There is only one writer on the planet who possesses enough basketball knowledge and passion to write the definitive book on the NBA.* Bill Simmons, the from-the-womb hoops addict known to millions as ESPN.com’s Sports Guy, is that writer. And The Book of Basketball is that book.
Nowhere in the roundball universe will you find another single volume that covers as much in such depth as this wildly opinionated and thoroughly entertaining look at the past, present, and future of pro basketball.
From the age-old question of who actually won the rivalry between Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain to the one about which team was truly the best of all time, Simmons opens–and then closes, once and for all–every major pro basketball debate. Then he takes it further by completely reevaluating not only how NBA Hall of Fame inductees should be chosen but how the institution must be reshaped from the ground up, the result being the Pyramid: Simmons’s one-of-a-kind, five-level shrine to the ninety-six greatest players in the history of pro basketball. And ultimately he takes fans to the heart of it all, as he uses a conversation with one NBA great to uncover that coveted thing: The Secret of Basketball.
Comprehensive, authoritative, controversial, hilarious, and impossible to put down (even for Celtic-haters), The Book of Basketball offers every hardwood fan a courtside seat beside the game’s finest, funniest, and fiercest chronicler.
More to the point, he’s the only one crazy enough to try to pull it off.
*
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Noah Kincaid arrives ready to roll up his sleeves and revitalize his new purchase, but he's going to need some help. An ad in the local paper brings and improbably candidate his way. "Pastor's assistant" is not a phrase that springs to mind when Noah meets brassy, beautiful Ellie Baldwin. With her colorful clothes and even more colorful past, Ellie needs a respectable job so she can regain custody of her children. Noah can't help but admire her spunk and determination, and she may just be the breath of fresh air he needs. The unlikely duo may come from two different worlds, but they have more in common than anyone would have expected. And in Virgin River lasting happiness is never out of the question. Views: 644
Kim and Shelton are desparate to find their missing loved ones. Then gradually each comes to a secret but mutual understanding of the global mystery of the vanished millions. It's a secret that not only binds but separates them, until loneliness, danger and love force them to start over. They name their son Adam.Special thanks to Deb Smith, of Belle Bridge Books, for cover design.In acclaimed southern author Janice Daugharty’s apocalyptic Biblical thriller, the Rapture comes not with spectral flourishes or rumors of war but with unemployed former real estate agent Shelton Teasdale waking from a nap in his rural Georgia home to find the power off and his wife gone. At first, he thinks she is out with her pet goats, but going outside their small frame house, he sees that her old Jeep isn’t parked in its usual place. Depressed about his job situation and lethargic about life in general, Shelton shrugs off the peculiar circumstance at first, but as evening arrives he grows worried. Next, he notices his cell phone is dead. He sets out in his pickup truck with his dog beside him. Driving up the long dirt road running by his house, he begins to smell and see smoke out over the woods near the highway that Elaine takes to her job in the nearby town of Valdosta. When he reaches the highway he sees automobiles in every direction, some burning, some wrecked and others only parked, but empty. A massive traffic accident? Terrified, Shelton searches for Elaine amidst the wreckage. He finds her Jeep with her cell phone on the front seat and, next to it, her purse with all her belongings inside. Bizarrely, she left the ignition turned on, and the Jeep has run out gas. Shelton races to a nearby convenience store to call for help. But the frightening mystery deepens as the manager shoots at Shelton and refuses to talk to him. By now Shelton is filled with horror. Has the United States been bombed? Has there been a massive terrorist attack? When he makes his way back to his wife’s Jeep with a can of gasoline in hand, a state patrol officer orders him out of the vehicle . . . and then scans the microchip on the top of Shelton’s right hand. Shelton bolts, unwilling to risk being jailed for reasons he can’t comprehend. He becomes a wanted man. In Daugharty’s A RIGHTEOUS WIND, the United States is a place of big brotherism gone out of control, where the citizenry is under the thumb of an international cabal known as the World Government System, headed by an iconic former President who was once hailed as a savior but is now revealed as the embodiment of evil—the Anti-Christ. Filled with poignant religious themes, the dark secrets of the political superpowers, and the struggles of the ordinary people left behind to face the Tribulation, A RIGHTEOUS WIND is a thought-provoking suspense novel that readers of apocalyptic fiction will add to their keeper shelves. “Janice Daugharty is a born storyteller.” – Joyce Carol Oates “Janice Daugharty is a natural-born writer, one of those Georgia women like O'Connor, McCullers, or Siddons who are best grown in small towns, a long way from city lights. There is a lot of red clay and long nights in every line she puts on paper." --- Pat ConroyJanice Daugharty’s 1997 novel, EARL IN THE YELLOW SHIRT, (HarperCollins) was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. She is the author of seven acclaimed novels and one short story collection. She has served as writer-in-residence at Valdosta State University, in Valdosta, Georgia, near her home, and is now writer-in-residence at Abraham Baldwin College. Visit the author at www.janicedaugharty.com Special thanks to my editor at Belle Bride Books, Deb Smith, for this long description of "A Righteous Wind" Views: 644
