CLIMBING THE WORLD’S 14 HIGHEST MOUNTAINS
By Richard Sale and John Cleare
Mountaineers Books, 228 pages, $29.95
With “Vertical Limit” opening in multiplexes around the country, and the IMAX “Everest” and John Krakauer’s “Into Thin Air” still minting money, interest in mountaineering might be at an all-time high. This spectacular look at life in “the death zone” above 8,000 meters will delight anyone who can’t get enough high-altitude thrills or heroic adventures, if only from their perch at sea level.
It has been 50 years since Annapurna became the first of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks to be climbed, prompting a decade of achievement in which all but one of the world’s highest mountains were conquered, some without the use of bottled oxygen. Now, more people than ever are making the trek to the roof of the world (if only to investigate the possibility of opening a Starbucks on top of Mt. Everest). In explanatory text, lovely photographs and diagrams, Richard Sale and John Cleare describe what it takes to succeed in the Himalayas, and elsewhere at peak altitude, and how it feels to be sitting on top of the world. This is one terrific gift book.
MIND GAMES: Phil Jackson’s Long Strange Journey
By Roland Lazenby
Contemporary, 256 pages, $23.95
Phil Jackson, known far and wide as the Zen coach, has been an integral part of NBA championships in three of this country’s largest cities, yet how many fans can say they have the vaguest notion of what goes on inside his noggin? Like Buddha at a bullfight, Jackson would be considered completely out of place in the fraternity of NBA coaches –and probably as nutty as Dennis Rodman — if it weren’t for his rings, record of success and the respect accorded him by his players.
Roland Lazenby attempts to get inside the head of the enigmatic coach of the Lakers — and, before them, the Bulls — and explain how he persuades his freewheeling players to work within a complex system, and why he bothers trying to expand their minds away from the hardwood. A must for any serious student of professional basketball.
BREEDERS’ CUP: Thoroughbred Racing’s Championship Day
By Jay Privman
Moonlight Press, 208 pages, $49.95
After a mere 17 renewals of the Breeders’ Cup, the annual event already has become one of the two or three most-important days in the international racing calendar, along with the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes whenever a 3-year-old is contending for the Triple Crown. With purses in the millions of dollars for each race on the card, it’s the World Series, Final Four and Super Bowl all rolled into one day-long orgy of horseflesh, rainbow silks and exotic wagering.
Jay Privman’s comprehensive photo-essay is a natural choice for any railbird on your list, as it is filled with dozens of wonderful pictures of the champion horses, jockeys and trainers, and lists of all the top finishers.
DRIVEN: The Motorsport Photography of Jesse Alexander, 1954-1962
Chronicle Books, 144 pages, $35
Even if nearly every city larger than Mayberry has its own Grand Prix race these days, there remains no more high-profile competition than Formula One racing. The era represented in “Driven” is considered to be the sport’s golden age, and Jesse Alexander continually toured Europe to chronicle the courage of the drivers, skill of the crews and dedication of the fans in eternally lovely black-and-white photographs.
Anyone who thrilled at the exploits of such champion drivers as Stirling Moss, Dan Gurney, Juan Fangio, Jim Clark and Wolfgang Von Trips is sure to get a kick out of this nostalgic study of a time in racing history when the only decal on a car that mattered was the one that signified Ferrari or Lotus, not some tobacco company or dot-com.
On the other hand, if you don’t mind being bombarded with ads and logos, “Speedweeks: 10 Days at Daytona” (HarperCollins, 188 pages, $50) likely will get your motor revving with a similar intensity. In color photographs and cursory text, this NASCAR-authorized volume takes fans behind the retaining wall for an in-depth look at the “Super Bowl of stock-car racing.”
UNEVEN LIES: The Heroic Story of African-Americans in Golf
By Pete McDaniel
American Golfer, 167 pages, $50
Today, followers of the PGA tour take it for granted that men and women of color can and should compete at the highest levels of the sport. While, for future generations of fans, Tiger Woods will get most of the credit for bringing true diversity to the links, players like Bill Spiller, Ted Rhodes, Charlie Sifford, Lee Elder and John Shippen struggled to make a living in a game no one really wanted them to join — and where, unlike baseball, even the playing fields were off-limits.
It doesn’t take an octogenarian to remember when Elder broke the color line at the Masters, but how many people alive today can recall the United Golf Association tour for blacks, or know that an African-American invented the wooden tee? This remarkable historical document will be prized by anyone who cares about the battle for equal rights and justice in sports.
Women have also had to fight for recognition in golf, and their struggle is documented in editor Terri Leonard’s “In the Women’s Clubhouse” (Contemporary, 261 pages, $22.95). The female pros’ stories are told in their own words, and they afford a lively new perspective on the game.
GOLF, AS IT WAS MEANT TO BE PLAYED
By Michael Fay
Universe Publishing, 225 pages, $35
At a time when one miraculous player, Tiger Woods, is threatening to turn the PGA tour into his own personal sandbox, perhaps it’s a good time to reflect on the unsung heroes of golf: the architects of the fabled courses. From 1900 to 1948, Scottish-born Donald Ross designed more than 400 golf courses, including North Carolina’s hallowed Pinehurst No. 2 and an even dozen of Chicago’s most-popular layouts.
