Other books that might interest you

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  The Bill James Guide to Baseball...

  Bill James

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  The man Newsweek once called “the guru of baseball” offers profiles of top managers, sidebars, statistics, and snapshots of each decade.   Widely considered to be one of the greatest minds in the history of the game, Bill James has changed the way we think about the sport of baseball. In this chronicle of field generals, strategists, and occasional cannon fodder, James writes with piercing insight about the men who hold what may be the most important spot in the dugout.   For nearly forty years, James has led the vanguard of how we measure the game. From sabermetrics to his Baseball Abstracts, James has influenced even the casual fan all the way up to the top brass. Somewhere in the middle of that spectrum, however, is the manager, and Bill James has penned a guide on some of the most innovative and renowned men to ever hold that position.   Some of the game’s greatest managers have been Hall of Fame players who put down a bat and picked up a lineup card: Frank Robinson, Mel Ott, Joe Cronin, Tris Speaker, and Rogers Hornsby. Others have achieved greatness from their ability to assemble legendary teams: Billy Martin, Tommy Lasorda, Connie Mack, Joseph McCarthy, Dick Williams, and Leo Durocher. Here, Bill James explores the history of the manager, and its evolution from 1870–1990, in a decade-by-decade chronicle, examining the successes, the failures, and what baseball fans can learn from both.  The Bill James Guide to Baseball Managers is a thought-provoking, entertaining, and seminal guide to a vital part of the national pastime, written by one of its most groundbreaking iconoclasts.   “A delightful collection that will satisfy baseball fans of all ages.” —Library Journal

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  Giants Past & Present

  Dan Fost

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  With a history that straddles two coasts and more than a century of winning, the Giants baseball club stands out as one of the great franchises of professional sports. The 2010 World Series championship—the franchise’s first since moving to San Francisco more than 50 years ago—provided the ultimate high for a team steeped in history and tradition.The Giants organization boasts more Hall of Fame inductees than any other baseball team, as well as 21 National League pennants gathered over nine different decades. From McGraw and Mathewson to Mays and Marichal, Hubbell and Ott to Lincecum and Posey, the Giants have been bringing excitement and drama to the diamond for generations.Giants Past & Present goes around the horn to celebrate the legends at each position on the field—from the little-remembered stars of the nineteenth century to the heroes of tomorrow—and visits the memorable and distinctive ballparks that have housed the team on two ends of the continent. The book presents the players, the dugout and front-office wizards, the voices from the broadcast booth, the hard-luck heroes, and the myriad rites of spring that keep fans coming back year after year.

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  The Masked Saint - Husband...

  Chris Whaley

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  Professional wrestler turned Baptist pastor turned vigilante superhero: A rousing, inspiring novel based on true events and made into an award-winning film.   In the ring, Florida’s Chris Samuel is known as The Gladiator. Until a calling urges him to uproot his wife and two daughters and take up more spiritual challenges in theology. Yet the battles he won as a deathmatch champ are minor compared to those he must overcome at his struggling new church in Fort Worth, Texas: an overbearing congregant, failing attendance, much-needed repairs, and mounting bills. Then he meets Miss Edna, an elderly fan—of God and the Gladiator—who encourages Chris to go back to mat. After all, it could save his church from financial ruin. But when he stumbles upon a brutal fight in a seedy side of town, Chris’s blessed body slamming skills save the night. Donning his mask and tights, the good pastor is determined to take out the bad guys.   Now, as his crime-fighting avenger The Saint makes headlines, Chris must reconcile his fearless secret identity with his real mission in life. And it’ll take his faith, his family and Miss Edna to remind him about grace, goodness and the truth.

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  Land of Tempest - Travels in...

  Eric Shipton

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  Land of Tempest reveals Eric Shipton at his best - writing with enthusiasm and humour about his explorations in Patagonia in the 1950s and 1960s.
  He is an astute observer of nature and the human spirit, and this account of his travels is infused with with his own zest for discovery and the joy of camaraderie. Undaunted by hardship or by injury, Shipton and his team attempt to cross one of the great ice caps in Patagonia. It's impossible not to marvel at his determination, resilience and appetite for travel and adventure, be it climbing snow-clad mountains, or walking in forested foothills. Shipton takes a reader with him on his travels, and the often-inhospitable places he visits are a stark contrast to the warmth of the people he encounters.
  Land of Tempest is essential reading for anyone who loves nature, mountains, climbing, adventure or simply the joy of discovering unknown places.

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  Will to Live - Dispatches from...

  Les Stroud

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  The creator of Survivorman recounts a wide range of wilderness survival stories and shares lessons from them that could save your life. 
   
  In a survival situation, a wrong decision could spell the difference between life and death. 
   
  No one knows this better than Les Stroud, who has survived everywhere from the sun-scorched sands of the Kalahari to the snake-infested jungles of the Amazon. In Will to Live, Les examines many incredible true-life survival stories—explaining what happened and why, and offering valuable perspectives on what went right, what went wrong, and what could have been done differently. The tales in Will to Live include: 
   
  Chris McCandless—the subject of the book and movie Into the Wild. 
   
  Yossi Ghinsberg—who survived alone in the Amazon for twenty-one days. 
   
  Douglas Mawson—the Antarctic “superman” who survived three hellish months at the bottom of the planet. 
   
  Nando Parrado—who was trapped for two months high in the Andes after a plane crash killed his friends and family. 
   
  Plus . . . stories from Les’s own experiences, along with practical sidebars with tips on how to escape quicksand, butcher a moose, cross a snow-covered crevasse, and more. 
   
  Provocative and entertaining, Will to Live is a compilation of history’s most intriguing survival stories from one of the world’s foremost experts. 
   
  “He offers intelligent tips—if you’re traveling somewhere remote, tell people where you’re going, take a well-stocked survival kit, and keep a cool head if you get lost—and he does an excellent job of putting readers into the situations he’s discussing, making us feel the cold or the panic or the sheer desperation.” —Booklist

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  Cruising Guide to New York...

  Chris W. Brown

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  "One of the most complete boating guides to the eastern waterways I have ever seen. . . . a top-notch, well-conceived and wonderfully produced book . . . This one's a winner!" Great Lakes Cruiser No serious boater planning a cruise in the area would want to be without Cruising Guide to New York Waterways and Lake Champlain, written in the same format as Pelican's other famous cruising guides. This firsthand account covers everything from more than 1,000 miles of popular waterways (including Lake Champlain, the Hudson River, the Erie Canal, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario) to less-traveled waters.The Thousand Islands are also explored. The author's personal knowledge perfectly complements the data on the NOAA charts that he suggests for each area. Among the many useful topics covered are Current navigational data Shoreside dining and other attractions Water depths Dozens of invaluable maps Anchorage locales photos, and tables Detailed marina evaluations Intriguing historical profiles.

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