Sports Picks for Adults

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "A rollicking good time." -Golfweek * "Thoroughly engaging." -The Washington Post A juicy and freewheeling biography of legendary golf champion Phil Mickelson-who has led a big, controversial life-as reported by longtime Sports Illustrated writer and bestselling author Alan Shipnuck. Phil Mickelson is one of the most compelling figures in sports. For more than three decades he has been among the best golfers in the world,...

"Hall of Fame football coach Jimmy Johnson's house isn't on the way to anything. Yet, his private sanctuary on the Florida Keys' Islamorada islands is a popular destination to which college and professional coaches, general managers, and team owners regularly trek to seek advice-how to build a positive team culture, draft elite players, balance work and family life, and lead a team to win. Why? Because Jimmy Johnson has done it all-rising through...

"Tells the story of an NBA prodigy, his league and their sport in the throes of crisis during the pivotal 2010-11 season. It began with The Decision, that infamous televised moment when über-star LeBron James revealed that he was leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers--thereby distancing himself from his role model Michael Jordan--to pursue his first championship with his former opponents on the Miami Heat. To the great fortune of LeBron, the NBA and basketball...

Just in time for the 2018 World Cup, The Language of the Game is a lively and lyrical guide to appreciating the drama of soccer. Soccer is not only the world's most popular sport; it's also one of the most widely shared forms of global culture. The Language of the Game is a passionate and engaging introduction to soccer's history, tactics, and human drama. Profiling soccer's full cast of characters-goalies and position players, referees and managers,...

George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. swung the heaviest bat, earned the most money, and incurred the biggest fines. Aided by his crucial partnership with Christy Walsh-- business manager, spin doctor, damage control wizard, and surrogate father-- Ruth drafted the blueprint for modern athletic stardom. Leavy breaks through the mythology that has obscured the legend and delivers the man. -- adapted from jacket

When the Philadelphia Eagles' starting quarterback went down with a torn ACL in week 14 of the 2017 NFL season, many fans and commentators assumed the Eagles' season was over. Instead, Nick Foles came off the bench and, against all odds, led the Eagles to their first Super Bowl victory in history. How did Nick get it done -- winning MVP honors, silencing the critics, and shocking the world? How did the man who was on the verge of retiring just two...

The first comprehensive, authoritative biography of American icon Arthur Ashe--the Jackie Robinson of men's tennis--a pioneering athlete who, after breaking the color barrier, went on to become an influential civil rights activist and public intellectual. Born in Richmond, Virginia, in 1943, by the age of eleven, Arthur Ashe was one of the state's most talented black tennis players. Jim Crow restrictions barred Ashe from competing with whites. Still,...

History will remember the rivalry of Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali as one for the ages. A trilogy of extraordinary fights that transcended the world of sports and crossed into a sociocultural drama that divided the country. Joe Frazier was a much more complex figure than just his rivalry with Ali would suggest. In this riveting and nuanced portrayal, acclaimed sportswriter Mark Kram, Jr. unlinks Frazier from Ali and for the first time gives a full-bodied...