Download or read book Braves Win Braves Win Braves Win The 1995 World Champion Atlanta Braves written by Len Levin and published by Sabr Baseball Library. This book was released on 2020-04-27 with total page 486 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Featuring an introduction by John Schuerholz, bios of all 40 players, and writeups of 10 key games from 1995.It has been 25 years since that magical night in Atlanta, October 28, 1995, when the Braves became the first team in any sport to give Atlanta a world championship. This book presents biographies of each of the 40 players who took the field in a Braves uniform in 1995. Many had long and successful big-league careers, and for others their time in The Show was brief. But they all contributed to that championship season, and they all have interesting stories. Nine players made their major-league debuts with the 1995 Braves, and for three team members, that season marked the end of their big-league careers. Four members-Tom Glavine, Chipper Jones, Greg Maddux, and John Smoltz-along with manager Bobby Cox and general manager John Schuerholz have been enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.There are exciting stories of the 10 most notable games of the 1995 season, and behind-the-scenes stories of many of the Braves' front office personnel, who worked tirelessly, both at the major-league and the minor-league levels, to mold a championship organization. Not all are familiar names, but each played an integral part in making the Atlanta Braves the team they are today.What this 1995 team accomplished was the pinnacle of a nearly 30-year run of excellence for the Braves, and that tradition continues. I am very pleased that SABR provided the opportunity for a dedicated group of 56 members to contribute as researchers, authors, and/or editors.-adapted from the Introduction, Tom HuffordPLAYERSSteve Avery, Tom HuffordSteve Bedrosian, Wynn MontgomeryRafael Belliard, Joe CoxJeff Blauser, Creg StephensonPedro Borbon Jr., Justin KruegerTerry Clark, Tony OliverBrad Clontz, Jesse AsburyMike Devereaux, Greg KingEd Giovanola, Clayton TrutorTom Glavine, Joseph WanchoMarquis Grissom, Alan MorrisChipper Jones, Jacob PomrenkeDavid Justice, Sean TetersMike Kelly, Joel RippelRyan Klesko, Joel RippelBrian Kowitz, Jack ZerbyMark Lemke, Paul HofmannJavy Lopez, Kyle EatonGreg Maddux, Stew ThornleyDarrell May, Darin WatsonFred McGriff, Peter M. GordonGreg McMichael, Scott BrimerKent Mercker, Clayton TrutorMike Mordecai, Mark SternmanMatt Murray, Bill NowlinRod Nichols, Matthew BlossCharlie O'Brien, Steve WestJose Oliva, Nick WaddellAlejandro Pena, Alan CohenEddie Perez, Tony OliverLuis Polonia, John StruthJason Schmidt, Cosmo VivancoMike Sharperson, Sam GazdziakDwight Smith, Sam GazdziakJohn Smoltz, Warren CorbettMike Stanton, Nick WaddellTom Thobe, Scott ShafferTerrell Wade, Bill JohnsonMark Wohlers, Tom HuffordBrad Woodall, Clayton TrutorMANAGER, COACHESBobby Cox, Tim DealeJim Beauchamp, C. Paul Rogers IIIPat Corrales, James Lincoln RayClarence Jones, Steve SchmittLeo Mazzone, William PearchJimy Williams, Bill NowlinNed Yost, Ken CarranoEXECUTIVESTed Turner, Scott Shaffer and Millard FisherStan Kasten, Bob WebsterJohn Schuerholz, Dan Levitt & Mark ArmourChuck LaMar, Justin KruegerPaul Snyder, Lee LowenfishBill Bartholomay, Alan MorrisBROADCASTERSSkip Caray, Wynn MontgomeryJoe Simpson, Curt SmithDon Sutton, Gregory H. WolfPete Van Wieren, Bob LeMoineErnie Johnson Sr., Dana SpragueErnie Johnson Jr., Curt SmithBALLPARKAtlanta-Fulton County Stadium, Scott McLellan and Bob BarrierNOTABLE GAMESOpening Day 1995, Chris JonesChipper Jones First Career Home Run, Paul HofmannBraves 17, Chicago Cubs 3, Richard CuicchiBraves Retake NL East, Jack ZerbyBraves Win Ninth Consecutive, Thomas J. Brown Jr.Maddux Tosses 2-hitter, Mike Huber1995 NLDS Game One, Laura H. PeeblesBraves Complete 1995 NLCS Sweep, Richard CuicchiMaddux's Gem, Jacob PomrenkeOctober 28, 1995: Braves 1, Indians 0, Jacob Pomrenke

