Sidelines is an insider's look at the fascinating world of high-school football, and, beyond that, it is also about the death and rebirth of the American community. Stuart Albright uses football to explore our nation's complicated history of race and public education and to explain why some communities continue to thrive while others are slowly dying away. Sidelines tells the story of nine very different communities across North Carolina, from deep in the Appalachian Mountains where a team...

Sid Ellison believes that he's left Durham, NC, for good. He lives a safe, quiet life in the Appalachian Mountains teaching high school English. But when his older brother, Tyrell, is charged with the murder of a Pakistani woman, Sid has no choice but to confront his troubled past. With ambitious scope, Bull City moves from the gritty tobacco factories of Durham to Pakistan and finally to the inner-city streets of Boston before returning to the South for a dramatic and unexpected climax.

Camden, New Jersey, is quite possibly the most troubled and dangerous city in America. But a far different story lies beneath this cold surface. It is a story of hope, of voices struggling desperately against deaf ears. In the summer of 1999, a college student named Stuart Albright arrived in Camden full of youthful idealism and a naïve sense of justice. Blessed Returns is the moving, deeply personal account of a young man's coming-of-age amidst a tumultuous and life-changing summer. Albri...

A mother prays for a Christmas miracle to to bring romance into her troubled son's life in this heartwarming small town romance."How could you not believe in angels after reading this wonderful holiday story?" ―Sherryl Woods, New York Times bestselling authorDear Reader,I've been wishing for a miracle for my oldest boy, Stone, and this Christmas my prayers might just be answered!Her name is Lark, a...

Katarina Bishop and W.W. Hale the Fifth were born to lead very different lives - her family are criminal masterminds, while he comes from an apparently perfect dynasty. But both families know how to stay under the radar while getting - or stealing - whatever they want.When Hale unexpectedly inherits his grandmother's billion-dollar corporation, he quickly learns that there's no place for Kat and their old heists in his new role. But Kat won't let him go that easily, especially afte...

Former NBA star and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Kareem Abdul-Jabbar explores his 50-year friendship with Coach John Wooden, one of the most enduring and meaningful relationships in sports history.When future NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was still an eighteen-year-old high school basketball prospect from New York City named Lew Alcindor, he accepted a scholarship from UCLA largely on the strength of Coach John Wooden's reputation as a winner. It turned...

Leadership isn’t about winning; it’s about helping people succeed in life. That's the message of John Wooden, one of college basketball's greatest coaches. His UCLA Bruins piled up a record that may never be surpassed. Wooden saw himself primarily as a teacher, argues this short-form book, and his sense of values and priorities was his bedrock. Leaders everywhere can improve their game by following his example.

Rejoice, ye merry Mavericks!As Christmas approaches, we here at The Rust Creek Falls Rambler thought we’d reward our devoted followers with a blind item guaranteed to put a little extra jingle in your stockings. Which rugged Rust Creek Traub has been spotted canoodling with a very pregnant lady of the Crawford kind? Astute readers will guess we’re talking about divorced rancher Dallas Traub, who rescued expectant shopkeeper Nina Crawford from a snowy car wreck a few weeks back....

In Coaching Your Kids to be Leaders, Pat Williams takes the seven principles of leadership and applies them to the challenge of building young leaders. The essence of a leader is embodied in these seven important qualities: Vision, Communication, People Skills, Character, Competence, Boldness, Servanthood. Young people can be inspired and motivated to build them into their lives. This is an invaluable tool for those committed to building leadership skills in the children they care...

As part of the acclaimed Sports Virtues series, John Wooden: Discipline discusses the struggles and triumphs of John Wooden's life. As with each story in the Sports Virtues series, this book assigns a virtue to a celebrated athlete or coach, and uses that person's story to help the reader achieve that virtue for him or herself.What emerges after reading these stories is not only a greater understanding and appreciation of the virtues that these icons needed to get through ...

In each of these tales master storyteller Richard Ford is drawn to the themes of intimacy, love, and their failures. An illicit visit to the Grand Canyon reveals a vastness even more profound; an exacting career woman celebrates Christmas with her adamantly post-nuclear family; a couple weekending in Maine try to recapture the ardour that has disappeared, both gradually and suddenly, from their lives; on a spring evening's drive, a young wife confesses to her husband the affair she had wit...

Legendary University of North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith tells the full story of his fabled career, and shares the life lessons taught and learned over forty years of unparalleled success as a coach and mentor.For almost forty years, Dean Smith coached the University of North Carolina men's basketball program with unsurpassed success- on the court and in shaping young men's lives. In his long-awaited memoir, he reflects on the great games, teams, players, strategies, and ...