Somewhere beyond the circle of money, glitz, drugs and controversy that characterizes professional sports in America, there exists the remnants of the ideal. In Iowa, that ideal survives in the form of high school wrestling, a way of transforming the local virtues—modesty, privation, hard work—into sporting glory. To be a wrestling champion in Iowa is to achieve greatness—individual glory where the only back to pat is your own.
For Jay Borschel and Dan LeClere, though, the stakes have been raised. Already three-time state champions in differing weight classes, each boy has a chance in his senior year of high school to do something historic—to become a "four-timer," joining the most elite group in the sport and essentially ensuring his status as an Iowa wrestling deity. For Jay, a ferocious competitor who feeds off criticism and doubt, a victory would mean vindication over the great mass of skeptics waiting for him to fail. Dan, the kid from a farm near the tiny town of Coggon (population 710), carries other burdens. For his community, for the hard-driving coach who doubles as his father, and for his own triumph over his personal demons, another title is the only acceptable outcome.
As the two boys approach the finals in a series of increasingly tense and hard-fought matches, Jay and Dan reveal the forces that drive young men through a grueling routine of early-morning and late-night workouts, social isolation, and starvation diets—and the rewards of the wrestling life. But in the finals, a victory is the only answer; blow that chance at a fourth title, before the fanatical crowds at the giant state tournament in Des Moines, and you will be little noted nor long remembered.
Four Days to Glory is the story of America as told through its small towns and their connection to sport, the way it was once routinely perceived—a way of mattering to the folks next door.

Four Days to Glory: Wrestling with the Soul of the American Heartland

Biographies & Memoirs

Kreidler, Mark

Historical

Harper

Somewhere beyond the circle of money, glitz, drugs, and controversy that characterizes professional sports in America, remnants of an ideal exist. In Iowa, that ideal survives in the form of high school wrestling. Each a three-time state champion, Jay Borschel and Dan LeClere have a chance in their senior year to join the sport's most elite group: the "four-timers," wrestlers who win four consecutive state titles. For Jay, a ferocious competitor who feeds off criticism and doubt, a victory would mean vindication over the great mass of skeptics waiting for him to fail. For Dan, who carries on his back the burdens of his tiny farming community, the dreams of his hard-driving coach and father, and his own personal demons, another title is the only acceptable outcome. Four Days to Glory is the story of America as told through its small towns and their connection to sport the way it was once routinely perceived: as a means of mattering to the folks next door.

Harper Paperbacks

In the tradition of Friday Night Lights comes an unforgettable portrait of a small New Jersey town that became known throughout the world for the remarkable exploits of its Little League stars.
Summertime in Toms River means two things: tourists and champions. The tourists head for the beaches; the 12-year-old Little League champions can be found on the baseball diamonds, where they win titles at the local, regional, and international levels.
The Toms River dynasty began in the 1990s, when the team made it to the Little League World Series three times in five years and brought home a historic world championship victory in 1998. But with each passing summer in Toms River comes renewed pressure, as the latest collection of All-Stars strives to leave its mark on the town's imposing baseball legacy.
In Six Good Innings, acclaimed sportswriter Mark Kreidler deftly illuminates the sometimes tense relationship between Toms River and the team that carries the town's hopes and dreams. Following the most recent juggernaut through one tumultuous All-Star season, Kreidler chronicles how the coach, John Puleo, works to strike a balance between healthy competition and bloodless ambition, and how the players themselves reckon with their own fleeting fame as they tumble headlong into adolescence.
Puleo, a man with a gift for inspiring young athletes, commands a team whose recent string of successes has led to speculation that this might be the squad to extend the Toms River tradition of reaching Williamsport, site of the Little League World Series. But along the path to glory, Puleo's players will deal with unexpected injuries, a brutally difficult schedule of games, and the daunting knowledge that they have been identified throughout their region—and within the neighborhood blocks of their own baseball-crazy town—as the team to beat.
With deep empathy, incisive reporting, and intimate access, Kreidler weaves the stories of the coaches, the parents, the fans, and the true boys of summer into a memorable tableau.

