Other books that might interest you

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  The Drop - How the Most...

  Thad Ziolkowski

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  In this revelatory and original book, award-winning author of the acclaimed surf memoir On a Wave illuminates the connection between waves, addiction, and recovery, exploring what surfing can teach us about the powerful undertow of addictive behaviors and the ways to swim free of them. 
   
  Addiction is arguably the dominant feature of contemporary life: sex, gambling, exercise, eating, shopping, Internet use—there's virtually no pleasurable activity that can't morph into a destructive obsession. For Americans under the age of fifty-five, the leading cause of death is drug overdose. But there is another side of addiction. 
  In some instances, the very activities that can lead to addiction can also lead out of it. As neurologists have recently discovered, surfing is a kind of study in the mechanism of addiction, delivering dopamine to the "pleasure" center of the brain and reshaping priorities and desire in a feedback loop of narrowing focus. Thad Ziolkowski knows this dynamic intimately. A lifelong surfer, he has been surrounded by addiction since his boyhood. In this unique, groundbreaking book, part addiction memoir, part sociological study, part spiritual odyssey, Ziolkowski dismantles the myth of surfing as a radiantly wholesome lifestyle immune to the darker temptations of the culture and discovers among the rubble a new way to understand and ultimately overcome addiction.  
  Combining his own story with insights from scientists, progressive thinkers and the experiences of top surfers and addicts from around the world, Ziolkowski shows how getting on a board and catching a wave is a unique and deeply instructive means of riding out of the darkness and back into the light. Yet while surfing is his salvation, its lessons can applied to other activities that can pull us free from the lethal undertow of addiction and save lives. 

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  Fans Have More Friends

  Ben Valenta, David Sikorjak,...

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  In Fans Have More Friends, sports fans, dads, and data analysts David Sikorjak and Ben Valenta argue that fandom can not only increase our sense of belonging but also serves as a powerful antidote to loneliness because sports fans experience increased social connection. What they didn't realize was how deep that connection was, the potential it carried for individual and societal wellness, or the opportunities it offered for adult friendships, making and keeping friends, and family ties.Their theory is simple: if we want to be less lonely, we need to belong to a community or something greater than ourselves. Over the course of two years, countless in-person interviews and rigorously designed surveys, Ben Valenta and David Sikorjak have the proof that being a fan can lead to: improved social connections; stronger community ties; enhanced well-being; a greater sense of belonging; and more friends.The common thread in all of these personal stories is friendship, community, and belonging—a feeling research can't reveal as well as stories can. Fans Have More Friends will make you think differently about sports and reminds all of us of the essential animating quality of fandom: We're in this together. Sports is not always about what's happening on the field but what's happening in the stands.

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  Standing in a River Waving a Stick

  John Gierach

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  Brilliant, witty, perceptive essays about fly-fishing, the natural world, and life in general by the acknowledged master of fishing writers.With his inimitable combination of wit and wisdom, John Gierach once again celebrates the fly-fishing life in Standing in a River Waving a Stick and notes its benefits as a sport, philosophical pursuit, even therapy: “The solution to any problem—work, love, money, whatever—is to go fishing, and the worse the problem, the longer the trip should be.” After all, fly-fishing does teach important life lessons, says Gierach—about solitude, patience, perspective, humor, and the sublime coffee break.Recounting both memorable fishing spots and memorable fish, Gierach discusses what makes a good fly pattern, the ethics of writing about undiscovered trout waters, the dread of getting skunked, and the camaraderie of fellow fishermen who can end almost any conversation with “Well, it’s sort of like fishing, isn’t it?” Reflecting on a lifetime of lessons learned at the end of a fly rod, Gierach concludes, “The one inscription you don’t want carved on your tombstone is ‘The Poor Son of a Bitch Didn’t Fish Enough.’” Fortunately for Gierach fans, this is not likely to happen.

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  On The Seventh Day: Thirty Years...

  John Green

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  Have you read about the day Eamon Dunphy went for a drink in London with George Best? Or the day Paul Kimmage sat down with Roy Keane in Saipan? Or the story about Paul O'Connell and the Superman tee-shirt? Have you met Hurling Man? Do you know why prop forwards rule the roost in Rugby Hell? Or why a famous goal brought so much misery to the man who scored it? These stories and many more can be found in On The Seventh Day, an anthology of some of the best sports writing published in Ireland over the last thirty years, now released in paperback.
  
  
  There is a literary quality to the best sports writing – a refusal to dumb down. On the Seventh Day showcases some of the best, and features undoubted stars of the genre like Paul Kimmage, Eamon Dunphy and David Walsh. Kimmage's remarkable piece, 'Inside the team that Mick built', which tells the story of Ireland's memorable win over Holland in 2001, opens the book and sets the tone for a stunning collection of articles spanning the years from Euro '88 to the summer of 2018. Featured writers also include Eamonn Sweeney, Joe Brolly, Neil Francis, Colm O'Rourke, Brendan Fanning, Marie Crowe, Anthony Cronin, Dion Fanning, Richard Sadlier, Cliona Foley, Tommy Conlon and Mick Doyle, covering the GAA, soccer, rugby, golf, athletics, horse racing, boxing, snooker and more. On The Seventh Day explores anger, joy, humour, sadness, pity, tragedy, beauty; there are memories, controversies and celebrations; tales of addiction and tales of redemption. Together, the pieces, which are taken from the pages of the Sunday Independent over the last three decades, show how truly great sports writing stands the test of time.

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  You Are an Ironman - How Six...

  Jacques Steinberg

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  As he did so masterfully in his New York Times bestseller The Gatekeepers, Jacques Steinberg creates a compelling portrait of people obsessed with reaching a life-defining goal. In this instance, the target is an Ironman triathlon-a 2.4-mile open-water swim followed by a 112-mile bike ride, then finally a 26-mile marathon run, all of which must be completed in no more than seventeen hours.Steinberg focuses not on the professional who live off the prize money and sponsorships, but on a handful of triathletes who regard the sport as a hobby. Vividly capturing the grueling preparation, the suspense of completing each event of the triathlon, and the spectacular feats of human endurance, Steinberg plumbs the physical and emotional toll as well as the psychological payoff of the participants of the Ford Ironman Arizona 2009. His You Are an Ironman is both a riveting sports narrative and a fascinating, behind-the-scenes study of what makes these athletes keep going.

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  Lost Interview The - Bruce Lee -...

  Bruce Lee

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  Bruce Lee's in-depth interview at The Pierre Berton Show, originally recorded in 1971, just a couple of years before he passed away. The interview was lost and would not be found and aired again until 1994.

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