Chris Ballard

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 become the smallest...

Brought to you by Penguin. A globe-spanning narrative adventure about how the euphoria of cold water can transform — and even extend — your life. Lifelong athlete and Sports Illustrated writer Chris Ballard worried his days of exercise were numbered. Then he received a fateful text message...

Born to Run meets Why We Swim and Breath in 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. “Mesmerizing...I loved this book.” —Adam Grant...