Fans pick 100 books like Game on

When New York Times best-selling author and journalist Michael Lewis got involved in his kids’ local softball league, it all seemed so wholesome and simple. Ten years later, his family looked back to find that they had spent thousands of dollars - not to mention hours - and traveled thousands of miles in the service of a single sport.

All over America, families are investing blood, sweat, tears, and retirement savings in their children’s sports careers, all with the ultimate goal of…what exactly? A college scholarship? A professional contract? Simply the taste of victory?

Through the lens of the highly… show more.

Conventional wisdom holds that youth sports are a positive experience for our children. Unfortunately, 70% of kids drop out of organized athletics by the age of 13. Most of these children quit because our youth sports culture has taken the 'play' out of 'play ball.' A shift in values, the rise of expensive youth sports models, and the myth of abundant athletic scholarships has led parents and coaches to focus on wins instead of enjoyment, and trophies at the expense of development. As a result, every day increasing numbers of children quit playing sports that are no longer enjoyable. Conventional… show more.

A look at how commercialization has transformed youth sports from fun into a heavily commercialized and profitable venture
 
Examining the youth sports economy from many sides—the major corporations, the small entrepreneurs, the coaches, the parents, and, of course, the kids—Hyman probes the reasons for rapid changes in what gets bought and sold in this lucrative marketplace. He reveals the effects on kids and profiles the individuals and communities bucking this destructive trend of commercialization.

Yahoo’s lead baseball columnist offers an in-depth look at the most valuable commodity in sports—the pitching arm—and how its vulnerability to injury is hurting players and the game, from Little League to the majors.

Every year, Major League Baseball spends more than $1.5 billion on pitchers—five times more than the salary of every NFL quarterback combined. Pitchers are the game’s lifeblood. Their import is exceeded only by their fragility. One tiny band of tissue in the elbow, the ulnar collateral ligament, is snapping at unprecedented rates, leaving current big league players vulnerable and the coming generation of baseball-playing children dreading… show more.

Tiger Woods's long descent into a personal and professional hell reached bottom in the early hours of Memorial Day in 2017. Woods's DUI arrest that night came on the heels of a desperate spinal surgery, just weeks after he told close friends he might never play tournament golf again. His mug shot and alarming arrest video were painful to look at and, for Woods, a deep humiliation. The former paragon of discipline now found himself hopelessly lost and out of control, exposed for all the world to see. That episode could have marked the beginning of Tiger's end. It proved… show more.

In "Integrity", Dr. Cloud explores the six qualities of character that define integrity. He uses stories from well-known business leaders like Michael Dell and sports figures like Tiger Woods to illustrate each of these qualities. He shows us how people with integrity: are able to connect with others and build trust; are oriented toward reality; finish well; embrace the negative; are oriented toward increase; have an understanding of the transcendent; and, success is not related to only talent or brains. There are a lot of bright, talented people who are never successful. And the most successful are not only the… show more.

This book chronicles the history of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League and the stories of the first women to play professional baseball in a league of their own.

In 1941, the world was at war, and with able-bodied American men fighting overseas, professional baseball was in danger of becoming a quaint relic-until women stepped up to the plate.

Essential reading for fans of A League of Their Own Amazon Prime series and the 1992 Penny Marshall movie!

In this heartwarming illustrated history, the League's story is told by the ones who know it best: the players. Author Anika Orrock… show more.

Here are 42 interviews with women who competed in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Each interview is a separate chapter featuring data about the player, a short bio of her athletic career, and the player's recollections. A brief history covers the many changes as the League evolved from underhand pitching with a 12-inch ball in 1943 to overhand pitching, adopted in 1948, through the circuit's league's final year, 1954, when a regulation baseball was introduced. The interviews range from 1995 to 2012 and reveal details of particular games, highlights of individual careers, the camaraderie of teammates, opponents and fans,… show more.

In The Perfect Father, New York Times bestselling author John Glatt reveals the tragedy of the Watts family, whose seemingly perfect lives played out on social media―but the truth would lead to a vicious and heartbreaking murder.

In the early morning hours of August 13th, 2018, Shanann Watts was dropped off at home by a colleague after returning from a business trip. It was the last time anyone would see her alive. By the next day, Shanann and her two young daughters, Bella and Celeste, had been reported missing, and her husband, Chris Watts, was appearing on the local news,… show more.

A multicultural story full of heart and hilarity about what it means to be all-American.