Tag Archives: Sports

Yankee Miracles

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yankee miracles

Title: Yankee Miracles: Life with the Boss and the Bronx Bombers

Author: Ray Negron and Sally Cook

Publisher: Liveright, 2012

Summary/Review: If you read this book, not only will you learn the incredible story of Ray Negron who was “nabbed” by former Yankee owner George Steinbrenner (“The Boss” of the Yankees) you will also be transported into the inner sanctum of the Yankees and Yankee stadium, home of the most storied and decorated sports franchise of all time. Ray Negron became a Yankee batboy when he was caught spray painting, or tagging, the wall of Yankee stadium. As “punishment”, Steinbrenner had him work off repainting the wall by becoming a batboy with all the menial tasks assigned a batboy. He became so beloved in the club house that he stayed with the team and professional baseball his entire career. You will read inside stories about Yankee greats from Mantle to Jeter, championship seasons, runner up seasons, and all the ways Negron and sports page heroes actually do give back to their communities. I recommend this book to all sports enthusiasts–especially the Yankee faithful (and you know who you are!)

Who will like this book?:  Someone who loves Yankees, baseball, or sports in general

Recommended by: Mark Z, guest reviewer

Think this looks like a book you’d like to read?  Visit the Fairfield Public Library catalog to see if it’s available and place a hold! [Link will open in a new window]

One On One

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[Cover]

Title: One on One:  Behind the Scenes with the Greats in the Game

Author: John Feinstein

Publisher: Little, Brown, & Company 2011

Summary/Review: I don’t know how I keep encountering books like this one. John Feinstein, the incredibly successful sports columnist and author, takes the reader “inside”, way inside, the world of college and professional sports time after time. In this book, the author goes back to interview and to reexamine the subjects of some of his previous investigative books. You are reacquainted with Bob Knight (A Season on the Brink), Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus (The Majors), several Patriot League basketball players (The Last Amateurs), and many, many other internationally famous athletes. Feinstein’s genius for behind-the-scenes, unlimited-access sports reporting and writing allows the lucky reader first-person access to the heroes of just about any game to have watched from afar, your whole life. It’s no surprise that his books, both non-fiction as well as his novels, rise to the top, or very near the top of best-seller lists time and again.

If you enjoy sports of any kind, and are at all interested in the people behind the box scores and headlines, you will only be disappointed when you come to the end of John Feinstein’s latest investigative effort.

Who will like this book?: Those interested in sports, who are interested in getting a more personal look at athletes and sports reporting

If you like this, try this: Frank Deford is one of the more-famous sports writers, and has written a number of books that investigate the sports world.  Additionally, the book “Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN” by by James Andrew Miller might be of interest if you’re looking for a book more focused on the world of investigative reporting when it comes to sports.

Recommended by: Mark Z, Guest Reviewer

Crazy for the Storm

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Title: Crazy for the Storm: A Memoir of Survival

Author: Norman Ollestad

Publisher: Ecco Press. May 2009

Summary: I did not expect to like this book as much as I did. Granted, I am an extreme adventure reader junkie, but I was not expecting to be fascinated by the reckless yet charismatic parent of the author. The book opens with the 11-year old author “waking up” in a  plane that crashed in a blizzard twenty years ago. The chapters alternate between the how the young boy manages to survive the crash and how he got there – in large part due to his father. The writing is average but the stories of his childhood adventures with his daredevil father are not.

In one passage Ollestad describes his father’s ‘madness/passion’ :

“The cranium shelf rising off his forehead bumpy and uneven, the  cluster of diamonds in the blue of his eyes fragile cracked windows, and I  saw someone younger and full of grand ambitions and I thought about how he had wanted to be a professional basketball player. He looked at me as if into a mirror, studying me, like I was holding something that he admired, even desired.”

I was compelled to sit down for a long afternoon and just finish the tale.

Who will like this book?: If you enjoyed Krakauer’s tales, or are intrigued by the extreme adventures of the likes of Tori Murden McClure [who rowed across the Atlantic Ocean solo (and who is appearing at the Library on Mon. May 18 at 7 pm)] you will enjoy this book.

Recommended by: Karen, Deputy Town Librarian

Sunday Money

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Title: Sunday Money: Speed, Lust, Madness, Death: A Hot Lap Around America with NASCAR

Author: Jeff MacGregor

Summary: If you are a sports fan, especially if you are a sports-business fan, you will enjoy this book. Author MacGregor and his wife follow the NASCAR circuit during a time of transistion – the year after Dale Earnhardt’s death at the Daytona 500 – and while they spend some time reporting the on-track action, most of the book is spent describing the culture and business of NASCAR, currently the second-most popular sport in the country (and for you doubters, MacGregor will explain why drivers are indeed athletes.)

If there was such a thing as Gonzo Sports Journalism, this would be it – the tone is irreverent and the author’s outlook is definately not sentimental. This book provides a unique insight into NASCAR – even if you don’t get it, you’ll walk away from this book understanding why some people – particularly CEOs and marketers – do.

Who will like this book? NASCAR fans, marketing people

If you like this, try: Moneyball by Michael Lewis, National Pastime by Steven Szymanski, Amped by David Browne

Recommended by: Nicole, Teen Librarian