The Essays & Commentary category has 34 audiobooks on Listento.it, with an average listener rating of 4.5★ across 179 ratings. The most-rated is Deep Survival.
Deep Survival
Summary
After her plane crashes, a 17-year-old girl spends 11 days walking through the Peruvian jungle. Against all odds, with no food, shelter, or equipment, she gets out. A better equipped group of adult survivors of the same crash sits down and dies. What makes the difference? Examining such stories of miraculous endurance and tragic death, Deep Survival takes us from the tops of snowy mountains and the depths of oceans to the workings of the brain that control our behavior. Through close analysis of case studies, Laurence Gonzales describes the essence of a survivor and offers 12 "Rules of Survival". In the end, he finds, it is what's in your heart, not what's in your pack, that separates the living from the dead. This audiobook will change the way we understand ourselves and the great outdoors.
©2003 Laurence Gonzales (P)2006 Blackstone Audiobooks
Number Two
Summary
From the twisted and juvenile mind that brought you the national best seller Anchorboy comes another rollicking collection of embarrassing stories that'll make you laugh, cry, and feel just a little bit uncomfortable. Get ready for more story time with everyone's favorite Canadian sportscaster, Jay Onrait! Pull up a chair, open a bag of ketchup chips, and join Jay as he reminisces about the times he... Explored the squalid world of medical marijuana Made a mess of himself on the road to Pittsburgh Got upstaged on live TV by comedy legend Martin Short Rode a Street Dragon through the laneways of Sochi Shared a drink with Jay-Z and was then asked to leave And much, much more!
©2015 Jay Onrait (P)2018 Audible, Inc.
This Book Has Balls
Summary
Michael Rapaport, actor, top 50 podcaster, award-winning film maker, and sports fanatic, is here to set the world straight on the greatest and downright worst athletes, players, teams, and jerseys - while refusing to mention statistics, analytics, or anything else that isn't pure hustle. In 1979, nine-year-old Michael Rapaport decided he was going to do whatever it took to be a pro baller. He practiced and practiced, but by the time he was 15, he realized there was no place for a slow, white Jewish kid in the NBA. So he found another way to channel his obsession with sports: talking trash. In This Book Has Balls, Rapaport uses his signature smack-talk style and in-your-face humor to discuss everything from why LeBron will never be like Mike to how Tiger needs the ladies to get his golf game back and how he once thought Mary Lou Retton was his true love. And, of course, why next year will be the year the New York Knicks win the championship. This book is a series of rants - some controversial, some affectionate, but all incredibly hilarious.
©2017 Michael Rapaport (P)2017 Simon & Schuster, Inc.
The Grasshopper Trap
Summary
Often compared to Garrison Keillor and Mark Twain, Patrick F. McManus maintains just the right balance between baffled innocence and conspiratorial confidence. Since 1979, this humorist has been delighting readers with hilarious stories recounting his childhood in rural Idaho and relating his misadventures in the great outdoors. Whether you're a sportsman or a couch potato, he will have you laughing out loud at his escapades. In this collection of 30 tall tales, McManus introduces you to the perils of Trailer Trials and Mean Tents. Like Hemingway, McManus hunts the big fish in "Down and Way Out in Brazil". The title tale, "The Grasshopper Trap", unveils an ingenious invention for catching fish bait in motion. And in "Hunting Camp Etiquette", McManus becomes a rustic Miss Manners. Narrator Norman Dietz adds additional spice to each impish line. You won't want to miss the other audio productions of McManus' works, including Never Sniff a Gift Fish and The Night the Bear Ate Goombaw.
©1989 Patrick F. McManus (P)2000 Recorded Books, LLC
Harvey Penick's Little Red Book
Summary
Harvey Penick's life in golf began when he was eight years old, caddying at the Austin, Texas, Country Club. Eight decades later, he is still there, dispensing wisdom to pros and beginners alike. His stature in the golf world is reflected in the wide array of champions that he has worked with, including those featured in this audio program. And it is not for nothing that the Teacher of the Year Award given by the Golf Teachers Association is called the Harvey Penick Award. After sixty years of keeping notes on the things he's seen and learned and on the golfing greats he's taught, Penick lets the secrets in his Little Red Book be heard by the golf world in this classic work. His simple, direct, practical wisdom pares away all the hypertechnical jargon that's grown up around the game, and lets all golfers play their best - whatever their level.
©1993 Harvey Penick, Bud Shrake, and Helen Penick, All Rights Reserved (P)1993 Simon & Schuster Inc., All Rights Reserved, AUDIOWORKS Is an Imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster Inc.
