Sports Culture

Americans have always loved guns. This special bond was forged during the American Revolution and sanctified by the Second Amendment. It is because of this exceptional relationship that American civilians are more heavily armed than the citizens of any other nation. Or so we're told. In The Gunning of America, historian Pamela Haag overturns this conventional wisdom. American gun culture, she argues, developed not because the gun was exceptional but precisely because it was not.

Who works in a stadium? Where do the players get ready for the big game? Who makes all those hot dogs? Go on a guided tour of a stadium to find out! Meet a baseball manager and see how thousands of people can gather, have fun, and cheer their team at a stadium.

Baseball, first dubbed the "national pastime" in print in 1856, is the country's most tradition-bound sport. Despite remaining popular and profitable into the 21st century, the game is losing young fans. Furthermore, baseball's greatest charm - a clockless suspension of time - is also its greatest liability in a culture of digital distraction. These paradoxes are explored by the historian and passionate baseball fan Susan Jacoby in a book that is both a love letter to the game and a tough-minded analysis of the current challenges to its special position in American culture.

A People's History of Baseball, probes the less well-known but no less meaningful other side of baseball: episodes not involving equality, patriotism, heroism, and virtuous capitalism, but power - how it is obtained, and how it perpetuates itself. Through the growth and development of baseball Nathanson shows that, if only we choose to look for it, we can see the petty power struggles as well as the large and consequential ones that have likewise defined our nation.

In Mallparks, Michael Friedman observes that just as cathedrals represented power relations in medieval towns, and skyscrapers epitomized those within industrial cities, sports stadiums exemplify urban America at the turn of the twenty-first century.

Is the face of American baseball throughout the world that of goodwill ambassador or ugly American? Has baseball crafted its own image or instead been at the mercy of broader forces shaping our society and the globe? The Empire Strikes Out gives us the sweeping story of how baseball and America are intertwined in the export of “the American way."

The heart-pounding story of an unlikely band of ragtags who took on Hitler's Grand Prix driver.

Do you have a favorite sports hero? If so, have you ever wondered about what kind of zany things he or she likes to do when not competing? Have you ever wondered what the great athletes like to eat, or what they like to drink? For instance, it’s a little-known fact that baseball great Babe Ruth relished the chance to wolf-down pickled eels and chocolate ice cream! Do you ever imagine what their childhoods were like? This fascinating book answers all these questions and many more you might never have even thought to ask!

HOOP MUSES will take us through time—literally. We begin in the future, in 2072, on the night of the WNBA’s 75th Anniversary, as New York Liberty phenom Jacklyn Jones is paid a visit by one of basketball’s long-ago (wink, wink) greats. This unlikely duo then goes on a sweeping, roundtrip adventure through basketball history, starting at the very beginning: Springfield, 1891.

It was July 2002 and Scott Langley had just graduated from the Japanese Instructors’ Course in Tokyo. He returned to Europe with a mandate to build a strong karate group in the UK and Ireland. In a decade that witnessed the implosion of most groups, he built up one of the largest organizations in Europe: but his success at home set him on a collision course with his seniors back in Japan. Karate Clever chronicles how, through diplomacy and cooperation, he managed to find a new way to steer one of the most successful karate organizations active today. This is the true story of one man’s ...

In Pinstripe Nation, Will Bishop explores the myriad of ways in which the Yankees and their successes (or spectacular failures) became interwoven with the nation's larger cultural narrative. As this informative and entertaining audiobook amply shows, the Yankees have, through all their ups and downs, retained a hold on the American imagination unmatched by any other sports franchise.

There are fans, and then there are fanatics. In this wondrously immersive look at American sports fandom, George Dohrmann travels the country to find out what distinguishes an ordinary, everyday enthusiast from that special breed of supporter known as the superfan. In Minnesota, Dohrmann meets newly minted generals of the Viking World Order, Minnesota Vikings fans organized along military lines. In Oregon, he shares a few beers with a determined soccer fan who amassed a 4,000-strong cheering section for the fledgling Portland Timbers.

Have you always wanted to search for secret treasure? Try geocaching! You can get outside and search for hidden treasure in your very own neighborhood. Learn about geocaching around the world, the supplies you'll need, and the fun that awaits you in this exciting activity!

For well over two decades Allistair McCaw has analyzed what it takes to be a great team player. He has worked with some of the world’s most successful athletes, coaches, and teams in 40 countries. Becoming a Great Team Player lays out what coaches look for: players with skills that make their team the embodiment of great.

In From Sandlots to the Super Bowl, Craig R. Coenen recounts the NFL's ascension from a cash-strapped laughingstock to a perennial autumn obsession for millions of sports fans. It offers an in-depth summary of the NFL's early years and its struggles to build an identity. This book approaches the history of the National Football League not only with stats and scores but with what happened beyond the gridiron.

Momi and her family of shapeshifters must help Flynn, the shapeshifting shark, discover his human side. When Flynn shifts into a shark and bites Momi's son, Paul, Momi adopts a tougher stand with the young shark. Flynn faces the choice of being more human or having his skin being sold to drum makers.

In the spring of 2013, a study showed that despite huge economic problems, 27 states were awarding their highest salaries to college football coaches. College football has doubled in size in the last decade thanks to generous tax breaks, lavish TV deals, and corporate sponsors eager to slap their logos on everything from scoreboards to footballs and uniforms. In one recent year, the 10 biggest programs took in $800 million from football, with profit margins far surpassing those of Fortune 500 companies.

Was Cleopatra the last Egyptian pharaoh? Can you really make diamonds out of tequila? Is the platypus actually poisonous? Think you can spot the fake? Get your bullsh*t radar warmed up, because each entry in Spot the Bullsh*t hides one well-crafted fib among a pair of unbelievable truths. And it’s up to you to figure out what’s fascinating and what’s full of sh*t in science, history, pop culture and more.

At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Ibtihaj Muhammad smashed barriers as the first American to compete wearing hijab, and made history as the first Muslim American woman to medal. Her inspiring journey from a young outsider to an Olympic hero is a relatable, memorable, and uniquely American tale of hard work, determination, and self-reliance.

Skating on Thin Ice exposes the culture of toxic masculinity in professional hockey and suggests how sport and society can change the narrative on sexual assault and violence.