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Sports biography, European travel and geography, Sports and games
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Discover how a young boy born in Portugal with a passion for soccer worked hard to become one of the…
most famous athletes of all time in this exciting addition to the Who HQ Now series that features newsmakers and trending topics.When he was just twelve years old, Cristiano Ronaldo was recruited to play professional soccer for a team in Portugal, 600 miles from his home on the island of Madeira, a region of Portugal. For the next twenty-five years, Cristiano would prove to the world that he is one of the greatest to ever play the game. Author James Buckley Jr. takes readers through each exciting moment--from his first championship with Manchester United to each of his five Ballon D'or award-winning seasons.He has spent his career playing for teams in Portugal, England, Spain, and Italy. And he is the first player with league championships in England, Spain, and Italy. Outside the world of soccer, Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the most famous people in the world - a true international superstar.Look for more Who HQ titles: Who Is Pelé?What Is the World Cup?Who Is David Beckham?Who Is Megan Rapinoe?
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Sports biography, Travel and geography, Sports and games
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Read all about Argentinian soccer superstar Lionel Messi and his legendary career in this book from Who HQ Now, the…
series featuring the trending topics and news makers of today.Lionel Messi loved soccer from an early age, often playing with his family members with encouragement from his grandmother. Now, he is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time! He is also one of the most decorated footballers in the world--having won 44 collective trophies, including seven Ballon d'Or awards, 2009 FIFA World Player of the Year, 2019 and 2022 Best FIFA Men's Player, and more. From making his first team debut at just sixteen years old in 2003 to breaking numerous longstanding records in 2012, to helping Argentina win the 2022 World Cup, Messi continues to wow fans with his finesse of the soccer ball. However, Lionel Messi stays true to his roots, never forgetting a small tribute to his grandmother each time he scores a goal by looking up and pointing to the sky. Learn about Lionel's epic career and his lifelong love for soccer in this illustrated biography for young readers.
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Journals and memoirs, Sports biography, Sports and games
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An authentically honest and self-reflective promise of how a life lived with purpose and passion can yield greatness. &“The gates…
to brilliance are surrounded by a cloud of sweat and tears.&” That is what Olympic dressage rider and coach Robert Dover&’s mentor, the revered Swedish equestrian Colonel Bengt Ljungquist, told him. It is a lesson that stuck—only with great passion and determination can one achieve success, and just maybe, happiness, too. In a fascinating book that reads like a potent elixir, three parts memoir and one part inspirational self-improvement guide, readers are ushered through 15 &“gates to brilliance&”—keys that Dover discovered as he made his way through his own life, from gawky, horse-crazy child to influential Olympic coach and entrepreneur. Sharing deeply personal stories that were fundamental to his evolution, Dover is candid about the path he took on his way to becoming one of the most successful equestrians in the world. Readers learn about abuse he suffered as a child, and his formative years as the only Jewish kid on Grand Bahama Island. He writes frankly about his father&’s alcoholism, his parents&’ divorce, and his unwavering devotion to his mother. The book delves into his fear of coming out, explores love and loss, and examines the perfectionist tendencies that have at times held Dover back, while at others, have helped him rise to all new heights. In addition, readers hear stories from the barns, arenas, and show grounds where Dover built his career, from his days as a wild Pony Clubber to his struggles in Germany under the tutelage of some of Europe&’s great riding masters. We meet the horses and people he partnered with along the way as he offers a glimpse behind the curtain at the pomp and politics of international equestrian competition. Throughout, Dover&’s dedication to self-betterment and belief in living a life with purpose stands front and center, softened by his humor and willingness to cast a critical eye on himself. With countless moments of searing honesty bound to fundamental life lessons from which he hopes we can all learn, Dover assures us the road to success is there for the taking. The ultimate goal, though, is to emerge on the other side of whatever comes next a brighter, more compassionate, happier person—that is brilliance.
