The Big Time
How the 1970s Transformed Sports in America
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $30.41
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Sean Runnette
About this listen
A captivating chronicle of the pivotal decade in American sports, when the games invaded prime time, and sports moved from the margins to the mainstream of American culture.
Every decade brings change, but as Michael MacCambridge chronicles in The Big Time, no decade in American sports history featured such convulsive cultural shifts as the 1970s. So many things happened during the decade—the move of sports into prime-time television, the beginning of athletes’ gaining a sense of autonomy for their own careers, integration becoming—at least within sports—more of the rule than the exception, and the social revolution that brought females more decisively into sports, as athletes, coaches, executives, and spectators. More than politicians, musicians or actors, the decade in America was defined by its most exemplary athletes. The sweeping changes in the decade could be seen in the collective experience of Billie Jean King and Muhammad Ali, Henry Aaron and Julius Erving, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Joe Greene, Jack Nicklaus and Chris Evert, among others, who redefined the role of athletes and athletics in American culture. The Seventies witnessed the emergence of spectator sports as an ever-expanding mainstream phenomenon, as well as dramatic changes in the way athletes were paid, portrayed, and packaged.
In tracing the epic narrative of how American sports was transformed in the Seventies, a larger story emerges: of how America itself changed, and how spectator sports moved decisively on a trajectory toward what it has become today, the last truly “big tent” in American culture.
©2023 Michael MacCambridge (P)2023 Grand Central PublishingListeners also enjoyed...
-
MCU
- The Reign of Marvel Studios
- By: Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales, Gavin Edwards
- Narrated by: Andrew Kishino, Joanna Robinson
- Length: 16 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Marvel Entertainment was a moribund toymaker not even twenty years ago. Today, Marvel Studios is the dominant player both in Hollywood and in global pop culture. How did an upstart studio conquer the world? In MCU, beloved culture writers Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales, and Gavin Edwards draw on more than a hundred interviews with actors, producers, directors, and writers to present the definitive chronicle of Marvel Studios and its sole ongoing production, the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
-
-
Puff piece.
- By Habu1271 on 10-26-23
By: Joanna Robinson, and others
-
Football Done Right
- Setting the Record Straight on the Coaches, Players, and History of the NFL
- By: Michael Lombardi
- Narrated by: Dan Woren, Michael Lombardi, Jim Nantz
- Length: 13 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From Monday Night Football to Super Bowl Sunday, the NFL is a dominating force in the lives of millions of fans who tune in and passionately cheer for their favorite teams. And when the games are over, the conversation is just getting started. Who's the greatest player of all time? Which coaches truly shaped the game we known and love today? Why is professional football such an undeniable part of our culture? Three-time Super Bowl winner Michael Lombardi has done it all—from scout to executive to coach—and now he sets the record straight on these questions and more.
-
-
Great overview on history. Not the best top 100 list.
- By Rajiv on 09-05-23
By: Michael Lombardi
-
Collision of Power
- Trump, Bezos, and the Washington Post
- By: Martin Baron
- Narrated by: Liev Schreiber
- Length: 16 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Marty Baron took charge of The Washington Post newsroom in 2013, after nearly a dozen years leading The Boston Globe. Just seven months into his new job, Baron received explosive news: Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, would buy the Post, marking a sudden end to control by the venerated family that had presided over the paper for 80 years. Just over two years later, Donald Trump won the presidency.
-
-
An Excellent Reminder Of Why We Need Journalists
- By C. Rosen on 12-12-23
By: Martin Baron
-
Surely You Can't Be Serious
- The True Story of Airplane!
- By: David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker
- Narrated by: "Weird Al" Yankovic, Arne Schmidt, Barry Diller, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Surely You Can’t Be Serious is the first-ever oral history of the making of Airplane! by the creators, and of the beginnings of the ZAZ trio (Zucker, Abrahams, Zucker) – charting the rise of their comedy troupe Kentucky Fried Theater in Madison, Wisconsin all the way to premiere night. The directors explain what drew them to filmmaking and in particular, comedy.
-
-
Absolutely fantastic
- By A. Soergel on 10-11-23
By: David Zucker, and others
-
When the Game Was War
- The NBA's Greatest Season
- By: Rich Cohen
- Narrated by: Cary Hite
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The 1980s were a transformative decade for the NBA. Since its founding in 1946, the league had evolved from a bruising, earthbound game of mostly nameless, underpaid players to one in which athletes became household names for their thrilling, physics-defying play. The 1987–88 season was the peak of that golden era, a year of incredible drama that featured a pantheon of superstars in their prime—the most future Hall of Famers competing at one time in any given season—battling for the title, and for their respective legacies.
