Sport and Cinema.com

Sport and Cinema’s 2009 Holliday Book Picks Historically the “toy department” has been a rich source for literary products and for those looking to find something to satisfy the voracious reader on their shopping list, here are some titles bound to produce smiles under the Christmas tree:

Glen Macnow has been a popular sports-radio talk-show host at Philadelphia’s 610-WIP for over 14 years, following an award-winning career as a sportswriter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and Detroit Free Press. He is the author of three best-selling sports books, and is a frequent guest on local and national television sports shows. He lives outside Philadelphia.

The key word here is “treasures” as so much of the engaging material in this lavishly illustrated history of America’s game can only be found in the unparalleled collections of the Library of Congress.

The title says it all. The sports media giant has assembled a compelling potpourri of assorted facts, instruction and intriguing material across the full spectrum of athletic competition and more.

The SandC Interview: Bert Sugar author – “Baseball Hall of Fame- A Living History of America’s Greatest Game”
Since opening its doors in 1939, Baseball’s Hall of Fame has entertained 14 million visitors. This shrine in Cooperstown comes alive on the pages of this coffee table book that examines, through brilliant photography and compelling prose, the American phenomenon that is baseball.

Celebrating the 70th anniversary of the beloved baseball mecca in upstate New York, prolific author Bert Sugar provides us with a unique walking tour through its grand and glorious halls, one page at a time.

While he is busy tutoring current Lakers center Andrew Bynum in the ways of life inside the paint and dealing with the pressures of playoff basketball, Kareem Abdul Jabbar’s book is on its way to becoming a motion picture.

“Brothers in Arms,” a nonfiction tome by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anthony Walton, tells the story of how the unit overcame prejudice and sought to prove themselves on the battlefield by spearheading the Allied Forces’ drive eastward toward Germany during the Battle of the Bulge.

For anyone who witnessed last Saturday’s historic running of the 135th Kentucky Derby where Mine That Bird, the biggest underdog winner in decades (50-1), ran away with the roses, here is the definitive tome about horse racing’s premiere event.

Depicting the greatness of not only one of baseball’s, but all of team sports franchises, is on vibrant display in this pictorial history of the New York Yankees.

Roughly covering the team’s golden age, from 1949 to 1964, when they won fourteen pennants and nine world championships, the New York Yankees shine brightly in this fine collection of material covering everything from spring training to Old Timers’ Day.

The actor/comedian has joined the team to play Paul dePodesta, a Harvard grad who’s forte with statistics and probabilities helps Oakland Athletics General Manager Billy Beane (Pitt) develop a methodology to successfully compete against teams with deeper pockets.

Ever since the Wizard of Westwood brought magic to the hardwoods, UCLA football has had to play in the long shadow of the school’s great basketball tradition. Nevertheless, the Bruins have produced some great gridiron teams and players. For example, 2009 marks the 20th anniversary of Bruin quarterback Troy Aikman being selected