Sports Fact and Book Rec of the Day 12/04/2007

Not one for gimmicks, fire-and-brimstone speeches or home-field hoopla, Bill Parcells knows which way the wind blows on most NFL Sunday afternoons: "I learned a long time ago that if you have a team that needs momentum creation to play well, then you probably don't have a very good team."

Birthdays:
Harvey Kuenn b. 1930
Alex Delvecchio b. 1931
Bernard King b. 1956
Lee Smith b. 1957
Sergei Bubka b. 1963


“...Captivates in childhood, and still delights in age.”—Robert Louis Stevenson

For swashbuckling heroes, star-crossed lovers, daring thieves, and a little magic, you can’t do much better than The Arabian Nights. The best of Shahrazad’s wonderful stories are here in Richard Burton’s classic translation. Some tales will ring bells (“Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves,” “Alaeddin”), but others will be new and fresh (“The Porter and the Three Ladies of Baghdad”). The romance, mystery, and wonder of the ancient Near East come alive in fables that still enchant.

THE ARABIAN NIGHTS: TALES FROM A THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS, translated by Sir Richard F. Burton; introduced by A. S. Byatt (1885-88; Modern Library, 2001)