5 comments about The Downhill Lie: A Hacker's Return to a Ruinous Sport.

1. Carl Hiaasen was introduced to the game of golf by his father, who, to Carl's nearly life-long disappointment, was a very good golfer. On a whim that could be argued to be both mature and immature, he gave up the game in his early twenties because he wasn't able to improve. The Downhill Lie is the window through which we see his return to the game.
   
   Hiaasen goes to many extremes to improve his game. He reads every piece of literature on the game and buys some hilarious info-mercial products that make lofty promises. He joins a golf course, buys new clubs (and more new clubs), takes lessons, re-engineers his swing, and ultimately enters a tournament.
   
   For many reasons, which include his disposable income; his available free time; and that this became an assignment from his publisher, Hiaasen is able to go to greater lengths than most golfers who want to get better. But that doesn't mean those golfers, a category into which I fit, haven't thought about trying any or all of the things he did in the book. That contributes to the hilarious, but humbling nature of the book. We can laugh at his exploits as he does, and maybe we can learn some of the lessons he does as well.
   
   This book is more than a diary of Carl Hiaasen's golf rounds. The Downhill Lie is a poignant commentary on why so many of us endure the constant frustrations associated with the game of golf. The author uses the comedy of his situation to show exactly why, when this game keeps knocking us down, we get right back up and make another tee time.
   
   I recommend this book if you struggle with golf, or know someone who does (which I think is just about everyone, right?). This book will probably not help you be a better golfer, but at least you'll see you're not alone. If you aren't into the game yourself, and you've wondered why we torture ourselves the way we do, The Downhill Lie offers great insight. It was both funny and right-on-target portraying the mind of a golfer...or most golfers anyway. I really liked this book.



2. First, let me preface this by confessing my own golfing experience is limited to one class in high school where I became infamous for hitting the teacher in the head with a wiffle ball. Fortunately we were practicing with golfball-sized wiffle balls and not the regulation golfball, or the teacher might have required medical attention.
   
   In addition, both my brother and father play golf in the Florida equatorial heat while dodging gators strategically sunning themselves near the many ponds and lakes of Florida golf courses. It's especially dangerous during gator mating season when either the male gator thinks you're trying to make time with his woman if you go after an errant ball, or the female gator thinks you're stealing one of her eggs. Good times.
   
   Carl Hiaason has written a great book about golf. I don't play golf, but I loved this book and laughed aloud many times while reading it. His tip on getting rid of huge toads by chipping them into the neighbor's yard was worth the price of the book. For those of you complaining about his comments about growth in Florida, just take a drive from the west coast to the east on Alligator Alley and take a look at how Miami keeps creeping further and further into the Everglades. The is the ONLY EVERGLADES on the entire planet Earth, by the way. Yet still we must build, build, build on it.
   
   You will not be disappointed with The Downhill Lie: A Hacker's Return to a Ruinous Sport. This book comes with waterfront property in Geritol Bay and membership in their country club with golf course designed by Hall of Fame Golfer, Ralph Kramden. Enjoy the 145 mph winds in the summer as the lanai is ripped from your house and your pool cage relocates to North Dakota. Bask in the 95 degree summer heat with 100% humidity. Forget about going anywhere during the cooler months when all the tourists are clogging the roads. Cheer as the professional sports teams don't score, don't win, and make you want to go to their games incognito. Laugh when tourists run from the water yelling "Shark!" while dolphins leap merrily from the waves. But, whatever you do, buy this book. And then, read this book. There will be a test.



3. My wife bought me this book and kept asking me if I had looked at it yet. Already in the middle of two other golf books - one being instructional I said no, not yet. She insisted that I at least read the first few pages to see if it was something I would like. Well, within 5 minutes of cracking it open I was in stitches and I was hooked. Carl has a wonderful writing style that just sucks you in. As a golf hack who found the sport well after my 20's I especially enjoyed his perspective.



4. Sports Illustrated published two excerpts of this book recently - in the Players Championship Special Issue and in the May 12, 2008 regular issue. Although there was some overlap, together the two excerpts paint a hilarious autobiographical picture of the author's attempted return to golf. Laugh-out-loud funny doesn't begin to describe the section of the excerpt in May 12th SI titled "Toad Golf". I have never laughed so hard when reading SI. I'm buying the book, and, hopefully, it will provide as much enjoyment.



5. Downhill Lie has some very funny parts to it: Hiaasen has a wonderful self-deprecating sense of humor. You'll find tales of toad-wedging: golf practice that consists of chipping toads onto neighbors' houses. You'll find that golf clubs make effective rat bashers. I suspect that the ASPCA wil find some things to offend them here. You'll read about the time he lost a golf cart--it slipped into a pond.
   
