A year after its celebrated release in hardcover, Six Good Innings is ready to meet the masses. The story of the joys, hardships and immense pressures of elite-level Little League baseball has made its national debut as a paperback.

What better time to re-connect with the book that explores the heart of the game? Run to the bookstore – or to your nearest computer keyboard – and get your copy of Six Good Innings, a work praised by Booklist as “a genuine feel-good saga, a fascinating, warm and decidedly entertaining look inside one branch of youth sports.”

Six Good Innings is Mark’s account of the summer he spent in Toms River, N.J., a place made world famous by the success of its past Little League champions. But that success comes with a price: Every new edition of Toms River All-Stars strains to reach the heights achieved by the teams that came before it.

From gripping start to warm finish, the book explores the culture of youth sports in America: the laughs, the tears, the great games, the well-meaning but overbearing parents, and — of course — the dream of winning it all at the Little League World Series.

Lauded for the commonality of its themes and concerns, Six Good Innings has been the subject of dozens of features and interviews, and has been taught and discussed in classrooms from elementary schools to universities. Get your copy today and join the national conversation!

Six Good Innigs, published by HarperCollins, is in bookstores now. Order yours here.

When Mark began his current book project, he had no idea what he was getting into. But that sounds about right. After all, we’re talking about surfers.

Heavy Waves is Mark’s intimate look at the tiny cadre of risk-takers who challenge the frigid waters and jagged reef just off Half Moon Bay, California, all in the name of finding the perfect ride. In this case, that would mean a 50-foot wave face or beyond. (Imagine a speeding wall of water reaching the roof peak of a two-story house, aim a little higher, and you’re getting warm.) The Mavericks surf point has long been understood as one of the most dangerous places in the world to catch a ride – but that never stops the crew from going for it, nor from coming from around the world on 24 hours’ notice to attempt to win the Mavericks Surf Contest year after year.

Mark’s book is an embedded account of the culture of high-risk, high-adrenaline athletes, focused through the prism of some of the world’s most daring jocks: The guys who spend their days chasing the biggest waves on Earth. And just under the surface, this is also an amazing story of what happens when love of the endeavor collides with the realities of business in the 21st century.

Heavy Waves will be published in 2010 by W.W. Norton & Company, and it’s no everyday surf book. Read more about it on Mark’s blog, where he’ll keep you updated on the book’s progress and continue to comment on the sports news of the moment. Enjoy!

When Four Days to Glory was published in the winter of 2007, few would have guessed that it would continue to resonate – in real time – two full years later. But Mark picked the right guys to feature.

A study of the value of sports to small towns and communities, Four Days told the story of Jay Borschel and Dan LeClere, two home-grown Iowa stars who each had a chance to do something spectacular in the sport of wrestling. The book was praised from coast to coast, with the New York Times, Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly and Atlantic Monthly, among others, chiming in.

Fast forward to 2009, and Jay and Dan are still making headlines as members of the Iowa University national championship wrestling program. Jay finished last season No. 3 in the country and is aiming for a title this time around, while Dan is fighting a valiant battle to reclaim his place in the constellation after a series of physical setbacks.

See what all the fuss is about! Buy your copy of Four Days to Glory today, and join us in following the travails of Jay and Dan as they approach the biggest moments of their athletic careers.