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Sports biography, Sports and games
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Regardless of discipline, level of expertise, training philosophy, body shape, or fitness level, all riders do better—in horse-related activities both…
on the ground and in the saddle—when they take care of their bodies and maintain their fitness in ways other than just riding. While riding is a great way to enjoy an active lifestyle, on its own it is not enough to condition and tone the body to the degree we need, and then the horse must make up the fitness gap in our physical partnership. If our reflexes are slow, if our bodies fatigue, if our position collapses, if tension patterns appear, then the horse suffers repetitive asymmetrical strain or develops compensatory movement habits. It is for his good, as well as ours, that certified personal trainer and riding coach Heather Sansom has developed an utterly achievable 9-week plan to give every rider the straightness, suppleness, strength, and stamina she needs to ride her best. With hundreds of one-of-a-kind illustrations depicting accurate musculature on the rider's body, and dozens of proven exercises organized in a progressive fitness program with easy-to-use schedule charts, Sansom's book is the key to enjoying the ride, being fair to your horse, and getting into fabulous shape—in just a couple of months.
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Sports biography, Animals and wildlife, Sports and games
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How a Grand Prix dressage rider competed at the highest level before finding her way to liberty work, and the…
extraordinary lessons that molded her perceptions, understandings, and feelings along the way.“In my eyes,” says former French international dressage competitor Alizée Froment, “dressage is the journey to perfect communication and absolute harmony between horse and rider.” Her own journey began on the backs of Shetland ponies under the watchful eyes of her mother and then found its way into jumping competitions, and later on, dressage arenas. Along the way, many horses entered and exited her life, each bringing with them a depth of personality that steadily built her understanding of the relationship a rider can build with an equine partner.In her deeply personal and strikingly beautiful book, Froment traces her evolution as a horsewoman, a dressage competitor, and now a world-renowned performer and trainer of liberty horses—horses that perform free of anything on their bodies. Readers meet the ponies she learned on, and the challenging mounts that helped her grow as a junior rider. There were horses she immediately loved and horses she had to work to connect with—and eventually there were Mistral and Sultan, who she calls her “yin and yang,” and who elevated her aspirations both beside and on the back of a horse. It is with these two special souls that Froment further explored riding the Grand Prix movements with only a neck rope—no bridle or bit, and often bareback as well—and demonstrating to the world the potential that is there for all riders to enjoy, if they are open to the experience and are willing to take the time for it to evolve.Readers will be entranced by Froment’s willingness to bare her soul, powerfully articulating her feelings when confronted with jealousy, with performance expectations, with the possibility of losing the horse she loved to an unknown buyer, with retiring a beloved partner, and with the changing circumstances and altered allegiances of her heart when her daughter Louise is born. As tender as a story about riding, competing, and performing with horses at the highest levels can be, The Horses Who Made Me is first a story of one woman’s personal journey, eternally questioning herself, and second, an inspiration for anyone who is forever striving for a better way of training horses, because of the profound beauty you just might find.
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Sports biography, Animals and wildlife, Sports and games
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If there is one name in the American equestrian story that everyone knows, it is George Morris.A horse lover, rider,…
carouser, competitor, taskmaster, dreamer, teacher, and visionary, George Morris has been ever-present on the rarified stage of the international riding elite for most of the 70 years he's been in the saddle. He has represented our country as an athlete and a coach and, at one time or another, instructed many of our nation's best horsemen and women. His carefully chosen, perfectly enunciated words are notoriously powerful. They can raise you up or cut you to the quick. His approval can be a rainmaker; his derision can end a career.But as much as people know and respect (or, perhaps, fear) the public face of George Morris, he has lived, in other ways, a remarkably private life, keeping his own personal struggles with insecurity, with ambition, and with love behind closed doors. It is only now that he has chosen, in his own words, to share the totality of his life—the very public and the incredibly private—with the world. This engrossing autobiography, the real story of the godlike George Morris, beautifully demonstrates his ultimate humanity.
