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Contributor: Abby C.
 * //Remember Roberto// ****by Jim O’Brien **

There have been many athletes who have played the game of baseball, but one of the all-time greatest players played right here in Pittsburgh. From 1955-1972, Roberto Clemente played for the Pittsburgh Pirates as a right fielder. The book, //Remember Roberto,// by Jim O’Brien, tells about the long baseball history and tragic death of Roberto Clemente. O’Brien interviewed many people Clemente was associated with, such as: former teammates, friends, family, and players from other teams. These people recalled memories, stories, and opinions about Clemente that are intriguing to read. Not only was Clemente a magnificent baseball player, but he was also a giving, caring, and respected human being. He did whatever he could to help people, especially children, around Pittsburgh, and he also helped his native country of Puerto Rico. Clemente cared so much for his country of Puerto Rico and he gave back to the country that helped him get to the major leagues. Roberto Clemente tragically died in a plane crash on December 31, 1972. Clemente was on a plane to Nicaragua delivering supplies to earthquake victims. “The way he died was the way he lived,” explained by Roberto’s wife, Vera, during her 1993 interview with O’Brien. This quote sums up what Roberto’s life was all about: giving. Roberto Clemente Walker was one of the best baseball players who ever played, but more importantly, he was a generous, giving, one- of- a- kind person.

//**No Ordinary Joe**// **by Michael O’Brien** Contributor: Brett D.

Football is one of the few professional sports that legitimizes pure violence on the field in contests that feature athletes that are as strong as oxen; and through the blood, sweat, and tears from hard work of both players and coaches, the sport has made heroes out of teenagers and legends out of ordinary men. One of the most inspirational legends of all time was a literature and law major in college, named Joe Paterno. The biography //No Ordinary Joe// by Michael O’Brien describes in vivid detail the life of Joe Paterno, originating from his childhood while he attended Saint Edmonds Catholic School in Brooklyn, New York, until Paterno’s magnificent “road to number one” and the success of the “Grand Experiment.” The Paterno family migrated to America from Southern Italy just before Joe Paterno’s birth. Although Paterno endured racism for his heritage, he thrived in academics and athletics at Brooklyn Prep High School. He was then accepted at Brown University where he became the starting quarterback in his junior year. His swagger and at times compulsive desire to win may consist of a few dispositions that have allowed Paterno to achieve records that still stand strong today. In 1966, Paterno replaced Rip Engle as head coach of Penn State. The road to a national championship had begun. Soon, however, Paterno wanted to see Penn State “be number one at everything.” His “Grand Experiment” desired to fuse academic and athletic excellence to create the ultimate student athlete. His coaching has changed lives and his legacy lives on as he just recently achieved a milestone of four hundred and one wins. The biography is an effective motivational tool that is a must-read for the die-hard Penn State fan, athlete, or aspiring leader.

//Theodor Seuss Geisel// by **Donald E. Pease** Contributor: Kelsey K.

Dr. Seuss was one of history’s most innovative men in the field of child reading development. He intertwined complex concepts and original juvenile brain development theories with made up words and phrases easy for children to read and understand. Known in the non-literary world as Theodor Seuss Geisel, his life experiences, from childhood up until his death, played a key role in the storylines of his books. Geisel lived through the hardships of being part of a German immigrant family during WWI and WWII, which inadvertently shaped the plots of many of his books. For example, in his book “Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories”, Yertle was the ruler of a decent sized pond near the woods. However, he wanted to rule over everything in sight, so he forced his subjects to stack themselves so he could stand on the top and have even more area to govern. After feeling neglected by Yertle for quite some time, his subjects disassembled their tower; Yertle ended up being “king of the mud.” This is a direct correlation to the Nazi dictatorship in Germany, and how its eventual downfall was a cause of citizen resentment towards their government. These types of parallels are apparent in many of his books. Ultimately, Geisel was trying to prevent history from repeating itself by eloquently and cleverly presenting these issues to “the future of not only America, but the world.” In this and many other senses, Geisel was a visionary towards future education approaches and thwarting future disasters by “influencing them (children) from the beginning of their comprehensive lives.” The life story and works of Dr. Seuss should be treasured by future generations to come.

//**Beneath The Surface **//** by Michael Phelps ** Contributer: Christine G.

No one ever would have thought that the boy who hated going to swim lessons as a child would become an Olympic champion in the sport of swimming. In //Beneath the Surface// by Michael Phelps, he tells how he wanted to change the sport of swimming and his life story of how he became an Olympic swimmer after coming to love the sport. “I want people to talk about it, think about it, and look forward to seeing it. I want them to want to jump in and do it. That’s my goal,” he said in an interview. In this book, Phelps retells the events leading up to the Olympic games in Athens, Greece, where his all-time goal was to win seven gold medals. Throughout the book, he adds anecdotes from his childhood, further contributing to the explanation of his journey. Would Phelps, with the help of his coach Bob Bowman, be able to achieve his goal of earning the seven gold medals? With all of the extensive training every day, he was in the perfect shape and certainly had the strength and talent to meet his goal. But, would he be able to make it happen? This is an inspiring story for any struggling athlete, no matter what sport he or she is involved in.