-
-
Phil Jackson accuses Red Auerbach of cheap tactics
- By Sean on 01-03-24
By: Rich Cohen
-
America's Game
- The Epic Story of How Pro Football Captured a Nation
- By: Michael MacCambridge
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 22 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
America's Game traces pro football's grand transformation, from the World War II years, when the NFL was fighting for its very existence, to the turbulent 1980s and 1990s, when labor disputes and off-field scandals shook the game to its core, and up to the sport's present-day preeminence. A thoroughly entertaining account of the entire universe of professional football, from locker room to boardroom, from playing field to press box, this is an essential book for any fan of America's favorite sport.
-
-
I wished for chronology…
- By Jason Schmitt on 06-19-24
-
MCU
- The Reign of Marvel Studios
- By: Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales, Gavin Edwards
- Narrated by: Andrew Kishino, Joanna Robinson
- Length: 16 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Marvel Entertainment was a moribund toymaker not even twenty years ago. Today, Marvel Studios is the dominant player both in Hollywood and in global pop culture. How did an upstart studio conquer the world? In MCU, beloved culture writers Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales, and Gavin Edwards draw on more than a hundred interviews with actors, producers, directors, and writers to present the definitive chronicle of Marvel Studios and its sole ongoing production, the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
-
-
Puff piece.
- By Habu1271 on 10-26-23
By: Joanna Robinson, and others
-
Football Done Right
- Setting the Record Straight on the Coaches, Players, and History of the NFL
- By: Michael Lombardi
- Narrated by: Dan Woren, Michael Lombardi, Jim Nantz
- Length: 13 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From Monday Night Football to Super Bowl Sunday, the NFL is a dominating force in the lives of millions of fans who tune in and passionately cheer for their favorite teams. And when the games are over, the conversation is just getting started. Who's the greatest player of all time? Which coaches truly shaped the game we known and love today? Why is professional football such an undeniable part of our culture? Three-time Super Bowl winner Michael Lombardi has done it all—from scout to executive to coach—and now he sets the record straight on these questions and more.
-
-
Great overview on history. Not the best top 100 list.
- By Rajiv on 09-05-23
By: Michael Lombardi
-
Collision of Power
- Trump, Bezos, and the Washington Post
- By: Martin Baron
- Narrated by: Liev Schreiber
- Length: 16 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Marty Baron took charge of The Washington Post newsroom in 2013, after nearly a dozen years leading The Boston Globe. Just seven months into his new job, Baron received explosive news: Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, would buy the Post, marking a sudden end to control by the venerated family that had presided over the paper for 80 years. Just over two years later, Donald Trump won the presidency.
-
-
An Excellent Reminder Of Why We Need Journalists
- By C. Rosen on 12-12-23
By: Martin Baron
-
Surely You Can't Be Serious
- The True Story of Airplane!
- By: David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker
- Narrated by: "Weird Al" Yankovic, Arne Schmidt, Barry Diller, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Surely You Can’t Be Serious is the first-ever oral history of the making of Airplane! by the creators, and of the beginnings of the ZAZ trio (Zucker, Abrahams, Zucker) – charting the rise of their comedy troupe Kentucky Fried Theater in Madison, Wisconsin all the way to premiere night. The directors explain what drew them to filmmaking and in particular, comedy.
-
-
Absolutely fantastic
- By A. Soergel on 10-11-23
By: David Zucker, and others
-
When the Game Was War
- The NBA's Greatest Season
- By: Rich Cohen
- Narrated by: Cary Hite
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The 1980s were a transformative decade for the NBA. Since its founding in 1946, the league had evolved from a bruising, earthbound game of mostly nameless, underpaid players to one in which athletes became household names for their thrilling, physics-defying play. The 1987–88 season was the peak of that golden era, a year of incredible drama that featured a pantheon of superstars in their prime—the most future Hall of Famers competing at one time in any given season—battling for the title, and for their respective legacies.
