You can learn a little something from a sports-centric summer reading list.

There are readers who want pages filled with edge-of-the-seat moments, but not edge-of-the-abyss political stuff. Add a little context – even if it’s just a nostalgic romp through an era – and you have American sports books that tell you something about a time as well as a game. You can pick any point in history, but why not turn to underdog eras – the ’50s rather than the turbulent ’60s, for instance.

Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand

Most likely you’ve seen the movie, but the 2003 book deserves a visit for its richer exploration of how a shiftless runt of a racehorse and a broken jockey suited the mood of a nation still in the throes of economic depression, how in winning Seabiscuit became a symbol of hope – and a beacon, drawing more press than the threat of a World War.

The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown

The 1936 Olympics are remembered for Jesse Owens, a black American tearing apart the Aryan super race narrative. There were others who upended the Nazis’ story, including the nine young white men of the U.S. eight-oar rowing team, who came from behind to outpace the German crew and win gold, all in front of propagandist filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl’s camera.

The Match: The Day the Game of Golf Changed Forever by Mark Frost

It began with a “my guys can beat your guys” bet between two millionaires the day before. By the end of the day, the match-play duel between aging but legendary pros Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson against amateurs Ken Venturi and Harvie Ward – at Monterey County’s Cypress Point – had reached mythic levels in the golf world. This occurs as the game is being swallowed by America’s newly sprawling suburbs and the culture they created.

Season of Upsets by Matthew A. Werner

There’s the drama of Union Mills’ high school basketball squad and their improbable season, but this is also a look at life in 1950 – which was rather complex for young men and the adults around them, who had experienced depression and war differently, and were bringing that to rural America as change was lurking.

Once in a Lifetime: The Incredible Story of the New York Cosmos by Gavin Newsham

Studio 54, video games, Saturday Night Live, the Bee Gees – this was the world into which the New York Cosmos entered, walking into the party like they owned the yacht. For one brief span, a New York soccer team became a national obsession, lived it up and were (like disco) demolished.

Big Hair and Plastic Grass by Dan Epstein

Epstein promises a “funky ride” through the 1970s and baseball, with as much attention given to polyester uniforms and Oscar Gamble’s afro as action on the field. As the cultural clashes of the 1960s continued, America’s once national pastime began to reel. Colorful uniforms and television transformed the game.