Download or read book Behind the Plate written by Javy Lopez and published by Triumph Books. This book was released on 2012-04-01 with total page 205 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Popular Atlanta Braves catcher Javier “Javy” Lopez opens up in this autobiography to tell his amazing story, from learning to play baseball on a neighborhood basketball court to his record of 42 home runs in a season by a catcher. The product of a lower-middle-class background in Puerto Rico, Javy had to overcome numerous hardships—not the least of which was a language barrier—to fulfill his destiny as one of the most accomplished catchers of the modern era. He tells of bumps along the way to success, including why he overstated his signing bonus as well as the time in the minors when he cried during an all-night meltdown due to his struggles on the field. But he went on to be named MVP of the 1996 National League Championship Series, and played on 12 of the Atlanta Braves' unprecedented 14 straight division-winning teams of the 1990s and 2000s. From his relationship with great teammates such as Greg Maddux and John Smoltz, to his failed comeback attempt with the Braves in 2008, this autobiography tells all about the handsome, warm, engaging Lopez and how he became one of baseball's most popular players.

Download or read book Inside Pitch written by Nick Cafardo and published by Triumph Books (IL). This book was released on 2016 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the greatest pitchers of his generation, Tom Glavine delivered the defining moment of the Atlanta Braves' 1990s dynasty. Glavine took the Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium mound for Game 6 of the 1995 World Series and allowed just one hit as the Braves won 1-0 to clinch Atlanta's first, and only, World Series title. Glavine captured the World Series MVP trophy and the hearts of Braves fans forever. In Inside Pitch, the left-hander tells the story that led up to this moment of glory and countless others in a Hall of Fame career that spanned 22 seasons. Glavine provides an in-depth look at the Braves' glory years, including his friends and fellow Cy Young Award winners Greg Maddux and John Smoltz and manager Bobby Cox. Glavine also shares memories of teammates from Deion Sanders to Chipper Jones and of playing for owner Ted Turner. He also tells his own story from growing up in a working-class family, pushing himself to succeed and his decision to turn down a chance to play pro hockey, opting for baseball instead. He describes his 300th win, his election to baseball's Hall of Fame, and his later seasons with the New York Mets before returning to close out his career with the Braves. Fans of the Braves, and of baseball, will love Glavine's book. It is filled with all the drama and inspiration that make the game America's passion.

Download or read book Atlanta Braves IQ written by Tucker Elliot and published by Black Mesa Publishing. This book was released on 2009-08-04 with total page 114 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Think you know Braves baseball? Think again. You're about to find out how smart you really are about the Atlanta Braves. Are you a rookie? Are you a tested, hardcore veteran? Or will you be clearing waivers for your pending release halfway through the book? We'll let you know. Test your skills. Wrack your brain. It's the ultimate Atlanta Braves IQ test.

