National Network for Equitable Library Service

NATIONAL BESTSELLER "A phenomenal, human story. . . . I could not put this book down." —CLARA HUGHES An instant national bestseller, this raw and affecting memoir is the story of a mother and daughter who beat the odds together.   Decades before Perdita Felicien became a World Champion hurdler running the biggest race of her life at the 2004 Olympics, she carried more than a nation's hopes—she carried her mother Catherine's dreams.

Arguably the greatest extreme skier to ever live, Doug Coombs pioneered hundreds of first descents down the biggest, steepest, most dangerous mountains in the world—from the Grand Teton “Otter Body” in Jackson Hole, to Mount Vinson, the highest point in Antarctica, to far-flung drops such as Wyatt Peak in Kyrgyzstan. He graced magazine covers, wowed moviegoers, became the face of top ski companies, and ascended as the king of big mountain extreme skiing. His place at the top was confirmed in 1991 when he won the very first World Extreme Ski Competition in Valdez, Alaska.

Connors tells the complete, uncensored story of his life and career, setting the record straight about his formidable mother, Gloria; his very public romance with America's sweetheart Chris Evert; his famous opponents, including Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Arthur Ashe, Ivan Lendl, and Rod Laver; his irrepressible co-conspirators Ilie Nastase and Vitas Gerulaitis; and his young nemesis Andre Agassi.

Dad has moved out and Mom has checked out, leaving the door wide open for the beautiful, erratic Rachel to torment her "loser, loner" younger sister, Nadine. With her family in full meltdown mode, Nadine is alone, trying to cope with Rachel's increasingly unpredictable moods. Friendless, but determined to turn her life around, Nadine meets Anne, who introduces her to field hockey and to her hot twin brothers, Matt and Cameron.

Through the seventies and into the mid-eighties a cohort of young climbers challenged the siege mentality of their seniors on high mountains in the Greater Ranges with fast moving, lightweight expeditions run on a shoestring. Brian Hall was one of them and, in High Risk, he describes their daring adventures and the counterculture they lived within, their rivalries and relationships, and the terrible price many of them paid. When all was done, they had raised the standards of mountaineering by changing its style and ethics.

Running away from your problems doesn't solve anything - but sometimes it's more fun than dealing with them Elise was spending a lot of time crying on buses. She had just graduated from university; had a shiny new flat, her first proper job and a budding relationship - and they were making her miserable. Sitting at work one day, she hit upon the obvious solution. Run 5,000 miles around the coast of Britain, carrying her kit on her back. Six months later Elise set off, with absolutely no ultra-running experience, unable to read a map and having never pitched a tent before.

Do you yearn for an adventure in the great outdoors? Does camping and hiking appeal to you? Do you need some good advice before you start? The lure of fresh air, beautiful scenery and sparsely populated expanses is something that is hard to resist. Add to that the fun exercise we get from outdoor pursuits and it all goes towards being a great day out or weekend away.

After years of adventuring around the globe - running, kayaking, hitchhiking, exploring - Beau Miles came back to his block in country Victoria. Staying put for the first time in years, Beau developed a new kind of lifestyle as the Backyard Adventurer. Whether it was walking 90km to work with no provisions, building a canoe paddle out of scavenged scrap or running a disused railway line through properties, blackberry thickets and past inquiring police officers, Beau has been finding ways to satisfy his adventurous spirit close to home.

America's favorite football player turned morning talk show host Michael Strahan reads his book of motivational advice on how to turn up the heat and go from good to great in pursuit of your personal ambition. Michael Strahan spent his childhood on a military base in Europe, where community meant everything, and life, though idyllic, was different. For one, when people referenced football they meant soccer.

The definitive, shocking account of the FIFA scandal--the biggest international corruption case of recent years, spearheaded by US investigators, involving dozens of countries, and implicating nearly every aspect of the world's most popular sport, soccer, including its biggest event, the World Cup. The FIFA case began small, boosted by an IRS agent's review of an American soccer official's tax returns.