The Top Twelve Most Borrowed Sports and Recreation Books of the Past Year

Here is a list of the top circulating sports and recreation books in our department since July 2010:

1) Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall (Alfred A. Knopf, 2009).

The story of a group of super endurance runners of the Tarahumara people in Mexico. Impetus for the new barefoot running movement.

2) Hardcourt Confidential: Tales from Twenty Years in Pro Tennis Trenches by Patrick McEnroe with Peter Bodo (Hyperion, 2010).

An opinionated account by John McEnroe's brother about the past few decades in the professional tennis world.

3) Play Their Hearts Out: A Coach, His Star Recruit, and the Youth Basketball Machine by George Dohrmann (Balantine Books, 2010).

A Sports Illustrated reporter follows a group of 9 and 10 year old basketball prospects until they reach college age to expose the corrupt atmosphere pervading prep basketball.

4) Baseball for Dummies by Joe Morgan with Richard Lally (Wiley, 2005).

A primer written by a Hall of Famer and broadcaster for new fans.

5) Death to the BCS: The Definitive Case against the Bowl Championship Series by Dan Wetzel, Josh Peter, and Jeff Passan (Gotham Books, 2010).

An expose and polemic against college football’s bowl and ranking system.

6) Scorecasting: The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports are Played and Games are Won by Tobias Moskowitz and L. Jon Wertheim (Crown Pub., 2011).

Another Sports Illustrated reporter takes a “freakonomics” approach to debunk much of sport’s conventional wisdom.

7) Ball Four: My Life and Hard Times Throwing the Knuckleball in the Big Leagues (World Pub. Co., 1970).

A well-written and entertaining memoir filled with humorous antics, written before free agency altered the game. Considered a classic of baseball literature.

8) Daniels' Running Formula by Jack Daniels (Human Kinetics, 2005).

Takes a scientific approach to the subject of training for runners.

9) Giants: What I Learned about Life from Vince Lombardi and Tom Landry by Pat Summerall and Michael Levin (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2010).

A retired football player and sports broadcaster finds valuable life lessons in his experiences with his NFL coaches.

10) Rise of a Dynasty: The '57 Celtics, the First Banner, and the Dawning of a New America by Bill Reynolds (New American Library, 2010).

Retells the Boston Celtics rise to a major force in the NBA with their game changing rookie center, Bill Russell.

11) Rock Climbing: Mastering Basic Skills by Craig Luebben (Mountaineers Books, 2004).

Teaches the techniques of climbing through detailed instructions and illustrations.

12) No Way Down: Life and Death on K2 by Graham Bowley (Harper, 2010).

A New York Times reporter retells the events that led to the death of 11 climbers on the world’s second highest mountain located between Pakistan and China.