It remains one of the most memorable moments in modern Olympic history. At the 1984 summer games in Los Angeles, a raucous crowd of ninety thousand saw their favorite in the women’s 3,000-meter race, Mary Decker, go down. An audience of two billion around the world witnessed the mishap and listened to the instantaneous accusations against the suspected culprit, Zola Budd.Just seventeen, the South African Budd had already been the target of a vicious and vocal campaign by the antiap...

**A Chicago Tribune Noteworthy BookA GoodReads Reader's ChoiceIn One Summer Bill Bryson, one of our greatest and most beloved nonfiction writers, transports readers on a journey back to one amazing season in American life.**The summer of 1927 began with one of the signature events of the twentieth century: on May 21, 1927, Charles Lindbergh became the first man to cross the Atlantic by plane nonstop, and when he landed in Le Bourget airfield near Pa...

In this companion to his acclaimed and inspirational bestseller, Heroes for My Son, national bestselling novelist Brad Meltzer brings together the stories of fifty-five remarkable individuals, from intellectual explorers such as Marie Curie, Sally Ride, and Jane Goodall to cultural champions like Billie Jean King; from implacable public figures such as Rosa Parks and Winston Churchill to artistic icons such as Leonardo Da Vinci and Stevie Wonder; and beyond. Heroes for My Daughter is Meltz...

The all-time champion and host of Jeopardy! gives you the chance to test your trivia mettle in this ingeniously organized book of 8,888 questions.For example–February 21: In 1912, on this day, Teddy Roosevelt coined the political phrase “hat in the ring,” so Ken Jennings fires off a series of “ring” questions. In 1979, who became the first NFL quarterback with four Super Bowl rings*?* What rings are divided by the Cassini Division? Also on this date, in 19...

Some samples: 1) The Boston Celtics basketball team scored a couple of notable firsts in opening doors to talented African Americans. In 1950, Walter Brown drafted Chuck Cooper, an African-American forward who played for Duquesne University. Another owner of an NBA team tried to convince Mr. Brown not to become the first team owner to draft an African-American player, but Mr. Brown replied, "I don't give a damn if he's striped or polka-dot or plaid—Boston takes Charles Cooper of Duquesne."...

Think you know the story of Olympic runner Zola Budd? Think again. Even if you remember how the barefoot prodigy broke world records and was blamed for favorite Mary Deckers career-crippling fall, her story has more heartbreak and nuance than the headlines would have you believe.

The Wild American is the story of Kristofferson's triumphant pursuit of a career that took an even more unlikely turn when he broke into movies and became famous all over again.Kris Kristofferson is one of country music's most illustrious singer-songwriters. Seemingly destined for a distinguished military career, ex-Golden Gloves boxer and Rhodes scholar Kristofferson gave it all up to sweep floors in Nashville, began to pitch his ...

No man has affected more runners in more ways than Bill Bowerman. During his 24-year tenure as track coach at the University of Oregon, he won four national team titles and his athletes set 13 world and 22 American records. He also ignited the jogging boom, invented the waffle-sole running shoe that helped establish Nike, and coached the US track and field team at the 1972 Munich Olympic GamesWith the full cooperation of the Bowerman family and Nike, plus years of taped interviews ...

Sporting greatness is defined by more than just a haul of gold medals or championship titles. They help of course, especially if, like Usain Bolt, an athlete redefines what is possible in terms of world records or, in the case of Mark Spitz or Steve Redgrave, demonstrates a sheer dominance of their sport.But greatness is is everything else besides, the mixture of emotion, endurance, excellence and vulnerability that sport brings - as well as the controversy it sometimes stirs - that creates t...

North American Ultrarunning: A History explores the rich heritage of ultradistance running stretching back thousands of years; the Americas were originally peopled by nomads on foot. The book documents ultradistance feats by Native Americans, the earliest European explorers and settlers, before recording the growing development of the professional sport in North America in the nineteenth century. This fascinating story continues onwards into the twentieth century to the Pyle Trans-America ...

How does a boy from a small Oregon farm town get swept up in the politics of his chosen sport? Out of Nowhere takes the reader along on Geoff Hollister's 33 year journey at the center of Nike, the company that would change not only the world of athletic shoes and apparel but the business of sport itself. Nike began with a handshake and a few hundred dollars passed between Phil Knight and legendary track coach Bill Bowerman. Hollister was coached by him at the University of Oregon and was B...

Today, millions of women and girls around the world enjoy running and entering races. It wasn’t always so:• In 1961, when Julia Chase edged to the start of a Connecticut 5-miler, officials tried to push her off the road.• At the 1966 Boston Marathon, Roberta Gibb hid behind a forsythia bush, worried that police might arrest her.• The next year at Boston, Kathrine Switzer was assaulted mid-race by a furious race organizer.• In the mid-60s, Indianapolis high scho...