   But I founf myself scratching my head in wonderment at times. Hiaasen is not, to be sure, a scratch golfer, but he has a voracious appetite to improve his game--as most golfers do. But we see him resorting to buying things--pendants with wonder powers to hang around your neck (only 75% as effective if kept in your pocket), herbal pills to improve "muscle memory", RadarGolf devices to help you locate lost balls, and the like. I'm at a loss here. Didn't we see Hiaasen regularly poking fun at the people who bought such devices in many of his novels? In Double Whammy, for instance, there's the unforgettable image of a cheap skiff hauled by a garbage truck to a tournament, and fishing with cheap equipment, when everyone else arrives with massive gadgetry--fish radar, gimmicks galore, etc. Hiaasen had always seemed to be fond of satirizing those who shell out large amounts of money for the kinds of devices he happily buys in Downhill Lie. There's almost an element of Eliot Spitzer here.
   
   I would guess that Hiaasen describes parts of perhaps 200 rounds of golf. Some of this is a pleasure and a delight to read. Some of it is, well....have you ever heard a golfer tell you about one of his rounds, shot by shot, hole by hole? It's never actually that bad or that detailed--but there are times when you feel as if half your mind was on other things. This is also an instructive book--if you're lucky, you'll begin to get the idea that spending lots of money--lots and lots of money--will not guarantee that you'll reduce your handicap. Another element of the book, which you should learn in an indirect fashion, is that the crucial thing is that you should enjoy the game: Hiaasen almost seems too driven, that perhaps he should understand that some people are destined to remain 15-18 handicap golfers, and that you can accept your limitations. When I played golf, I had about a 30 handicap: a duck hook or a topped ball--well, so what's new? Enjoy the occasional decent shot. I often played with a colleague who had about a 3 handicap--when he mishit a shot, he'd go into a blue funk for several holes. I think I enjoyed the game more than he did. So the lesson from this book is--have fun, and don't make such a big deal about improving your handicap by 5 strokes. Hiaasen, at least, can make fun of himself--which too many golfers cannot do.

5 comments about Sports Illustrated: Brett Favre: The Tribute (Sports Illustrated).

1. The book arrived on time, packed very well and at a fair price.
   The only problem is that the pages are not flat-we have had the book beneath several others to try + flatten the pages but to no avail,
   they are still "wavy". I think it's the book itself, as I said it was packed + shipped very well.



2. An excellent collectors book! A compilation of SI, over the years. If you love Favre as the typical FAN does, why wouldn't you want this book? Excellent photo's, great articles and a nice B&W shot on a solid hard-covered edition. It's a keeper!



3. The book was put together to fast and only had old information. I think an interview of Brett afler he retired would have been the touch it needed to be a very good book.



4. Gave as a gift, it was a big hit! Nice photos and hardback book.



5. FANTASTIC.A MUST FOR ANY PACKER FAN.ALL PHASES OF HIS ILLUSTRIOUS CAREER ARE COVERED IN DEPTH AND UNBIASED.A GREAT READ.COLLECTORS ITEM IF THERE EVER WAS ONE.

5 comments about Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster.

1. Krakauer doubtlessly is a great story-teller who can keep you engrossed in every detail he delivers at each turn of the story. My only complaint is that he sprinkles difficult vocabulary not only without any added effect, but clunkily, making certain words stand out from the rest of his prose. Take, for example, the following sentence:
   
   "Now, four days later, Nukita warned us that a similarly PREDACIOUS swarm of print and television reporters lay in wait for us..." (280, emphasis added)
   
   Um... why not just "predatory"? Is it just me, or is the word "predacious" as common a word as "predatory"?
   
   Or take another sentence:
   
   "But such moments were tempered by the long PENUMBRA cast by Everest..." (282, emphasis added)
   
   Again, why not infinitely more understandable and easy-to-imagine "SHADOW"? Why "PENUMBRA"? Why go so poetic and abstract all of a sudden? I was literally thrown off balance when I came across the word in midsentence because it's so out of place. Besides, it hazards leaving the reader wondering what the word means rather than sympathizing with the author's plight. My complaint is based on the fairly commonsensical belief that when a word is not adding anything - whether it be impact, image, style, etc. - it should be ruthlessly cut and/or replaced with another. PENUMBRA seems to fall pat into this sort of instance. Unfortunately, I didn't keep detailed note of every instance in which the author slipped in flashy words tragically to the detriment of his own otherwise lucid prose, I can't say for certain how often he did it, but as far as i remember, there were numerous similar occasions where I thought the word he chose was definitely working against his writing.
   