Six Good Innings: How One Small Town Became a Little League Giant

Summertime in Toms River, New Jersey, means two things: Tourists and Little League champions. 
The Toms River dynasty began in the 1990s, when its team made it to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, three times in five years, finally bringing home a historic world championship victory in 1998. But with each passing summer in Toms River comes renewed pressure, as the latest collection of twelve-year-old All-Stars strives to leave its mark on the town's imposing baseball legacy. 
In Six Good Innings, acclaimed sportswriter Mark Kreidler deftly illuminates the sometimes tense relationship between the town and the team that carries its hopes and dreams. With empathy, incisive reporting, and intimate access, Kreidler follows the most recent juggernaut through one tumultuous All-Star season, weaving the stories of the coaches, the parents, the fans, and the true "boys of summer" into an unforgettable tableau.

An intimate look at the surfers who challenge the fifty-foot waves of Maverick's―all in search of the perfect ride. The Maverick's surf point near Half Moon Bay, California, has long been one of the most dangerous places in the world to catch a ride. It is also the site of the Super Bowl of big wave surfing: the Maverick's Surf Contest. In The Voodoo Wave, Mark Kreidler takes readers inside the waves, inside the lives of the competitors, and introduces them to Jeff Clark, the man who first dared to ride Maverick's. Kreidler's riveting account of the 2010 season captures the jaw-dropping performance of South Africa's Chris Bertish―who bested twenty-three other surfers amid the biggest waves many had ever seen―as well as Clark's clashes with the contest's newly corporatized management. A thrilling account of the culture of high-risk, high-adrenaline athletes, The Voodoo Wave is also an amazing story of what happens when love of the endeavor collides with the realities of business in the twenty-first century. 8 pages of black-and-white photographs

The Voodoo Wave: Inside a Season of Triumph and Tumult at Maverick's

History

Americas

W.W.Norton&Company

“A finely crafted tale of the enigmatic world of big-wave surfers.”―Kirkus Reviews The Maverick’s surf point near Half Moon Bay, California, has long been one of the most dangerous places in the world to catch a ride. It is also the site of the Super Bowl of big-wave surfing: the Maverick’s Surf Contest. Mark Kreidler takes readers inside the waves, inside the lives of the competitors, and introduces them to Jeff Clark, the man who first dared to ride Maverick’s. Kreidler’s riveting account of the 2010 season captures the jaw-dropping performance of South Africa’s Chris Bertish as well as Clark’s clashes with the contest’s newly corporatized management. The Voodoo Wave is a thrilling account of a culture of high-risk, high-adrenaline athletes. 8 pages of photographs

Sports & Outdoors

Water Sports

Visually stunning look at Superbowl XXX--behind the scenes, the game, the players.

The Official Book of Super Bowl Xxx: Showdown in the Desert

Bouchette, Ed

Kelly, Rob

Football (American)

