In Backfield Boys, renowned sports journalist and New York Times bestselling author John Feinstein tells a thrilling story of friendship, football, and a fight for justice.
Freshman footballers Jason Roddin and Tom Jefferson are a perfect pair: Jason is a blazing-fast wide-receiver, while his best friend Tom has all the skills a standout quarterback needs. After summer football camp at an elite sports-focused boarding school, the boys are thrilled to be invited back with full-ride scholarships.
But on day one of practice, they’re shocked when the team’s coaching staff makes Tom, a black kid, a receiver and Jason, a white kid, a quarterback. Confronted with mounting evidence of deep-seated racial bias, the boys speak out, risking their scholarships and chances to play. As tensions ratchet up with coaches and other players, Tom and Jason must decide how much they’re willing to lose in a conflict with powerful forces that has nothing-and everything-to do with the game they love.

The path to victory starts on the sidelines, in this fast-paced new middle grade series from #1 New York Times bestselling sportwriting powerhouse John Feinstein.

Twelve-year-old Jeff Michaels, son of a Philadelphia TV sports reporter, is just learning to play soccer on the new sixth-grade team at his middle school. Andrea Carillo has fought her way onto the squad, but the coach doesn’t think girls should play with boys, so she’s riding the bench with Jeff–even though she’s one of the best players.

With Jeff’s help, the Philly media gets ahold of the story, and suddenly Andi is all over the news as she shows her worth on the soccer field. But amid bullies, threats, and a media firestorm, will Andi’s skills and Jeff’s perseverance be enough to save the season?

From sportswriter John Feinstein comes this action-packed audiobook about two kids who may be “benchwarmers,” but prove themselves naturals when it comes to teamwork, friendship, and finding a path to victory.

Playing in the World Series is every ballplayer’s dream, but no one is more surprised to actually be here than Norbert Doyle–a late call-up for an underdog team.
Doyle pitched in the minor leagues for years before making it to the bigs. He went to school in the off-season to earn his degree. He raised two kids on his own after the tragic death of his wife. And now he’s slated to start game two of the World Series. His feel-good story is a media gold mine. And teen reporters Stevie Thomas and Susan Carol Anderson have scored the first in-depth interview with him.
At first they’re as charmed by Doyle as everyone else–it’s hard not to root for this guy. But the more Stevie and Susan Carol learn about him, the more conflicting stories they hear. And so Stevie becomes an investigative reporter by day while covering the World Series by night, trying to piece together the truth of one athlete’s life. But along the way he has to wonder–who will be hurt if the truth is known, and who will benefit, and what does it have to do with baseball? There are a million secrets in any locker room. Which ones need to be told

New York Times bestselling sportswriter John Feinstein tackles doping in the NFL in this exciting football mystery.
 
The Super Bowl. America’s biggest sports spectacle. Over 95 million fans will be watching, but teen sports reporters Stevie and Susan Carol know that what they’ll be watching is a lie. They know that the entire offensive line of the California Dreams have failed their doping tests. They know the owner is trying to cover up the results. The only thing they don’t know is how to prove it.
 
John Feinstein has been praised as “the best writer of sports books in America today” (The Boston Globe), and he proves it again in this fast-paced novel.
 

The definitive biography of enigmatic golfer, commentator, and performer David Feherty—one of the most universally beloved figures in the game.

John Feinstein, who has spent four decades finding intriguing sports characters and narratives and turning them into classic books, chronicles the life and career of David Feherty. The two have known each other for years, beginning with Feinstein’s work on A Good Walk Spoiled, researched and written at a time when Feherty was an excellent player, who won five times in Europe and was on the ’91 Ryder Cup team, but also a functioning alcoholic. In retirement from the game, Feherty has sobered up, while his golf world persona has only grown in stature. Feherty is now a grand ambassador for golf, a man who is feted by US Presidents and respected by every big name in the game.
 