   But my quibbling ends here and I only have kudos for the book. It's an awesome adventure story about people with astounding willpower under the worst and extremest of environmental conditions imaginable. Highly recommended.



2. As with his other ode to ego versus nature, "Into the Wild", Mr. Krakauer makes it clear with "Into Thin Air" that nature is best seen as a test bed for the elite and ego inflamed to examine their will and inner mettle or, um, die. As a result "Into Thin Air" leaves the old school of respectable and fearful examination of man living WITH nature (see the books of Ernest Seton among many others as an example) into a new school of nature writing dedicated to exploring the various ways a man or woman must overcome nature or perish in the attempt. Which, let's face it, is just plain silly. There is very little to recommend in this viewpoint, it is narcissistic and sophomoric and ultimately degrading to both nature and man; so goes the book, and for that matter, so goes the Nepal Everest base camp, which has become, at my last visit, an open dump/sewer.
   
   If you really must read about the dangers of Mt. Everest, you are much, much better off reading "Mountain without Mercy" by B. Coburn, T. Cahill and D. Breashers. Better yet, pick up the book In Highest Nepal; Our Life Among the Sherpas by Norman Hardie. Norman doesn't conquer Mt. Everest or even care to, in fact he never even attempts the summit. Instead he lives among the Sherpa and discovers the various means they've discovered to live with the most extreme that nature has to offer. Which, in my view, is what nature writing should be about.



3. When I was very young, I believed my purpose in life was to climb Mount Everest. I was fascinated by the idea of hiking through the snow and eventually reaching the highest piece of land on earth. Walking to school, I would imagine myself climbing the mountain. Every road I crossed was a vast crevasse, thousands of feet deep. But, like most childhood dreams, I eventually grew out of it. So, Recently when I saw a book captioned: "The Mount Everest Disaster," the old ashes were rekindled and I naturally had to read it.
   
   Into Thin Air is Jon Krakauer's recollection of the "Mount Everest Disaster," as the cover phrases it. He gives background information of every climber on his team as well as general facts about Mount Everest and climbing itself. Krakauer's style is excellent, and afterwards it feels as if you were there on the mountain beside him.
   
   The book was a little slow at the beginning, unfortunately. Maybe it was the fact that none of the names meant anything to me, or the fact that everything is described in great detail, sometimes seeming very long and drawn out. Eventually I got used to it, and it ultimately was necessary for understanding all of the character's actions later on. One great aspect of the book is that Krakauer names who died right off the bat. Not only did that make me immediately interested, but it also became nerve wracking later in the book, knowing which characters were destined to never return home.
   
   Krakauer is a born storyteller. Most storytellers do just that. They tell stories. But unlike most storytellers, Krakauer had his own story to tell. It was a life-changing story at that. Many authors could have barely made up such a great tale out of thin air, but this actually happened. That is the most haunting fact of the story, it is true.
   
   Regardless if you like climbing, hiking, or snow, this is a great book. Even if reading isn't enjoyable, this book is. In short, this is the best book I have read in a very long time.



4. I read Into Thin Air in school. After hearing from many other students, I wasn't really looking forward to reading this book. After getting into the story, I changed my mind.
   The story starts off somewhat slow, as they are not on the mountain yet, but picks up after the 7th chapter. It is one of those books that you want to read straight through. It always leaves you on the edge, wanting to read more. This book is about the true but sad story of climbers from everest expeditions. They summited at a bad time and got caught in a horrible storm, leaving many climbers behind. I don't know if this book is completely accurate, as it has been challenged many times but no one knows what happened that year for sure.



5. In spite of many reviews of this book which suggest that Mr. Krakauer's account of this Everest expedition is self-serving and overly critical of Anatoli Boukreev, I found it to be a moving and unbiased narrative of an event which has obviously devastated the author and left him wracked with guilt.
   
   Into Thin Air is a riveting and exceptional account of the 1996 Everest disaster that left many brave people -- tourists and guides -- dead. If the author, Jon Krakauer, did not try and identify the factors which led to this tragic end, we as readers would be sorely disappointed with the book. Clearly, we want to know what happened and what went wrong. Krakauer tries to describe the events as he remembers them, and he has called upon many of his companions in this nightmare to share their memories as well.
   
   He does not point fingers, and this is an important point for me. An event of this magnitude was too complicated to have a single cause, and no one person or action could be solely responsible. I realize that the relatives (and fans) of Hall, Fischer, and Boukreev don't want to hear about mistakes they might have made, and yet I always found Krakauer to be fair in his observations. Hall's death is tragic, and I cried while reading about it. But still, Hall did not follow his own guidelines that day, and Krakauer explores the reasons he might have acted against his better judgment.
   
