The Knew York Times

by Richard Cohen

“Like swordplay itself, By the Sword is elegant, accurate, romantic, and full of brio—the definitive study, hugely readable, of man’s most deadly art.”—Simon Winchester With a new Preface by the author Napoleon fenced. So did Shakespeare, Karl Marx, Grace Kelly, and President Truman, who as a schoolboy would practice fencing with Bess—his future wife— when the two of them returned home from school. Lincoln was a canny dueler. Ignatius Loyola challenged a man to a duel for denying Christ’s divinity (and won). Less successful, but no less enthusiastic, was Mussolini, who would tell his wife he was “off to get spaghetti,” their code to avoid alarming the children. By the Sword is an epic history of sword fighting—a science, an art, and, for many, a religion that began at the dawn of civilization in ancient Egypt and has been an obsession for mankind ever since. With wit and insight, Richard Cohen gives us an engrossing history of the world via the sword. Praise for By the Sword “Touché! While scrupulous and informed about its subject, Richard Cohen’s book is about more than swordplay. It reads at times like an alternative social history of the West.”—Sebastian Faulks “In writing By the Sword, [Cohen] has shown that he is as skilled with the pen as he is with the sword.”—The New York Times “Irresistible . . . extraordinary . . . vivid and hugely enjoyable.”—The Economist “A virtual encyclopedia on the subject of sword fighting.”—San Francisco Chronicle “Literate, learned, and, be

by Michael Lewis

"One of the best baseball—and management—books out.... Deserves a place in the Baseball Hall of Fame."—Forbes Moneyball is a quest for the secret of success in baseball. Following the low-budget Oakland Athletics, their larger-than-life general manger, Billy Beane, and the strange brotherhood of amateur baseball enthusiasts, Michael Lewis has written not only "the single most influential baseball book ever" (Rob Neyer, Slate) but also what "may be the best book ever written on business" (Weekly Standard). I wrote this book because I fell in love with a story. The story concerned a small group of undervalued professional baseball players and executives, many of whom had been rejected as unfit for the big leagues, who had turned themselves into one of the most successful franchises in Major League Baseball. But the idea for the book came well before I had good reason to write it—before I had a story to fall in love with. It began, really, with an innocent question: how did one of the poorest teams in baseball, the Oakland Athletics, win so many games? With these words Michael Lewis launches us into the funniest, smartest, and most contrarian book since, well, since Liar's Poker. Moneyball is a quest for something as elusive as the Holy Grail, something that money apparently can't buy: the secret of success in baseball. The logical places to look would be the front offices of major league teams, and the dugouts, perhaps even in the minds of the players themselves. Lewis mines al

by Mat Ishbia

Before he became president and CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage and took his company to the top of the game nationally, Mat Ishbia was a member of Tom Izzo's 2000 Michigan State national championship basketball team. More specifically, he was the guy at the end of the bench. But as Ishbia likes to say, "You don't have to be a captain to be a leader." Running the Corporate Offense is packed with this and other learned principles for smart, empathetic leadership based on teamwork. Ishbia shares his personal strategies and tips, such as "no-meeting Thursdays," as well as anecdotes from his playing days in East Lansing, demonstrating the universality of these practical approaches. This is an essential, accessible volume which proves that effective leadership truly translates from the bench to the board room.

by Al Stump

A biography of the baseball legend explores the complexities of a man described as the meanest man in baseball, discussing Cobb's racism, violence toward family and other baseball players, win at any cost philosophy, and philandering

by Joe Favorito

Effective communications are essential for all sport organizations. In this fully revised and updated third edition of his ground-breaking guide to communications in sports, Joe Favorito introduces the skills, knowledge and techniques needed to become a successful communicator. Favorito outlines the history of sports communications, explores the most important professional themes, topics and issues, and highlights exciting opportunities for future development. With a strong emphasis on professional practice and the day-to-day realities of working in sports and entertainment, the book covers all the core functional areas such as: · Digital and social media strategy · Crisis management · Creative writing · The value of audio storytelling · The role of communications in business. This new edition includes more international cases and data, interviews, best practices, and expanded coverage of social media, gaming, eSports and technological developments in communications; discussion of key contemporary issues such as multicultural media relations and ‘athletes as brands’; and an emphasis on the importance of strategic planning. No other book offers such a valuable insider’s view of the sports communications industry or the importance of PR and media relations in building successful sports organizations. Sports Publicity: A Practical Approach is essential reading for all students working in sport business, marketing or communications, and any PR practitioner looking to improve thei

by Carolyn Finney

Black Faces, White Spaces: Reimagining the Relationship of African Americans to the Great Outdoors

by Alvin Townley

"Legacy of Honor" takes a revealing look at how Eagle Scouts--including Michael Bloomberg, Ross Perot, and Apollo 13's Jim Lovell--have shaped American history and culture.