In 175 photos and informative text, Michael Fay takes the reader on a stroll through 18 of Ross’ most celebrated holes, all of which were designed to balance risk and reward, and to delight the eye as well.
Another noteworthy testimonial to landscape architecture is “Golf Course Designs,” by Tom Fazio and Cal Brown (Abrams, 203 pages, $45), which even includes a 40-year comparison of costs. Fazio’s credits include Butler National, Conway Farms and Stonebridge, as well as holes overlooking some of the country’s most-scenic locations.
SIR WALTER AND MR. JONES
By Stephen R. Lowe
Sleeping Bear, 387 pages, $35
Robert Redford’s screen version of “The Legend of Bagger Vance” didn’t exactly set Hollywood on fire, but that shouldn’t stop anyone from trying to learn more about golf’s developmental years and these two legendary men. Stephen Lowe’s dual biography of Walter Hagen and Bobby Jones examines the rise of American golf in the Golden Age of Sport, and how these two Southern gentlemen helped jump-start the pro tour.
Jones’ legend figures in another new Sleeping Bear offering, J. Michael Veron’s fictional “The Greatest Golfer Who Never Lived” (286 pages, $22.95), which speculates on the reasons behind the disappearance of one unsung master of the game. The Chelsea, Mich., publisher’s other golf-related novel, “Sticks” (351 pages, $22.95) describes one small Ohio town’s struggle to retain its heritage — and golf course — in the face of forced progress.
SPORTS: The Complete Visual Reference
Edited by Francois Fortin
Firefly Books, 380 pages, $39.95
This encyclopedic volume canvases the world of athletic pursuits from apnea freediving and alpine skiing to volleyball and whitewater kayaking (apparently, no sports start with a “Z”). Wonderfully illustrated and accessible to readers of all ages, “Sports: The Complete Visual Reference” covers the history, rules, strategies and equipment for 127 competitive activities, most of which would be better suited to late-night programming on ESPN than monster-truck rallies and team aerobics. This book is perfect both for open-minded young people who have yet to decide on their sport of choice and adults who still can’t follow Australian-rules football and curling.
AND THE FANS ROARED
By Joe Garner
Sourcebooks, 177 pages, $49.95
If you were one of the lucky folks who received “And the Crowd Goes Wild” as a holiday gift last year, don’t be surprised if Joe Garner’s equally entertaining sequel shows up this year. The celebrated moments in broadcast history collected in this volume — narrated once again by Bob Costas — may not be as obvious as those in the original, but the calls are similarly memorable and just as significant. Again, an informative text accompanies the enclosed CDs, on which the voices of many great announcers are heard.
Among this year’s treats: Walter Payton breaking the NFL career rushing record, Michael Jordan’s Cavalier-killing buzzer-beater and Babe Ruth’s legendary called shot. Perhaps next year the publishers will include DVDs in the package, adding classic video to the audio tracks.
GOING, GOING, GONE
Edited by Brian Silverman
HarperCollins, 167 pages, $40
If, in 100 years, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa are still as famous as Babe Ruth — and Roger Maris is only a historical footnote — clearly it won’t be for their ability to merely reach base or field their positions. Unless you’re a Yankees fan, the last few seasons have been noteworthy primarily for the shattering of Maris’ longstanding home-run record, and the immense popularity of the powerful sluggers who have raised the bar to astonishing new heights. With an introduction by David Halberstam and forward by Bobby Thomson, “Going, Going, Gone” celebrates the excitement of the game’s signature moment in photos, statistics and essays.
THE BARRY HALPER COLLECTION OF BASEBALL MEMORABILIA
Edited by Selby Kiffer
Abrams, 928 pages, $35
Some of the most-entertaining and informative writing about all manner of collectibles can be found in catalogs produced by major auction houses ahead of their sales. These intricately detailed packages rarely travel much farther than the sound of the auctioneer’s mallet, but it’s not because they’re not worth savoring after the hammer has dropped on an evening’s final sale. Most are probably left in the backseats of limousines or in the booths of nearby taverns.
Last year’s Halper auction, at Sotheby’s, resulted in $21.8 million in sales, including $332,500 for a signed Ty Cobb jersey and $239,000 for Mickey Mantle’s glove (from comedian Billy Crystal). This three-book boxed catalog set is a bargain at $35 (it originally went for $80), mostly for its vast display of remarkable souvenirs and artifacts, ranging from rare baseball cards and uniforms to bobbing-head dolls and press credentials.
THE BALLPARK BOOK
By Ron Smith
Sporting News, 301 pages, $39.95
Baseball stadiums are the cathedrals of professional sports. On game day, fans not only stream to the local yard to worship their favorite teams and players, but they also draw inspiration from the architecture itself.
