Neal Bascomb is the critically acclaimed author of The Perfect Mile, a New York Times bestseller that tops today’s Buffet. A former editor and journalist, Neal has appeared in documentaries on A&E and the History Channel.

nealThe Perfect Mile tells the story of Roger Bannister, Wes Santee, and John Landy battling to be the first runner to break the four-minute mile.

Neal graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Miami University with a B.A. in Economics and English Literature . After graduation, he worked as a journalist in London, Paris, and Dublin. He was an editor for St. Martin’s Press, and in 2000, he began writing books full-time. His books have ranked on a number of bestseller lists, been optioned for film, and been published in over 15 countries.

Among Neal’s other books are Higher: A Historic Race to the Sky, and Red Mutiny: Eleven Fateful Days on the Battleship Potemkin, which won the U.S. Maritime Literature Award in 2007.

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The Perfect Mile: Three Athletes, One Goal, and Less Than Four Minutes to Achieve It

Sports & Outdoors > History of Sports
Author: Neal Bascomb
The Perfect Mile: Three Athletes, One Goal, and Less Than Four Minutes to Achieve It

There was a time when running the mile in four minutes was believed to be beyond the limits of human foot speed, and in all of sport it was the elusive holy grail. In 1952, after suffering defeat at the Helsinki Olympics, three world-class runners each set out to break this barrier. Roger Bannister was a young English medical student who epitomized the ideal of the amateur — still driven not just by winning but by the nobility of the pursuit. John Landy was the privileged son of a genteel Australian family, who as a boy preferred butterfly collecting to running but who trained relentlessly in an almost spiritual attempt to shape his body to this singular task. Then there was Wes Santee, the swaggering American, a Kansas farm boy and natural athlete who believed he was just plain better than everybody else.

Spanning three continents and defying the odds, their collective quest captivated the world and stole headlines from the Korean War, the atomic race, and such legendary figures as Edmund Hillary, Willie Mays, Native Dancer, and Ben Hogan. In the tradition of Seabiscuit and Chariots of Fire, Neal Bascomb delivers a breathtaking story of unlikely heroes and leaves us with a lasting portrait of the twilight years of the golden age of sport.


Oath of Swords (War God)

Science Fiction & Fantasy
Author: David Weber
Oath of Swords (War God)

Whom the gods would recruit, they first tick off . . .

Our Hero: The unlikely Paladin, Bahzell Bahnakson of the Horse Stealer Hradani. He’s no knight in shining armor. He’s a hradani, a race known for their uncontrollable rages, bloodthirsty tendencies, and inability to maintain civilized conduct. None of the other Five Races of man like the hradani. Besides his ethnic burden, Bahzell has problems of his own to deal with: a violated hostage bond, a vengeful prince, a price on his head. He doesn’t want to mess with anybody else’s problems, let alone a god’s. Let alone the War God’s! So how does he end up a thousand leagues from home, neck-deep in political intrigue, assassins, demons, psionicists, evil sorcery, white sorcery, dark gods, good gods, bad poets, greedy landlords, and most of Bortalik Bay Well, it’s all the War God’s fault. . . .

Happily Ever After : Six Secrets to a Successful Marriage

Self-Help > Relationships > Marriage
Author: Gary Chapman
Happily Ever After : Six Secrets to a Successful Marriage (Chapman Guides)

“My husband and I can’t seem to agree on anything!”
“You spent how much!?!”
“My wife’s parents are driving me crazy!”
”You never listen to me!”

Let’s face it—even the best of marriages hit an occasional bump in the road now and then. The secret to marital bliss lies in how you and your spouse handle those bumps. In Happily Ever After, Gary Chapman shows couples how to successfully navigate the six most common problems that couples face: fighting fair, negotiating change, managing money, getting along with your in-laws, raising kids, and maintaining a healthy sex life.

Friends With Partial Benefits

Literature & Fiction > Humor > Love, Sex & Marriage
Author: Luke Young
Friends With Partial Benefits (Friends With... Benefits Series (Book 1))

Jillian Grayson is a disillusioned divorcée and best-selling romance novelist who suddenly can’t write a chapter without her hunky male heartthrob suffering ED, an STD, or even worse.

Brian Nash is a tennis-obsessed college senior who’s unlucky in love and the roommate and best friend of Jillian’s son, Rob. When Rob brings Brian home for Spring Break, and Brian meets the surprisingly young and tennis passionate Jillian, their shared interest quickly develops into an intense mutual attraction.

