BOOKSHELF: Exciting Sports Books Released

3 minutes ago
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Compiled by Jamie H. Vaught

--Heartland: A Forgotten Place, an Impossible Dream, and the Miracle of Larry Bird by Keith O'Brien (Atria Books, $30) offers a stirring account of the improbable rise of Larry Bird and the Indiana State Sycamores during the late 1970s with exclusive, in-depth interviews with players, coaches, and staffers. It's the story of a group of young men who achieved the greatest feat of all: immortality. In the fall 1974, Larry Bird—one of the greatest players to ever pick up a basketball—was lost, and in danger of slipping away. He had dropped out of Indiana University, spurning legendary Hoosiers head coach Bobby Knight. He returned home to French Lick, a tiny town in the second poorest county in Indiana, and he got a job hauling trash. It could have ended right there for Bird, were it not for two men: Bob King, an old coach with bad knees, and Bill Hodges, a man who knew what it was like to be poor and overlooked. In the spring of 1975, during one of the darkest chapters of Bird’s life, King and Hodges convinced Bird to leave French Lick and play basketball at Indiana State University, a college that couldn’t even fill its arena, much less compete with Bobby Knight. Then, while no one was watching, King and Hodges built a team of players around Bird who were just like him: they were castoffs and leftovers, ready to work. Four years later, in March 1979, this unheralded team would put together one of the greatest seasons in American sports history. By the time it was over, more than 50 million people would tune in to watch Indiana State play in the NCAA finals against Magic Johnson and Michigan State. What happened that night would change college basketball and the NBA.

--Nolan: The Singular Life of an American Original by Tim Brown (Grand Central Publishing, $30)

is a definitive biography of Nolan Ryan, arguably the greatest pitcher in the history of baseball. Ryan was the hero to two of America’s biggest institutions: Texas and baseball. He grew up in the small town of Alvin, Texas, was graced with a fastball, and fell in love with a woman named Ruth. Alongside Nolan’s personal story, renowned sportswriter Tim Brown offers a thoughtful, deeply researched history of baseball in the Lone Star State, and an unforgettable account of three glorious decades in the Major Leagues. Ryan’s story is about dominating on the field, then growing old in the game, then just plain growing old. The book makes the case that there has never been another like him. And there won’t be again.

--Moses and the Doctor: Two Men, One Championship, and the Birth of Modern Basketball by Luke Epplin (Grand Central Publishing, $30) is a rousing story of two trailblazing superstars—Julius “Dr. J” Erving and Moses Malone—whose improbable alliance and unsung legacies shaped the wildest and most innovative era of basketball history. In the early 1970s, playground courts across the United States were jammed with hoops buffs experimenting with showy moves and aerial shots that were changing the look and feel of a sport once stubbornly earthbound. Out of this scene emerged a pair of incomparable yet dissimilar streetball sensations, both of whom would make their name in the American Basketball Association, an upstart professional league characterized as much by flamboyance as invention. Erving, better known as Dr. J, became a mythic figure whose airborne acrobatics inspired an army of high-flying acolytes. Malone, a down-and-dirty banger, scrambled basketball apprenticeships forever by skipping directly from high school to the pros. Into the 1980s, Erving and Malone switched leagues, won MVPs, shattered records, and led their respective clubs into the playoff’s championship round. But one prize eluded them: an NBA title. After suffering perennial defeat at the hands of Magic Johnson’s Los Angeles Lakers and Larry Bird’s Boston Celtics, the two eventually joined forces on the Philadelphia 76ers, blending their contrasting talents into a seamless whole. Together, Erving and Malone set out to accomplish what no other NBA team fronted by ex-ABA superstars had managed.

--The Bosses of the Bronx: The Endless Drama of the Yankees Under the House of Steinbrenner by Mike Vaccaro (Harper, $32 ) is a true story of how owner George Steinbrenner, followed by his son Hal, have controlled the most famous team in American sports. Since taking over the New York Yankees franchise in 1973, the Steinbrenners have transformed the fabled team from a struggling franchise into a baseball dynasty. George purchased the team for $8.8 million and quickly became known as “The Boss”—a hands-on owner whose relentless pursuit of victory defined an era. Under his leadership, the Yankees captured seven World Series titles, became a global sports brand, and consistently dominated the sports pages. But the story of the Steinbrenners and their team is much bigger and more complex—a drama of Shakespearian proportions, combining tragedy and great comedy. In this charming book written with all the candor and verve of the best press box reporting, the author goes beyond the headlines to chronicle the complete saga—from the times King George went mad and was eventually banned to how Prince Hal, living in the long shadow of his father, has struggled to put his own unique stamp on the Pinstripe realm. He chronicles the infamous headline-making disputes between the team’s managers and its mercurial owner, a man whose autocratic disposition would eventually get him banned from the game and earn him a place in pop culture lore with the hit sitcom Seinfeld. The book is a fun and wild remembrance of innings past for every Yankee fan and a must-read grudge list for every Yankee hater.