{"title":"Water Sports","description":"\u003cp\u003eWater sports encompass a dynamic range of aquatic activities, from competitive swimming and diving to recreational pursuits such as surfing, sailing, rowing, and kayaking. This subject explores the unique techniques, safety considerations, and culture behind each pastime while highlighting both team and individual aspects of water-based recreation and competition.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo refine your research or reading, consider narrowing by specific interests such as canoeing, scuba and snorkeling, or individual and group activities like boating and surfing. 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This book is surely destined to become a classic.\"--Peter Nichols, author of \u003ci\u003eSea Change\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eA Voyage for Madmen\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"John Kretschmer has transformed this story of three men on a collision course with a hurricane into a modern seafaring classic.\"--Peter Nielsen, editor of \u003ci\u003eSAIL\u003c\/i\u003e magazine\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"With expert analysis and taut writing, he draws readers into that mad storm. You can't turn away. You keep reading until it breaks your heart.\"--Fred Grimm, columnist for the \u003ci\u003eMiami Herald\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Once begun, his vivid and powerful narrative is impossible to put down.\"--Derek Lundy, author of \u003ci\u003eGodforsaken Sea\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Way of a Ship\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"I felt I knew Carl Wake, because John Kretschmer found in him an archetype--an aging sailor with an age-old dream.\"--Jim Carrier, transatlantic sailor and author of \u003ci\u003eThe Ship and the Storm: Hurricane Mitch and the Loss of the Fantome\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"A remarkable book, impossible to put down.\"--Herb McCormick, sailing journalist\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"INTL MARINE PUBL","offers":[{"title":"New","offer_id":51543240835362,"sku":"9780071498876-new","price":21.18,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0893\/4755\/5618\/files\/9780071498876.jpg?v=1776374345"},{"product_id":"whitewater-wars-rafters-river-trip-that-saved-ocoee-gauley-river-battle-9798592884528-new","title":"The Whitewater Wars: The Rafters and the River Trip that Saved the Ocoee and The Gauley River Battle","description":"The Whitewater Wars is an entertaining and at times funny story about a new outdoor recreation industry's struggle to gain a foothold in Appalachia in the early 1980s. 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Anyone with a passion for protecting America's rivers, and for that matter, anyone who just enjoys hearing about political brawls with powerful federal bureaucracies, will love the quick read that The Whitewater Wars delivers through David's gifted storytelling.\" \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDavid Arnold, a cofounder of Class VI River Runners, in Lansing, WV said, \"This book does much more than describe how an industry started and grew in the mountains of Appalachia. It is the behind-the-scenes account of the power of passion to make change happen. This 'David and Goliath' story gives hope to anyone committed to changing the way we do things.\"","brand":"INDEPENDENTLY PUBLISHED","offers":[{"title":"New","offer_id":51544331059490,"sku":"9798592884528-new","price":13.79,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0893\/4755\/5618\/files\/9798592884528.jpg?v=1776400792"},{"product_id":"emerald-mile-epic-story-fastest-ride-history-through-heart-grand-canyon-9781439159866-new","title":"The Emerald Mile: The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History Through the Heart of the Grand Canyon","description":"\u003cb\u003eFrom one of \u003ci\u003eOutside\u003c\/i\u003e magazine's \"Literary All-Stars\" comes the thrilling true tale of the fastest boat ride ever through the Grand Canyon, atop the legendary Colorado River flood of 1983.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the spring of 1983, massive flooding along the length of the Colorado River confronted a team of engineers at the Glen Canyon Dam with an unprecedented emergency that may have resulted in the most catastrophic dam failure in history. 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Now, this remarkable, epic feat unfolds here, in \u003ci\u003eThe Emerald Mile\u003c\/i\u003e.","brand":"SCRIBNER BOOKS CO","offers":[{"title":"New","offer_id":51578068762914,"sku":"9781439159866-new","price":18.32,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0893\/4755\/5618\/files\/9781439159866.jpg?v=1777400768"},{"product_id":"plunge-maverick-swimmers-unlikely-quest-transformative-power-cold-water-9781668055861-new","title":"The Plunge: Maverick Swimmers, an Unlikely Quest, and the Transformative Power of Cold Water","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBorn to Run\u003c\/i\u003e meets \u003ci\u003eWhy We Swim\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eand \u003ci\u003eBreath\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003ein a globe-spanning work of immersive narrative nonfiction that dives into the hidden world of cold water plunging and swimming--and what it reveals about the human body, mind, and need for connection.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Mesmerizing...I loved this book.\" \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e--Adam Grant, #1 \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e When award-winning \u003ci\u003eSports Illustrated\u003c\/i\u003e writer Chris Ballard receives a cryptic text promising to extend his athletic life, he has no idea it will lead him into a parallel athletic universe--one populated by record-breaking grandmothers, obsessive scientists, rogue visionaries chasing Olympic legitimacy, and everyday people willingly plunging into freezing water together, a realm that subverts the idea of what \"elite\" athletes are supposed to look like. What begins as curiosity becomes a three-year reporting journey across continents, from the saunas of Finland and seas of Ireland to Norway, England, and Boston. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Blending adventure journalism with rigorous research, \u003ci\u003eThe Plunge\u003c\/i\u003e traces humanity's long relationship with cold water--from the ancient Greeks and Victorian sea bathers to polar plungers and modern laboratories studying stress, resilience, and mental health, a lifeline for those \"drowning on dry land.\" Reporting from the front lines of emerging science, Ballard explores how brief, voluntary cold exposure can sharpen focus, elevate mood, reduce inflammation, stunt cortisol, and retrain the body's stress response, creating a rare state of being both calm and alert. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Along the way, Ballard introduces pioneers like legendary distance swimmer Lynne Cox, follows Ram Barkai's improbable quest to bring ice swimming to the Olympics, and charts a global movement that's surged from fringe ritual to mainstream phenomenon. 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