The Detroit Tigers, an umpire, a pitcher, and a mistake—one of the "classic, human, baseball stories" (Ken Burns, creator of the PBS mini-series Baseball).The perfect game is one of the rarest accomplishments in sports. In nearly four hundred thousand contests in over 130 years, it has happened only twenty times. On June 2, 2010, Armando Galarraga threw baseball's twenty-first. Except that's not how it entered the record books. That's because Jim Joyce, vo...

The Bicycle Book: Wit, Wisdom and Wanderings is a celebration of the bicycle by people who ride...a tribute to one of the finest, most efficient, most useful machines ever invented. The 25 contributors are talented writers and cartoonists, each with a unique take on bicycling. Whether in critical observation, concern, memorial, fact, or in jest, each story and cartoon is definitely worth a look. You do not have to be a cycling expert to read this book; there is something here for everyone....

The definitive story of one of the greatest dynasties in baseball history, Joe Torre's New York Yankees.When Joe Torre took over as manager of the Yankees in 1996, they had not won a World Series title in eighteen years. In that time seventeen others had tried to take the helm of America’s most famous baseball team. Each one was fired by George Steinbrenner. After twelve triumphant seasons—with twelve straight playoff appearances, six pennants, and four World Series titles—Torre le...

For thirty years drummer author and songwriter Neil Peart had wanted to write a book about “the biggest journey of all in my restless existence: the life of a touring musician.” Finally the right time and the right tour . . . In the summer of 2004 after three decades twenty gold albums and thousands of performances spanning four continents the band Rush embarked on a celebratory 30th Anniversary World Tour. The “R30” tour traveled to nine countries where the band performed fifty-seven show...

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER. "Eloquent and dazzling," the story of the legendary baseball manager's tenure with the Boston Red Sox ( Philadelphia Daily News).When Terry Francona took over as manager of the Boston Red Sox in 2004, the storied franchise hadn't won a World Series championship in eighty-six years. Led by Francona, the team won two over the course of four years. During the full eight years of Francona's tenure, the Red Sox were transf...

In the spirit of Moneyball, the voice of the Toronto Blue Jays offers cutting insights on baseballBuck Martinez has been in and around professional baseball for nearly fifty years as a player, manager and broadcaster. Currently the play-by-play announcer for the Toronto Blue Jays, Martinez has witnessed enormous change in the game he loves, as it has morphed from a grassroots pastime to big business. Not all of the change has been for the better, and today...

Following in the tradition of Ghost Rider and Traveling Music, Rush drummer Neil Peart lets us ride with him along the backroads of North America, Europe, and South America, sharing his experiences in personal reflections and full-color photos. Spanning almost four years, these twenty-two stories are open letters that recount adventures both personal and universal — from the challenges and accomplishments in the professional life of an artist to the birth of a child. Thes...

The Iron Butt Rally, run every two years by the Iron Butt Association, is regarded as the ‘world’s toughest motorcycle Rally’, the Olympics of long-distance motorcycle-riding. Riders are given a long list of bonus locations; points are awarded for each bonus location ‘captured’, with higher points for more difficult / distant locations; and riders must make it back to St Louis within a strict time-frame, each covering in excess of 11,000 miles in 11 days. Selected from thousands of applica...

The making of the Blue Jays’ 2013 season.After a disastrous 2012 season, the Blue Jays had a major makeover, adding an array of star players through trades and free–agent signings, including R.A. Dickey, the best pitcher in the National League last year, and ticket sales have since soared. Starting with a behind–the–scenes look at the offseason fallout that led to the roster upheaval, this book covers every aspect of the 2013 season with a particular focus on the personali...

Want to know where Chuck Palahniuk’s tonsils currently reside?Been looking for a naked mannequin to hide in your kitchen cabinets?Curious about Chuck’s debut in an MTV music video?What goes on at the Scum Center?How do you get to the Apocalypse Café?In the closest thing he may ever write to an autobiography, Chuck Palahniuk provides answers to all these questions and more as he takes you through the streets, sewers, and local haunts of Portland, Oreg...

The legendary, record-breaking Hall of Fame pitcher tells his inspiring storyMariano Rivera never dreamed of becoming a professional athlete. He didn't grow up collecting baseball cards, playing Little League, or cheering on his home team at the World Series. He had never heard of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, or Mickey Mantle. One day, that all changed.From a childhood playing pickup games in Panama to an epic career with the New York Yankees, Maria...

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the acclaimed bestselling author comes a riveting journey through the world of minor-league baseball“Terrific…Reading this book will make you fall in love with baseball all over again.”—The Denver PostMinor league baseball is quintessentially American: small towns, small stadiums, $5 tickets, $2 hot dogs, the never-ending possibility of making it big. But looming above it all is always the real deal: Majo...