Feinstein tells hilarious true tales about Feherty’s time in the limelight and interactions with stars such as Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Payne Stewart, and Seve Ballesteros. He also details Feherty’s struggles with alcoholism, the death of his son who was lost to addiction, and the highs and lows of Feherty’s marriages. Feinstein captures the human being behind the athlete, and his triumphant rebound as a golf commentator after his athletic career fell apart. Feherty is fall-down-funny, self-deprecating, and a lifelong underdog who has thrived as a commentator and television interview host, and most recently as a touring standup comic, using the difficult experiences of his life as a source for humor and understanding, which Feinstein mines with an expert’s touch.

Trouble is about to tip off for Jeff and Andi’s sixth-grade basketball teams in Game Changers, a standalone second audiobook in the middle-grade Benchwarmers series by #1 New York Times bestselling sportswriter John Feinstein.

From a new coach’s flagrant racism to a teammate’s endless sabotage, best friends Andi Carillo and Jeff Michaels start basketball season mired in controversy.

To make matters worse, the local media smells more than one juicy story. Will Andi and Jeff be able to help each other power through and find a way to put both their teams back on track?

A Macmillan Audio production from Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Danny Jordan is one of two lucky winners of the US Basketball Writer’s Association’s contest for aspiring journalists. His prize? A trip to New Orleans and a coveted press pass for the Final Four. It’s a basketball junkie’s dream come true!

But the games going on behind the scenes between the coaches, the players, the media, the money-men, and the fans turn out to be even more fiercely competitive than those on the court. Danny and his fellow winner, Brigid-Ann Robinson, are nosing around the Superdome ad overhear what sounds like a threat to throw the championship game. Now they have just 48 hours to figure out who is blackmailing one of MSU’s star players . . . and why.

“Did I ever tell you about Wilt Chamberlain?” “Did I ever tell you about Bob Cousy?” “Did I ever tell you about Joe DiMaggio?” Whenever Arnold “Red” Auerbach starts a sentence with those six words — “Did I ever tell you about . . .” — anyone within earshot should prepare to hear a marvelous story.

As a living legend among sports fans, Red Auerbach — the fiery coach who led the Boston Celtics to nine NBA championships, eight of them consecutive — has long been renowned for his formidable personality: brash, opinionated, and unfailingly accurate. As a coach, he had a great eye for talent, drafting such Hall of Famers as Bill Russell and Larry Bird, and managed to build a powerful franchise with an abiding legacy. Red never stood still along the sidelines and was never seen without his trademark cigar.

Now in retirement, at age eighty-seven, he remains a lively part of the game, still consulted by coaches, players, and general managers. And his admirers continue to be legion. Not long ago a former president postponed a meeting with Bill Gates so as not to pass up the chance to talk with Red. For the past several years, John Feinstein has met regularly with Red Auerbach and his friends in a series of raucous, unforgettable sessions.

Out of those smoke-and-laughter-filled rooms have emerged the stories of Red’s life, from his childhood on the playgrounds of Brooklyn to his triumphs at the famed Boston Garden, where he coached for sixteen years. Just listen as Red colorfully recalls all the players and coaches he has worked with and played against: Bill Russell, Larry Bird, Bob Cousy, Wilt Chamberlain, Sam Jones, and Michael Jordan — you name them, the basketball greats are all here. Red holds nothing back.

In Let Me Tell You a Story, Red Auerbach’s unique experiences in sports and John Feinstein’s unparalleled skills as a storyteller combine to produce one of the most richly entertaining books ever written about the game of basketball.

Seasoned pitchers Tom Glavine and Mike Mussina have seen it all in the Major Leagues, and both entered 2007 in search of individual milestones and one more shot at the World Series-Glavine with the Mets, Mussina five miles away with the Yankees. The two veterans experience very different seasons-one on a team dealing with the pressure to get to a World Series for the first time in seven years, the other with a team expected to be there every year. Taking the reader through contract negotiations, spring training, the ups of wins and the downs of losses, and the people in their lives-family, managers, pitching coaches, agents, catchers, other pitchers-Feinstein provides a true insider’s look at the pressure cooker of sports at the highest level.

