For the sports fan, this guide offers fascinating facts and tidbits on baseball, football, basketball, hockey, the Olympic Games, tennis, figure skating, soccer, and more. It contains special sections on women's sports, young people's sports, and the Special Olympics, and includes listings of winners of the World Series, the Super Bowl, the Stanley Cup, and other major competetions.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Sports History and Trivia

Reference

McGovern, Mike

Encyclopedias & Subject Guides

Alpha

Ideal for sports fans both casual and avid, a delightful collection of powerfully moving, sometimes hilarious, and occasionally boneheaded quotes from the greatest athletes of all time

The Quotable Athlete: Words of Wisdom from Mark McGuire, Michael Jordan, Mia Hamm, Bonnie Blair, Wayne Gretzky, Joe Theismann, and More

Shelly, Susan

Sports & Outdoors

McGraw=Hill

A Socialist Peace?: Explaining the Absence of War in an African Country

For the last twenty years, the West African nation of Guinea has exhibited all of the conditions that have led to civil wars in other countries, and Guineans themselves regularly talk about the inevitability of war. Yet the country has narrowly avoided conflict again and again. In A Socialist Peace?, Mike McGovern asks how this is possible, how a nation could beat the odds and evade civil war.               Guinea is rich in resources, but its people are some of the poorest in the world. Its political situation is polarized by fiercely competitive ethnic groups. Weapons flow freely through its lands and across its borders. And, finally, it is still recovering from the oppressive regime of Sékou Touré. McGovern argues that while Touré’s reign was hardly peaceful, it was successful—often through highly coercive and violent measures—at establishing a set of durable national dispositions, which have kept the nation at peace. Exploring the ambivalences of contemporary Guineans toward the afterlife of Touré’s reign as well as their abiding sense of socialist solidarity, McGovern sketches the paradoxes that undergird political stability.  

History

Africa

University of Chicago Press

For the last twenty years, the West African nation of Guinea has exhibited all of the conditions that have led to civil wars in other countries, and Guineans themselves regularly talk about the inevitability of war. Yet the country has narrowly avoided conflict again and again. In A Socialist Peace?, Mike McGovern asks how this is possible, how a nation could beat the odds and evade civil war. Guinea is rich in resources, but its people are some of the poorest in the world. Its political situation is polarized by fiercely competitive ethnic groups. Weapons flow freely through its lands and across its borders. And, finally, it is still recovering from the oppressive regime of Sékou Touré. McGovern argues that while Touré’s reign was hardly peaceful, it was successful—often through highly coercive and violent measures—at establishing a set of durable national dispositions, which have kept the nation at peace. Exploring the ambivalences of contemporary Guineans toward the afterlife of Touré’s reign as well as their abiding sense of socialist solidarity, McGovern sketches the paradoxes that undergird political stability.

Making War in Côte d'Ivoire

After a brief period of active combat in 2002, the conflict in Côte d’Ivoire settled into a pattern of neither war nor peace until the 2010 elections led to a new phase of direct conflict. During these taut years, short bursts of intense violence alternated with long periods of standoff. When things were peaceful, the Ivorian political elite and the press produced inflammatory rhetoric while soldiers and militias used the state of emergency as an excuse to shake down civilians at roadblocks. What kept this perpetually tense, dismal, and destructive situation simmering? In this groundbreaking book, Mike McGovern suggests the answer lies in understanding war as a process, not a series of events, and that rather than focusing on the role of political institutions, we should be paying attention to the flawed and unpredictable people within them.McGovern argues that only deep knowledge of a region—its history, languages, literature, and popular culture—can yield meaningful insights into political decision making. Putting this theory into action, he examines an array of issues from the micro to the macro, including land tenure disputes, youth boredom, organized crime, and the international cocoa trade. Drawn from McGovern’s academic research and experience working for a conflict resolution think tank and the political access that position gave him, Making War in Côte D’Ivoire will be the definitive work on the Ivorian conflict and an innovative example of how anthropology can address the complexities of politics.

After a brief period of active combat in 2002, the conflict in Côte d’Ivoire settled into a pattern of neither war nor peace until the 2010 elections led to a new phase of direct conflict. During these taut years, short bursts of intense violence alternated with long periods of standoff. When things were peaceful, the Ivorian political elite and the press produced inflammatory rhetoric while soldiers and militias used the state of emergency as an excuse to shake down civilians at roadblocks. What kept this perpetually tense, dismal, and destructive situation simmering? In this groundbreaking book, Mike McGovern suggests the answer lies in understanding war as a process, not a series of events, and that rather than focusing on the role of political institutions, we should be paying attention to the flawed and unpredictable people within them.
McGovern argues that only deep knowledge of a region—its history, languages, literature, and popular culture—can yield meaningful insights into political decision making. Putting this theory into action, he examines an array of issues from the micro to the macro, including land tenure disputes, youth boredom, organized crime, and the international cocoa trade. Drawn from McGovern’s academic research and experience working for a conflict resolution think tank and the political access that position gave him, Making War in Côte D’Ivoire will be the definitive work on the Ivorian conflict and an innovative example of how anthropology can address the complexities of politics.

