5 comments about My Journey in Karate: The Sabaki Way.

1. My Journey In Karate: The Sabaki Way is a in depth book about Kancho Ninomiya's Journey though Karate. It describes how he won the All Japan Tournment and started the Enshin Karate Style. I am a Student of Enshin and Recommend the book to anyone who wants to read a great book about Karate. Two Thumbs up!



2. Anyone who has been a serious martial artist will throughly enjoy reading the inspiring story of Grand Master of Enshin Karate Joko Ninomiya. Anyone who has been serious about the martial arts for a significant amount of time can relate to Ninomiya's life story.

   Before beginning his study of kyokushin karate at the age of 15, Ninomiya practiced judo. After making the transition to karate, Ninomiya never turned back and had the dream of becoming a karate champion. The book explains how he would go to different karate schools in Japan and challenge the top students to improve his skills. He challenged different schools in a dignified way, he never used bully tactics. After hearing about the all-Japan karate tournement, Ninomiya practiced diligently for years until he was able to win first place. In the book, he talks about his training and preparation, his fights and the people who helped him become better as a martial artist and as a person.

   I like the way Ninomiya emphasizes that karate is not about winning tournaments and beating people up, it's about confronting yourself and pushing beyond what you are today. Master Ninomiya admits that he did not realize the true meaning of karate until after he had accomplished one of his goals. Sometimes that's what it takes because after we win something or accomplish something big, we often ask ourselves "now what?" and become complacent. We should fight against this complacency because it will only make things harder in the long run.

   Towards the end of the book, Ninomiya gives his opinion of "no holds barred" fighting contests. I agree with Ninomiya that "no holds barred" contests appeal to a morbid curiosity. People often watch these types of contests and are happy to see someone lying flat on their back at the end of a match or seriously hurt in some way. Ninomiya founded The Sabaki Challenge which is a real karate tournament, but he has a point system that emphasizes technique to minimize injuries.




3. Rarely in the martial arts world are biographies rich with insight about both the individual and the training. Normally, -except a couple bio accounts of Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris' auto-bio account- the books are very dry and not very telling. Sometimes it is the writing and often it is because the reader is never really let under the skin of the martial artist. In this book - that has changed.
   
   Ninomiya graciously allows the reader to travel in his mind and spirit as he grows from an unfocused (though hardworking)martial artist and somewhat immature teen into a higly skilled and mature warrior.
   
   The reader travels and sees when Ninomiya, through several events and a couple of key mentors, understands himself and his journey through karate. Unlike most auto-biographical accounts, I never felt Ninomiya was boasting about his success. Instead, he shows where his failures and determined manner leads to success beyond winning a "trophy."
   
   An excellent book. I learned much from this extra-ordinary man.



4. Kancho Ninomiya is not only a world class champion, he writes with a certain gift; one that captures the essence of a lesson one could only get from training with him... and make no mistake, this may make for an inspiring read but reading it without training in any martial art is as hollow as reading Shakespeare and never seeing it performed... I began studying karate very seriously as an adult under Sensei Kishi, one of Kancho Ninomiya's teachers and best friends, as well as a collaborator on this book... this text captures the true spirit of martial arts training, something that is very difficult by nature of the difference between the written word and the life of martial arts training. Osu.



5. I have been a martial artist for most of my life, and so have always been attracted to stories that outline other martial artists journeys. Joko Ninomiya has written a "must read" for anyone whose chosen path is the Way of the Warrior. He has done an outstanding job of outlining the highs and lows of a life dedicated to the "eight Fold Path". I was also moved by his love and respect for his Sensei and for his father. This book was much more than I expected and a wonderful addition to everyone's library.

5 comments about Only in America: The Life and Crimes of Don King.

1. Jack revised the book and updated it. You want to get "The Life and Crimes of Don King: The Shame of Boxing in America." It's a great story so get the updated edition instead of this out-of-print item.



2. Don King took on the FBI, IRS, Mob, and judges. He thinks of him self in high quality saying "I am the american dream, America is my country, My people built this country and i know my way around." People say Don King does black on black crime when he steals all their money from loosing in boxing matches. Don King is smart clever and deceiving. He has commited two murders one being a homicide in his favor and the other being man slaughter in the first dergree. Ever since then Don King hasnt been able to stay out of trouble comitting speeding violations numerous times, stealing, and scheme of chance. He just cant stay out of the news and thats the way he likes it.
   I give the book 5 stars do to the authors great detail and the excitment in Don Kings life time. "I do truley beleive he is the American Dream"



3. Don King is a Cat that knows how to Spit out Game both in&out of the Ring.no matter who comes along nobody is gonna outlast Don King.this Book tackles all the things that the HBO movie went over.you see a Guy who would not be denied.His Famous Words Only in America fit Him to a Letter T.He is Witty,Sharp,Hustler&Always on His Game no matter what He is getting down with.