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Sports biography, Sports and games
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Dave Hahn, a local of Taos, New Mexico, is a legendary figure in mountaineering. Elite members of the climbing community…
have likened him to the Michael Jordan, Cal Ripken, or Michael Phelps of the climbing world. The 2015 expedition he would lead came just one short year after the notorious Khumbu Icefall avalanche claimed the lives of sixteen Sherpas. Dave and his team—Sherpa sirdar Chhering Dorjee, assistant guide JJ Justman, base-camp manager Mark Tucker, and the eight clients who had trained for the privilege to attempt to summit with Dave Hahn spent weeks honing the techniques that would help keep them alive through the Icefall and the Death Zone. None of this could have prepared them for the earthquake that shook Everest and all of their lives on the morning of April 25, 2015. Shook tells their story of resilience, nerve, and survival on the deadliest day on Everest.
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Sports biography, Animals and wildlife, Sports and games
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A rare insider's look at the life of a professional sportsman as he tries to reconcile the passion that drives…
him with livelihood, family, and aging.Known for his wit, irreverence, and whip-smart observations on equestrian sport and its participants, three-time Olympian Jim Wofford's writing is as legendary as his performances in the saddle. Now he again brings his immense talent for telling tales—all of them (mostly) true—to the page in his autobiography.Growing up on a Kansas farm that shared a border with Fort Riley, home to the U.S. Cavalry School from 1887 to 1949, and the son of a sporting Army-man who rode in uniform in the 1932 Olympics, Wofford shares his wholly unique perspective on horsemanship and the history of equestrian competition in the United States. We track his ascendancy from one-room schoolhouse, to Culver Military Academy, to the United States Equestrian Team headquarters in Gladstone, New Jersey, during its heyday. Along the way, Wofford introduces some of history's great horses and the people who loved them as he strives to reach the top of the international eventing scene. Fascinating stories from his many adventures around the world contribute to this honest, funny, poignant read certain to entertain and educate every horse person.
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Sports biography, Animals and wildlife, Sports and games
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Lessons on how to tap the true potential in every horse from one of the world's leading female trainers.For six…
decades, Lynn Palm has been a mainstay of the horse training, showing, and clinicing industry. Her successes in diversity in training and the development of willingness and ability across disciplines are unparalleled. She has four Superhorse Titles—a prize awarded to a horse that demonstrates a broad skillset and proficiency in multiple sports. In these pages, Lynn shares the eight keys to her success in training and competing, and how you, too—whether you're eventing or ranch riding—can shape a horse with a good attitude, correct movement, healthy biomechanics, and top-notch conditioning. A &“Superhorse&” will take you farther for longer, and you'll enjoy every minute of it.Readers will learn how:Not all knowledge is good knowledge, and which knowledge is best.Groundwork in the form of in-hand, longeing, liberty work, long-lining, and trick training is integral to attaining training goalsTo incorporate longevity training with progressive lessons that have the &“long game&” in mindThe rider's ability directly impacts the horse'sA competitive edge serves both the recreational rider and the one who showsTo overcome the inevitable challenges when training a horse and facing questions of persistence versus suitabilityWe need to do better for the horse in equestrian sport&“Giving back&” to the industry provides a foundation for Superhorses for generations to comeWith a rich mix of stories curated from years of horse adventures, practical ideas you can put to work in your own arena, and exercises to incorporate in your daily practice,Finding Your Superhorseis the rare inspiring read that teaches. Throughout, Lynn's warmth of character and intense commitment to horses, horse people, and improving the industry that has given her a life and a livelihood shine through, guiding us all toward what's possible and the &“super&” in every horse.
