Lindsay Powers | March 12, 2024
5 thrilling sports books even non-fans will cheer for
Lindsay Powers | March 12, 2024
You don’t have to be a huge sports fan to love a heart-pounding sports story, full of action, high stakes, and characters to root for.
Here are a few of our favorites, which the Amazon Editors also shared on Cheddar News.
by Jeff Benedict
4.6 out of 5 stars 394
Americans love our stories of underdogs, villains, and heroes, and this page-turning biography of LeBron James has all three. The book opens as James boasts to millions on TV that he’s “taking my talents to South Beach,” leaving his beloved hometown team and becoming the “most hated man in all of sports”—a pop culture moment that made headlines and spurred outrage. Jeff Benedict—also the co-author of the best seller Tiger Woods—then walks us back through James’ hardscrabble childhood with a homeless teen mother who was ill-equipped to raise a child on her own. James perseveres against all odds—moving in with a series of coaches who nurture his savant-level athletic skills and building a joyful family among pals who are still his inner circle today. You’ll tremble, weep, pump your fists, and feel your heart grow as James hones his power on and off the court, marries his high school sweetheart, grapples with unfathomable wealth, and builds a legacy that will last long after he hangs up his jersey. —Lindsay Powers, Amazon Editor
Lucky Me: A Memoir of Changing the Odds
by Rich Paul
4.6 out of 5 stars 595
You may recognize Rich Paul as LeBron James’ best friend or as Adele’s husband, but his story deserves to stand on its own. Today, Paul is known as one of the most successful sports agents of all time. But his childhood was filled with instability—a mother struggling with drug addiction, an unsafe neighborhood, a father delivering words of wisdom from the store he owned, but holding secrets of his own, and then dying when Paul was only in high school. Paul was driven to succeed: to make a difference, to improve his life—but his rough upbringing didn’t clear a path, especially when you consider the larger social forces he was up against, such as racism, redlining, and the crack epidemic. With unwavering determination and a brilliant mind for numbers and business, Paul changed his future though, finding luck in unlucky places. Reading this book feels like spending time with a sage friend; Paul is a force of nature, a no B.S.-guy. I wanted to spend more time with him after reading this book, which is why we named it one of our best biographies and memoirs of 2023. —Lindsay Powers, Amazon Editor
Fly: The Big Book of Basketball Fashion
by Mitchell S. Jackson
5.0 out of 5 stars 23
This book is just too cool; you’ll want to display it on your coffee table as a conversation starter. Written by Pulitzer Prize-winner Mitchell S. Jackson, it’s packed with bright, nostalgia-filled photos of famous players wearing the fur coats of the ‘70s, the baggy streetwear and giant suits of the ‘80s and ‘90s, and the tailored, fashion-forward looks of modern day. But make no mistake: this book is about so much more than fashion. It’s about how the clothes you wear and the style of your hair can send a powerful, influential message calling for change, equity, and respect. These players are eternally, ahem, fly tastemakers in our culture, as perfectly captured in this stunning book. —Lindsay Powers, Amazon Editor
Rise of the Black Quarterback: What It Means for America
by Jason Reid
4.7 out of 5 stars 107
ESPN’s Jason Reid explores the insidious prejudices that have long lurked in the NFL—especially in the quarterback position—in his thought-provoking read, Rise of the Black Quarterback. It’s especially timely; 2023 was the first time in NFL history that both starting Super Bowl quarterbacks were Black (the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes and Philadelphia Eagles’ Jalen Hurts); and Mahomes and the Chiefs won in 2024 (when Mahomes was named the Super Bowl MVP for the third time). This smart and engaging book provides extra context to the game—including how “pioneers like Marlin Briscoe (the first Black quarterback in the American Football League), Randall Cunningham, and Colin Kaepernick paved the way for the Black quarterbacks of today, and the long and hard-fought journey and history of change within the NFL,” Kami Tei has written. It’ll change the way you view one of America’s favorite sports. —Lindsay Powers, Amazon Editor
A Most Beautiful Thing: The True Story of America’s First All-Black High School Rowing Team
by Arshay Cooper
4.7 out of 5 stars 1,920
If you’ve seen George Clooney’s adaptation of bestseller The Boys in the Boat, then you have to read A Most Beautiful Thing—an unforgettable story about mentorship and personal investment, triumphing over adversity, sports and endurance, and about faith—in yourself, in others, and in your team. Arshay Cooper was part of the first all-Black high school rowing team, a feat that landed him on the cover of the Chicago Tribune, and catapulted his life, which at one time seemed destined for destruction, to higher education and the professional world. As he put it, “It takes a village to raise a child, and our village is gang members, drug dealers, drug addicts, and prostitutes. It’s easy to become a product of this.” At first, the thought of a Black rowing crew was laughable to Cooper and his friends, but the commitment of his coaches offered him something more: “I am done with my old life. I choose rowing. I choose a future.” And so began the pursuit of rowing in unison, which would expose Cooper and his teammates to college campuses in different states, internships, and jobs. In some ways this is a memoir of underdogs fighting their way to the top, but it’s also about how an entire population is left out of the opportunity loop and how a seemingly small thing like sports can change lives. —Al Woodworth, Amazon Book Review
Looking for more book recommendations?
- Announcing the Best Books of 2023, as chosen by the Amazon Editors
- Best nonfiction books of 2023, as chosen by the Amazon Editors
- Most anticipated books of winter 2024, as chosen by the Amazon Editors
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