Playing Tough is an entertaining and thoroughly enlightening look at the unique and surprisingly outsized role that sports have played in politics and history. Ever since the bread and circuses of Rome, sports have been used as a tool to entertain the masses and to instill civic pride. Abrams shows both the positive and the negative ways in which sports and politics have coalesced, from the rabid nationalism of the 1936 Nazi Olympics, the political grudge match of the Louis and Schmeling fights, and the "futbol war" between Honduras and Costa Rica to the inspiring stories of South Africa's rugby nation-building and Muhammad Ali's brave antiwar stance, which nearly cost him his career. Abrams is an informed and impassioned writer who chronicles the profoundly creative and destructive influence that sports have on the political life of our nation and the world. This book will be of interest to any and all sports and politics enthusiasts and is a wonderful introduction for course creation and adoption.

The recent boom of Texas hold 'em has forever changed the way the game is played. Many more people know how to play this game well. Even the "loose" players who come to gamble have become far more aggressive, making them more difficult to play against. So a basic tight and patient strategy will no longer guarantee that you can make a significant amount of money in games at the higher stakes. This is especially true short-handed, which have become increasingly popular in the online poker rooms. This text is the first to tackle the complex issues presented when playing short-handed and high-stakes limit hold 'em. But even if you happen to only play in softer games, many of the key concepts presented will still help you against the other good players in your game. Winning in Tough Hold 'em Games includes an examination of pre-flop play, covering issues at a depth of sophistication which have never appeared in print before including discussions of blind stealing, re-stealing, isolating a loose player, big blind and small blind defense, and blind versus blind play. Also covered are thorough sections on playing heads-up post flop and semi-bluffing. In addition, over 50 hands, taken from high stakes online games which were played by "Stoxtrader," are presented along with appropriate discussion of the strategy involved. Book jacket.

Hockey is a game of speed, agility, power, and skill. It’s also a game of intimidation, urgency, pressure, and isolation. The best players aren’t just physically gifted; they’re also mentally tough. They step on the ice with poise, tenacity, and focus. With Hockey Tough, so can you. Hockey Tough builds on the physical skills by strengthening the mental factors that apply directly to the game. You’ll learn how to control your emotions and maintain composure, stay focused in clutch situations, play aggressively—not carelessly—and improve the team’s performance game in and game out. Throughout, performance consultant Saul Miller presents the training techniques he has taught hockey players and teams for more than 40 years at every level from college to European leagues, from Olympics to NHL. With insights, anecdotes, and advice from elite players, such as Sidney Crosby, Daniel Sedin, Brendan Gallagher, Ryan Getzlaf, and Mark Messler, Hockey Tough is essential to becoming a complete player on and off the ice.

Thousands have been wounded in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Five have survived quadruple amputee injuries. This is one soldier's story. Thousands of soldiers die every year to defend their country. United States Army Staff Sergeant Travis Mills was sure that he would become another statistic when, during his third tour of duty in Afghanistan, he was caught in an IED blast four days before his twenty-fifth birthday. Against the odds, he lived, but at a severe cost—Travis became one of only five soldiers from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to survive a quadruple amputation. Suddenly forced to reconcile with the fact that he no longer had arms or legs, Travis was faced with a future drastically different from the one he had imagined for himself. He would never again be able to lead his squad, stroke his fingers against his wife’s cheek, or pick up his infant daughter. Travis struggled through the painful and anxious days of rehabilitation so that he could regain the strength to live his life to the fullest. With enormous willpower and endurance, the unconditional love of his family, and a generous amount of faith, Travis shocked everyone with his remarkable recovery. Even without limbs, he still swims, dances with his wife, rides mountain bikes, and drives his daughter to school. Travis inspires thousands every day with his remarkable journey. He doesn’t want to be thought of as wounded. “I'm just a man with scars,” he says, “living life to the fullest and best I know how.”

There is only one sport, outside of actual combat disciplines, where two participants can square off in old fashioned, bare-knuckle pugilism without facing swift ejection. Hockey has long held a place for two willing combatants, and it has been said that "no one goes for popcorn during a fight." Fans know what to expect on the ice from players with nicknames like Knuckles, The Grim Reaper, The Bruise Brothers, or The Hammer. Yet off the ice, the men who step into these brutish roles are often the kindest, gentlest and most popular players on a team--not to mention some of the best storytellers to ever lace up skates.Tough Guys honors the experiences of these NHL enforcers throughout history. Author and longtime broadcaster Dale Arnold profiles fighters across eras, sharing their journeys, struggles, and moments of glory.

In this best seller tennis book, Carlos Goffi, a world-renowned tennis coach and former coach of John and Patrick McEnroe, offers a unique and proven program for winning. Tournament Tough was originally published worldwide in 1984 and recently updated/republished also as a Kindle EBook. Intended as much for parents as for young players, and ALL COMPETITIVE PLAYERS REGARDLESS OF AGE, Tournament Tough aims to help each tennis player realize his or her full competitive potential."There are tennis coaching books that stand the test of time. Bill Tilden's Match Play and the Art of Spin, Timothy Galway's Inner Game of Tennis, Brad Gilbert's Winning Ugly, and so does Carlos Goffi's Tournament Tough: A Guide to Playing Championship Tennis." www.Elitetennis.org

This entertaining way to learn economics “will delight and inform anyone who enjoys rigorous thinking and the unexpected conclusions it delivers” (Jamie Whyte, author of Crimes Against Logic). Can you outsmart an economist? Steven Landsburg, acclaimed author of The Armchair Economist and professor of economics, dares you to try. In this whip-smart, entertaining, and entirely unconventional economics primer, he brings together over one hundred puzzles and brain teasers that illustrate the subject’s key concepts and pitfalls. From warm-up exercises to get your brain working, to logic and probability problems, to puzzles covering more complex topics like inferences, strategy, and irrationality, Can You Outsmart an Economist? will show you how to do just that by expanding the way you think about decision making and problem solving. Let the games begin! “Ingenious…enables you to think like an economist without incurring a Keynesian headache or a huge student loan.” —George Gilder, author of Life After Google “Entertaining as well as edifying. Read it, expand your mind, and have fun!” —N. Gregory Mankiw, Robert M. Beren Professor of Economics, Harvard University