   And yes, Boukreev was a hero who single-handedly saved several people -- but his actions earlier in the day had their small part in the impending disaster. Some other reviewers carry on as if Krakauer has identified Boukreev's decision to climb without oxygen as the sole cause of the disaster. He never says that. It's just one detail in a web of causalities.
   
   Krakauer does not spare himself. He makes it clear that he was in a state of collapse in his tent, asleep, while Boukreev was heroically staging a rescue attempt. And he is very, very clear about the role he played in the death of Andy Harris. I think Mr. Krakauer will take that guilt with him to the grave.
   
   This is a moving, well-written, and (in my opinion) realistic and unbiased account. I found it to be unforgettable.

4 comments about Arnie & Jack: Palmer, Nicklaus, and Golf's Greatest Rivalry.

1. I grew up a member of Jack's Pack, having been born a little too late to be a soldier in Arnie's Army. It's funny how sports moments can stay with you. As I watched the Masters this year, in my mind's eye, I could see the Golden Bear prowling those greens. Ghosts of Augusta.
   
   This book tells the tale of two of Golf's titans, both their individual stories, and the story of their complicated relationship, from the first time they met, to the present day. Arnold Palmer, muscular arms bulging out of his short-sleeved shirts, cigarette hanging from his lips, going for every pin, with that wild looking swing of his. Jack Nicklaus: once Fat Jack, before he transformed himself. Picture perfect on the course, but not with the galleries, never getting the love that they showered on Palmer, the King. To say it was love/hate would be an understatement. They competed to the death in everything, but cared about each other much more than they would let on. Ironically, each wanted to be the other. Arnie wanted all those Majors, and the title of Greatest Golfer ever. Jack wanted the popularity and love that Arnie always had. But as Arnie said, "You can only be so many things in life."
   
   The book is wonderfully written. You almost feel like you were there, as the author describes so many memorable Arnie/Jack duels. There is also a fascinating look at their wives. Winnie Palmer & Barbara Nicklaus were fast friends from the moment they met, even as their husbands were trying to beat each other's brains out. When I finished this book, I remember thinking, "I really enjoyed that." I think you will,too.



2. Always an Arnie fan, reluctantly a Jack fan, Ian O'Connor has allowed me to go back to a wonderful time in my life. I cut school to watch these two men duel at Baltusrol. I remember seven kids jumping into the pond of the fourth green to recover a misplayed Palmer shot during the 67 US Open. Palmer's charisma has never been replicated, while Jack eventually earned the respect he deserved. Arnie and Jack reveals captivating insights into these two golfing warriors' lives and accomplishments. I had to send copies to my all my golfing buddies, even before Christmas



3. Mr. O'Connor has done a fine job with his work on the Palmer-Nicklaus rivalry. No matter which side of the fence you may be on (Arnie's Army or Jack's Pack), there are enduring lessons to be learned here as well as a lot of inside information about two of the all time greats of the game so many of us love. If you have any memories of either of these guys in, or even close to, their primes, you can purchase this book with confidence knowing you have a wonderful read ahead of you.



4. Fifty years ago, the greatest rivalry in golf began. By forty years ago, it was all over, with the domination of Jack Nicklaus over Arnold Palmer. So for those who didn't live through it (and for those who did), Mr. O'Connor chronicles the the rise of Big Golf with these two men. Mr. Palmer with his come from behind wins and self-taught style came of age with the TV set and was golf's first superstar. Mr. Nicklaus was not the risk-taker on the golf course that Mr. Palmer was --which is why Arnie had his "Army" and Jack had all the major championships. Their rivalry continued in the business arena after their golfing days. Mr. O'Connor interviewed everyone who knew them and used every cliche to describe them. Other than that, the book is fun to read and a joy to every golfer.

1 comments about The Mysterious Montague: A True Tale of Hollywood, Golf, and Armed Robbery.

1. The title of Leigh Montville's new book tells you a lot about the story without ever having to read a page. John Montague played golf and schmoozed with some of the most famous of the 1930's Hollywood celebrities. However, something in his personal life would eventually turn his world totally around. This book will probably not win any literary awards, but it is entertaining, amusing, and at times quite unbelievable. Golfers will love it, non-golfers will enjoy it.

5 comments about Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices, & Priorities of a Winning Life.

