The Secret History of Balls

Author: Josh Chetwynd
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101514876
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 222

Book Description
You may fancy yourself a sports fan, but chances are you don't know: A fish eyeball was used as the center of some nineteenth-century baseballs The race to make better billiard balls led to the invention of plastics The Nerf ball was originally created to be part of a board game featuring cavemen Balls are the unsung heroes of sports. They are smacked, flung, dribbled, crushed, thrown, and kicked. They're usually only the subject of scrutiny when something goes wrong: a tear, the application of an illegal foreign substance, or a dent from overuse. Nevertheless, if you're watching nearly any major sporting event from around the world, you're likely following the ball wondering where it will go next... The Secret History of Balls mines the stories and lore of sports and recreation to offer insight into 60 balls-whether they're hollow, solid, full of air, or stuffed with twine or made of leather, metal, rubber, plastic, or polyurethane-that give us joy on playing fields and in every arena from backyards to stadiums around the globe.

The Secret History of Magic

Author: Peter Lamont
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1524704458
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 370

Book Description
Pull back the curtain on the real history of magic – and discover why magic really matters If you read a standard history of magic, you learn that it begins in ancient Egypt, with the resurrection of a goose in front of the Pharaoh. You discover how magicians were tortured and killed during the age of witchcraft. You are told how conjuring tricks were used to quell rebellious colonial natives. The history of magic is full of such stories, which turn out not to be true. Behind the smoke and mirrors, however, lies the real story of magic. It is a history of people from humble roots, who made and lost fortunes, and who deceived kings and queens. In order to survive, they concealed many secrets, yet they revealed some and they stole others. They engaged in deception, exposure, and betrayal, in a quest to make the impossible happen. They managed to survive in a world in which a series of technological wonders appeared, which previous generations would have considered magical. Even today, when we now take the most sophisticated technology for granted, we can still be astonished by tricks that were performed hundreds of years ago. The Secret History of Magic reveals how this was done. It is about why magic matters in a world that no longer seems to have a place for it, but which desperately needs a sense of wonder.

The Secret History of the Court of France, Under Louis XV.

Author: Annie Emma Challice
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : France
Languages : en
Pages : 410

Book Description

The Secret History of Kindness: Learning from How Dogs Learn

Author: Melissa Holbrook Pierson
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393247236
Category : Pets
Languages : en
Pages : 328

Book Description
An intimate, surprising look at man’s best friend and what the leading philosophies of dog training teach us about ourselves. Years back, Melissa Holbrook Pierson brought home a border collie named Mercy, without a clue of how to get her to behave. Stunned after hiring a trainer whose immediate rapport with Mercy seemed magical, Pierson began delving into the techniques of positive reinforcement. She made her way to B. F. Skinner, the behavioral psychologist who started it all, the man who could train a pigeon to dance in minutes and whose research on how behavior is acquired has ramifications for military dolphin trainers, athletes, dancers, and, as he originally conceived, society at large. To learn more, Pierson met with a host of fascinating animal behaviorists, going behind the scenes to witness the relationships between trainers and animals at the National Zoo in Washington, DC, and to the in-depth seminars at a Clicker Expo where all the dogs but hers seemed to be learning new tricks. The often startling story of what became of a pathbreaking scientist’s work is interwoven with a more personal tale of how to understand the foreign species with whom we are privileged to live. Pierson draws surprising connections in her exploration of how kindness works to motivate all animals, including the human one.

Baseball in the Garden of Eden

Author: John Thorn
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 0743294041
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 386

Book Description
Think you know how the game of baseball began? Think again. Forget Abner Doubleday and Cooperstown. Did baseball even have a father--or did it just evolve from other bat-and-ball games? John Thorn, baseball's preeminent historian, examines the creation story of the game and finds it all to be a gigantic lie. From its earliest days baseball was a vehicle for gambling, a proxy form of class warfare. Thorn traces the rise of the New York version of the game over other variations popular in Massachusetts and Philadelphia. He shows how the sport's increasing popularity in the early decades of the nineteenth century mirrored the migration of young men from farms and small towns to cities, especially New York. Full of heroes, scoundrels, and dupes, this book tells the story of nineteenth-century America, a land of opportunity and limitation, of glory and greed--all present in the wondrous alloy that is our nation and its pastime.--From publisher description.

