what book or bio would be a good present for a sports nut?”
If the sports nut is into baseball, try The Universal Baseball Association, Inc., J. Henry Waugh, by Robert Coover. My father-in-law (who is a huge fan of both sports and quirky books) gave this book to me for Christmas last year, and it was the kind of sports book that I wish more people would read. The basic story of the book is quite simple. Henry Waugh creates an intricate single-player baseball game that’s played with dice. He plays entire seasons with his eight-team league; he keeps detailed statistics for every player and every game; he creates backstories and personalities for his players; he develops an administrative body for his league and imagines political debates among the players; and he acts as an official historian of the league, writing volumes of stories about the game and its players. When something shocking and unexpected occurs within the game, Henry gradually loses the ability to distinguish between reality and imagined events within the game. In the end, he is m
A great read if the person likes Golf. “Book Description When he died in a bizarre plane crash in 1999, U.S. Open golf champion Payne Stewart became a sports icon. Already famous for his colorful knickers and charming cockiness, Stewart had parlayed his golfing talent into a brilliant career. The tragic timing of his death at the height of his career focused the spotlight on him even more.In The Payne Stewart Story, author Larry Guest covers the golfing great’s career, from his start as an unpopular player dubbed “Tinkerbelle” to his standing as one of golf’s most respected professionals. For this book, Guest drew on his 20-year friendship with Stewart and more than 100 hours of taped interviews with some 30 people, including Payne’s wife, Tracey, and his friend and fellow PGA Tour player Larry Rinker. Full of surprises, the book details Payne’s harmonica playing, his standing as the life of the party, and his quiet spiritual growth. The Payne Stewart Story is funny and sad, triumphant
