Genuine fans take the best team moments with the less than great, and know that the games that are best forgotten make the good moments truly shine. This monumental book of the Minnesota Vikings documents all the best moments and personalities in the history of the team, but also unmasks the regrettably awful and the unflinchingly ugly. In entertaining—and unsparing—fashion, this book sparkles with Vikings highlights and lowlights, from wonderful and wacky memories to the famous and infamo...

Written for every sports fan who follows the 49ers, this account goes behind the scenes to peek into the private world of the players, coaches, and decision makers—all while eavesdropping on their personal conversations. From the San Francisco locker room to the sidelines and inside the huddle, the book includes stories about Ronnie Lott, Steve Mariucci, Joe Montana, Terrell Owens, Jerry Rice, Jesse Sapolu, Bill Walsh, and Steve Young, among others, allowing readers to relive the highlight...

Genuine fans take the best team moments with the less than great, and know that the games that are best forgotten make the good moments truly shine. This monumental book of the Philadelphia Eagles documents all the best moments and personalities in the history of the team, but also unmasks the regrettably awful and the unflinchingly ugly. In entertaining—and unsparing—fashion, this book sparkles with Eagles highlights and lowlights, from wonderful and wacky memories to the famous and infam...

Ranking the best coaches in NFL history is no easy task. How do we decide which coach had a bigger on-field impact? Or the best tactical skills, both defensively and offensively? Not to mention measuring the strength of what a coach does behind the scenes, how he motivates his players, or how he keeps them from cracking under the pressure. Is the Hoodie” the greatest coach ever, or just lucky to have Tom Brady? What about Bill Parcells, Vince Lombardi, and John Madden? Where do they rank?...

Who are the best quarterbacks in NFL history? How about running backs? Wide receivers? How can we objectively rate the performance of individual defensive players? And how can we make reasonable judgments about players at different positions and from different eras? Who is the greatest football player of all time? Jerry Rice? Lawrence Taylor? Jim Brown?Such are the questions pondered by pro football writer Steve Silverman late at night (and during the day). As statistician Elliott ...

Who are the best centers in NHL history? How about wingers? How can we objectively rate the performances of individual defensive players? And how can we make reasonable judgments about players at different positions? Who is the greatest hockey player of the Expansion Era? Bobby Orr? Wayne Gretzky? Gordie Howe?Such are the questions debated by hockey columnist Steve Silverman in Who’s Better, Who’s Best in Hockey? In this book, Silverman includes analytics to help evaluate ...

In this collection of true, quirky history, Steve Silverman provides fascinating tales to astonish and entertain. Covering a wide variety of topics, these stories that have been lost to history highlight the quirks, complexities, and curious nature of our species.Hidden History, Strange Stories, and Hard-to-Believe HeadlinesWhat if there was a flip side to the history channel? What would you do with all the historical facts and tales left o...

For over 400 years, the mystery of Roanoke’s “Lost Colony” has puzzled historians and spawned conspiracies—until now. New discoveries link the lost colony of Roanoke to Hatteras Island.The legend of the Lost Colony has been captivating imaginations for nearly a century. When they left Roanoke Island, where did they go? What is the meaning of the mysterious word Croatoan? In the sixteenth century, Croatoan was the name of an island to the south now known as Hatteras...

How did we come up with that? Everyone knows about mousetraps, but did you know they were originally inspired by burglar alarms? What was so important to Samuel Hopkins that he became the first person to have a US patent? Many curious creations have been born over the centuries, and author and historian Sophie Stirling dives into the curious minds behind these unique (and sometimes wild) ideas throughout history. How about strange beauty and fashion fads—where did they come from? The phras...

The Despensers were a baronial English family who rose to great prominence in the reign of Edward II (1307-27) when Hugh Despenser the Younger became the king's chamberlain, favorite, and perhaps, lover. He and his father Hugh the Elder wielded great influence, and Hugh the Younger's greed and tyranny brought down a king for the first time in English history and almost destroyed his own family.The Rise and Fall of a Medieval Family tells the story of the ups and downs of t...

An "engrossing and exciting" account of legendary New Orleans privateers Pierre and Jean Laffite and their adventures along the Gulf Coast (Booklist, starred review).At large during the most colorful period in New Orleans's history, from just after the Louisiana Purchase through the War of 1812, privateers Jean and Pierre Laffite made life hell for Spanish merchants on the Gulf. Pirates to the US Navy officers who chased them, heroes to the private citizen...

The "Wild West" developed in the years following the American Civil War. However, this period of myth-making cowboys, infamous gunslingers, not always law-abiding lawmen, and saloon madams, is as much the product of fiction writers and film makers as reality.Many of those who roamed America's West in the period between 1850 and 1900 often appear as colorful, romanticized, legendary characters. The majority of outlaws, though, were anonymous common criminals. In 1877, the State Adju...