Sports & Recreation Audiobooks

Drop In: The Gender Rebels Who Changed the Face of Skateboarding

A bad*ss story of the female, queer, bi, and nonbinary skaters who charted a path to the Olympics and changed the face of skateboarding. Who gets to tell the story of skateboarding? Drop In is the first book to recognize and historicize the female, queer, bi, and nonbinary humans who blazed the path that led to today’s more equitable skate culture. It wasn’t easy getting here. Like the rest of the world, skateboarding has long been patriarchal. In the 70s, it personified the punk rock, lock-up-your-daughters, middle-finger-to-the-man ethos. In the 80s, it was Miami Vice soundtracks and parachute pants, neon graphics and fingerless gloves. In the 90s it was New York City—graffiti, hip-hop, and skating in the street. Rarely did you see a woman’s name in a skate video—either on a deck or behind the lens. The four skateboarders at the heart of Drop In defied expectations of gender, talent, physical ability, and mental capacity to fight the status quo: Alana as the first openly nonbinary athlete in Olympic history; Vanessa as a trailblazing runaway, dominating contests while drinking to excess; Marbie as an accidental boundary-breaking trans icon; and Victoria as the skate rookie turned social media sensation. Drop In spotlights their paths from rebellious outsiders to recognized pioneers on the historic stage of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, where skateboarding made its historic debut. Their experiences reveal a side of skateboarding that’s never been recorded, amplifying voices that have, for too long, gone unheard.

Deborah Stoll (Author), Daru Oda, Deborah Stoll, Tbd (Narrator)

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The Color of Everything: A Journey to Quiet the Chaos Within

A renowned climber and National Geographic photographer shares his incredible adventures-and the early trauma that drove him to seek such heights-in a vivid memoir that spans the summit of Everest to the darkest corners of the soul. "In order to escape madness, I will live madly. I will risk my life in order to save it." Growing up in the mountains of Utah, Cory Richards was constantly surrounded by the outdoors. His father, a high school teacher and ski patroller, spent years teaching Cory and his brother how to ski, climb, mountaineer, and survive in the wild. Despite a seemingly idyllic childhood, the Richards home was fraught with violence, grief, and mental illness. After being diagnosed with bipolar disorder and dropping out of high school, Cory subsumed himself in the worlds of photography and climbing, seeking out the farthest reaches of the world to escape the darkness. Suddenly though, in the midst of a wildly successful career in adventure photography, a catastrophic avalanche changed everything, forcing Cory to confront the trauma of his past, evaluate his own mental health and learn to rewrite his own story. The Color of Everything is a thrilling tale of risk and adventure, written by a man who has done it all: he's stood at the top of the world, climbed imposing mountain faces alone in the dark and become the only American to summit an 8,000-meter peak in winter. But it is also the story of a tumultuous life--a stirring, lyrical memoir that captures the profound musings of a brilliant and unquiet mind grappling with the meaning of success, the cost of fame, addiction, and whether it is possible to outrun your demons. With exquisite prose and disarming candor, accompanied by stunning photos from his career, Richards excavates the psychological roots and effects of trauma and shares what it took for him to climb out.

Cory Richards (Author), Cory Richards, TBD (Narrator)

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Wimbledon: A personal history

Sue Barker (Author), Sue Barker, TBD (Narrator)

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The Price She Pays: Confronting the Hidden Mental Health Crisis in Women's Sports—from the Schoolyar

Two experts in mental health and sport lift the veil on the crisis in women's athletics, offering parents and coaches urgently needed advice and support and showing how female athletes can find joy in whatever sport they choose, at whatever level they compete. No matter the sport, the message to girls and women on the court or the field is the same: Be aggressive, but not too aggressive. Win at all costs, but be polite while you're doing it. Get strong, but not too big. Female athletes have long been conditioned to perform under these standards, gracefully and without complaints. Yet, behind the scenes, female athletes are suffering from disordered eating, depression and anxiety, emotional and sexual abuse, self-harm, and even suicide ideation. Athletes like tennis star Naomi Osaka and gymnastics world champion Simone Biles recently took breaks from competition on the world stage to tend to their mental health. Their decisions have compelled many of us to ask: What is causing this mental health crisis among female athletes? Through research and stories of female athletes of all ages and ability levels, The Price She Pays illuminates where we are going wrong-and how we can correct course. Informed by their experiences both on and off the field, authors Katie Steele and Dr. Tiffany Brown help athletes and parents identify the signs and symptoms of mental health conditions, recognize mistreatment and abuse, understand body image and eating disorders, trauma, and more. By tackling these issues, The Price She Pays encourages readers to understand how the wellbeing of the whole person-not just the athlete-will lead to performance gains from the youth leagues to the elite levels, and everything in between.

