No comments about Gianluigi Buffon (World Soccer Stars / Estrellas Del Futbol Mundial).

5 comments about Den of Lions.

1. Mr. Anderson's book is a lesson on how to maintain sainity in the most horrible situations you could every be in; kidnapped and the lose of personal freedom.

   This book is not a pleasant read. It is very important though in that it allows the reader, who is probably very comfortable while reading, to feel the sense of dispair that Mr. Anderson went through.

   The political reasons as well as the climate in the Middle East in the 1980's is very interesting and this account allows us to see it from a totally different perspective.

   Plus it has a happy ending, I highly recommend it.




2. I do not want this to sound insensitive, but the one thing I kept thinking as I was reading this book is why was he there? The U.S. government was telling U.S. citizens to leave, the Lebanese government did not care, his employer wanted him to leave, and there were increasing hostage incidents. The book his the story of his capture and the seven years he spent as a captive of this militant group. He does a good job in describing the locations he was in, the people that were his captors, and the other persons that he was with. I thought the most interesting parts of the book detailed his conversations with some of his captors and their views on the situation.

   The book is a very interesting view of what happened to the author. The details are rich and he does a good job of painting the scenes for us. He also did a good job of explaining the depression of being a captive and what it is like to loss seven years of your life, although I do not think any author could truly express the emotional pain that he must have gone through. If you are interested in this part of the world or this story, this is a great book. It is also interesting given the current climate in the Middle East to read about what was happening 20 years ago.




3. Den of Lions: Memoirs of Seven Years by Terry Anderson is one of my favorite books. The book grabbed my attention and kept it. I read the book in one day. Learning of Terry Anderson's ordeal through his eyes and in his words was amazing. Having been only 4 when he was taken hostage, I did not really know much about him until he was released from Lebanon in 1991, when I was 10. I grew up watching the news with my parents and I can remember seeing his return on television.
   When I decided to study journalism in college, I chose the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University. When I heard that Terry Anderson was going to be joining the faculty at Scripps, I was truly excited. I read his memoirs and then had the opportunity to hear him speak about his ordeal. Having him as a professor at Scripps was a wonderful experience for all journalism students. I have the great privilege of saying that I met one of my role models and I am grateful for that.
   Den of Lions: Memoirs of Seven Years is one of the best books I have ever read. It is touching and wonderfully written. It tells Terry Anderson's story in a way that only he could.



4. Terry Anderson's Den of Lions is a den of insights into the radical bi-polar terrorist mentality in which he was trapped for over seven years. His descriptions of the bombings, shootings and random daily violence that permeated around the non-citizens and the citizens of Lebanon, make this a classic Middle East hostage survivor's story. Anderson's poems of his cruel incarceration are filled with searing depth that transport you to the various scummy basement cells which he shared with other Westerners. Den of Lions and Hostage by David Jacobson go hand in hand and are important contributions in the collection of Middle East books that help those of us citizens who were not there or too young to remember, the horror that Beirut was during the eighties and early ninties. Very highly recommended!



5. I am a Westerner who has lived in Lebanon for many years and yet I gleaned new knowledge of the Middle East from reading "Den of Lions". Terry Anderson is a wonderful writer, and the addition of his fiancee's thoughts and feelings adds depth of insight into the agony of hostage-taking. There are interesting looks into the interaction between hostages and into the daily frustrations of the waste, and yet somehow the not-waste, of almost seven years away from freedom of choice. This is a book that has stayed on my mind.

No comments about Tottenham Massive.

No comments about Sir Alex: The Story of 21 Remarkable Years at Old Trafford.

No comments about Rio.

1 comments about Top Boys: True Stories of Football's Hardest Men.

1. The thing that bothers me about this book is that Cass Pennant, as the author, doesn't really write anything. You've got a two page intro, a bunch of interviews with leaders of 15 to 20 soccer/football firms, and a weak, weak conclusion. The questions that he asks each leader change very little, so it becomes a little repetitious (5 top firms now, top firms of all time, weapons used, activity today, etc). I did like hearing from leaders of some of the smaller clubs in England. Any club, no matter how small, could pull a formidable firm in the 70s and 80s.
   
   If you want a bunch of accounts of "We ran them, they ran us, we took their end, etc", then this book is for you. If you want an actual written, thought-out narrative --i.e. Among the Thugs, Bovver, Scally -- then this isn't what you're looking for. I guess I should have known, as the title says, "True STORIES of Football's Hardest Men." Oh well, my fault.

No comments about Forza Italia: The Italian Triumph in the 2006 World Cup.

No comments about Mourinho: Anatomy of a Winner.

No comments about Futbolistas/ Soccer Players: El Club De Los 100 Latinos/ The Club of the 100 Latinos.

No comments about Abby Wambach (Robbie Readers) (Robbie Readers).