-
-
Phil Jackson accuses Red Auerbach of cheap tactics
- By Sean on 01-03-24
By: Rich Cohen
-
America's Game
- The Epic Story of How Pro Football Captured a Nation
- By: Michael MacCambridge
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 22 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
America's Game traces pro football's grand transformation, from the World War II years, when the NFL was fighting for its very existence, to the turbulent 1980s and 1990s, when labor disputes and off-field scandals shook the game to its core, and up to the sport's present-day preeminence. A thoroughly entertaining account of the entire universe of professional football, from locker room to boardroom, from playing field to press box, this is an essential book for any fan of America's favorite sport.
-
-
I wished for chronology…
- By Jason Schmitt on 06-19-24
-
Why We Love Baseball
- A History in 50 Moments
- By: Joe Posnanski
- Narrated by: Joe Posnanski, Ellen Adair
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
New York Times bestselling author Joe Posnanski is back with a masterful ode to the game: a countdown of 50 of the most memorable moments in baseball’s history, to make you fall in love with the sport all over again. Posnanski writes of major moments that created legends, and of forgotten moments almost lost to time. It's Willie Mays’s catch, Babe Ruth’s called shot, and Kirk Gibson’s limping home run; the slickest steals; the biggest bombs; and the most triumphant no-hitters.
-
-
Narration
- By Peter on 01-10-24
By: Joe Posnanski
-
Judgment at Tokyo
- World War II on Trial and the Making of Modern Asia
- By: Gary J. Bass
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 31 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the weeks after Japan finally surrendered to the Allies to end World War II, the world turned to the question of how to move on from years of carnage and destruction. For Harry Truman, Douglas MacArthur, Chiang Kai-shek, and their fellow victors, the question of justice seemed clear: Japan’s militaristic leaders needed to be tried and punished for the surprise attack at Pearl Harbor.
-
-
Biased revisionist history
- By Amazon Customer on 12-31-23
By: Gary J. Bass
-
The Football 100
- Sports Series, Book 1
- By: The Athletic, Dan Kaufman
- Narrated by: Jamie Lincoln Smith
- Length: 18 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At The Athletic, home to the best newsroom in sports, this question would become a labor of love for dozens of the best football writers on the planet, including Mike Sando and Dan Pompei. Over the course of 100 riveting profiles—each drawing upon unparalleled access and superlative storytelling to offer intimate perspective on what made the greatest players tick—these writers reveal their findings. In the process, they also uncover the history of football.
-
-
Awesome 👏🏾
- By Eric on 05-24-24
By: The Athletic, and others
-
Conflict
- The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Ukraine
- By: David Petraeus, Andrew Roberts
- Narrated by: David Petraeus, Robert Fass
- Length: 18 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two leading authorities—an acclaimed historian and the outstanding battlefield commander and strategist of our time—collaborate on a landmark examination of war since 1945. Conflict is both a sweeping history of the evolution of warfare up to Putin’s invasion of the Ukraine, and a penetrating analysis of what we must learn from the past—and anticipate in the future—in order to navigate an increasingly perilous world.
-
-
The Story of My Life
- By Nice guy on 03-06-24
By: David Petraeus, and others
-
Once a Giant
- A Story of Victory, Tragedy, and Life After Football
- By: Gary Myers
- Narrated by: Charles Constant
- Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The 1986 New York Giants are legendary. A championship team coached by Bill Parcells and his wunderkind assistant Bill Belichick, featuring future Hall of Famers and All-Pros like Phil Simms, Lawrence Taylor, Mark Bavaro, and Harry Carson. They were dominant on the field and formed a unique and lasting bond off of it. More than thirty years later, it's the friendships that have proved more important—a matter of life and death. In Once a Giant, bestselling football writer Gary Myers tells the story of that team and what became of it.
-
-
Must Read for Big Blue Fan
- By Mark A. McCoy on 03-05-24
By: Gary Myers
-
Hollywood and the Movies of the Fifties
- The Collapse of the Studio System, the Thrill of Cinerama, and the Invasion of the Ultimate Body Snatcher—Television
- By: Foster Hirsch
- Narrated by: Foster Hirsch
- Length: 36 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hollywood in the 1950s was a period when the film industry both set conventions and broke norms and traditions—from Cinerama, Cinemascope and Vistavision to the epic film and lavish musical. It was a decade that saw the rise of the anti-hero; the smoldering, the hidden, and the unspoken; teenagers gone wild in the streets; the sacred and the profane; the revolution of the Method; the socially conscious; the implosion of the studios, the end of the production code; and the invasion of the ultimate body snatcher: the “small screen” television.
