Dream Team

Author: Jack McCallum
Publisher: Ballantine Books
ISBN: 0345520505
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 393

Book Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Acclaimed sports journalist Jack McCallum delivers the untold story of the greatest team ever assembled: the 1992 U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team. As a writer for Sports Illustrated, McCallum enjoyed a courtside seat for the most exciting basketball spectacle on earth, covering the Dream Team from its inception to the gold medal ceremony in Barcelona. Drawing on fresh interviews with the players, McCallum provides the definitive account of the Dream Team phenomenon. He offers a behind-the-scenes look at the controversial selection process. He takes us inside the team’s Olympic suites for late-night card games and bull sessions where superstars like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird debated the finer points of basketball. And he narrates a riveting account of the legendary intrasquad scrimmage that pitted the Dream Teamers against one another in what may have been the greatest pickup game in history. In the twenty years since the Dream Team first captivated the world, its mystique has only grown. Dream Team vividly re-creates the moment when a once-in-a-millennium group of athletes came together and changed the future of sports—one perfectly executed fast break at a time. With a new Afterword by the author. “The absolute definitive work on the subject, a perfectly wonderful once-you-pick-it-up-you-won’t-be-able-to-put-it-down book.”—The Boston Globe “An Olympic hoops dream.”—Newsday “What makes this volume a must-read for nostalgic hoopsters are the robust portraits of the outsize personalities of the participants, all of whom were remarkably open with McCallum, both then and now.”—Booklist (starred review)

Bowling Alone: Revised and Updated

Author: Robert D. Putnam
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 1982130849
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 592

Book Description
Updated to include a new chapter about the influence of social media and the Internet—the 20th anniversary edition of Bowling Alone remains a seminal work of social analysis, and its examination of what happened to our sense of community remains more relevant than ever in today’s fractured America. Twenty years, ago, Robert D. Putnam made a seemingly simple observation: once we bowled in leagues, usually after work; but no longer. This seemingly small phenomenon symbolized a significant social change that became the basis of the acclaimed bestseller, Bowling Alone, which The Washington Post called “a very important book” and Putnam, “the de Tocqueville of our generation.” Bowling Alone surveyed in detail Americans’ changing behavior over the decades, showing how we had become increasingly disconnected from family, friends, neighbors, and social structures, whether it’s with the PTA, church, clubs, political parties, or bowling leagues. In the revised edition of his classic work, Putnam shows how our shrinking access to the “social capital” that is the reward of communal activity and community sharing still poses a serious threat to our civic and personal health, and how these consequences have a new resonance for our divided country today. He includes critical new material on the pervasive influence of social media and the internet, which has introduced previously unthinkable opportunities for social connection—as well as unprecedented levels of alienation and isolation. At the time of its publication, Putnam’s then-groundbreaking work showed how social bonds are the most powerful predictor of life satisfaction, and how the loss of social capital is felt in critical ways, acting as a strong predictor of crime rates and other measures of neighborhood quality of life, and affecting our health in other ways. While the ways in which we connect, or become disconnected, have changed over the decades, his central argument remains as powerful and urgent as ever: mending our frayed social capital is key to preserving the very fabric of our society.

The Faithful Spy

Author: Alex Berenson
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 0091796431
Category : Terrorism
Languages : en
Pages : 354

Book Description
The only American ever to crack al Qaeda, John Wells has been undercover so long that the CIA is no longer sure he's loyal - or even alive. Now, on the orders of Omar Khadri - the mastermind spearheading al Qaeda's attacks on American - Wells is coming home. And no-one knows what to expect.

John Dies at the End

Author: Jason Pargin
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 142995678X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 479

Book Description
John Dies at the End is a genre-bending, humorous account of two college drop-outs inadvertently charged with saving their small town--and the world--from a host of supernatural and paranormal invasions. Now a Major Motion Picture. "[Pargin] is like a mash-up of Douglas Adams and Stephen King... 'page-turner' is an understatement." —Don Coscarelli, director, Phantasm I-V, Bubba Ho-tep STOP. You should not have touched this flyer with your bare hands. NO, don't put it down. It's too late. They're watching you. My name is David. My best friend is John. Those names are fake. You might want to change yours. You may not want to know about the things you'll read on these pages, about the sauce, about Korrok, about the invasion, and the future. But it's too late. You touched the book. You're in the game. You're under the eye. The only defense is knowledge. You need to read this book, to the end. Even the part with the bratwurst. Why? You just have to trust me. The important thing is this: The sauce is a drug, and it gives users a window into another dimension. John and I never had the chance to say no. You still do. I'm sorry to have involved you in this, I really am. But as you read about these terrible events and the very dark epoch the world is about to enter as a result, it is crucial you keep one thing in mind: None of this was my fault.