1. I'm writing this on behalf of my husband. He LOVED this book. He is not a church-going man, but Tony's sentiments really moved my husband, and he found it a very interesting read. He couldn't put this book down (which is amazing since the remote control usually takes up that space, ha ha)



2. I am a young person trying to break into the field coaching. I currently work for a division one program and some times I get discouraged. Coaching is a difficult profession to break into and some times my life gets discouraging. My father got me this book and told me to read it. It was after a particularly bad week that I decided to read this book and it lifted my spirits. Coach Dungy has the right idea in a profession full of wrong ones. Knowing people like him have made it gives me strength to keep going.



3. Tony has a great testimony! Makes a great gift or a great read, football fan or not!



4. Whether you are a parent, a coach or both this book is absolutely captivating. I have been reading it with our 12 year old son and found myself reading ahead after he went to bed. Tony Dungy is an inspiring man of God and his wisdom and experience will certainly give adults and young readers a new perspective on life.
   
   I am in the process of purchasing other copies of the book to give to clients and friends. It is a great story and is the best book I have read in years!
   
   Brett Morey
   Brentwood, CA



5. Tony Dungy's autobiography, "Quiet Strength" is a terrific book that contains a message that should appeal to any reader (not just football fans). Dungy speaks of leadership without intimidation, confidence through religious conviction and success through perseverance. The book has a religious tone, but Dungy gets his point across without being preachy. He draws from a stable upbringing by his parents and shares his thoughts about life, football, parenting, dealing with adversity, and being a man.
   
   There's a lot of football references so football fans and those who have followed Dungy's playing and coaching career will certainly enjoy "Quiet Strength". The book should play well in Pittsburgh, Tampa, and Indy because so much of the book deals with Dungy's career as an NFL football coach.
   
   The book is a testament about doing things "right" and treating people with respect in order to gain the same in return. And...as evidenced by the 2007 Super Bowl, nice guys CAN finish first!

5 comments about The 33-Year-Old Rookie: How I Finally Made it to the Big Leagues After Eleven Years in the Minors.

1. Very well written, loved the beginning dream sequence, story of grit and determination.
   
   I would recommend it to any baseball fan - or anyone else who needs a review lesson in "how to catch your dream".



2. every body should read this book about life about never giving up in life in hard time and good time



3. I am currently still reading the book, but so far it is very good. I am a true Chris Coste fan and can now appreciate his story.



4. This is a wonderfully entertaining book. It is great to read about people like Chris who work hard trying to reach their goal, and then to actually make it. Well-written. This book, along with "Working at the Ballpark" by Tom Jones, and "We Would have Played for Nothing" by Fay Vincent, are the top baseball books of the year because they provide truthful and poignant stories of what it's truly like to work in major league baseball.



5. Philadelphia Phillies catcher Chris Coste has written an inspirational account about what it takes to get to the major leagues. Coste, a backup catcher, shares the heartaches, self-doubts and physical injuries he had to endure during his 11 years in the minors. He gives the reader an interesting look at life in the minors and with independent teams. Although Coste was determined to make it to the majors, there are hundreds of others who are just as talented and as determined who don't achieve their dreams.
   
   Coste's book is refreshing in that he's a player who appreciates everything he receives as a major leaguer. He vows not to complain about how much taxes he pays on his major league minimum salary of $370,000. He's a down-to-earth guy who hasn't been jaded by the major league life, and hopefully will never succumb to the pitfalls.
   
   You can't help but to root for Coste and cheer for him when he does well in the book. Any one who reads this book will be a Chris Coste fan. The book is thin at 196 pages and easy to read. While adults will enjoy it, I believe younger readers who don't know much about what it takes to get to the majors will also find it interesting and enjoyable.

2 comments about Always By My Side: A Father's Grace and a Sports Journey Unlike Any Other.

1. Hello friends,
   
   I started this book in March, finished it in April, and now it belongs to May!! If you are looking to "come out of hibernation" after a long winter, this is your book. It is as grand as it gets!! A book for the ages!!
   
   Doug Riddell



2. Sitting down watching the Master's over the past few years, we have noticed little change in the way Jim Nantz has called the action from the tower over the 18th green. The steady, calm voice would tell the story unfolding for the audience. Ever steady, his voice made you confident that that you were indeed watching a special event. However, things were not really so steady in his life as he has had to grapple with personal tragedy in his life, but who outside of a small circle of people knew.
   
   This year, I was not watching the final round of the Masters. Instead, I was sitting on an airplane headed for Los Angeles. But I could still here Jim's voice in my head as I read his new book, Always By My Side: A Father's Grace and a Sports Journey Unlike Any Other (Jim Nantz with Eli Spielmen,Gotham Books, May 2008, 273 pages, ISBN-10: 1592403611, ISBN-13:978-1592403615). To me, the measure of a good book is not the words that are printed on the page, but the pictures they paint and the emotions they evoke. And as I finished the book, I sat there crying as I thought of the relationship I did not have with my now-deceased father and as I thought of my own mother battling dementia in a nursing home.
   