A major new book from #1 New York Times bestseller and sports-writing legend John Feinstein, QUARTERBACK dives deep into the most coveted and hallowed position in the NFL – exploring the stories of five top quarterbacks and taking readers inside their unique experiences of playing the position and holding the keys to their multi-billion-dollar teams.

In the mighty National Football League, one player becomes the face of a franchise, one player receives all the accolades and all the blame, and one player’s hand will guide the rise or fall of an entire team’s season – and the dreams of millions of fans. There are thirty-two starting quarterbacks in the NFL on any given Sunday, and their lives are built around pressure, stardom, and incredible talent. Legendary bestselling sportswriter John Feinstein, in his most insightful book yet, shows readers what it’s really like to play the glory position and to live that life – mapping out a journey that runs from college stardom to the NFL draft to taking command of the huddle and marching a team down the field with a nation of fans cheering.

Feinstein builds his profile around five NFL starting quarterbacks – Alex Smith, Andrew Luck, Joe Flacco, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Doug Williams. With incredible inside access, we get the full quarterback experience…being drafted #1 overall, pushing through grueling injuries, winning Super Bowls, being named a starter on multiple teams, being the first African American QB to lead a franchise to a title. Feinstein shows us exactly what it’s like in the locker room, huddle, heat of battle, and press conferences, through spectacular moments and embarrassing defeats. He explores the controversies of a league embroiled in questions of substance abuse and racism, TV revenue, corporate greed, and the value placed on player health. And in the end, Feinstein addresses the ways in which each quarterback – some just a year out of college — is handed the keys to a franchise worth billions of dollars, and how each team’s fortunes ride directly on the shoulders of its QB. This is Feinstein’s most fascinating behind-the-scenes book.

Based on dozens of shocking interviews with some of the most influential names in sports, this is the urgent and revelatory examination of racial inequality in professional athletics America has been waiting for.

Commentators, coaches, and fans alike have long touted the diverse rosters of leagues like the NFL and MLB as sterling examples of a post-racial America. Yet decades after Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fists in a display of Black power and pride, and years after Colin Kaepernick shocked the world by kneeling for the national anthem, the role Black athletes and coaches are expected to perform–both on and off the field–still can be determined as much by stereotype and old-fashion ideology as ability and performance.

Whether it’s the pre-game moments of resistance, the lack of diversity among coaching and managerial staff, or the consistent undervaluation of Black quarterbacks, racial politics impact every aspect of every sport being played–yet the gigantic salaries and glitzy lifestyles of pro athletes often disguise the ugly truths of how minority players are treated and discarded by their White bosses. John Feinstein crisscrossed the country to secure personal interviews with quarterbacks, coaches, and more, revealing the stories none of us have heard (but all of us should know).

Seventy-five years after Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color line, race is still a central and defining factor of America’s professional sports leagues. With an encyclopedic knowledge of professional sports, and shrewd cultural criticism, bestselling and award-winning author John Feinstein uncovers not just why, but how, pro sports continue to perpetuate racial inequality.

“None of us are trying to make race an issue. Race IS an issue.” (From the Foreword by Doug Williams)

Twenty-five years after it spent sixteen weeks at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, John Feinstein’s A Season on the Brink remains the classic of the genre and an unforgettable chronicle of his year spent following the Indiana Hoosiers and their fiery coach Bob Knight. This anniversary edition features an updated package and a new Introduction by Feinstein.

