The Super Bowl (this year on February 9th) is among the world’s most-watched single sporting events and frequently commands the largest audience among all American broadcasts during the year.
Since sports is very much on our minds this February, I would like to highlight an upcoming library talk on sports photography, where you’ll get the chance to explore the art of capturing unforgettable sports moments through the lens.
On February 3rd at 7pm in the program Sports Shots, meet Chuck Solomon, one of the premier sports photographers in the country. Chuck has been photographing sports, action and lifestyle for the past thirty-five years. A former staff photographer, as well as a current contributor at Sports Illustrated, his photographs have appeared on the cover of that magazine more than forty times.
Meet the photographer himself as he shows images and shares stories from his long and illustrious career. Equally proficient at shooting action as well as portraits and picture stories, Chuck is also the photographer and author of a series of children’s books including Our Soccer League, Playing Hockey and Major League Bat-boy. Chuck has had an image named by Sports Illustrated as one of the “One Hundred Greatest Sports Photographs of All Time”. Time.com named one of his images as one of the “Twenty-Four Greatest World Series Photographs of All Time”.
Chuck will share photos of Michael Jordan, Derek Jeter, Tom Brady, Serena Williams and many other famous and not so famous athletes. He will give us an inside take on how he was able to capture these dramatic photographs.
Besides seeing some amazing sports photographs through the decades and hearing compelling stories about how these images were captured, you will pick up valuable tips on how you can improve your own photographic skills.
So whether you are a sports fan, photo enthusiast or just want to take better photos at a kid’s soccer game or dance recital you won’t want to miss this exciting evening!
Whether you are a sports fan and like to read about athletic legends, or enjoy deep dives into the history and techniques of various sports, here are some noteworthy sports books from 2024, available with your Livingston Library card.
Better, Faster, Farther : How Running Changed Everything we Know About Women by Maggie Mertens
Mertens tells the propulsive story of how women broke into competitive running over the last century, getting faster and fiercer with every race and changing our understanding of gender and power in athletics and beyond.
Charlie Hustle : The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball by Keith O’Brien
A page-turning work of narrative nonfiction chronicling the incredible story of one of America’s most iconic, charismatic, and still polarizing figures, baseball immortal Pete Rose; and an exquisite cultural history of baseball and America in the second half of the twentieth century.
The Football Game that Changed America : How the NFL Created a National Holiday by Dennis Deninger
Chronicles the entire history of the Super Bowl and examines the social, cultural, economic, and political impact of this colossal event, bringing to life the colorful characters, bold rivals, and twists of fate that played a role in the creation and explosive growth of the Big Game.
The Formula : How Rogues, Geniuses, and Speed Freaks Reengineered F1 Into the World’s Fastest-Growing Sport by Joshua Robinson
Tells the riveting saga of how Formula 1 broke through in America, detailing the eclectic culture of racing obsessives, glamorous settings, gearheads, engineering geniuses, dashing racers, and bitter rivalries that have made F1 the world’s fastest growing sport. It brings a unique insight and access to F1’s most storied teams and personalities-from Ferrari to Bernie Ecclestone to Christian Horner to Lewis Hamilton.
Golf’s Majors : From Hagen and Hogan to a Bear and a Tiger, Inside the Game’s Most Unforgettable Performances by Gary Player
A riveting history of golf’s pinnacle events, packed with dramatic moments and insider stories. The book’s almanac-like approach encourages dipping in here and there rather than reading straight through. Despite fairly dry prose, this compendious book is a breezy, fact-filled read golfers will devour.
Got Your Answers : The 100 Greatest Sports Arguments – Settled by Mike Greenberg
Armed with a wealth of knowledge and fandom experience, this book tackles the 100 most-debated questions in the sports-talk world and provides 100 lists that will tell you who is the best of the best in football, basketball, baseball, hockey, boxing, and more. What is the most coveted trophy in all of sports? Who is the most clutch in Game 7? Which ballpark has the most bizarre concessions? And why is Rocky without a doubt the best sports movie of all time?
Grand Prix : An Illustrated History of Formula 1 by Will Buxton
A comprehensive illustrated guide to Formula 1 racing, from its fascinating origins and inner workings to the top drivers of the 1950s through today.
The Inner Game of Tennis : The Classic Guide to Peak Performance by Timothy W. Gallwey
Based on Gallwey’s profound realization that the key to success doesn’t lie in holding the racket just right, or positioning the feet perfectly, but rather in keeping the mind uncluttered, this transformative book gives you the tools to unlock the potential that you’ve possessed all along. “The Inner Game” is the one played within the mind of the player, against the hurdles of self-doubt, nervousness, and lapses in concentration. Gallwey shows us how to overcome these obstacles by trusting the intuitive wisdom of our bodies and achieving a state of “relaxed concentration.”
The New York Game: Baseball and the Rise of a New City by Kevin Baker
A hugely entertaining history of baseball and New York City, bursting with larger-than-life figures and fascinating stories from the game’s beginnings to the end of World War II. In Baker’s hands the city and the game emerge from the murk of nineteenth-century American life—driven by visionaries and fixers, heroes and gangsters. He details how New York and its favorite sport came to mirror one another, expanding, bumbling through catastrophe and corruption, and rising out of these trials stronger than ever. From the first innings played in vacant lots and tavern yards in the 1820s; to the canny innovations that created the very first sports league; to the superb Hispanic and Black players who invented their own version of the game when white baseball sought to exclude them. And all amidst New York’s own, incredible evolution from a raw, riotous town to a new world city.
There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension by Hanif Abdurraqib
Growing up in Columbus, Ohio, in the 1990s, Abdurraqib witnessed a golden era of basketball, one in which legends like LeBron James were forged and countless others weren’t. His lifelong love of the game leads Abdurraqib into a lyrical, historical, and emotionally rich exploration of what it means to make it, who we think deserves success, the tension between excellence and expectation, and the very notion of role models, all of which he expertly weaves together with intimate, personal storytelling.
Warming Up : How Climate Change is Changing Sports by Madeleine Orr
In recent years, a world championship marathon was held at midnight to avoid the blistering sun. Professional athletes needed oxygen tanks to play during wildfire season in California. Players collapsed and play was suspended amid the heat and bushfire smoke at the Australian Tennis open. Ski resorts in the Alps have turned into ghost towns. Golf courses are sinking into the sea. And then there’s the Qatar World Cup, among the greatest follies in sporting history, one that saw hundreds (perhaps thousands) of heat-induced deaths before a ball was even kicked. The threat climate change poses to sport is clear, but with billions of participants and fans around the world who rely on the sector for entertainment, jobs, fitness and health, this is one industry we can’t afford to lose.
Watford Forever : How Graham Taylor and Elton John Saved a Football Club, a Town, and Each Other by John Preston
The unforgettable story, decades before Ted Lasso, of the real-life Watford Football Team, transformed into a powerhouse by coach Graham Taylor and owner Elton John.
Why We Love Football: A History in 100 Moments by Joe Posnanski
Entertaining, enlightening, heartbreaking, hilarious, and always fascinating, these stories of the sport offer a panoramic look across its history. From hidden gems and classic tales to famous moments told from previously unheard perspectives, this book is the football book for even its most ardent fans.
—Archana, Adult Services & Acquisitions Librarian