Katie Steele, Tiffany Brown (Author), Charlotte Moore-Lambert, TBD (Narrator)

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Worrell

It is the first week of May in 1967. The infant Caribbean nation of Barbados is not five months old, yet it is already having to mourn one of its fathers, at Westminster Abbey, no less. The first sportsperson afforded such an honour, Frank Worrell's memorial service is attended by over 1,000 mourners. As the abbey bells are rung, half-muffled, for the ideal cricketer, Frankie's flag flies from the belfry. Blue for the sky. Gold for the sand. Blue for the ocean. In 1960, Frank Worrell was appointed the first Black captain of the West Indies cricket team. Within three years he was knighted; within five, the West Indies were the champions of the world and would come to dominate cricket with their wicked bowling and electrifying play. Yet two years later, in 1967, Worrell died of leukaemia and cricket lost its 'ideal cricketer'. But Worrell wasn't merely an extraordinarily talented and record-breaking sportsman. By the time he died he was a founder of the University of the West Indies and a Jamaican senator. The university and the cricket team were the two truly unifying elements across a fractious and diverse region - his achievements made him hugely significant in the development of Caribbean identity and he changed West Indies cricket forever. In Worrell, Simon Lister, author of Fire in Babylon, brings Worrell's story up to date. He speaks to those who played with and against him and to those who knew him best, resulting in a timely reappraisal of Worrell's life, his importance to the Caribbean, and his cricketing legacy.

Simon Lister (Author), Mendez, TBD (Narrator)

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Invisible Power: The Physical, Spiritual, and Mental Art of Combat

A masterwork from the world’s greatest Jiu Jitsu fighter and New York Times bestselling author of Breathe Rickson Gracie—an inspiring and practical book about the art of combat. A mythic figure in fighting and a legendary member of the “first family of martial arts,” Rickson Gracie is considered the godfather of what we recognize today as Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). Although Rickson’s three decades of total dominance in Jiu Jitsu is astounding, even more astounding is the serenity and spiritual depth of his approach to combat. Some consider Jiu Jitsu a martial art, others consider it a sport, but to Gracie, it is a philosophical system he uses to face and evaluate life’s challenges and maintain happiness and peace of mind. Gracie wrote Invisible Power after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, a terminal sentence which he views as the greatest fight of his life, one he knows he will eventually lose. This is Gracie’s defining life statement about his spiritual and technical practice. For the first time, he reveals his time-tested theories and techniques of invisible Jiu Jitsu, a combat system anyone can use to awaken their power and apply it to their everyday lives. An indispensable tool for any fighter or seeker, Invisible Power teaches how to balance and align the mind, body, and spirit.

Peter Maguire, Rickson Gracie (Author), TBD (Narrator)

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The Escape

A unique memoir from British cycling’s most fascinating competitor In the summer of 2020 sportswriter David Walsh asked Pippa York if she’d be interested to be his travelling companion for the Tour de France. The deal was that he would sort out the logistics beforehand, the hotels, the transport details and she would do the day to day tasks of getting them about and adding her insight occasionally. It would also mean she would return to the race she had ridden eleven times as Robert Millar. This is the resulting book: a unique and entertaining sporting odyssey, The Escape uses the minutiae of Pippa and David’s trip, and the iconic landmarks of the Tour de France, to explore her early life growing up in working class Glasgow; her entry into racing; the psychological aspects of the sport and how that manifested itself in her personality; her ups and downs as a competitor; her post-career and her eventual transition in her 40s. Touching on doping, gender in sport and the unique wonders and day-to-day challenges of the Tour, The Escape is both an unforgettable travelogue through the world’s greatest cycling event and a one-of-a-kind memoir from arguably the sport’s most enigmatic and fascinating competitors.

David Walsh, Pippa York (Author), TBD (Narrator)

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The Racket: On Tour with Tennis’s Golden Generation – and the other 99%

Brought to you by Penguin. When Conor Niland was 16, he got the chance to hit with Serena Williams at Nick Bollettieri's famed tennis academy. Conor, the Irish junior number one, was feeling a bit homesick. Serena, also 16, already owned her own house beside the academy. Conor Niland knows what it's like when Roger Federer walks into the dressing room ('Ciao, bonjour, hello!'), and he has had the exquisitely terrible experience of facing Novak Djokovic in the world's biggest tennis stadium - while suffering from food poisoning. But he never reached the very top. The Racket is the story of pro tennis's 99%: the players who roam the globe in hope of climbing the rankings and squeaking into the Grand Slam tournaments. It brings us into a world where a few dozen super-rich players - travelling with coaches and physios - share a stage with lonely touring pros whose earnings barely cover their expenses. Painting a vivid picture of the social dynamics on tour, the economics of the game, and the shadows cast by gambling and doping, The Racket is a witty and revealing underdog's memoir and a unique look inside a fascinating hidden world. ©2024 Conor Niland (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Conor Niland (Author), Conor Niland, TBD (Narrator)

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The Yankee Way: The Untold Inside Story of the Brian Cashman Era

