July 13, 2010
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In Mary B. Morrison’s new book, she returns to the lives of the characters made famous in the Soul Mates Dissipate series.
Darius Jones is the basketball league’s most valuable player. His wife and son travel with him to away games; and his relationship with his parents has never been better. He’s doing well with everyone except his son’s birth mother. When a drunk driver smashes into his car, his wife Fancy ends up in a coma with only a 50/50 chance of surviving–that’s when the drama really begins.
Dafina
August 1, 2010 in Hardcover
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January 1, 2010
Harper
Available 05/01/09 in Hardcover
Red Auerbach, one of the greatest coaches in sports history, died on October 28, 2006. Bill Russell, the five-time MVP and star center on the Auerbach teams that won eleven championships in thirteen years, said little in public at the time. His relationship with his coach had been so deeply personal that he could not express it with a brief comment. In fact, little known to the public, Auerbach and Russell — one a short, brash Jew from Brooklyn, the other a tall, intense African-American from Louisiana and Oakland — were far more than just coach and player. Through thirteen years of building a sports dynasty together, one that remains among the greatest of all time, their relationship evolved into a rare, telling example of deep male friendship: confident, supportive, understanding, founded in common goals, even as their feelings remained largely unspoken.
They stayed close for the rest of Auerbach’s life, despite physical distance and far fewer chances to be together. True male friends are always there for each other, whenever the need or occasion arises. Red and Me is an extraordinary book: an homage to a peerless coach, showing how he produced results unlike any other; an inspiring story of mutual success, in which each man gave his all, and gained back even more; above all, it may be the best depiction of male friendship ever put on the page. Who would have guessed that such different men could have become such a tightly bonded pair? Few did guess it. Now Russell tells it.
November 1, 2009
Shooting Stars by LeBron James and Buzz Bissinger
Penguin Audio
Available 09/08/09
Audio CD — Unabridged 7 CDs, 9 hours
From the ultimate team-basketball superstar LeBron James and Buzz Bissinger, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Friday Night Lights and Three Nights in August-a poignant, thrilling tale of the power of teamwork to transform young lives, including James’s own.
August 1, 2009
LeBron James: King of the Court (All Aboard Reading)
by L.R. Jacobs
Grosset & Dunlap
Available 09/24/09
With his amazing dunks, nothing-but-net three-pointers, and lightning quick passes, Cleveland Cavalier LeBron James is one of the NBA’s best players today! Read all about how LeBron James went from high school all-star to NBA phenomenon in this reader packed with photos of James’s every move!
May 5, 2009
Black Men Can’t Shoot
by Scott N. Brooks
Available 06/22/09
The myth of the natural black athlete is widespread, though it’s usually only talked about when a sports commentator or celebrity embarrasses himself by bringing it up in public. Those gaffes are swiftly decried as racist, but apart from their link to the long history of ugly racial stereotypes about black people — especially men — they are also harmful because they obscure very real, hard-fought accomplishments. As Black Men Can’t Shoot demonstrates, such successes on the basketball court don’t just happen because of natural gifts — instead, they grow out of the long, tough, and unpredictable process of becoming a known player.
Scott N. Brooks spent four years coaching summer league basketball in Philadelphia. And what he saw, heard, and felt working with the young black men on his team tells us much about how some kids are able to make the extraordinary journey from the ghetto to the NCAA. To show how good players make the transition to greatness, Brooks tells the story of two young men, Jermaine and Ray, following them through their high school years and chronicling their breakthroughs and frustrations on the court as well as their troubles at home. We witness them negotiating the pitfalls of forging a career and a path out of poverty, we see their triumphs and setbacks, and we hear from the network of people — their families, the neighborhood elders, and Coach Brooks himself — invested in their fates.
Black Men Can’t Shoot has all the hallmarks of a classic sports book, with a climactic championship game and a suspenseful ending as we wait to find out if Jermaine and Ray will be recruited. Brooks’s moving coming-of-age story counters the belief that basketball only exploits kids and lures them into following empty dreams — and shows us that by playing ball, some of these young black men have already begun their education even before they get to college.
May 1, 2009
Don’t Let The Lipstick Fool You
by Lisa Leslie
Available 03/01/09
A three-time Olympic gold medalist, three-time MVP of the WNBA, and the first woman ever to dunk in a professional basketball game, Lisa Leslie is considered one of the greatest players in the history of women’s basketball. Now in her own words, she points the spotlight onto her remarkable life off the court, where being a confident champion was not always simple.
As a child growing up in South Central Los Angeles, Lisa was timid, awkward, and over six feet tall in the sixth grade. Opponents challenged her, and she struggled to overcome self-imposed fears and limitations. But as her interest in basketball grew, she toughened both her game and her resolve. She also learned she could retain her femininity and throw a few elbows too.
