Sportsbiografier

Ride with the author, Rod Koch, and share his adventures as he struggles to win the epic Baja 1000. Seven Years from Start to Finish covers the early years of the Baja races from 1968-1975, up to the moment when the author becomes "Numero Uno," a winner in the incredible endurance race down and around the Baja California peninsula.It's a personal look into the vast wilderness of Baja at a time when it was the last true frontier in North America (that's not covered by ice and snow 6 months of the year). Here an average guy takes on the Baja, the corporate-backed teams, and the stiff competition including famous personalities like Steve McQueen, James Garner, Pat Wayne, Parnelli Jones, Roger Ward, and a host of others, to finally realize what it means to be a winner of that legendary Baja 1000.At each race, the drivers, including the author, find the Baja races to be a great social equalizer. Then, there is Baja. A land of immense contrast and beauty, which like the racers and winds that pass over it, cannot keep it from the creeping pressures of civilization.It tells of a time and a place not so very long ago, where a person could feel free to compete and travel just as fast and as far down a primitive road as their individuality could take them.

Underneath an azure sky with the wind in his face, Cleo Coney Jr. discovers a new world of speed, guts, and friendships. "Push, Carve, Grind" takes the reader to the Central West Coast of Florida, where skateboarding not only helped to develop a young mind, but also open one. Who knew that the close group of skaters he was a part of would be responsible for keeping the sport alive in his part of the world, during skateboarding's dark days when the skateboard parks all closed. "Push, Carve, Grind!" opens a window allowing the reader to explore this soul enhancing experience called skateboarding.

This book is about the life of a man named Daniel. He was a hard rock kid who grew up the hard way, yet he had hope. He hoped for a better day and a better life. His dream in life was to become a boxer. Every Wednesday and Friday he would watch fights with his uncle who later encouraged him to pursue his dreams. In April of 1959, Daniel left South Carolina headed for Washington DC. In 1960, he entered the Golden Gloves Amateur Boxing. In 1962, His life as an amateur fighter was over when he fought his first professional fight. Although Daniel didn't gain much popularity, he had the honor to train with a few popular fighters. A few of the fighters that he trained with were Ray Robinson, Muhammad Ali, and Joe Frazier. In this book Daniel talks about his encounter with Lena Horn and Joe Louis. He also talks about some experiences in professional fighting.

Johan Cruyff is one of the greatest footballers. Here, he talks about how he learnt his trade, going on to play football for Barcelona and Ajax. He also talks about the philosophy behind 'total football', the driving force behind the great Dutch side of the seventies, and a style of football many teams attempt to emulate.

The 1950s phenomenon of Roller Derby is back in full force, and it's definitely not your grandma's game anymore. With leagues in more than one hundred cities across the country, a national tournament, and major sponsors, the new wave of the sport has gone mainstream. No one is better qualified to tell the story of Flat Track Derby's astronomic rise than Melissa "Melicious" Joulwan. As a founding member of the Texas Rollergirls -- the league that launched the sport and the reigning national champions -- she has helped redefine what it means to be stylish, sporty, and sexy. With her mouthy, tough-as-nails style, Melicious recounts her best tales from the track: her fierce rivalries with The Wrench and Ivanna S. Pankin, the scene at the annual national tournament, the thrill of a bout, and the infractions that so often bring her to the penalty box. From the minute she first laced up her skates and wrapped herself in her alter ego, Roller Derby has given her a confidence boost, and she shares the positive impact the sport has also had on girls -- young and not-so-young -- who tack posters of her on their bedroom walls and lace up their own skates. Complete with photos and suggestions on how to develop a Rollergirl name and persona, this unprecedented tell-all comes from the woman who's watched the sport evolve from an underground Friday-night event to a bona fide national phenomenon.

