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  The Longest Race - A Lifelong...

  Ed Ayres

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  “It soon becomes clear that this book isn’t just about an athletic race. It’s also about the human race” (Bloomberg Businessweek).   Having run in more than six hundred races over the span of fifty-five years, Ed Ayres is a legendary distance runner—and this book is his urgent exploration of the connection between individual endurance and a sustainable society.  The Longest Race begins in 2001 at the starting line of the JFK 50 Mile—the nation’s oldest and largest ultramarathon and, like other such races, it’s an epic test of human limits and aspiration. At age sixty, his sights set on breaking the age-division record, Ayres embarks on a course over the rocky ridge of the Appalachian Trail, along the headwind-buffeted towpath of the Potomac River, and past momentous Civil War sites such as Harpers Ferry and Antietam.   But even as Ayres focuses on an endurance runner’s familiar concerns—starting strong and setting the right pace, controlling his breathing, overcoming fatigue, and staying mindful of the course ahead—he finds himself as preoccupied with the future of our planet as with the finish line.   A veteran journalist and environmental editor, Ayres reveals how the skills and mindset necessary to complete an ultramarathon are also essential for grappling anew with the imperative to endure—not only as individuals, but as a society—and not just for fifty miles, but over the real long haul, in a unique meditation that “ought to be required reading even for people who have never run a step” (The Boston Globe).   “He seamlessly moves between discussing running to exploring larger life issues such as why we run, our impact on the environment, and the effects of the nation’s declining physical fitness . . . Thought provoking.” ―Booklist   “To read this book is to run alongside a seasoned athlete, a deep thinker, and a great storyteller. And Ayres doesn’t disappoint: He is the best kind of running companion, generously doling out hilarious stories and hard-won insights into performance conditioning and the human condition. His lifetime of ultra-running and environmental writing drive his exploration of what keeps us running long distances―and what it might take to keep the planet from being run into the ground.” ―Nature Conservancy magazine  

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  Roadie - The Misunderstood World...

  Smith Jamie

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  "As an avid cyclist and amateur bike racer I feel like I can relate to every word in this book. It was so good that I bought two extra copies to give to my cyclist friends[.]"Veteran race announcer and long-time cycling enthusiast Jamie Smith sets out to explain the sport he loves and the roadies who live for it. Every seemingly neurotic tendency is explained and celebrated with humorous illustrations from nationally syndicated cartoonist Jef Mallett.This book is perfect for: Anyone who has ever known a roadieAnyone who has considered becoming a roadieAnyone who has walked away from a bike race completely puzzledFinally, a book to explain those people who roll out for a ride dressed in technicolored Lycra at the crack of dawn on Saturday, and return at sundown with a glow of satisfaction and even stronger tan lines. Whether interested onlooker or cycling aficionado, readers will find themselves laughing out loud as they revel in the roadie’s world.

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  Summer of '49

  David Halberstam

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  This #1 bestselling baseball classic of the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry is “dazzling . . . heart-stopping . . . A celebration of a vanished heroic age” (The New York Times Book Review). The summer of 1949: It was baseball’s Golden Age and the year Joe DiMaggio’s New York Yankees were locked in a soon-to-be classic battle with Ted Williams’s Boston Red Sox for the American League pennant. As postwar America looked for a unifying moment, the greatest players in baseball history brought their rivalry to the field, captivating the American public through the heart-pounding final moments of the season. This expansive story captures an era, incorporating profiles of the players and their families, fans, broadcasters, baseball executives, and sportswriters. Riveting in its blend of powerful detail and exhilarating narrative, The Summer of ’49 is Pulitzer Prize winner David Halberstam’s engrossing look at not only a sports rivalry, but a time when America’s very identity was wrapped up in its beloved national game. This ebook features an extended biography of David Halberstam.

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  The Comeback Quotient - A...

  Matt Fitzgerald

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  Every sports fan loves a great comeback. Is there a special quality shared by top athletes who triumph over great challenges? And can anyone acquire it? In The Comeback Quotient, celebrated sports writer Matt Fitzgerald supplies the answer to both questions. He identifies these mega-achievers of astounding athletic comebacks as "ultrarealists," men and women who succeed where others fail by fully accepting, embracing, and addressing the reality of their situations. From ultrarunners like Rob Krar to triathletes like Mirinda Carfrae to rowers, skiers, cyclists, and runners all over the world, Fitzgerald highlights and speculates on just what makes these comebacks so compelling. As for whether anyone can stage his or her own great comeback, the answer is a resounding yes: Anyone can become an ultrarealist to some degree. In the tradition of his bestselling How Bad Do You Want It?, The Comeback Quotient combines gripping sports stories with mind-blowing science to deliver a book that will forever change how you perceive the challenges you face, giving you the inspiration and the tools to make the next great comeback you witness your own.

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  Personal Foul - Coach Joe Moore...

  Richard Lieberman

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  “Lieberman reveals a storied football program rife with ethical problems in the hiring of its coaches and the treatment of some of the players themselves.” —Library Journal   It was bad enough when popular offensive line coach Joe Moore sued the University of Notre Dame for age discrimination—but matters got much worse when the lawsuit uncovered disquieting evidence of unethical and inappropriate conduct in a football program widely regarded as a model of probity. This is the dramatic story of that explosive lawsuit, which tarnished Notre Dame’s burnished football image.   This riveting account begins in November 1996, when Bob Davie is hired as head coach to replace the beloved Lou Holtz. In one of his first, and most fateful, executive decisions, Davie fires sixty-four-year-old Joe Moore because—as Davie puts it—he needs someone younger for the job. Attorney Rick Lieberman takes on Joe Moore’s case and in this absorbing book he describes the trial and the enormous tensions to which litigants like Joe Moore are subject. This is a David and Goliath story in which the Notre Dame attorneys attempt to destroy Joe Moore’s reputation as both a coach and a man. In the process, Davie’s own background comes under close scrutiny as a reporter’s investigation reveals some damning evidence. And as the trial proceeds, Notre Dame’s football program is shown to be rife with legal improprieties and inappropriate behavior involving both coaches and administrators.   Anyone interested in sports, in the law, in stories of blatant injustice—and in Notre Dame—will find Personal Foul a fascinating, revealing and memorable read.  “A testament to the seedy side of big-money college sports.” —Booklist

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  The Big Red Road To The Rose...

  Brian Manthey

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  The Big Red Road To The Rose Bowl:  The 1993-94 University of Wisconsin Rose Bowl-Winning Football Season. On New Year's Day 1963, the Wisconsin Badgers played in one of the most exciting Rose Bow games ever, overcoming a 28-point deficit only to fall short against Southern Cal 42-37.  Much to the disappointment of Badger players, fans and alumni since that season the Wisconsin program has been absent from the Pasadena Classic.  However, that drought came to an abrupt end. Welcome to the 1993-1994 University of Wisconsin football season.  A season which once again places Badger football among the elite college programs!

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