Twenty-five years after it spent sixteen weeks atop the New York Times bestseller list, A Season on the Brink remains the most celebrated basketball book ever written. Granted unprecedented access to legendary coach Bob Knight and the Indiana Hoosiers during the 1985-86 season, John Feinstein saw and heard it all–practices, team meetings, strategy sessions, and midgame huddles–as the team worked to return to championship form. The result is an unforgettable chronicle that not only captures the drama and pressure of big-time college basketball but also paints a vivid portrait of a complex, brilliant coach as he walks the fine line between genius and madness.

Thirty years ago after changing the sports book landscape with his mega-hit, A Season on the Brink, #1 New York Times bestselling author John Feinstein returns to his first love–college basketball–with a fascinating and compelling journey through a landscape of unsung, unpublicized and often unknown heroes of Division-1 college hoops.

     John Feinstein has already taken readers into the inner circles of top college basketball programs in The Legends Club. This time, Feinstein pulls back the curtain on college basketball’s lesser-known Cinderella stories–the smaller programs who no one expects to win, who have no chance of attracting the most coveted high school recruits, who rarely send their players on to the NBA.
     Feinstein follows a handful of players, coaches, and schools who dream, not of winning the NCAA tournament, but of making it past their first or second round games. Every once in a while, one of these coaches or players is plucked from obscurity to continue on to lead a major team or to play professionally, cementing their status in these fiercely passionate fan bases as a legend. These are the gifted players who aren’t handled with kid gloves–they’re hardworking, gritty teammates who practice and party with everyone else.
     With his trademark humor and invaluable connections, John Feinstein reveals the big time programs you’ve never heard of, the bracket busters you didn’t expect to cheer for, and the coaches who inspire them to take their teams to the next level.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Good Walk Spoiled, a dramatic chronicle of the bitterly-fought 2016 Ryder Cup pitting a U.S. team out for revenge against the Europeans determined to keep the Cup out of American hands.

Coming into 2016, the Americans had lost an astounding six out of the last seven Ryder Cup matches, and tensions were running high for the showdown that took place in October, 2016 in Hazeltine, Minnesota, just days after American legend Arnold Palmer had died. What resulted was one of the most raucous and heated three days in the Cup’s long history. Award-winning author John Feinstein takes readers behind the scenes, providing an inside view of the dramatic stories as they unfolded: veteran Phil Mickelson’s two-year roller-coaster as he upended the American preparation process and helped assemble a superb team; superstar Rory McIlroy becoming the clear-cut emotional leader of the European team, and his reasons for wanting to beat the US team so badly this time around; the raucous matches between McIlroy and American Patrick Reed – resulting in both incredible golf, and several moments that threatened to come to blows; the return of Tiger Woods not as a player but an assistant captain, and his obsession with helping the US win – which was never the case when he was playing. John Feinstein’s classic bestseller, A Good Walk Spoiled, set the bar for golf books. Now Feinstein provides his unique take on the Ryder Cup, which has clearly become golf’s most intense and emotional event…it’s ‘first Major.’

The riveting inside story of college basketball’s fiercest rivalry among three coaching legends—University of North Carolina’s Dean Smith, Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, and North Carolina State’s Jim Valvano—by the king of college basketball writers, #1 New York Times bestseller John Feinstein

On March 18, 1980, the immensely powerful Duke basketball program announced the hiring of its new coach—the man who would resurrect the team, restore glory to Duke, and defeat the legendary Dean Smith, who coached down the road at UNC Chapel Hill and had turned UNC into a powerhouse. Duke’s new man was Mike Krzyzewski. The only problem was, no one knew who Krzyzewski was, he had a so-so record in his short time as head coach of Army, and worst of all, no one could even pronounce his name. The announcement caused head scratches . . . if not immediate calls for his head . . . and on this note his career at Duke began.
     The table was set nine days later, when on March 27, 1980, Jim Valvano was hired by North Carolina State to be their new head coach. The hiring didn’t raise as many eyebrows, but with the exuberant Valvano on board, two new coaches were now in place to challenge Dean Smith—and the most sensational competitive decade in history was about to unfold.
     In the skillful hands of John Feinstein, this extraordinary rivalry—and the men behind it—come to life in a unique, intimate way. The Legends Club is a sports book that captures an era in American sport and culture, documenting the inside view of a decade of absolutely incredible competition. Feinstein pulls back the curtain on the recruiting wars, the intensely personal competition that wasn’t always friendly, the enormous pressure and national stakes, and the battle for the very soul of college basketball allegiance in a hot-bed area. Getting to the roots of the NCAA goliath that is followed religiously by millions of fans today, Feinstein uses his unprecedented access to all three coaches to paint a portrait only he could conjure. The Legends Club is destined to be one of Feinstein’s biggest bestsellers.

