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Author: Josh Wilker
Publisher: Seven Footer Press
Published: 2010
Total Pages: 264
ISBN-13: 9781934734162
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Wilker marks the stages of his life through the baseball cards he collected as a child. He captures the experience of growing up obsessed with baseball cards and explores what it means to be a fan of the game.
Author: Pat Jordan
Publisher: Open Road Media
Published: 2016-04-19
Total Pages: 211
ISBN-13: 1504033647
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →“One of the best and truest books about baseball, and about coming to maturity in America.” —Time In the late 1950s, acclaimed sportswriter Pat Jordan was a young pitching phenom, blowing away opposing batters for his Fairfield, Connecticut, high school baseball team. Fifteen major league clubs offered him a contract, but it was the Milwaukee Braves who won out, signing Jordan to a $45,000 bonus—one of the largest paid to any new player by the organization—and shipping him off to McCook, Nebraska, to play for their Class D ball club. It did not take long, however, for Jordan to realize he was out of his depth in professional baseball’s backwoods. He battled with inconsistency and a lack of control for three dismal seasons in such far-flung locales as Keokuk, Iowa, and Palatka, Florida, before the Braves released him and he gave up his dreams of big league greatness. Declared “unforgettable” by the Los Angeles Times and “a major triumph” by the Philadelphia Inquirer, A False Spring is a powerful and deeply affecting memoir about the gift of athletic talent and the heartbreak of unfulfilled promise.
Author: Josh Wilker
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Published: 2015-05-05
Total Pages: 0
ISBN-13: 9781610394017
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →A moving, funny, inventive parenting memoir, written in a surprising form: an encyclopedia of failure in sports What can a new father learn about parenthood from reading sports almanacs? For most dads, the answer to this question is: nothing. But to Josh Wilker, whose life and writing have been defined by sports fandom, all of the joy, helplessness, and absurdity of parenthood are present between the lines. After all, what better way to think about losing control than Eugenio Velez's forty-five consecutive at-bats without a hit? How better to understand ridiculous joy than the NFL career of Walter Achiu, whose nickname was “Sneeze”? In the stories of sports figures large and small, Wilker finds the pathos in success and the humor in losing. As the terrified father of a one-day-old, Wilker recalls the 1986 World Series, when the moment was too big for the Red Sox. When he finds himself stealing away for an hour of alone time, Wilker thinks of boxer Roberto Duran, so beaten by Sugar Ray Leonard that he finally gave up. And yet, even as the frustrations and anxieties build, Wilker remembers Mets pitcher Anthony Young, who broke the baseball record for most consecutive losses—and never stopped showing up. Finding the richness of life in obscure wrestling maneuvers and pop-ups lost in the sun, Benchwarmer is a book of unique humanity and surprising wisdom.
Author: Josh Wilker
Publisher: Catapult
Published: 2011-06-14
Total Pages: 129
ISBN-13: 1593764189
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →In 1977, The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training had a moment in the sun. A glowing junk sculpture of American genres—sports flick, coming-of-age story, family melodrama, after-school special, road narrative—the film cashed in on the previous year’s success of its predecessor, The Bad News Bears. Arguing against the sequel’s dismissal as a cultural afterthought, Josh Wilker lovingly rescues from the oblivion of cinema history a quintessential expression of American resilience and joy. Rushed into theaters by Paramount when the beleaguered film industry was suffering from “acute sequelitis,” the (undeniably flawed) movie miraculously transcended its limitations to become a gathering point for heroic imagery drawn from American mythology. Considered in context, the film’s unreasonable optimism, rooted in its characters’ sincere desire to keep playing, is a powerful response to the political, economic, and social stresses of the late 1970s. To Wilker’s surprise, despite repeated viewings, The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training continues to move him. Its huge heart makes it not only the ultimate fantasy of the baseball-obsessed American boy, but a memorable iteration of that barbed vision of pure sunshine itself, the American dream.
Author: Scott Mebus
Publisher: Penguin
Published: 2008-04-17
Total Pages: 352
ISBN-13: 1101200693
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Thirteen-year-old New Yorker Rory Hennessy can see things no one else can. When a magician's trick opens his eyes to Mannahatta, Rory finds an amazing spirit city coexisting alongside modern-day Manhattan. A place where Indian sachems, warrior cockroaches, and papier-mƒch‚ children live, ruled by the immortal Gods of Manhattan - including Babe Ruth, Alexander Hamilton, and Peter Stuyvesant. But Rory's power to see Mannahatta brings danger, and he is pursued by enemies, chasing history and trying to free those who have been enslaved. And when he is given the chance to right Mannahatta's greatest wrong, seeing Mannahatta may not be a gift after all. . . .