What is snark? You recognize it when you see it -- a tone of teasing, snide, undermining abuse, nasty and knowing, that is spreading like pinkeye through the media and threatening to take over how Americans converse with each other and what they can count on as true. Snark attempts to steal someone's mojo, erase her cool, annihilate her effectiveness. In this sharp and witty polemic, New Yorker critic and bestselling author David Denby takes on the snarkers, naming the nine principles of snark -- the standard techniques its practitioners use to poison their arrows. Views: 643
World-renowned novelist Mark Helprin offers a ringing Jeffersonian defense of private property in the age of digital culture, with its degradation of thought and language, and collectivist bias against the rights of individual creators. Mark Helprin anticipated that his 2007 New York Times op-ed piece about the extension of the term of copyright would be received quietly, if not altogether overlooked. Within a week, the article had accumulated 750,000 angry comments. He was shocked by the breathtaking sense of entitlement demonstrated by the commenters, and appalled by the breadth, speed, and illogic of their responses. Helprin realized how drastically different this generation is from those before it. The Creative Commons movement and the copyright abolitionists, like the rest of their generation, were educated with a modern bias toward collaboration, which has led them to denigrate individual efforts and in turn fueled their sense of entitlement to the fruits of other people’s labors. More important, their selfish desire to “stick it” to the greedy corporate interests who control the production and distribution of intellectual property undermines not just the possibility of an independent literary culture but threatens the future of civilization itself. Views: 643
A man is arrested for kissing a cop. If he had known breaking the law was soenjoyable he would have done it long ago.This short story is a winner of the CoffeeHouse Fiction Award and is included in their 2009 Anthology available from Amazon.com.Amirilla Asteras's only constant friends had been the stars she's lived among, until she started a long-distant relationship with Ganth Doranth, who operates a Gaian freighter with his father. Both had agreed early on to audio-only communications so she's never seen Ganth, but he's wormed his way into her heart anyway. Unfortunately Ganth is a Gaian man and must attach to a suitable woman, someone whole and healthy, and Ammi has been confined to a motorized box-like wheelchair all of her life.She knows her misshaped legs should keep her and Ganth apart and she dreads having to tell him the truth about her, but the tricky Gaian man has something else on his mind and seems determined to meet her in person, whether she wishes it or not. He has his own plans for the girl in the box. Views: 643
In the early days of the Civil War, rumors of gold in the frozen Klondike brought hordes of newcomers to the Pacific Northwest. Anxious to compete, Russian prospectors commissioned inventor Leviticus Blue to create a great machine that could mine through Alaska's ice. Thus was Dr. Blue's Incredible Bone-Shaking Drill Engine born.But on its first test run the Boneshaker went terribly awry, destroying several blocks of downtown Seattle and unearthing a subterranean vein of blight gas that turned anyone who breathed it into the living dead.Now it is sixteen years later, and a wall has been built to enclose the devastated and toxic city. Just beyond it lives Blue's widow, Briar Wilkes. Life is hard with a ruined reputation and a teenaged boy to support, but she and Ezekiel are managing. Until Ezekiel undertakes a secret crusade to rewrite history.His quest will take him under the wall and into a city teeming with ravenous undead, air pirates, criminal overlords, and heavily armed refugees. And only Briar can bring him out alive. Views: 642
The Wings of the Dove is a 1902 novel by Henry James. This novel tells the story of Milly Theale, an American heiress stricken with a serious disease, and her effect on the people around her. Some of these people befriend Milly with honorable motives, while others are more self-interested. Views: 642
The fifth installment of Bernard Cornwell’s bestselling Saxon Tales chronicling the epic saga of the making of England, “like Game of Thrones, but real” (The Observer, London)—the basis for The Last Kingdom, the hit BBC America television series.
