Written for every sports fan who follows the Yankees, this account goes behind the scenes to peek into the private world of the players, coaches, and decision makers—all while eavesdropping on their personal conversations. From the New York locker room to the field, the book includes stories from Roy White about Bucky Dent, Mickey Mantel, Billy Martin, Joe Pepitone, and Mickey Rivers, among others, allowing readers to relive the highlights and the celebrations.
All eleven volumes of Chopper's original memoirs ... unchopped Mark Brandon "Chopper" Read is Australia's most famous standover man and one of its most prolific authors. Now, for the very first time, all eleven volumes of Chopper's memoirs are together in this special collector's edition. From his criminal youth to his time in prison to his life as a reformed man, the entire journey is here. This omnibus edition contains the following complete and unabridged books: From the Inside: Chopper 1 Hits and Memories: Chopper 2 How to Shoot Friends and Influence People: Chopper 3 For the Term of His Unnatural Life: Chopper 4 Pulp Faction: Chopper 5 No Tears for a Tough Guy: Chopper 6 The Singing Defective: Chopper 7 The Sicilian Defence: Chopper 8 The Final Cut: Chopper 9 The Popcorn Gangster: Chopper 10.5 Last Man Standing: Chopper 11 Chopper is an icon in popular Australian culture and in the criminal underworld. Find out why in Chopper's own words.
Few players in the history of baseball suffered as many professional setbacks as Roy Sievers (1926-2017). After an award winning rookie season in 1949, he endured a year and a half-long slump, a nearly career-ending injury and a major position change--all from 1950 through 1953. Traded in 1954, he prevailed and became one of the most feared hitters of the decade, the Washington Senators' home run leader and the biggest gate attraction since Walter Johnson. Drawing on original interviews with Sievers and teammates, this first full-length biography covers the life and career of a first baseman who overcame adversity to restore a dispirited franchise.
The definitive portrait of one of the most important cultural figures in American history: Walt Disney. Walt Disney was a true visionary whose desire for escape, iron determination and obsessive perfectionism transformed animation from a novelty to an art form, first with Mickey Mouse and then with his feature films–most notably Snow White, Fantasia, and Bambi. In his superb biography, Neal Gabler shows us how, over the course of two decades, Disney revolutionized the entertainment industry. In a way that was unprecedented and later widely imitated, he built a synergistic empire that combined film, television, theme parks, music, book publishing, and merchandise. Walt Disney is a revelation of both the work and the man–of both the remarkable accomplishment and the hidden life. Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Biography USA Today Biography of the Year
Acclaimed sportswriter Allen Barra exposes the uncanny parallels--and lifelong friendship--between two of the greatest baseball players ever to take the field. Culturally, Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays were light-years apart. Yet they were nearly the same age and almost the same size, and they came to New York at the same time. They possessed virtually the same talents and played the same position. They were both products of generations of baseball-playing families, for whom the game was the only escape from a lifetime of brutal manual labor. Both were nearly crushed by the weight of the outsized expectations placed on them, first by their families and later by America. Both lived secret lives far different from those their fans knew. What their fans also didn't know was that the two men shared a close personal friendship--and that each was the only man who could truly understand the other's experience.
'My publishers contacted me roughly five minutes before publication and requested one more short story, so I sat down and pondered writing a short murder mystery called "Death of a Publisher – by Slow Strangulation".' Mark Brandon 'Chopper' Read is Australia's bestselling ex-convict. The standover man and self-confessed killer is Australia's only celebrity gangster and has spent most of his adult life in jail. Shot, stabbed, betrayed and minus a pair of ears; Chopper's tale of the Australian criminal underworld continues in Pulp Faction. The fifth volume of Chopper's memoirs contains a series of short stories. These shorts are raw, tough and funny, with a breathtaking ring of authenticity that could only have been written by a man who has lived these experiences. Featuring the classic stories 'Revenge of the Rabbit Kisser', 'The Shoe Shop Men' and 'Message in a Bottle', Pulp Faction will have you wondering what's true and what's not.