The Captain: The Journey of Derek Jeter

Sports & Outdoors > Baseball > History
Author: Ian O’Connor
The Captain: The Journey of Derek Jeter

Every spring, Little Leaguers across the country mimic his stance and squabble over the right to wear his number, 2, the next number to be retired by the world’s most famous ball team. Derek Jeter is their hero. He walks in the footsteps of Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, and Mantle, and someday his shadow will loom just as large. Yet he has never been the best player in baseball. In fact, he hasn’t always been the best player on his team. But his intangible grace and Jordanesque ability to play big in the biggest of postseason moments make him the face of the modern Yankee dynasty, and of America’s game.

In The Captain, best-selling author Ian O’Connor draws on extensive reporting and unique access to Jeter that has spanned some fifteen years to reveal how a biracial kid from Michigan became New York’s most beloved sports figure and the enduring symbol of the steroid-free athlete.

Awaken

Children’s Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy
Author: Rachel D’Aigle
Awaken (Book One) (Fated Saga, Contemporary Fantasy Series)

While summering in a New England campground, mind reading thirteen-year-old twins, Meghan and Colin Jacoby, discover they have until the rising of the Blue Moon to help save the life of a young man, whose caravan is forced to flee through a magical portal to another world, without him.

In the process, they have a dark awakening when their own simple, normal world, begins to collide with the complexities of the magical world. The twins face unimaginable dangers, which thrust them into an unexpected choice: to live as they always have or to learn the truth about their past and enter a world that is equally thrilling and terrifying.

Bound by Guilt

Christian Fiction > Suspense
Author: C. J. Darlington
Bound by Guilt

Roxi Gold has been shuttled from one foster home to another for most her life. She longs for a family and will do anything to fit in even if it’s against the law. Soon she’s traveling the country in an RV, stealing rare books from unsuspecting bookstores. She knows it’s wrong, but if she refuses, she’ll be put out on the streets.

Police officer Abby Dawson has seen the worst of society, and not just at work. Her ex-husband wrested her daughter away from her in a bitter custody battle. The job she once loved has become a chore, the world isn’t any safer, and there’s no joy in her life.

One fateful night a man’s innocent blood changes both Roxi’s and Abby’s lives forever. One searches for justice; the other finds herself on the run until a first edition of The Great Gatsby catches up with her. Will the power of forgiveness set them free, or will they both remain bound by guilt?

Startup From The Ground Up

Small Business & Entrepreneurship
Author: Cynthia Kocialski
Startup From The Ground Up

Practical insights for entrepreneurs on how to go from an idea to starting a new business. Commonsense and actionable advice to entrepreneurs for building a thriving business from nothing but an idea. In this invaluable guide, you’ll discover:

• Why it’s not enough just to have a great product
• How to build a team and keep them, and why a team is more than founders and employees
• How to take a product concept and turn it into a full-fledged successful business
• Why it is so important to start marketing your product as early as possible

Dunkin, the Vampire Slayer, Something Porcine This Way Comes

Genre Fiction > Horror > Humor
Author: Greg Crites
DUNKIN, THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, Something Porcine This Way Comes (DUNKIN, THE VAMPIRE SLAYER Trilogy)

Dunkin, a 450 lb vampire slayer, has been around a long time. He has plenty of secrets behind his body’s girth or ‘Vein Armor’ as he calls it. An accident brings Dunkin together with several slightly dysfunctional characters. Together they go on an undead hunting expedition that starts in Florida and works its way up the Amazon in South America.

Dusty Britches

Historical Romance
Author: Marcia Lynn McClure
Dusty Britches

Angelina Hunter was seriously minded, and it was a good thing. Her father’s ranch needed a woman who could endure the strenuous work of ranch life. Since her mother’s death, Angelina had been that woman. She had no time for frivolity; no time for a less severe side of life. Not when there was so much to be done—hired hands to feed, a widower father to care for and an often ridiculously lighted-hearted younger sister to worry about. No. Angelina Hunter had no time for the things most young women her age enjoyed.

Yesterday’s Warrior

Memoirs > Mental Health > Sexual Abuse
Author: Heather Harrison
Yesterday's Warrior

In a memoir both heartbreaking and disturbing, Heather Harrison gives us the account of her teenage years with grit and unflinching honesty. A gifted girl expelled from school at fourteen, Harrison is alienated from her family and friends, struggling with addiction, street living, the dispassionate reality of government institutions, and puzzling psychological events. On her own, the world becomes her battlefield and this memoir is her brutally candid account of how she came to survive.


… See the rest of today’s Editor’s Picks and the Kindle Daily Deal here on page 2

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