Books about Fans new from Amazon.com

Unfortunately, we've all seen it happen. When faced with a problem, rather than working cooperatively to come up with a solution, your manager or colleagues come swooping in, squawking loudly, dump orders riddled with formulaic advice, and then take off, leaving you and everyone else to clean up the mess. Or—let's be honest: there may have been a time (or three) when you have been guilty of doing that very thing yourself.

While this happens in every workplace worldwide more frequently than ever, it doesn't have to. Through the story of Charlie, a seagull who doesn't understand how his management actions are holding back his flock, Travis Bradberry, Ph.D., reveals the three virtues of great leadership that he has used to help thousands of people and organizations deal with seagull managers in the workplace and, just as important, to avoid being one themselves.

Charlie the seagull is a well-intentioned manager who, when faced with new challenges after previously leading his flock to success, fails to understand how his management style is holding back, rather than helping, his team. Through our bird's-eye view of Charlie, overconfident Scott, quiet Maya, practical Yufan, and skinny, shy Alfred, we see them and the rest of the flock struggle to solve their problems while absorbing the three virtues of great leadership and teamwork along the way. This entertaining and illuminating fable will help make us all more productive, less prone to depositing messes on the heads of those around us, and more able to work effectively with those who continue to squawk at us every day.

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Price: $9.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

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Price: $9.55 [Notify me when price goes down.]

SPORTS/HOCKEY

“Although Jimmy never played professional hockey himself, he was born with an intense love for the game and has devoted his life to hockey. He lives and breathes the game. Hockey is better off because of Jimmy Devellano ”

From the Foreword by Mike and Marian Ilitch, Owners, Detroit Red Wings

“Though he has never scored a goal, blocked a shot or thrown a body check, Jim Devellano contributed to seven Stanley Cup championships over three separate decades. An accomplishment of that magnitude is testament to his foresight, his insight and his hockey sense.”

Gary Bettman, NHL Commissioner

“He is my mentor. He gave me my first opportunity to get into the business. When he came to Detroit, one of the things he talked about was he was never going to trade a draft pick. He’s a tremendous architect.”

Ken Holland, General Manager, Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings

“He had what I would consider an outstanding career. He started from the very, very bottom and has worked his way up to, I would say, the top echelon in the league. I made him look so good, Mike Ilitch called me and stole him to Detroit.”

Bill Torrey, Former General Manager, New York Islanders

“He is a truly respected hockey man who deserves all accolades that have been presented to him. However, where he has helped me the most is in understanding the sports environment in the city of Detroit. Jimmy spent countless hours advising me on this sports landscape upon my arrival in Michigan.”

Dave Dombrowski, President & General Manager, Detroit Tigers (MLB)

 “For more than the past 40 years Jim Devellano has had his hands on the hockey pulse. His remarkable accomplishments make him a Hockey Icon. Congratulations.”

Scotty Bowman, Consultant, Detroit Red Wings.
Price: $13.47 [Notify me when price goes down.]

In the midst of China's wild rush to modernize, a surprising note of reality arises: Shanghai, it seems, was once modern indeed, a pulsing center of commerce and art in the heart of the twentieth century. This book immerses us in the golden age of Shanghai urban culture, a modernity at once intrinsically Chinese and profoundly anomalous, blending new and indigenous ideas with those flooding into this "treaty port" from the Western world.

A preeminent specialist in Chinese studies, Leo Ou-fan Lee gives us a rare wide-angle view of Shanghai culture in the making. He shows us the architecture and urban spaces in which the new commercial culture flourished, then guides us through the publishing and filmmaking industries that nurtured a whole generation of artists and established a bold new style in urban life known as modeng. In the work of six writers of the time, particularly Shi Zhecun, Mu Shiying, and Eileen Chang, Lee discloses the reflection of Shanghai's urban landscape--foreign and familiar, oppressive and seductive, traditional and innovative. This work acquires a broader historical and cosmopolitan context with a look at the cultural links between Shanghai and Hong Kong, a virtual genealogy of Chinese modernity from the 1930s to the present day.

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Price: $27.90 [Notify me when price goes down.]

From his perspective as a journalist and a true fan, Bob Costas, NBC's award-winning broadcaster, shares his unflinching views on the forces that are diminishing the appeal of major league baseball and proposes realistic changes that can be made to protect and promote the game's best interests.

In this cogent--and provocative--book, Costas examines the growing financial disparities that have resulted in nearly two-thirds of the teams in major league baseball having virtually no chance of contending for the World Series. He argues that those who run baseball have missed the crucial difference between mere change and real progress. And he presents a withering critique of the positions of both the owners and players while providing insights on the wild-card system, the designated-hitter rule, and interleague play. Costas answers each problem he cites with an often innovative, always achievable strategy for restoring genuine competition and rescuing fans from the forces that have diluted the sheer joy of the game.

Balanced by Costas's unbridled appreciation for what he calls the "moments of authenticity" that can still make baseball inspiring, Fair Ball offers a vision of our national pastime as it can be, a game that retains its traditional appeal while initiating thoughtful changes that will allow it to thrive into the next century..
Price: $3.98 [Notify me when price goes down.]

"There's a long drive.
It's gonna be.
I believe.
The Giants win the pennant.
The Giants win the pennant.
The Giants win the pennant.
The Giants win the pennant."

-- Russ Hodges, October 3, 1951

On the fiftieth anniversary of "The Shot Heard Round the World," Don DeLillo reassembles in fiction the larger-than-life characters who on October 3, 1951, witnessed Bobby Thomson's pennant-winning home run in the bottom of the ninth inning. Jackie Gleason is razzing Toots Shor in Leo Durocher's box seats; J. Edgar Hoover, basking in Sinatra's celebrity, is about to be told that the Russians have tested an atomic bomb; and Russ Hodges, raw-throated and excitable, announces the game -- the Giants and the Dodgers at the Polo Grounds in New York. DeLillo's transcendent account of one of the iconic events of the twentieth century is a masterpiece of American sportswriting..
Price: $5.79 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Fans have been responding to literary works since the days of Homer?s Odyssey and Euripedes? Medea. More recently, a number of science fiction and fantasy works have found devoted fan followings. The advent of the internet has brought these groups from relatively limited, face-to-face enterprises to easily accessible global communities, within which fan fiction proliferates and is widely read and even more widely commented upon. New interactions between readers and writers of fan fiction are possible in these new virtual communities. From Star Trek to Harry Potter, the essays in this volume explore the world of fan fiction?its purposes, how it is created, how the fan experiences it. Grouped by subject matter, twelve essays cover topics such as genre intersection, sexual relationships between characters, character construction through narrative and the role of the beta reader in online communities. The work also discusses the terminology employed by fan fiction writers and comments on the effects of technological advancements on fan communities..
Price: $28.99 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Here's everything you need to know about going to a game at Fenway Park: how to get tickets, where to sit (and where not to), and the best places to eat, drink, and stay overnight.

Beloved by millions for its charm, uniqueness, and 95-year history, Fenway Park is a must-see for any baseball fan. This book can help make your trip to this hardball mecca even more memorable. It explains the dramatic improvements made to the park in the past 5 years, and shows how the new owners have made these changes without altering the essential character of Fenway. In addition, it is the only place you will find detailed diagrams showing exactly which seats have views blocked by the park's infamous poles.

From the author of Fenway Pole Finder and Boston Baseball Fan Guide, this book is essential for anyone who loves Fenway Park or plans on going there..
Price: $7.75 [Notify me when price goes down.]