Get Your Favorite Full Audiobooks in Biography & Memoir, Sports

They Said It Couldn't Be Done: The '69 Mets, New York City, and the Most Astounding Season in Baseball History by Wayne Coffey

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/343599 [https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/343599] to listen full audiobooks. Title: They Said It Couldn't Be Done: The '69 Mets, New York City, and the Most Astounding Season in Baseball History Author: Wayne Coffey Narrator: Gary Cohen Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 9 hours 22 minutes Release date: March 26, 2019 Ratings: Ratings of Book: 5 of Total 2 Genres: Sports Publisher's Summary: “One of sports’ most storied championship teams gets its proper due” (Tom Verducci) in this definitive history of the 1969 Miracle Mets from the New York Times bestselling author of The Boys of Winter.   “If you want to know what it was like to live and witness a baseball miracle in tumultuous times, this book is for you.”—Ron Darling, former New York Mets All-Star and bestselling author of Game 7, 1986   The story of the 1969 New York Mets’ season has long since entered sports lore as one of the most remarkable of all time. But beyond the “miracle” is a compelling narrative of an unlikely collection of players and the hallowed manager who inspired them to greatness. For the fiftieth anniversary, renowned sports journalist Wayne Coffey brings to life a moment when a championship could descend on a city like magic, and when a baseball legend was authored one inning at a time.   Future Hall of Fame ace Tom Seaver snagged the biggest headlines, but the enduring richness of the story lies in the core of a team comprised of untested youngsters, lightly regarded veterans, and four Southern-born African-American stalwarts who came of age in the shadow of Jackie Robinson. Most of the Mets regulars were improbable candidates for baseball stardom. The number two starting pitcher, Jerry Koosman, grew up on a Minnesota farm, never played high-school ball, and was only discovered because of a tip from a Mets’ usher. Outfielder Ron Swoboda was known for long home runs and piles of strikeouts, until he turned into a glove wizard when it mattered most.   All of these men were galvanized by their manager: the sainted former Brooklyn Dodger Gil Hodges, whose fundamental belief in the power of every man on the roster, no matter his stats, helped backup players like Al Weis and J.C. Martin become October heroes. As the Mets powered through the season to reach a World Series against the best-in-a-generation Baltimore Orioles, Hodges’s steady hand guided a team that had very recently been the league laughingstock to an improbable, electrifying shot at sports immortality.   “A must-read for not just for Mets fans, but all baseball fans who will appreciate what indeed was the most astounding season in baseball history.”—Ken Rosenthal, two-time Sports Emmy winner for Outstanding Sports Reporter

26 Marathons: What I Learned About Faith, Identity, Running, and Life from My Marathon Career by Scott Douglas, Meb Keflezighi

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/343585 [https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/343585] to listen full audiobooks. Title: 26 Marathons: What I Learned About Faith, Identity, Running, and Life from My Marathon Career Author: Scott Douglas, Meb Keflezighi Narrator: Holter Graham Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 6 hours 50 minutes Release date: March 19, 2019 Ratings: Ratings of Book: 4.33 of Total 9 Ratings of Narrator: 5 of Total 2 Genres: Sports Publisher's Summary: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A world-class runner and four-time Olympian shares the life lessons he’s learned from each of the twenty-six marathons he’s run in his storied career.  “An athlete whose wisdom and lessons aren’t just for runners.”—The Washington Post When Meb Keflezighi—the first person in history to win both the Boston and New York City marathons as well as an Olympic marathon medal—ran his final marathon in New York City on November 5, 2017, it marked the end of an extraordinary distance-running career.  Meb's last marathon was also his twenty-sixth, and each of those marathons has come with its own unique challenges, rewards, and outcomes. In 26 Marathons, Meb takes readers on those legendary races, along every hill, bend, and unexpected turn of events that made each marathon an exceptional learning experience, and a fascinating story. 26 Marathons offers the wisdom Meb has gleaned about life, family, identity, and faith in addition to tips about running, training, and nutrition. He shows runners of all levels how to apply the lessons he's learned to their own running and lives. Equal parts inspiration and practical advice, 26 Marathons provides an inside look at the life and success of one of the greatest runners living today. Praise for 26 Marathons “26 Marathons is a swift read, guaranteed to be popular with student athletes plus hard-core and recreational runners, who will undoubtedly agree that Meb is an American treasure and running ambassador who never fails to inspire.”—Booklist (starred review) “26 Marathons gives great insight about the ups and downs in marathon running and how to cope with them. As Meb shows, dealing with these marathon experiences help us become better in our lives.”—Eliud Kipchoge, Marathon World Record Holder and 2016 Olympic Gold Medalist “Meb’s 26 Marathons is like opening a treasure chest full of inspiring stories that give behind-the-scenes glimpse into the mental and physical joys and obstacles that elite-level racing can bring. His advice on training, overcoming injuries, and adversity is for everyone. It’s pure gold!”—Shalane Flanagan, 2017 TCS NYC Marathon Champion

Pounding the Rock: Basketball Dreams and Real Life in a Bronx High School by Marc Skelton

