Coaching Basketball for Dummies

Sean Cliver

Disposable a History of Skateboard Art

Longtime skateboard artist Sean Cliver put together this staggering survey of over 1,000 skateboard graphics from the early '80s to the start of the '00s, creating an indispensable insiders' history as he did so. Alongside his own history, Sean has assembled a wealth of recollections and stories from prominent artists and skateboarders such as Andy Howell, Barry McGee, Ed Templeton, Steve Caballero, and Tony Hawk. The end result is a fascinating historical account of art in the skateboard subculture, as told by those directly involved with shaping its legendary creative face. Decades after its first printing, the graphics and stories within are as provocative as they day they were first conceived.

Tom Clavin, Thomas Clavin

One for the Ages: Jack Nicklaus and the 1986 Masters

The Masters tournament has provided some of golf's most memorable finishes--none more so than the improbable triumph by Jack Nicklaus in 1986. Twenty-five years later, many regard it as the most exciting Masters ever. Nicklaus, 46, was 160th on the PGA Tour money list. His last win in a major championship had been six years earlier. Many of his rivals on the tour thought he was well on his way to being washed up. But for Nicklaus, the Masters was an opportunity for redemption. The somewhat tarnished Golden Bear, with his eldest son, Jackie, as his caddy, hung on for the first three rounds. Then it was Sunday. Ballesteros, Norman, Kite, Watson, and others were ahead of him. During the afternoon, he charged. One for the Ages is the pulse-pounding story of the most glorious moment in Jack Nicklaus's career. It is also a celebration of the Masters, arguably the most prestigious tournament in golf, and its world-class players, who clashed during a golden weekend in Augusta until only one man, with his son at his side, was left standing.

Robert Kemp Adair

The Physics of Baseball: Third Edition, Revised, Updated, and Expanded

Blending scientific fact and sports trivia, Robert Adair examines what a baseball or player in motion does-and why. How fast can a batted ball go? What effect do stitch patterns have on wind resistance? How far does a curve ball break? Who reaches first base faster after a bunt, a right- or left-handed batter? The answers are often surprising -- and always illuminating. This newly revised third edition considers recent developments in the science of sport such as the neurophysiology of batting, bat vibration, and the character of the "sweet spot." Faster pitchers, longer hitters, and enclosed stadiums also get a good, hard scientific look to determine their effects on the game. Filled with anecdotes about famous players and incidents, The Physics of Baseball provides fans with fascinating insights into America's favorite pastime.