Unmasking the State: Making Guinea Modern

When the Republic of Guinea gained independence in 1958, one of the first policies of the new state was a village-to-village eradication of masks and other ritual objects it deemed “fetishes.” The Demystification Program, as it was called, was so urgent it even preceded the building of a national road system. In Unmasking the State, Mike McGovern attempts to understand why this program was so important to the emerging state and examines the complex role it had in creating a unified national identity. In doing so, he tells a dramatic story of cat and mouse where minority groups cling desperately to their important— and outlawed—customs. Primarily focused on the communities in the country’s southeastern rainforest region—people known as Forestiers—the Demystification Program operated via a paradox. At the same time it banned rituals from Forestiers’ day-to-day lives, it appropriated them into a state-sponsored program of folklorization. McGovern points to an important purpose for this: by objectifying this polytheistic group’s rituals, the state created a viable counterexample against which the Muslim majority could define proper modernity. Describing the intertwined relationship between national and local identity making, McGovern showcases the coercive power and the unintended consequences involved when states attempt to engineer culture.

When the Republic of Guinea gained independence in 1958, one of the first policies of the new state was a village-to-village eradication of masks and other ritual objects it deemed “fetishes.” The Demystification Program, as it was called, was so urgent it even preceded the building of a national road system. In Unmasking the State, Mike McGovern attempts to understand why this program was so important to the emerging state and examines the complex role it had in creating a unified national identity. In doing so, he tells a dramatic story of cat and mouse where minority groups cling desperately to their important— and outlawed—customs. Primarily focused on the communities in the country’s southeastern rainforest region—people known as Forestiers—the Demystification Program operated via a paradox. At the same time it banned rituals from Forestiers’ day-to-day lives, it appropriated them into a state-sponsored program of folklorization. McGovern points to an important purpose for this: by objectifying this polytheistic group’s rituals, the state created a viable counterexample against which the Muslim majority could define proper modernity. Describing the intertwined relationship between national and local identity making, McGovern showcases the coercive power and the unintended consequences involved when states attempt to engineer culture.

The work you are about to read is far more than a cookbook. Eat, Drink, and Be Kinky will have a broad, engaging appeal not only to serious gourmands but also to alcoholics and sex perverts as well. In fact, I think of this book as sort of a culinary version of James Joyce's Ulysses. McGovern's masterwork, to my mind, compares quite favorably with Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. For one thing, it's shorter. From the Introduction by Kinky Friedman Written by Mike McGovern, one of the Kinkster's legendary Village Irregulars, Eat, Drink, and Be Kinky is a feast of wit, wisdom, and some damn good recipes as featured in, drawn from, and inspired by the novels of Kinky Friedman, private dick extraordinaire and culinary mastermind. When Richard Kinky "Big Dick" Friedman was only a little Kinky, growing into his Texas jeans and ten-gallon hat, he had two choices at mealtime -- take it or leave it. But the years have been kind to the Kinkster, and thanks to a successful career first as a singer/songwriter and more recently a bestselling author, Kinky has become a connoisseur of good wine, good food, and the best cigars (that he still prefers bad women just goes to show that some things never change). With a choice from a full menu of everything from appetizers and soups to desserts and libations, the reader is invited to indulge in the best of Kinky cuisine, including: Downtown Judy's Tortilla Soup with Chili Puree Fried-Egg Sandwich a Go-Go Saddle Up Burritos Teri and Chinga Chavin's Ol' Ben Lucas Swordfish Stew Son of Chicken McGovern Steve Rambam's Jailhouse Chili Frankie Lasagna Beer Bread Jack Daniel's Tiramisu Crunchy Coconut Banana Cake The book also features the world according to Kinky -- selections of wit and wisdom from all twelve of his novels on everything from life and death, love and sex, religion and God, food and wine, and the state of the onion. Whether you're a fan of Kinky's music, a devotee of his novels, or just a lover of good cookin' and good eatin', Eat, Drink, and Be Kinky wilt be sure to satisfy your appetite.

Eat, Drink and Be Kinky: A Feast of Wit and Fabulous Recipes for Fans of Kinky Friedman

Cookbooks, Food & Wine

FRIEDMAN, Kinky

Beverages & Wine

Atria

Profiles the lives and careers of famous athletes from the twentieth century, including baseball player Joe DiMaggio, gymnast Mary Lou Retton, and tennis player Billie Jean King.

Amazing Athletes of the Twentieth Century

Checkmark Books

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by McGovern, Mike. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by McGovern, Mike

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by McGovern, Mike. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Sports History and Trivia

The Quotable Athlete: Words of Wisdom from Mark McGuire, Michael Jordan, Mia Hamm, Bonnie Blair, Wayne Gretzky, Joe Theismann, and More

A Socialist Peace?: Explaining the Absence of War in an African Country

A Socialist Peace?: Explaining the Absence of War in an African Country

Making War in Côte d'Ivoire

Making War in Côte d'Ivoire

Unmasking the State: Making Guinea Modern

Unmasking the State: Making Guinea Modern

Eat, Drink and Be Kinky: A Feast of Wit and Fabulous Recipes for Fans of Kinky Friedman

Amazing Athletes of the Twentieth Century