Stuart Shea - Böcker

In spring 1914, a new ballpark opened in Chicago. Hastily constructed after epic political maneuvering around Chicago's and organized baseball's hierarchies, the new Weeghman Field (named after its builder, fast-food magnate Charley Weeghman) was home to the Federal League's Chicago Whales. The park would soon be known as Wrigley Field, one of the most emblematic and controversial baseball stadiums in America. In Wrigley Field: The Long Life and Contentious Times of the Friendly Confines, Stuart Shea provides a detailed and fascinating chronicle of this living historic landmark. The colorful history revealed in Wrigley Field shows how the stadium has evolved through the years to meet the shifting priorities of its owners and changing demands of its fans. While Wrigley Field today seems irreplaceable, we learn that from game one it has been the subject of endless debates over its future, its design, and its place in the neighborhood it calls home. To some, it is a hallowed piece of baseball history; to others, an icon of mismanagement and ineptitude. Shea deftly navigates the highs and lows, breaking through myths and rumors.And with another transformation imminent, he brings readers up to date on negotiations, giving much-needed historical context to the maneuvering. Wrigley Field is packed with facts, stories, and surprises that will captivate even the most fair-weather fan. From dollar signs (the Ricketts family paid $900 million for the team and stadium in 2009), to exploding hot dog carts (the Cubs lost that game 6-5), to the name of Billy Sianis' curse-inducing goat (Sonovia), Shea uncovers the heart of the stadium's history. As the park celebrates its centennial, Wrigley Field continues to prove that its colorful and dramatic history is more interesting than any of its mythology.

More than four decades since their first album, and 35 years after the release of the iconic Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd continue to inspire and mystify rock fans around the world. Pink Floyd FAQ, by pop culture author Stuart Shea, lays out the band's strange, winding history through a new series of prisms. What were the band's most memorable gigs? What are their greatest moments on record, as a group and individually? What contemporary records influenced them, and which performers follow in their wake? What was it like to be at a Pink Floyd show in 1967, in 1973, in 1980?Pink Floyd FAQ tells the band's story, dissects their most popular work, and provides little-known facts, all adding up to a provocative must-read for fans. With 400 pages of stories, history, observation, opinion, photos, and reminiscences from those who were there, Pink Floyd FAQ will discuss frankly what made the band great – as well as note their not-so-great moments – and their place in modern pop culture, giving credit where credit is due – and maybe puncturing some inflatable pigs along the way.

40 years after the release of the iconic Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the Beatles continue to captivate music fans of all ages. There's something always more to discuss about the Fab Four. What were their greatest live performances? Their worst moments? Stories still unknown by most music fans, trends still unseen, history still uninterpreted are all revealed in Fab Four FAQ. Pop culture authors Stuart Shea and Rob Rodriguez provide must-know fan trivia and offer obscure Beatles facts and stories in an easy-to-read, provocative format that will start as many arguments as will end them. With more than sixty chapters of stories, history, observation, and opinion, Fab Four FAQ lays bare the whys and wherefores that made the Beatles so great, giving credit where credit is due and maybe bursting some bubbles along the way.

This is a book that no Cardinals fan should be without. Read about Ken Boyer’s grand slam in the 1964 World Series against the Yankees, Ozzie Smith game winning dinger in the 1985 NLCS, and David Eckstein and the 2006 World series. And more!Fans will be excited to find out what was going through the heads of their favorite players when it matter most to their teammates and fans: Adam Wainwright on striking out Carlos Beltran, Scott Rolen on beating Roger Clemons with the odds in the Rocket's favor; Jason Isringhausen on putting the team first.Dating back to the Gas House Gang of the 1930s and up to the club’s most recent World Championship in 2006, being a Cardinal has means a style of play, a level of dedication, and a pride in being a member of a special group.This updated edition of Game of My Life St. Louis Cardinals exhibits not always the best game of someone’s career, but rather, the moment that stands out the most.

With three World Series titles in five years, starting in 2010, the San Francisco Giants are one of the powerhouse major league teams of the 21st century. Led by pitcher Madison Bumgarner, the Giants have dominated baseball. But this is more than just the 21st Century.Fans continue to flock to AT&T Park to support their team, and will find just as much excitement within the pages of the newly updated Tales from the San Francisco Giants Dugout. The rich tradition of the San Francisco Giants has provided indelible memories for their fans ever since they moved from New York’s Polo Grounds to Seals Stadium in 1958. Here are stories of Willie May and Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal and Gaylor Perry, Orlando Cepeda and Will Clark, and more.Author Nick Peters captures the most exciting, humorous, and poignant moments of the team’s years on the West Coast. From the intense rivalry with the Dodgers and the age of Willie Mays to amazing World Series victories, this book has all that a Giants fan needs and will certainly want.Whether you are a New York Yankees fan or hail from Red Sox nation; whether you are a die-hard Green Bay Packers or Dallas Cowboys fan; whether you root for the Kentucky Wildcats, Louisville Cardinals, UCLA Bruins, or Kansas Jayhawks; whether you route for the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, or Los Angeles Kings; Sports Publishing will have a book for you. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

‘I have struck a city– a real city – and they call it Chicago ... I urgently desire never to see it again. It is inhabited by savages,’ so wrote Rudyard Kipling on his tour of America in 1899. From these inauspicious beginnings rose the ‘windy city’, home to the first skyscraper, gateway to the Great Lakes, birthplace of modern advertising and shorthand for stories about violent crime during America’s prohibition and Al Capone’s dominance of the ganglands. This book offers candid views of an extraordinary town, which has attracted citizens from all over Europe and the rest of the world. They have made the city what it is today – and written about it variously with affection, loyalty, disgust and amazement.