Born into a poor family in Ecuador, Pancho Segura was an undersized and undernourished kid working as a ball boy at an exclusive tennis club when he first picked up a racket. Little Pancho is the story of how this improbable athlete, with his bandy legs, infectious smile, and unorthodox two-handed style of play, became one of the greatest and most beloved tennis players of all time. During his twenty years in pro tennis, general audiences appreciated his spirit as a master entertainer, while tennis fans adored him. ø Drawing on interviews with many in the game who knew or admired Pancho, Caroline Seebohm provides a close-up picture of the unlikely pro as his career first emerged in Ecuador and then developed further in the United States during the 1940s, where he broke down social and political prejudices with his charm, naturalness, and brilliance on the court. ø Little Pancho follows Segura from the University of Miami, where he won three consecutive NCAA championships (still a record), to his time on the U.S. professional tennis tour. On the pro tour of that time, Segura and his fellow players struggled to earn a living and find acceptance in the traditional, sometimes elitist tennis world, which scorned ?professionals? as outcasts. Little Pancho shows us Segura when he quit the professional tour to become a coach at the Beverly Hills Tennis Club, working with movie stars such as Charlton Heston, Barbra Streisand, and Lauren Bacall. And finally, we hear for the first time from some of the later champions Segura coached, including Jimmy Connors. This history of tennis in the midcenturyøalso is the inspiring story of how one poor Latino kid, through sheer grit, grace, and talent, changed the face of the sport forever.

Since Crossing Sidelines, Crossing Cultures was originally published in 2000, new findings in Asian Pacific American sports have come to light. Moreover, Americans of Asian Pacific ancestry have made the sports world incredibly more exciting than before. Crossing Sidelines, Crossing Cultures tells intriguing tales of athletes, now often forgotten-such as aquatic legend Duke Kahanamoku, diving gold medalist Vicki Manalo, courageous female golfer Jackie Liwai Pung, and baseball pioneer Buck Lai. It explores how Asian Pacific Americans have asserted a vibrant, joyful sense of community through sports, while encountering racism and nativism. Since 2000, talented athletes of Asian Pacific ancestry have emerged-athletes such as the great Tiger Woods, but also Tim Lincicum, Troy Polamalu, Bryan Clay, Natasha Kai, and Logan Tom. These athletes have chipped away at prevailing stereotypes, and their stories, too, will be told in this second edition of Crossing Sidelines, Crossing Cultures.

Chris took a long time to learn something wonderful . . . In an honest and intimate storytelling style, Chris relives triumphs, catastrophes, and plenty of moments that fell somewhere in between. With a friendly and nostalgic voice, he unfolds his adventures and misadventures one by one, has us laughing at times and choking back a tear at others, and shows us a good time along the way. From a lonely playground sandbox to a high, snowy mountaintop; from raging whitewater, exciting baseball tournaments, and mysterious lava tunnels to the terrors of Junior High; from the bleak bottom of too many booze bottles to the joyful realization that there is a God who loves him, this warm, funny, heart-tugging, and inspiring collection of adventures provides us with vivid reminders of the value of family, the strength of tenacity, the power of faith, the need for forgiveness, and the importance of always striving to be an ocelot in an underwear drawer.

Finders Keepers, Losers Weep: A Novel of Innocence Betrayed and the Search for Restitution is loosely based on an actual event reported in the St. Louis Post- Dispatch, by Michael D. Sorkin entitled, Federal Agents Raid St. Charles Home by Mistake. Informer Told ATF that the house was center of illegal guns ring. Randolph Kennedy, his wife, Irene, and their little daughter Annie are ready to sit down for supper. Randolph is cleaning his handgun and is about to put it away. A massive crash announces a no-knock raid by a powerful force of ATV agents. Randolph wheels and fires at the first man in black he sees, killing the agent instantly. Before the melee is over, four agents, Irene, and Annie Kennedy are dead; and two agents and Randolph are wounded; their house is a total wreck; and Randolph is roughly hauled off to jail. This sets off a series of actions and reactions which eventually brings down the President of the United States.

Best Seller is Aaron and Alan Denningtons first collaborative effort. It is a humorous tale of love, life, and friendship that is as touching as it is entertaining. Tex and Don expected a peaceful weekend at the lake until they went to their friend Jays house and accidentally destroyed his moms Barbra Streisand autographed Yentl poster. From there, they drive, gamble, and arm-wrestle their way to a memorabilia auction in Oregon to find one of the only other autographed posters in existence. Meanwhile, the unfortunately named Colon (pronounced Collin) goes the Greyhound route to track down his large love, Helga. You cant put this book down as you root for the characters to find friendship, love, and that darn poster.

Six-time Hugo Award winner Ben Bova chronicles the saga of humankind's expansion beyond the solar system in The Precipice. Once, Dan Randolph was one of the richest men on Earth. Now the planet is spiraling into environmental disaster, with floods and earthquakes destroying the lives of millions. Randolph knows the energy and natural resources of space can save Earth's economy, but the price may be the loss of the only thing he has left--the company he founded, Astro Manufacturing. Martin Humphries, fabulously wealthy heir of the Humphries Trust, also knows that space-based industry is the way of the future. But unlike Randolph, he doesn't care if Earth perishes in the process. And he knows that the perfect bait to ensnare Dan Randolph--and take control of Astro--is his revolutionary new fusion propulsion system. As Randolph--accompanied by two fascinating women who are also brilliant astronauts--flies out to the Asteroid Belt aboard a fusion-propelled spacecraft, Humphries makes his move. The future of mankind lies in Randolph's hands. The Asteroid Wars have begun. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.