Derick Lugo had never been hiking. He certainly couldn't imagine going more than a day without manicuring his goatee. But with a job cut short and no immediate plans, this fixture of the New York comedy scene began to think about what he might do with months of free time. He had heard of the Appalachian Trail, but he had never seriously considered attempting to hike all 2,184.2 miles of it. Suddenly he found himself asking, Could he do it?

On the playing field, natural talent isn’t enough—there’s a mental component that determines whether athletes win the race or wipe out before the finish line. But what separates standout sports stars from the rest? In a paradigm-shifting new theory, acclaimed sportswriter Matt Fitzgerald identifies two key traits behind athletic success: strict self-regulation over thoughts and emotions and an unquenchable psychological need to pursue victory—even when it means enduring extreme mental and physical suffering.

The Complete Book of Five Rings is an authoritative version of Musashi's classic The Book of Five Rings, translated and annotated by a modern martial arts master, Kenji Tokitsu. Tokitsu has spent most of his life researching the legendary samurai swordsman and his works, and in this book he illuminates this seminal text, along with several other works by Musashi.

If someone were to ask Jasmine Santos to describe the last few years of her life with a single word, it would definitely be a four-letter one. After 17 years - and countless broken bones and broken promises - she knows her window to compete in figure skating is coming to a close. But when the offer of a lifetime comes in from an arrogant idiot she's spent the last decade dreaming about pushing in the way of a moving bus, Jasmine might have to reconsider everything.

If you want to get bigger, leaner, and stronger without steroids, good genetics, extreme dieting, or wasting ridiculous amounts of time in the gym...you want to listen to this book. Because here’s the deal: Building lean muscle and burning stubborn fat isn't nearly as complicated you’ve been led to believe. This book is the shortcut.

Let’s face it: fitness is hard. Have you ever gotten into the car after a long day at work and headed straight for the couch instead of the gym? Have you ever been unable to stop hitting the snooze button in the morning? Have you even felt secretly afraid you just don’t have what it takes to transform your body and health? Welcome to the club.

All over America, families are investing blood, sweat, tears, and retirement savings in their children’s sports careers, all with the ultimate goal of…what exactly? A college scholarship? A professional contract? Simply the taste of victory? Through the lens of the highly competitive world of girls’ softball, Lewis reveals the youth sports industrial complex that has arisen to aggressively monetize after-school pastimes.

Champions aren’t born. They’re built. Greg Harden spent over 30 years building them at the University of Michigan, including 400 future professional athletes, 50 NFL first-round draft picks, and 120 Olympians from over 20 countries. He gained national recognition when 60 Minutes Sports profiled him as “Michigan’s Secret Weapon.” Now, in his first book, Greg Harden is reaching out to help anyone who wants to live their best life by offering powerful and practical advice.

In Wildlife Wars, Terry Grosz serves up fascinating stories - alternately hair-raising, hilarious, and heart-wrenching - from his 30-year struggle to protect wildlife in America. A natural storyteller, Grosz writes about the remarkable characters he met - on both sides of the law - as he matched wits with elk poachers, salmon snaggers, commercial-market duck hunters, and a host of other law-breakers. Best of all, though, these stories are so remarkably entertaining you won't want to put them down.

You can get that beautiful “beach-ready” body without following a bland, boring, bodybuilding diet and without doing exhausting strength training workouts you hate. And this exercise book shows you how.

Pulitzer Prize, Biography, 2016. Barbarian Days is William Finnegan's memoir of an obsession, a complex enchantment. Surfing only looks like a sport. To initiates it is something else entirely: a beautiful addiction, a demanding course of study, a morally dangerous pastime, a way of life.

Where's the Next Shelter? is the true story of three travelers on the Appalachian Trail, a 2,000-mile hike that stretches from Georgia to Maine, told from the perspective of Gary Sizer, a seasoned backpacker and former marine who quickly finds himself humbled by the endeavor. If you long for the horizon or to sleep under the stars, then come along for the hike of a lifetime. All you have to do is take the first step.

When Edmund Hillary first conquered Mt. Everest, Sherpa Tenzing Norgay was at his side. Indeed, for as long as Westerners have been climbing the Himalaya, Sherpas have been the unsung heroes in the background. In August 2008, when eleven climbers lost their lives on K2, the world’s most dangerous peak, two Sherpas survived. They had emerged from poverty and political turmoil to become two of the most skillful mountaineers on earth. Based on unprecedented access and interviews, Buried in the Sky reveals their astonishing story for the first time.

