Eric Clapton

Allen St. John

Wayne Henderson

A tour of acoustic guitar craftsmanship as performed by master Wayne Henderson discusses his hand-carving process, the ten-year waiting list to buy his unique instruments, and the rare works of art he has built from a wide range of rare and near-extinct materials. 35,000 first printing.

Watching Wayne Henderson Build the Perfect Instrument

Clapton's Guitar

Chris Russo

THE ESSENTIAL BOOK FOR ANY SPORTS FAN, FROM ONE OF THE REIGNING KINGS OF SPORTS TALK RADIO, CHRISTOPHER “MAD DOG” RUSSO Which was the greater achievement, Ted Williams’s .406 season or Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak? Who’d be left standing in a battle between Joe Louis and Mohammed Ali? Which NBA team was the greatest of all time—the ’66–’67 Celtics? The ’71–’72 Lakers? What about the ’95–’96 Bulls? Who would dominate the ultimate Pebble Beach showdown—Ben Hogan or Tiger Woods? Who was the most important athlete of the twentieth century? You’re a sports fan. You love a good argument and you’ll defend your position as fervently as Michael Jordan at crunch time. You’ll analyze games and terrible calls, throw out stats to prove a point, and heatedly debate whether a player is an overachiever—or merely overpaid. Now, in his long-awaited and completely original book, Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo sets up and breaks down the one hundred greatest sports arguments of all time. In classic Mad Dog style, each chapter tackles a classic sports debate and takes sides with the clear, step-by-step opinions that have made Russo one of the top radio personalities in the country. The Mad Dog 100 covers it all: from baseball (Who really should go to Cooperstown?), to basketball (Chamberlain, Russell, or Shaq: who’s the NBA’s most dominant center ever?), to football (Who is the greatest NFL quarterback ever?), to hockey (What are the greatest hockey dynasties of all time?)—and is a catch-all of other crucial modern-day sports questions like: Is instant replay really worth it? What’s the true role of performance-enhancing drugs? Are salary caps really necessary? Whether you’re reading The Mad Dog 100 or debating these sports arguments with friends, this is the definitive companion for any self-respecting sports fan.

The Greatest Sports Arguments of All Time

The Mad Dog 100

Ainissa G. Ramirez, PH.D.

In the bestselling tradition of Freakonomics and Scorecasting comes a clever and accessible look at the big ideas underlying the science of football. Did you hear the one about the MacArthur genius physicist and the NFL coach? It’s not a joke. It’s actually an innovative way to understand chaos theory, and the remarkable complexity of modern professional football. In Newton’s Football, journalist and New York Times bestselling author Allen St. John and TED Speaker and former Yale professor Ainissa Ramirez explore the unexpected science behind America’s Game. Whether it’s Jerry Rice finding the common ground between quantum physics and the West Coast offense or an Ivy League biologist explaining—at a granular level—exactly how a Big Mac morphs into an outside linebacker, Newton’s Football illuminates football—and science—through funny, insightful stories told by some of the world’s sharpest minds. With a clear-eyed empirical approach—and an exuberant affection for the game—St. John and Ramirez address topics that have long beguiled scientists and football fans alike, including: • the unlikely evolution of the football (or, as they put it, “The Divinely Random Bounce of the Prolate Spheroid”) • what Vince Lombardi has in common with Isaac Newton • how the hardwired behavior of monkeys can explain a head coach’s reluctance to go for it on fourth-down • why a gruesome elevator accident jump-started the evolution of placekicking • how Teddy Roosevelt saved football using the same behavioral science concept that Dreamworks would use to save Shrek • why woodpeckers don’t get concussions • how better helmets actually made the game more dangerous Every Sunday the NFL shares a secret with only its savviest fans: The game isn’t just a clash of bodies, it’s a clash of ideas. The greatest minds in football have always possessed an instinctual grasp of science, understanding the big ideas and gritty realities that inform the game’s rich past, as well as its increasingly uncertain future. Blending smart reporting, counterintuitive creativity, and compelling narrative, Newton’s Football takes gridiron analysis to the next level, giving fans a book that entertains, enlightens, and explains the game anew. Praise for Newton’s Football “It was with great interest that I read Newton’s Football. I’m a fan of applying of science to sport and Newton’s Football truly delivers. The stories are as engaging as they are informative. This is a great read for all football fans.”—Mark Cuban “A delightfully improbable book putting science nerds and sports fans on the same page.”—Booklist “This breezily-written but informative book should pique the interest of any serious football fan in the twenty-first century.”—The American Spectator “The authors have done a worthy job of combining popular science and sports into a work that features enough expertise on each topic to satisfy nerds and jocks alike. . . . The writers succeed in their task thanks to in-depth scientific knowledge, a wonderful grasp of football’s past and present, interviews with a wide array of experts, and witty prose. . . . [Newton’s Football is] fun and thought-provoking, proving that football is a mind game as much as it is a ball game.”—Publishers Weekly

The Science Behind America's Game

Newton's Football

Reveals the economic, cultural, and social implications of the Super Bowl, describing the intense preparation and planning that goes into the game, the role of advertising, and the spectacular halftime show.

