Showing titles in Sports & Recreation

This entry in a brand new line of sports biographies from Matt Christopher takes listeners onto the field with a soccer legend Mia Hamm's speed, aggressive play, and ability to "read the field" helped her become the best women's soccer player in the world. Her stellar performance as a college, World Cup, and Olympic Champion made her a sports hero, and her story will inspire a new generation of young athletes. This comprehensive biography - with bonus photos and infographics - gives listeners an up-close look at one of America's greatest soccer stars.

In Kyrie Irving: The Inspiring Story of One of Basketball's Most Versatile Point Guards, you'll hear about the inspirational story of basketball's star, Kyrie Irving. This short, unauthorized biography of Kyrie Irving highlights his quick ascent into the league as a brilliant passer and scorer.

Those who reach the top of their profession, especially those who are in the entertainment industries or athletics, are often subjected to a ton of media interference that covers not only their professional life but their personal life as well. Because of this, some choose to remain very private, keeping part of their life separate from the public face that they put on, and they do whatever they can to make sure they have some sense of privacy in their lives. Despite this, there is often an intrusive and intense pressure that can sometimes bring to light some of the parts of these ...

Join the Pro Football Hall of Fame in celebrating the legendary coach, announcer, and video game personality! This new biography is based on interviews with John Madden himself!

Everything seemed set against Chaunte Lowe. Growing up with a single mother in Paso Robles, California, where she experienced food insecurity, homelessness, and domestic abuse, Chaunte couldn't imagine a future that offered a different sort of life. But then, one day, she turned on the TV and there was Flo Jo, competing in the Olympics and shattering records in track and field. Almost immediately, Chaunte knew what she wanted to do. She started running.

In 1967, a 13-year-old girl named Maureen Wilton set the women's world marathon record, running 26.2 miles in 3:15:23. Nicknamed “Little Mo” by her track teammates, Wilton was already a headline-making athlete. But her accomplishment was greeted with controversy and misogynistic accusations of cheating. Wilton receded into the background, left the sport, and kept her achievement secret. This is the story of what happened and how Maureen found her way back to the sport decades later as the mother of a young runner herself.

A child prodigy, Novak Djokovic quickly realized his dream of becoming the number one tennis player in the world. This book is an inspirational story of a boy who grew up in war-torn Serbia and survived the sport's most demanding rituals to become not only a global champion but also a devoted husband and father to his young family.

It's a bird! It's a plane! No - it's Rey Mysterio! This high-flying luchador takes pro wrestling to a whole new level. He may be small compared to other wrestlers, but Rey Mysterio has made a big impact in the world of pro wrestling.

Before Ronald Acuna Jr. was exploding baseballs and launching himself into stardom, he was a kid from Venezuela with a dream of playing major league baseball. When it all started, he didn't know if he would ever become the player he is today--a bona fide phenom who graces the cover of Sports Illustrated before he even turns 20 years old. Ronald Acuña Jr. is one of baseball's most exciting young talents, a bona fide superstar who burst onto the scene as a rookie in 2018, en route to becoming one of the game's brightest stars. In his first season as an Atlanta Brave, he set multiple rookie ...

In Vince Carter: The Inspiring Story of One of Basketball's Most Dynamic Shooting Guards, you'll hear about the inspirational story of basketball's premier shooting guard, Vince Carter. Vince Carter put the Toronto Raptors franchise on the map starting in the late 1990s and into the early 2000s. In an age filled with greats like Shaq, Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady, and Steve Nash, Carter has played in one of the most exciting eras of modern basketball.

In the late morning of 29th May 1953, the sun was shining brightly on the roof of the world, a gentle breeze was blowing and two men were there to witness it for the first time ever...their names were Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay and the roof of the world was Everest. This is the breathtaking story of how two very different yet equally determined men battled frost-biting temperatures, tumbling ice rocks, powerful winds and death-defying ridges to climb the world’s highest mountain.