   You see, Jim's book is a not a typical sports memoir. It is a story of deep love and respect for his father, and the pain of not being able to be with him as Alzheimer's disease stole the father Jim loved so much. It is the story about not being able to celebrate the high point of a career with the man you know guided and nurtured you to that point.
   
   You will notice that I refer to the author of this book by his first name. This is because I first met him when he was starting out on CBS Sports Golf Coverage and was surprised by how he treated everyone with open arms and kindness. I did not know him as Mr. Nantz, just Jim. He probably does not remember me at all, nor would I expect him to. I have not had the pleasure of seeing him since I the Washington, DC area over 14 years ago, but this new book opened a floodgate of memories that I had not thought of in a long time.
   
   The book is at its absolute best when he is is telling the story of the relationship he has lived with his father, and of how specific people have been father figures and role models to him over the years. The book, thankfully, is not written to be a manipulative tear jerker. But when you read what he has written and weaved throughout the book, a reader would have to be lying if they say they were not moved in some way. Without giving away the ending, all I can say is that I was hit in the gut as much by the closing as I was with his personal disclosures in the first chapter.
   
   The book is at it weakest when some things seem to be written just for the sake of getting names into the book so nobody would be forgotten. At one point, he quickly rattles off the names of a number of CBS Sports producers and directors in one sentence, without going into more detail of his relationship with them or how they fit into the whole growth of his career. At another point, he briefly mentions "research maven John Kollmansperger." Outside of anyone at CBS Sports or elsewhere that has worked with John (also known as JK), this has absolutely no meaning to ayone reading the book. Don't get me wrong, a lot of information readers of this book have seen presented on CBS Sports startiing back in 1987 came from JK's attention to detail. Without adding additional background on JK, readers will be left to scratch their heads.
   
   There are also a couple of areas of the book that left me, as a reader, wondering. Very little is written about the relationship between Brent Musberger and Jim. Musberger's professionalism is noted, but nothing is said about the relationship between the two men and what Jim was REALLY thinking on April 1, 1990 when the axe fell.
   
   And then there is Billy Packer. Jim refers to Packer as a good friend, but I can't help but feel he is throwing Packer under the bus in describing an incident when Packer was on his knees and knees picking up shards of broken backboard glass so that he could use them to cash in and make money. While Jim may have felt he wrote that to help explain what makes his longtime broadcast partner tick, it only shows a side of Packer that I have heard from many people who know him personally and drives their distaste for him.
   
   Putting these things aside, or perhaps even considering them, readers will not be disappointed by this book. Who knew that Clint Eastwood made adult films, as described by Nantz? Does anyone really know, or remember, who besides Fred Couples he shared a room with in college? And who knew that the calm person we see in Jim Nantz really has enough chutzpah to walk up and ask for what he wants, without apology?
   
   So if you should chose to read this book, and I really think you should, enjoy the stories from the sports world that Jim tells. More importantly, reflect on the relationship you have or had with your parents, and the relationship you want to have with your children. For make no mistake about it, Jim is hammering home how important it is for children to have a strong father in their lives. I do not know if I will be able to make it over to Sugarloaf next week for the AT&T Classic, but if I do, I will make it a point to seek out and thank Jim for this book and for this oh so important message.

5 comments about Standing Tall: A Memoir of Tragedy and Triumph.

1. An absolutely outstanding book about a remarkable woman. A must read for anyone who follows Rutgers' womens basketball and/or coaches ANY sport!



2. I have always admired Coach Stringer. Her book opened up a wide new respect for the person, the woman, the coach. She is absolutely incredible and her book is written in such a way to hold your attention through to the end. Her book left me breathless and in total awe.



