Looking for a great sports book to read at the beach or for your long flight on your way to a summer vacation? There are so many well-written sports books that you can tote along (and a few for your kids too). Here are some of my favorites:
When the Braves Ruled the Diamond; Fourteen Flags Over Atlanta: Written by Dan Schlossberg, who has also written 35 other great sports books, including Called Out but Safe with former MLB umpire Al Clark. The book breaks down the Atlanta seasons where they just absolutely dominated the game.
Out of the Rough: Inside the Ropes with the World’s Greatest Golfers: Written by Steve Williams, the former caddie to Tiger Woods for more than 13 years. In this sports book, he focuses on other golfers as well as he talks about the role of a caddy in their careers. He talks about how he worked closely with Greg Norman, Adam Scott, Raymond Floyd and Tiger Woods, why Greg Norman fired him, but shouldn’t have and, of course, his relationship with Tiger for 13 years.
Kings of Queens: Life Beyond Baseball with the ’86 Mets: Written by Erik Sherman, this is one of my favorite sports books this year because, obviously, I’m a Mets fan and that 1986 year meant a lot to me. I always wondered though what happened to everyone and this sports book answers a lot of those questions. Erik talks to some of the biggest names of that season and fills you in on their life during the season as well as once the tickertape parade is over and the crowds have gone home. For some players, it wasn’t an easy road.
Fanaticus: Mischief and Madness in the Modern Sports Fan: by Justine Gubar. Fans are nuts. Plain and simple. And Gubar takes us on an incredible ride of what fans will do for the teams and athletes they love. Okay, they also will do things because they have been drinking way too much at a game or because they hate the other team or whatever. Bottom line – read this book. You’ll sit there gasping as many times as I did because you just can’t believe the stupidity of some people.
Hit & Miss: Looking for a book to keep your middle schooler entertained. This is the second book in the New York Times bestselling Jeter Publishing imprint and it’s inspired by the youth of legendary sports icon and role model Derek Jeter, a fourteen-time All-Star and five-time World Series winner who has played for one team—the storied New York Yankees—for all twenty seasons of his major league career. There are more books to choose from as well.
The Audacity of Hoop: Basketball and The Age of Obama: Written by Alexander Wolff, who chronicles our President’s love of the game from the time he was a little boy to the campaign trail. It’s also a great photo essay of the present playing basketball with George Clooney and just relaxing and shooting hoops. Here’s an excerpt: “July 2008: With no warm-up and the cameras rolling, Obama takes and makes a three-point shot during a visit to U.S. troops at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait. “I think that’s all I should do,” he says afterward. “It’s going to go down from there.”
Find Joe Journeyman: Meet Joe Journeyman. Volume 1 features 16 NFL teams, including the Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, Indianapolis Colts and the Green Bay Packers, among others. This NFL-licensed look-and-laugh series tells the story of Joe Journeyman, the only player to play for all 32 NFL teams, as he and his friends travel from one NFL team to the next. The book includes more than 500 things to search for including Joe, his playbook, his friends, historical, city and team landmarks, and tons of pun-filled scenes that will make kids laugh out loud. Ten percent of the profits support Joe’s Kids. Visit www.JoeJourneyman.com for more information.
What has been your favorite sports books for the summer? I’d like to know. I’m always looking for a good book.