Never Sniff a Gift Fish
Summary
Humorist Patrick F. McManus has been called "a master at spoofing sportsmen" by Publishers Weekly. His rib-tickling books about hunting, fishing, and camping receive rave reviews from national media. The New York Times Book Review writes, "Everybody should read Patrick McManus." In the chapters of Never Sniff a Gift Fish, McManus will teach you the wisdom that is usually shared only in the close ranks of modern-day hunters and gatherers. To complete your arsenal, McManus also includes "The Hunter's Workout Guide" and a special "Family Camper's Dictionary". Exercises like the hindquarter shuffle will make you move like a hunter. And phrases like "Yip-yip-yip-Owoooooo!" will help you sound like one, too. Whether he's poking fun at fly fishing or taking on some other sportsman's icon, Patrick F. McManus is sure to have you laughing aloud. And Norman Dietz's wry narration is the perfect vehicle for McManus' best-selling, tongue-in-cheek works.
©1983 Patrick F. McManus (P)2000 Recorded Books, LLC
Got to Give the People What They Want
Summary
"I want to start conversations and, even better, arguments." (From the Introduction) One of the most outspoken and original voices in sports sounds off while revealing his incredible life story. Jalen Rose has never been quiet. Not as a kid growing up in Detroit in the '70s and '80s. Not as the brash, trash-talking leader of the legendary "Fab Five" at the University of Michigan. Not as the player under the stewardship of Hall of Famers Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas, and others throughout his 13-year NBA career. And certainly not as a commentator and analyst on ABC/ESPN and Grantland. In Got to Give the People What They Want, no topic is off limits. Honest, unfiltered, unbiased. Raw, refreshing, real. This colorful collection of stories and opinions about basketball and life gives people the kind of insight and understanding they don't get anywhere else in the sports world.
©2015 Jalen Rose (P)2015 Random House Audio
The Bear in the Attic
Summary
The beloved humorist and bestselling author returns with his most riotous collection of essays to date. Starting with his trademark outdoorsman's wit, Patrick F. McManus's newest collection ponders the strange allure of the RV, the existential implications of being lost, the baffling tendency of animals to outsmart those who wish to hunt them, and the singular pleasure of doubling the size of every fish one doesn't actually catch. Combining the curmudgeonly voice of Dave Barry and the innocent tone of Garrison Keillor, McManus brilliantly captures the everyday absurdities that comprise our existence. Alongside his humor, McManus's inimitable vision consistently evokes a childlike wonder at the natural world. Even if we are running low on food, the compass is broken, and we are fairly certain we have just spotted a family of Sasquatches frolicking in the treetops, The Bear in the Attic makes the outdoors seem wildly irresistible.
©2002 Patrick F. McManus (P)2002 Macmillan Audio
Should the Tent Be Burning Like That?
Summary
Maybe the best way to explain Bill Heavey's writing is to note that both Ted Nugent and the Wall Street Journal - two entities rarely seen in the same sentence - like it. For more than 20 years, Heavey has staked a claim as one of America's best sportsmen writers. In feature stories and his Field & Stream column A Sportsman's Life, he has taken audiences across the country and beyond to experience his triumphs and failures as a suburban dad who happens to love hunting and fishing. This new collection gathers together a wide range of his best work - tales that are odes to the notion that enthusiasm is more important than skill and testaments to the enduring power of the natural world. Whether he's hunting mule deer in Montana, draining cash on an overpriced pistol, or ruminating on the joys and agonies of outdoor gear, Heavey always entertains and enlightens with honesty and wit.
©2017 Bill Heavey (P)2017 Dreamscape Media, LLC
The Cost of These Dreams
Summary
From one of America's most beloved sportswriters, a collection of true stories about the dream of greatness and its cost in the world of sports. "Wright Thompson's stories are so full of rich characters, bad actors, heroes, drama, suffering, courage, conflict, and vivid detail that I sometimes thinks he's working my side of the street - the world of fiction." (John Grisham) There is only one Wright Thompson. He is, as they say, famous if you know who he is: his work includes the most-read articles in the history of ESPN (and it's not even close) and has been anthologized in the Best American Sports Writing series ten times, and he counts John Grisham and Richard Ford among his ardent admirers. But to say his pieces are about sports, while true as far as it goes, is like saying Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove is a book about a cattle drive. Wright Thompson figures people out. He jimmies the lock to the furnaces inside the people he profiles and does an analysis of the fuel that fires their ambition. Whether it be Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods or Pat Riley or Urban Meyer, he strips the away the self-serving myths and fantasies to reveal his characters in full. There are fascinating common denominators: it may not be the case that every single great performer or coach had a complex relationship with his father, but it can sure seem that way. And there is much marvelous local knowledge: about specific sports, and times and places, and people. Ludicrously entertaining and often powerfully moving, The Cost of These Dreams is an ode to the reporter's art, and a celebration of true greatness and the high price that it exacts.