3. C. Viviens Stringer's book is written with such exceptional passion for life that you can't help but feel it. After reading her book I wanted to cry for joy at all of the lives she has touched and inspired. My husband devoured it in a few days. Every young person should read this book. Every woman will feel prouder and every man will be called to a higher standard. Thanks for sharing your amazing story Vivien. My feelings that we should all "live like we are dying" was embraced by her experiences.
   Robin Dilg



4. I became interested in reading this book after I watched HBO's Real Sports feature on Vivian Stringer. I don't think I've ever even watched a women's basketball game in my 44 years of life. But I was intrigued by the courage and persistence of Vivian Stringer. I asked our library to borrow this book from a neighboring library on interlibrary loan. I got the book Saturday afternoon and finished it Sunday afternoon. I just could not put it down. Vivian writes with such warmth and personality, I felt, or perhaps just wished, she was my friend by the time her book ended. I laughed and cried, deeply moved by her writing, by her life, by her courage. She is a wonderful role model and hero to me and I have never met her. If your life has crossed paths with this strong woman, you have been truly blessed. If you have never met her,(as I haven't) you can still be blessed and touched by reading her story and carrying her inspiration with you as you face life's challenges. An outstanding book to be re-read and shared with women and men of all ages. Athletes and non-athletes will appreciate her tenacity, her faith, her courage, and her integrity.
   Thanks Vivian, for an awesome book, long to be remembered and held close to the heart.



5. Such an excellent book! I recommend this to everyone! I encourage young ladies to read this book. It Is inspiring and motivating. Even with life's tragedies Coach stringer still was able to overcome and Triumph.
   She is a role model for all.

5 comments about Boots on the Ground by Dusk: My Tribute to Pat Tillman.

1. Many of the facts of Corporal Pat Tillman's life and tragic death have been played and replayed: his joining the military from a deep love of his country after the attacks of September 11, 2001, his giving up a career as a professional football player and leaving his young bride to do so, his platoon's ill-fated mission in Afghanistan that led to his death on April 22, 2004, his memorial service where the likes of Maria Shriver and Senator John McCain gave eulogies, his receiving both the Purple Heart and Silver Star for bravery, then the news soon thereafter that he had died of (such an ugly oxymoron) friendly fire.
   
   Now Tillman's mother Mary covers both the life and death of her son, the effect it has had on her, his wife Marie, his brothers Richard and Kevin-- who was in the same platoon as Pat-- his father Patrick, other family members and a multitude of friends. Additionally with the determination and courage of a woman possessed-- why shouldn't she be-- she traces the family's quest to find out the truth of what really happened on that awful day in April, 2004. Her journey will take her to countless meetings with military types, where she has difficulty getting a similar story from different people, and ultimately to two Congressional hearings.
   
   What Ms. Tillman learns is sad and depressing beyond measure as she and others excavate the layers of a cover-up. Apparently Corporal Tillman was given CPR hours after he died so that his uniform could be destroyed since the bullet holes in it would indicate clearly that he died from U. S. fire. (If a soldier is still alive, his uniform, because it is a biohazard, can be taken off him and destroyed.) A Navy Seal was told to give false information about Tillman's death when he spoke at his memorial service. Records were changed; documents were lost. The list goes on and on. Then there are cruel, petty gestures on the part of some of the military. One of the officers placed in charge of one of the many investigations, for example, believed that no one in the Tillman family was satisfied or would ever be satisfied because they were atheists, unlike Christians, who could come to terms with "'faith and the fact that there is an afterlife, heaven, or whatnot.'" The Army reneged on its promise to fly Tillman's wife Marie to Dover, Delaware to meet Kevin Tillman with her husband's body. (An anonymous man had her flown there in his plane.) Then the Army tried to persuade Marie to have a military funeral for Pat.
   
   Ms. Tillman includes many of the eulogies verbatim from her son's funeral--his baby brother Richard's was irreverent and deadly-- as well as written reports that she has received from the Army in her attempt at finding out the truth about Pat's death. She also prints here an article Kevin Tillman wrote for Truthdig entitled "After Pat's Birthday" that rises to the level of poetry: "Somehow those afraid to fight in an illegal invasion decades ago are allowed to send soldiers to die for an illegal invasion they started."
   
   BOOTS ON THE GROUND BY DUSK-- the book gets its title from the order that Lieutenant David Uthlaut received on April 22, 2004 that his platoon (Kevin and Pat Tillman's) was to leave the town of Magarah and "have boots on the ground before dark" in Manah, a small village on the border of Pakistan-- is very well-written; and not all of it is so dark although parts of it are almost too painful to read. I'm thinking now of Ms. Tillman's account of the return of her son's body to the local mortuary in his hometown. I decided that if this brave woman could write the book, then surely I, who along with the rest of stay-at-home Americans, have been urged by my president to support the troops by going to the mall, can finish it. She said a couple of nights ago in a sparsely-attended reading she gave at the Carter Library in Atlanta that she wrote this book to encourage other families in the same predicament as she, families that have lost sons, daughters, fathers, and brothers in Iraq and Afghanistan, to help them deal with their grief. And she made this statement in the library of a former president of the U. S. and naval officer, who, when asked by a reporter on his 80th birthday, what he would want to be remembered most for as president, responded that no American soldiers died in combat during his four years in office.



