Sports books I'll be reading this summer!

It's always a sad part of the year for any educator when summer rolls around.  What to do with all the free time?  Well, taxpayers should take comfort knowing  the librarian never takes a break.  After receiving the last of my books orders for the year, I have come up with a pile of sports books that I will be laboring over for "work" this summer.  Perhaps it will be at a beach, or on a couch, on the deck, or under some shady maple, but the work must get done!!
Here is a list of books that are on my list to read this summer.  I hope you might take a few ideas from here for your own summer reading!

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Black Gods of the Asphalt:  Religion, Hip-Hip, and Street Basketball by Onaje X.O. Woodbine
Through interviews with and observations of urban basketball players, the author discuss the athletes who play street basketball and why they choose to play it.

Two Hours:  The Quest to Run the Impossible Marathon by Ed Caesar
"Ed Caesar takes us into the world of elite runners: the greatest marathoners on earth. Through the stories of these rich characters, like Kenyan Geoffrey Mutai, he traces the history of the marathon as well as the science, physiology, and psychology involved in running so fast, for so long. And he shows us why this most democratic of races retains its savage, enthralling appeal-and why we are drawn to test ourselves to the limit"--Amazon.com

Boys Among Men:  How the Prep-to-Pro Generation Redefined the NBA and Sparked the Basketball Revolution by Jonathon Abrams
The definitive, never-before-told story of the prep-to-pro generation, those basketball prodigies who from 1995 to 2005 made the jump directly from high school to the NBA

Life is Not an Accident:  A memoir of Reinvention by Jay Williams
Jay Williams tells his story of how he destroyed his career when he suffered a horrific motorcycle accident. In an instant, the man with as fast a first step as any point guard in history could no longer do anything for himself, including walk. 

Not a Game:  The Incredible Rise and Unthinkable Fall of Allen Iverson by Kent Babb
Former NBA superstar Allen Iverson was once one of America's most famous athletes: a trendsetter who transcended race, celebrity, and pop culture, and emerged from a troubled past to become one of the most successful and highly compensated athletes in the world. ... 'Not a Game' is a ... look at the factors that led to the rise and fall of a basketball superstar. In doing so, it illuminates the dark side of [the] modern day, multi-billion dollar sports and entertainment culture in which talented players are disposable and all too often success and tragedy wear the same number

If These Walls Could Talk:  Stories from the Milwaukee Brewers by Bill Schroeder
The author recounts his time playing with and then reporting for the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team, discussing past and present players, locker room pranks, life on the road, and more.