National Network for Equitable Library Service

Having been sexually abused by a boxing coach as a teen, and not knowing who to trust or tell, Roland Vandal found solace in drugs and alcohol. His battle with addiction, and his unwillingness to speak of his demons, led to failed relationships, bad choices, crime, trouble with the law, and PTSD. After a night of partying with friends in 2001, Roland found himself alone in a Winnipeg hotel and attempted suicide. When he woke, plagued by guilt and shame at what he'd done, he knew he had hit bottom. He dialled the phone and sought help.

From the author of the bestselling National Book Award finalist The Big House comes a story in the tradition of The Boys in the Boat about an unforgettable group of young athletes who battled in the legendary Harvard-Yale football game of 1968 amidst the sweeping currents of one of the most transformative years in American history. On November 23, 1968, near the end of a turbulent and memorable year, there was a football game that would also prove turbulent and memorable: the season-ending clash between Harvard and Yale.

"Craig Raleigh puts hunting into modern perspective, combining higher sensibilities and his firsthand insight into the hunting world to gently illuminate a part of human nature that was, and still is, among the purest of human endeavors." -Jim Shockey, award-winning writer and host of Jim Shockey's Hunting Adventures and Uncharted A thoughtful appreciation of hunting and a celebration of the outdoors that illuminates the hunter's psyche, role, and influence on our culture.

S’adressant tant aux geeks de statistiques qu’aux néophytes, De l’utilité de l’ennui est un livre sur la possibilité de trouver refuge et confort dans l’ordre, les traditions et les rituels du baseball. De la découverte des mythes de l’Amérique à travers les différents stades de balle du continent jusqu’au plus célèbre triple jeu à ne jamais avoir eu lieu en sol canadien, Andrew Forbes nous invite à des conversations d’adulte avec le gamin qu’il a été, assis au milieu de sa collection de cartes de baseball O-Pee-Chee.

Mixing sharp political analysis and compelling baseball lore, Elias explores whether the face of American baseball throughout the world is that of goodwill ambassador or ugly American. 

Sport literature is never just about sport. The genre's potential to explore the human condition, including aspects of violence, gender, and the body, has sparked the interest of writers, readers, and scholars. Over the last decade, a proliferation of sport literature courses across the continent is evidence of the sophisticated and evolving body of work developing in this area. Writing the Body in Motion offers introductory essays on the most commonly taught Canadian sport literature texts.

Hockey history like you've never seen it before. Who knew that paperwork could be so fascinating? In Written in Blue and White, author Greg Oliver explores the fascinating archives of Allan Stitt, one of hockey's leading collectors, unearthing gem after gem that details the history of the Toronto Maple Leafs through the past century.

Every fan of professional wrestling remembers the moment that captured their heart forever and hooked them for life. Whether it was Ric Flair regaining the NWA Championship from Harley Race at Starcade, the Freebirds turning heel on Kerry Von Erich, Mick Foley flying off the cage at King of the Ring, Jake Roberts DDT-ing Ricky Steamboat on the concrete, Samoa Joe’s epic trilogy with CM Punk in Ring of Honor, or the premiere of WCW’s Nitro: these are the matches and moments that thrilled, terrified, or outraged – overwhelming you with real emotion.

A rare glimpse not only into the life of a professional wrestler, but the life of a gay man in a straight world, this tragic memoir is told in Chris Kanyon’s own words, with the help of journalist Ryan Clark.

One of the most popular wrestlers of the late 1990s, Kanyon kept his personal life private from his fans until finally revealing his biggest secret in 2004: he was gay. Going through the various roles that Kanyon played, both in the ring and out of it, as well as his battle with manic depression, this book explores the factors that led to his suicide in 2010.

Irvin Muchnick — a widely published writer and nephew of the late, legendary St. Louis wrestling promoter Sam Muchnick — has produced a book unlike any other on the astonishing growth of professional wrestling and its profound impact on mainstream sports and society. In Wrestling Babylon, he traces the demise of wrestling’s old Mafia-like territories and the rise of a national marketing base thanks to cable television, deregulation and a culture-wide nervous breakdown.