Great Books

Author: David Denby
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1439127158
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 518

Book Description
*NATIONAL BESTSELLER* “A lively adventure of the mind...The tone of the prose...is one of unqualified enthusiasm: energy, vigor, intellectual curiosity, and what might be called an ecstasy of imaginative journalism.” —The New York Times Book Review At the age of forty-eight, writer and film critic David Denby returned to Columbia University and re-enrolled in two core courses in Western civilization to confront the literary and philosophical masterpieces -- the "great books" -- that are now at the heart of the culture wars. In Great Books, he leads us on a glorious tour, a rediscovery and celebration of such authors as Homer and Boccaccio, Locke and Nietzsche. Conrad and Woolf. The resulting personal odyssey is an engaging blend of self-discovery, cultural commentary, reporting, criticism, and autobiography -- an inspiration for anyone in love with the written word.

Big Fish

Author: Daniel Wallace
Publisher: Algonquin Books
ISBN: 1616201649
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 209

Book Description
When his attempts to get to know his dying father fail, William Bloom makes up stories that recreate his father's life in heroic proportions.

Who's who in Australia 2009

Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Australia
Languages : en
Pages : 2300

Book Description
A biographic reference to notable people in Australia. Entrants are drawn from all areas of Australian life, including the arts, politics, education, medicine, defence, business, diplomatic service, and recipients of honours and awards.

Sir Curtly Ambrose

Author: Curtly Ambrose
Publisher: Aurum
ISBN: 1781314683
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 314

Book Description
Sir Curtly Ambrose is one of the most famous cricket players of all time. He is also notorious for his silence. Now, for the first time, Curtly will tell his story. One of the leading – and most lethal - fast bowlers of all time, Curtly Ambrose played 98 Tests and 176 One Day Internationals for the West Indies, and for much of his career topped the ICC player rankings. He was an integral part of the iconic West Indies teams of the late 1980s and early 1990s whilst also bearing witness to their decline throughout the 1990s and beyond. A formidable sportsman, Curtly has unique insight into the extreme highs and debilitating lows of international cricket. But during his career Curtly Ambrose was notorious for his silence. He rarely spoke to the media and, if he did, it was usually to rebuff an interview, which earned him the infamous reputation of ‘Curtly talks to no one!’. In this, his autobiography, Curtly will tell the story of his life with the West Indies team for the very first time. From his colourful upbringing in Antigua, through to the turbulent politics of both nation and dressing room, the book takes you behind the scenes to give a fascinating insight into the career of an iconic sportsman. With his customary honesty, Curtly will discuss his relationship with both the game and his teammates and competitors, and will talk in depth about key moments in his career, including his extraordinary spell against Australia in 1992, taking 7-1. From the culture of West Indian cricket to experiencing post-Apartheid cricket in South Africa, as well as touching on his relationship with cricket mogul and notorious financier Allen Stanford, the book will speak to fans of works such as C.L.R. James’s Beyond a Boundary, as well as fans of cricket and sports biography. It also includes forewords from legendary cricket commentatory Richie Benaud and Steve Waugh.

Albion's Seed

Author: David Hackett Fischer
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019974369X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 981

Book Description
This fascinating book is the first volume in a projected cultural history of the United States, from the earliest English settlements to our own time. It is a history of American folkways as they have changed through time, and it argues a thesis about the importance for the United States of having been British in its cultural origins. While most people in the United States today have no British ancestors, they have assimilated regional cultures which were created by British colonists, even while preserving ethnic identities at the same time. In this sense, nearly all Americans are "Albion's Seed," no matter what their ethnicity may be. The concluding section of this remarkable book explores the ways that regional cultures have continued to dominate national politics from 1789 to 1988, and still help to shape attitudes toward education, government, gender, and violence, on which differences between American regions are greater than between European nations.

The Cult of Smart

Author: Fredrik deBoer
Publisher: All Points Books
ISBN: 1250200385
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 272

Book Description
Named one of Vulture’s Top 10 Best Books of 2020! Leftist firebrand Fredrik deBoer exposes the lie at the heart of our educational system and demands top-to-bottom reform. Everyone agrees that education is the key to creating a more just and equal world, and that our schools are broken and failing. Proposed reforms variously target incompetent teachers, corrupt union practices, or outdated curricula, but no one acknowledges a scientifically-proven fact that we all understand intuitively: Academic potential varies between individuals, and cannot be dramatically improved. In The Cult of Smart, educator and outspoken leftist Fredrik deBoer exposes this omission as the central flaw of our entire society, which has created and perpetuated an unjust class structure based on intellectual ability. Since cognitive talent varies from person to person, our education system can never create equal opportunity for all. Instead, it teaches our children that hierarchy and competition are natural, and that human value should be based on intelligence. These ideas are counter to everything that the left believes, but until they acknowledge the existence of individual cognitive differences, progressives remain complicit in keeping the status quo in place. This passionate, voice-driven manifesto demands that we embrace a new goal for education: equality of outcomes. We must create a world that has a place for everyone, not just the academically talented. But we’ll never achieve this dream until the Cult of Smart is destroyed.