Wherever I Wind Up

The perfect gift for baseball fans, now with a new epilogue by author R.A. Dickey, winner of the 2012 Cy Young award. "An astounding memoir—haunting and touching, courageous and wise."—Jeremy Schaap, bestselling author, Emmy award-winning journalist, ESPN In 1996, R.A. Dickey was the Texas Rangers’ much-heralded No. 1 draft choice. Then, a routine physical revealed that his right elbow was missing its ulnar collateral ligament, and his lifelong dream—along with his $810,000 signing bonus—was ripped away. Yet, despite twice being consigned to baseball’s scrap heap, Dickey battled back. Sustained by his Christian faith, the love of his wife and children, and a relentless quest for self-awareness, Dickey is now the starting pitcher for the Toronoto Blue Jays (he was previously a star pitcher for the New York Mets) and one of the National League’s premier players, as well as the winner of the 2012 Cy Young award. In Wherever I Wind Up, Dickey eloquently shares his quintessentially American tale of overcoming extraordinary odds to achieve a game, a career, and a life unlike any other.

The inspiring story of the 2012 National League Cy Young Award Winner Adapted for young readers from his New York Times bestselling memoir Wherever I Wind Up, this is the inspiring story of how knuckleballer R. A. Dickey became one of the game’s best pitchers. He had humble beginnings, and as a child kept a terrible secret. But at a local prep school, coaches saw talent in him and fostered his skills as a player. Dickey went on to pitch in the Olympics while at the University of Tennessee, but his Major League hopes took a downturn when an X-ray revealed a major problem with his throwing arm. It would seem his future in baseball was over before it even began. But R.A. knew better. Through faith, hope, and determination, he achieved his dreams and made it into the major leagues. Now, he’s one of the most respected pitchers in the game, a Cy Young Award winner, and he's changed the way people view the knuckleball – and himself. An inspiring true story about beating the odds, R.A. is proof that with hard work and devotion, anyone can overcome whatever life throws at them.

In 1962, the New York Mets spent their first year in existence racking up the worst record in baseball history. Things scarcely got any better for the ensuing six years--they were baseball's laughingstock, but somehow lovable in their ineptitude, building a fiercely loyal fan base. And then came 1969, a year that brought the lunar landing, Woodstock, nonstop antiwar protests, and the most tumultuous and fractious New York City mayoral race in memory--along with the most improbable season in the annals of Major League Baseball. It concluded on an invigorating autumn afternoon in Queens, when a Minnesota farm boy named Jerry Koosman beat the Baltimore Orioles for the second time in five games, making the Mets champions of the baseball world. It wasn't merely an upset but an unprecedented, uplifting achievement for the ages. From the ashes of those early scorched-earth seasons, Gil Hodges, a beloved former Brooklyn Dodger, put together a 25-man whole that was vastly more formidable than the sum of its parts. Beyond the top-notch pitching staff headlined by Tom Seaver, Koosman, and Gary Gentry, and the hitting prowess of Cleon Jones, the Mets were mostly comprised of untested kids and lightly regarded veterans. Everywhere you looked on this team, there was a man with a compelling backstory, from Koosman, who never played high school baseball and grew up throwing in a hayloft in subzero temperatures with his brother Orville, to third baseman Ed Charles, an African-American poet with a deep racial conscience whose arrival in the big leagues was delayed almost a decade because of the color of his skin. In the tradition of The Boys of Winter, his classic bestseller about the 1980 U.S. men's Olympic hockey team, Wayne Coffey tells the story of the '69 Mets as it has never been told before--against the backdrop of the space race, Stonewall, and Vietnam, set in an ever-changing New York City. With dogged reporting and a storyteller's eye for detail, Coffey finds the beating heart of a baseball family. Published to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Mets' remarkable transformation from worst to best, They Said It Couldn't Be Done is a spellbinding, feel-good narrative about an improbable triumph by the ultimate underdog.

These widely acclaimed essays from the author of Infinite Jest -- on television, tennis, cruise ships, and more -- established David Foster Wallace as one of the preeminent essayists of his generation. In this exuberantly praised book -- a collection of seven pieces on subjects ranging from television to tennis, from the Illinois State Fair to the films of David Lynch, from postmodern literary theory to the supposed fun of traveling aboard a Caribbean luxury cruiseliner -- David Foster Wallace brings to nonfiction the same curiosity, hilarity, and exhilarating verbal facility that has delighted readers of his fiction, including the bestselling Infinite Jest.

Wind Blows Wherever It Pleases is a lively account of the life of the Spirit, rich in stories but also mature in its dealing with scripture, it is both evangelical and charismatic in its approach. Many people know God personally and occasionally stop to ask, 'Is there more than this?' but then they move on hurriedly, fearful that the answer might be 'no'. Yet Henry Kendal affirms that the true answer is 'yes', for God invites us onto the roller-coaster journey of faith. In this gentle but thought-provoking introduction to the life of the Spirit, Henry shows us how the Lord invites us to a dance of faith that will set us whirling through this life and the next.

From Tony Award-winning director and recipient of the prestigious Mr. Abbott Award, Kenny Leon, comes a powerful memoir of the lessons he has learned on his incredible life journey. When Kenny Leon's grandmother told him to "take you wherever you go," she could hardly have anticipated that he would establish himself as one of Broadway's most exciting and acclaimed directors. But through years of hard work, Kenny would migrate from a small wooden house in rural Florida to the Tony Awards' stage, where he would win Best Direction of a Play for his 2014 revival of A Raisin in the Sun. In TAKE YOU WHEREVER YOU GO, Leon reflects on the pillars of wisdom he learned every step of the way from the most important people in his life--from his grandmother's sagacious and encouraging motivations to the steady hand of his mother to the deep artistic and social influence of iconic American playwright August Wilson. TAKE YOU WHEREVER YOU GO is a poignant, ruminative, and inspirational memoir that empowers you to be true to yourself as you navigate your own path.

Teased by the Foul Ball Gang, a young baseball learns that his differences make him unique and strong.

Wherever the Wind Takes Me is the personal story of 22 year old author Valentina Stover's journey from California to Australia and Indonesia and all of her stops in between. Follow her through her journey of self-discovery during her wild year of trails, tribulations, adventures, and alcohol as she learned the only thing that was stopping her from changing her life was her. Cover photo by Walid Sharif