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Sports biography, Animals and wildlife, Sports and games
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German Olympian Isabell Werth is one of the most successful horsewomen in the world. With six Olympic gold medals and…
scores of championship titles to her name, there are few her equal on paper. But an equestrian&’s success is wholly dependent on the relationship she has with her athletic partner—her horse—and Werth&’s astounding accomplishments would not have been possible without her unique approach to working with the animals she&’s loved since childhood. Even as a little girl, growing up on a farm on the Lower Rhine, it was clear that Werth possessed an extraordinary gift for empathizing with horses and foreseeing how they were likely to react in certain situations. This insight gave her a special ability as a rider and trainer. Here, Werth collaborates with accomplished sports journalist Evi Simeoni—someone who has witnessed and written about her career from the very beginning—to tell her life story. Readers will get the inside scoop when it comes to Werth&’s accomplishments—and her failures, too. They&’ll hear her personal thoughts regarding some of the biggest controversies to rock the dressage world: Rollkur and Totilas. Perhaps most importantly, they&’ll learn about each of the sensitive and talented horses that has impacted Werth&’s life, including Gigolo, Satchmo, and Bella Rose. For you see, there is a meme that is popular in the riding community that says, &“Two legs move our body, four legs move our soul.&” And it is this sentiment that Werth feels perhaps best defines her.
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Sports biography, Animals and wildlife, Sports and games
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In 2008, 26–year–old Tik Maynard faced a crossroads not unlike that of other young adults. A university graduate and modern…
pentathlete, he suffered both a career–ending injury and a painful breakup, leaving him suddenly adrift. The son of prominent Canadian equestrians, Maynard decided to spend the next year as a &“working student.&” In the horse industry, working students aspire to become professional riders or trainers, and willingly trade labor for hands–on education. Here Maynard chronicles his experiences–good and bad–and we follow along as one year becomes three, what began as a casual adventure gradually transforms, and a life's purpose comes sharply into focus.Over time, Maynard evolved under the critical eyes of Olympians, medal winners, and world–renowned figures in the horse world, including Anne Kursinski, Johann Hinnemann, Ingrid Klimke, David and Karen O'Connor, Bruce Logan, and Ian Millar. He was ignored, degraded, encouraged, and praised. He was hired and fired, told he had the &“wrong body type to ride&” and that he had found his &“destiny.&” He got married and lost loved ones. Through it all he studied the horse, and human nature, and how the two can find balance. And in that journey, he may have found himself.
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Sports biography, Sports and games
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A delightfully entertaining journey following the lifelong development of a devoted horseman, and the opportunities and challenges native to such…
a pursuit in different parts of the world.It was at the age of thirteen that Gunnar Ostergaard wrote in his journal, &“Is there anything more beautiful than horses?&” The rhetorical question would come to guide his every step as he sought a way to build a life around that which he loved most. What transpired was a journey through three lands and cultures, each providing a different window into the body and mind of the horse and the heart and soul of the horseman. In these pages he traces his path from Denmark to Germany to the United States, providing a glimpse into the world of rider development in three vastly different places, as well as a rare peek behind the curtain of top international dressage training and competition. Throughout, Gunnar is funny and frank, generously sharing both his struggles and successes. The result is a highly entertaining history lesson that is at the same time rich in equestrian philosophy readers can immediately apply to their own riding lives.
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Sports biography, Sports and games
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From well-known journalist and rugby author Jamie Wall, this fully illustrated book showcases the top 15 players in an all-time…
All Blacks lineup and makes an ideal Father's Day gift. Released in anticipation of the 2025 Bledisloe Cup between Australia and New Zealand, this collection features key statistics and close to 100 historical images that highlight the power, strength, and success of legendary players such as Jonah Lomu, Richie McCaw, Dan Carter and Zinzan Brooke.Enthusiasts endlessly debate who the best New Zealand rugby players are across different eras. Respected rugby writer Jamie Wall weighs in with his Immortal All Blacks team. The Immortals of New Zealand Rugby celebrates the greatest players to wear the legendary silver fern-adorned jersey. It takes the Immortals concept made famous elsewhere in the sporting world and applies it to the 15-player game. Wall chooses his XV Immortals, telling the remarkable stories behind pioneering and modern-day players including World War I veteran Maurice Brownlie, Samuel Whitelock and Ma'a Nonu. Each player is profiled in a dedicated chapter including career statistics and multiple action images, and an honourable mentions chapter includes players who just missed out on Immortals status.