From award-winning sportswriter John Feinstein, The Prodigy is a YA audiobook about a teen golfer poised to blaze his way into Masters Tournament history–and he’ll face secrecy, sacrifice, and the decision of a lifetime to get there.

Seventeen-year-old Frank Baker is a golfing sensation. He’s set to earn a full-ride scholarship to play at the university of his choice, but his single dad wants him to skip college and turn pro–golf has taken its toll on the family bank account, and his dad is eager to start cashing in on his son’s prowess. Frank knows he isn’t ready for life on the pro tour–regardless of the potential riches–so his swing coach enlists a professional golfer turned journalist to be Frank’s secret adviser.

Pressure mounts when, after reaching the final of the U.S. Amateur tournament, Frank wins an automatic invite to the Masters. And when the prodigy, against all odds, starts tearing up the course at Augusta National, sponsors are lined up to throw money at him–and his father. But Frank’s entry in the Masters hinges on maintaining his standing as an amateur. Can he and his secret adviser–who has his own conflicts–keep Frank’s dad at bay long enough to bring home the legendary green jacket?

Tearing open the deepest wound in professional sports, Feinstein uncovers the secrets of the NBA before and after that fateful moment in December of 1977 whe the face of professional hoops was changed forever. It was a chilly December evening and the Los Angeles Coliseum was buzzing as the Lakers hosted the Houston Rockets. As two players, Houston’s Rudy Tomajanovich and LA’s Kermit Washington were warming up, they were unaware their lives were about to be destroyed. The game began and as Tomjanovich trailed a play up the court, a small skirmish broke out between Washington and another Rocket player. Dropping the ball, Tomjanovich approached the tussling men hoping to break up the fight and resume the game. But instead, his face met the powerful fist of Kermit Washington. The punch, so brutal on impact, left most of the bones in Tomjanovich’s face broken and spinal fluid leaking from cracked vertebrae. Although he nearly died, Tomjanovich recovered from his injuries. But his game was never the same. After a two month suspension, Washington retook the court but had lost his touch. His snap reaction had irrevocably killed two careers–and the way the NBA played basketball forever.

New York Times bestselling sportswriter John Feinstein investigates a covert op at the Army-Navy football game in this exciting sports mystery.
 
The Black Knights of Army and the Midshipmen of Navy have met on the football field since 1890, and it’s a rivalry like no other, filled with tradition.
 
Teen sports reporters Stevie and Susan Carol have been busy at West Point and Annapolis, getting to know the players and coaches—and the Secret Service agents. Since the president will be attending the game, security will be tighter than tight. Weeks and months have been spent on training and planning and reporting to get them all to this moment. But when game day arrives, the refs aren’t the only ones crying foul. . . .
 
John Feinstein has been praised as “the best writer of sports books in America today” (The Boston Globe), and he proves it again in this fast-paced novel.

It’s basketball season. And for once, triple threat Alex Myers is not the one in the spotlight. There’s anew new guy in town, and Max Bellotti promises to turn the Lions’ losing streak around and lead the team to a conference title. Alex is psyched, but some of the older guys on the team resent being benched in favor of an upstart freshman. Team morale is rocky at best. And when Max comes out as gay, not everyone takes the news in stride. Snide comments and cold shoulders escalate into heated protests and an out-and-out war with the school board. While controversy swirls around them, the Lions have to decide: Will personal issues sink their season, or can they find a way to stand together as a team?