-
-
Great book full of fascinatinghistory
- By Judy Gunnery on 10-17-24
By: Foster Hirsch
-
But Will You Love Me Tomorrow?
- An Oral History of the '60s Girl Groups
- By: Laura Flam, Emily Sieu Liebowitz
- Narrated by: Laura Flam, Emily Sieu Liebowitz, Robin Eller, and others
- Length: 14 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The girl group sound, made famous and unforgettable by acts like The Ronettes, The Shirelles, The Supremes, and The Vandellas, took over the airwaves by capturing the mixture of innocence and rebellion emblematic of America in the 1960s. But while the songs are essential to the American canon, many of the artists remain all but anonymous to most listeners. But Will You Love Me Tomorrow?: An Oral History of 60s Girl Groups tells a national coming-of-age story that gives particular insight into the experiences of the female singers and songwriters who created the movement.
-
-
Now More Than Ever
- By priest on 09-15-23
By: Laura Flam, and others
-
Opposable Thumbs
- How Siskel & Ebert Changed Movies Forever
- By: Matt Singer
- Narrated by: Matt Singer
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On a cold Saturday afternoon in 1975, two men (who had known each other for eight years before they’d ever exchanged a word) met for lunch in a Chicago pub. Gene Siskel was the film critic for the Chicago Tribune. Roger Ebert had recently won the Pulitzer Prize—the first ever awarded to a film critic—for his work at the Chicago Sun-Times. To say they despised each other was an understatement.
-
-
Good book. But unless you are a standup comedian, or an actor, you shouldn’t read a book you wrote
- By Jerry Thompson on 03-14-24
By: Matt Singer
-
The Occasionally Accurate Annals of Football
- The NFL's Greatest Players, Plays, Scandals, and Screw-Ups (Plus Stuff We Totally Made Up)
- By: Dan Patrick, Joel H. Cohen
- Narrated by: Dan Patrick
- Length: 4 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Celebrated sports commentator Dan Patrick and comedy writer Joel H. Cohen team up with some of America’s greatest comedy writers to tell you everything and nothing about America’s sport.
-
-
Could’ve been a great book 
- By 40 yr trucker on 12-09-23
By: Dan Patrick, and others
-
The Last Action Heroes
- The Triumphs, Flops, and Feuds of Hollywood's Kings of Carnage
- By: Nick de Semlyen
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Last Action Heroes opens in May 1990 in Cannes, with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone waltzing together, cheered on by a crowd of famous faces. After years of bitter combat, the world’s biggest action stars have at last made peace. In this wildly entertaining account of the golden age of the action movie, Nick de Semlyen charts Stallone and Schwarzenegger’s carnage-packed journey from enmity to friendship against the backdrop of Reagan’s America and the Cold War.
-
-
Fantastic!
- By Alan on 07-17-23
By: Nick de Semlyen
-
Rickey
- The Life and Legend of an American Original
- By: Howard Bryant
- Narrated by: JD Jackson
- Length: 18 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Few names in the history of baseball evoke the excellence and dynamism that Rickey Henderson’s does. He holds the record for the most stolen bases in a single game, and he’s scored more runs than any player ever. “If you cut Rickey Henderson in half, you’d have two Hall of Famers,” the baseball historian Bill James once said. But perhaps even more than his prowess on the field, Rickey Henderson’s is a story of Oakland, California, the town that gave rise to so many legendary athletes like him.
-
-
An All Time Grewt
- By Anonymous User on 10-09-23
By: Howard Bryant
-
The Game: Harvard, Yale, and America in 1968
- By: George Howe Colt
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On November 23, 1968, near the end of a turbulent and memorable year, there was a football game that would also prove turbulent and memorable: the season-ending clash between Harvard and Yale. Both teams entered undefeated and, technically at least, came out undefeated. The final score was 29-29. To some of the players on the field, it was a triumph; to others a tragedy. George Howe Colt’s The Game is the story of that iconic American year, as seen through the young men who lived it and were changed by it.