©2019 Wright Thompson (P)2019 Recorded Books
Death in the Afternoon
Summary
Still considered one of the best books ever written about bullfighting, Death in the Afternoon reflects Hemingway's belief that bullfighting was more than mere sport. Here he describes and explains the technical aspects of this dangerous ritual, and "the emotional and spiritual intensity and pure classic beauty that can be produced by a man, an animal, and a piece of scarlet serge draped on a stick." Seen through his eyes, bullfighting becomes an art, a richly choreographed ballet, with performers who range from awkward amateurs to masters of great grace and cunning.
©1932 Charles Scribner's Sons. Copyright Renewed 1960 Ernest Hemingway. All rights reserved (P)2007 Simon and Schuster Inc. All rights reserved.
The Bogey Man
Summary
George Plimpton chronicles his month spent on the PGA tour in The Bogey Man, now recorded and including an introduction by Tom Wolfe. What happens when a weekend athlete - of average skill at best - joins the professional golf circuit? George Plimpton, one of the finest participatory sports journalists, spent a month of self-imposed torture on the tour to find out. Along the way, he meets amateurs, pros, caddies, officials, fans, and hangers-on. In The Bogey Man, we find golf legends, adventurers, stroke-saving theories, superstitions, and other golfing lore and, best of all, Plimpton's thoughts and experiences - frustrating, humbling, and sometimes thrilling - from the first tee to the last green. This intriguing classic, which remains one of the wittiest books ever written on golf, features Arnold Palmer, Dow Finsterwald, Walter Hagan, and many other golf greats and eccentrics all doing what they do best.
©2016 George Plimpton (P)2016 Hachette Audio
Beyond Basketball
Summary
For Mike Krzyzewski, head coach of the Duke University men's basketball team, certain words have special importance and force. Coach K uses them every day to energize, motivate, and teach his players how to be winners on the court and in every aspect of their lives. Now, in Beyond Basketball, he offers 40 short, hard-hitting audio essays that will educate and inspire. Each is centered on an important keyword and illustrated with anecdotes from his personal experiences.
©2006 Defense LLC. All Rights Reserved (P)2006 Hachette Audio. All Rights Reserved.
Who's Your Caddy?
Summary
Rick Reilly has been a senior sports writer for Sports Illustrated for the past 17 years, and has been named "Sports Writer of The Year" seven times. Now, he pokes his nose into the world of golf. How does he do it? By caddying ("looping") for top players, celebrities, and some really bad run-of-the-mill golfers, Reilly gains insight into the minds of golfers, their winning or less-than-winning ways, and what they actually mutter when they're in the middle of play. Even though Reilly doesn't know a thing about actual caddying, Jack Nicklaus, David Duval, Tom Lehmann, Deepak Chopra, Donald Trump, Casey Martin, and a blind golfer let him fumble through the motions at their sides. The result is a hilarious book of wisdom and humor.
©2003 Rick Reilly (P)2003 Books on Tape, Inc.
Unplayable Lies
Summary
Dan Jenkins virtually invented the golf novel with Dead Solid Perfect, his rollicking account of the life and times of touring pro Kenny Lee Puckett. For the first time ever, Dan Jenkins’ best Golf Digest pieces have been collected together with over 20 all-new essays for the next generation of golfers. Often biting, usually cranky, always hilarious and surprising, this is Dan Jenkins at his best.
