Tales from the Track


Book Description

Stories of the adventures of race car Lightning McQueen, Mater and their 4-wheeled friends, based on the Disney/Pixar movie Cars.




Tales from the Track


Book Description

Stock car racing as we know it began in the late 1940's. Throughout the 1950's, the sport became popular across the United States. In the southern states, the 1950's saw a tremendous proliferation of small dirt tracks whose owners were hoping to ride the crest of stock car racing's building popularity. Along with the increasing number of tracks, a new breed of race driver emerged. These were primarily blue-collar men who had families to support and full-time jobs to fulfull, but whose lives often became consumed with building cars, racing and long hours of mechanical work in a never-ending search for more speed. With each passing year, more was learned about racing and the sport gradually became more sophisticated. The stories told in this book are direct from the memories of the drivers, owners, and family members of drivers who describe what it was like to be a part of the racing subculture of the era in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Hear it in their own words.




Ball Tales


Book Description

This history of American sports fiction traces depictions of baseball, basketball and football in works for all age levels from early dime novels through the 1960s. Chapters cover dime novel heroes Frank and Dick Merriwell; the explosion of sports novels before World War II and its influence on the authors who later wrote for baby boom readers; how sports novels persisted during the Great Depression; the rise and decline of sports pulps; why sports comics failed; postwar heroes Chip Hilton and Bronc Burnett; the lack of sports fiction for females; Duane Decker's Blue Sox books; and the classic John R. Tunis novels. Appendices list sports pulp titles and comic books featuring sports fiction.




Shirley Muldowney's Tales from the Track


Book Description

In the 1970s, when the idea of a woman competing successfully with men in any form of motorsports was radical notion, a young woman from Schenectady, New York, began her singular quest to change the chauvinistic mindset that prevailed in professional drag racing. Shirley Muldowney not only broke the gender barrier in the National Hot Rod Association, but also completely rewrote the record books in Top Fuel Eliminator, the sport's quickest and fastest category. She was the first woman ever to receive a Top Fuel license from the NHRA, and none other than "Big Daddy" Don Garlits was one of the veteran drivers who signed off on it. Between 1977 and 1982, Muldowney won three NHRA Top Fuel championships--the first female ever to win a title in any professional motorsport--and added an AHRA Top Fuel championship to her resume, as well. She won the prestigious NHRA U.S. Nationals in 1982 and, before her retirement at the end of the 2003 season, had become one of the most recognized and celebrated race car drivers in history, male or female. She was recently inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in Novi, Michigan, and has been the subject of countless features in newspapers, magazines, and network television from coast to coast. Shirley Muldowney's Tales from the Track is an unabashed collection of stories, anecdotes, and opinions in her own unvarnished style of storytelling, laced with her straightforward, take-no-prisoners approach. She has spent her entire lifetime telling it like it is, standing up to the establishment, and refusing to do anything other than in her own way. Politically correct? Hardly. Readers are encouraged to strap themselves in when she shares her manytales. It's the whole truth and nothing but the truth according to the legendary Shirley Muldowney.




Better Lucky Than Good


Book Description

Churchill Downs is the epicenter of Kentucky's equine heritage and the most storied racetrack in the world. More than a thousand workers come to the backside of Churchill Downs on any given day during a meet. Before sunrise, seven days a week, stable hands, hot walkers, grooms, outriders, jockeys, and more tend to the well-being of the horses and the track. Most will never stand in the Winner's Circle. There could be no Kentucky Derby without their contributions.Better Lucky Than Good is the most caring, in-depth look into the lives and stories of equine workers ever published--and it was written by the people who live and work on the backside of Churchill Downs. The book's 32 authors include grooms, hot walkers, exercise riders, a clocker, an outrider, assistant trainers, a jockey, a starting gate crew member, a pony person, a horticulturist, a silks seamstress, shedrow foremen, a tack and saddle man, a security guard, a horse tattooer, trainers, an alcohol and drug abuse counselor, a farm manager, a chaplaincy associate, and many more. "Every person I know who has ever 'written a horse book,' or worked extensively as a journalist covering the world of the track, has at some point had a version of this thought: If somebody would just do a good oral history, interviewing the people who actually work with the horses--the grooms and riders and ferriers and assistant trainers, the folks on the "backside"--it would be worth 10,000 pages of even the best literary description of the sport. Now the Louisville Story Program has done this, and done it beautifully. It's no exaggeration to say that this book has needed to exist for 200 years."--John Jeremiah Sullivan, author of Pulphead and Blood Horses




ZANE GREY Ultimate Collection: Historical Novels, Western Classics, Adventure Tales & Baseball Stories (60+ Titles in One Volume)


Book Description

In Zane Grey's Ultimate Collection, readers will find a treasure trove of historical novels, western classics, adventure tales, and baseball stories all compiled into one comprehensive volume. Grey's literary style is characterized by vivid descriptions of the American West, engaging dialogue, and thrilling plotlines that keep readers on the edge of their seats. Set against the backdrop of the rugged frontier, Grey's stories offer a unique blend of action, romance, and exploration, making them a must-read for fans of the genre. This collection showcases Grey's versatility as a writer, with each story offering a new and exciting adventure for readers to embark on. Zane Grey's deep connection to the American West and his love for the outdoors heavily influenced his writing. As an avid outdoorsman and angler, Grey drew inspiration from his own experiences to create unforgettable characters and settings that resonate with readers to this day. His passion for storytelling shines through in each tale, capturing the spirit of the Wild West and bringing it to life for modern audiences. I highly recommend Zane Grey's Ultimate Collection to readers who enjoy immersive historical fiction, gripping westerns, and thrilling adventure stories. With over 60 titles to choose from, this compilation offers hours of entertainment and a glimpse into the rich tapestry of American literature.




Tewa Tales


Book Description




Rails' Tales


Book Description

Short stories about the working days of managers of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad from 1950-1980. Some sad; some funny; all enlightening about working on the railroad in that time frame.




Tales of Superhuman Powers


Book Description

Csenge Virag Zalka, a Hungarian storyteller, has collected 55 folktales from around the world about supernatural abilities like superhuman strength, invulnerability, flying, heightened senses, speed, invisibility, healing, agility, precognition, telepathy, fire manipulation, teleportation, water powers, and shifting. These tales represent powers that people have dreamed of, conjured up and strived for through the ages. Many of the powers are present in popular culture, making the superheroes who wield them the direct descendants of characters such as the princess who could see through walls or the invulnerable Isfandiyar. Zalka excluded stories about magic or about gods with divine powers, and focused on less well-known stories. She included information on similar heroes, the ability in the story, sources of the powers, the origin of the story, teachings in it, the recommended age group, sources, variants, and comments.




Folk Tales of Song and Dance


Book Description

The life of the travelling musician hasn't changed much over the millennia. For a prehistoric harper, a medieval fiddler or a modern guitar player, the experience is pretty much the same: there are times when everything goes well and others when nothing does. But it's not just performing that can go wrong – listening can also be dangerous! Can you stop dancing when you get tired or must you keep going until the music stops ... if it ever does? What happens if it carries on past midnight? What if it turns you to stone? Pete Castle has selected a variety of traditional tales from all over the UK (and a few from further afield) to enthral you, whether you are a musician, a dancer, or a reader who likes to keep dangerous things like singing and dancing at arm's length.