Behind the Scenes of the Greatest Day in American Sport - Super Bowl Sunday

The Billion Dollar Game

Ainissa Ramirez

An analysis of the link between physics and football includes coverage of such subjects as the shape of the ball and the design of helmets while revealing how many of the greatest minds in football exhibit an instinctual grasp of science, sharing additional insight into how an understanding of physics can help reduce injury risks.

In 1994, Eric Clapton came across a Wayne Henderson guitar in a recording studio and decided on the spot that he had to have one. Rarer than Stradivarius violins, these musical works of art are built from near-extinct Brazilian Rosewood, Appalachian spruce, black ebony, and fine mother-of-pearl. With Henderson's keen ear for the vibrations of each piece of wood he uses, each note that comes out of them has the power of a cannon and the sweetness of maple syrup. In Clapton's Guitar, Allen St. John recounts how a perfect acoustic guitar comes into the world and how an artist gauges perfection. Wayne Henderson, master luthier and genius in blue jeans, will tell you that he simply puts penknife to wood and carves away "everything that isn't a guitar." This is the story of a master artist, set deep in the mountains of southwestern Virginia in a brick, one-story guitar shop, as busy and chaotic inside as it is simple outside. The space is well-lighted, cluttered with power tools, air hoses, and guitar bodies in various stages of completion. It is in this modest shop that Wayne Henderson crafts some of the most highly coveted acoustic guitars on earth, including one very special instrument he built for Eric Clapton. Normally, there is a ten-year wait for a Henderson guitar, and St. John finds there are no exceptions even for an iconic figure like Clapton. But seeing it as a shortcut to getting his own guitar done, St. John jump-starts the process, and then takes readers with him on a mesmerizing journey into the heart of high-end instrument making with the man The Washington Post calls the "Mad Scientist of Mountain Music." Henderson, a small-town wise man, is not only the star of this book as a master guitar maker but also is the star of any stage he sets foot on as a master guitar player, equally at home at Carnegie Hall or the local VFW hall. Around this drolly humorous man circulates a small coterie of colorful characters and inspired musicians, who welcome you for an all-too-brief visit. By book's end, you too will want to be Wayne Henderson's friend. In a rich tapestry of folklore and folksiness, St. John tells the story of building the Clapton guitar in loving detail, from the centuries-old forests where great tonewood grows, to the auction floor of Christie's where one of Clapton's guitars commands over $700,000. It's also a loving look at Wayne's corner of the world, the Blue Ridge mountain hamlets where American traditional music was born, and of Wayne's hometown of Rugby, Virginia, population 7, where the winding roads have kept progress at bay. Whether you love old-time music, unplugged rock, traditional American craftsmanship, or simply gifted storytelling, Clapton's Guitar is an engaging work that you will want to savor and share with friends.

Join 200,000 other runners in using the bestselling training diary from the world's leading running magazine! Runner's World Training Diary Even if you've read Bill Rogers, George Sheehan, or Jim Fixx and have benefited from the advice of running experts, you can gain even more knowledge by keeping and studying your own personal running record. Inside this handy diary, Runner's World provides the outline. You fill in the facts about each day's run, such as your pace, the distance you ran, your pulse rate, and weather conditions. You set the goals--to run every day or twice a week, to log two or ten miles a day, to train for a 10K or a marathon--then note your progress. You discover what really works, and what doesn't. In addition to providing a useful format and generous space for charting an entire year's running, the Runner's World Training Diary also includes: * Charts to record racing results, best times, a year's running at a glance * Tables listing pacing rates, wind-chill readings, metric distance conversions * Warm-up exercises and tables showing the caloric cost of running * Helpful running hints * Pages for training records, schedule planning, and much more!

Runner's World Training Diary

Accompanied by a DVD containing video footage of many of these record-breaking moments, an illustrated sports history takes a close-up look at some of the great moments in sports and at important milestones and the athletes involved, from Hank Aaron's determined pursuit of Babe Ruth's homerun record to Bob Beamon's incredible Olympic long jump record.

The 50 Greatest Records and Streaks in Sports

Made to be Broken

A fascinating portrait of the National Football League, the Super Bowl, and all the position players who come together to create the biggest cultural phenomenon in American sports. Think the Super Bowl is only about two teams of titans clashing on the field? Think again. The Super Bowl is about fans, hundreds of millions of fans. It’s about money, more money than the GDP of twenty-five sovereign nations. It’s about precision, the timing of everything from the notorious commercials to the epic halftime show. And it’s about the vision and skill of designing a state-of-the-art stadium to house the great show. Here, Allen St. John reveals how America’s biggest sporting event is more than just a couple hours on a Sunday: it’s a high stakes, real-life dramatic story, with millions of participants all hoping for the same thing—the greatest game ever.

Allen St. John

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