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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.’
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.
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.
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.
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.”