4. don't miss the movie made from the book, "Don King, Only in America", beatifully directed and edited, great dialogues, hard to believe they found an actor that can mimic Don King, an actor himself. Good to see this fictionalized movie, alog with the documentary "When We Were Kings" to compare how the scenes of really happened scenarios were recreated



5. You just can't ruin a book written about a man as inspiring as Don King. White America likes a succsessful blackman only if he succeeded its way. By this I mean the classic way through a college education and a white liberal view on greed. The conclusion one must draw from the life story of Don King (this version or any other) is that Don King is a thinker not a follower an euntreprenuer not a wage-earner and a succsessful man despite overwhelming odds.

No comments about The Fearless Harry Greb: Biography of a Tragic Hero of Boxing.

4 comments about The Dogged Victims of Inexorable Fate: A Love-Hate Celebration of Golfers and Their Game (Fireside Sports Classic).

1. Every year before the British Open I haul out my copy of Dogged Victims and read once again Dan Jenkins' non-fiction account of playing on a links course. Before long, I'm reading out loud to my wife, who -- so far as I know -- has never set foot on a fairway. We have our best laugh of the year, tuck our tattered copy away on the sports book shelf, and look forward to the following summer.
   
   OK, I'll confess. Before the tucking, I sneak out in the backyard with a pint of Junior and read Jenkins' remembrance of Goat Hills. I grew up caddying and loading clubs on carts at a course about a faded persimmon three wood from my house, and this premium example of the sportswriter's art takes me right back to those twilight caddy tournaments -- a ball, a mallet head putter, a flashlight and a pocketful of tees. Listen this July -- you'll hear me howling in the woods.
   
   If you love golf and you haven't read this book, don't die yet.



2. Before Tiger, before Jack, before Big Bertha, there was Arnold Palmer and a 40-week season where golf's greatest players paid cost for their wardrobes and counted themselves lucky being able to spend a weekend at the Holiday Inn.
   
   Dan Jenkins followed the sport closely as a columnist with Sports Illustrated, and his work is still regarded as definitive examples of sports journalism. At its best, "The Dogged Victims Of Inexorable Fate" documents what made golf special in the 1960s before it became the superstar circuit it is today.
   
   On Palmer, the King of the sport during that decade, though he never won a major after 1964, Jenkins writes movingly in one essay: "He is the most immeasurable of golf champions. But this is not entirely true because of all that he has won, or because of the mysterious fury with which he has managed to rally himself. It is partly because of the nobility he has brought to losing. And more than anything, it is true because of the pure, unmixed joy he has brought to trying."
   
   Most of the time, Jenkins foregoes the heartstrings and settles for the funny bone. Take his lead on the PGA Tour's most august tournament: "It is commonly known among a select group of Masters goers that many of the best shots of the tournament are served in tall paper cups on the upstairs porch of the Augusta National Golf Club." About a freespending golfer of an earlier era: "If Jimmy Demaret had won the money he would have been 8 to 5 to leave it in a bar or blow it on a handmade pair of orange and purple saddle oxfords."
   
   Funny stuff. Jenkins also scores points in summing up the histories of tournaments and eras in ways that are definitive and deceptively breezy. Reading him is to get a sense of how golf writing moved from the stodgy versifying of Herbert Warren Wind to the snarky cool of Rick Reilly and Alan Shipnuck, not to mention the gang in the 18th hole tower at CBS. For that, and other things, he may well have been the most revolutionary golf writer, and this book offers some prize examples why.
   
   But there's something to be said for stodgy, too. Wind was not a snappy writer, but he was a measured and thorough one, and reading his account of golf's beginnings in America feels more like the real deal. Jenkins too often uses situations and characters as backboards for his zings and one-liners, then moves on, whereas Wind or another writer might linger and find something of value. Jenkins doesn't quote the players so much as channel them through his narrative, and though it is readable, it's suspect, too. He's also an impossibly snobby overdog, focusing on the favorites and ignoring the field. He seems to watch every tournament from the most exclusive part of the clubhouse, in the company of CEOs and Ben Hogan. He doesn't fawn, but he doesn't find a seat closer to the crowd, either.
   
   At least two of his essays, a faux-Runyanesque tale of a freeloader living off Tour luminaries and an account of a round with several Hollywood stars, seem like excuses for hobnobbing and overstay their welcome. But the rest vary in quality from illuminating to awe-inspiring.
   
   The second-to-last piece, "The Glory Game," is considered one of sports writing's all-time best. It's a really great first-person account about a group of compulsive gamblers who play on a Fort Worth muni course that whips through its longer-than-average length. Also terrific is "The Big Window," which details how CBS covered the 1966 Masters by putting the reader in the control room with blustery producer Frank Chirkinian.
   
