The Squared Circle: Life, Death and Professional Wrestling

Grantland and Deadspin correspondent presents a breakthrough examination of the professional wrestling, its history, its fans, and its wider cultural impact that does for the sport what Chuck Klosterman did for heavy metal.
"The Squared Circle" grows out of David Shoemaker's writing for Deadspin, where he started the column "Dead Wrestler of the Week" (which boasts over 1 million page views) -- a feature on the many wrestling superstars who died too young because of the abuse they subject their bodies to -- and his writing for Grantland, where he covers the pro wrestling world, and its place in the pop culture mainstream. Shoemaker's sportswriting has since struck a nerve with generations of wrestling fans who--like him--grew up worshipping a sport often derided as "fake" in the wider culture. To them, these professional wrestling superstars are not just heroes but an emotional outlet and the lens through which they learned to see the world.
Starting in the early 1900s and exploring the path of pro wrestling in America through the present day, "The Squared Circle "is the first book to acknowledge both the sport's broader significance and wrestling fans' keen intellect and sense of irony. Divided into eras, each section offers a snapshot of the wrestling world, profiles some of the period's preeminent wrestlers, and the sport's influence on our broader culture. Through the brawling, bombast, and bloodletting, Shoemaker argues that pro wrestling can teach us about the nature of performance, audience, and, yes, art.
Full of unknown history, humor, and self-deprecating reminiscence--but also offering a compelling look at the sport's rightful place in pop culture--"The Squared Circle "is the book that legions of wrestling fans have been waiting for. In it, Shoemaker teaches us to look past the spandex and body slams to see an art form that can explain the world.
Check Catalog

Cycling the Hudson Valley: A Guide to History, Art, and Nature on the East and West Sides of the Majestic Hudson River

An indispensable resource for dedicated cyclists planning to bike the Hudson Valley or the casual rider looking to take the family out for a couple of hours, this guidebook will help you experience the Hudson Valley, one of the most beautiful, historic, and environmentally and culturally rich regions in New York, as only cyclists and walkers can. Detailing the parks, trails, attractions, villages, towns, and cities of this breathtaking river valley, including Albany, New York City, and fascinating sites in between, the guide has been designed primarily for use by bicyclists, but it will also be useful to those enjoying the area by other means.
The cycling routes laid out in this guidebook were developed from Parks & Trails New York s years of experience organizing the Great Hudson Valley Pedal, its annual supported bike tour from Albany to Manhattan, as well as many hours bicycling and walking the valley s roads and trails. Park & Trails New York s goal is to set out safe and inviting routes on both sides of the Hudson River, as close to the river as possible.

Check catalog

Finally: The Golf Swing's Simple Secret - A Revolutionary Method Proved for the Weekend Golfer to Significantly Improve Distance

"Every weekend golfer should read this great book." - CAMILO VILLEGAS (Multiple time PGA Tour winner). Have you ever wondered why the average handicap on the USGA has barely improved in the last 20 years? The answer is very simple: a) The Golf Swing is very difficult to understand and to perform. b) The average weekend golfer would love to improve but doesnt have the time or the interest to spend long hours practicing. After studying the golf swing for over 25 years, JF Tamayo has developed a revolutionary method proved for the weekend golfer of any level to significantly improve distance and accuracy from day one, based on three main principles: 1) FOCUS ON CHANGES THAT MOST POSITIVELY AFFECT RESULTS: Opposite to the traditional methods, this book will only ask you to make changes in the most relevant parts of the swing needed to hit solid and consistent shots: the backswing and the transition between the backswing and the downswing. 2) LEARN HOW TO DEVELOP AN EASY, REPEATABLE AND SOLID BACKSWING: One of the biggest breakthroughs of the method was the development of a unique and much easier way to consistently make a solidly sound backswing that will look similar to the new Tiger Woods one plane backswing but much simpler to learn, to do and to repeat. 3) LEARN HOW TO CREATE LAG: Being able to increase lag during the downswing is one of the major differences between the amateur's golf swing versus a professional's and probably one of the most misunderstood concepts of golf. In this book you will easily learn how to lag the club like the pros, dramatically improving your clubhead speed, ball striking ability and distance. This incredible and simple method will instantly take your game to a higher level while you will be helping others since 50% of the profits obtained from this project will be donated to charity.

