Best Selling Books by Robert Lipsyte

Tough and witty, SportsWorld is a well-known commentator’s overview of the most significant form of mass culture in America—sports. It’s a sweaty Oz that has grown in a century from a crucible for character to a complex of capitalism, a place where young people can find both self-fulfillment and cruel exploitation, where families can huddle in a sanctuary of entertainment and be force fed values and where cities and countries can be pillaged by greedy team owners and their paid-for politicians. But this book is not just a screed, it’s a guided visit with such heroes of sports as Muhammad Ali, Billie Jean King, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Joe Namath, who the author knew well, and with some he met in passing, like Richard Nixon, who seemed never to have gotten over missing the cut in college varsity football, a major mark of manhood. We see how SportsWorld sensibilities help elect our politicians, judge our children, fight our wars, and oppress our minorities. And now featuring a new introduction by the author,SportsWorld is a book that will provide the foundation for understanding today’s world of sports and the time of Trump. In the America of 2017—where the SuperBowl is worth billions, athletes are penalized or forced out of sports for political and anti-racist activism, and Title IX is constantly questioned and undermined—Robert Lipsyte’s 1975 critique remains startlingly and intensely relevant.

The breakthrough modern sports novel The Contender shows readers the true meaning of being a hero. This acclaimed novel by celebrated sportswriter Robert Lipsyte, the recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in YA fiction, is the story of a young boxer in Harlem who overcomes hardships and finds hope in the ring on his path to becoming a contender. Alfred Brooks is scared. He’s a high-school dropout, and his grocery store job is leading nowhere. His best friend is sinking further and further into drug addiction. Some street kids are after him for something he didn’t even do. So Alfred begins going to Donatelli’s Gym, a boxing club in Harlem that has trained champions. There he learns it’s the effort, not the win, that makes the boxer—that before you can be a champion, you have to be a contender. ALA Best of the Best Books for Young Adults * ALA Notable Children’s Book * New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age

A fight for his people. Sonny Bear, the Tomahawk Kid, has a championship left hook. But his boxing career''s going nowhere, and he''s ready to hang it up. Then his manager, tough ex-cop Alfred Brooks, and his "writer," college boy Martin Malcolm Witherspoon, scheme Sonny into a glitzy Las Vegas match. Suddenly he''s everybody''s darling and headed for Hollywood stardom. But fame isn''t all it''s cracked up to be, and Sonny needs to make the fight of his life to decide where he really belongs.

The acclaimed book behind the new major motion picture Measure of a Man, starring Donald Sutherland, Judy Greer, Luke Wilson, and Blake Cooper. A New York Times Outstanding Book and ALA Best of the Best Books for Young Adults For Bobby Marks, summer does not equal fun. While most people are happy to take off their heavy jackets and long pants, Bobby can''t even button his jeans or reach over his belly to touch his toes. Spending the summer at Rumson Lake is sheer torture. This particular summer promises to be worse than usual. His parents can''t stop fighting. His best friend, Joanie, goes home to New York City and won''t tell him why. Dr. Kahn, a rich, stingy estate owner who hires him to manage an enormous lawn, is working him to death. And to top it off, a local bully won''t stop torturing him. Bobby is about to find out just how terrifying and exhilarating one fat summer can be.

Sonny''s been an outsider all his life. He has never fit into either world: the Moscondagas on the Reservation see him as white; whites see him as Indian. So far, Sonny''s managed to harness his anger -- what he calls "the monster" -- in the boxing ring. But Sonny wants out of the Res. He''s headed for New York City, where nobody can tell him what to do. Sonny doesn''t count on stepping into the middle of a drug war when he gets there -- or on tangling with a tough Harlem boxer-turned-cop named Alfred Brooks. Brooks seems to think that Sonny''s got the talent to make it to the top -- to be a contender. But first Sonny''s got to learn to be smart, take control of his life, and beat the monster. Only it isn''t as easy as it sounds....

Celebrated sports journalist Robert Lipsyte—the New York Times’ longtime lead sports columnist—mines pure gold from his long and very eventful career to bring readers a memoir like no other. An enthralling book, as much about personal relationships and the culture of sports as the athletes and teams themselves, An Accidental Sportswriter interweaves stories from Lipsyte’s life and the events he covered to explore the connections between the games we play and the lives we lead. Robert Lipsyte has been there—from the Mets’ first Spring Training to the fight that made Muhammad Ali an international icon to the current steroids scandals that rewired our view of sports—and in An Accidental Sportswriter he offers a fresh and refreshing view of the world of professional athletes as seen through the eyes of a journalist who always managed to remain independent of our jock-obsessed culture.