With rare access to the inner sanctum of the New York Yankees, SNY analyst Andy Martino weaves two years of exclusive interviews with general manager Brian Cashman into a revelatory account of never-before-told stories about Derek Jeter, Aaron Judge, Alex Rodriguez, the complex front office, team ownership, and insights into the World Series wins and day-to-day running of the team that fans never get to see. When Brian Cashman arrived in the Bronx as an intern in 1986, he discovered a team in chaos, run on impulse and emotion and lacking the sheen that had defined the Yankees in earlier eras. Decades later, Cashman had risen through the ranks of the front office, earned the trust of the Steinbrenner family, and become the longest-serving GM in the Yankees' storied history, helping to transform the Yankees to glory with a string of World Series championships and an unmatched streak of winning seasons. With unprecedented inside access and featuring exclusive interviews with Cashman, owner Hal Steinbrenner, top front-office executives, current Yankee stars and coaches, award-winning baseball journalist Andy Martino gives fans a view from the GM's seat that we would never normally see. From Cashman's battles with inscrutable team captain Derek Jeter, to tensions between Jeter and A-Rod, to Cashman's struggles with beloved manager Joe Torre. This book explores the management of egos on the field and in the front office, as well as the evolution of the manager position over generations and into the analytics era. Packed with drama and intrigue, this is the definitive inside account of the most intriguing and storied franchise in Major League Baseball.

Andy Martino (Author), Andy Martino, TBD (Narrator)

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Swimming Against the Current: Fighting for Common Sense in a World That's Lost its Mind

America's most sought-after voice in the fight to save female sports from woke destruction shares her unbelievable story and inspires readers to embrace common sense and truth in discussions about women's rights. Riley Gaines has been called many things: Collegiate athlete. All-American. Olympic hopeful. But in 2022, everything changed. The narrative shifted. Now, critics smeared her as: Transphobic. Narrow-minded. Evil. What changed? Riley gave the truth a voice. She stood up, spoke out, and dared to ask questions -- not just for herself, but for all female athletes who refuse to accept an ideology where "inclusivity" for transgender athletes now means treating women unfairly. Riley Gaines is changing minds in the process, and this highly anticipated, fearless, pro-woman book takes on controversial, uncomfortable, but critical questions we must confront about women (and sports) in America. Can't we embrace policies that give everyone the chance to compete but still protect women and ensure they have a fair shot at success? In this book, Riley scrutinizes the perspectives of athletes on the opposing side of this debate, deconstructing their arguments with science, facts, and logic. She also asks what has happened to free speech and dissent in this country, where it now seems nearly impossible to have a well-reasoned debate. And in telling her story, Riley reveals what's at stake if the truth-seekers remain silent about the injustices women face from radical agendas.

Riley Gaines (Author), Riley Gaines, TBD (Narrator)

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Hoop Atlas: Mapping the Remarkable Transformation of the Modern NBA

The bestselling author of Sprawlball, Kirk Goldsberry returns with a visual feast of a book—equal parts Book of Basketball and Shea Serrano—that uses sharp writing, his signature graphics, and cutting-edge statistical analyses to unpack how a handful of NBA superstars —MJ to Lebron to Jokic—have reshaped pro basketball and charted the course to the future of the NBA. Every few years a talent comes along that disrupts everything we think we know about how the NBA should work. Whether it’s scoring, playmaking, or shooting, these are players and tactics that fundamentally challenge how the game is played and what greatness looks like on a basketball court. For a period of time, these players each become an “Atlas” for the league, carrying the weight of the NBA on their shoulders, but also providing the roadmap that points the way to the future of the sport. In tandem, they map out the modern NBA’s creation. Goldsberry returns with a highly visual, electrifying tour through the last three decades of NBA history, showing the “Atlas” players that have led us out of the brutishness of 90s hoops and into the wide open spaces of the most skilled era in NBA history. Charting the course from Jordan to Jokic—with plenty of stops along the way for Iverson, Kobe, Curry, and of course Lebron—Goldsberry, who was instrumental in helping spur the NBA’s statistical revolution, has designed a vibrant new way to compare and debate the contributions of the best NBA players of all-time. Masterfully connecting NBA past and present through incisive writing and stunning visual statistical analyses, he shows how we’ve come to this unprecedented moment, a time when offensive efficiency and shooting percentages are higher than ever. Using beautifully designed, four-color shot maps and illustrations, Goldsberry offers a graphic journey through the last thirty years of the NBA that covers up to the 2023 season and is as much fun to look at as it is to read. The end result offers stories and analyses of a select group of NBA superstars that open up lively debates, reveal just how singular their talents truly are, and characterize the dramatic 21st-century metamorphosis of the best basketball league in the world.

Kirk Goldsberry (Author), Kirk Goldsberry, TBD (Narrator)

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Bothy: In Search of Simple Shelter

A stirring book for anyone who longs to run away to the woods sometimes. You will find a bothy in the mountains or the wilderness, remote huts you can’t reserve, usually without electricity or other mod-cons, running water or a marker on the map. In this beautiful journey, Kat Hill travels between fifteen bothies – across Scotland, England and Wales – revealing the beauty of these wild shelters, their history, the stories of the people who frequent them and the core of why we all crave escaping into the remote. Weaving in her own story of heartbreak and new purpose, her historian’s perspective and brilliant, fresh consideration of the environment and what we owe to it, this is a glorious book of adventure and peace, wilderness and refuge.

Kat Hill (Author), Catrin Walker-Booth, TBD (Narrator)

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