Four for the Month

It was Maya Angelou who once said: "When I look back, I am so impressed again with the life-giving power of literature. If I were a young person today, trying to gain a sense of myself in the world, I would do that again by reading, just as I did when I was young."

With that in mind, we offer you April's installment of Four for the Month.

"All for a Few Perfect Waves: The Audacious Life and Legend of Rebel Surfer

Miki Dora"

Author: David Rensin Amazon.com list price:

$15.57

To be honest, we're still in the process of reading this book- it was released to the general public last Tuesday- but because it's already so entertaining, we didn't want to wait another month to spread the good word.

So we're bending the rules a bit, which, considering the subject of the book, seems completely appropriate.

Miki Dora, aka "Da Cat," was once the king of the Malibu surf scene, a superb waterman with a legendary temper who became the poster child for surfing's counterculture revolution in the 1950s and '60s. After countless barrels and nose rides, Dora died in 2002 at the age of 67.

This isn't the first time an author has taken on the thorny task of telling Dora's epic tale- the guy pretty much despised the media and rarely did interviews, even going so far as to encourage his friends not to discuss his life with outsiders- but the sheer volume of Rensin's sources is astounding, all things considered.

"Crazy '08: How a Cast of Cranks, Rogues, Boneheads,

and Magnates Created the

Greatest Year in

Baseball History"

Author: Cait Murphy Amazon.com list price:

$10.17

With this year being the 100th anniversary since the Chicago Cubs won a World Series, maybe it's the right time to read about an era when the Cubbies where actually, gasp, dominant.

Cait Murphy, a Fortune magazine editor who had never written a baseball book, literally came out of left field to write a fine read on Chicago's Lovable Losers.

In "Crazy '08," Murphy not only does an excellent job recreating a pennant race that featured soon-to-be Hall-of-Famers Honus Wagner, John McGraw, Christy Mathewson, Frank Chance and a young Ty Cobb, but she also paints a beautiful portrait of American life in the early 1900s.

Included is an entire chapter dedicated to the most controversial game in baseball history between the New York Giants and Cubs. Some baseball fans, most of whom live on Chicago's South Side, believe this game is a major reason the Cubs are "jinxed." Some people always need an excuse. "Bob Miller's Tales From the

Los Angeles Kings" Authors: Randy Schultz,

Bob Miller Amazon.com list price:

$15.56

The Stanley Cup playoffs are underway this week, and for the fifth straight season the Los Angeles Kings won't be involved.

Although the rebuilding Kings finished tied with Tampa Bay for the least amount of points in the NHL this season, everything wasn't always gloomy for the L.A. franchise. If anyone can tell a story about the good ol' days, it's Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Miller, the voice of the Kings for the past 35 years.

In Miller's book, the announcer recalls a number of concise yet entertaining stories, tales ranging from Miller's feud with former owner Jack Kent Cooke, the Miracle on Manchester, the blockbuster trade for Wayne Gretzky and the team making its only Stanley Cup appearance against the Montreal Canadiens in 1993.

The book is small, not even 200 pages, but is a quick, enjoyable read.

"Pond Scum and Vultures" Author: Gene Wojciechowski Amazon.com list price: $0.29

If Helen of Troy launched a thousand ships, then "Pond Scum and Vultures" launched a thousand sportswriters' careers.

The book provides the ordinary sports fan with a glimpse into the unglamorous lives of sportswriters. Think it's fun when Eric Dickerson screams in your face while morsels of his tuna fish sandwich splatter on your face?

Gene Wojciechowski, an ESPN.com columnist and former Los Angeles Times writer, collects fascinating and often hilarious stories from more than 200 scribes about the job. This book shares anecdotes that can't be found in the average game story.

"Pond Scum and Vultures" portrays professional athletes honestly and sometimes in an unflattering light.

Let's face it, many professional athletes are about as charming as a badger zipped inside a gym bag full of Walter Sobchak's dirty undies while on a 15-hour flight to Basra.

Although it's out of print, Wojciechowski's book is a mustread for anybody who wants to know what really happens behind closed doors.