The New Cool
A Visionary Teacher, His FIRST Robotics Team, and the Ultimate Battle of Smarts
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Narrated by:
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Kirby Heyborne
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By:
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Neal Bascomb
About this listen
That Monday afternoon, in high-school gyms across America, kids were battling for the only glory American culture seems to want to dispense to the young these days: sports glory. But at Dos Pueblos High School in Goleta, California, in a gear-cluttered classroom, a different type of “cool” was brewing. A physics teacher with a dream - the first public high-school teacher ever to win a MacArthur Genius Award - had rounded up a band of high-IQ students who wanted to put their technical know-how to work. If you asked these brainiacs what the stakes were that first week of their project, they’d have told you it was all about winning a robotics competition – building the ultimate robot and prevailing in a machine-to-machine contest in front of 25,000 screaming fans at Atlanta’s Georgia Dome.
But for their mentor, Amir Abo-Shaeer, much more hung in the balance.
The fact was, Amir had in mind a different vision for education, one based not on rote learning - on absorbing facts and figures - but on active creation. In his mind’s eye, he saw an even more robust academy within Dos Pueblos that would make science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) cool again, and he knew he was poised on the edge of making that dream a reality. All he needed to get the necessary funding was one flashy win - a triumph that would firmly put his Engineering Academy at Dos Pueblos on the map. He imagined that one day there would be a nation filled with such academies, and a new popular veneration for STEM - a “new cool” - that would return America to its former innovative glory.
It was a dream shared by Dean Kamen, a modern-day inventing wizard - often-called “the Edison of his time” - who’d concocted the very same FIRST Robotics Competition that had lured the kids at Dos Pueblos. Kamen had created FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) nearly twenty years prior. And now, with a participant alumni base approaching a million strong, he felt that awareness was about to hit critical mass.
In The New Cool, Neal Bascomb manages to make even those who know little about - or are vaguely suspicious of - technology care passionately about a team of kids questing after a different kind of glory. In these kids’ heartaches and headaches - and yes, high-five triumphs - we glimpse the path not just to a new way of educating our youth but of honoring the crucial skills a society needs to prosper. A new cool.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2011 Neal Bascomb (P)2011 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
"Imagination, ambition and technology collide at an annual high-school robot-building competition…A nail-biting thrill ride for techies and armchair engineers." (Kirkus Reviews)
"Gripping... Bascomb gives us plenty of suspense and pathos... An inspiring homage to the spirit of invention and a genuine sports epic, to boot." (Publishers Weekly)
"I love this book. Neal Bascomb cuts through the arcane technical jargon of robotics to reveal an amazing world of smart high-schoolers with passions for math, science, engineering, and computers. The teacher who inspires them also inspires us. With kids like these, there is hope for the world after all." (Charles Petzold, author of CODE)
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The seven-foot Dirk Nowitzki is one of the great players in basketball history. With a devastating fadeaway and unexpected agility, the Dallas Mavericks superstar helped to pioneer the modern three-shooting game and became a global ambassador for the sport. Award-winning novelist and sportswriter Thomas Pletzinger traveled with Nowitzki for more than seven years, seeking the secret of his success and longevity. In novelistic detail, Pletzinger tells the dramatic story of how a lanky kid from the German suburbs became a top-five all-time scorer and NBA champion.
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👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
- By Anonymous User on 08-22-24
By: Thomas Pletzinger, and others
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Gym Candy
- By: Carl Deuker
- Narrated by: Kyle McCarley
- Length: 7 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Running back Mick Johnson has dreams: dreams of cutting back, finding the hole, breaking in to the open, and running free with nothing but green grass ahead. He has dreams of winning and of being the best. But football is a cruel sport. It requires power, grace, speed, quickness, and knowledge of the game. It takes luck, too. One crazy bounce can turn a likely victory into sudden defeat. What elite athlete wouldn’t look for an edge? A way to make him bigger, stronger, faster?
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Great message, great story
- By C. Murphy on 07-14-21
By: Carl Deuker
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The Keeper
- A Life of Saving Goals and Achieving Them
- By: Ali Benjamin, Tim Howard
- Narrated by: J.D. Jackson
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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In the summer of 2014, Tim Howard became an overnight sensation after more than 10 years as one of America's leading professional soccer players. His record-breaking 15 saves for the United States national team against Belgium in the World Cup electrified a nation that had only recently woken up to the Beautiful Game after decades of hibernation. In this inspiring and candid memoir, the beloved US and Everton goalkeeper finally allows himself to do something that he would never do on the field: He drops his guard.
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Tim Howard Saves more then Goals!
- By Ron on 12-16-14
By: Ali Benjamin, and others
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The Keeper - Young Readers' Edition
- The Unguarded Story of Tim Howard
- By: Tim Howard
- Narrated by: William Harper
- Length: 5 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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In this heartwarming and candid memoir, Tim Howard does something he would never do on a soccer field: he drops his guard. As fiercely protective about his privacy as he is guarding the goal for the US national team and for Everton in the English Premier League, Howard opens up for the first time about how a hyperactive kid from New Jersey with Tourette's syndrome defied the odds to become one of the world’s premier goalkeepers.