Alex Myers is a triple-threat athlete – great at football, basketball, and baseball. But he’ll have to fight for a spot on the varsity team. Alex is a quarterback, but from the first day of football practice, it’s clear that that position is very much filled by the coach’s son, Matt. Alex finally gets a chance to show what he can do when Matt is injured, and he helps win a key game to keep the Lions’ bid for the state championship alive. But just when his star is rising, Alex gets blindsided – the state has started drug testing, and Alex’s test comes back positive for steroids. Alex knows that’s not right. But he doesn’t know if it’s a mistake – or if someone wants to make sure he can’t play…

New York City. The U.S. Open.

With 128 athletes competing in dozens of matches for millions in prize money, you expect drama. You expect blistering serves, smashed returns, and sliced shots that kiss the line. You do not expect kidnapping.

But Stevie Thomas and Susan Carol Anderson can’t come up with any other explanation. These two aspiring sportswriters were sitting in the press box, amazed at their luck in scoring media credentials to cover the tournament. Like everyone else, they were eagerly awaiting the first-round match of the hot, new Russian phenom–Nadia Symanova. She was young, glamorous, and talented enough to win it all. But she never made it on court. Somehow, on the short walk from the locker rooms to Louis Armstrong Stadium, the most-watched player in tennis simply vanished.

The media frenzy is staggering. Everyone’s looking for Nadia. Can two eighth-grade rookies really hope to scoop the pros? Well, they’re certainly going to try! And as they chase down the mystery, they’ll get a crash course in what a sweet racket the game of tennis can be. . .

From the acclaimed #1 bestselling author . . . a riveting journey through the world of minor-league baseball

“No one grows up playing baseball pretending that they’re pitching or hitting in Triple-A.” —Chris Schwinden, Triple-A pitcher

“If you don’t like it here, do a better job.” —Ron Johnson, Triple-A manager

John Feinstein gave readers an unprecedented view of the PGA Tour in A Good Walk Spoiled. He opened the door to an NCAA basketball locker room in his explosive bestseller A Season on the Brink. Now, turning his eye to our national pastime, sports journalist John Feinstein explores the colorful and mysterious world of minor-league baseball—a gateway through which all major-league players pass in their careers . . . hoping never to return.
     Baseball’s minor leagues are a paradox. For some players, the minors are a glorious launching pad toward years of fame and fortune; for others, a crash-landing pad when injury or poor play forces a big leaguer back to a life of obscure ballparks and cramped buses instead of Fenway Park and plush charter planes. Focusing exclusively on the Triple-A level, one step beneath Major League Baseball, Feinstein introduces readers to nine unique men: three pitchers, three position players, two managers, and an umpire. Through their compelling stories, Feinstein pulls back the veil on a league that is chock-full of gifted baseball players, managers, and umpires who are all one moment away from getting called up—or back—to the majors.
     The stories are hard to believe: a first-round draft pick and pitching ace who rocketed to major-league success before finding himself suddenly out of the game, hatching a presumptuous plan to get one more shot at the mound; a home run–hitting former World Series hero who lived the dream, then bounced among six teams before facing the prospects of an unceremonious end to his career; a big-league All-Star who, in the span of five months, went from being completely out of baseball to becoming a star in the ALDS, then signing a $10 million contract; and a well-liked designated hitter who toiled for eighteen seasons in the minors—a record he never wanted to set—before facing his final, highly emotional chance for a call-up to the big leagues.
     From Raleigh to Pawtucket, from Lehigh Valley to Indianapolis and beyond, Where Nobody Knows Your Name gives readers an intimate look at a baseball world not normally seen by the fans. John Feinstein gets to the heart of the human stories in a uniquely compelling way, crafting a masterful book that stands alongside his very best works.