At the end of the ninth century, King Alfred of Wessex is in ill health; his heir, an untested youth. His enemy, the Danes, having failed to conquer Wessex, now see their chance for victory. Led by the sword of savage warrior Harald Bloodhair, the Viking hordes attack. But Uhtred, Alfred’s reluctant warlord, proves his worth, outwitting Harald and handing the Vikings one of their greatest defeats.
For Uhtred, the sweetness of victory is soon overshadowed by tragedy. Breaking with Alfred, he joins the Vikings, swearing never again to serve the Saxon king. Instead, he will reclaim his ancestral fortress on the Northumbrian coast. Allied with his old friend Ragnar-and his old foe Haesten-he aims to invade and conquer Wessex itself. But fate has different plans . . .
In The Burning Land, Bernard Cornwell, “the reigning king of historical fiction” (USA Today), delivers a rousing saga of Anglo-Saxon England-an irresistible new chapter in his thrilling Saxon Tales, the epic story of the birth of England and the legendary king who made it possible. Views: 641
Charles Dickens has dominated the Christmas short story market for too long and he's so bloody depressing... wouldn't you rather read something that was funny, had comedy misunderstandings, people accidentally getting engaged and generally was a lot more entertaining and less depressing? Then you're in luck...
Let's be honest, Christmas can be a pain in the arse (or a pain in the 'ass' if you're from the other side of the pond) and this collection features some stories that I think we can all relate to...
Whether it's becoming accidentally engaged to your ex when your fiancee is coming home for Christmas...
Or perhaps you're spending Christmas with the in-laws, your wife is stupifyingly drunk and you destroy the presents...
No?
In that case you'll want to see what happens when two master hypnotists clash over an argument concerning a Christmas tree...
All these things and literally two others are dealt with in this collection of Adam Maxwell's Christmas stories.
He has asked me to tell you that he hopes these things don't happen to you this Christmas. And he also hopes they don't happen to him. Views: 640
The Financial Lives of the Poets is a comic and heartfelt novel from National Book Award nominee Jess Walter, author of Citizen Vince and The Zero, about how we get to the edge of ruin—and how we begin to make our way back. Walter tells the story of Matt Prior, who’s losing his job, his wife, his house, and his mind—until, all of a sudden, he discovers a way that he might just possibly be able to save it all . . . and have a pretty damn great time doing it. Views: 640
Short Story. The tale of a very beautiful young girl, who discovers that beauty can bring its own problems. When she is kidnapped by a cruel witch who envies her, she finds that no one has the courage to help her escape, except for the boy who loves her. This short story is loosely based on a Native American folk tale.He's the most popular guy in school and she's the biggest nobody. One night, and one mistake, will change both of their lives forever. For the last four years, Danni Singer’s had a crush on Darren Jacobs. Unfortunately, he doesn’t seem to know she exists. That’s because he’s one of the most popular guys in school, and Danni’s a nobody. That’s the way it is and the way it’ll probably stay. At least that’s what she thinks until a car accident suddenly changes everything. Darren loses his arm, leaving Danni to wonder if she could still have feelings for him. Determined to find out, and perhaps driven by a morbid sense of curiosity, Danni visits him in the hospital. It turns out his arm isn’t the only thing he’s lost. All of the friends Darren once had are no where to be found. Danni knows the pain of being an outcast all too well, and she reaches out to Darren. In the days and weeks that follow, their unlikely friendship blossoms in to an even more unlikely romance. Being in love is never easy, but for this pair it’s harder than most. Still struggling to accept the loss of his arm, Darren sometimes pushes her away and they end up fighting a lot. When she isn’t fighting with Darren, she’s dealing with the jealousy of her friends and the pressure of always trying to convince Darren his disability doesn’t change her feelings for him. This definitely isn’t what she imagined when she dreamed of dating Darren Jacobs. The truth is this is better. Despite the disagreements with Darren and the fights with her friends, Danni and Darren have a real love for one another. Sometimes things don’t work out the way you think they will, but they always work out! Views: 640
Paradise awaits....
Now that Cheyenne's murderer has been revealed and Reed knows the truth about who's been stalking her, she's ready to leave the heartache and turmoil of last semester behind. And what better way to recover than a five-star Caribbean vacation?
Reed is reunited with former Billings Girls Kiran and Taylor, and she and her friends take over the exclusive island. They spend their days tanning on white-sand beaches and their nights partying on sixty-foot yachts.
It's heaven on earth.
But as they raise their champagne flutes to toast their friendship, Reed worries that it's all too good to be true. Because even in paradise, the Billings Girls are never far from trouble -- and nothing's more dangerous than the calm before the storm.... Views: 640
