ExploreReader Type Recommendationsgame day hero books for spring
Game Day Hero Books For Spring

Game Day Hero Books For Spring

Gear Up for a Winning Spring 

Our collection caters to the Game Day Hero's thirst for knowledge and entertainment. Keep your eyes clear and your heart full, and let the pages of these books enhance your game-day experience.

June new releases

I Have Your Back: How an American Soldier Became an International Hero

by Tom Sileo

isbn: 9781250286116,template: list

The story of U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis, who became an international hero for his courage and selflessness.

Ever since he was a young boy growing up on the streets of Staten Island, New York, Michael Ollis wanted to be a soldier. Inspired by his father, who fought in Vietnam, Mike's deep desire to serve was cemented on the day his beloved city was attacked. From 9/11 onward, Mike's one and only mission was to save lives.

After two tense combat deployments, Staff Sergeant Michael Ollis earned the US Army's coveted Ranger tab and set his sights on the perilous mountains of eastern Afghanistan. On August 28, 2013, Mike was suddenly caught in the middle of a massive and unprecedented Taliban assault on a coalition military base. Rather than retreat to his bunker, Mike decided to fight. He then encountered a Polish army officer who needed his help.

Despite being surrounded by enemy fighters while running low on ammunition, Mike promised the foreign soldier that no matter what, he would have his back. For his final act of bravery, Staff Sergeant Michael Ollis would not only receive the Distinguished Service Cross from his own country, but the highest honor that Poland can bestow upon an allied soldier.

As an American warrior, Staff Sergeant Michael Ollis had all of our backs. This vivid and visceral account of Mike's selfless 24-year journey will motivate us to "live like Mike" by always putting family, friends and country first.

Swimming Pretty: The Untold Story of Women in Water

by Vicki Valosik

isbn: 9781324093046,template: list

If you're not strong enough to swim fast, you're probably not strong enough to swim 'pretty, '" said a young Esther Williams to theater impresario Billy Rose. Since the nineteenth century, tensions between beauty and strength, aesthetics and athleticism have both impeded and propelled the careers of female swimmers--none more so than synchronized swimmers, for whom Williams is often considered godmother.


In this riveting history--the first of its kind-- Vicki Valosik traces a century of aquatic performance, from vaudeville to the Olympic arena. Williams, who became a Holly-wood sensation for her splashy "aquamusicals," was just one in a long, bedazzled line of swimmers who began their careers as athletes but found greater opportunity, and often social acceptance, in the world of show business. Together, they not only laid the groundwork for synchronized swimming, but forever changed women's relationships with water. Early starlets like Agnes Beckwith, Lurline the Water Queen, and Annette Kellerman performed "scientific" or "ornamental" swimming, a set of moves previously only practiced by men-- including Benjamin Franklin--that focused on form and demonstrated physical mastery in the water. Performing in aquariums and water tanks rolled onto music hall stages, they stunned Victorian audiences with their grace and dexterity. In the process, they defied society's rigid expectations of what was proper and possible for women--and even ushered in new, sensible swimwear.


Far more than just bathing beauties, these women and others who followed influenced lifesaving and physical education programs, helping to drop national drowning rates and paving the way for new generations of female athletes. When Katherine Curtis, a University of Chicago physical educator, decided to match their aquatic movements to music in the 1920s, young girls flocked to pools to take part in "synchronized swimming." But despite overwhelming love from audiences, and the Olympic ambitions of its practitioners, synchronized swimming was long perceived as little more than entertaining pageantry. It would prove to be a battle against the current as athletes fought for a spot at the highest echelons of sport.


Now, on the fortieth anniversary of synchronized swimming 's elevation to Olympic status, Swimming Pretty finally honors the history of grit, glamor, and sheer athleticism of an utterly unique sport.

 

The Young Forever Cookbook: More Than 100 Delicious Recipes for Living Your Longest, Healthiest Life

by Mark Hyman

isbn: 9780316571623,template: list

The companion cookbook to Dr. Hyman's #1 New York Times bestseller Young Forever, featuring more than 100 delicious recipes to support a long, youthful life.