Author: Chris Fox
Publisher:
Published: 2021-07-29
Total Pages: 710
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Fated to destroy the world. Determined to save it. My name is Xal and I live in the dims, a walled prison where my people are kept by our cruel masters until we are needed to fight once more. One member of every family must answer the Call, for our blood bears the magic of a demonic god and all the terrible power that brings. We march to war against the Fomori, an unstoppable army of giants, and their behemoths. If we do not, then our families are put to death. The Hasrans use us as cannon fodder and worse. They used up my father, and he never came home. Die resisting. Die fighting. My choice isn't if it happens, but rather how I sell my life. If by some miracle I survive, I will be granted entrance to the Imperial Academy where every noble house will vie to architect my end. They cannot allow the void-blooded to live. They cannot allow us to thrive or to gain more magic from the bodies of other dead gods. They cannot allow us to win. They fear the rise of another dreadlord. And they are right to fear. I will pull down an empire, and that is just the beginning. Shattered Gods is based on the Magitech Chronicles pen & paper RPG, and takes place in the same universe. If you're a gamer, litRPG fan, or just want to see the stats for the characters in the book, come join us! Link is in the book or check us out at magitechchronicles.com.
Author: Josh Wilker
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Published: 2011-01-01
Total Pages: 256
ISBN-13: 1616200693
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Captures the experience of growing up obsessed with baseball cards and explores what it means to be a fan of the game as the author marks the stages of his life through the cards he collected as a child.
Author: William Bolitho
Publisher: Diversion Books
Published: 2018-09-25
Total Pages: 365
ISBN-13: 1635765048
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →An instant bestseller when first published in 1929—biographies of twelve bold individuals from history and what they did to separate themselves from the pack. In his trademark journalist style, author William Bolitho details the lives of twelve great adventurers—Alexander the Great, Casanova, Christopher Columbus, Mahomet, Lola Montez, Cagliostro (and Seraphina), Charles XII of Sweden, Napoleon I, Lucius Sergius Catiline, Napoleon III, Isadora Duncan, and Woodrow Wilson. Bolitho elucidates both the struggles and successes that made these figures so iconic, and demonstrates how they all battled convention and conformity to achieve enduring fame and notoriety. “We are born adventurers,” Bolitho writes, “and the love of adventures never leaves us till we are very old; old, timid men, in whose interest it is that adventure should quite die out. This is why all the poets are on one side, and all the laws on the other; for laws are made by, and usually for, old men.” Though his essays are nearly one hundred years old, they encompass the timeless values of perseverance, bravery, and strength of spirit that have proven to resonate with the pioneers and thought leaders of today. “It’s really quite good.” —Elon Musk “Twelve Against the Gods provides an interesting perspective on what drove and impeded this group of adventurers . . . A good read for anyone who’s interested in history or looking to find some motivation to switch things up and break the rules.” —Áine Cain, Business Insider “I think Twelve Against the Gods is also very appropriate for this day and age. We need adventurers, and there still are a lot of adventurers.” —China Ryall, daughter of William Bolitho
Author: Jemma Westing
Publisher: Penguin
Published: 2017-04-18
Total Pages: 144
ISBN-13: 0744030218
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →From castles to animal masks, pirate ships, and even dinosaurs! You will be amazed at how much you can do with a simple cardboard box. A DIY projects book for kids that use recycling as a way to build creativity, imagination, and interactive play for kids aged 7-12. It features clear step-by-step instructions and detailed photographic explanations that will inspire imaginative minds. The sky is the limit with Out Of The Box! This book is designed to help kids learn and play. They will learn about the idea of upcycling and reusing materials that otherwise would be thrown away. This book has 25 brilliant projects for them to choose from. Detailed instructions and photographs along with colorful inspiration sheets will delight and inspire for hours of endless fun. Out Of The Box will help kids develop their creativity and imagination through interactive play, and inspire them to find a thousand more projects to build. Think Out Of The Box! A box is just a box, right? Wrong! It could be a pirate ship, a butterfly, or a family of penguins! Out of the box will encourage kids to see a cardboard box as more than junk. Kids can build their imaginations and creative skills by reusing household cardboard. Learn to build and decorate a range of projects to share, wear, and play with. This educational book will show kids how to: - Develop cardboard skills - Build a castle, city and pirate ship - Design penguins, butterflies, and rabbits - Create games like ring toss - Produce wearables like Pharaoh’s finery and masks - Decorate funky flowers and lazy lizards - And much, much more! DK is all about inspiring young minds, teaching them new skills and expanding their knowledge, imaginations, and perspectives. Help them to realize their true potentials by adding to your DK collection today. Awards Book category winner of the Creative Play Award 2017
Author: Ron Kaplan
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
Published: 2018-08-01
Total Pages: 620
ISBN-13: 1496209885
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Propounding his "small ball theory" of sports literature, George Plimpton proposed that "the smaller the ball, the more formidable the literature." Of course he had the relatively small baseball in mind, because its literature is formidable--vast and varied, instructive, often wildly entertaining, and occasionally brilliant. From this bewildering array of baseball books, Ron Kaplan has chosen 501 of the best, making it easier for fans to find just the books to suit them (or to know what they're missing). From biography, history, fiction, and instruction to books about ballparks, business, and rules, anyone who loves to read about baseball will find in this book a companionable guide, far more fun than a reference work has any right to be.