2. Mary Tillman shows a mother's dogged pursuit to get at the truth of what happened to her son and the aftermath. Nothing maudlin here. The amazing facts of delay, stonewalling and lying by the military, from the ground up into the highest ranks, to the Tillmans' faces are disgusting and disheartening but apparently not unusual in fratricide.
   
   A reader might infer that the killing of this exceptional man was personal and even murderous. Someday justice will be wrought upon those responsible for the flawed decisions, implausible military orders, and actions that led to his death.
   
   As you read this account, do not be distracted by the author's personal biases. Instead, focus your hearts and prayers on those who died (Pat Tillman was not the only one killed.), those left back home, and those who have shut and others who may yet slam doors on this family as they continue their quest for truth and justice.



3. Mary Tillman renders here the most accurate, dispassionate description of what can happen when highly trained soldiers are thrust into a situation where their training is not enough.
   
   As Mary describes the situation, her son Pat was a member of a fighting group who were separated from the rest of their unit, caught in a firefight, and then fired on by members of their own unit. The evidence is that they gestured and signalled for their own fellow soldiers to stop firing, but, in those four seconds, the other men just could not do so.
   
   All the training could not stop what can only be characterized as a "killing frenzy." Rational thought cannot reassert itself in the face of this compulsion.
   
   It all happened in four seconds, and Mary lost her Pat. Other mothers lost their sons, too. Pat forgives the soldiers who killed her son, and invites her readers to do the same. She has a harder time forgiving their commanders who made efforts to disguise the truth in the name of not damaging morale.
   
   Read this book. It teaches us all something about a mother loving her son, and about what we unleash when we train young people to kill.
   
   Only secondarily, we also come to appreciate the value of transparency in leadership. Pat's example steadfastly refuses to be held up as a "poster child" for pacifism or political polarization. Our front line infantry does the very, very best they can with what God has given them - and us.



4. I certainly feel for the Tillman family.
   Forty years ago my father, the only Olympic medal winner ever killed while serving in combat for the USA, was killed in Vietnam. My father was on a six man recon. team in a Ranger detachment and according to the statement by the commander of his ready reaction force, although his team was out of radio contact for nearly 11 hours, he was unconcerned because he had another force near the location that had heard nothing. Well, I have three other reports conflicting that statement. My father's team radioed at 915PM that his team was being approached by an enemy force. At 935PM his team radioed they were in a firefight and requested fire support. Not until well after 6AM the next morning did help arrive even though the ready reaction force was on ten minute alert and only 500 meters away with the fire power equivalent of three rifle companys. 5 of the 6 men on my fathers team were killed, one dying on the way to the hospital. I have the records proving that at 9AM that morning this CO met with a general and my father's commanding officer and four decades later have evidence that the most likely "enemy" that killed my father was the US Navy SEALs.
   But I can get no answers after all these years. And that is why it is so biter sweet, this book and the circumstances surrounding Tillman's death. When I read in the newspaper that the Army assigns all these folks to research and serve the Tillman's, all these investigations by generals and boards it gives me a really sick feeling in side. Yes, the Tillman's deserve it, but what about the rest of us ? I wrote to the National Archives for my father's records and they responded telling me that they could not locate his records but let me know that they could happily tell me he served in the Army (duh). The Army told me that they are not historians. I was able to contact the commander of the L ready reaction force and he told me he could not help me because his tour ended before the investigation was completed. The intelligence officer my father's unit worked for said he was on R&R at the time, an imposter told me he was the only survivor and the stories go on and on...
   Will the Tillman's ever get the truth ? Probably not because in the military only good news goes to the top. No officer is going to burn his chance at a promotion by being honest in a report that will screw him 20 years down the road.
   I am glad to see this book. My heart goes out to the Tillman's because I understand their resentment. If you want to read about my father, SSGT Robert Carmody- go to ESPN and look in archives and search under the author "Mark Chalifoux'. The article is titled, "Heart of Bronze". (2005).



5. The most unique aspect of this book is hearing the family and friend's perspective on many events before and after Pat's death. I have followed the news stories for the last four years and watched the video on espn of the memorial service. This book differs from the past material in that there are new stories and you get the family and friends perspectives on these and other major events already covered in past articles and books. The book also has Pat's memorial speakers' words. This book is similar in that aspect to Walter Payton's book, "Never Die Easy" and the speakers at his funeral. The difference being the obvious different circumstances of death, and you get the Mother's perspective on how she felt about those speeches and that some of the speakers were not telling the truth about the events that led to Pat's death, that is the military speakers.