Polo S Long Shot

Nick Polo is back in his eleventh adventure, once again helped along by his sidekick, the indomitable octogenarian self-described witch, Mrs. Damonte… Billionaire vintner Paul Bernier sets San Francisco ex-cop, ex-con, private eye Nick Polo off on a hunt to find a kukri, a priceless golden jewel-encrusted 14th century dagger, designed by the Emperor of India. The dagger has a long, bloody history, passing between war lords throughout the ages, including Saddam Hussain. The search has Polo bumping heads with Bernier’s vindictive stepdaughter, his eccentric household staff, a Miami con man, a crooked private investigator, a drug dealing nightclub owner, a New York Mafia Don, and two viscous murderers. When all seems lost, Polo gets help from Mrs. Damonte, a self-described Strega, a witch, who believes that a day without a wake is like a day without sunshine. Praise for POLO’S LONG SHOT: “Nick Polo is the Saul Goodman of private investigators. He’s charming, persuasive, immune to adversity, and just dirty enough to get the job done. He never ceases to amaze and, just when you think he’s been bested, always produces an ace in the hole. Not since James Crumley’s C.W. Sughrue have I so avidly rooted for a fictional character.” —Jonathan Ashley, author of South of Cincinnati Praise for the Nick Polo mysteries: “A California PI himself, Kennealy captures some of the classic Hammett/Ross spirit in the Nick Polo series.” —Publishers Weekly “Briskly written, and because Kennealy himself was a working private eye, most persuasive.” —Philadelphia Inquirer “The Polo series all have a strong tradition of tight plotting, crisp dialogue, and self-deprecating humor.” —Booklist “Kennealy writes crisply, brings alive the streets of San Francisco, and plots clearly and interestingly.” —Washington Post “The writing is simple and direct, the action nonstop.” —The New York Times

This vintage book contains a complete guide to playing polo, with information on rules, strategy, training ponies, equipment, history, notable clubs, development, and more. This volume is highly recommended for those with an interest in the history of the game, and it is not to be missed by collectors of vintage sporting literature. Contents include: "Ancient Polo", "The Hurlington Club and its Influence on Polo", "The Ranlagh Club and the Expansion of Polo", "The Growth of Polo in London and the Provinces", "Regimental Polo", "The Training of the Pony", "Elementary Polo", "Tournament Polo and Team-Play", "Umpires and Referees", et cetera. Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern edition complete with a specially commissioned new introduction on horses used for sport and utility.

The book opens with Marco Polo, a Venetian, as a young orphan boy. His father had died before he was born and his mother before he could speak. He lives, a ragged urchin alongside other similar boys, and has adventures on the many canals of his home city, which he loves unreservedly. One day, out on the water in a gondola with his friends, he sees a group of wild-looking men, clearly from another country. One holds up a jewel and beckons to Marco to get it. This is the beginning of his journey.

The first volume of this authoritative biography chronicles the prime minister’s youth from birth to early adulthood: “An intimate, eloquent testimonial” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review). Winston S. Churchill’s son, Randolph, delivers a vivid, personal portrait of his father in this first part of an eight-volume biography that is widely considered the “most scholarly study of Churchill in war and peace ever written” (The New York Times). Told through a rich treasure trove of the Churchill’s personal letters, this volume covers his life from early childhood to his return to England from an American lecture tour, on the day of Queen Victoria’s funeral in 1900, in order to embark on his political career. In the opening pages, the account of his birth in 1874 is presented through letters of his family. The subject comes on the scene with his own words in a letter to his mother, written when he was seven. His later letters, as a child, as a schoolboy at Harrow, as a cadet at Sandhurst, and as a subaltern in India, show the development of his mind and character, his ambition and awakening interests, which were to merge into a unique genius destined for world leadership. An astounding narrative of a formidable man coming into his own and the times in which he lived, this portrait is a “milestone, a monument, a magisterial achievement . . . rightly regarded as the most comprehensive life ever written of any age.” (Andrew Roberts, historian and author of The Storm of War).

The Science of Shooting Fundamentals book is the definitive and complete examination of the outside throwing motion, the fake, the drive-in shot and the 2-meter shot. Because two-thirds of the player's body is underwater and unseen, the water polo throwing motion is the most difficult motion to learn and to teach. How can we learn to shoot when we cannot see the underwater motion? The Science of Shooting Water Polo Fundamentals book reveals the secrets. For the first time in English, the secrets of the gold medal winning Hungarians and Serbians are revealed. With 190 full body pictures in over 200-pages, the mechanics above and below the water are clearly shown. The Science of Shooting book provides step by step answers for players and coaches demanding the secret knowledge of the European throwing method.

While many parents encourage their children to become the next Einstein or Yo-Yo Ma, some push their kids to become the next Tiger Woods. No longer does an elite, elderly set dominate golf. A new class of driven teenaged players is transforming the game, and a series of high-profile, professionally- run tournaments determine which of these teens have a shot at reaching the top levels. In Shooting for Tiger, William Echikson takes us inside a spirited season of the American Junior Golf Association's elite tournaments. From the fairways, Echikson unveils a fascinating sub culture: kids who have foregone traditional childhoods, families determined to produce champions, and rigorous golf academies devoted to training the world's top prospects. Vividly told, Shooting for Tiger examines the real costs of professionalizing young players and offers an unforgettable portrait of athletic obsession.

A collection of writings offers a revealing and provocative self-portrait of an author whose life was shrouded in enigma. Jerzy Kosinski was one of the most important and original writers of his time. Passing By serves as his legacy. This collection of essays by the late author features pieces about polo and skiing, levitation, the streets of New York, present-day Poland, the Cannes film festival, celebrities, and more. The man who emerges here has a passion for sport, a quirky sense of fun, an idiosyncratic range of acquaintances stretching from Pope John Paul II to Warren Beatty, and an abiding love of secrets, conundrums, and fantasies. But first and foremost, as he demonstrates in major essays on his novels The Painted Bird and Steps, Kosinski is a powerful, incomparable literary artist. “Kosinski’s vibrant, sexy, questioning voice is fully present.” —The Boston Globe

Tracing the evolution of polo from its origins in Central Asia to its current manifestation as a professional sport that attracts wealthy sponsors and patrons, this sociological study examines how polo has changed according to the economic and cultural differences of the nations and continents where it is played. One hundred historic and modern photographs are included.