Download or read book Ballplayer written by Chipper Jones and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2018-04-03 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Atlanta Braves third baseman and National Hall of Famer Chipper Jones—one of the greatest switch-hitters in baseball history—shares his remarkable story, while capturing the magic nostalgia that sets baseball apart from every other sport. Before Chipper Jones became an eight-time All-Star who amassed Hall of Fame–worthy statistics during a nineteen-year career with the Atlanta Braves, he was just a country kid from small town Pierson, Florida. A kid who grew up playing baseball in the backyard with his dad dreaming that one day he’d be a major league ballplayer. With his trademark candor and astonishing recall, Chipper Jones tells the story of his rise to the MLB ranks and what it took to stay with one organization his entire career in an era of booming free agency. His journey begins with learning the art of switch-hitting and takes off after the Braves make him the number one overall pick in the 1990 draft, setting him on course to become the linchpin of their lineup at the height of their fourteen-straight division-title run. Ballplayer takes readers into the clubhouse of the Braves’ extraordinary dynasty, from the climax of the World Series championship in 1995 to the last-gasp division win by the 2005 “Baby Braves”; all the while sharing pitch-by-pitch dissections of clashes at the plate with some of the all-time great starters, such as Clemens and Johnson, as well as closers such as Wagner and Papelbon. He delves into his relationships with Bobby Cox and his famous Braves brothers—Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz, among them—and opponents from Cal Ripken Jr. to Barry Bonds. The National League MVP also opens up about his overnight rise to superstardom and the personal pitfalls that came with fame; his spirited rivalry with the New York Mets; his reflections on baseball in the modern era—outrageous money, steroids, and all—and his special last season in 2012. Ballplayer immerses us in the best of baseball, as if we’re sitting next to Chipper in the dugout on an endless spring day.

Download or read book Tucker Elliot Bundle 1 Atlanta Braves Baseball written by Tucker Elliot and published by Black Mesa Publishing. This book was released on 2014-04-22 with total page 397 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Three full-length sports history and trivia books from Black Mesa Publishing and author Tucker Elliot. Atlanta Braves IQ: The Ultimate Test of True Fandom Think you know Braves baseball? Think again. You're about to find out how smart you really are about the Atlanta Braves. Are you a rookie? Are you a tested, hardcore veteran? Or will you be clearing waivers for your pending release halfway through the book? We'll let you know. Test your skills. Wrack your brain. It's the ultimate Atlanta Braves IQ test. Atlanta Braves: An Interactive Guide to the World of Sports THE TEAM: The Braves are the oldest continuously operated franchise in National League history and are one of just six Major League clubs with more than 10,000 victories—that's more than the Boston Red Sox or the New York Yankees and nearly 1,000 more than the Philadelphia Phillies (though the Phils have lost 10,000-plus games). In baseball's modern era the Braves franchise has won three World Series titles, 17 Pennants, and made 21 playoff appearances ... not to mention an unprecedented run of 14 consecutive Division Titles and the team of the 1990s under the leadership of Bobby Cox. A virtual who's who of Hall of Fame legends also claim the Braves as their home team: Hank Aaron, Warren Spahn, Eddie Mathews and Phil Niekro to name a few. THE FORMAT: Atlanta Braves: An Interactive Guide to the World of Sports is composed of ten chapters, each offering numbered "mini stories"—facts, anomalies, records, coincidences, and enthralling lore and trivia from Hall of Fame legends Aaron, Spahn, Mathews and Niekro to future Hall of Famers Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz and Chipper Jones, to contemporary stars Brian McCann, Dan Uggla and Tim Hudson. Each chapter begins with an introduction that highlights the many exciting stories found in these pages such as the "Worst-to-First" 1991 Braves, the legendary career of Manager Bobby Cox, the unprecedented Cy Young success for the Braves during the 1990s, the team's greatest sluggers, and the greatest feats and most astounding records in franchise history. SPORTS BY THE NUMBERS books are not just for diehard sports fans, but for every fan and sports history reader who loves sports and wants to know more about their heroes and favorite teams—and this title is the definitive source for history and trivia on your Atlanta Braves. Major League Baseball IQ: The Ultimate Test of True Fandom Think you know everything about our National Pastime? Think again! It's time to find out how much trivia you really know about Major League Baseball. Are you a rookie? Are you a tested, hardcore veteran? Or will you be clearing waivers for your pending release halfway through the book? We'll let you know. Ten chapters, 200 brand new questions, fascinating history, the best trivia from every era of the game, and all the big name players you'd expect to find, MLB IQ is the most comprehensive and challenging book of baseball trivia available today. Test your skills. Wrack your brain. It's your MLB IQ, the ultimate test of true fandom!