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/343568 [https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/343568] to listen full audiobooks. Title: Pounding the Rock: Basketball Dreams and Real Life in a Bronx High School Author: Marc Skelton Narrator: Pete Larkin Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 8 hours 22 minutes Release date: March 12, 2019 Genres: Sports Publisher's Summary: Welcome to Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom High School, in a working-class corner of the Bronx, where a driven coach inspires his teams to win games and championships--and learn Russian history and graduate and go on to college. In 2006, the Fannie Lou Hamer Panthers basketball team was 0-18. Since 2007, the year Marc Skelton, a New Hampshire native, took over as head coach, the Panthers' record has been 228-68, and they've won three Public School Athletic League championships and one statewide championship. This tiny 400-student school has become a powerhouse on the basketball court, as well as a public education success story and a symbol of the regeneration of its once blighted neighborhood.      In Pounding the Rock, Marc Skelton tells the thrilling story of the 2016-2017 season, as the Panthers seek to redeem an early exit from the playoffs the year before. But this is far more than a basketball story. It's a profile of a school that, against the odds, educates kids from the poorest congressional district in the country and sends the majority of them to college; of an unusual coach who studies the game with Talmudic intensity, demands as much of himself as he does of his players (a lot), and finds inspiration as much from Melville, Gogol, and Jacob Riis as from John Wooden; and of a squad of young men who battle against difficulties in life every day, and who don't know how to quit.      In a world of all too many downers, Pounding the Rock is one big up, on the court and off. All fans of basketball and of life will rise up and applaud.

Liferider: Heart, Body, Soul, and Life Beyond the Ocean by Laird Hamilton, Julian Borra

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/343567 [https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/343567] to listen full audiobooks. Title: Liferider: Heart, Body, Soul, and Life Beyond the Ocean Author: Laird Hamilton, Julian Borra Narrator: Julian Borra, Gabrielle Reece, Elijah Allan-Blitz Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 6 hours 33 minutes Release date: March 12, 2019 Ratings: Ratings of Book: 4.33 of Total 3 Ratings of Narrator: 4 of Total 2 Genres: Sports Publisher's Summary: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Surfing icon Laird Hamilton offers inspiration to anyone who wants to elevate their ordinary, landlocked lives to do extraordinary things.   “When Laird Hamilton surfs, you must watch. When he speaks, I listen. And when he writes a book, I’m damn sure gonna read it. Twice.”—Eddie Vedder, Grammy Award–winning lead vocalist of Pearl Jam   Millions of us increasingly seek happiness in fads and self-help books, reaching upward every day toward some enlightened state that we wish to attain. Laird Hamilton is more intent on looking inward and appreciating the brilliant creatures we already are. In Liferider, Laird uses five key pillars—Death & Fear, Heart, Body, Soul, and Everything Is Connected—to illustrate his unique worldview and life practices.   This is Laird Hamilton in his own words—raw, honest, and unvarnished—on topics he has rarely explored before. Based on extensive interviews and conversations between Laird and his coauthor, Julian Borra, with additional insights from Laird’s wife, pro-volleyball player Gabby Reece, Liferider takes on human resilience, relationships, business, technology, risk-taking, and the importance of respecting the natural world, all through the lens of Laird’s extraordinary life both in and beyond the ocean. Praise for Liferider “Laird is a hero, if you want him to be. That’s up to your perception. He challenges himself, and he challenges those around him. He shows us that the deeper we puncture into life, the more vibrant the colors get. The Laird Hamilton I know—real, faulty, moody, deeply loving, and communal—comes through on every page of Liferider.”—Josh Brolin, Award-Winning Actor   “Laird Hamilton is a true individualist unafraid to carve his own path. These thoughtful mediations offer a unique window — illuminating and inspiring — into one of America's great innovators.”—Rory Kennedy, Documentary Filmmaker

Why We Fight: One Man’s Search for Meaning Inside the Ring by Josh Rosenblatt

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/345409 [https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/345409] to listen full audiobooks. Title: Why We Fight: One Man’s Search for Meaning Inside the Ring Author: Josh Rosenblatt Narrator: Joe Knezevich Format: Unabridged Audiobook Length: 6 hours 21 minutes Release date: January 15, 2019 Ratings: Ratings of Book: 3 of Total 3 Ratings of Narrator: 5 of Total 1 Genres: Sports Publisher's Summary: Finally, we can talk about Fight Club! or, A physical and philosophical mediation on why we are drawn to fight each other for sport, what happens to our bodies and brains when we do, and what it all means Anyone with guts or madness in him can get hit by someone who knows how; it takes a different kind of madness, a more persistent kind, to stick around long enough to be one of the people who does the knowing. Josh Rosenblatt was thirty-three years old when he first realized he wanted to fight. A lifelong pacifist with a philosopher’s hatred of violence and a dandy’s aversion to exercise, he drank to excess, smoked passionately, ate indifferently, and mocked physical activity that didn’t involve nudity. But deep down inside there was always some part of him that was attracted to the idea of fighting. So, after studying Muay Thai, Krav Maga, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and boxing, he decided, at age forty, that it was finally time to fight his first—and only—mixed martial arts match: all in the name of experience and transcending ancient fears. An insightful and moving rumination on the nature of fighting, Why We Fight takes us on his journey from the bleachers to the ring. Using his own training as an opportunity to understand how the sport illuminates basic human impulses, Rosenblatt weaves together cultural history, criticism, biology, and anthropology to understand what happens to the human body and mind when under attack, and to explore why he, a self-described “cowardly boy from the suburbs,” discovered so much meaning in putting his body, and others’, at risk. From the psychology of fear to the physiology of pain, from Ukrainian shtetls to Brooklyn boxing gyms, from Lord Byron to George Plimpton, Why We Fight is a fierce inquiry into the abiding appeal of our most conflicted and controversial fixation, interwoven with a firsthand account of what happens when a mild-mannered intellectual decides to step into the ring for his first real showdown.