Why do people race in Ironmans—a competition that was dreamed up by a U.S. Navy Officer after a beer-influenced debate over who were the fittest athletes—swimmers, cyclists, or runners? Only a person whose good sense was severely impaired would decide to do a race marked by such agony and suffering—a race that makes no sense to normal people. What type of person (lunatic) goes to bed at 9:00 p.m. and wakes up at 4:00 a.m. every day for twelve months, eliminates every fun thing to eat and drink, incurs thousands of death stares from an angry spouse, and spends a minimum of ten thousand dollars…all to put their body through a seventeen-hour torture chamber during which a potpourri of exciting, physiological wonders—such as dehydration, fuel supply shortages, oxidative stress, muscle damage, brain fatigue, and overheating—occur, causing the body to age by twenty years? Russell Newell would find out when he signed up for the second oldest Ironman in the country: Lake Placid, in the idyllic Upstate New York village nestled in the Adirondacks that twice hosted the Winter Olympics. Russell would then question his sanity and test his resolve as he attempted to finish the 2018 Ironman Lake Placid…despite almost drowning, crashing on his bike, and nearly shitting his pants eighteen times.

Among the most difficult athletic events a person can attempt, the iron-distance triathlon—a 140.6 mile competition—requires an intense prerace training program. This preparation can be as much as twenty hours per week for a full year leading up to a race. In Iron Dads, Diana Tracy Cohen focuses on the pressures this extensive preparation can place on families, exploring the ways in which men with full-time jobs, one or more children, and other responsibilities fit this level of training into their lives. An accomplished triathlete as well as a trained social scientist, Cohen offers much insight into the effects of endurance-sport training on family, parenting, and the sense of self. She conducted in-depth interviews with forty-seven iron-distance competitors and three prominent men in the race industry, and analyzed triathlon blog postings made by Iron Dads. What sacrifices, Cohen asks, are required—both at home and at work—to cross the iron-distance finish line? What happens when work, family, and sport collide? Is it possible for fathers to meet their own parenting expectations while pursuing such a time-consuming regimen? With the tensions of family economics, how do you justify spending $5,000 on a racing bike? At what point does sport become work? Cohen discovered that, by fostering family involvement in this all-consuming effort, Iron Dads are able to maintain a sense of themselves not only as strong, masculine competitors, but also as engaged fathers. Engagingly written and well researched, Iron Dads provides a penetrating, firsthand look at extreme endurance sports, including practical advice for aspiring racers and suggestions for making triathlons more family-friendly.

"Authentic in every detail...First-rate thriller." -Kirkus Reviews At a time before Amber Alerts and America's Most Wanted, missing children on milk cartons and DNA forensics, on Christmas Day, 1977, the little boy of the premier mutual fund manager in America disappears. Thus begins Gus Delaney's long journey to find his son and discover what happened. Was he kidnapped? Is he still alive? Is his ex-wife involved? When the police begin to suspect Gus, he loses everything and descends from the pinnacles of success, where the world adores him, to a private hell on Earth, abandoned and alone. Meanwhile, Jack Delaney is brought into a bewildering world by strange people who tell him he has been chosen and must forget about his old life. Isolated from the outside world, Jack learns to forget about a father he believes stopped looking for him long ago, until unfamiliar, forbidden feelings and the revelation of a dark secret cause him to question everything he once believed. RUSSELL N. NEWELL Russell Newell is the Director of Executive and Corporate Communications for DisneyABC Television Group at the Walt Disney Company. Prior to joining Disney, Newell served as the Senior Media Advisor for the spokesman for Multi-National Forces-Iraq for 14 months in Baghdad. In this role Newell provided strategic communications counsel to U.S. leadership to communicate policy and mission during a critical time in Iraq's history. Newell has also served as a speechwriter for four Cabinet secretaries and Jeb Bush, former Governor of Florida. It was as Governor Bush's chief speechwriter during an event for National Missing Children's Day that he first conceived of writing about a kidnapped child and a parent's tormented reaction. Newell grew up in Massachusetts and is married with a young son.

The anthology 'The Life and Work of Jefferson Davis' presents an intricate exploration of one of the most polarizing figures in American history, through a blend of literary styles ranging from biographical sketches to analytical essays. The collection captures the multifaceted persona of Davis, not only as the President of the Confederacy but also as a man of letters, a politician, and a soldier, offering readers a comprehensive view of his life, ideology, and legacy. The diversity within the pages of this anthology underscores the complexity of Southern identity, the nuances of American Civil War history, and the enduring debate over Davis's place in American historiography, making it a significant contribution to the field. The contributors, Jefferson Davis himself and his biographer Frank H. Alfriend, bring together a powerful combination of firsthand insights and scholarly analysis. Davis provides a unique introspective into his own life, complemented by Alfriend's external perspective shaped by his historical and cultural insights, positioning this anthology at the convergence of personal memoir and scholarly biography. Together, they illuminate the societal and political undercurrents of the 19th century American South, adding depth to the discourse on Confederate legacy and American history. For scholars, students, and enthusiasts of American history, 'The Life and Work of Jefferson Davis' offers a nuanced and detailed examination of a contentious figure. The anthology encourages readers to engage with the complexities of historical narratives, providing a valuable resource for understanding the myriad ways in which individual lives can reflect broader cultural and political landscapes. Its a must-read for those seeking to unravel the intricate tapestry of America's past, offering a rare blend of personal reflection and academic analysis.

This book was written by a great-grandma who wants to leave to her children the memories she has of her childhood. The book tells about the house she was born in, the church she attended, and the school she went to. It also tells about how the house was heated, how the laundry was done, growing a garden so there would be food through the winter, and living through the blizzard of 1948 and '49. She also tells about how her great-grandpa settled in Greeley County and how he built his farm

Sports Charity and Gendered Labour provides examples for teaching and knowledge sharing across analyses of gender, sport, leisure, health and wellbeing in ways that will have broad relevance to a range of audiences.