This book takes readers deep inside the life and times of one of the NFL's most exciting players, Justin Herbert, from his humble beginnings in Eugene, Oregon to his meteoric rise as a star quarterback for the Oregon Ducks. Drafted by the Los Angeles Chargers in 2020, Justin Herbert wasted no time establishing himself as one of the most dominant quarterbacks in all of football. In his first season, he broke many rookie records, including most passing touchdowns and highest passer rating. He also earned multiple Player of the Week honors and broke several NFL records, becoming the youngest ...

Tony Hawk, also known as "Birdman," knew from an early age that he was special. Using skateboarding as an outlet for his excess energy, he became a professional skateboarder by age fourteen. He then went on to be named the National Skateboard Association world champion for twelve consecutive years. Among other notable "firsts," Tony Hawk became the first skateboarder to land a "900" trick, earning him the title as the pioneer of modern vertical skateboarding.

Travel to Greece and watch Cynisca, a Spartan princess, become the first ever woman to win at the ancient Olympic Games. Or touch the heavens with Junko Tabei as she carves her path through history and mountain ranges with little applause but a lot of bravery. In this book Kate Pankhurst, descendant of Emmeline Pankhurst, tells the fascinating stories of some of history's most talented female sports stars.

At age eight, Simone Biles began working with a gymnastics trainer, and by fifteen she was competing in a national championship—and winning best all-around. Before she turned twenty, she was an Olympic gold medalist on her way to becoming the best gymnast the world has ever seen. And through it all, Simone has been a role model for bravely opening up about her mental health struggles, knowing when to take a break, and always finding the strength to try again.

Before 1918, the Boston Red Sox were unstoppable. They won World Series after World Series, thanks in part to their charismatic pitcher-slugger Babe Ruth. But some people on the Red Sox felt the Babe was more trouble than he was worth, and he was traded away to one of the worst teams in baseball, the New York Yankees. From then on, the Yankees became a golden team. And the Red Sox? For more than 80 years, they just couldn’t win another World Series. Then, in 2004, along came a scruffy, scrappy Red Sox team. Could they break Babe Ruth’s curse and win it all?

Some of the NFL’s greatest quarterbacks in recent memory have had remarkable simple names, like Ben, Tom, and Joe. Every now and then, one comes along with a moniker that’s a bit more difficult to handle, like Tuanigamanuolepola “Tua” Tagovailoa. Fresh from starting with the national football powerhouse, the Alabama Crimson Tide during the 2017 and 2018 seasons, it remains to be seen if Tua can comfortably join the best-ever Miami Dolphins quarterbacks, like Bob and Dan, in the record books.

In Calvin Johnson: The Inspiring Story of One of Football's Greatest Wide Receivers, you will learn the inspirational story of one of football's premier wide receivers, Calvin Johnson. Since joining the NFL as the second overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, Calvin Johnson has solidified his legacy as one of the most impressive wide receivers to ever play the game, holding the Lions' franchise records for most receiving touchdowns in a single season, most receiving touchdowns in an overall career, and most receiving yards in a career.

In Pete Maravich: The Inspiring Story of One of Basketball's Most Skilled Ball-Handlers, you will learn the inspirational story of one of basketball's greatest point guards, Pete Maravich. While we are blessed in today's game to observe the remarkable play of point guards such as Stephen Curry and Chris Paul, Pistol Pete was one of the first point guards to display many of the key ball-handling skills that we observe on a nightly basis in the game today.

Serena Williams began playing tennis when she was just a child and is now an Olympic champion who's won more Grand Slam singles titles than anyone else. Throughout her life she's battled many things, from life-threatening illnesses and sports injuries, to sexism and racism in the tennis world. Now she's an icon in sport, fashion and activism, an inspiration to every young person who has dared to dream big. Extraordinary Lives is a bold, inclusive biography series shining a light on modern and historical figures.