©2015 Dan Jenkins, c/o ICM Partners (P)2015 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books
Ninjas for Beginners: 10 Days to Becoming a Ninja
Summary
Ninjas are the epitome of cool awesomeness. Most of us have wanted to become ninjas all of our lives! In all actuality, we all have been training to be ninjas since we were kids. Whether you were silently stealing cookies from the kitchen or sneaking out of your bedroom to meet friends, you were unknowingly training to be a super awesome ninja! If you have a problem, you can learn how to take care of it by actually becoming a real-life ninja. Take those skills you honed from childhood and apply them toward becoming a ninja. Is your brother-in-law a bullying meathead? Is your supervisor a deluxe bullying meathead, filled to the brim with protein powder? Would you like to slip away from your desk undetected for a longer lunch break? You can do that right now. Seize the day and learn to be a ninja! Do you think you are too old? Pishposh, you're never too old! With this book, you can learn all of the secrets of the ninja. After you hear this book, you will be a certified ninja with all of the skills and training you will need to apply sneezing powder to you meathead supervisor's keyboard, undetected. You can then sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. With this book, you too can learn too can learn to be a super badass, awesome sauce ninja in just five easy-to-understand chapters: 1. Learn all about ninja history. Yes, it's important! 2. Learn how to dress like a real-life ninja. 3. Learn to think like a ninja and live the lifestyle of the ninja. Become one with the ninja way. 4. Learn ninjutsu, the art of being a ninja. Learn techniques like how to look like a rock and how to make smoke bombs, which help with your stealthy escapes. 5. Weapons, lots and lots of ninja weapons.
©2015 Mike Fury (P)2015 Mike Fury
Tiger, Meet My Sister...
Summary
In this hilariously funny essay collection, former ESPN columnist Rick Reilly compiles the best of his sports columns - essays that include his expert opinion on athlete tattoos, NFL cheerleaders, and even running with the bulls in Pamplona. Rick Reilly has no compunction telling listeners, in his quick-witted style, how he really feels about some of the most popular sports figures of our time. Wondering about quarterback Jay Cutler? "Cutler is the kind of guy you just want to pick up and throw into a swimming pool, which is exactly what Peyton Manning and two linemen did one year at the Pro Bowl." Or how about Tiger Woods? "Sometimes you wonder where Tiger Woods gets his public-relations advice. Gary Busey?" But for every brazen takedown, Reilly has written a heartwarming story of the power of sports to heal the wounded and lift the downtrodden: the young Ravens fan with cancer who called the plays for a few victorious games in 2012, or the onetime top NFL recruit who was finally exonerated after serving five years for a crime he didn't commit. Whether he makes you laugh, cry, or just gets under your skin, Rick Reilly is sure to offer a unique and hilarious perspective on your favorite golf players, football teams, MVPs, and more.
©2014 Rick Reilly (P)2020 Tantor
The Patch
Summary
An "album quilt", an artful assortment of nonfiction writings by John McPhee that have not previously appeared in any book. The Patch is the seventh collection of essays by the nonfiction master. It is divided into two parts. Part 1, "The Sporting Scene", consists of pieces on fishing, football, golf, and lacrosse - from fly casting for chain pickerel in fall in New Hampshire to walking the links land of St. Andrews at an Open Championship. Part 2, called "An Album Quilt", is a montage of fragments of varying length from pieces done across the years that have never appeared in book form - occasional pieces, memorial pieces, reflections, reminiscences, and short items in various magazines including The New Yorker. They range from a visit to the Hershey chocolate factory to encounters with Oscar Hammerstein, Joan Baez, and Mount Denali. Emphatically, the author's purpose was not merely to preserve things but to choose passages that might entertain contemporary listeners. Starting with 250,000 words, he gradually threw out 75 percent of them and randomly assembled the remaining fragments as "An Album Quilt". Among other things, it is a covert memoir.
©2018 John McPhee (P)2018 Recorded Books
Driving Lessons
Summary
When Steve Friedman was a child growing up in the suburbs of St. Louis, the game of golf was, to him, mysterious and dark. His father’s passion for it caused friction in his marriage and eluded the interest of his youngest son, who was devoted instead to basketball. For that and many other reasons, the two failed to bond, ultimately leading to an awkward and unhappy relationship. But Friedman never forgot the love his father had for golf, and after many years, when he was in his 40s, he reached out and asked his dad to teach him the game. He thought that perhaps he could learn something about his old man’s view of life and thereby find a way to communicate with him. This small volume is the sweet yet unsentimental story of that experience - the tale of two men using the game of golf to find a way to connect with each other across decades of disagreement and misunderstanding. For anyone who is a golfer, a father, or a son, this book will be a treasure.
©2011 Steve Friedman, Introduction 2011 by James Dodson (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
A Season in the Sun
Summary
In 1976 Roger Kahn spent an entire baseball season, from spring training through the World Series, with players of every stripe and competence. The result is this book,in which Kahn reports on a small college team’s successes and hopes, a young New England ball club, a failing major league franchise, and a group of heroes on the national stage.
©1977 Roger Kahn (P)2012 Audible, Inc.