Sonny Bear is a champion. . .but he needs the help of an angel. Sonny Bear, the Tomahawk Kid, is on a fast downhill slide with the heavyweight championship at stake. He hardly knows who he is anymore, or why he should keep on fighting. Then the first e-mail arrives. Do not lose heart. I come on a Mission from the Creator to save you. -- Warrior Angel The Warrior Angel might be just what Sonny Bear needs -- but will Sonny be prepared to save him, too?

A teen-age boy has to deal with an unwanted summer camp job, his first love, and some crucial decisions.

Identical twins and mirror opposites Tom and Eddie share a "road trip" between planets and risk everything to save their father from the alien scientists.

When the drugs that he takes as part of his chemotherapy suddenly transform him from wimp into superhero, sixteen-year-old Fred and his friends plot to rid the town of its most lethal environmental hazard, toxic waste in the water supply.

In any race, there are drivers and, at the front of the pack, there are racers. In the final laps, it''s the racer who moves his car through the sweet spot, picks off the competition, and drives through a hole to win. In Kyle''s family, his older brother, Kris, has always been the racer, born and bred to it, like his father and grandfather and great-grandfather before him. And that''s just fine with Kyle; he''s got other things to do. Now Kris is out of commission, injured, and Kyle has no choice but to drive. Does he want to drive just long enough to keep Kris''s seat warm, or does he want to race—and win? On the heels of Raiders Night, Yellow Flag is a pulse-pounding look inside the elite world of NASCAR racing, from award-winning novelist and sportswriter Robert Lipsyte.

Mike has his junior year well under control. He''s got a solid group of friends. He''s dating Lori, one of the hottest girls in school. And Coach Cody has all but given him the starting spot as the Ridgedale Rangers'' varsity center fielder. And then Oscar Ramirez shows up. Oscar is an amazing ballplayer, as talented at the plate as he is in center field, and it''s not long before Mike loses control. He''s on the bench, he''s getting into fights, and he finds himself in weekend detention with Katherine Herold, the most mysterious, abrasive, alluring girl in school. Mike is lost, confused, and looking to Coach Cody to help him get back on track. But the coach has his own set of rules for Mike to play by, and the decisions Mike makes are going to impact more than just the starting lineup. Robert Lipsyte, one of the most celebrated writers in young adult literature, has crafted a subtly intense tale of adolescent struggle, a sports story about much more than sports—one that shows us how the moves one makes off the field matter even more than the moves one has on it.

A charismatic astronaut issues a call to America to transform itself in a second American Revolution. Trying to stop him, Washington calls in the "plumbers" and plant a mole in his group. Can he sway enough of the people before it''s too late?

The author offers advice on coping with illness and with communicating and thriving in the hospital setting.

When Bobby Marks takes a summer job in a laundry, he gets more than he bargains for: prejudice, unrequited love, and other hazards.

What''s it mean to think team? It means you don''t talk team business with anybody who isn''t on the team. It means whatever happens inside the team stays inside. It means you can only trust a brother Raider. Any questions? At Nearmont High School, football stars are treated like royalty, and Matt Rydek has just ascended to the throne. He''s got it all: hot girls, chill friends, plenty of juice to make him strong, and a winning team poised to go all the way. If he can keep his eye on the ball now, his future will be set. But when the team turns on one of its own, should Matt play by Raiders rules, or should he go long alone?

Tom is a smart, talented loner with a chip on his shoulder and a big secret: an imaginary twin on another planet. Eddie is Tom''s opposite, a friendly, athletic kid who always looks on the good side. Tom worries sometimes: does confiding in Eddie mean he''s nuts? The truth is even crazier than that. Eddie and his planet are just as real as Tom and his Earth, but fifty-some years in the past. And the twins are caught up in an alien master plan that might just mean Earth—both Earths—will be destroyed. Switching places and identities, "slipping" between planets and across decades, a desperate escape, and the unraveling of deeper secrets leave Tom and Eddie aware of the danger they''re facing and the tools they can use to overcome it.