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Journals and memoirs, Sports biography, Sports and games
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An extraordinary follow-up to the bestselling memoirIn the Middle Are the Horsemen.He thought he had it made. Dream farm. Amazing…
wife. Wonderful kids. Clear and present purpose.Horses.But then he began to wonder if he was doing it all right enough…if maybe he&’d been doing it for long enough. He began to wonder ifitwas right at all.When midlife appeared before horseman Tik Maynard, he had plenty of past adventures to cite and no shortage of future possibilities. But his own questions about his life as a horse trainer and equestrian competitor began to overwhelm the joy of all he had accomplished and discovered. It suddenly became imperative that he reconsider his path and open himself to alternatives—and a course that might drastically differ from what he&’d always thought he wanted.When an invitation to participate in Road to the Horse, the World Championship of Colt Starting, was offered, Maynard immediately saw an opportunity to learn, to expand his world beyond what in some ways felt too &“complete,&” to reboot the passion that had always driven him. And so he took a chance on himself and an unknown, unbroken colt, and said, &“I&’ll do it.&”In these deep, considered, and painstakingly articulated pages, Maynard chronicles a year of reading, traveling, asking questions, and trying new things, as he, supported by family and friends, threw himself into the preparation he knew he needed to have 265 minutes in front of a live audience be something positive for both him and a horse he did not yet know. The reader travels along as Maynard meets some of the leading figures in the world of animal behavior and training, examining the ways humans can successfully communicate with other species from a multitude of entry points, both &“traditional&” and &“out of the box.&” With dialogue that sweeps you into each fascinating expert&’s space and time, he shares his struggles with the philosophical and ethical side of his life&’s pursuit, and thoughtfully illustrates the conversations that helped him construct a system of beliefs and understanding that supported his natural abilities and lifetime in the saddle, while at the same time challenging everything he thought he already knew. Readers are offered the opportunity to grow alongside Maynard, not only as horse lovers, but as people, as he tries and tests and fails and finds—and eventually, chooses which direction to take in the second half of his life.With a diligence and intelligence that is unique to the genre of &“books about horses&” and extends well beyond the barn to the broader questions faced by the human race, Maynard has again given us a unfailingly honest telling of one life and the pursuit of fulfilling it.Starting in the Middleis for anyone wondering &“what&’s next&” and trying to be brave enough to go out and look for it.
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Sports biography, Animals and wildlife, Sports and games
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With an astounding eighteen medals in eight international championships and team gold medals at the Olympic Games in 1976 and…
1984, Jack Le Goff created the standard by which modern–day equestrian teams are measured. But Le Goff's techniques could be unforgiving–tough, brutal, and abrasive–earning him critics as well as converts. In this, his autobiography, Le Goff tells the whole story, from impoverished beginnings in Morocco, to the tragic death of his father, to his successes as a competitive equestrian. Readers will enjoy a behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of high–level international equestrian sport, as well as an entire section devoted to Le Goff's much admired and extremely successful training philosophy.