Download or read book One Shot at Forever written by Chris Ballard and published by Hachette Books. This book was released on 2012-05-15 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "One Shot at Forever is powerful, inspirational. . . This isn't merely a book about baseball. It's a book about heart." -- Jeff Pearlman, New York Times bestselling author of Boys Will Be Boys and The Bad Guys Won In 1971, a small-town high school baseball team from rural Illinois, playing with hand-me-down uniforms and peace signs on their hats, defied convention and the odds. Led by an English teacher with no coaching experience, the Macon Ironmen emerged from a field of 370 teams to represent the smallest school in Illinois history to make the state final, a distinction that still stands. There the Ironmen would play against a Chicago powerhouse in a dramatic game that would change their lives forever. In this gripping, cinematic narrative, Chris Ballard tells the story of the team and its coach, Lynn Sweet: a hippie, dreamer, and intellectual who arrived in Macon in 1966, bringing progressive ideas to a town stuck in the Eisenhower era. Beloved by students but not administration, Sweet reluctantly took over the ragtag team, intent on teaching the boys as much about life as baseball. Together they embarked on an improbable postseason run that buoyed a small town in desperate need of something to celebrate. Engaging and poignant, One Shot at Forever is a testament to the power of high school sports to shape the lives of those who play them, and it reminds us that there are few bonds more sacred than that among a coach, a team, and a town. "Macon's run at the title reminds us why sports matter and why sportswriting has such great power to inspire. . . [It's] one hell of a good story, and Ballard has written one hell of a good book." -- Jonathan Eig, Chicago Tribune

Download or read book The Braves Encyclopedia written by Gary Caruso and published by Temple University Press. This book was released on 1995 with total page 566 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 1996 marked the 125th season of the oldest continuously operating professional sports franchise in America: the Atlanta Braves. This comprehensive reference begins with the team's birth in 1871 as the Boston Red Stockings, and follows them to Milwaukee in 1953 and to Atlanta in 1966, playing under such a variety of names as Beaneaters, Doves, Rustlers, Braves, Bees, and back to the Braves. Because of this transient past, much of the franchise's history has been misplaced over the years—until now. Beloved not only by their tomahawk-chopping local fans but by baseball fans everywhere, the Braves have become one of today's most successful sports organizations. The Braves Encyclopedia brings it all together. 150 player profiles—from Hall of Famers Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Warren Spahn, and Eddie Matthews to all-time greats Dale Murphy, Phil Niekro, and Terry Pendleton to today's stars like David Justice, Greg Maddux, and Steve Avery 600 photographs of players, game highlights, and memorabilia extensive statistics, including box scores, team and individual records, and trades season-by-season descriptions bring to life the great moments, the World Series championships, the managerial strategies, the personalities, and the milestones a comprehensive history of the ballparks a wealth of little-known facts and surprising anecdotes Author note: Gary Caruso is the editor of Chop Talk a monthly magazine covering the Atlanta Braves. As a sports reporter for nearly 25 years, he has written for the Atlanta Journal has been executive sports editor of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and a senior editor and writer for The National Sports Daily.

Download or read book Starting and Closing written by John Smoltz and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2012-05-08 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: John Smoltz was one of the greatest Major League pitchers of the late twentieth / early twenty-first century—one of only two in baseball history ever to achieve twenty wins and fifty saves in single seasons—and now he shares the candid, no-holds-barred story of his life, his career, and the game he loves in Starting and Closing. A Cy Young Award-winner, future Baseball Hall of Famer, and currently a broadcaster for his former team, the Atlanta Braves, Smoltz delivers a powerful memoir with the kind of fascinating insight into game that made Moneyball a runaway bestseller, plus a heartfelt and truly inspiring faith and religious conviction, similar to what illuminates each page of Tim Tebow’s smash hit memoir, Through My Eyes.

