Central Kansas Library System

From the best-selling author of The Painted House, Skipping Christmas, and The Firm comes a nostalgic novel about high school football in a small Texas town, a place in which football has become a religion. High school all-American Neely Crenshaw was probably the best quarterback ever to play for the legendary Messina Spartans. Fifteen years have gone by since those glory days, and Neely has come home to Messina to bury Coach Eddie Rake, the man who...

Offers an inspiring portrait of the extraordinary high school football team whose quest for perfection sustains Smith Center, Kansas, its hometown in the heartland.

After he is cut from the Cleveland Browns, Rick Dockery is hired by the Panthers of Parma, Italy, and finds himself confronted by the confusing diversity of Italian culture, language, and romance.

"Former Super Bowl MVP quarterback Zach Bridger hasn't seen his ex-wife, Rebecca Pratt, for years--not since their volatile marriage imploded--so he's shocked to receive a life-altering call about her. Rebecca has been placed on life support after a violent assault, and he--despite their divorce--has medical power-of-attorney. Zach is asked to make an impossible choice: keep her on life support or take her off of it. Buckling under the weight of the...

The Wolfs, the most powerful family in California, have a new head--thirty-six-year-old former high school teacher Jenny Wolf. That means Jenny now runs the prestigious San Francisco Tribune. She also controls the legendary pro football team, the Wolves. And she hopes to solve her father's murder.--Dust jacket.

Michael Oher is a homeless African-American teenager who is from a broken home. Mike is taken in by the Touhys, a well-to-do white family who help him fulfill his potential. At the same time, Oher's presence in the Touhys' lives leads them to some insightful self-discoveries of their own. Living in his new environment, Mike faces a completely different set of challenges to overcome-- as both a football player and student. Mike works hard and, with...

A dramatic thriller based on the incredible true David vs. Goliath story of American immigrant Dr. Bennet Omalu, the brilliant forensic neuropathologist who made the first discovery of CTE, a football-related brain trauma, in a pro player and fought for the truth to be known. Omalu's emotional quest puts him at dangerous odds with one of the most powerful -- and beloved -- institutions in the world.

A drama of forced high school integration in Alexandria, Virginia in 1971. After leading his team to fifteen winning seasons, white football coach Bill Yoast is demoted and replaced by African-American Herman Boone, tough, opinionated and as different from Yoast as could be. The two men overcome their differences and turn a group of hostile young men into champions. A rousing celebration of how a town torn apart by resentment, friction and mistrust...

The author describes some childhood memories: Valentine's Day at school, fishing with his father, building a fort, letting frogs loose in his class, and Thanksgiving with his grandmother.

A high school football coach with a history of losing games faces not only the pressures from a group of fathers wanting him fired, but also the possibility that his wife can never have children. When he turns to God, will his prayers be answered?