Check Catalog

Everest: The First Ascent: How a Champion of Science Helped to Conquer the Mountain

Winner of the Banff Mountain Book Competition and the Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature
Harriet Tuckey's book is both the history of what went into the first successful ascent of Mt. Everest in 1953 and a biography of her father, Dr Griffith Pugh, whose role was absolutely pivotal, yet mostly untold. As the expedition's physiological consultant, Pugh designed almost every aspect of the survival strategy for the expedition, the acclimatization program, the oxygen- and fluid-intake regime, the diet, the clothing and the high altitude boots. Without him and his work, the ascent of Everest would have been impossible.

Check catalog

The Total Outdoorsman Manual (Updated, Expanded) ( Field & Stream )

"The Total Outdoorsman Manual" is the ultimate guide book for the outdoors enthusiast, packed with hundreds of practical tips and techniques from T. Edward Nickens and the experts at "Field & Stream" magazine, that is guaranteed to improve your hunting, fishing, camping and survival skills. This special edition, issued for the 10th anniversary of the Total Outdoorsman Challenge has all the content readers love, plus 50 new activities that can help anyone compete in the Challenge.
With practical information for both the beginner and advanced outdoorsman, the book is an authoritative, comprehensive, and entertaining guide that will enable anyone to master the outdoors and hunt, fish, and camp like an expert. The 10th anniversary edition includes a chapter of new tricks and skills from Total Outdoorsman Challenge contestants.
HUNT BETTER How to track a buck, make the toughest shots, master bowhunting and knife skills, and haul, butcher, and cook wild game.
FISH SMARTER Advice on the best techniques for flyfishing, baitcasting, and spinning, as well as surefire ways to get the most out of your motorboat, canoe, or kayak.
SURVIVE ANYTHING Whether you fall through thick ice, are swept away by a raging river, or have a stare down with an angry bear, these skills means the difference between life and death.
CAMP ANYWHERE Tested and proven expert tips to help you stay warm, eat well, and build a fire in any situation in record time.


Check Catalog

From Black Sox to Three-Peats: A Century of Chicago's Best Sportswriting from the Tribune, Sun Times, and Other Newspapers

Bears, Bulls, Cubs, Sox, Blackhawks--there's no city like Chicago when it comes to sports. Generation after generation, Chicagoans pass down their almost religious allegiances to teams, stadiums, and players and their never-say-die attitude, along with the stories of the city's best (and worst) sports moments. And every one of those moments--every come-from-behind victory or crushing defeat--has been chronicled by Chicago's unparalleled sportswriters.
In "From Black Sox to Three-Peats," veteran Chicago sports columnist Ron Rapoportassembles one hundred of the best columns and articles from the "Tribune," "Sun-Times," "Daily News, Defender, "and other papers to tell the unforgettable story of a century of Chicago sports. From Ring Lardner to Rick Telander, Westbrook Pegler to Bob Verdi, Mike Royko to Hugh Fullerton, Melissa Isaacson to Brent Musburger, and on and on, this collection reminds us that Chicago sports fans have enjoyed a wealth of talent not just on the field, but in the press box as well. Through their stories we relive the betrayal of the Black Sox, the cocksure power of the '85 Bears, the assassin's efficiency of Jordan's Bulls, the Blackhawks' stunning reclamation of the Stanley Cup, the Cubs' century of futility--all as seen in the moment, described and interpreted on the spot by some of the most talented columnists ever to grace a sports page.
Sports are the most ephemeral of news events: once you know the outcome, the drama is gone. But every once in a while, there are those games, those teams, those players that make it into something more--and great writers can transform those fleeting moments into lasting stories that become part of the very identity of a city. "From Black Sox to Three-Peats" is Chicago history at its most exciting and celebratory. No sports fan should be without it.

Check Catalog

Welcome to Paradise, Now Go to Hell: A True Story of Violence, Corruption, and the Soul of Surfing

For two months every winter, when Pacific storms make landfall, Oahu's paradisical North Shore turns into a fiery hell. Its normal population of sixteen thousand more than triples and this explosion of mainlanders, Brazilians, Australians, and Europeans creates one of the most combustible milieus on earth. Waves, like gold and oil, are a limited resource and, as such, are fiercely fought over by the visiting hordes, the surf industry, other Hawaiian islanders, and North Shore residents. The otherwise sleepy North Shore becomes a lawless, violent, drug-addled, and adrenaline-soaked mecca.
It takes uniquely fearless men to paddle into thirty-foot waves breaking over a razor-sharp reef hidden beneath three feet of water. Death and maiming are regular occurrences during North Shore winters. Yet when the sun dips, the fearless become truly scared. You see, the ocean has rules. The men who haunt the land do not. And so they whisper about helter-skelter violence dished out by larger-than-life Hawaiians. They whisper about being choked, slapped, and bloodied for breaking unspoken codes of conduct. About the protection money extracted from the surf brands that want to hold their contests on the North Shore. About drug running, fights, and maybe even murders. And then they return to multimillion-dollar beachfront homes and drown their anxiety with cocaine and booze. But they know they are not safe. Because no one is ever safe here.
The surf world is far more volatile and complex than outsiders know or popular depictions would have us believe, and the North Shore during winter is its most extreme representation. It is downright dangerous but also exhilarating, and this story paints a true picture of what it feels like to be in the middle of it all. It is both a breathtaking and wildly funny tale of beauty, wickedness, and the unyielding allure of ocean waves in all their glory.

