The little eastern Ontario town of Almonte has produced two giants in the field of athletics. Neither was a world champion, neither was an Olympic medallist, but each in his own way transformed the sports world. Both were pioneers in the development of physical education as a serious academic discipline. James Naismith contributed his own invention, basketball, to the modern world. R. Tait McKenzie left a timeless legacy in his considerable body of work in bronze sculpture, especially of athletic subjects.

Kevin Pangos grew up in a family that valued hard work and personal accountability. Kevin Pangos fell in love with all sports but especially basketball. Kevin Pangos went on to become one of the best age-group basketball players in the world before he journeyed to Spokane, Washington to become a fan favorite and one of the best point guards in the history of Gonzaga University. In Can't Miss, first-time author Chris Dooley captures the essence of the number of people involved in helping in the development of a world-class athlete. In the tradition of Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers, Jay Bilas' Toughness and Jim Loehr's The Only Way to Win Dooley shows that the life and development of Kevin Pangos is about the process and the people around him as much as it is about the inherent work ethic so evident in everything Kevin does. Can't Miss is not just a biography about a young basketball phenom. It's about the family values of the Pangos family. It's about the great coaches and trainers who helped Kevin along the way. It's about the opportunities that Kevin was given and it's about how Kevin took advantage of all those opportunities in pursuit of his basketball dreams. Can't Miss is a story that every parent and every young athlete should read.

There has been an explosion in the quantity of sports history literature published in recent years, making it increasingly difficult to keep abreast of developments. The annual number of publications has increased from around 250 to 1,000 a year over the last decade. This is due in part to the fact that during the late 1980s and 90s, many clubs, leagues and governing bodies of sport have celebrated their centenaries and produced histories to mark this occasion and commemorate their achievements. It is also the result of the growing popularity and realisation of the importance of sport history research within academe. This international bibliography of books, articles, conference proceedings and essays in the English language is a one-stop for the sports historian to know what is new.

From the jetliner and the snowmobile to the pacemaker and the BlackBerry, Canadians have long been at the forefront of innovation and invention. Canadians are behind a variety of cutting-edge products, life-saving medicines, innovative machines, and fascinating ideas. Although our inventions have typically been created with little fanfare, financing, or expectation of return, they have often gone on to play important roles in day-to-day life. Our "greatest invention" is probably insulin, which millions of people depend on for life and health. But the light bulb, the Canadarm, and the BlackBerry certainly vie for that honour as well. Some of our inventions are small: the paint roller, the Robertson screwdriver, and the crash position indicator – the forerunner of the black box on planes. Others are larger: the jetliner, the snow-blower, and the snowmobile. Some, such as Standard Time, are really just complex ideas while others, such as the pacemaker, are triumphs of complex technology. Put simply, Canadians are supremely innovative!

This sesquicentennial project of Presbyterian College tells the stories of thirteen individuals, chosen from among its graduates, faculty and benefactors, whose still voices represent in unique ways the history and influence of the college over the past 150 years. Each chapter presents a biography, a sermon, address, letter or report, followed by a commentary showing how this still voice spoke to the issues of the time and why it still should be heard. The themes remind us of the college's continuing mission to provide the Church with strong and visionary leaders. The book concludes with useful lists of Presbyterian College's students, scholars, supporters and societies down through the years.

McGill Medicine is also the story of the doctors and administrators who made all this happen: visionaries such as Principal Sir Arthur Currie and Dr C.F. Martin, who shepherded the concept of full-time faculty through the various approval processes of the school; Dr J.C. Meakins, who became, in 1924, the first full-time professor of medicine; and Dr Wilder Penfield, the founder and first director of the Montreal Neurological Institute, among many others.

Bill Russell was not the first African American to play professional basketball, but he was its first black superstar. From the moment he stepped onto the court of the Boston Garden in 1956, Russell began to transform the sport in a fundamental way, making him, more than any of his contemporaries, the Jackie Robinson of basketball. In King of the Court, Aram Goudsouzian provides a vivid and engrossing chronicle of the life and career of this brilliant champion and courageous racial pioneer. Russell’s leaping, wide-ranging defense altered the game’s texture. His teams provided models of racial integration in the 1950s and 1960s, and, in 1966, he became the first black coach of any major professional team sport. Yet, like no athlete before him, Russell challenged the politics of sport. Instead of displaying appreciative deference, he decried racist institutions, embraced his African roots, and challenged the nonviolent tenets of the civil rights movement. This beautifully written book—sophisticated, nuanced, and insightful—reveals a singular individual who expressed the dreams of Martin Luther King Jr. while echoing the warnings of Malcolm X.