Was one athlete so prominent that his career can be linked to every major sports icon of the 20th Century, from Jim Thorpe to Tiger Woods? Can one athlete's career possibly span Babe Ruth and LeBron James? In Deion Sanders and the Sports Universe, Joe Nye takes a fun, informative look at how "Primetime" can be connected, through teammates, to a variety of sports legends using the six degrees of separation format.A two-sport star that played for eight different professional teams, Sanders was the quintessential modern athlete whose career connected him directly to the likes of future Hall of Famers such as Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith and Barry Bonds and indirectly to players dating as far back as Ty Cobb, Sammy Baugh and Wilt Chamberlain.For example, Sanders played on the 1989 New York Yankees with Don Mattingly, who had earlier played with Phil Niekro on the 1985 Yankees. In 1969, Niekro played on the Atlanta Braves with the great Hank Aaron.Over the course of Deion Sanders and the Sports Universe, Nye takes you through connections to more than 400 superstars in a variety of categories, and ponders the ultimate question: Is Deion Sanders really the center of the sports universe?

I EAT, BREATHE & SLEEP GOLF, is a true story about how Mike Kemper got started in the game of golf, his experiences, and his love for the game. Two former colleagues who knew his passion to chase that "little white ball" inspired him to write the book. The reading should be easy and quite enjoyable. Credit was given to his wife for the title of the book.

Based on interviews with McEnroe, this book describes his middle-class New York Irish upbringing, his rise to stardom and the slump in his career. It goes on to examine his renowned on-court behaviour, his stormy relationship with the press, and marriage and fatherhood.

Kanchelskis was one of the stars of the first great side Sir Alex Ferguson built at Old Trafford, the team of warriors, built around Peter Schmeichel, Roy Keane, Mark Hughes and Eric Cantona that won the Double in 1994. He tells the inside story of his departure from Old Trafford the following year that was dogged by persistent accusations it was engineered by the Russian mafia. He reveals why his agent presented Ferguson with a box containing £40,000 and what it was like to be the nearest player to Cantona on the night he leapt into the crowd at Selhurst Park. After leaving Manchester United, Kanchelskis tells what it was like to play alongside Duncan Ferguson at Everton and Gabriel Batistuta at Fiorentina and how in Florence he witnessed a real-life mafia murder. His move to Rangers ensured he would be the only man to score in a Manchester, a Merseyside and a Glasgow derby. After a fall-out with the Rangers manager, Dick Advocaat, he returned to Russia via a spell at Manchester City and in Saudi Arabia. Kanchelskis explains what life was like as a foreigner in Saudi Arabia and how he was playing chess in the desert with a member of the Saudi royal family as a murderous Al-Qaeda attack shot up the centre of Riyadh. With Russia due to be the centre of the football world when hosting next year's World Cup, Kanchelskis examines the sad decline of one of the game's great powers told through his time as a manager in his native land, a story of ignorance and corruption.

MATCH OF THE DAY 2 presenter Mark Chapman's brilliant exploration of the relationship between parents and children in sport.

This is the story of a charismatic woman who defied the conventions of her time, and loved living life in the fast lane.

Perhaps familiar today as an answer to sports trivia questions, Ken Williams (1890-1959) was once a celebrity who helped bring about a new kind of power baseball in the 1920s. One of the great sluggers of his era (and of all time), he beat Babe Ruth for the home run title in 1922, and became the first to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in a season that year. Later recognized for his accomplishments, he was considered for but not inducted into the Hall of Fame. This first-ever biography of Williams covers his life and career, from his small town upbringing, to his unlikely foray into pro baseball, to his retirement years, when he served as a police officer and ran a pool hall in his hometown.

Discover the amazing achievements of sports legend Serena Williams--on and off the court--in this exciting new biography.

A one-time Southampton policeman and BBC literary producer, John Arlott has always considered himself lucky. This autobiography looks at his schooldays, about great cricketers he has known or seen and about his standing for the Liberals in 1955.

Artie Wilson once was considered the best shortstop in baseball. But during much of his career, Organized Baseball passed Artie by because he was black. This book brings to light the story of a Negro League and minor league star, his struggles to make it in the majors, and his crucial role in integrating baseball's premier minor league.