This book explores the billion-dollar racehorse industry and the quest for the home run horse, the superior runner that makes fortunes and changes lives--and can come from anywhere.

There is no more thrilling moment in the game of baseball than the seconds before the ball flies out of the park, never to be seen again. As Greg Maddux famously said, chicks dig 'em, and men fantasize about hitting them. Now, The Complete History of the Home Run told decade by decade, traces this ultimate macho symbol. Mark Ribowsky looks at how the big hit evolved from a rarity to centerpiece because of Babe Ruth's prowess. Baseball fans will also learn how the home run has been mythologized, written about, and discussed in the media, baseball literature, and in bars all across the county. Featured are such epic swings as: -- Ruth's #60, Roger Maris's #61, Mark McGwire's #70, Barry Bonds's #73, Hank Aaron's K -- Ted Williams's All-Star Game Blast off Rip Sewell; -- Bobby Thomson's Shot Heard Around the World; -- Mickey Mantle's 565-footer in Washington; -- Bill Mazeroski's and Joe Carter's Series-ender; -- Reggie Jackson's Series trio; -- The Tino/Jeter/Brosius trinity.Including commentary on the men who hit these long balls -- Willie Mays, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds, and Ted Williams -- the book also brings out the facts and statistics. Readers will find out the truth behind Ruth's Called Shot, Josh Gibson's alleged blast out of Yankee Stadium, who had the best-ever power season, the myth of the lively ball era, the science of the home run, and why yesterday's hits will always be better than today's.

Profiles the life and baseball career of America's first home run king in the mid-1800s.

After Babe Ruth erased Buck Freeman's record in 1919, the new mark stood for 34 years before Maris bettered it, defying as he did an incredulous sporting public. And just as fans' anger grew old and Maris was grudgingly credited--or discredited--with an unrepeatable hot streak, along came Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, two goliaths who in 1998 and the years just after proved fans wrong again. But when in 2001, only three years after McGwire seemed to put the record beyond reach, Barry Bonds topped him by three. This time fans were staunch in their disbelief, and while many celebrated Bonds' achievement, others questioned its significance. This revised edition of Bill McNeil's Ruth, Maris, McGwire, and Sosa ("libraries especially will want this"--Library Journal) reviews the careers of each home run titan, with special attention to the record-breaking seasons. The cultural and social changes that may have affected both the players' season totals and fan reception are also considered.

"This book belongs on every World War II bookshelf, filling in the gaps on what is known about this oft-mentioned but little understood topic of wartime escape and evasion." —The NYMAS Review Imagine that you are deep behind enemy lines. Your plane was shot down or perhaps you have just escaped from a prisoner of war camp. The enemy is hunting you, seeking to throw you behind barbed wire for the duration of the war. What will you do? Do you have a plan, and the skills, to make it to friendly territory? During World War II, the Germans and Japanese held over 306,000 British and 105,000 U.S. service members as prisoners. The number of successful evaders and escapers, both U.S. and British, exceeded 35,000. Many of these were aircrew, who received intense training because of the high risk that they would have to evade or escape. This book will relate how they fared in enemy hands or managed to remain free. This book provides a complete overview of U.S. and British escape and evasion during World War II. It tells the story of the escape and evasion organizations, the Resistance-operated lines, and the dangers faced by the escapers and the evaders in a logical and compelling narrative. Heroism, betrayal, sacrifice, and cowardice are all elements of this fascinating part of the rich tapestry of World War II.

Mail-order bride Edwina Ladoux is grateful for the three-month courtship period she agreed to with Declan Brodie and his four rambunctious children, but experiences a change of heart when Declan's first wife suddenly returns.

Take kids out to their very first ballgame in this adorable storybook for our youngest fans! The bases are loaded as two more Cows get on base. It’s the clean-up hitter against the Bears’ pitching ace! This charming, illustrated sports book for toddlers features the game of the year: the Cows vs. the Bears! Each spread introduces baseball terms, gear, players, and umps within the context of the story of a nine-inning game between all-animal teams. Read along as the Cow shortstop leaps for an inning-ending catch, a Bear runner slides home . . . “Safe!” . . . all culminating in a bottom-of-the-ninth showdown that is the epitome of a never-to-be-forgotten baseball classic!

The home run is indeed baseball's ultimate weapon. It can change a game in a heartbeat, making a tight game into a blowout or a seemingly easy win into a nail-biter. Homers are majestic, powerful, and awe inspiring. And sluggers are the sport's biggest stars, from the days of Babe Ruth through Barry Bonds. David Vincent, called "The Sultan of Swat Stats" by ESPN, delves into the long history of the home run with great detail and color. He starts when the rules of the game were highly unstable and sometimes the definition of a home run could change in a park from year to year; follows through the "Deadball Era," when the home run was rare; explores the explosion Babe Ruth brought to baseball in the 1920s; discusses how both world wars affected homer statistics; looks at great home run races such as Maris versus Mantle in 1961; assesses the effects of the juiced ball, juiced players, thin air, and smaller ballparks; and so much more. If there is something to know about home run history, look to David Vincent for the answer-Major League Baseball does. With Home Run: The Definitive History of Baseball's Ultimate Weapon, now you can know it too. A 1990s Nike commercial proclaimed that "chicks dig the long ball." In this thorough and colorful look at baseball's ultimate weapon, David Vincent shows you why.

After Oscar the horse began playing center field, the New York Goats, worst team in the major leagues, seemed certain to win the World Series, and then--Oscar was horse-naped.

"All these many years down the road, Lou Gehrig's reputation still holds up as does Ray Robinson's elegant biography." –Bob Costas Lou Gehrig will go down in history as one of the best ballplayers of all time; he was elected to the Hall of Fame and played in a record-setting 2,130 consecutive games. ALS known today as "Lou Gehrig's Disease" robbed him of his physical skills at a relatively young age, and he died in 1941. Ray Robinson re-creates the life of this legendary ballplayer and also provides an insightful look at baseball, including all the great players of that era: Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, and more.