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Don't judge a book by it's cover.
- By Anonymous User on 08-17-17
By: Tim Howard
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Skies to Conquer: A Year Inside the Air Force Academy
- By: Diana Jean Schemo
- Narrated by: Donna Postel
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Diana Jean Schemo covered the Air Force Academy's sexual assault scandal in 2003, one of a series of academy embarrassments that have included drug use, rape complaints, and charges of evangelical officers pushing Christianity on cadets of all faiths. Today, the institution is in flux - a fascinating time to look at the changes being made and the experience of today's cadets. Schemo followed a handful of academy cadets through the school year. From the admissions process and basic training to graduation.
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Hates the military
- By Brian Alofs on 01-10-24
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Slow Getting Up
- A Story of NFL Survival from the Bottom of the Pile
- By: Nate Jackson
- Narrated by: Nate Jackson
- Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Nate Jackson’s Slow Getting Up is an unvarnished and uncensored memoir of everyday life in the most popular sports league in America - and the most damaging to its players - the National Football League. After playing college ball at a tiny Division III school, Jackson, a receiver, signed as a free agent with the San Francisco 49ers, before moving to the Denver Broncos. For six seasons in the NFL as a Bronco, he alternated between the practice squad and the active roster, eventually winning a starting spot - a short, tenuous career emblematic of the average pro player.
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Almost unlistenable...AND I'M A DENVER DIEHARD!
- By JROD2133 on 07-02-14
By: Nate Jackson
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Payback Time
- By: Carl Deuker
- Narrated by: Stafford Clark-Price
- Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Through the eyes of a distinctly non-athletic protagonist - a fat high school journalist named Mitch - veteran sports novelist Deuker reveals the surprising truth behind a mysterious football player named Angel. When Angel shows up at Lincoln High, he seems to have no past - or at least not one he is willing to discuss. Though Mitch gets a glimpse of Angel's incredible talent off the field, Angel rarely allows himself to shine on the field. Is he an undercover cop, wonders Mitch? Or an ineligible player? In pursuit of a killer story, Mitch decides to find out just who this player is.
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Best book ever
- By Lannon on 05-19-21
By: Carl Deuker
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Dr. J Unabridged
- The Autobiography
- By: Julius Erving, Karl Taro Greenfeld
- Narrated by: Julius Erving
- Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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With his flights of improvisation around the basket and his towering afro, Julius Erving became one of the most charismatic (and revolutionary) players basketball has ever known. But while the public has long revered this cultural icon, few have ever known of the double life of Julius Erving. Dr. J traces the inner lives of the nearly perfect player and the imperfect man - and how he has come to terms with both.
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I may overrate it, but I’m a hoops junkie!
- By @JWTheBlueprint on 01-29-14
By: Julius Erving, and others
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Open
- An Autobiography
- By: Andre Agassi
- Narrated by: Erik Davies
- Length: 18 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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From Andre Agassi, one of the most beloved athletes in history and one of the most gifted men ever to step onto a tennis court, a beautiful, haunting autobiography. Agassi brings a near-photographic memory to every pivotal match and every relationship. Never before has the inner game of tennis and the outer game of fame been so precisely limned. In clear, taut prose, Agassi evokes his loyal brother, his wise coach, his gentle trainer, all the people who help him regain his balance and find love at last with Stefanie Graf.
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Just an Incredible Story!
- By Patrick on 12-13-09
By: Andre Agassi
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One Shot at Forever
- A Small Town, an Unlikely Coach, and a Magical Baseball Season
- By: Chris Ballard
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1971, a small-town high school baseball team from rural Illinois playing with hand-me-down uniforms and peace signs on their hats defied convention and the odds. Led by an English teacher with no coaching experience, the Macon Ironmen emerged from a field of 370 teams to become the smallest school in Illinois history to make the state final, a distinction that still stands. There, sporting long hair, and warming up to "Jesus Christ Superstar", the Ironmen would play a dramatic game that would change their lives forever.
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Outstanding.
- By Cartman18 on 08-02-13
By: Chris Ballard
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Chasing Space
- An Astronaut's Story of Grit, Grace, and Second Chances
- By: Leland Melvin
- Narrated by: Ron Butler
- Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Leland Melvin is the only person in human history to catch a pass in the National Football League and in space. Though his path from the gridiron to the heavens was riddled with setbacks and injury, Leland persevered to reach the stars. While training with NASA, Melvin suffered a severe injury that left him deaf. Leland was relegated to earthbound assignments but chose to remain and support his astronaut family. His loyalty paid off. Recovering partial hearing, he earned his eligibility for space travel.
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A Must Listen to for any Space Enthusiast!