Download or read book Built to Win written by John Schuerholz and published by Grand Central Publishing. This book was released on 2008-12-14 with total page 205 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lost two Cy Young winners in two years, signed a forty-seven-year-old to be his starting first baseman, played seventeen rookies in 2005, and still took his team to the playoffs: baseball is John Schuerholz's world, and everyone else is just playing in it. In Built to Win, the legendary general manager takes you behind the scenes of the Braves' front office—the most successful in baseball since 1990—and shows how his unique philosophies and leadership techniques have helped Atlanta achieve something no team in sports has ever come close to accomplishing. He candidly peels back the curtain, taking you to his first World Series with the Kansas City Royals and the other moments that defined his career, including his eventual departure to the league doormat Atlanta Braves. No sooner did Schuerholz arrive than they won their first title in 1991—and the rest is history. You'll be there on the incredible night in 1992 when Schuerholz improbably traded for Barry Bonds-only to have the deal nixed at the eleventh hour. You'll see how through shrewd negotiation he swooped in to sign reigning Cy Young-winner Greg Maddux out from under the free-spending Yankees. You'll hear how he dealt with the horrific comments made by John Rocker, helping the Braves overcome the biggest PR nightmare in team history to win yet another division crown. Through the eyes of one of the game's sharpest executives, you'll see why Moneyball only scrapes the tip of Schuerholz's time-tested theories, as well as how he developed the premier scouting system in the majors and a free agent strategy that led the Braves to the top of the heap-fourteen years running. And in the end, you'll see what the rest of the baseball world has known for the better part of two decades: that through the brilliance of John Schuerholz, the Braves have lived with one motto, and one motto alone: "All We Do Is Win."

Download or read book Game of My Life Atlanta Braves written by Jack Wilkinson and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2013-04-22 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Theirs was a prolonged run of excellence like none other in sports history. From 1991 through 2005, the Atlanta Braves won fourteen consecutive division championships, a streak no team in professional sports has ever come close to approaching. Beginning with the unexpected worst-to-first miracle of 1991, the Braves commenced an era of sustained dominance that Major League Baseball never saw coming. From the wondrous run to the ’91 pennant, to Francisco Cabrera’s two-run single in the ’92 NLCS that returned the Braves to the World Series, to Atlanta’s first world championship in 1995, it’s all here. Captured within these pages are those memories, retold firsthand by the players who delivered the Braves to the pinnacle of pro sports, including David Justice, Terry Pendleton, Ron Gant, Lonnie Smith, Jeff Blauser, Greg Olson, and Tom Glavine. But also chronicled in Game of My Life Atlanta Braves are the franchise’s many dark years of mediocrity that set up such a magical run. Dating back to the Braves’ move from Milwaukee, this newly revised book will catch up with Braves legends like Hank Aaron, Phil Niekro, Bob Horner, and Dale Murphy, as well as the more recent stars.

Download or read book 100 Things Braves Fans Should Know Do Before They Die written by Jack Wilkinson and published by Triumph Books. This book was released on 2019-04-02 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most Atlanta Braves fans have taken in games at both Turner Field and SunTrust Park, have fond memories of the team's pitching dominance in the '90s, and proudly watched Chipper Jones get inducted into the Hall of Fame. But only real fans have traveled to Florida to watch the Fire Frogs, can recall all 14 of the franchise s no-hitters, and can tell you the only man to play for the Boston, Milwaukee, and Atlanta Braves. 100 Things Braves Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die is the ultimate resource guide for true fans of the Atlanta Braves. Whether you're a die-hard booster from the days of Hank Aaron or a recent supporter of Freddie Freeman and Dansby Swanson, these are the 100 things all fans need to know and do in their lifetime. Veteran sportswriter Jack Wilkinson has collected every essential piece of Braves knowledge and trivia, as well as must-do activities, and rank them all from 1 to 100, providing an entertaining and easy-to-follow checklist as you progress on your way to fan superstardom.

