Sports & Recreation : Baseball

The myth of the natural black athlete is widespread, though it’s usually only talked about when a sports commentator or celebrity embarrasses himself by bringing it up in public. Those gaffes are swiftly decried as racist, but apart from their link to the long history of ugly racial stereotypes about black people—especially men—they are also harmful because they obscure very real, hard-fought accomplishments. As Black Men Can’t Shoot demonstrates, such successes on the basketball court don’t just happen because of natural gifts—instead, they grow out of the long, tough, and unpredictable process of becoming a known player.Scott N. Brooks spent four years coaching summer league basketball in Philadelphia. And what he saw, heard, and felt working with the young black men on his team tells us much about how some kids are able to make the extraordinary journey from the ghetto to the NCAA. To show how good players make the transition to greatness, Brooks tells the story of two young men, Jermaine and Ray, following them through their high school years and chronicling their breakthroughs and frustrations on the court as well as their troubles at home. We witness them negotiating the pitfalls of forging a career and a path out of poverty, we see their triumphs and setbacks, and we hear from the network of people—their families, the neighborhood elders, and Coach Brooks himself—invested in their fates.Black Men Can’t Shoot has all the hallmarks of a classic sports book, with a climactic championship game and a suspenseful ending as we wait to find out if Jermaine and Ray will be recruited. Brooks’s moving coming-of-age story counters the belief that basketball only exploits kids and lures them into following empty dreams—and shows us that by playing ball, some of these young black men have already begun their education even before they get to college. more...

Price: $22.00

An inspiring look at the heroism and heartbreak of the 1975 World Series. In a year when the nation sorely needed a diversion from the harsh news of the day, it arrived in the form of a Fall Classic that would live up to its name and never be forgotten. The Boys of October takes the reader back to those 12 exhilarating days in 1975, when the field was guarded by greatness--Carl Yastrzemski, Carlton Fisk, Pete Rose, Johnny Bench--as the ragtag Boys from Beantown faced Cincinnati's ''Big Red Machine.''. Their triumphs and tribulations are all here, from Fisk's historic winning homer in the wee hours of Game Six, to the series' nail-biting finale, decided by a single, heart-stopping run. Through it all, the Boston Red Sox embodied the spirit of the game, in victory and defeat, to give us the series we needed-- and one we'll never forget. Against the backdrop of one turbulent summer, The Boys of October celebrates baseball and the heroes who made it what it is. more...

Price: $24.95

He lost two Cy Young winners in two years, signed a 47-year-old to be his starting first baseman, played 17 rookies in 2005, and still took his team to the playoffs. Baseball is John Schuerholz's world--everyone is just playing in it. Now, in BUILT TO WIN, the legendary manager takes readers behind the scenes of the most successful franchise in recent history--and shows how his unique philosophies and leadership have helped the Atlanta Braves achieve something no team has ever come close to accomplishing. He candidly peels back the curtain, from his first World Series with the Kansas City Royals to his departure for the struggling Braves. No sooner did Schuerholz arrive than they won their first title in 1991...and the rest is history. more...

Price: $14.99

Chronicles the real and painful struggles of the black players who followed Jackie Robinson into major and minor league baseball from 1947 to 1968. This book shares the players' personal and often heart-wrenching stories of intense racism, both on and off the field, mixed with a sometimes begrudged appreciation for their tremendous talents. more...

Price: $11.95

With a journalist’s eye for detail and a novelist’s feel for storytelling, Tom Swift takes readers on Bender’s improbable journey—from his early years on the White Earth Reservation, to his development at the Carlisle Indian School, to his big break and eventual rise to the pinnacle of baseball. The story of a paradoxical American sports hero, one who achieved a once-unfathomable celebrity while suffering the harsh injustices of a racially intolerant world, Chief Bender’s Burden is an eye-opening and inspiring narrative of a unique American life. more...

Price: $24.95