77 books like Winning Fixes Everything

Lewis has a great reporter’s gift for seeking out great real-life stories you maybe didn’t know existed.

Moneyball takes us through a year at the Oakland A’s baseball team, and its manager’s experiment in applying statistical analysis to assess player value. I’m currently writing a book about sport and modernity, so for me this is always the book to start with.

There’s nothing narrow, though, about Lewis’s focus, and his message about the world’s drift toward quantification is even more relevant today. To say this is just ‘a book about baseball’ is like saying The Odyssey is just a book about travel.

Anyone who watches baseball and studies the game even a little bit thinks he or she knows more than the people who run teams.

Lindbergh and Miller actually got the opportunity to run an independent league team for one summer, and they had carte blanche to try any “wild experiment” they wanted. Some of the stuff worked, but some didn’t. Seeing the conflict between the old-school baseball people and the analytical interlopers was fascinating, especially as both sides came toward the other.

If you’re a Shohei Ohtani fan, you may also be a Los Angeles Angels fan, which means you are probably interested in Joe Maddon.

This book is not just Maddon’s ranting against the way baseball has changed over his 40-plus years in the sport, it also includes third-person narrative from Verducci, who interviewed other managers to get their perspective. For example, Astros manager A.J. Hinch detailed his pitching decisions in the 2019 World Series. That was one of my favorite parts of the book.

I loved this book because Kelly gives his uncensored look behind the scenes at the way players view the game.

The other books in this list are told from the perspective of management, so this is the perfect complement to give you the full view at the state of baseball in the 2020s. Kelly tells you what he loves about the game, and what he thinks of the direction it has gone.

Blood Will Tell is the Fort Worth version of Blood and Money.

In fact, the accused killer, T. Cullen Davis, the middle son of prominent oil and gas multi-millionaire “Stinky” Davis, went to high school with Tommy Thompson and had read his book.

So when Cullen was in a frustratingly long divorce battle with his wife Priscilla, a buxom blonde bombshell who was everything the oil and cowtown society hated—sexy, flashy, vulgar, and obviously after Cullen’s cash—Cullen supposedly tried to off her.

Priscilla was merely wounded, but her boyfriend and her 12-year-old daughter were killed.

Over the course of two trials, Cullen’s attorney, Richard “Racehorse” Raines, put Priscilla and her trashiness on trial, so much so that her murdered daughter was seemingly forgotten, but the juries didn’t forget Priscilla. 

Choosing this book was a no-brainer for me as I absolutely adored this novel. It reminded me of my younger self in high school, very artistic and yet still trying to “fit in” with the cool kids and trying to find my own way and destiny. The storyline revolves around a cool Piper Perish who “inhales air and exhales art.” She and her best friends Enzo and Kit, are dreaming of leaving Houston to get into art school in New York City. It’s been Piper’s dream her whole life, and now that senior year is halfway over, she’s ready for the Big Apple. Of course, a few challenges get in the way, including boys and family drama, which make the story very relatable and engaging.

In my view, fellow Texan Tommy Thompson is the best true crime writer around.

That’s why I recommend Blood and Money, which paints a vivid picture of boom and bust Houston, Texas café society with all of its charity balls, gossip columns, infidelities, and murders.

Dr. John Hill, a social-climbing but not particularly hard-working plastic surgeon, was accused of killing his stunning wife, Joan Robinson, renowned for her show horsemanship and platinum blonde ponytail. Joan was also the daddy’s girl of oil baron Ash Robinson, who had a conniving history of breaking the law.

So when Ash’s freeloading son-in-law was set free, thanks to a hung jury and the slick work of famed attorney Richard “Racehorse” Haynes, the city’s headlines were quickly filled with another murder—that of Dr. John Hill.

Patricia Hunt Holmes is a fellow writer and friend who has written two books. Her second novel is titled, Crude Ambitions, and Pat weaves a great story of the good and evil in the ever-booming Texas oil industry. After leaving the Texas Hill Country to fulfill her dreams of becoming a lawyer, the main character in the book, Carolyn Page, faces numerous crises of consciousness in her personal life and professional career. Nevertheless, Carolyn excels and works tirelessly to become a partner in a prestigious Houston law firm that exposes her to many challenging and life-changing decisions for herself and others. Pat has developed a rich cast of characters to deliver a riveting story that is sure to please. 

It might look like another romance novel slipped into this list by mistake, but Andrews elevates a typical paranormal romance plot by placing it in an extraordinary open-world urban fantasy setting and emphasizing the main character’s relationship with her family over her love life. Nevada and her loved ones would rather live quiet lives than welcome society’s scrutiny by exposing abilities that are extraordinary even in a world socially ruled by magical dynasties. This book proves explosive magical fights can occur in a world where the response is live-streaming and not an immediate cover-up attempt.

Texas Destiny is a historical romance that showcases a family of three brothers trying to start a ranch. Each brother has his own personality, his own way to contribute to the development of their family which enthralled me. Dallas holds it all together, a Type A personality to be sure. Austin, the youngest, does everything he can to help but still makes impulsive decisions. And Houston, the middle brother…scarred in battle, he has to fight feelings of worthlessness. It’s a beautiful story about how three brothers learned to be a family. My heart almost couldn’t take it.