Enter a world where money, muscle, and murder reign with three true crime books from the New York Times–bestselling author and Edgar Award finalist. Whitey’s Payback: In this collection of sixteen stories culled from his journalism career, author T. J. English reveals the violent world of crime with in-depth pieces on everything from old-school mobsters to corrupt federal agents—including the most feared gangster in Boston history (and secret FBI informant), James “Whitey” Bulger, who vanished for sixteen years before finally being brought to justice. “Hard-hitting reporting.” —Anthony Bruno, author of The Iceman The Westies: They were the gang even the Mafia thought twice about fighting—a gang of young, wild Irishmen led by cold-blooded Jimmy Coonan and his loyal gunman Mickey Featherstone who ruled Hell’s Kitchen with a bloody fist. Their savagery gave them power, but their quick rise would eventually lead to betrayal and their ultimate downfall in this tale of vengeance, ambition, and the last of the Irish Mob in New York. “A harrowing account of big city crime.” —Library Journal Born to Kill: This Edgar Award finalist chronicles the rise and fall of the infamous Born to Kill gang, a group of young Vietnamese men raised in the wasteland left by American bombs and napalm who came to New York’s Chinatown to make a new life, but instead brought death in their wake. Told from the perspective of one gang member who wanted more than a life of bloodshed and testified against his brethren, Born to Kill is a shocking account of the American Dream gone nightmarishly wrong. “Hard-hitting . . .torrid and fascinating.” —The Austin Chronicle
Lenny McLean - an infamous name, but forever a legend. He is arguably one of the most notorious and feared prize-fighters this country has ever produced. Not only was he a mountain of a man and a true fighter, feared on the streets of gangland London and outside the clubs whose doors he manned in the heart of the capital, he was also an old-school East Ender, who took pride in operating on a gentleman's code despite the often-dangerous world he lived in. His life was cut all-too-short, just as it was taking a new, previously unimaginable direction after his role in Guy Ritchie's Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels but he remains loved by those who knew him. The Guv'nor Revealed uncovers parts of Lenny McLean's life not previously explored, with shared memories from his close friends, family and various other acquaintances who crossed his path one way or another during his lifetime. Lenny McLean was one of a kind; infamous for his brute strength but also loved for his protective heart. Collated from years of interviews, Lee Wortley and Anthony Thomas bring you an array of thrilling, and often touching and amusing, testimonies from those closest to him and a new insight into the life of The Guv'nor.
Book 1: Dead at Third He knows he’s more than just another washed-up ex-cop. Solving a murder will help him prove it... A straight-shooter who lives on a boat and likes a drink or two, Henry’s frustrated he can't even land work as a dispatcher. And his job running security for a local baseball team is far from his idea of excitement. But it pays the bills. The morning after the season ends, Henry’s at his friend’s bar with a Bloody Mary in one hand and a phone in the other. He takes a call that could change everything... Turns out a couple of fishermen pulled third baseman Lance Moreau’s body from the St. Johns River. And his teammate's been arrested for the murder. The team's owner turns to Henry to help prove the cops have the wrong man. Henry knows working security in an empty ballpark is one thing. But investigating a murder? It won’t be easy. Lucky for him he has Alex Jepson on his side. She’s beautiful. She’s tough. And as Henry likes to say...she’s the one with the brains. They’re a good match, in more ways than one. Now all they have to do is find the real killer... Book 2: The Last Ride One Sunday morning, John Thompson went out for a ride on his bike. He never made it home. Was it really just an accident? That’s the question ex-wife Angela Thompson has for the Sheriff’s Office. But they refuse to investigate further… She’d been told by a mutual friend that if anyone can get to the truth, it’s Henry Walsh. He’d only recently aced the Florida private investigator’s exam and paid his