Tim Brown is a New York Times bestselling author and an award-winning national sports columnist covering Major League Baseball, most recently at Yahoo! Sports for nearly 15 years. He formerly served as a national baseball columnist at The Los Angeles Times and freelanced for The Wall Street Journal. Earlier in his career, he worked as a sports reporter at The Star-Ledger, the Cincinnati Enquirer, and the Los Angeles Daily News. Pete A Turner and Brian Wetzel are proud to welcome Tim Brown and his fabulous book to the Break It Down Show. Get Nolan: The Singular Life of an American Original on Amazon at amzn.to/4dwTD1N The blub from the book: Nolan Ryan was the hero to two of America's biggest institutions: Texas and baseball. Nolan is an exploration of God, family, baseball, and America—and a tribute to one of the greatest pitchers to ever step on the mound. He grew up in the small, hard town of Alvin, Texas, was graced with a fastball, and fell in love with a woman named Ruth, then honored all three in his pursuit of hardball perfection. Alongside Nolan's personal story, renowned sportswriter Tim Brown offers a thoughtful, deeply researched history of baseball in the Lone Star State, and an unforgettable account of three glorious decades in the Major Leagues. Nolan Ryan's story is about dominating on the field, then growing old in the game, then just plain growing old. It's about the man who has become a symbol of the game at its best, the way it used to be. It's about deeds over words. About cattle matching the hat. About fastballs over all else. Nolan makes the case that there has never been another like him. And there won't be again.