-
-
More than a game
- By Hebern on 11-05-18
By: George Howe Colt
Critic reviews
“Michael MacCambridge is one of America’s finest chroniclers and when he told me he was turning his eye to the 1970s, the decade of my childhood, I couldn’t have been more thrilled. He delivers exactly what I hoped he would, a book brimming with nostalgia and fun, filled with all the marvelous names that shaped my life as a sports fan as well as shaping sports as we now know them.”—Joe Posnanski, bestselling author of The Baseball 100
“If you remember how great sports were in those days, The Big Time will remind you, and if you doubt how great, this book will show you.”—Roy Blount, Jr., author, About Three Bricks Shy of a Load
“Michael MacCambridge’s The Big Time is a meticulously researched, beautifully written and wonderfully entertaining walk down memory lane. The ‘70s were such a fascinating decade in sports and culture, and this book brings all the characters and moments to life in riveting detail. We know that time travel doesn’t exist, but this book sure comes close.”—Christine Brennan, USA Today sports columnist and author of the best-selling Inside Edge
Related to this topic
-
The Complete Book of Five Rings
- By: Miyamoto Musashi, Kenji Tokitsu - editor/translator
- Narrated by: Brian Nishii
- Length: 5 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Complete Book of Five Rings is an authoritative version of Musashi's classic The Book of Five Rings, translated and annotated by a modern martial arts master, Kenji Tokitsu. Tokitsu has spent most of his life researching the legendary samurai swordsman and his works, and in this book he illuminates this seminal text, along with several other works by Musashi.
-
-
Best translation I have encountered.
- By DW on 05-27-16
By: Miyamoto Musashi, and others
-
From Lukov with Love
- By: Mariana Zapata
- Narrated by: Callie Dalton, Teddy Hamilton
- Length: 14 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If someone were to ask Jasmine Santos to describe the last few years of her life with a single word, it would definitely be a four-letter one. After 17 years - and countless broken bones and broken promises - she knows her window to compete in figure skating is coming to a close. But when the offer of a lifetime comes in from an arrogant idiot she's spent the last decade dreaming about pushing in the way of a moving bus, Jasmine might have to reconsider everything.
-
-
New Favorite MZ Slow Burn
- By Brittany M on 05-13-18
By: Mariana Zapata
-
The Other Talent
- The Curiously Complex Role of Mental Health in Athletic Greatness and Why It's Never Too Late to Harness Your Potential
- By: Matt Fitzgerald
- Narrated by: Gregory Abbey
- Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the playing field, natural talent isn’t enough—there’s a mental component that determines whether athletes win the race or wipe out before the finish line. But what separates standout sports stars from the rest? In a paradigm-shifting new theory, acclaimed sportswriter Matt Fitzgerald identifies two key traits behind athletic success: strict self-regulation over thoughts and emotions and an unquenchable psychological need to pursue victory—even when it means enduring extreme mental and physical suffering.
-
-
a romance novel for exercise addicts like me
- By Anonymous User on 10-19-24
By: Matt Fitzgerald
-
Bigger Leaner Stronger
- The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Male Body
- By: Michael Matthews
- Narrated by: Michael Matthews
- Length: 14 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The bestselling fitness book for men who want to gain 25-35 pounds of lean muscle and lose as much fat or more in just 3-5 hours per week—and without giving up delicious foods or doing grueling workouts. Is Bigger Leaner Stronger a body building book that can help you pack on brain-shrinking amounts of muscle in 30 days flat? No. Is it a fitness nutrition book full of dubious diet and exercise “hacks” and “shortcuts” for melting belly fat faster than a roided hornet? Absolutely not.
-
-
Narration sounds like a Robot
- By pauly on 07-04-19
By: Michael Matthews
-
The Little Black Book of Workout Motivation
- By: Michael Matthews
- Narrated by: Michael Matthews
- Length: 5 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Let’s face it: fitness is hard. Have you ever gotten into the car after a long day at work and headed straight for the couch instead of the gym? Have you ever been unable to stop hitting the snooze button in the morning? Have you even felt secretly afraid you just don’t have what it takes to transform your body and health? Welcome to the club.
-
-
Diamond in the rough
- By Mike on 09-03-18
By: Michael Matthews
-
Barbarian Days
- A Surfing Life
- By: William Finnegan
- Narrated by: William Finnegan
- Length: 18 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Pulitzer Prize, Biography, 2016. Barbarian Days is William Finnegan's memoir of an obsession, a complex enchantment. Surfing only looks like a sport. To initiates it is something else entirely: a beautiful addiction, a demanding course of study, a morally dangerous pastime, a way of life.
-
-
What a Jerk.
- By ML Sadler on 03-06-17
By: William Finnegan
-
The Complete Book of Five Rings
- By: Miyamoto Musashi, Kenji Tokitsu - editor/translator
- Narrated by: Brian Nishii
- Length: 5 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Complete Book of Five Rings is an authoritative version of Musashi's classic The Book of Five Rings, translated and annotated by a modern martial arts master, Kenji Tokitsu. Tokitsu has spent most of his life researching the legendary samurai swordsman and his works, and in this book he illuminates this seminal text, along with several other works by Musashi.