From New York Times best-selling author Lars Anderson comes a revealing portrait of the first family of American sports. What the Kennedys are to politics, the Mannings are to football. Two generations have produced three NFL superstars: Archie Manning, the Ole Miss hero-turned-New Orleans Saint; his son Peyton, widely considered one of the greatest quarterbacks ever to play the game; and Peyton's younger brother, Eli, who won two Super Bowl rings of his own.

When Ball Four was published in 1970, it created a firestorm. Bouton was called a Judas, a Benedict Arnold and a “social leper” for having violated the “sanctity of the clubhouse.” Baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn tried to force Bouton to sign a statement saying the book wasn’t true. Ballplayers, most of whom hadn’t read it, denounced the book. It was even banned by a few libraries. Almost everyone else, however, loved Ball Four.

I know, I know—hooking up with my brother’s way-older best friend was totally NOT a good idea. But damn, he was hot AF. Then he ghosted me, and I swore him off. Now, I’m his fake fiancée. Who saw that coming? Eight years after that unforgettable night, I’m back in my small town. Seeing Ryder Lafferty again makes my stomach do flip-flops that would make any gymnast jealous. He’s still smoking hot and now a single dad. His adorable little girl is a mini Dr. Doolittle and believes I’m a mermaid. When a shadowy figure from Ryder’s past puts his baby in danger, we pretend to be a ...

The world yearns for my billionaire's riches… But I'd trade it all for my first love, my sister's best friend. After an injury shattered her Olympic dreams, Emma Matthews is back in town to make a living from her family-owned skating rink. She didn’t know her father sold it to the hockey team owner: me. I didn’t know she’d returned with dark secrets and scars… Her presence reignites something inside me, a flicker of hope I thought long lost. Every glance, every shared moment, stirs up a storm of emotions I can't contain. She's back, and with her, the promise of something I've been...

He’s the type of guy I’ve always been warned about: ambitious, too hot to handle, and my grumpy boss to boot! And yet, I jump willingly into that fire. . . I knew better. I mean, I’m a Badass Queen, ruling in a male-run world. But even Queens need to have fun, and what I needed was a dirty, flirty one-night stand. Enter Dominic "Dom" Steele, billionaire hockey legend. At 6’ 3", his presence is commanding. Each muscle finely sculpted, his body is pure perfection. He moves with a confidence that screams, “I’m a man who knows what I want.” He wanted me and I wanted him. Simple ...

Add one cocky hockey god, one feisty female, and many emotions left unsaid. Stir together in a fake engagement of convenience. Stand back… Max I’d never missed a beat when it came to women and hockey. But all my usuals fell by the wayside that night. I never intended to seduce Hailey Rogers, my best friend’s off-limits sister. Hey, that was a bro-code violation. But she was sizzling perfection, so I pulled her body in and took her—and her V-card. Then I ran… and Hailey’s plaintive question as the door slammed shut echoed in me for years: “Max?” Hailey Max Decker is back. Now...

Dating my small town's hottest billionaire seems like a fairy tale. But little do they know, it's all a charade… Struggling after my dream coffee shop in Seattle crashed and having my heart broken by my ex, I flee to my hometown, determined to buy back my former café and rebuild my life. Back in Cedarwood, I face a double blow: my possessive ex tracked me down, and someone just beat me to buying ‘Mocha Memoirs’—by a day. Worse yet, that someone is none other than Jake Rogers—my best friend’s brother and my old flame, whose body is one hot chiseled masterpiece with well-defined ...

My college sweetheart, a mega-sexy hockey god, betrayed me with my best friend. Now he wants a second chance. Ethan Anderson, my brother’s best friend, is a vision of masculine perfection, with smokin’ abs and a tight behind begging to be squeezed. I have no idea why he dated me, a homebody that no one noticed. I worshiped the ground he skated on, but when I saw he was sexting with my supposed bestie, I bought a one-way ticket out. Years later, I'm back in our small town, inheriting Grandma’s boutique. To save it from bankruptcy, I agree to be Ethan’s PR Manager. As we work together...