   Jenkins' book isn't up there on the top shelf of my golf library with Wind's "The Story Of American Golf," Shipnuck's "Blood, Sweat & Tees," or John Feinstein's "A Good Walk Spoiled," but if you like your sportswriting salty and dry, this is a good jar of peanuts to dig into.



3. This is my absolute favorite book, of any kind, on any topic, by any writer. (And I've written books of my own!) It's simply great, and repays rereading again and again.



4. I first read this book in 1977 as a requirement for my high scool golf team.I was actually sent to the principal`s office because my laughter was disrupting other student`s in the library! The antics of the gang at Goat Hills is a absolute scream. It`s Jenkin`s at his best. I `m buying extra copies for my foresome to read at the 19th hole!!

3 comments about I Remember Dale Earnhardt: Personal Memories of and Testimonials to Stock Car Racing's Most Beloved Driver, As Told by the People Who Knew Him Best (I Remember).

1. I started watching NASCAR in the late 80's and instantly became a Dale Earnhardt fan. I followed his career and road the roller coaster of good years and bad years. I learned everything I could possibly learn about the man. When I read this book, I learned so much more!
   
   It's one thing to be a fan and to read about or hear about your driver. But to hear personal stories from the people who were closest to him and knew him best is just a whole other world. With stories from Ken Shcrader, Jeff Gordon, Bud Moore, Junior Johnson, Humpy Wheeler and many more NASCAR personalities that knew him intimately, this is definitely THE essential Dale Earnhardt book. At the risk of sounding like an advertisement, if you only read one book about Dale Earnhardt, make it this one!



2. Just by reading this book. You can tell that Dales memories will always live on forever. If you a HUGE Dale Earnhardt fan like myself, then this book is for you.

   *We love you Dale. Your memories will always live in my heart til I see you in Heaven, racing on the tracks of gold. God bless.*




3. In the book, I expected a lot more stories and anecdotes from racers; I could barely find any. But that's a minor detail. I am a hard-core Dale Earnhardt fan, and this book was very heart-warming. I love all the personal stories of Dale! I haven't gotten a chance to look at it all yet, but it's a wonderful book. I was not a huge racing fan (like I am now) when most of Dale Earnhardt's terrific achievements took place, and this book took me to that land. I'd like to thank whoever's book this is, because all I wanted was a book of tidbits like this, and now I have it. I completely treasure this book. If you are only looking for stories from racers like Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton (some of my personal faves) this may not be right for you, but if you luv the Earnhardts as much as I do, don't hesitate.

4 comments about The Big House: Fielding H. Yost and the Building of Michigan Stadium.

1. If you are a fan of U of M and a fan of football then you will love this book. It is amazingly written, and really holds the readers attention. It goes in dept into what a great coach and director Fielding Yost was. It covers the building of Yost Field House and the building of the BIG HOUSE. I was able to speak with the author of the book and I was amazed by his level of knowledge. He spent a lot of time reading about U of M at the archives and its evident in the book when you read it.
   I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested.



2. I gave this book to my dad for Christmas. He couldn't put it down. It won't be turned into a movie, because the stories just aren't juicy enough but I would recommend the book to any Michigan fan. It was quick easy reading - great for a plane ride.



3. I cant put it down, My old coach gave me this for x-mas, Knowing that I was a huge U of M fan.. its great, a look into some of the greatest football ever...



4. I bought this as a Christmas present for my husband but then started reading it surreptitiously. It is very interesting and I am not even a Michigan OR a football fan. I am sure my husband will love it.

2 comments about MP: The Life of Michael Peterson.

1. MP, a true waterman got my attention after living in australia and hearing endless folk lor of the kirra surfer. the book is filled with amazing stories both funny, sad, and down right disturbing. a classic history of love, life, and self destruction(with alot of surf all mixed in). man he used to just dominate int he water. he still sits atop kirra hill and looks out at the sea everyday. those must of been the days when the coolie crew reinvented the rules of surfing and what you could on a board



2. i don't usually do this, not having finished the book, but was just checking to see what amazon's price was on this one... just paid $22 at barnes and noble, doh! anyway, this book is really good so far, haven't been able to put it down. i have been intrigued by MP for as long as i've known about him, but info on him is scarce and dubious. until now... mr.doherty writes a well thought out, biography (so far) and i can only imagine how difficult this story was to research, so kudos to you sean! great photos too.

3 comments about Pete Reiser: The Rough-and-Tumble Career of the Perfect Ballplayer.

1. This is one of the best books on baseball I have read in years. This was a time when the players played for the love of the game and not the paycheck. What a player Pete was and to read how he was used by the system of win at all cost. Now a day a player has a hang nail and they are out for weeks. This man almost killed himself several times and kept on playing. Great to read that there was once a time in sports that you played for the team. What has happen to this great sport? I can now only read about the great things that baseball offered its fans.