A biography of the American Indian known as one of the best all-round athletes in history for his accomplishments as an Olympic medal winner and as an outstanding professional football and baseball player.

“You can’t play it safe when you’re the captain.” From celebrated author Robert Lipsyte, this powerful coming-of-age follows high school football player Ronnie "Rhino" Rhinehart after a violent incident at school leaves him questioning everything he ever believed. Ronnie Rhinehart, better known as Rhino on the field, is the captain of his high school team in Woodhaven, a small town obsessed with football. His only goal is to earn a Division I football scholarship so he can escape this town forever. Until the day he punches Josh Kremens in the face. To avoid serious punishment and stay in school, Ronnie is forced to join Group, a cast of misfits who discuss their feelings with a counselor. At the same time, tensions are rising on the football team. Not everyone is happy that Ronnie, a junior, was named captain, especially Cogan and his friends the Berserkers. Other than his best friend, Andy, Ronnie struggles to find solace and support, even at home, where his dad puts pressure on him to maintain his role on the team. Reluctantly, Ronnie finds himself liking aspects of Group, even if he isn’t always a welcome presence to the other members. Then one fateful day, Keith, another Group member, comes to school with a gun . . . and everything changes.

Michael Jordan was a late bloomer.Cut from the Varsity basketball team in high school when he first tried out, Michael nonetheless became the best basketball player that ever lived—Rare Air Jordan.The true story of how Michael Jordan achieved this amazing level of success as a basketball player—and as the high king of commercial endorsements—underscores one of the new roles of athletes in our society today.Here''s a fascinating look at both the evolution of basketball and Michael Jordan''s stunning climb to the peak of his sport, and his season in minor league baseball.

Comedian and civil rights activist Dick Gregory’s million-copy-plus bestselling memoir—now in trade paperback for the first time. “Powerful and ugly and beautiful...a moving story of a man who deeply wants a world without malice and hate and is doing something about it.”—The New York Times Fifty-five years ago, in 1964, an incredibly honest and revealing memoir by one of the America''s best-loved comedians and activists, Dick Gregory, was published. With a shocking title and breathtaking writing, Dick Gregory defined a genre and changed the way race was discussed in America. Telling stories that range from his hardscrabble childhood in St. Louis to his pioneering early days as a comedian to his indefatigable activism alongside Medgar Evers and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Gregory''s memoir riveted readers in the sixties. In the years and decades to come, the stories and lessons became more relevant than ever, and the book attained the status of a classic. The book has sold over a million copies and become core text about race relations and civil rights, continuing to inspire readers everywhere with Dick Gregory''s incredible story about triumphing over racism and poverty to become an American legend.

A biography of the boxing champion who became a symbol of achievement, first for African Americans, and then for all Americans

TY COBB. CHRISTY MATHEWSON. SHOELESS JOE JACKSON. BABE RUTH. LOU GEHRIG. JACKIE ROBINSON. JOE DIMAGGIO. MICKEY MANTLE. WILLIE MAYS. DUKE SNIDER. TED WILLIAMS. CURT FLOOD. ROBERTO CLEMENTE. HANK AARON. Their names echo through the halls of time and the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Their feats are legendary. They never quit, and they never backed down. They inspired generations of Americans to push themselves to do their very best. They were, and remain, the heroes of baseball. Hitting monster home runs, pitching perfect games, making impossible catches, and stealing home during the World Series -- these are the kinds of feats that turn baseball players into baseball superstars. But it takes more than great feats to become a hero of the game. Every generation needs its own heroes, and in each generation that need is answered differently. Heroes reflect the times and societies in which they live and work. The impact made by baseball''s heroes affects the way our society perceives itself, as well as the goals we set for ourselves and for our nation. Award-winning sportswriter Robert Lipsyte presents his vision for who the heroes of the game are, and what they did to achieve their legendary status.

A biography of a boxer, twice holder of the title of world heavyweight champion, who has come to be known as "The Greatest".

A symbol of strength and a master of change, Schwarzenegger is one of the most fascinating and complex sports figures of our time.

An overweight fourteen-year-old boy experiences a turning point summer in which he learns to stand up for himself.

Jack Ryder, aspiring baseball star, meets Jillian, a girl who makes him reevaluate all his priorities.

A sportswriter discusses some of the various sports events he has covered and includes interviews with several athletes that attempt to reveal the private person behind the public image.