Dr. Mark Hyman's revolutionary book Young Forever revealed how to reverse the biological hallmarks of aging through easy and accessible dietary, lifestyle, and longevity strategies. In this companion cookbook, Dr. Hyman shares more than 100 satisfying recipes to help you eat your way to a longer life.

Rooted in the latest science, the recipes in The Young Forever Cookbook feature good fats, quality proteins, nutrient-dense vegetables, leafy greens, and a variety of other ingredients proven to support longevity. You'll find a range of meals and snacks designed to fight inflammation, boost your immune system, and promote healthy aging, including: 
 

  • Roasted Red Pepper and Zucchini Frittata
  • Thai Turkey Larb Lettuce Wraps
  • Braised Pomegranate Lamb Shanks
  • Roasted Rhubarb-Strawberry Coconut Crumble
  • And many more


With mouthwatering options for every lifestyle and diet, The Young Forever Cookbook is your guide to maintaining a healthy life--and creating a healthier future.

 

May NEW RELEASES

The Complete Book of Pickleball: The Ultimate Training Guide for Passionate Players of All Levels

by Kurt Brungardt - Brett Brungardt - Mike Brungardt

isbn: 9780593715192,template: list

Easy to learn and fun to play, pickleball is also a surprisingly athletic sport. In this user-friendly book, fitness superstars, the Brungardt brothers, focus their expertise on the needs of pickleball players of all levels, applying the same innovative training methods they've used with NBA MVPs, Cy Young Award-winners, and Olympic and tennis champions, to make picklers more athletic and injury-resistant.

To safely reach your pickleball potential, health and fitness professionals agree that the sport should not be your only form of exercise. To fill this critical gap, the Brungardts have created PB-150, a comprehensive program that delivers all the components of an elite pro training center experience--with the fun and flexibility of the pickleball spirit.

All You Need Is Rhythm & Grit: How to Run Now--For Health, Joy, and a Body That Loves You Back

by Cory Wharton-Malcolm

isbn: 9781639366606,template: list

Think running isn't for you? Cory Wharton-Malcolm challenges this idea head-on with this joyful love letter to running and a motivational guide for everyone. Advocating running as an inclusive and community-focused activity, Cory shows us how to celebrate the incredible mind-body connection by getting your sneakers on and starting your running journey from the couch to the end of the road and beyond.

Sharing stories of his own mental and physical health challenges and the way running--both alone and with track buddies--lifted him up, All You Need is Rhythm and Grit includes advice on gear, running routes, pacing, good beats, and the will to start . . . and keep going.

Cory believes you don't have to be a tall and slim superhuman to run and feel good doing it! For anyone who thinks running isn't for them, here is a vibrant and inclusive guide to one of the most egalitarian sports for people of all genders, all bodies, all identities, and every class and color.

Game Plan: A Proven Approach to Work, Live, and Play at the Highest Level Possible--For as Long as Possible

by Mike Mancias - Lebron James

isbn: 9780063316430,template: list

Mike Mancias has spent two decades developing and refining a winning blueprint for athletic excellence. He's worked with countless professional athletes, sports franchises, and the US Olympic Program. And his methods have propelled the rise of LeBron James, arguably the best-trained athlete in the world, and the gold standard for elite longevity. In Game Plan, he shares those secrets with the rest of us.

Over the course of three parts--the first focused on nutrition ("Eat with performance first and foremost in your mind"), the second on physical training ("We find the best ways to keep the body in constant motion"), and the third on recovery ("Recovery doesn't start after performance but during performance")--Mancias guides readers on their own journey to tiptop performance.

The Way of the Champion: Pain, Persistence, and the Path Forward

by Paul Rabil - Bill Belichick

isbn: 9780593545492,template: list

Long before Paul Rabil had become lacrosses's most acclaimed player, the sport's first million-dollar man, and the cofounder of the Premier Lacrosse League, he always strove for greatness.

The problem was he lacked a manual for how to achieve it-- so, he set out to create one himself. He talked to Bill Belichick about how to prepare, Steph Curry about how to practice, Sue Bird about how to develop resilience, and Mark Cuban about how to build a career with longevity. From the wisdom of these and other legends, and through his own--often painful--trial and error, he forged himself into a true champion. And in doing so, he wrote the manual he always wanted.

