Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times

Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times
Author: Thomas Hauser
Publisher: Anova Books
Total Pages: 465
Release: 2012-07-30
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1907554904

One of the most recognisable, respected and inspirational men on earth, Muhammad Ali is the world's most famous boxing hero. Ali brought unprecedented speed and grace to the sport, and his charm and wit changed forever what the world expects of a champion athlete. In the words of over two hundred of Ali's family members, associates, opponents, friends and enemies, this comprehensive and honest portrait relates his legendary sporting accomplishments, as well as the high drama of life outside the boxing ring. From Olympic gold in Rome, to stunning victory over George Foreman in Zaire, every historic victory and defeat of Ali's career is covered. His controversial embrace of the Nation of Islam - with the renunciation of his 'slave name', Cassius Clay - and the historic refusal to be inducted into the US Army makes for compelling reading. Ali became America's first national conscientious objector, and with a willingness to stage his fights in Third World locales, he continued his advocacy for people in need which was honoured in 2000 when he became a United Nations Messenger of Peace. Charismatic, dedicated and a skilful self-publicist, Ali is the living embodiment of the American Dream. This is the biography to match his achievements.

Nailed!

Nailed!
Author: Christopher Frankie
Publisher: Running Press Adult
Total Pages: 284
Release: 2013-04-02
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0762448288

Nailed! is a dramatic biography of Lenny Dykstra -- the heroic center fielder for the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies in the '80s and '90s whose gritty play earned him the nickname "Nails." Dykstra's unlikely post-baseball rise in the business world is a success story that is only matched by the sordid tale of his ultimate downfall. From famously receiving financial guru Jim Cramer's ringing endorsement as "one of the best" stock prognosticators, to hanging out with Charlie Sheen and numerous prostitutes, to holding court in his 15 million California home, Dykstra lived a highflying lifestyle. He was the toast of the business world before his litany of crimes were detected and his empire began to unravel in 2009, leading to a conviction and prison sentence in 2012 with more charges pending. Through compelling storytelling supported by extensive research and documentation -- including interviews with many of Dykstra's friends, family, and business associates -- Nailed! Peels back the layers to reveal that the criminal charges of grand theft auto, identity theft, vandalism, lewd behavior, sexual assault, are just the tip of the iceberg. This is an engaging read of a sports and business hero gone bad.

Sports Illustrated: The College Football Book

Sports Illustrated: The College Football Book
Author: Editors of Sports Illustrated
Publisher: Sports Illustrated
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2008-10-14
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 9781603200332

Continuing its series of spectacular coffee-table books for the holiday season, Sports Illustrated presents The College Football Book, the ultimate gift for America's most passionate fans. SI launched this series in 2005 with The Football Book, devoted to the professional game. A New York Times best-seller that year, the book has taken root as a perennial, selling more than 200,000 copies to date. Now the editors of Sports Illustrated return to the gridiron, this time to serve the most avid football fans of all. With the best words and pictures SI has to offer, The College Football Book, brings to life the game's unparalleled excitement and pageantry, its legendary players, historic teams and epic rivalries. In 288 pages of the greatest photography and writing available anywhere, The College Football Book spans the sport's history, from its infancy in the 1800s right up to the postseason showdowns of 2008. The book is packed with stunning pictures, award-winning stories, original stats, decade-by-decade all-star teams and iconic artifacts photographed exclusively for this book at the College Football Hall of Fame--the same exciting mix of elements that makes each book in the SI series a must-have for sports fan.

The Franchise

The Franchise
Author: Michael MacCambridge
Publisher: Hyperion
Total Pages: 468
Release: 1998-10-14
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 9780786883578

"It's All Part of the Game" dramatically recounts how, against the odds, "Sports Illustrated" grew from a misbegotten enterprise into a cultural institution. From halting editorial beginnings, "Sports Illustrated" has evolved into a journalistically tough and visually spectacular magazine that remains one of the truly influential voices in journalism. photo insert.

Barry Bonds

Barry Bonds
Author: Ross Bernstein
Publisher: Twenty-First Century Books
Total Pages: 126
Release: 2004-01-01
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 9780822517917

Looks at the personal life and career of baseball player Barry Bonds who, in 2001, broke more records than any other player in professional baseball.

Sports Nicknames

Sports Nicknames
Author: Terry W. Pruyne
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 444
Release: 2002
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN:

When did Michael Jordan become Air Jordan? How did Earvin Johnson come to be known as Magic? Why is Juan Rodriguez called Chi Chi? These questions are answered in this reference work featuring about 20,000 nicknames of professional athletes from around the world. Part One is subdivided into sections for each sport; baseball, basketball, football, hockey and miscellaneous sports (mainly individual sports or ones not listed in the four main sections)--under which entries are alphabetized by players' given names. The entries in Part One tell the player's position, team, year of retirement, and--in as many instances as extensive research could afford--how the player got his or her nickname. Part Two offers the opposite access alphabetized by nickname and giving players' names and their sport.

Floyd Patterson

Floyd Patterson
Author: Alan H. Levy
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 299
Release: 2008-09-22
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 0786439505

Floyd Patterson delivered a number of knockout punches during his Hall of Fame career, but it might have been the fights he won outside the ring that made him great. Born in 1935, he overcame poverty and prejudice to become the youngest world heavyweight champion in history--and he would later become the first man to regain the crown after losing it. Muhammad Ali called Patterson the most skillful fighter he ever faced. This first complete biography of the former heavyweight champion covers Patterson's meteoric rise as a boxer while giving equal attention to his life away from sport, including his work as a civil rights activist in the 1960s. Joining Ali and Joe Frazier as boxers who used their celebrity to bring attention to social issues, he became an icon of the movement.