The Black Ball

Author: Simon Lovell
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781725961289
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 120

Book Description
Imagine if you could reach new levels of happiness and joy; releasing years of shame, guilt and stress from your life. Are you ready for a spiritual awakening and to start fully living life? You may be holding onto a Black Ball. After childhood bullying, debt, alcohol, gambling and drugs, business mentor Simon Lovell went on a huge journey into self-help and personal transformation, but still found himself lost after invested hundreds of thousands of dollars. He was living a double life. Finally, in 2018 he experienced a profound spiritual awakening that was captured live on Facebook, releasing 30 years of shame from a secret that he was holding deep inside. This was his 'Black Ball'. It was raw, emotional and impactful to everyone watching. Suicide is both a major mental health and national public health issue around the globe with rates rising sharply. A person dies every 40 seconds by suicide and up to 25 times as many again make an attempt to take their life. The Black Ball is Simon's journey, as well as a series of courageous stories from people around the world who have released their shame and guilt and are living happier lives through the groundbreaking Black Ball process. Simon also reveals a powerful four step process to letting go and living your best life possible. Simon writes, "It was finally when I was willing to let go of the masks I was wearing and stop playing the character of Simon Lovell that everything changed. Now I understand personal transformation at a much deeper level because I've found 'home', the real Simon Lovell. Now it's my mission to help others release their Black Ball and for them to be 100% okay with the story of their life. Are you ready to reach huge levels of happiness? This book is for anyone who is currently feeling helpless, lost and wants to boost their self-esteem with a motivational message as well as simple action steps to change. It's also for those who are currently on their personal transformation and self-help journey and want to boost their spiritual growth.

The Very Best of The Secret Policeman's Ball

Author: Amnesty International
Publisher: Canongate Books
ISBN: 0857867350
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 596

Book Description
The most celebrated comedy routines in British history, from a remarkable comedy institution. From the infamous Dead Parrot Sketch to Michael Palin's 'I'm a Lumberjack' song; Peter Cook's peerless E.L. Wisty monologues to Rowan Atkinson's school-master's roll-call; and on through to the latest generation led by Eddie Izzard, Dylan Moran and Jack Whitehall. This definitive collection brings together the very best of Amnesty International's Secret Policeman shows.

The Water Kingdom

Author: Philip Ball
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022647092X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 350

Book Description
From the Yangtze to the Yellow River, China is traversed by great waterways, which have defined its politics and ways of life for centuries. Water has been so integral to China’s culture, economy, and growth and development that it provides a window on the whole sweep of Chinese history. In The Water Kingdom, renowned writer Philip Ball opens that window to offer an epic and powerful new way of thinking about Chinese civilization. Water, Ball shows, is a key that unlocks much of Chinese culture. In The Water Kingdom, he takes us on a grand journey through China’s past and present, showing how the complexity and energy of the country and its history repeatedly come back to the challenges, opportunities, and inspiration provided by the waterways. Drawing on stories from travelers and explorers, poets and painters, bureaucrats and activists, all of whom have been influenced by an environment shaped and permeated by water, Ball explores how the ubiquitous relationship of the Chinese people to water has made it an enduring metaphor for philosophical thought and artistic expression. From the Han emperors to Mao, the ability to manage the waters ? to provide irrigation and defend against floods ? was a barometer of political legitimacy, often resulting in engineering works on a gigantic scale. It is a struggle that continues today, as the strain of economic growth on water resources may be the greatest threat to China’s future. The Water Kingdom offers an unusual and fascinating history, uncovering just how much of China’s art, politics, and outlook have been defined by the links between humanity and nature.

The Secret History of Mac Gaming

Author: Richard Moss
Publisher: Unbound Publishing
ISBN: 1783524871
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 538

Book Description
The Macintosh challenged games to be more than child’s play and quick reflexes. It made human–computer interaction friendly, inviting, and intuitive. Mac gaming led to much that is now taken for granted by PC gamers and spawned some of the biggest franchises in video game history. It allowed anyone to create games and playful software with ease, and gave indie developers a home for their products. It welcomed strange ideas and encouraged experimentation. It fostered passionate and creative communities who inspired and challenged developers to do better and to follow the Mac mantra ‘think different’. Drawing on archive material and interviews with key figures from the era – and featuring new material from Craig Fryar, Apple’s first Mac games evangelist and the co-creator of hit game Spectre – The Secret History of Mac Gaming is the story of those communities and the game developers who survived and thrived in an ecosystem that was serially ignored by the outside world. It’s a book about people who followed their hearts first and market trends second, showing how clever, quirky, and downright wonderful video games could be.

When the Balls Drop

Author: Brad Garrett
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1476772908
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 288

Book Description
"An honest look at life's second half from Everybody Loves Raymond TV sitcom star and comic Brad Garrett"--