Teams & Gangs

Anyone who has played a team sport knows the rush that comes from feeling like an integral piece of a well-oiled machine. Yet exhilaration and cooperation are only one aspect of team dynamics. This collection explores all facets of the team relationship, both positive and negative.

Outcasts United

by Warren St. John

Publication year 2009

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Teamwork, Immigration, Perseverance, Community, Politics & Government

Tags Sports, Sociology, Inspirational, Education, Education, Military & War, Biography

Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman’s Quest to Make a Difference (2007) is the second book by former New York Times journalist Warren St. John. It follows one season with the Fugees, a soccer team for refugee boys in Clarkston, Georgia. Weaving personal stories with local and international histories, St. John demonstrates The Value of Organized Sports for Young People and the systemic injustices preventing refugees from equal participation in... Read Outcasts United Summary

Out Of Nowhere

by Maria Padian

Publication year 2013

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Race, Language, Perseverance, Teamwork, Immigration

Tags Sports, Immigration & Refugeeism, Coming of Age, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance, Arts & Culture

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Packing for Mars

by Mary Roach

Publication year 2010

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Space, Equality, Teamwork, Place, Gender Identity, Science & Technology

Tags Science & Nature, Humor, US History, Technology, World History

Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void is one of several bestselling nonfiction works by science writer and humorist Mary Roach. Published in 2010, the work focuses on the human side of space travel and offers behind-the-scenes accounts of peculiar and taboo topics such as sex, vomit, and toilets in space. Roach writes from a candid, outsider’s point of view and demystifies some of the grandeur of space travel by reporting... Read Packing for Mars Summary

Patina

by Jason Reynolds

Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Race, Teamwork, Grief

Tags Realistic Fiction, Sports, Children`s Literature, Modern Classic Fiction

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Peter and the Starcatchers

by Dave Barry

Publication year 2004

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Colonialism, Teamwork, Loyalty & Betrayal, Friendship, Coming of Age, Childhood & Youth, Power & Greed, Community

Tags Fantasy, Fairy Tale & Folklore, Action & Adventure, Humor, Children`s Literature, Coming of Age, Relationships, Trauma & Abuse, Poverty, American Literature

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Pigeon English

by Stephen Kelman

Publication year 2011

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Teamwork

Tags British Literature, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

Stephen Kelman’s 2011 debut novel, Pigeon English, recounts eleven-year-old Harrison (Harri) Opoku’s move with his mother and older sister from Ghana to England, where they go to live in a working-class apartment complex in a London estate, a tough environment plagued by crime and violence. A coming-of-age narrative that explores the binary of innocence and experience, Harri’s narrative captures what it means to be a young boy in the modern era dealing with all of... Read Pigeon English Summary

Planetarium

by Adrienne Rich

Publication year 1974

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Space, Teamwork, Loyalty & Betrayal, Fame, Science & Technology, Order & Chaos, Justice, Conflict, Memory, Love, Perseverance, Femininity

Tags Lyric Poem, Gender & Feminism, Social Justice, Relationships

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Playground

by Richard Powers

Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Environment, Conflict, Perseverance, Masculinity, Death, Fathers, Friendship, Marriage, Siblings, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Community, Education, Fate, Literature, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Science & Technology, Wins & Losses

Tags Science Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

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Pop

by Gordon Korman

Publication year 2000

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Grief, Memory, Nostalgia, Disability, Mental Health, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Death, The Past, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Community, Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Realistic Fiction, Sports

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Possession

by A. S. Byatt

Publication year 1990

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Literature, Memory, Femininity, The Past, Objects & Materials, Teamwork, Art, Beauty, Fame, Power & Greed

Tags Historical Fiction, British Literature, Postmodernism

A. S. Byatt’s novel Possession: A Romance, published in 1990, is a work of historical fiction that combines the elements of literary mystery and romance. The novel won the Booker Prize, one of the most prestigious awards in English-language literature. Its narrative unfolds along two parallel timelines. In 1986, two young scholars, Roland Michell and Maud Bailey, discover a secret love affair between the eminent Victorian poet Randolph Henry Ash and the lesser-known Christabel LaMotte... Read Possession Summary

Post Office

by Charles Bukowski

Publication year 1971

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Apathy, Conflict, Perseverance, Hope, Loneliness, Masculinity, Mental Health, Sexual Identity, Midlife, Family, Friendship, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Economics, Nation, Politics & Government, Fate, Justice, Order & Chaos, Truth & Lies, Wins & Losses

Tags Classic Fiction, Life-Inspired Fiction, Humor, American Literature, The Beat Generation

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Praying for Sheetrock

by Melissa Fay Greene

Publication year 1991

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Teamwork, Community

Tags US History, Race & Racism, Southern Literature, World History, Politics & Government

Praying for Sheetrock is a book of literary nonfiction by writer Melissa Fay Greene. The book was a finalist for the National Book Award in 1991. A group of experts convened by New York University’s journalism department also included the book on its list of the best journalism of the 20th century. The book’s author, Greene, is a native of Georgia. She has published six nonfiction books and has written for many publications, including The... Read Praying for Sheetrock Summary

Principles

by Ray Dalio

Publication year 2011

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Economics, Teamwork, Power & Greed

Tags Business & Economics, Self-Improvement, Leadership, Philosophy, Philosophy, Biography

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Promises to Keep

by Sharon Robinson

Publication year 2004

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Conflict, Perseverance, Hope, Race, Future, The Past, Family, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Colonialism, Community, Nation, Politics & Government, Equality, Fame, Justice, Order & Chaos, Truth & Lies, Wins & Losses

Tags Biography, African American Literature, Sports, US History

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Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey Into the Afterlife

by Eben Alexander

Publication year 2012

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Fear, Love, Memory, Death, The Past, Appearance & Reality, Objects & Materials, Place, Space, Family, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Community, Education, Fate, Order & Chaos, Religion & Spirituality, Science & Technology, Truth & Lies

Tags Religion & Spirituality, Health, Science & Nature, Biography

Dr. Eben Alexander’s 2012 memoir, Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife, documents his near-death experience (NDE) while in a coma resulting from a rare bacterial infection. As an academic neurosurgeon with a materialist worldview, Alexander did not believe in an afterlife. The book details how his NDE forced him to reconcile his scientific training with what he now considered proof of a reality beyond the physical world. The memoir explores several themes:... Read Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey Into the Afterlife Summary