SJPL Picks: Athletes' Stories and Sports NonfictionLike this list

40 items

• This Is Not About Running

  a Memoir

  Cain, Mary, 1996-

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  By one of the fastest runners of her generation, an affecting, brutally honest memoir of elite sports gone wrong—and a clear-eyed call for how parents, coaches, and young athletes themselves can build a healthier youth sports culture.

• Return of the King

  the Rebirth of Muhammad Ali and the Rise of Atlanta

  Aiello, Thomas,

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  Thomas Aiello examines the history of Muhammad Ali, Georgia state senator Leroy Johnson, and the city of Atlanta, highlighting an important fight of Ali's that changed the trajectory of his career and of the city.

• A Hollywood Ending

  the Dreams and Drama of the LeBron Lakers /

  Weitzman, Yaron

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  An NBA journalist looks at the Lakers' turbulent power struggles and shifting priorities, revealing how LeBron James' partnership with the franchise led to a championship before unraveling amid clashing egos, family drama and the complex politics of…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Running Ground

  Thompson, Nicholas, 1975-

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  For Nicholas Thompson, running has always been about something more than putting one foot in front of another. He ran his first mile at age five, using it as a way to connect with his father as his family fell apart. As a young man, it was a sport…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Misunderstood

  a Memoir

  Iverson, Allen, 1975-

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  A candid memoir an NBA Hall of Famer details his tough childhood in Virginia, his entry into the league as the number one overall pick and his controversial, culture-changing pro basketball career.

• Changeover

  a Young Rivalry and a New Era of Men's Tennis

  Nathan, Giri,

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  A vivid chronicle of men’s tennis in 2024, capturing the end of the Djokovic-Nadal-Federer era and the rise of prodigies Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner as they reshape the sport while the old guard fiercely resists fading away.

• On Her Game

  Caitlin Clark and the Revolution in Women's Sports

  Brennan, Christine,

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  Drawing on dozens of extensive interviews and exclusive, behind-the-scenes reporting, a veteran journalist narrates Clark’s rise—including the formative experiences that led to her scoring more points than any woman or man in major college…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Other Olympians

  Fascism, Queerness, and the Making of Modern Sports

  Waters, Michael, 1997-

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  In December 1935, Zdeněk Koubek, one of the most famous sprinters in European women’s sports, declared he was now living as a man. Around the same time, the celebrated British field athlete Mark Weston, also assigned female at birth, announced that…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Make It Count

  My Fight to Become the First Transgender Olympic Runner

  Telfer, CeCé,

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  Chronicling her efforts to achieve her Olympic dreams, the first openly transgender woman to win an NCAA championship shares how she had contended to transphobia on and off the track since childhood and how she found clarity in her sport that…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Naomi Osaka

  Her Journey to Finding Her Power and Her Voice

  Rothenberg, Ben,

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  Published to coincide with her return to tennis, this deeply reported, revealing biography of the Haitian-American/Japanese phenomenon and activist chronicles her rise to fame and the incredible impact she's had on the game and on social justice as…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Just Add Water

  My Swimming Life

  Ledecky, Katie, 1997-

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  A candid and inspiring memoir charts a record-breaking and Olympic-medal-winning athlete's life in swimming.

• Kingdom Quarterback

  Patrick Mahomes, the Kansas City Chiefs, and How a Once Swingin' Cow Town Chased the Ultimate Comeback

  Dent, Mark,

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  This inspiring biography of the Black superstar quarterback who brought the Kansas City Chiefs to their first Super Bowl win in 50 years shows how he and the team he led were exactly what was needed to bring this Midwestern city back together again.

• Last on His Feet

  Jack Johnson and the Battle of the Century /

  Matejka, Adrian, 1971-

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  On the morning of July 4, 1910, thousands of boxing fans stormed a newly built stadium in Reno, Nevada, to witness an epic showdown. Jack Johnson, the world’s first Black heavyweight champion—and most infamous athlete in the world because of his…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Coming Home

  Griner, Brittney,

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  On February 17, 2022, Brittney Griner arrived in Moscow ready to spend the WNBA offseason playing for the Russian women’s basketball team where she had been the centerpiece of previous championship seasons. Instead, a security checkpoint became her…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Dear Black Girls

  How to Be True to You

  Wilson, A'ja, 1996-

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  In this empowering and deeply personal collection - adapted from and expanded upon the piece of the same name in The Players' Tribune - WNBA star A'ja Wilson shares stories from her life. Despite gold medals, championships, and a list of accolades,…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• One Jump at a Time

  My Story

  Chen, Nathan, 1999-

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  The three-time World Champion, Olympic gold medalist and the first Asian-American man to stand at the highest podium in figure skating reflects on the events that led him to where he is today, in this testament to the love of a family and the power…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Coming Up for Air

  Daley, Tom, 1994-

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  In this deeply personal memoir, the celebrated Olympic Gold Medal diver and LGBTQ+ advocate discusses his struggles, triumphs and how he developed the mindset to compete at an elite level.

• Outofshapeworthlessloser

  a Memoir of Figure Skating, F*cking Up, and Figuring It Out

  Gold, Gracie, 1995-

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  Sharing the less "palatable" parts of her life, revealing her struggles with bulimia, mental illness and family, coaches and federation, the U.S. figure skating champion and Olympic medalist provides an intimate account of surviving as a young woman…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Unforgiving

  Lessons From the Fall

  Jacobellis, Lindsey, 1985-

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  After one of the biggest "unforced errors" in sports during the 2006 Olympics, the winningest snowboarder of all time shares how, for the next 16 years, she trained harder and learned the power of resilience, reaching the podium as a two-time…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Path Lit by Lightning

  the Life of Jim Thorpe

  Maraniss, David,

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  Jim Thorpe rose to world fame as a mythic talent who excelled at every sport. He won gold medals in the decathlon and pentathlon at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, was an All-American football player at the Carlisle Indian School, the star of the first…Read moreRead more of this annotation