The Boys of Summer

Summer of '49

David Halberstam · 336 pages

Chronicles the 1949 baseball season, which marked the beginning of the rivalry between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox.

The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics

Daniel James Brown · 416 pages

Daniel James Brown’s robust book tells the story of the University of Washington’s 1936 eight-oar crew and their epic quest for an Olympic gold medal, a team that transformed the sport and grabbed the attention of millions of Americans. The sons of loggers, shipyard workers, and farmers, the boys defeated elite rivals first from eastern and British universities and finally the German crew rowing f

True: The Four Seasons of Jackie Robinson

Kostya Kennedy

True is a probing, richly-detailed, unique biography of Jackie Robinson, one of baseball's—and America's—most significant figures. For players, fans, managers, and executives, Jackie Robinson remains baseball’s singular figure, the person who most profoundly extended, and continues to extend, the reach of the game. Beyond Ruth. Beyond Clemente. Beyond Aaron. Beyond the heroes of today. Now, a half

Michael Jordan: The Life

Roland Lazenby · 708 pages

Traces the life of one of the most legendary basketball players in the history of the sport, drawing upon interviews with Jordan's friends, family, and teammates, and following his career from college to the NBA.

We are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball

Kadir Nelson · 96 pages

Using an "Everyman" player as his narrator, Kadir Nelson tells the story of Negro League baseball from its beginnings in the 1920s through the decline after Jackie Robinson crossed over to the majors in 1947. Illustrations from oil paintings by artist Kadir Nelson.

Secretariat: The Making of a Champion

William Nack · 362 pages

The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game

Michael Lewis · 345 pages

Follows one young man from his impoverished childhood with a crack-addicted mother, through his discovery of the sport of football, to his rise to become one of the most successful, highly-paid players in the NFL.

The Punch: One Night, Two Lives, and the Fight That Changed Basketball Forever

John Feinstein · 375 pages

When a fistfight broke out between the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers one night in 1977, All-Star Rudy Tomjanovich raced to break it up. He was met by Kermit Washington, a good player with a great reputation, and by an astonishingly ferocious punch, a single blow that has reverberated in both men's lives ever since. With his unerring insight into the deeper truths of professional sport

The Greatest: My Own Story

Richard Durham, Muhammad Ali · 424 pages

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

Haruki Murakami · 179 pages

Seabiscuit: An American Legend

Laura Hillenbrand · 453 pages

Retraces the journey of Seabiscuit, a horse with crooked legs and a pathetic tail that made racing history in 1938, thanks to the efforts of a trainer, owner, and jockey who transformed a bottom-level racehorse into a legend.

The Fight

Norman Mailer · 247 pages

In 1974 in Kinshasa, Zaïre, two African American boxers were paid five million dollars apiece to fight each other. One was Muhammad Ali, the aging but irrepressible “professor of boxing.” The other was George Foreman, who was as taciturn as Ali was voluble. Observing them was Norman Mailer, a commentator of unparalleled energy, acumen, and audacity. Whether he is analyzing the fighters’ moves, int

The Soul of Baseball: A Road Trip Through Buck O'Neil's America

Joe Posnanski · 276 pages

Documents the author's cross-country travels at the side of Negro Leagues champion Buck O'Neil, a journey during which the pair sought to recapture their love of the game, remembered O'Neil's history-making career, and explored the numerous challenges that the sport has overcome.

Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig

Jonathan Eig · 432 pages

Andre the Giant: Life and Legend

Box Brown · 240 pages

Drawing from historical records about Andre's life as well as a wealth of anecdotes from his colleagues in the wrestling world, including Hulk Hogan, and his film co-stars (Billy Crystal, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, etc), Brown has created in Andre the Giant, the first substantive biography of one of the twentieth century's most recognizable figures.

It Never Rains in Tiger Stadium: Football and the Game of Life

John Ed Bradley · 294 pages

"The best sports book of the year." - Sports Illustrated"John Ed Bradley says that all he ever wanted to do was to leave behind a pretty piece of writing. Here it is-a wonderful blend of honest introspection, passionate reporting, and superb storytelling. One of the best books I have read in years."- Jeffrey Marx, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Season of LifeInspired by a classic essay about a vis

Fever Pitch

Nick Hornby · 247 pages

In America, it is soccer. But in Great Britain, it is the real football. No pads, no prayers, no prisoners. And that's before the players even take the field. Nick Hornby has been a football fan since the moment he was conceived. Call it predestiny. Or call it preschool. Fever Pitch is his tribute to a lifelong obsession. Part autobiography, part comedy, part incisive analysis of insanity, Horn

Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success

Phil Jackson, Hugh Delehanty · 384 pages

When the Game Was Ours

Larry Bird, Earvin Johnson, Jackie MacMullan · 340 pages

With intimate, fly-on-the-wall detail, "When the Game Was Ours" transports readers to an electric era of basketball and reveals for the first time the inner workings of two players--Larry Bird and Earvin "Magic" Johnson--dead set on besting one another.

Invictus: Nelson Mandela and the Game that made a Nation

John Carlin · 288 pages

Soon to be a major motion picture from Academy Award(r)—winning director Clint Eastwood, starring Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman. After being released from prison and winning South Africa's first free election, Nelson Mandela presided over a country still deeply divided by fifty years of apartheid. His plan was ambitious if not far-fetched: Use the national rugby team, the Springboks-long an embodi

Ball Four

Jim Bouton · 472 pages

Twentieth-anniversary edition of a baseball classic, with a new epilogue by Jim Bouton. When first published in 1970, Ball Four stunned the sports world. The commissioner, executives, and players were shocked. Sportswriters called author Jim Bouton a traitor and "social leper." Baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn tried to force him to declare the book untrue. Fans, however, loved the book. And seriou

The Last Season: A Team In Search of Its Soul

Phil Jackson, Michael Arkush · 304 pages

Their Life's Work: The Brotherhood of the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers, Then and Now

Gary M. Pomerantz · 472 pages

Drawn from personal interviews with the players themselves, a chronicle of the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers, who won an unprecedented and unmatched four Super Bowls in six years.

Pre!

Tom Jordan · 168 pages

For five years, no American runner could beat him at any distance over a mile. But at the age of 24, with his best years still ahead, long-distance runner Steve Prefontaine finally lost. Driving alone at night after a party, Prefontaine crashed his sports car, putting a tragic, shocking end to the life and career of one of the most influential, accomplished runners of our time. From his humble ori