Athlete Biography

From the New York Times best-selling author of Return of the King comes the story of LeBron James' incredible transformation from basketball star to sports and business mogul.

Different sports. Different backgrounds. Different barriers to break. One thing in common: they got there first … fearlessly. Hear about more than 50 athletes who took risks, overcame the odds, and changed the rules. From historical figures to modern trailblazers, these athletes never gave up, wouldn’t take no for an answer, and transformed the world of sports forever.

Two-time All-Star and 13-year NBA veteran Caron Butler has an impressive basketball record. He was Big East Co-Player of the Year at UConn, the 10th overall pick of the 2002 NBA Draft and a key player for the Dallas Mavericks in their championship-winning season in 2011. But before Butler had a chance to prove himself on the court, he spent his time trying to prove himself on the streets, as a gang member and drug dealer in his hometown of Racine, Wisconsin. He saw friends gunned down in the bloody street wars near his home....

When Chloe Dalton was eight years old, she would practise her goal kicks in the half-time break of her brothers' rugby matches, all the while telling impressed onlookers: 'Girls don't play rugby.' Sixteen years later, Chloe Dalton won Olympic gold playing rugby sevens for Australia and is now a fixture in the AFLW. In 2020, she started her own news platform, The [Female] Athlete Project, because while she was surrounded by women achieving incredible things in sport, nobody was hearing about them.

In Brave Enough, Jessie Diggins reveals the true story of her journey from the American Midwest into sports history. With candid charm and characteristic grit, she connects the dots from her free-spirited upbringing in the woods of Minnesota to racing in the bright spotlights of the Olympics. Going far beyond stories of races and ribbons, she describes the challenges and frustrations of becoming a serious athlete.

The Super Bowl champion wide receiver for the New England Patriots shares his inspiring story of an underdog kid who was always doubted to becoming one of the most reliable and inspiring players in the NFL. Relentless is the story of Julian Edelman's rise, and the continuing dominance of the Patriot dynasty, filled with memories of growing up with a father who was as demanding as any NFL coach, his near-constant fight to keep his intensity and competitiveness in check in high school and college, and his celebrated nine seasons with the Patriots.

Russell Wilson is a standout NFL quarterback. Learn about his childhood and his rise to becoming a football superstar.

Aaron Rodgers is a standout NFL quarterback. Learn about his childhood and his rise to becoming a football superstar.

LeBron James is a standout forward in the NBA. Learn about his childhood and his rise to becoming a basketball superstar.

Stephen Curry is a standout NBA point guard. Learn about his childhood and his rise to becoming a basketball superstar.

Roderick Sewell was an active kid. Born without tibias in both of his legs Roderick wrestled with his cousins and climbed every surface of his grandmother’s home. When he was two years old his mother, Marian, made the incredibly tough choice to have his legs amputated to save his life. That didn’t stop Roderick, a rambunctious toddler who could hardly sit still while his body healed. But when his mother's modest income couldn’t cover Roderick’s prosthetics, she made another impossible decision: to leave her demanding job working for the US Navy and go on unemployment.

Young minds are constantly seeking direction and inspiration. But in today’s environment full of distractions, it’s not easy to find the right resource for what kids really need. That’s why this book is so timely. This book understands the hurdles kids face – the need for role models, the struggle with challenges, and the desire for meaningful connections. It’s the solution you’ve been looking for: a collection of 15 awe-inspiring stories from basketball legends, each a testament to overcoming adversity and achieving greatness.

Team USA goalkeeper Tim Howard was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome in sixth grade. He went on to become a national treasure after single-handedly keeping America competitive in the 2014 World Cup. Stephen Curry was told he was too small, too weak, and too slow to even receive a scholarship to play college basketball. He outworked everyone and went on to become MVP of the National Basketball Association. Jim Abbott was born without his right hand, yet he refused to be defined by what he lacked. He went on to pitch a no-hitter in the Major Leagues.

Canada's first Olympic gold medallist couldn't walk until he was ten, and became the greatest runner of his generation. Who was the first Canadian to Win an Olympic Gold Medal? When Mark Hebscher was asked this simple trivia question, he had no idea that it would lead him on a two year odyssey, researching a man he had never heard of. Paralyzed as a child and told he would never walk again, George Washington Orton persevered, eventually becoming the greatest distance runner of his generation, a world-class hockey player, and a brilliant scholar.

In Playing Through the Pain, writer Dan Good seeks to make sense of MLB MVP Ken Caminiti's fascinating, troubled life. The story of Caminiti, the player who opened the lid on performance-enhancing drugs in baseball, has never been properly told. Caminiti voluntarily admitted in a 2002 Sports Illustrated cover story that he used steroids during his career, including his 1996 season, and guessed that half of the players were using performance-enhancing drugs. Good's on-the-record sources include Caminiti's steroids supplier, people who attended rehab with him, and more.

An inspirational, motivational book that chronicles Michael MacDonald's transformation from a scholarship player at Rutgers' high-level Division I basketball program to a highly successful executive at Xerox and then chairman and CEO of Medifast.

Ron Fawcett is a natural-born climber. In 1969, while still at school in his native Yorkshire, he tied into a climbing rope for the first time and was instantly hooked. From that moment on, it seemed nothing else in his life mattered nearly as much as his next vertical fix... Fawcett found the pressures of the limelight too much to bear, and at the end of the 1980s he faded from view. Now, for the first time, he tells his extraordinary story, of how his love of nature and the outdoors developed into a passion for climbing that took him to the top - and almost consumed him.

The number one sports series for kids takes listeners on the court and behind the scenes with beloved NBA icon Kobe Bryant in this inspiring biography.

From the tennis court to the boxing ring, the athletics track to the football pitch, the visibility of women in sport has been gathering pace. Women's competitions are increasingly popular. In Roar Sam takes a deep dive into the experiences of some of sport's most high-profile female athletes—some have overcome heartbreaking adversity to reach the top of their game; others have succeeded in the face of prejudice. Featuring a series of candid interviews from some of sport's most successful women, Sam lifts the lid on what it takes to reach those heights

Forget the gold medals, the championships, and the undefeated seasons. When all-star athletes were growing up, they had regular-kid problems just like you. Baseball legend Babe Ruth was such a troublemaker that his family sent him to reform school. Race-car champion Danica Patrick fended off bullies who told her “girls can’t drive”. And football superstar Peyton Manning was forced to dance the tango in his school play.