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  • Book cover of The Queen of Katwe
    Tim Crothers

     · 2012

    Includes a guide for book clubs, classrooms, and chess groups.

  • Book cover of The Queen of Katwe
    Tim Crothers

     · 2012

    Phiona Mutesi, is a 15-year-old girl born and raised in a miserable slum called Katwe in Kampala, Uganda. She sleeps in a decrepit mud hut with her mother and four siblings and struggles to find a single meal each day. Phiona has been in and out of school her whole life because her mother cannot afford to send her, so she is only now learning to read and write. Phiona Mutesi is also one of the top chess players in the world. One day in 2005, while desperately searching for food, Phiona followed her brother to a mission church where she met Robert Katende, another child of the Ugandan slums, who works for an American organization that offers relief and religion through sports. Robert introduced Phiona to the game of chess and within months he discovered her immense talent. By the age of 11, in 2007, Phiona was her country's junior chess champion and at 15, her country's national champion. In September of 2010 she traveled to Siberia, just her second time ever on an airplane, to compete in the Chess Olympiad, the world's most prestigious team chess event. While there, Phiona proved herself to be on par with the greatest players in the sport and her goal is to one day become a grandmaster, the most elite title in chess, and to blaze a trail out of Katwe that other children in Robert's chess community can follow. To be African is to be an underdog in the world. To be Ugandan is to be an underdog in Africa. To be from Katwe is to be an underdog in Uganda. And to be a girl is to be an underdog in Katwe. The Queen of Katwe is the ultimate underdog story.

  • Book cover of The Queen of Katwe
    Tim Crothers

     · 2012

    Now a major motion picture starring Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o and David Oyelowo, directed by Mira Nair. The “astonishing” (The New York Times Book Review) and “inspirational” (Shelf Awareness) true story of Phiona Mutesi—a teenage chess prodigy from the slums of Uganda. One day in 2005 while searching for food, nine-year-old Ugandan Phiona Mutesi followed her brother to a dusty veranda where she met Robert Katende. Katende, a war refugee turned missionary, had an improbable dream: to empower kids in the Katwe slum through chess—a game so foreign there is no word for it in their native language. Laying a chess­board in the dirt, Robert began to teach. At first children came for a free bowl of porridge, but many grew to love the game that—like their daily lives—requires persevering against great obstacles. Of these kids, one girl stood out as an immense talent: Phiona. By the age of eleven Phiona was her country’s junior champion, and at fifteen, the national champion. Now a Woman Candidate Master—the first female titled player in her country’s history—Phiona dreams of becoming a Grandmaster, the most elite level in chess. But to reach that goal, she must grapple with everyday life in one of the world’s most unstable countries. The Queen of Katwe is a “remarkable” (NPR) and “riveting” (New York Post) book that shows how “Phiona’s story transcends the limitations of the chessboard” (Robert Hess, US Grandmaster).

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    Tim Crothers

     · 2025

    The “astonishing” (The New York Times Book Review) and “inspirational” (Shelf Awareness) true story of Phiona Mutesi—a teenage chess prodigy from the slums of Uganda—soon to be a major motion picture starring David Oyelowo and Academy Award–winner Lupita Nyong’o. One day in 2005 while searching for food, nine-year-old Ugandan Phiona Mutesi followed her brother to a dusty veranda where she met Robert Katende. Katende, a war refugee turned missionary, had an improbable dream: to empower kids in the Katwe slum through chess—a game so foreign there is no word for it in their native language. Laying a chess­board in the dirt, Robert began to teach. At first children came for a free bowl of porridge, but many grew to love the game that—like their daily lives—requires persevering against great obstacles. Of these kids, one girl stood out as an immense talent: Phiona. By the age of eleven Phiona was her country’s junior champion, and at fifteen, the national champion. Now a Woman Candidate Master—the first female titled player in her country’s history—Phiona dreams of becoming a Grandmaster, the most elite level in chess. But to reach that goal, she must grapple with everyday life in one of the world’s most unstable coun­tries. Filled with aspiration, determination, and belief, The Queen of Katwe is a “remarkable” (NPR) and “riveting” (New York Post) book that shows how “Phiona’s story transcends the limitations of the chessboard” (Robert Hess, US Grandmaster). This is “a must-read for all who dare to dream” (Library Journal, starred review).

  • Book cover of Hard Work

    Coach Roy Williams, one of the most successful basketball coaches in the nation, tells the story of his life that few people know, from his turbulent family life as a child to the North Carolina Tar Heels' National Championship victory in 2009.

  • Book cover of Internet Lockdown
    Tim Crothers

     · 2001

    More and more administrators are realizing just how vulnerable their systems are to attack. This hands-on security handbook is the resource they've been waiting for. Written by the chief security engineer at a leading e-security provider, it shows step by step how to set up strong Internet security--without spending an arm and a leg.

  • Book cover of The Man Watching
    Tim Crothers

     · 2010

    The Man Watching: Anson Dorrance and the University of North Carolina Women's Soccer Dynasty is the authorized biography of a fascinating head coach and the more than 200 young women he inspired to believe that anything is possible. Updated to include the story of the Tar Heels's 2008 and 2009 NCAA championships. As coach of UNC's women's soccer team, Anson Dorrance has won more than 90 percent of his games, groomed far more All-Americans, and captured more NCAA championships than any other coach in the sport ten times over. Author Tim Crothers spent four years interviewing Dorrance and Tar Heels players from every era, along with players and coaches from rival college programs, to create the most comprehensive, intimate, and unfiltered look ever inside the most prolific dynasty in college athletics.

  • Book cover of The Queen of Katwe
    Tim Crothers

     · 2012

    Based on ‘The Queen of Katwe’, a finalist for a National Magazine Award and included in Dave Eggers’ The Best American Nonrequired Reading, this is the true story of a female prodigy from the Ugandan slum of Katwe Phiona Mutesi sleeps in a mud hut with her mother and siblings, and struggles to find a meal each day. She is also one of the best chess players in the world. One day in 2005, while searching for food, nine-year-old Phiona followed her brother to a dusty verandah where she met Robert Katende, a refugee who had also grown up in the slums. Robert had an improbable aspiration: to empower Katwe’s kids through chess — a game so foreign that there was no word for it in their native language. Robert taught the game each day. At first the children came for the free porridge, but many grew to love chess, a game that — as in their daily lives — meant navigating obstacles. One talented young girl stood out: Phiona. By the age of 11, Phiona was Uganda’s junior champion; at 15, she was the national champion. In 2010, she travelled to Siberia to compete in the Chess Olympiad, the world’s most prestigious team-chess event. Phiona’s dream is to become a chess grandmaster. But to reach that goal, she must grapple with life in one of the world’s most unstable countries — a place where girls are taught to be mothers, not dreamers, and the threats of AIDS, kidnapping, and starvation loom constantly. Like Katherine Boo’s Behind the Beautiful Forevers and Gayle Tzemach Lemmon’s The Dressmaker of Khair Khana, this is an intimate and heart-rending portrait of human life on the urban fringes in the 21st century. PRAISE FOR TIM CROTHERS ‘Powerfully captures the crushing poverty in which Mutesi and her family still live.’ The Age ‘Almost too uplifting to believe … Crothers tells Phiona Mutesi’s story in a crisp, reportorial style, but it’s nearly impossible to read without a strong emotional response … Inspiring.’ Booklist

  • Book cover of Greatest Athletes of the 20th Century
  • Book cover of MCSE TestPrep

    Drill with hundreds of questions and check the in-depth explanations to pass the exam. This title solves the most important study needs leading up to test day--identifying what the readers don't know and explaining the answers.