2. Pete Reiser is more than a book about one of the greatest ball players of all time. It is a history of early baseball with all the back room deals exposed. The story is a man's clear look at our national pastime.
   
   Sid pulls no punches and really makes the game come alive, on the diamond as well as behind closed doors. If you are a fan of baseball or just a sport's historian, I know you will like this book.



3. Although I am not a fan of baseball, I have heard many stories of Pete Reiser, and was compelled to pick up and read this wonderful and insightful book by Sidney Jacobson. The book is written with passion for the game and a great respect and fondness for Mr. Reiser. I highly recommend this book to all those who love reading and of course it would be a must for any fan of baseball.

5 comments about Payne Stewart: The Authorized Biography.

1. Hat's off to Tracey for her work in getting this together. Though lacking in specific details of his past behaivors enough is said to allow the reader to understand the change in his character once he accepted Christ. This book is not another Christian testimony. It contains the elements of a what makes a good man. We are all sinners and a perfect picture is not painted here. Payne was a great golfer and a great man that many could learn from. Then again, just act like you think Jesus would have and you will be close to the mark of Payne. Thank you for a great book Tracey.



2. I have recently finished the biography of payne stewart. It was one of the best books I have ever read. From start to finish of the book I was always interested.The best parts of the book is when it talks about all the tournaments he has been in and winning the U.S. open in 1999.



3. What an inspirational book based on the life of Payne Stewart. You could literally feel the love that Tracey had for Payne. No, I am sure that Payne wasn't a saint. Who of us is? But, he was a great man, a great father, and a great golfer who is sadly missed by thousands of his fans and followers.

   Payne was a devout Christian who was coming into his own. The scope of what his personal witnessing ministry could have become will now be tested in his death rather than his life. I know that it has served to strengthen my testimony and for that I will forever be indebted to Payne Stewart.

   Thanks Tracey and kids for sharing Payne with us!




4. This book is a must have book about the life and times of one of Golfs most flamboyunt golfer (the knickers) and the way Payne spoke his mind. I bought this book because Payne was one of my favorite golfers. This book was very intresting talked about the ups and downs of life on the PGA tour. I am glad that Payne relized that there is more to life than just golf. Family and relationship with God. This is a must have book.



5. this book was amazing. granted it could have been written a lot better, but it's understandable from the view thata his wife is writing this book shortly after his tragic death. tracey wrote well, but got a little boring here and there. other than that, this was great. i never knew the story of payne and his career untill i read this. it was truley a proof to me that he was a great father, husband, golfer, friend, and man. enjoy it!

4 comments about Armando Marsans: The First Cuban Major League Baseball Player.

1. I'd list this up there with Halberstam's The Teammates, Brashler's Josh Gibson biography, and Kahn's Boys Of Summer as one of the great baseball books.
   Toot's love of the game and deft prose is elegantly interwoven with the history of this one groundbreaking player.



2. Its surprising how a very good book can receive so little publicity.
   We always refer to Jackie Robinson when talking about racial prejudices, but we never stop to think what early Latino players suffered.
   Peter Toote has done an impressive job documenting Armando Marsans' career in the Major Leagues, describing his intelligent and agressive style to play the game.
   We can read how Marsans became one of the iconic scapegoats that the Major Leagues used to expand its monopolistic tentacles against the Federal League. Take a look on Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis' role to protect the Major Leagues.
   Perhaps, one of the disadvantages that I find in this book is the little research that the author does about Marsans' career in Cuba.
   American authors must realize that language is not a barrier anymore as there are many Latin experts that speak English and can give a big help to complete a research project.
   Anyway, I give 5 stars. I really liked it.



3. If he were playing today, Armando Marsans would be a household name. Until this remarkable book, Marsans' name survived only in boxscores, in the occasional mention in the sports pages, and in the memories of those few surviving fans who remember seeing him play. Through his in-depth research, Toot manages to rescue the player from obscurity and bring his story to life.

   Toot's book is also an interesting sociological study of our country's first hispanic celebrity's struggle for acceptance. Further, it provides an eye-opening picture of the early days of baseball, when players played year-round, when sharp metal spikes threatened devastating injury with every slide, and when there was still the prospect of multiple professional leagues in the US.




4. ...then you have to read this book. Toot is that rare breed of writer who can weave together an impressive array of details and facts into a compelling story. This is a great baseball tale with larger-and-lower-than-life characters, nail-biting games, and interesting off-the-field background. It's also an important book about the integration of hispanics into baseball--their experience and the reaction from the American baseball community. In this day and age of hispanics playing such an integral role in baseball, it's more important than ever to understand where they got their start.