Senior year was off to a rough start: lube in my locker, panties on my front porch, unimaginative name-calling. See, I got a player suspended from the football team for harassing me, and in my small Texas town, you don’t mess with the football players—even if they mess with you first. I didn’t care if it was an unpopular thing to do; I stood up for myself... and in doing so, opened Pandora’s Box. I never dreamed I would attract the attention of locally worshiped star quarterback, Carter Mahoney. Never imagined his coveted attention would turn out to be such a nightmare. Beneath his carefully constructed façade lurks a monster, a predator looking for the perfect prey to play with. Now, since I’m the girl no one likes or believes, I guess I’m the perfect target for his dark games and twisted desires. After surviving my first encounter with his casual depravity, all I really want is for Carter to leave me alone. But all he seems to want is me.--publisher description.

Isabelle Forte wanted a simple life. But then she witnessed a murder, and was led straight into the arms of Mariano Rivera, boss of the Italian mafia. Together, they traverse a story of love, honor, revenge, violence, and betrayal. The dominating, possessive man may fix her, or break her all over again.

From January 1, 1959 (the ascension of Castro to power) to October 22, 1962 (the start of the Missile Crisis), more than a quarter million Cubans sought political refuge in the United States. They were known as the "Golden Exiles" for their collectively unprecedented success, achieved within just one generation.More extraordinary still, many of the Cuban exiles were themselves children of immigrants who settled in Cuba at the beginning of the 20th century. These immigrants worked hard, achieved economic security, and educated their children who then became the professional middle class that was the island's backbone and the source of its prosperity in the 1950's.Mariano's World tells the story of these two migrations through the history of two families from a small town in Cuba. The narrative centers around one man, Mariano Rodriguez Tormo, whose paintings, ink drawings and caricatures--which illustrate the book--reflect his life and times. This is the story of how these adaptable and resilient people kept reinventing themselves to survive, even triumph, in the face of historic events and natural forces that shaped--and sometimes destroyed--their world.This book is a collection of Mariano's art and the history of an American family with roots deep in the soils of Cuba, Spain and the Canary Islands. Sidebars provide world, national and local events that shaped Mariano's life and his descendants' destiny. They speak of the lands and cultures from which family values and traditions evolved.This book is both a homage to the Cuban exiles of Mariano's generation and a legacy to their American descendants.

Mariano Rivera did not dream of being a baseball player. He wanted to play professional soccer. An ankle injury sidelined that dream. Although he began playing baseball, Mariano worried he would spend his life fishing with his father in Panama. Instead, a scout for the New York Yankees changed his life. In just a few years, Mariano went from poverty in Panama to winning World Series Titles. This is Mariano’s story. Mariano Rivera no soñaba con ser jugador de béisbol. Quería jugar fútbol profesional. Una lesión en el tobillo frustró ese sueño. Aunque empezó a jugar béisbol, Mariano estaba preocupado. ¿Se pasaría la vida pescando con su padre en Panamá? Pero un cazador de talentos de los Yankees de Nueva York le cambió la vida. En el curso de unos pocos años, Mariano pasó de una vida de pobreza en Panamá a ganar Series Mundiales. Esta es su historia.

In 1990, the Yankees paid a signing bonus of 2,000 to acquire a young shortstop from an amateur baseball team in Panama.

The all-time career leader in saves, with 652, Mariano Rivera is one of the greatest professional athletes in history. Since taking over the closer’s role for the New York Yankees in 1997, until his retirement in 2013, Rivera saved 30 or more games in every season but one. In addition, he has an astonishing MLB record 42 postseason saves, with 11 of them coming in the World Series. After 19 seasons in the Major Leagues, his preeminence among relief pitchers is assumed and his induction into Cooperstown assured. And he accomplished it all, mostly, with one devastating pitch: his signature cut fastball. As third baseman Corey Koskie put it: “You knew what pitch [Rivera’s] going to throw, a cutter. . . . You start to swing at the pitch and the next thing you know, the ball explodes your bat. I tried multiple things hoping to figure out a way get the barrel [of the bat] on one of his pitches. . . . Nothing worked.” Far from a conventional biography, Facing Mariano Rivera offers perspectives and testimonials from opponents and teammates alike, including Rivera’s minor-league roommate and the final batter he faced in the major leagues. Some opponents had uncommon success against “The Sandman,” and they share their secrets for hitting him. Most, however, echo the sentiments of five-time All-Star Mike Sweeney: “When you’re at Yankee Stadium and Mariano Rivera is coming in the game, it feels like a horror movie . . . when you hear the music and you’re scared to death, because you know what’s going to happen.” Truly dominant pitchers come along only rarely. This book tells the reader what it’s like to battle one of the all-time best, in the words of the players who did just that. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sports—books about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team. Whether you are a New York Yankees fan or hail from Red Sox nation; whether you are a die-hard Green Bay Packers or Dallas Cowboys fan; whether you root for the Kentucky Wildcats, Louisville Cardinals, UCLA Bruins, or Kansas Jayhawks; whether you route for the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, or Los Angeles Kings; we have a book for you. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

After 19 seasons in the major leagues, all with a single team—a feat few athletes in today’s modern sport can match—Mariano Rivera closes out his career with the New York Yankees at the conclusion of the 2013 season. New York’s much-loved closer retires as baseball’s all-time leader in saves, ERA, and appearances, and he holds the Yankees’ single-season saves record as well. Few could have predicted when the Yankees brought Rivera up to the majors in 1995 that he would one day hold the record for most career games pitched with a single team. Rivera did much more than lead by example; he powered his team to five World Series championships: 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2009. Celebrate Mo’s amazing career with this full-color pictorial keepsake packed with unique images and exemplary writing from New York’s award-winning newspaper, the New York Post.