Curveball

FOREWORD BY ROBIN SHARMA A Story of Grit, Adversity and Winning the Game of Life LESSONS FOR A LIFE OF STRENGTH, SUCCESS AND REAL IMPACT THE CURVEBALL is an extraordinary story about turning fear into fuel, wounds into wisdom and struggle into spectacular human power. Inspiring, valuable and ultimately transformational, this unique book will help you: • Win the game of life while experiencing joy, peace and grace. • Find the courage to realize your dreams and live your greatness in complex times • Grow more positive and heroic in the face of adversity so troubles become triumphs • Lead a life of authenticity, decency and purpose You have immense gifts within you. The Curveball will show you how to bring them to the world, starting today." COLBY SHARMA LLB., is a law graduate from the University of Liverpool, an entrepreneur and an international traveller dedicated to making the world a brighter place. This is his first novel. YOU CAN CONNECT WITH COLBY AT Website: www.colbysharma.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/thecurveball426 Instagram: colbysharmaofficial LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/colbysharma/"

When an old scrapbook stirs memories, Billy Bryan looks back to the year 1947 when he was playing winter ball in Cuba, enjoying Havana's decadent nightlife, and dreaming of a major-league career.

“A crucial study in the political manipulation of intelligence, understanding how Curveball got us into Iraq will arm us for the next round of lies coming out of Washington.”—Robert Baer, author of See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism Curveball answers the crucial question of the Iraq war: How and why was America’s intelligence so catastrophically wrong? In this dramatic and explosive book, award-winning Los Angeles Times reporter Bob Drogin delivers a narrative that takes us to Europe, the Middle East, and deep inside the CIA to find the truth—the truth about the lies and self-deception that led us into a military and political nightmare. Praise for Curveball “Just when you thought the WMD debacle couldn’t get worse, here comes veteran Los Angeles Times national-security correspondent Drogin’s look at just who got the stories going in the first place. . . . Simultaneously sobering and infuriating—essential reading for those who follow the headlines.”—Kirkus Reviews “In this engrossing account, Los Angeles Times correspondent Drogin paints an intimate and revealing portrait of the workings and dysfunctions of the intelligence community.”—Publishers Weekly “An insightful and compelling account of one crucial component of the war's origins . . . Had Drogin merely pieced together Curveball's story, it alone would have made for a thrilling book. But he provides something more: a frightening glimpse at how easily we could make the same mistakes again. . . . The real value of Drogin's book is its meticulous demonstration that bureaucratic imperative often leads to self-delusion.”—Washington Monthly “Drogin delivers a startling account of this fateful intelligence snafu.”—Booklist “By the time you finish this book you will be shaking your head with wonder, or perhaps you will be shaking with anger, about the misadventures that preceded the misadventures in Iraq. This book is so powerful, it almost refutes its subtitle: The man called Curveball did not cause a war; he became a pretext—one among many.”—George F. Will

An absorbing and enlightening inside look at sports secrets—now in an updated and expanded edition! What makes an athlete successful? Why do some players excel? In this new, expanded edition, the experts at Popular Mechanics, along with top athletes, coaches, and sports journalists, explore the science behind everything from the perfect curveball and Phelpss kick to gene doping. Theres great new coverage on the recent doping scandals that rocked the Tour de France, as well as a new chapter on lacrosse, and the clear, understandable explanations come from people who really love their game. Youll even learn how to bend it like Beckham—or at least how Beckham did it. This book is for both the player and the fan, helping athletes become better prepared and giving enthusiasts a more complete appreciation of the subtle nuances of competition.

The painfully honest and personal story of one of baseball’s most intriguing players. In Curveball, Zito shares his story with honesty and transparency. The ups and the downs. The wins and losses. By sharing his experiences as a man who had everything except happiness, Zito offers readers a path through adversity and toward a life defined by true success. Despite achieving the kind of fame and fortune that most people only dream about, Barry Zito was plagued by both internal forces and external circumstances that robbed him of any sense of peace—until he finally found a purpose worth living for. Barry explores the twists and turns of his own journey, including: his dad’s constant push and pursuit for excellence, which translated into a toxic father-son relationship, how achieving superstardom in the major leagues created crippling fear, the personal destruction brought on by fame and fortune, and the disastrous seasons with the San Francisco Giants, including being benched for the 2010 playoffs and World Series. Zito comes face-to-face with the destructiveness of his own ego—his need to be viewed as the best. He also comes face-to-face with God and with the truth that he was loved no matter what he achieved.

Life seemed idyllic for thirty-two-year-old Liz Holzemer. Wife of Major League Baseball pitcher Mark Holzemer, Liz was enjoying a successful career as a journalist when an MRI revealed a baseball-size brain tumor she soon found out was called meningioma. Told with clarity and unwavering humor, this book is an inspirational and informative account of one woman's battle for her life. It shows how she emerged from this frightening diagnosis and two brain surgeries retaining her remarkable spirit of survival and renewed sense of purpose and hope. With practical information about meningioma and brain surgery, Curveball is a manual for people who face life-altering challenges and is also proof that one need not fight such battles alone.