-
-
Best translation I have encountered.
- By DW on 05-27-16
By: Miyamoto Musashi, and others
-
From Lukov with Love
- By: Mariana Zapata
- Narrated by: Callie Dalton, Teddy Hamilton
- Length: 14 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
If someone were to ask Jasmine Santos to describe the last few years of her life with a single word, it would definitely be a four-letter one. After 17 years - and countless broken bones and broken promises - she knows her window to compete in figure skating is coming to a close. But when the offer of a lifetime comes in from an arrogant idiot she's spent the last decade dreaming about pushing in the way of a moving bus, Jasmine might have to reconsider everything.
-
-
New Favorite MZ Slow Burn
- By Brittany M on 05-13-18
By: Mariana Zapata
-
The Other Talent
- The Curiously Complex Role of Mental Health in Athletic Greatness and Why It's Never Too Late to Harness Your Potential
- By: Matt Fitzgerald
- Narrated by: Gregory Abbey
- Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the playing field, natural talent isn’t enough—there’s a mental component that determines whether athletes win the race or wipe out before the finish line. But what separates standout sports stars from the rest? In a paradigm-shifting new theory, acclaimed sportswriter Matt Fitzgerald identifies two key traits behind athletic success: strict self-regulation over thoughts and emotions and an unquenchable psychological need to pursue victory—even when it means enduring extreme mental and physical suffering.
-
-
a romance novel for exercise addicts like me
- By Anonymous User on 10-19-24
By: Matt Fitzgerald
-
Bigger Leaner Stronger
- The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Male Body
- By: Michael Matthews
- Narrated by: Michael Matthews
- Length: 14 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The bestselling fitness book for men who want to gain 25-35 pounds of lean muscle and lose as much fat or more in just 3-5 hours per week—and without giving up delicious foods or doing grueling workouts. Is Bigger Leaner Stronger a body building book that can help you pack on brain-shrinking amounts of muscle in 30 days flat? No. Is it a fitness nutrition book full of dubious diet and exercise “hacks” and “shortcuts” for melting belly fat faster than a roided hornet? Absolutely not.
-
-
Narration sounds like a Robot
- By pauly on 07-04-19
By: Michael Matthews
-
The Little Black Book of Workout Motivation
- By: Michael Matthews
- Narrated by: Michael Matthews
- Length: 5 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Let’s face it: fitness is hard. Have you ever gotten into the car after a long day at work and headed straight for the couch instead of the gym? Have you ever been unable to stop hitting the snooze button in the morning? Have you even felt secretly afraid you just don’t have what it takes to transform your body and health? Welcome to the club.
-
-
Diamond in the rough
- By Mike on 09-03-18
By: Michael Matthews
-
Barbarian Days
- A Surfing Life
- By: William Finnegan
- Narrated by: William Finnegan
- Length: 18 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Pulitzer Prize, Biography, 2016. Barbarian Days is William Finnegan's memoir of an obsession, a complex enchantment. Surfing only looks like a sport. To initiates it is something else entirely: a beautiful addiction, a demanding course of study, a morally dangerous pastime, a way of life.
-
-
What a Jerk.
- By ML Sadler on 03-06-17
By: William Finnegan
-
The Unlikely Thru-Hiker
- An Appalachian Trail Journey
- By: Derick Lugo
- Narrated by: Derick Lugo
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Derick Lugo had never been hiking. He certainly couldn't imagine going more than a day without manicuring his goatee. But with a job cut short and no immediate plans, this fixture of the New York comedy scene began to think about what he might do with months of free time. He had heard of the Appalachian Trail, but he had never seriously considered attempting to hike all 2,184.2 miles of it. Suddenly he found himself asking, Could he do it?
-
-
On My Feet All Day
- By bannedbum on 08-21-21
By: Derick Lugo
-
Wildlife Wars
- The Life and Times of a Fish and Game Warden
- By: Terry Grosz
- Narrated by: Pete Simonelli
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Wildlife Wars, Terry Grosz serves up fascinating stories - alternately hair-raising, hilarious, and heart-wrenching - from his 30-year struggle to protect wildlife in America. A natural storyteller, Grosz writes about the remarkable characters he met - on both sides of the law - as he matched wits with elk poachers, salmon snaggers, commercial-market duck hunters, and a host of other law-breakers. Best of all, though, these stories are so remarkably entertaining you won't want to put them down.
