Audiobooks by George Plimpton

Open Net: A Professional Amateur in the World of Big-Time Hockey

George Plimpton takes to the ice with the Boston Bruins in this memorable portrait of the rough-and-tumble world of professional hockey, recorded and now featuring a foreword from Denis Leary. In OPEN NET, George Plimpton takes to the ice as goalie for his beloved Boston Bruins. After signing a release holding the Bruins blameless if he should meet with injury or death, he survives a harrowing, seemingly eternal five minutes in an exhibition game against the always-tough Philadelphia Flyers. With reflections on such hockey greats as Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr, and Eddie Shore, OPEN NET is at once a celebration of the thrills and grace of the greatest sport on ice and a probing meditation into the hopes and fears of every man. ***Please contact member services for additional documents***

George Plimpton (Author), Marc Vietor (Narrator)

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One for the Record: The Inside Story of Hank Aaron's Chase for the Home Run Record

The inside story of Hank Aaron's chase for the home run record, with an introduction by Tom Wolfe. In ONE FOR THE RECORD, George Plimpton recounts Hank Aaron's thrilling race to become the new home run champion. Amidst media frenzy and death threats, Aaron sought to beat Babe Ruth's record. In 1974, he finally succeeded. A fascinating examination of the psychology of baseball players, ONE FOR THE RECORD gives an absorbing account of the men on the mound who had to face Aaron. But the audiobook's true genius lies in the portrait of Aaron himself, and his discussions on his philosophy on hitting and the game of baseball. Foreward by Bob Costas. ***Please contact member services for additional documents***

George Plimpton (Author), Rick Adamson (Narrator)

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Paper Lion: Confessions of a Last-String Quarterback

Based off the book that made a legend--PAPER LION capture's America's sport in detail that's never been matched, and now features an introduction by Tom Wolfe. George Plimpton was perhaps best known for PAPER LION, the book that set the bar for participatory sports journalism. With his characteristic wit, Plimpton recounts his experiences in talking his way into training camp with the Detroit Lions, practicing with the team, and taking snaps behind center. His breezy style captures the pressures and tensions rookies confront, the hijinks that pervade when sixty high-strung guys live together in close quarters, and a host of football rites and rituals. One of the funniest and most insightful audiobooks ever written on football, PAPER LION is a classic look at the gridiron game. ***Please contact member services for additional documents***

George Plimpton (Author), Dan Woren (Narrator)

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Mad Ducks and Bears: Football Revisited

George Plimpton's follow-up to Paper Lion, one of his personal favorites among his classic books--now repackaged and including a foreword from Steve Almond and photographs from the Plimpton archives. In MAD DUCKS AND BEARS, George Plimpton's engaging companion to Paper Lion, Plimpton focuses on two of the most entertaining and roguish linemen and former teammates--Alex Karras ("Mad Ducks") and John Gordy ("Bears"), both of whom went on to achieve brilliant post-football success. A more reflective, less madcap book than Plimpton's other work, MAD DUCKS AND BEARS is no less truthful and searching. In this fond exploration of football's values and follies, Plimpton rejoins his two teammates to discuss their careers in this brutal but captivating game. The result is an astute exploration into the fascinating lives and motivations of the players at home, in the locker room, and on the field. ** Please contact Customer Service for extra documents.

George Plimpton (Author), L. J. Ganser (Narrator)

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The Bogey Man

George Plimpton chronicles his month spent on the PGA tour in THE BOGEY MAN, now recorded and including an introduction by Tom Wolfe. What happens when a weekend athlete--of average skill at best--joins the professional golf circuit? George Plimpton, one of the finest participatory sports journalists, spent a month of self-imposed torture on the tour to find out. Along the way, he meets amateurs, pros, caddies, officials, fans, and hangers-on. In THE BOGEY MAN, we find golf legends, adventurers, stroke-saving theories, superstitions, and other golfing lore, and best of all, Plimpton's thoughts and experiences--frustrating, humbling and, sometimes, thrilling--from the first tee to the last green. This intriguing classic, which remains one of the wittiest audiobooks ever written on golf, features Arnold Palmer, Dow Finsterwald, Walter Hagan, and many other golf greats and eccentrics, all doing what they do best. ** Please contact Customer Service for additional document

George Plimpton (Author), Jeff Bottoms (Narrator)

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Shadow Box

George Plimpton makes his riskiest foray into participatory journalism--stepping into the ring against a champion boxer--in SHADOW BOX, now repackaged and including never-before-seen content from the Plimpton archives. Stepping into the ring against light-heavyweight champion Archie Moore, George Plimpton pauses to wonder what ever induced him to become a participatory journalist. Bloodied but unbowed, he holds his own in the bout--and lives to tell, in this timeless book on boxing and its devotees, among them Ali, Joe Frazier, Ernest Hemingway, and Norman Mailer. SHADOW BOX is one of Plimpton's most engaging studies of professional sport, told through the eyes of an inquisitive and astute amateur. From the gym, the locker room, ringside, and even in the harsh glare of the ring itself, Plimpton documents what it is like to be a boxer, an artist of mayhem. ** Please contact Customer Service for additional document

George Plimpton (Author), Jeff Bottoms (Narrator)

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Out of My League: The Classic Hilarious Account of an Amateur's Ordeal in Professional Baseball

The baseball classic that Ernest Hemingway called "beautifully observed and incredibly conceived," now recorded and including a foreword from Jane Leavy. The first of Plimpton's remarkable forays into participatory journalism, OUT OF MY LEAGUE chronicles with wit, charm, and grace what happens when a self-professed amateur has the chance to answer every fan's question: could he strike out a major league star? Plimpton's inspired idea--to get on the mound and pitch a few innings to the All-Stars of the American and National Leagues--begins as a fun-filled stunt and comes to a deeply hellish, nearly humiliating end. This honest and hilarious tale features Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Whitey Ford, Ralph Houk, and other baseball greats and is "a baseball book such as no one else ever wrote, and one of the best ever." --New York Herald Tribune ***Please contact member services for additional documents***

George Plimpton (Author), Robert Fass (Narrator)

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