This terrific guide to ballparks old and new oozes nostalgia, thanks to dozens of vintage photos, fact boxs, diagrams and Kevin Belford’s evocative illustrations. “The Ballpark Book” is the perfect gift for anyone old enough to recall what Major League cities were home to Crosley, Forbes, Sportsman’s and Shibe Fields and gets a headache every time a new stadium is named after an airline or purveyor of high-tech garbage.
HOCKEY ALL-STARS: The NHL Honor Roll
By Chris McDonell
Firefly Books, 255 pages, $40
This comprehensive volume offers an A-to-Z salute to professional hockey’s greatest players over the last 70 NHL seasons. Unlike similar collections, Chris McDonell’s makes studied arguments for the included athletes and goes far beyond the “weren’t they terrific?” pabulum usually served up in hockey tomes. The package is filled with enough color pictures, graphics and anecdotes to make any Canadian momentarily forget that the country’s game is slowly moving to America’s Sun Belt.
ABC SPORTS COLLEGE FOOTBALL ALL-TIME ALL-AMERICA TEAM
Edited by Mark Vancil
Hyperion, 176 pages, $40
Although there are several more post-season bowls than there are teams worthy of playing in them, our memories of the great college players supersede all attempts to devalue the game by overexposure. The title of this well-considered look back at the best amateur (we’re told, anyway) football players is more than a bit self-serving on ABC’s part — and an index would have helped — but what’s contained between the covers is a joy to peruse at a leisurely pace. Beyond the tributes to individual athletes, no aspect of the game — from coaches, to formations — is ignored.
A neat, if not terribly ambitious, companion volume to the ABC history would be “NFL’s Greatest” (DK Publishing, 160 pages, $30). Edited by National Football League staff, the book looks at the top players, games and teams.
NEVER DIE EASY
By Walter Payton,with Don Yaeger
Villard, 269 pages, $24.95
It’s impossible to measure the loss of a hero, especially one whose toughest crusades were played out in the public eye. Walter Payton, a Hall of Fame running back and all-around class act, was one of the most beloved athletes of our time, and not just in Chicago. His inspirational story has drawn the raves of critics, and while the outcome is undeniably sad, “Sweetness” led an exhilaratingly successful life and left the world a better place for his presence. This autobiography would be an especially welcome gift for anyone who despairs that all of this generation’s athletes are spoiled, self-centered greedheads.
A similarly inspirational autobiography is “It’s Not About the Bike” (Putnam, 275 pages, $24.95), the story of champion cyclist and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong.
THE LAST AMATEURS
By John Feinstein
Little, Brown, 424 pages, $24.95
Anyone who has grown weary of reading about spoiled jocks for whom college is little more than a short detour on the road from high school to the pros will enjoy John Feinstein’s latest ramble beyond the headlines of the sports pages.
Here, the author of “A Season on the Brink” and “A Good Walk Wasted” lets readers eavesdrop on the season he spent touring the Patriot League, which includes Army, Navy, Lafayette, Holy Cross and Bucknell. At these schools Feinstein discovers intercollegiate athletics in its purest form, and he is reminded of a time when sports wasn’t ruled by agents, shoe-hawking coaches and other opportunists.
In his scathing new novel, “Bump & Run” (Putnam, 311 pages, $24.95), another highly regarded columnist, Mike Lupica, skewers the suits who run the NFL and those people who gather each game day in luxury boxes. Anyone who enjoys pro football but doesn’t buy the argument that the league was God’s personal gift to America likely will find this novel a hoot.
Also noteworthy: Hubert Pedroli and Mary Tiegreen’s “Let the Big Dog Eat!” (Morrow, 100 pages, $18), Robert McCord’s “The Quotable Golfer” (Lyons, 346 pages, $20), Randy Voorhees’ “As Hogan Said . . .” (Sleeping Bear, 128 pages, $12.95) and Don Wade’s “And Then the Shark Told Justin . . .” (Contemporary, 209 pages, $18.95) should prove lively diversions for duffers and serious students of the game alike. Each is filled with quotes, yarns and others amusements relating to golf and the masochists who love it.
A perennial favorite is “The Best American Sports Writing,” edited by Glenn Stout (Houghton Mifflin, 352 pages, $13 paper), which anthologizes a year’s worth of noteworthy column and feature writing on sports. Among this year’s contributors are Garrison Keillor, David Halberstam and Rick Telander.
Utah’s Bryce Canyon National Park has provided a backdrop recently for spectacular mountaineering scenes in “Mission: Impossible 2” and “Vertical Limit.” Anyone who would like to explore this magnificent corner of the American West would do well to check out “Bicycling America’s National Parks: Utah and Colorado,” by Sarah Bennett Alley (Backcountry, 495 pages, $18.95). A wonderful adventure for dedicated hikers is superbly described in Karen Berger and Daniel R. Smith’s “The Pacific Crest Trail” (Countryman, 320 pages, $18.95). The trek along the spine of the Sierras extends 2,650 miles, from Washington’s Cascades to the desert valleys of southern California, and surveys many of this country’s greatest natural treasures.