Check Catalog http://ipac.uhls.org/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=138842C4U501G.8770&profile=coln&uri=link=3100013~!2548280~!3100001~!3100002&aspect=basic&menu=search&ri=1&source=~!clone&term=9780062202529%3A&index=ISBN

Core Four: The Heart and Soul of the Yankees Dynasty

Tracing the careers of four instrumental players who turned around the Yankees ball club, this book shares behind-the-scenes stories from their early days together in the minors through the 2012 season, and follows them on their majestic ride to the top of the baseball world. At a time when the New York Yankees were in free fall, having failed to win a World Series in 17 years and had not played in one in 14 years--the Bronx Bombers' longest drought since before the days of Babe Ruth--along came four young players whose powerful impact returned the franchise to its former glory. They were a diverse group from different parts of the globe: Mariano Rivera, a right-handed pitcher from Panama, who was destined to become the all-time record holder in saves and baseball's greatest closer; Derek Jeter, a shortstop raised in Kalamazoo, Michigan, who would become the first Yankee to accumulate 3,000 hits; Jorge Posada, an infielder-turned-catcher from Puerto Rico, who would hit more home runs than any Yankees catcher except the legendary Hall of Famer Yogi Berra; and Andy Pettitte, a left-handed pitcher born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who would win more postseason games than any player in baseball history. Together they formed the "Core Four," and would go on to play as teammates for 13 seasons during which time they would help the Yankees advance to the postseason 12 times, win the American League pennant seven times, and take home five World Series trophies. This book follows these phenoms from the minor leagues to the present, detailing their significant contributions to a winning major league franchise.

Check Catalog

The Sons of Westwood: John Wooden, UCLA, and the Dynasty That Changed College Basketball

For more than a decade, the UCLA dynasty defined college basketball. In twelve seasons from 1964 to 1975, John Wooden's teams won ten national titles, including seven consecutive championships. The Bruins made history by breaking numerous records, but they also rose to prominence during a turbulent age of political unrest and youthful liberation. When Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton--the most famous college basketball players of their generation--spoke out against racism, poverty, and the Vietnam War, they carved out a new role for athletes, casting their actions on and off the court in a political light. The Sons of Westwood tells the story of the most significant college basketball program at a pivotal period in American cultural history. It weaves together a story of sports and politics in an era of social and cultural upheaval, a time when college students and college athletes joined the civil rights movement, demonstrated against the Vietnam War, and rejected the dominant Cold War culture. This is the story of America's culture wars played out on the basketball court by some of college basketball's most famous players and its most memorable coach.

Check Catalog

Chasing Perfect: The Will to Win in Basketball and Life

The inspiring story of the most famous high school basketball coach in America.
In 40 seasons as the head coach of St. Anthony High School, a private parochial school in Jersey City, New Jersey, Bob Hurley has established a standard of excellence and achievement without peer, and remarkably, he has done this at a high school with a total student body enrollment of about 230, with no gymnasium, and with an operating deficit that threatens to shut the place down each year. Hurley himself sweeps the floor before each home game. Despite the long odds against them, Hurley's teams have captured 26 state titles and four consensus national championships, all behind an astonishing career winning percentage of .905.
In "Chasing Perfect," Hurley opens up his tool box and shares some of the championship strategies he's developed to help lift his players up and out of Jersey City. The narrative centerpiece will be each of St. Anthony's seven undefeated seasons, with sketch profiles of some of the most memorable players, making some of the most memorable plays in St. Anthony history. Along the way, he'll offer empowering insights to help coaches and players to elevate their games, while empowering the rest of us to walk a more purposeful path. Part memoir, part coach's notebook and part reflection on the St. Anthony players it has been Hurley's privilege to coach, "Chasing Perfect" will stand as a compelling barometer of life in and around the hardscrabble streets of Jersey City, set against the backdrop of one of the most enduringly competitive high school basketball programs in the country.

Check Catalog