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Sports biography, Baseball
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Ron Luciano was a college football star, baseball umpire, TV broadcaster, and best-selling author. He barged through the world with…
an outsized personality, entertaining many, offending a few, and hiding behind a cheerful and outrageous persona until life somehow proved unbearable. Everyone knew him, but nobody really did. Once an All-American tackle at Syracuse University, Luciano turned to umpiring after an injury derailed his professional football career, and he quickly moved up the Minor League ladder to reach the Majors in 1969. As a big, likable loser—Oliver Hardy in blue—he became a fan favorite in the American League, &“shooting&” runners with his forefinger, conducting a legendary feud with Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver, and entertaining writers with outlandish baseball stories—some of which were even true. Even as he added years to his umpiring career and was considered among the game&’s best, some players and managers thought his showmanship detracted from his abilities. He later became a baseball color analyst on national TV before coauthoring a series of rollicking best-selling sports books. Away from the game, he loved Shakespeare and birdwatching. But his upbeat public face was at odds with his private struggle with depression. His suicide at age fifty-seven shocked and puzzled friends, fans, and readers alike. In Big Loosh Jim Leeke recounts Luciano&’s unlikely career, detailing his life as athlete, arbiter, sportscaster, writer, and mythmaker while separating fact from fiction amid the fanciful stories he loved to spin. As a friend said of Luciano, &“If you didn&’t like this man, you didn&’t like people.&”
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Biography, Journals and memoirs, Sports biography, Sports and games
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A Radio Hall of Famer and sneaker culture icon, Bobbito García is also a basketball sage who chronicles his unlikely…
experiences in and around the game as a Latino raised on hip-hop. BASKETBALL ON NEW YORK CITY’S 700+ OUTDOOR COURTS was bubbling during the seventies and eighties and coincided with the birth of hip-hop and sneaker culture. Bobbito García came of age during this era and caught an uncontrollable fever to be a ballplayer, witnessing firsthand the gumbo of sports, music, and fashion in the local parks. The game influenced his style, language, movement, creative thought, and, in a personal manner, his well-being. He couldn’t go anywhere without a ball in his hand, practice shorts under his pants, and kicks on his feet, ready for action at any point, any day (including his first job interview). In the 1990s, Bobbito became a world-famous hip-hop radio host as well as the progenitor of sneaker journalism, but his world never stopped revolving around living and breathing at every local court he could find. Simultaneously, the outdoor basketball aesthetic emerged as a force in the sports/entertainment/footwear industry, a catalyst to market authenticity when a brand wanted to garner street credibility. Bobbito stood firmly at this cross section of subcultures, not only as a historian, photographer, writer, filmmaker, and active participant, but as a curator of the shift itself. Advertising legend John Jay, former global creative director at Wieden+Kennedy, called García his “cultural DJ” after they collaborated on Nike’s groundbreaking “NYC City Attack” ad campaign. The lifestyle of the park pickup player, now exposed, went on to impact the world, and the ripple effect could even be seen on the hardwood floors of the NBA. In 2013, the New York Times referred to Bobbito as “an ardent ambassador for New York City street basketball.” This book is an intimate view into his life as a ballplayer, announcer, and performer. It doubles as a profound document for the unspoken folklore and history of the outdoor game, while speaking volumes to the roots of García’s favorite pastime—putting up jumpers and getting busy with the rock in his hands. In his words: Basketball is a religion. The park is my church . . .
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Sports biography, Animals and wildlife, Adventure and exploration
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Every year on January 1, a quirky crowd of adventurers storms out across North America for a spectacularly competitive event…
called a Big Year -- a grand, grueling, expensive, and occasionally vicious, "extreme" 365-day marathon of birdwatching. For three men in particular, 1998 would be a whirlwind, a winner-takes-nothing battle for a new North American birding record. In frenetic pilgrimages for once-in-a-lifetime rarities that can make or break their lead, the birders race each other from Del Rio, Texas, in search of the rufous-capped warbler, to Gibsons, British Columbia, on a quest for Xantus's hummingbird, to Cape May, New Jersey, seeking the offshore great skua. Bouncing from coast to coast on their potholed road to glory, they brave broiling deserts, roiling oceans, bug-infested swamps, a charge by a disgruntled mountain lion, and some of the lumpiest motel mattresses known to man. The unprecedented year of beat-the-clock adventures ultimately leads one man to a new record -- one so gigantic that it is unlikely ever to be bested...finding and identifying an extraordinary 745 different species by official year-end count. Prize-winning journalist Mark Obmascik creates a rollicking, dazzling narrative of the 275,000-mile odyssey of these three obsessives as they fight to the finish to claim the title in the greatest -- or maybe the worst -- birding contest of all time. With an engaging, unflappably wry humor, Obmascik memorializes their wild and crazy exploits and, along the way, interweaves an entertaining smattering of science about birds and their own strange behavior with a brief history of other bird-men and -women; turns out even Audubon pushed himself beyond the brink when he was chasing and painting the birds of America. A captivating tour of human and avian nature, passion and paranoia, honor and deceit, fear and loathing, The Big Year shows the lengths to which people will go to pursue their dreams, to conquer and categorize -- no matter how low the stakes. This is a lark of a read for anyone with birds on the brain -- or not.