one-hundred-sixty-seven dollar fee. But with the ink still wet on his new business cards, he’s got his first big client. At first, he’s reluctant to take the case. There’s no doubt, the evidence is thin. But Henry’s a headstrong, straight-shooter. He’ll take his chances. And he could use the work. John Thompson had some questionable business dealings with a friend. And with an ex-wife, a dead wife, a young widow, and a handful of women on the side...questions about his past quickly rise to the surface. With help from ex-cop Alexandria “Alex” Jepson, the two start to dive into the investigation. But it all hits home when a head-on collision injures Alex, and Henry fears the worst. It soon becomes crystal clear someone is out to stop them. And the more Henry digs, the deadlier it becomes… Book 3: The Crystal Pelican In his most thrilling mystery yet, private investigator Henry Walsh dodges bullets, bombs, and married women to help find a friend’s missing fiancé… Just as he’s about to begin the search, an explosion rocks the marina where his friend was staying. When divers from the Sheriff’s Office come up out of the water empty handed, Henry can only fear the worst. But he keeps his promise, and leaves no stone unturned as he continues his search for his friend’s fiancé. And as he hunts for those responsible, it’s Henry who soon becomes the hunted. The target on his back only grows, and he must fight to keep those around him out of harm’s way. His normally hard-shelled partner Alex is worried they’re in way over their heads. She pleads with him to leave it in the hands of the Sheriff’s Office. But walking away was never Henry’s thing. And he knows once he has all the pieces, he’ll have no problem making them fit. As long as he can stay alive... When Henry finally discovers the one thing everyone’s been after, getting his hands on it is his only option. But it won’t be as easy. Apparently, it’s a treasure worth killing for…
Top 12 Mystery Novels of 2017 by Strand Magazine 2018 - Willa Literary Award Finalist, Contemporary Fiction "Evans' signature archaeological lore adds even more interest to this tale of love, hate, and greed." —Kirkus Reviews A woman waits under five feet of dirt—a woman who is by now nothing but bones stained the deep red of Oklahoma clay. A delicate silver necklace, a handful of ancient pearls, and a priceless figurine rest with her. Twenty-nine years is a long time to wait for a proper burial. Faye Longchamp-Mantooth, who runs a small and shakily financed archaeological consulting firm with her husband, Joe, has come to Sylacauga so she and Joe can join his father, Sly Mantooth, in dispersing his mother's ashes. Fifteen years is a long time to wait for a proper ceremony. Faye has partially financed the trip by hiring on to consult on the reopening of a site closed down 29 years ago when archaeologist Dr. Sophia Townsend disappeared—for good. The Muscogee (Creek) Nation intends to create a park if nothing sacred lies in the soil. What no one expects is the lonely red bones that emerge as the backhoe completes its work. Inevitably they prove to be those of Sophia Townsend. And examination shows Sophia was first killed by a blow to the head. Chief Roy Cloud of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation's Lighthorse Tribal Police hires Faye, who clearly can't be a suspect, to consult. Which is fine with Faye, who won't rest easy until Sophia's murder is solved. But the investigation comes uncomfortably close to home when she learns that her father-in-law knows more about the dead woman than he is willing to admit. So, it appears, does everyone in tiny Sylacauga. Dr. Sophia Townsend had possessed a sexual magnetism as forceful as an Oklahoma tornado, and she had never hesitated to use it to manipulate everyone around her, people whose hearts she broke and whose marriages she destroyed. Was she killed by one of her lovers, or by one of their wives? Or by the woman who became enthralled with her? Or maybe Sly Mantooth? Or was something else elemental—greed, buried treasure, fame—at work? Faye's obsession with this case tests her professional ethics and it tests her marriage. Such was the power of Sophia Townsend that, twenty-nine years after her murder, she wreaks havoc (along with the weather) once again. 2018 - Oklahoma Book Award Finalist, Fiction 2018 - Will Rogers Bronze Medallion Award Winner, Western Fiction
