Product Description: Evel Knievel, the father of extreme sports, was a high-flying daredevil. He was the personification of excitement and danger and showmanship, and represented a unique slice of American culture and patriotism. But behind the flash and the frenzy, who was this man in red, white, and blue? With characteristic flair and insight, Leigh Montville delves into Knievel’s amazing place in pop culture, as well as his notorious dark side, exploring Knievel’s complicated and often contradictory relationships with his image, the media, his own family, and his many demons...read more

The tale of how a giant from the Sudanese marsh left his life among the giraffes, lions, and hippos to become a star in the NBA reveals the two disparate worlds of Manute Bol, whose success as an athlete can do little to soothe the oppression faced by his people. 25,000 first printing.

He was a 1930s golf legend and Hollywood trickster who adamantly refused to be photographed. He never played professionally, yet sports-writing legend Grantland Rice still heralded him as “the greatest golfer in the world.” Then, in 1937, the secrets of John Montague’s past were exposed—leading to a sensational trial that captivated the nation.From three-time New York Times bestselling author Leigh MontvilleJohn Montague was a boisterous enigma. He had a bagful of golf tricks, on and off the course. He could chip a ball across a room into a highball glass, and knock a bird off a wire from 170 yards—and when the big man arrived in Hollywood in the early 1930s, he quickly became a celebrity among celebrities. He lived for a time with Oliver Hardy (whom he could lift, one-handed, onto the country club bar) and played golf with everyone from Howard Hughes and W. C. Fields to Babe Ruth and his close friend Bing Crosby, whom he famously beat while playing only with a rake, a shovel, and a bat. Yet strangely Montague never entered a professional tournament, and in a town that thrived on publicity, he never allowed his image to be captured on film.The reasons became clear when a Time magazine photographer snapped his picture with a telephoto lens … and police in upstate New York quickly recognized Montague as a fugitive wanted for armed robbery. As Montague was indicted in the tiny upstate town of Jay, New York, hordes of national media descended and turned a star-studded legal carnival into the most talked about trial of its day – the trial of “the Mysterious Montague.”From the glamour of 1930s Hollywood, to John Montague’s extraordinary skill and triumphs on the golf course, to the shady world of Adirondack rumrunners and bootleggers, three-time New York Times bestselling author Leigh Montville captures a man and an era with extraordinary color, verve, and energy. The Mysterious Montague is Leigh Montville’s most entertaining achievement to date.

A portrait of the legendary slugger draws on interviews, recently discovered documents, and Ruth's personal scrapbooks to trace his life from his childhood in an orphanage to his rise to the heights of major league baseball.

Traces the baseball legend's initial signing as a teenager with the Boston Red Sox in 1938, his record-setting batting averages, his two-time service as a fighter pilot, and his love-hate relationship with fans and the media.

Recounts the Boston Red Sox baseball team's nine decade-long quest to win the World Series in terms of the memories and personal experiences of the team's devoted fans.

Plunging readers into the adrenaline-pumping, rush-inducing world of stock-car racing, an exhilarating ride through the life of NASCAR's greatest legend details his childhood in small-town North Carolina, his rise to success as a champion driver, and his inordinate desire to push his own limits. Reprint.

An exploration of the life of NASCAR's greatest legend details his childhood in smalltown North Carolina, his rise to success as a champion driver, and his inordinate desire to push his own limits.

Plunging readers into the adrenaline-pumping, rush-inducing world of stock-car racing, an exhilarating ride through the life of NASCAR's greatest legend details his childhood in small-town North Carolina, his rise to success as a champion driver, and his inordinate desire to push his own limits.

The author recounts his coaching career and describes the keys to his success in leading the Connecticut Huskies to the NCAA championship