-
-
Title should be: "reckless egomaniac tells lies"
- By ross on 03-01-17
By: Terry Grosz
-
Playing to Win
- By: Michael Lewis
- Narrated by: Michael Lewis
- Length: 2 hrs and 13 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
All over America, families are investing blood, sweat, tears, and retirement savings in their children’s sports careers, all with the ultimate goal of…what exactly? A college scholarship? A professional contract? Simply the taste of victory? Through the lens of the highly competitive world of girls’ softball, Lewis reveals the youth sports industrial complex that has arisen to aggressively monetize after-school pastimes.
-
-
Great Listen
- By Brian Bray on 10-15-20
By: Michael Lewis
-
The Best Hunting Stories Ever Told
- By: Jay Cassell - editor
- Narrated by: Jason Culp
- Length: 32 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Follow the trails of hunters - the original storytellers - as they interpret signs, examine tracks, and chase and catch their prey (or fail to). Listeners can curl up with the best authentic hunting fiction and non-fiction, bringing the great Mount Kenya and the prairies of the American Bison into your living room. From Theodore Roosevelt and Gene Hill to Rick Bass and Charles Dickens, remember classic hunting tales and discover new stories of hunters’ luck, camaraderie, and use of smarts on the trail.
-
-
A broad collection of hunting tales
- By Elaine on 06-21-15
-
Buried in the Sky
- The Extraordinary Story of the Sherpa Climbers on K2's Deadliest Day
- By: Peter Zuckerman, Amanda Padoan
- Narrated by: David Doersch
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Edmund Hillary first conquered Mt. Everest, Sherpa Tenzing Norgay was at his side. Indeed, for as long as Westerners have been climbing the Himalaya, Sherpas have been the unsung heroes in the background. In August 2008, when eleven climbers lost their lives on K2, the world’s most dangerous peak, two Sherpas survived. They had emerged from poverty and political turmoil to become two of the most skillful mountaineers on earth. Based on unprecedented access and interviews, Buried in the Sky reveals their astonishing story for the first time.
-
-
Sherpas, The True Unsung Heroes
- By Kathy in CA on 07-26-15
By: Peter Zuckerman, and others
-
Thinner Leaner Stronger
- The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Female Body
- By: Michael Matthews
- Narrated by: Elliott Denkers
- Length: 13 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
You can get that beautiful “beach-ready” body without following a bland, boring, bodybuilding diet and without doing exhausting strength training workouts you hate. And this exercise book shows you how.
-
-
"The Ultimate Female Body", but uses male examples
- By bookWorm on 06-29-15
By: Michael Matthews
-
The Spartan Way
- Eat Better. Train Better. Think Better. Be Better.
- By: Joe De Sena, Jeff Csatari
- Narrated by: Christian Rummel
- Length: 4 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Joe De Sena has one ultimate goal: to help improve everyone’s physical and emotional health by teaching them the tenets of Spartan living from ancient Greece: simple eating, smart training, mastering resilience, and an all-out commitment to achieving a goal.
-
-
Don’t know what to think...
- By bakaDOH! on 07-20-19
By: Joe De Sena, and others
-
Stay Sane in an Insane World
- How to Control the Controllables and Thrive
- By: Greg Harden
- Narrated by: Greg Harden
- Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Champions aren’t born. They’re built. Greg Harden spent over 30 years building them at the University of Michigan, including 400 future professional athletes, 50 NFL first-round draft picks, and 120 Olympians from over 20 countries. He gained national recognition when 60 Minutes Sports profiled him as “Michigan’s Secret Weapon.” Now, in his first book, Greg Harden is reaching out to help anyone who wants to live their best life by offering powerful and practical advice.
-
-
Good book, However, prejudice shows through a bit
- By Don Dotson on 08-22-23
By: Greg Harden
-
Pickleball Mindset
- The Blueprint for Peak Performance
- By: Dayne Gingrich, Jill Martin
- Narrated by: Dayne Gingrich, Jill Martin
- Length: 4 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Not just another book about how to play pickleball, Pickleball Mindset dives deep into how to think on the court. Coauthored by Dayne Gingrich, top senior professional pickleball player and renowned mental performance coach, and Jill Martin, an attorney turned personal trainer and pickleball fanatic, this book follows their year-long coaching relationship in which Jill seeks to become mentally dominant on and off the court.
