The pressures of being an undercover reporter are getting to Eddie Ventura. No one on his baseball team has realized that he is the anonymous writer behind all the great new coverage their team has been getting from their school newspaper. The only problem is—not everyone is thrilled with the stories, or the uncanny way their secrets are being leaked to the press. Should Eddie quit writing for the school newspaper before his secret is uncovered?
“A crucial study in the political manipulation of intelligence, understanding how Curveball got us into Iraq will arm us for the next round of lies coming out of Washington.”—Robert Baer, author of See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism Curveball answers the crucial question of the Iraq war: How and why was America’s intelligence so catastrophically wrong? In this dramatic and explosive book, award-winning Los Angeles Times reporter Bob Drogin delivers a narrative that takes us to Europe, the Middle East, and deep inside the CIA to find the truth—the truth about the lies and self-deception that led us into a military and political nightmare. Praise for Curveball “Just when you thought the WMD debacle couldn’t get worse, here comes veteran Los Angeles Times national-security correspondent Drogin’s look at just who got the stories going in the first place. . . . Simultaneously sobering and infuriating—essential reading for those who follow the headlines.”—Kirkus Reviews “In this engrossing account, Los Angeles Times correspondent Drogin paints an intimate and revealing portrait of the workings and dysfunctions of the intelligence community.”—Publishers Weekly “An insightful and compelling account of one crucial component of the war's origins . . . Had Drogin merely pieced together Curveball's story, it alone would have made for a thrilling book. But he provides something more: a frightening glimpse at how easily we could make the same mistakes again. . . . The real value of Drogin's book is its meticulous demonstration that bureaucratic imperative often leads to self-delusion.”—Washington Monthly “Drogin delivers a startling account of this fateful intelligence snafu.”—Booklist “By the time you finish this book you will be shaking your head with wonder, or perhaps you will be shaking with anger, about the misadventures that preceded the misadventures in Iraq. This book is so powerful, it almost refutes its subtitle: The man called Curveball did not cause a war; he became a pretext—one among many.”—George F. Will
FOREWORD BY ROBIN SHARMA A Story of Grit, Adversity and Winning the Game of Life LESSONS FOR A LIFE OF STRENGTH, SUCCESS AND REAL IMPACT THE CURVEBALL is an extraordinary story about turning fear into fuel, wounds into wisdom and struggle into spectacular human power. Inspiring, valuable and ultimately transformational, this unique book will help you: • Win the game of life while experiencing joy, peace and grace. • Find the courage to realize your dreams and live your greatness in complex times • Grow more positive and heroic in the face of adversity so troubles become triumphs • Lead a life of authenticity, decency and purpose You have immense gifts within you. The Curveball will show you how to bring them to the world, starting today." COLBY SHARMA LLB., is a law graduate from the University of Liverpool, an entrepreneur and an international traveller dedicated to making the world a brighter place. This is his first novel. YOU CAN CONNECT WITH COLBY AT Website: www.colbysharma.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/thecurveball426 Instagram: colbysharmaofficial LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/colbysharma/"
In the fifth book in the New York Times bestselling middle grade series inspired by the life of iconic New York Yankee Derek Jeter, Derek spends the summer with his grandparents in Pequannock Township, New Jersey. Sometimes, you were looking for role models. And sometimes, you were being one yourself. Derek is having the best summer yet! Fun on the lake with his cousins, baseball, and a visit from his best friend, Dave: what more could he ask for? It gets even better when Derek gets to go to a Yankees game and meets a bunch of kids who play ball near the stadium, and they’re good. Awesome, actually, especially Jumbo and Tiny. Derek can’t wait to introduce them to Dave, but Grandma says if he wants to go to another Yankees game, he’ll have to earn some of the money for tickets himself. This means spending quality time with Grandpa mowing lawns and learning the meaning of hard work. Derek brings Dave to meet Tiny and Jumbo, whom Derek admires. But when Jumbo tries to convince Derek to do something he’s sure will get him in trouble, Derek has to rethink who his role models are. Inspired by Derek Jeter’s childhood, Curveball is the fifth book in Jeter Publishing’s New York Times bestselling middle grade baseball series that focuses on key life lessons from Derek Jeter’s Turn 2 Foundation.
When an old scrapbook stirs memories, Billy Bryan looks back to the year 1947 when he was playing winter ball in Cuba, enjoying Havana's decadent nightlife, and dreaming of a major-league career.
Life seemed idyllic for thirty-two-year-old Liz Holzemer. Wife of Major League Baseball pitcher Mark Holzemer, Liz was enjoying a successful career as a journalist when an MRI revealed a baseball-size brain tumor she soon found out was called meningioma. Told with clarity and unwavering humor, this book is an inspirational and informative account of one woman's battle for her life. It shows how she emerged from this frightening diagnosis and two brain surgeries retaining her remarkable spirit of survival and renewed sense of purpose and hope. With practical information about meningioma and brain surgery, Curveball is a manual for people who face life-altering challenges and is also proof that one need not fight such battles alone.
2011 Selection for the Amelia Bloomer Project. From the time she was a girl growing up in the shadow of Lexington Park in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Toni Stone knew she wanted to play professional baseball. There was only one problem--every card was stacked against her. Curveball tells the inspiring story of baseball's "female Jackie Robinson," a woman whose ambition, courage, and raw talent propelled her from ragtag teams barnstorming across the Dakotas to playing in front of large crowds at Yankee Stadium. Toni Stone was the first woman to play professional baseball on men's teams. After Robinson integrated the major leagues and other black players slowly began to follow, Stone seized an unprecedented opportunity to play professional baseball in the Negro League. She replaced Hank Aaron as the star infielder for the Indianapolis Clowns and later signed with the legendary Kansas City Monarchs. Playing alongside some of the premier athletes of all time including Ernie Banks, Willie Mays, Buck O'Neil, and Satchel Paige, Toni let her talent speak for itself. Curveball chronicles Toni Stone's remarkable career facing down not only fastballs, but jeers, sabotage, and Jim Crow America as well. Her story reveals how far passion, pride, and determination can take one person in pursuit of a dream.
Curveball is a science fiction graphic novel telling the story of a waiter named Avery coping with the ending of a difficult relationship. Having spent years attempting to build something substantial with an indecisive sailor named Christophe, Avery stubbornly holds on despite the mounting evidence against him. The idea of the relationship has eclipsed it's reality and in Avery's already troubled life, the allure of something dependable is a powerful force. Curveball focuses on the duality of hope and delusion. How ignorance is integral to surviving our day to day lives but can be incredibly destructive if allowed to blossom into 'optimism'. This is the gorgeous debut of a talented young cartoonist telling the most universal of tales: a love story.
What guy doesn't need some pointers on how to be the man he wants to be? And we know that being a man is so much more than building a successful career and mastering the mechanics of daily life (like oil changes), those functional things are really important too. By addressing the basic, primal, and archetypal moments that all men experience, this book helps men become more invested in their passions, their families, their lives, and God.