The Way of The Champion is the synthesis of everything Rabil learned on his path to becoming one of the greatest lacrosse players of all time. But this is not merely a sports book. It is a guide to embodying a champion's mindset--in sports, in business, and in relationships.

APRIL NEW RELEASES

Our Fight: A Memoir 

by Ronda Rousey - Maria Burns Ortiz

isbn: 9781538757376,template: list

From the moment she burst onto the MMA scene, Ronda Rousey was unbeatable. She repeatedly strung together back-to-back flawless victories, racking up a collection of records and forever changing the face of sports as the UFC's first female champion. A superstar in her sport, she transcended athletics, appearing in blockbuster films and becoming a role model for women everywhere. Then, on November 15, 2015, it all came crashing down.

In OUR FIGHT, Rousey explores the greatest challenge of her life and, ultimately, how she rebuilt her life into something better in the aftermath. She recounts how she replaced her pursuit of perfection with the pursuit of happiness and found an opportunity in disguise amongst the wreckage. Following Rousey's relatable journey, OUR FIGHT is a courageous narrative of career changes, marriage, motherhood, and facing your fears.

The Believer: A Year in the Fly Fishing Life 

by David Coggins

isbn: 9781668004715,template: list

In David Coggins's previous book, The Optimist, he tackles the techniques of fly fishing and meditates on its virtues, recounting his triumphs and frustrations. Now, in The Believer, he deftly mixes travel, local cultures, further fishing challenges (some knee-buckling in their disappointment), and details his own experience as life and love crowd his time to fish. Self-consciously--and self-deprecatingly--Coggins embarks on seven far-flung fishing voyages, away from screens and social media, not answering his phone, reveling in humanity's undying yearning for a quest, for the rituals and rites of passage that mark transition. For David, these journeys not only showcase his skill as an angler--including to Norway, Scotland, Spain, Cuba, and Argentina, as well as road trips to Wyoming, Tennessee, and the Catskills--they also signal the end of his fly-fishing youth. But that doesn't mean that David will sell all his rods and hang up his hat; rather, that his relationship with his fly-fishing obsession will evolve. And he's okay with that--mostly, especially if he can catch an elusive salmon or a ferociously strong tarpon or the mysterious and almost invisible bonefish.

Drive: The Lasting Legacy of Tiger Woods 

by Bob Harig

isbn: 9781250288752,template: list

In April of 1997, the world of golf was forever changed. At the age of 21, a young Tiger Woods won the most prestigious golf tournament in the world, the Masters, by a record of 12 strokes. Woods became the youngest golfer ever to win the Masters and the first African or Asian-American player to win a major. History had been made - and would continue to be made over the next 15 years.

Woods transformed the game, turning golf geeks into keen observers, casual golf fans into ardent followers and even indifferent sports fans into curiosity mavens. He will undoubtedly be known for the raw numbers: 82 PGA Tour titles, 15 major championships, and according to Forbes, a billionaire who amassed more than $110-million in official PGA Tour earnings. Woods has proven to be a complicated figure through his decades in the spotlight. Plagued by marital scandal, a DUI arrest, and severe back injuries that resulted in what even he believed would be a career-ending spinal fusion surgery in 2017, Woods' career finally seemed to be coming to an end. 

Bare Knuckle: Bobby Gunn, 73-0 Undefeated. a Dad. a Dream. a Fight Like You've Never Seen. 

by Stayton Bonner

isbn: 9781982650711,template: list

Father. Fighter. Champion. Outlaw.

Hailed as an "exhilarating debut" by Publishers Weekly, Bare Knuckle by former Rolling Stone editor Stayton Bonner (nominated for the Dan Jenkins Medal of Excellence in Sportswriting) takes readers into a previously unknown world: the underground circuit of illegal bare-knuckle fighting.

Bare Knuckle is the remarkable true tale of Bobby Gunn, the 73-0 undisputed champion of bare-knuckle boxing.

An inspiring underdog story that reads like a real-life Rocky.

Bobby Gunn has been fighting for his existence since a childhood spent living under the hand of his volatile father, and would do anything to give his seven-year-old daughter a better life--including betting on himself in the underground world of bare-knuckle boxing.

  • We participate in affiliate advertising programs. Links to affiliate partners are commission-earning.
  • © 2025 Bookfinity. All rights reserved.