- By B.A. Lopez on 01-11-20
By: Leland Melvin
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Walk On
- From Pee Wee Dropout to the NFL Sidelines - My Unlikely Story of Football, Purpose, and Following an Amazing God
- By: Ben Malcolmson, Patti McCord - with
- Narrated by: Scott Pollak
- Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Had anyone told Ben Malcolmson that he'd someday be a wide receiver on the national champion USC football team - after not playing football since an unfortunate fifth-grade Pop Warner experience - he would have called them crazy. As a reporter for The Daily Trojan, in the spirit of George Plimpton, he participated in walk-on tryouts for the team and was dumbfounded to find himself listed on the roster. His position on the team never amounted to much in a game-time contribution, but Ben felt strongly that his faith was inextricably linked to his purpose.
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Fun!
- By Justin Erickson on 09-28-23
By: Ben Malcolmson, and others
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The Mechanic
- The Secret World of the F1 Pitlane
- By: Marc 'Elvis' Priestley
- Narrated by: Marc 'Elvis' Priestley
- Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Random House presents the audiobook edition of The Mechanic written and read by Marc 'Elvis' Priestley. In the high-octane atmosphere of the Formula One pit lane, the spotlight is most often on the superstar drivers. And yet, without the technical knowledge, competitive determination and outright obsession from his garage of mechanics, no driver could possibly hope to claim a spot on the podium.
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Great insight.
- By Justin on 01-25-19
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Backfield Boys
- A Football Mystery in Black and White
- By: John Feinstein
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Freshman footballers Jason Roddin and Tom Jefferson are a perfect pair: Jason is a blazing-fast wide-receiver, while his best friend Tom has all the skills a standout quarterback needs. After summer football camp at an elite sports-focused boarding school, the boys are thrilled to be invited back with full-ride scholarships. But on day one of practice, they're shocked when the team's coaching staff makes Tom, a black kid, a receiver and Jason, a white kid, a quarterback.
By: John Feinstein
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When the Game Stands Tall
- The Story of the De La Salle Spartans and Football's Longest Winning Streak
- By: Neil Hayes
- Narrated by: J. P. Linton
- Length: 14 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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By 2002, The Streak - a historic 13-year run of consecutive wins by the Spartans, a high-school football team from Concord, California, that couldn't be beat - was still going strong. In this revised edition of When the Game Stands Tall, author Neil Hayes, who had unrestricted access to the De La Salle team, writes from the inside about the games, the players, and their visionary coach, Bob Ladouceur, who managed to amass the highest winning percentage in football history (.995) through standing for something greater than winning.
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Great story and message but PAINFULLY detailed
- By AudioAddict on 03-21-15
By: Neil Hayes
What listeners say about The New Cool
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Anonymous User
- 12-02-23
Inspiring and emotional story!
I had no idea how much I would laugh out loud and actually have tears in my eyes when I started this audiobook. What an incredible and inspiring story!
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- Wade T. Brooks
- 06-25-12
Inspirational. A fantastic can't put it down read.
Inspirational. A fantastic can't put it down read. I read this book in one sitting.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Dave Nelson
- 03-27-13
So Very Cool
Over the last few years I have been getting into electronics, micro-controlers, and robotics and in 2010 my wife and I were able to catch the very end of the FIRST championship at the Georgia Dome. We didn’t really get to see much and what I saw didn’t make a lot of sense to me, after listening to this book it does now.
This book is the story of a school in California and its FIRST robotics team made up of rookie high-school seniors competing in the annual FIRST competition. If you don’t know about FIRST check it out
I really like the mission statement of FIRST found on the web site:
"Our mission is to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders, by engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs that build science, engineering and technology skills, that inspire innovation, and that foster well-rounded life capabilities including self-confidence, communication, and leadership."
I hope that stories like the ones told in this book are being repeated all over the country and that by reading this book will encourage more people to get involved. I hope that I can work in time to volunteer for some FIRST activities this year even if it is just a couple hours taking pictures or helping to setup.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall
- Betsy
- 03-29-11
Great fun!
What a fun and inspiring story. Makes me want to go back and be a robot-making cool dude. And, by the way Goleta is go - lee - tah (not go - let - a).
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2 people found this helpful
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- Joe
- 08-06-16
Inspirational-Makes you feel like part of the team
I truly enjoyed this book. One of the best stories I've read in a long time ... and it's all true. From the announcement of the 2009 challenge through the climax of the season, you are with team 1717 every step of the way. You share all of the victories, defeats, mistakes, and breakthroughs. I don't know if FIRST will ever displace high school football and basketball, but with energy like this, it could make as place of its own in our schools.
The book is fast paced and engaging, and the narration captures the excitement and enthusiasm unique to high school students.
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- Greg Burnham
- 02-15-23
An accurate depiction of a Great FIRST season
The story gives the reader an idea of what a FIRST season can look like and the hard work that goes in to creating a competition robot, as well as, the teamwork dynamics that have to occur. The reader was a little dry but did a good job overall.
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- Mr.
- 02-12-12
High school drama...too much
The first half of the book was tedious, too much high school drama on the nuts and bolts of building the robot. The second half of the book dealt with the actual competitions. I would rate this an average read. High school kids or those dealing with this age group will enjoy this book, others not so much.
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2 people found this helpful