Woodford Pub

Product Description 
Pedro Gomez of ESPN was a beloved figure in baseball. His death from sudden cardiac arrest on Feb. 7, 2021, unleashed an outpouring of heartfelt tributes. He was 58, both a hard-nosed reporter and a smiling ambassador of the sport. These 62 personal essays soar beyond sports to delve into life lessons.\nPedro, a proud Cuban American, was known for his dramatic reporting from Havana. Fully and fluidly bilingual, he did as much as anyone to bridge the wide gap that had existed between U.S.-born players and the Latin Americans now so important to the game’s vitality and future growth. He was also a family man who loved to talk about his three children, 
Sierra, Dante and 
Rio, a Boston Red Sox prospect. Pedro was universally known as a smiling presence who brought out the best in people. His humanity and generosity of spirit shaped countless lives, including one of his ESPN bosses, 
Rob King, who was so moved by Pedro’s advice to him―“Remember who you are”―that he printed up the words and posted them on the wall of his office in Bristol. King is one of a diverse collection of contributors whose personal essays turn Pedro’s shocking death into an occasion to reflect on the deeper truths of life we too often overlook. Part 
The Pride of Havana and part 
Tuesdays With Morrie, part 
The Tender Bar and part 
Ball Four, this is the rare essay collection that reads like a novel, full of achingly honest emotion and painful insights, a book about friendship, a book about standing for something, a book about joy and love.\nFormer 
New York Times writer 
Jack Curry writes about Pedro’s passion for live music, and former 
Sports Illustrated writer 
Tim Kurkjian brings alive spring-training basketball games with executives like 
Sandy Anderson and 
Billy Beane and Pedro right in the mix. Detroit manager 
AJ Hinch and formers Texas manager 
Ron Washington both reveal that in their darkest hours Pedro gave them some of the best advice of their lives.\nHall of Famers 
Dennis Eckersley, Tony La Russa, Peter Gammons, Ross Newhan, Tracy Ringolsby and 
Dan Shaughnessy are among the contributors. So are likely future Hall of Famers 
Max Scherzer and 
Dusty Baker. Pulitzer-Prize-winning 
Washington Post war correspondent 
Steve Fainaru, award-winning writers from 
Howard Bryant and 
Mike Barnicle to 
Tim Keown, Ken Rosenthal and 
Dave Sheinin also contribute. Rounding out the mix are current and former ESPN stars including 
Rachel Nichols, Shelley M. Smith, Peter Gammons, Bob Ley and 
Keith Olbermann.\nThis is a book to rekindle in any lapsed fan a love of going to the ballpark, but it’s also a wakeup call that transcends sports. To any journalist, worn down by the demands of a punishing job, to anyone anywhere, pummeled by pandemic times and the dark mood of the country in recent years, these essays will light a spark to seize every opportunity to make a difference, in your work and in the lives of people who matter to you. 
 Review 
Advance praise for Remember Who You Are\n"Pedro Gomez was as kind as he was talented. I can think of no one else in the industry who would have inspired this many heartfelt essays by this diverse a group of writers, ballplayers, coaches, and front office executives. Everyone loved and respected him. And while he left this earth way too soon, his legacy will live on through his children and in the pages of this book." ― 
Molly Knight, Author, 
The Best Team Money Can Buy\n"The words in this collection share a common source―while they were crafted with the head, they originated from the heart. The Gomez Rules are the Commandments for those who cover the game. All who have lived the baseball life should have followed all at some point. They should be etched in tablet."―Broadcaster 
Ted Robinson\n" 
Remember Who You Are pulls together heartfelt and eloquent tributes to a man who was more than just America’s foremost baseball journalist, more than just an embodiment of the American dream, but a bona fide inspiratio

Remember Who You Are: What Pedro Gomez Showed Us About Baseball and Life

MARTIN, Frank

Sheinin, Dave

Keown, Tim

Jenkins, Bruce

Nichols, Rachel

Scherzer, Max

Ley, Bob

Gomez, Pedro

Gammons, Peter

Bryant, Howard

Barnicle, Mike

Murphy, Brian

Janes, Chelsea

Baker, Dusty

KING, ROB

Gomez, Rio

Newhan, Ross

Daniels, Jon

Rosenthal, Ken

Olney, Buster

Smith, Shelley M.

Quinn, T.J.

Boras, Scott

Alderson, Sandy

Shaughnessy, Dan

Swanson, Mike

Carr, Robin

La Russa, Tony

La Canfora, Jason

Ratto, Ray

Washington, Ron

Culpepper, Chuck

Ringolsby, Tracy

Black, Bud

Kurkjian, Tim

Curry, Jack

Zagaris, Michael

Begala, Paul

Mangin, Brad

Schaap, Jeremy

Passan, Jeff

Melvin, Bob

Ostler, Scott

King III, George A.

Francona, Terry

Goold, Derrick

Coffey, Alex

McAdam, Sean

Snitker, Brian

Kurland, Brett

Gonzalez, Alden

Morales, Sarina

Bretón, Marcos

D'Anna, John

Fainaru, Steve

Hernandez, Orlando "El Duque"

Gomez, Dante

Geracie, Bud

Eckersley, Dennis

Hinch, AJ

Olbermann, Keith

Self-Help

Wellstone Books

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