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  Passage to Juneau - A Sea and...

  Jonathan Raban

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  Acclaimed travel writer Jonathan Raban invites us aboard his boat, a floating cottage cluttered with books, curling manuscripts, and dead ballpoint pens.Jonathan Raban is about to sail alone from Seattle to the Alaskan Panhandle, following an ancient sea route rich in history, riddles, and whirlpools. It's the perfect setting for Raban's prodigious intellect, eloquence, and eye for detail.Passage to Juneau is not a travel thriller; the trip is hazardous, but that's not the point. Instead, Raban takes us on a journey of contemplation, literature, lore, mythology, and science. We learn about the canoe culture of the Northwest Indians; the British ship Discovery, which traveled the same route in 1792; and the physics of waves and turbulence, to name just a few of his far-ranging topics. And, as Raban finds himself in ominously personal waters (his father's illness, his own marriage, the daughter he left behind) it's also a journey of the heart.

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  Winning in Reverse - Defying the...

  Bill Lester, Jonathan Ingram

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  NASCAR has traditionally been a southern white man’s sport, but it was knocked off its axis when Bill Lester entered the playing field. He had not grown up in the sport as so many other drivers had. Instead, he enjoyed racing as a side hobby while he worked as an engineer at Hewlett-Packard. Then, at age forty, while standing on the brink of peril or promise, he quit his job to pursue racing full time. Blessed with natural talent, Bill still had a trifecta of odds against him: he was black, he was middle aged, and he wasn’t a southerner. In other words, he was not the quintessential “good old boy” that NASCAR was used to seeing, and many fans did not hide their contempt for him. But Bill rose above it all, as did his rankings, and he made history time and time again, becoming the first African American to race in NASCAR’s Busch Series, the first to participate in the Nextel Cup, and the first to win a Pole Position start in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. In Winning in Reverse, Bill reveals how he came to love working on muscle cars as a child, pursued amateur racing, and then finally transitioned to the pros. Listeners will be inspired by his inspirational and encouraging voice and the conviction that fills each page. Whether you’re contemplating a career or lifestyle change, challenging social norms, or struggling against prejudice or bigotry, Winning in Reverse is a story for everyone who roots for perseverance in the face of adversity.

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  Traveling Tennessee - A Complete...

  Vernon Summerlin, Cathy Summerlin

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  A complete tour guide to the Volunteer State from the highlands of the Smoky Mountains to the banks of the Mississippi River. 
   
  Tennessee is a state of endless diversity. It boasts breath-taking scenery, the homes of three presidents, and the birthplace of legendary frontiersman Davy Crockett. It is the birthplace of the blues and the home of the King of rock ‘n’ roll. It offers a wealth of opportunities for hiking, canoeing, fishing, and wildlife viewing in state and national parks, recreation areas, and forests. From mountain highroads to delta lands, this comprehensive guide invites you to the best of Tennessee’s bed and breakfasts, museums, historic sites, restaurants, antique shops, and such attractions as:The Great Smoky Mountains National ParkThe National Storytelling Festival in JonesboroughThe South’s favorite outlet shopping in Pigeon ForgeCoker Creek, the site of Tennessee’s gold rushWorld-class whitewater rafting on the Obed and Ocoee RiversThe Big South Fork National River and Recreation AreaThe Chattanooga Choo Choo and the Tennessee State AquariumCivil War battlefields like Stones River and ShilohThe Jack Daniel Distillery in LynchburgThe Natchez Trace ParkwayMusical venues from the Grand Ole Opry to Beale StreetThe largest Middle Woodland Indian Mound in the southeastA half-mile-long reproduction of the Mississippi River 
   
  Traveling Tennessee does more than get you where you want to go. It also educates you about the state’s heritage, excites you about its vacation possibilities, and entertains you with accounts of the authors’ own experiences.

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  A Champion Cyclist Against the...

  Alberto Toscano

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  The true story of the Tour de France winner who cycled all over Mussolini’s Italy in a secret quest to rescue hundreds of Jewish lives. 
   
  Cyclist Gino Bartali won the Giro d'Italia (Tour of Italy) three times and the Tour de France twice. But these weren’t his only achievements.  
   
  Deeply religious, Bartali quietly agreed during the dark years of fascist rule to work with the Resistance and pass messages and papers from one end of the country to the other. Despite the dangers, Bartali used his training as a pretext to criss-cross Italy, hiding documents in the handlebars and saddle of his bicycle, hoping each time he was searched that they wouldn’t think to disassemble his machine.  
   
  As a result of his bravery, eight hundred Jews—including numerous children—were saved from deportation. In this book, Alberto Toscano shares the incredible story of this great sportsman, recognized as one of the “Righteous Among the Nations” by Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem Memorial after his death in Florence in 2000, and recounts a story of humble heroism, real-life suspense, and twentieth-century European history. 
   
  “An informative testament to the kinds of risks and sacrifices [of] the anti-Nazis in Mussolini’s Italy during World War II . . . an extraordinary story of an extraordinary man in extraordinary times.” —Midwest Book Review

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  The Glory Game - How the 1958...

  Frank Gifford, Peter Richmond

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  “Frank Gifford brings the contest so alive that you find yourself almost wondering, 50 years later, how it will turn out in the end.”—New York Times Book ReviewThe Glory Game recreates in breathtaking detail the 1958 National Football League Championship Game between the New York Giants and the Baltimore Colts, which many football fans feel was “The Greatest Game Ever Played.” This first-hand, field level, “behind-the-helmet” account by ex-Giant Hall of Famer and longtime “Monday Night Football” broadcaster Frank Gifford brings back to life all the sights and sounds of the momentous contest that changed football forever, and offers vivid, indelible portraits of the legendary players—including Sam Huff, Andy Robustelli, Art Donovan, Lenny Moore, and Raymond Berry. The Giants-Colts clash of ’58 was truly The Glory Game—and now readers can relive it in all its glory.

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  Red Rose Crew - A True Story Of...

  Daniel J. Boyne

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  In 1975, a group of amazing women rowed their way to international success and glory, battling sexual prejudice, bureaucracy, and male domination in one of the most grueling and competitive sports around. Among the members of the first international women's crew team — and one of the first women's teams anywhere — were Gail Pearson, the soft-spoken MIT professor who fought equally hard off the water to win the political battles neccessary for her team to succeed; lead rower Carie Graves, a statuesque bohemian from rural Wisconsin who dropped out of college and later became the most intense rower of the crew; and Lynn Stillman, a tiny sixteen-year-old coxswain from California.On hand to guide them was Harry Parker, the legendary Harvard men's crew coach who overcame his doubts about the ability of women to withstand the rigors of hard training. From their first dramatic bid at the 1975 World Championships to their preparations for their first Olympic Games in 1976, this gripping story of bravery, determination, and indomitable spirit captures a compelling moment in the history of sports and of America.Foreword by David Halberstam.

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