by Austen Jane

Northanger Abbey, written around 1798 but actually published in 1817, follows Catherine Morland on a visit to Bath and later to Northanger Abbey, the house of new acquaintances, the Tilneys. Because she has been reading Ann Radcliffe's gothic novel The Mysteries of Udolpho, Catherine expects her visit to be full of fantastical mystery, murder, and romance. This ebook is also part of The Complete Works of Jane Austen.

by Eileen McDonagh

Athletic contests help define what we mean in America by "success." By keeping women from "playing with the boys" on the false assumption that they are inherently inferior, society relegates them to second-class citizens. In this forcefully argued book, Eileen McDonagh and Laura Pappano show in vivid detail how women have been unfairly excluded from participating in sports on an equal footing with men. Using dozens of powerful examples--girls and women breaking through in football, ice hockey, wrestling, and baseball, to name just a few--the authors show that sex differences are not sufficient to warrant exclusion in most sports, that success entails more than brute strength, and that sex segregation in sports does not simply reflect sex differences, but actively constructs and reinforces stereotypes about sex differences. For instance, women's bodies give them a physiological advantage in endurance sports, yet many Olympic events have shorter races for women than men, thereby camouflaging rather than revealing women's strengths.

by Donald Honig

The fifteen major-league managers interviewed in The Man in the Dugout represent six decades of baseball—men like Joe McCarthy of the New York Yankees and Walter Alston of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Each oral history, steeped in nostalgia and confidentiality, is a record of the triumphs and defeats of the man carrying the prime responsibility of a multimillion-dollar franchise. Here the manager is revealed as a strategist, tactician, peacemaker, politician, ego-soother, and builder of self-confidence. He holds the toughest, most gratifying, and most insecure job in baseball.

by Mike Marqusee

When Muhammad Ali died, many mourned the life of the greatest sportsman the world had ever seen. In Redemption Song, Mike Marqusee argues that Ali was not just a boxer but a remarkable political figure in a decade of tumultuous change. Playful, popular, always confrontational, Ali refashioned the role of a political activist and was central, alongside figures such as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, to the black liberation and the anti-war movements. Marqusee shows that sport and politics were always intertwined, and this is the reason why Ali remained an international beacon of hope, long after he had left the ring.

by John Jenkins

This is a key reference guide for the exploration of leisure and outdoor recreation. It reflects the multidisciplinary nature of these fields and contextualizes the leading research and knowledge on key concepts, theories and practices. Edited by leading authorities in the field, this volume includes a comprehensive index, and up-to-date suggestions for further reading. It is an essential resource for teaching, an invaluable companion to independent study, and a solid starting point for wider subject exploration.

by Jack London

Set adrift after a collision with another vessel, ferry passenger Humphrey van Weyden is picked up by the seal-hunting schooner the Ghost. His relief at being rescued slowly turns into concern once he meets her captain, the brutally terrifying Wolf Larsen. The crew of the Ghost live in terror of their fearsome commander, and van Weyden is not made any safer because Larsen is attracted to his new passenger's comparable intelligence. Van Weyden's time aboard the Ghost turns him from a gentle, domesticated man into an altogether tougher soul as he is caught between Larsen and his crew during the rescue of other castaways, an attempted mutiny, a cataclysmic storm and the appearance of Wolf's equally terrible brother, Death Larsen. Wolf Larsen is one of the greatest characters in early 20th century American fiction. Like Captain Ahab before him, he is a man who has spent too long at sea. We might assume he has become inhuman, but the novel gradually but subtly reveals that it was the nature of life at the mercy of the angry oceans that turned him into the sea wolf. This special edition includes an exclusive Foreword by adventurer Bear Grylls, which takes a fascinating look at the character of Wolf Larsen from the perspective of someone who has also stared nature in its unforgiving face.

by James D. Squires

Squires takes a rollicking look at the pomp, arrogance, passion, and avarice that drive both man and horse in the most exciting two minutes in sports. Photos.