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Book Reviews

Featured Book
November 10th, 2012

‘Muck City’ Tells Of Athletic Success Amid Social Challenges

In ‘Muck City’, bestselling author Bryan Mealer features a town in central Florida known for producing quality football players who leave the swampy region and find education and athletic success in college and the NFL. Mealer talks with Bill about his book and the peculiarities of this little-known town.

Featured Book
November 3rd, 2012

New Biography of Ray Mancini Remembers ‘The Good Son’

Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini inherited his nickname from his father. In his book ‘The Good Son: The Life of Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini’, Mark Kriegel explores their relationship and the younger Mancini’s boxing career. Kriegel speaks with Bill about the book.

Featured Book
October 27th, 2012

‘Hit By Pitch’: A Look Into MLB’s Only Deadly Injury

Only one major league baseball player has ever died from being hit with a ball. Molly Lawless, author of the graphic novel ‘Hit by Pitch,’ joins Bill to discuss Ray Chapman’s death in 1920.

Featured Book
October 13th, 2012

‘Queen Of Katwe’ Is An Unlikely Chess Champion

The new book, ‘The Queen of Katwe’ tells the story of a girl from a Ugandan slum who found solace in chess. Bill talks with the author, Tim Crothers.

Featured Book
October 6th, 2012

‘Breakaway’ Reveals Hockey’s Untold Stories

Before the Iron Curtain fell, hockey players from countries under Soviet leadership defected for the chance to play in the United States. Tal Pinchevsky’s ‘Breakaway: From Behind the Iron Curtain to the NHL’ tells these players’ stories and sacrifices. He talks with Bill about this period in hockey history.

Featured Book
September 8th, 2012

Hamilton Details Cheating In Cycling In ‘The Secret Race’

Tyler Hamilton’s new book details his life in the world of professional cycling and the pressures to use performance-enhancing drugs in order to win on the global stage. Bill Littlefield spoke with Hamilton and his co-author Daniel Coyne about ‘The Secret Race.’

Commentary
September 1st, 2012

Thoughts On ‘Paterno’

In the wake of the massive scandal at Penn State and the death of Joe Paterno, author Joe Posnanski’s just-released biography of Paterno has taken on special significance. Bill Littlefield offers his take on the new biography.

August 18th, 2012

Poetry And Hoops: ‘Fast Break To Line Break’

Basketball has been called “poetry in motion.” A new collection of essays examines the intersection of hoops and verse. It’s called “Fast Break To Line Break” and Todd Davis, the editor, and contributor Jack Ridl join Bill Littlefield.

Book Review
August 4th, 2012

Author Argues Athletes Give Us ‘Something Like The Gods’

Athletes have always held a special place in society, both for what they accomplish and how they affect culture. Author Stephen Amidon’s new book, ‘Something Like The Gods,’ explores the scope of athletes’ impact throughout history, and he joins Bill Littlefield to discuss it.

Book Review
July 28th, 2012

‘A Visitor’s Guide To The Ancient Olympics’

Long before there was an Olympic Village, before there was pin trading and medal counts, there were the ancient Olympics. Bill Littlefield speaks to author Neil Faulkner about his book “A Visitor’s Guide To The Ancient Olympics.”

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