Sports Fact and Book Rec of the Day 8/18/2007

Disdaining the whirlpool and reflecting the credo of NFL players who routinely compete with varying degrees of pain andn discomfort, Hall of Fame running back Tony Dorsett maintained: "You can't make the club in the tub."

Birthdays:
Roberto Clemente b. 1934
Rafer Johnson b. 1935
Matt Snell b. 1941
Bobby Higginson b. 1970
Jeremy Shockey b. 1980

BIOGRAPHIES

What was life like in Renaissance Italy? You’ll find many of the answers here in this surprising and lively biography of Ippolito d’Este. The second son of Lucretia Borgia, d’Este ended up a decadent, powerful cardinal—at once party boy, patron of the arts, and notable charitable giver. More fascinating than his life is the picture of the times in which he lived. Hollingsworth’s meticulous research results in a brilliantly clear and detailed account of Italian court life.

THE CARDINAL’S HAT: MONEY, AMBITION, AND EVERYDAY LIFE IN THE COURT OF A BORGIA PRINCE, by Mary Hollingsworth (Overlook, 2005)