Nerdy girls like me don’t stand a chance with hunky, billionaire hockey gods. Yet I’m dating one. And even though it’s a fake relationship, it sure doesn’t feel fake under the covers. I’ve never forgotten that deliriously sizzling night I met Noah Harrington. He rescued me from a wilderness car crash, and our physical connection alone electrified his cabin. He told me he'd never been married. But then I saw his wedding photos. No need sticking around for a liar. Years later, my brother gets me a job with his hockey team. And surprise. I meet his best friend, the team star: Noah, ...

I turned in my secret lover, my brother’s best friend, to the FBI. Then I learned I was pregnant with his baby. Parker Sterling is a walking heat wave—broad-shouldered and hard-bodied, he radiates a raw magnetism that crackles in the air. His eyes? They aren't just blue; they're the kind of blue that knocks the breath right out of you. He ignited a primal need deep within me. We surrendered to a firestorm of passion that left me breathless and yearning. Then I discovered his shady play: he was a criminal who seduced me for FBI intel. Heartbroken, I had no choice but to do my duty and ...

I can’t imagine anything worse than running into my hot hockey star ex in Italy. Until a one-night-stand ups the ante with a + pregnancy test. I expected to never see Benton Jeffries again after our messy split. A decade passes before I lay eyes on him again at a friend’s destination wedding. He sure knows how to knock a puck in the hole. Those piercing blue eyes and chiseled jaw should be a hooking penalty. With all willpower officially gone I let him in my hotel room after a day in Sorrento. My walls come down along with my panties. As the sun rises, reality creeps in. I get up and ...

I broke my #1 rule and slept with the girl next door. Now, my usually guarded heart is skating on thin ice. New city, new NHL team, same dating rules: no doubling back. I learned the hard way after heartbreak that one and done is my MO. Then Emery, a past one-night-stand, moves in next door. I can't stop obsessing about her legs wrapped around my head again. I propose a friends-with-benefits arrangement and to my delight, she agrees. Passions explode and boundaries blur as I re-explore every inch of her curvy body. Our superficial game deepens faster than a slapshot from center ice. In ...

He’s in black ice skates, ripped black jeans, and a yellow and black New Brunswick Wolverines shirt that fills out his vast shoulders, brawn biceps, flat torso, and anything else he has going down underneath his shirt. Reid doesn’t utter a word when he stops within two feet of me, even taller and more intimidating than yesterday because I think being on the ice is his superpower, and he looks like he can do anything on it. My life takes an unexpected turn when I meet Reid "The Reaper" Pierce- the grumpy enforcer for the New Brunswick Wolverines. When the gorgeous hockey bad boy is ...

One wild night with UAB's most irresistible surgeon. Now, I’m stuck working alongside him—and fighting every urge not to fall back into his bed. I’ve spent years on my research, and the last thing I need is a distraction like Dr. Hunter Parrish. But luck isn’t on my side—now the secret bad-boy doctor is my partner on a high-stakes, make-or-break clinical trial. Our night together should have been the end of it—a scorching, forbidden secret. But every time his smoldering eyes lock onto mine, it feels like he’s daring me to forget the rules. There’s no way I’m letting this ...

I hire my best friend’s daughter as an intern to get her away from a toxic ex. What isn’t in the job description is sleeping with her and getting her pregnant. Being the owner of a pro hockey team, I'm accustomed to heat on the ice. But this woman brings the fire, burning the clothes right off my back. If her father finds out we are sleeping together, he will cut my pucks off. Every time I try to block the shot it finds a way to slide in. As a single father with a daughter at home, this can’t continue. Especially considering I’m twice her age and we still have to work together. I ...

Five years ago, a one night stand with a hot alpha doctor ruined s*x with anyone else for me. I’ll never forget the way Brookes’ eyes devoured me. How his lips felt on mine while his hands explored every inch of my body. “You look beautiful tonight, by the way.” As soon as the door closed, he was all over me. And I was on the edge of falling apart. But our one night of fun ended with heartache when the jerk pulled a Houdini. Now half a decade later, I’m chasing my dream of working in an ER. And the first step is nailing this medical fellowship. Except my success hinges on my ...

My friends used to tell me, "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas." Clearly, they lied because a few months later, I found out my one-night stand was pregnant. I couldn't handle a baby. I was Griffin Rockwell, the best wide receiver the league had ever seen. But what choice did I have? My baby girl was coming whether I was ready for her or not. Brooke turned out to be an amazing woman and mother. For seven years, we were the MVP's of co-parenting - and even better friends. That all changed when tragedy struck our makeshift family....