-
-
Build The Confidence To Thrive in Pickleball
- By K. Ford on 11-16-24
By: Dayne Gingrich, and others
-
Ball Four
- The Final Pitch
- By: Jim Bouton
- Narrated by: Jim Bouton
- Length: 18 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Ball Four was published in 1970, it created a firestorm. Bouton was called a Judas, a Benedict Arnold and a “social leper” for having violated the “sanctity of the clubhouse.” Baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn tried to force Bouton to sign a statement saying the book wasn’t true. Ballplayers, most of whom hadn’t read it, denounced the book. It was even banned by a few libraries. Almost everyone else, however, loved Ball Four.
-
-
Three Ten Year Updates Give Bouton a 5th Star
- By Byron on 08-09-12
By: Jim Bouton
-
A Damn Near Perfect Game
- Reclaiming America's Pastime
- By: Joe Kelly, Rob Bradford - contributor
- Narrated by: L.J. Ganser
- Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Baseball’s most outspoken fireballer brings the high heat—calling out the hacks, cheats, and ridiculous rules that have tarnished the game—and pitches A-plus stuff on how to make baseball pure, fun, and damn near perfect.
-
-
Could use a better narrator
- By Jason Monroe on 12-07-23
By: Joe Kelly, and others
-
Twisted
- The Story of Larry Nassar and the Women Who Took Him Down
- By: Mary Pilon, Carla Correa
- Narrated by: Mary Pilon, Carla Correa
- Length: 5 hrs and 17 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In early 2018, Larry Nassar, the former doctor for USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University, was sentenced to serve out the rest of his life in prison after pleading guilty to a variety of sex crimes. New York Times best-selling author Mary Pilon and Carla Correa chronicle the scandal from its inception, tracking the institutions that Nassar hid behind, the athletic culture that he benefited from, and the women who eventually brought him to justice.
-
-
The Truth as told by the Survivors
- By DKMarkham on 07-27-19
By: Mary Pilon, and others
What listeners say about The Big Time
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kevin
- 11-04-23
Good Effort But Missed Part of the Story
The author did incredible research for this book. He told a lot of stories and attempted to touch every part of sports during the 70s. He spent the most time on Title IX, which was appropriate. However, he did not quite capture the real impact of Title IX and did not show a real understanding of the true impact. He focused primarily on big time women's basketball programs to tell the Title IX story. He talked about their fight to capture part of those big athletic budgets at top football schools. Of course that did happen and is part of the story, but it is a very very small part. Probably only 5% of schools were in this category, and basketball is only one of probably a dozen sports where women's sports grew. The rest of Division 1, all of Division 2 and 3, as well as the NAIA were all ignored.....and what about the high schools? They all had to implement Title IX as well. Everyone except the very top of Division I colleges, on which the author exclusively focusses, had to implement Title IX without the benefit of TV money or much in the way of resources at all. He vilifies the male athletic directors for their resistance to Title IX. And yes, 99%+ of all ADs in the US were male at the time. What he did not mention is that in the 70s before women had really even attempted to administrate sports it was these male ADs that built women's sports out of nothing at every level, and often with little to no extra resources. They had to find coaches, facilities, administrators, officials, equipment, etc... They also had to find the athletes. Women were not lined up to join the teams. They were recruited by these male ADs and coaches out of PE classes, dorms, and the classroom. At the top levels where big football tv money was going to go to women's programs there were some ADs that pushed back when they shouldn't have. However, at all other levels there was no money to protect and the pushback was not the same. In fact, these ADs and administrators typically loved to build these programs. It was at these non elite D1 levels that title nine effected 95% of all women athletes. These stories were not told. And what about all of the other women's sports? The basketball bias is very strong. Other than tennis, the other sports were ignored by the author much like women's athletics was ignored before Title IX. One of the big stories in women's sports in the first 20-30 after Title IX was the disproportionate amount of resources going to women's basketball. The other sports have fought an uphill battle ever since to get an appropriate share of the resources.
Also, prepare to hear a lot of the University of Texas. I am not sure why. The author goes on deep dives into UT sports, but the stories don't seem to go anywhere, be very important, or contribute to the story.
I do not mean to be critical in any way. I am simply furthering the discussion the author did a great job of starting. If you love sports, this book is well worth the read and I highly recommend it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!