Still there was a nagging notion that girls–even tall girls and especially pretty ones – could not play well. At the same time, Lisa’s home life, though loving, was unstable. Lisa never knew her father. Her mother worked as a traveling truck-driver to support the family, leaving Lisa to shuffle between relatives. Lisa’s beloved older sister seemed only to torment her, harbor hidden jealousies, and would later go on to steal her identity and almost ruin her finances. And as a young woman, it would take two broken engagements before Lisa finally found the love of her life.
Yet overcoming tremendous doubts are what paved the way to Lisa’s greatest achievements–scoring 101 points in the first half of a high school basketball game; signing with Wilhelmina Models and appearing in Vogue magazine; and of course traveling the world and winning championship after championship…after championship.
Today, Lisa is a beautiful, poised, assertive, six-foot-five-inch basketball powerhouse. Her elegance and charm have made her a favorite with fans, the fashion world, and even Hollywood. With hard-won candor and self-assurance, Lisa Leslie shares her empowering story about finding grace under pressure, balancing a life of contradiction without losing yourself, and exceeding expectations–including your own–by playing like a girl.
September 23, 2008
Resilience: Faith, Focus, Triumph
by Alonzo Mourning, Dan Wetzel
Available September 2008
Resilience. It’s not just the title of Alonzo Mourning’s stirring memoir; it’s the stuff he’s made of. Whether petitioning himself into foster care as an eleven-year-old, tirelessly studying his way onto the dean’s list at Georgetown University, making it as an all-star center in the NBA, or returning to peak form after organ-transplant surgery, Mourning has shown enormous inner strength. His faith, his determination, and his courage are what have driven and sustained him throughout his extraordinary life.
In 2000, Mourning was on top of the world: He had a fat new contract, an Olympic gold medal, and a second beautiful child–all that and the fame and wealth he had earned playing the game he loved. But in September of that year, he was diagnosed with a rare and fatal kidney disease. Over the next couple of years, as his health faltered, he retired, unretired, and retired again–and sought to make sense of the rest of his life.
Finally in 2003, after a frantic search for a donor match, Mourning had a new kidney and a new outlook. He vowed to make this second chance count by dedicating his life to others. He resolved that he would consider the disease a blessing, a revelation of God’s plan for him.
Although he battled his way back to the NBA, winning a championship with the Miami Heat in 2006, Mourning believed that the most important and fulfilling part of his life still lay ahead. Basketball, it turned out, was just the vehicle that would allow him to devote his talents and energies to a greater cause.
Alonzo Mourning’s return to basketball glory, already familiar to sports fans and non-sports fans alike, has inspired millions of patients suffering from kidney disease and living with dialysis, as well as organ donors around the world. By sharing his experiences of the physical, emotional, and spiritual roller coaster of illness and recovery, Mourning hopes to deliver a message of faith and fire, hurdles and hope, trust and triumph. Resilience is a story about the meaningful everyday lessons that he longs to share and about the things that truly matter in life.
June 8, 2008
Pitney Bowes and WNBA Team Up on National Literacy Program
( BLACK PR WIRE) STAMFORD, Conn. and NEW YORK, NY, April 7, 2008 – Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE: PBI), the world’s leading mailstream technology company, and the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) are coming together to raise awareness and funding for literacy across the United States. Six WNBA teams will participate in the season-long initiative to engage fans while raising funds for local, community-based literacy programs. Pitney Bowes’s participation with the WNBA will help build or renovate a Reading and Learning Center at the end of the season in the community of the team that raises the most funds for literacy.
The Chicago Sky, Connecticut Sun, Los Angeles Sparks, New York Liberty, Seattle Storm and Washington Mystics are the six participating WNBA teams in the national literacy program. Each team will kick-off a local literacy program when the WNBA season starts in May. Fundraising efforts will include a donation supporting literacy when fans purchase special tickets, as well as additional activities. Fans who participate in the program will be seated in a special section at designated home games and kids will also have opportunities to participate in reading sessions with WNBA players at “Reading Time Out” events.
Pitney Bowes will also support the WNBA’s Read to Achieve events throughout the season with the six participating teams. Read to Achieve is a year-round, league-wide initiative that promotes the value of reading and on-line literacy and encourages families and adults to read regularly with young children.
To introduce the national literacy program, Pitney Bowes and the WNBA are holding a Youth Reading Rally in Tampa, Florida today with young students from Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tampa. Participants will include a WNBA legend and current players, local dignitaries, and WNBA and Pitney Bowes executives. The event will be held at a local Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) location.
“Reading is the foundation upon which all other learning is based and having this foundation can help prepare children with the skills necessary to succeed in school and outside of school,” said Juanita James, Chief Communications Officer, Pitney Bowes. “We are delighted to work with the WNBA, its local teams and RIF to help educate youth around the country on the importance of reading and literacy.”
“The WNBA is pleased to work with Pitney Bowes as we align our commitment to improving the lives of our youth,” said WNBA President Donna Orender. “Through this new literacy program, our young fans will have a great opportunity to interact with their favorite WNBA stars and at the same time, learn about the importance of education and reading.”
For additional information on the Pitney Bowes and WNBA literacy program, please visit: www.readingisyourticket.com.
