad Ali, Larry Bird, Derek Jeter, and many more. He also addresses the more serious issues facing sports today, including steroids, overpaid stars, athletes and violence, and the place of sports in society.A must read for every sports fan, Spanning the World is an irresistible blend of humor, history, and contemporary commentary on the state of sports from the ultimate fan who has seen it all.

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Sally Jenkins

Sally Jenkins, bestselling co-author of It's Not About the Bike, revives a forgotten piece of history in The Real All Americans. In doing so, she has crafted a truly inspirational story about a Native American football team that is as much about football as Lance Armstrong's book was about a bike.If you'd guess that Yale or Harvard ruled the college gridiron in 1911 and 1912, you'd be wrong. The most popular team belonged to an institution called the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. Its story begins with Lt. Col. Richard Henry Pratt, a fierce abolitionist who believed that Native Americans deserved a place in American society. In 1879, Pratt made a treacherous journey to the Dakota Territory to recruit Carlisle's first students. Years later, three students approached Pratt with the notion of forming a football team. Pratt liked the idea, and in less than twenty years the Carlisle football team was defeating their Ivy League opponents and in the process changing the way the game was played.Sally Jenkins gives this story of unlikely champions a breathtaking immediacy. We see the legendary Jim Thorpe kicking a winning field goal, watch an injured Dwight D. Eisenhower limping off the field, and follow the glorious rise of Coach Glenn "Pop" Warner as well as his unexpected fall from grace.The Real All Americans is about the end of a culture and the birth of a game that has thrilled Americans for generations. It is an inspiring reminder of the extraordinary things that can be achieved when we set aside our differences and embrace a common purpose.

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Paul Dickson

The leader of the student uprising of 1968 and founding member of the notorious Weather Underground tells his story — for the first timeIn 1968, Mark Rudd led the legendary occupation of five buildings at Columbia University, a dramatic act of protest against the university's support for the Vietnam War and its institutional racism. Rudd was the charismatic chairman of the Columbia chapter of SDS, Students for a Democratic Society, the largest radical student organization in the United States. After a violent police bust, the Columbia occupation turned into a student strike that closed down the entire campus, turning Rudd into a national symbol of student revolt. Rudd went on to become the cofounder of the Weatherman faction of SDS, which took control of the student organization and helped organize the notorious Days of Rage in Chicago in 1969.But Mark Rudd wanted revolution.Rudd and his friends sought to end war, racism, and injustice — by any means necessary, even violence. After a tragic turn that led to the death of three people, who were killed when the bombs they were making in a Greenwich Village town house exploded, they transformed themselves into the Weather Underground Organization. By the end of 1970, after a string of nonlethal bombings by the organization, Rudd, now one of the FBI's Most Wanted, went into hiding for more than seven years before turning himself in to great media fanfare.In this gripping narrative, Rudd speaks out about this tumultuous period, the role he played in its crucial events, and its aftermath, revealing the drama and tension, as well as the naivete of young activists, fighting in the name of peace and social justice, who believed that their actions mattered."I've spoken and answered questions at scores of colleges, high schools, community centers, and theaters about why my friends and I opted for violent revolution, and how I've changed my thinking and how I haven't, and most of all, about the parallels between then and now," Rudd writes. Powerful and shocking, Underground sheds new light on this controversial time, which still haunts the nation.

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Jerry Bonkowski

"Top NASCAR writer and Sirius NASCAR radio personality Jerry Bonkowski answers the questions that get fans most fired up. Who was the greatest driver of all time? Are crashes good for NASCAR? How will Danica fare? How has money changed the sport? What are the best and worst rules? In Trading Paint, veteran NASCAR writer Jerry Bonkowski gets inside the sport's most contentious issues and gives you fuel for the debates that drive NASCAR lovers around the bend. So the next time you're arguing with your friends over whether NASCAR races should be shorter or whether double-file restarts are good for the sport, read Trading Paint and you'll be ready to argue--and win. Covers 101 NASCAR questions that get fans revved up the most--about rules, drivers, car design, money, and more. Written by NASCAR expert Jerry Bonkowski, on-air personality on Sirius NASCAR Radio and former NASCAR and motorsports columnist for USA Today, ESPN.COM and Yahoo! Sports. Takes a comprehensive look at the sport, from the present and the future of the NASCAR to concerns on and off the track. Whether you're new to NASCAR or a longtime fan, this insider's guide will get you up to speed on controversies and concerns of your favorite sport"--