Download or read book Of Mikes and Men written by Pete Van Wieren and published by . This book was released on 2010-04 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As a boy growing up in upstate New York, Pete Van Wieren dreamed of becoming the play-by-play voice of his hometown heroes, the Triple A Rochester Red Wings. Instead, he found big-league broadcast heaven in Atlanta. In 1976, Van Wieren and another young broadcaster named Skip Caray, son of the legendary Harry Caray, were hired to call Atlanta Braves games. Over the next three decades, they were the voices of America's Team, as the Braves became known thanks to Ted Turner's TBS superstation. For 33 seasons, Van Wieren--nicknamed "The Professor" for his scholarly approach to baseball and resemblance to a college professor--saw it all and called it all, including mercurial owner Ted Turner's one-game stint as the Braves' manager in 1976. And then, in the midst of 15 seasons of mostly awful and often hilariously inept baseball, came the Miracle of 1991, when the Braves went from worst to first, captured Atlanta's heart, and nearly won one of the greatest World Series ever played.

Download or read book Baseball s Endangered Species written by Lee Lowenfish and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2023-04 with total page 343 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scouting has been called pro baseball’s personalized way of renewing itself from year to year and a pathway to the game’s past. It takes a very special person to be a baseball scout: normal family life is out of the question because travel is a constant companion. Yet for those with the genuine calling for it, there could be no other life. Hearing the special thwack off the bat that indicates a raw prospect may be the real deal is the dream that keeps true scouts going. Scouts have the difficult task of not only discovering and signing new players but envisioning the trajectory of raw talent into the future. But the place of the traditional scout has become increasingly dire. In 2016 Major League Baseball eliminated the MLB Scouting Bureau that had been created in the 1970s to augment the regular scouting staffs of individual teams. On the eve of the 2017 playoffs that saw the Houston Astros crowned as World Series champions, the team dismissed ten professional scouts and by 2019 halved the number of all their scouts to less than twenty. More and more teams are replacing their experienced talent hunters with people versed in digital video and analytics but who have limited field knowledge of the game, driven by the Moneyball-inspired trend to favor analytics, data, and algorithms over instinct and observation. In Baseball’s Endangered Species Lee Lowenfish explores in-depth how scouting has been affected by the surging use of metrics along with other changes in modern baseball business history: expansion of the Major Leagues in 1961 and 1962, the introduction of the amateur free agent draft in 1965, and the coming of Major League free agency after the 1976 season. With an approach that is part historical, biographical, and oral history, Baseball’s Endangered Species is a comprehensive look at the scouting profession and the tradition of hands-on evaluation. At a time when baseball is drenched with statistics, many of them redundant or of questionable value, Lowenfish explores through the eyes and ears of scouts the vital question of “makeup”: how a player copes with failure, baseball’s essential, painful truth.

Download or read book Baseball in Atlanta written by Paul Crater and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2007-02-21 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Baseball has left a rich legacy on the city of Atlanta, as generations of people have enjoyed the sport as spectators and players in both amateur and professional leagues. In addition to being a source of enjoyment and regional pride, Atlantas baseball teams have had a huge economic and cultural impact, and their stadiums have altered the face of the city. Baseball in Atlanta explores the sport through 200 rare and vivid photographs from the collections of the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center.

Download or read book 50 written by Arlene Pullen and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2014-10-08 with total page 149 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 50* My Baseball Odyssey is one fan’s perspective on Major League Baseball stadiums, beginning with Shibe Park in Philadelphia and ending with Marlins Park in Miami. It offers a limited history of selected venues and relates some of the accomplishments of the men who played the game during the last one hundred years. It moves the reader’s attention from the games to the total experience of interacting with fans and observing their responses to plays on the field or people sitting beside them.

Download or read book Extraordinary People written by Michael Hearst and published by Chronicle Books. This book was released on 2015-05-12 with total page 113 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Inside this book, you'll find stories of 50 extraordinary people such as: Evel Knievel, who jumped his motorcycle over 14 Greyhound buses The Iceman, the most well-preserved human, found in the ice after 5,300 years Sam Patch, who jumped Niagara Falls for $75 Helen Thayer, who walked to the North Pole alone Roy Sullivan, who was struck by lightning 7 times These intriguing facts and hundreds more await curious readers, amateur historians, and anyone who aspires to the altogether extraordinary!