“Great sports writing. . . . [Vinton] is taking us inside a world few ever visit.”—James Hill, Washington PostHarnessing nature’s most powerful forces, elite downhillers descend icy, rugged slopes at speeds cresting 90 miles per hour. For decades, American skiers struggled to match their European counterparts, and until this century the US Ski Team could not claim a lasting foothold on the roof of the Alps, where the sport’s legends are born.Then c...

It was an epic downfall. In twenty-four seasons pitcher Roger Clemens put together one of the greatest careers baseball has ever seen. Seven Cy Young Awards, two World Series championships, and 354 victories made him a lock for the Hall of Fame. But on December 13, 2007, the Mitchell Report laid waste to all that. Accusations that Clemens relied on steroids and human growth hormone provided and administered by his former trainer, Brian McNamee, have put Clemens in the crosshairs of a Justi...

The definitive account of the life and tragic death of baseball legend Lou Gehrig.Lou Gehrig was a baseball legend—the Iron Horse, the stoic New York Yankee who was the greatest first baseman in history, a man whose consecutive-games streak was ended by a horrible disease that now bears his name. But as this definitive new biography makes clear, Gehrig’s life was more complicated—and, perhaps, even more heroic—than anyone really knew.Drawing on new intervie...

A first-person account of the 1975 Major League Baseball season—the last year before free agency took over and changed the national pastime forever."One of the funniest baseball books I've ever read—who knew that a baseball beat writer could be so funny and clever!" —Bill Madden, New York Daily NewsIn The Last Real Season, Mike Shropshire captures the essence of a different time and place in baseball, whe...

A fascinating and authoritative biography of perhaps the most controversial player in baseball history, Ty Cobb—“The best work ever written on this American sports legend: It’s a major reconsideration of a reputation unfairly maligned for decades” (The Boston Globe).Ty Cobb is baseball royalty, maybe even the greatest player ever. His lifetime batting average is still the highest in history, and when he retired in 1928, after twenty-one years with the Detr...

White Heat is pure adrenaline—a thrilling exploration of extreme skiing that pushes the reader over the edge with heart-pounding accounts of people who risk their lives on the fastest, steepest slopes.Often obsessed and possibly crazy, extreme skiers and snowboarders are having the time of their lives facing death-defying challenges. But the extreme skiing life isn't just about the quest to finish first; it's a lifestyle made up of insane jumps, bone-break...

Tom Clavin and Danny Peary chronicle the life and career of baseball’s “natural home run king” in the first definitive biography of Roger Maris—including a brand-new chapter to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of his record breaking season.Roger Maris may be the greatest ballplayer no one really knows. In 1961, the soft-spoken man from the frozen plains of North Dakota enjoyed one of the most amazing seasons in baseball history, when he outslugged his teammate ...

Neil Lanctot’s biography of Hall of Fame catcher Roy Campanella—filled with surprises—is the first life of the Dodger great in decades and the most authoritative ever published.Born to a father of Italian descent and an African- American mother, Campanella wanted to be a ballplayer from childhood but was barred by color from the major leagues. He dropped out of school to play professional ball with the Negro Leagues’ Washington (later Baltimore) Elite Giants, where he honed his ski...

Thirty years ago a frustrated physicist from Seattle named Ron Gregg was retreating from an aborted attempt at a new alpine style route on Denali. His partner had been evacuated by helicopter, but Ron chose to ski back to the highway solo. In the process, Ron found a new direction in life. At that time, outdoor gear left much to be desired. Many of the best climbers and alpinists designed their own equipment out of necessity. They fashioned climbing harnesses, backpacks and entire kits in ...

From the club’s inception in the late ’70s; to winning the division for the first time in the ’80s; Joe Carter’s epic home run; the two World Series titles in the early ’90s; the reign of Roy Halliday; and everything in between, the Blue Jays have continued to build a storied history as one of baseball’s most exciting teams. In Tales from the Toronto Blue Jays Dugout, Jim Prime, who has written several books on the AL East rival Boston Red Sox, captures all of the best moments in ...

Baseball players come from Cuba, Korea, Japan...India? India is the least likely place anyone would expect a professional baseball player to come from, but one man saw potential, and gave two men a chance to prove themselves.After a strong display of athletics on the Indian television show Million Dollar Arm, two pitchers (Rinku Singh and Dinsesh Patel) were invited to America by the Pittsburg Pirates.Some saw it as a publicity stunt, and maybe it was, but these two men were ...

The year was 1979 and the fifteen teenagers on the Crenshaw High Cougars were the most talented team in the history of high school baseball. They were pure ballplayers, sluggers and sweet fielders who played with unbridled joy and breathtaking skill.The national press converged on Crenshaw. So many scouts gravitated to their games that they took up most of the seats in the bleachers. Even the Crenshaw ballfield was a sight to behold -- groomed by the players themselves, picked clea...