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Sports biography, Women biography, Health and medicine, Sports and games
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In unflinchingly honest prose, Sugar Rodgers shares her inspiring story of overcoming tremendous odds to become an all-star in the…
WNBA.“An inherently compelling memoir . . . A simply fascinating and ultimately inspiring story.” —Midwest Book Review“Rodgers pulls no punches in this raw, emotional rags-to-riches memoir.” —Publishers WeeklyGrowing up in dire poverty in Suffolk, Virginia, Sugar (born Ta’Shauna) Rodgers never imagined that she would become an all-star player in the WNBA (Women’s National Basketball Association). Both of her siblings were in and out of prison throughout much of her childhood and shootings in her neighborhood were commonplace. For Sugar this was just a fact of life.While academics wasn’t a high priority for Sugar and many of her friends, athletics always played a prominent role. She mastered her three-point shot on a net her brother put up just outside their home, eventually becoming so good that she could hustle local drug dealers out of money in one-on-one contests.With the love and support of her family and friends, Sugar’s performance on her high school basketball team led to her recruitment by the Georgetown Hoyas, and her eventual draft into the WNBA in 2013 by the Minnesota Lynx (who won the WNBA Finals in Sugar’s first year). The first of her family to attend college, Sugar speaks of her struggles both academically and as an athlete with raw honesty.Sugar’s road to a successful career as a professional basketball player is fraught with sadness and death—including her mother’s death when she’s fourteen, which leaves Sugar essentially homeless. Throughout it all, Sugar clings to basketball as a way to keep herself focused and sane.And now Sugar shares her story as a message of hope and inspiration for young girls and boys everywhere, but especially those growing up in economically challenging conditions. Never sugarcoating her life experiences, she delivers a powerful message of discipline, perseverance, and always believing in oneself.
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LGBTQ+ biography, Sports biography, Sports and games
Synthetic audio, Automated braille
A riveting account of life as a closeted professional athlete from gay NFL player O’Callaghan, against the backdrop of depression,…
opioid addiction, and the threat of suicide.“[O’Callaghan’s] story is one of beautiful vulnerability, and it further shows the importance of knowing you aren’t alone.” —Oprah Daily, recommended by Gayle KingRyan O’Callaghan’s plan was always to play football and then, when his career was over, kill himself. Growing up in a politically conservative corner of California, the not-so-subtle messages he heard as a young man from his family and from TV and film routinely equated being gay with disease and death. Letting people in on the darkest secret he kept buried inside was not an option: better death with a secret than life as a gay man. As a kid , Ryan never envisioned just how far his football career would take him. He was recruited by the University of California, Berkeley, where he spent five seasons, playing alongside his friend Aaron Rodgers. Then it was on to the NFL for stints with the almost-undefeated New England Patriots and the often-defeated Kansas City Chiefs.Bubbling under the surface of Ryan’s entire NFL career was a collision course between his secret sexuality and his hidden drug use. When the league caught him smoking pot, he turned to NFL-sanctioned prescription painkillers that quickly sent his life into a tailspin. As injuries mounted and his daily intake of opioids reached a near-lethal level, he wrote his suicide note to his parents and plotted his death.Yet someone had been watching. A member of the Chiefs organization stepped in, recognizing the signs of drug addiction. Ryan reluctantly sought psychological help, and it was there that he revealed his lifelong secret for the very first time. Nearing the twilight of his career, Ryan faced the ultimate decision: end it all, or find out if his family and football friends could ever accept a gay man in their lives.