5 comments about Chasing the Rodeo: On Wild Rides and Big Dreams, Broken Hearts and Broken Bones, and One Man's Search for the West.

1. While rodeo insiders may find fault with this book and quibble over details, it remains an excellent introduction to the history, the personalities, and the meaning of this sport as it's evolved over the past century. Stratton, a journalist based in Austin, TX, with roots in Oklahoma, comes by his "kicker" credentials fairly enough - his mother a cowgirl in her own right and his father a rodeo cowboy who went on down the road and never came back. Stratton's book is a personal journey, a search for an understanding of the romance of rodeo - the call of the wild in the soul, the appeal of risk-taking, the love of a past that can be recaptured for a moment in a beautifully executed ride on a bucking horse or bull. And he does much to reclaim the essentials of a pastoral ritual that has been compromised by commercialism, corporate sponsorships, and marketing that positions it as an extreme sport.
   
   Stratton covers some familiar ground that will not be new for all readers, but many stories deserve retelling, such as that of George Fletcher at the 1911 Pendleton Roundup, the first bulldogger, Bill Pickett, and the death of champion bull rider Lane Frost. Then there is an account of the first rodeo "cowgirl," Lucille Mulhall and of Indian cowboy Will Sampson, who played Chief Bromden in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." In Prescott, AZ, he has occasion to recall at length the rodeo film "Junior Bonner" with Steve McQueen.
   
   There is a wide array of other personalities who find their way into Stratton's book: Justin McBride, Will Rogers, Tom Mix, Willie Nelson, Jack Kerouac, Ben Johnson, Theodore Roosevelt, Buffalo Bill Cody, and evangelist Susie Luchsinger. He gets closest to the sport itself in conversations with all-around champion Jesse Bail and bullriding champion Freckles Brown. The first-chapter account of Brown's famous ride on Tornado at the National Finals in 1967 just takes your breath away. Finally there is the search for the story of Stratton's absent cowboy father, which rounds out the book with more than a little poignance. I loved this book and recommend it to anyone curious about rodeo, the fascination it holds for both fans and participants, and its place in American popular culture.



2. Rodeo's roots may be in the primitive West of the past, but today it's prime-time TV material, even while steeped in tradition, filled with pros and tours. Journalist W.K. Stratton followed the pro rodeo circuit for one year, exploring the history of chutes to its current popularity and uncovering myths and realities alike. His findings about the people and politics of today's rodeo make for lively reading in Chasing The Rodeo: On Wild Rides And Big Dreams, Broken Hearts And Broken Bones, And One Man's Search For The West. A spirited account of today's wild riders.



3. Having grown up in Texas, I easily recognize many names and places and am quite familiar with rodeos. W.K. Stratton brilliantly blends the romantic lure of the rodeo as an expression of the American West with the univeral theme of the quest for identity. The book is a delightful mixture of colorful characters, amusing anecdotes, and sad stories. Mr. Stratton's personal quest mirrors that of all, not just those familiar with the sport or the region. His story's appeal lies in the universality of each human's struggles with issues of identity, values, and sense of place. I heartily recommend Chasing the Rodeo to anyone who appreciates a book that both transports one to another time and place and allows one the opportunity to be inspired by another's personal journey through life.



4. **For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?** "Kip" Stratton has written a winner of a book, here. I felt it appropriate to begin this review with that familiar biblical quote, although "Chasing The Rodeo" is about the search for soul as well as about its diminution. What I mean by "soul" in this context is that which makes us part of society as well as unique individuals within it. Stratton's father, whom he never met, was a bull rider. Stratton's literal search for his father is overlaid onto his broader search for the soul of the rodeo and the American West.
   
   As this book makes clear, the towns that hold rodeos provide an essential part of its unique character. Moving the National Finals Rodeo from Oklahoma, which is steeped in Rodeo tradition, to Las Vegas is symbolic of the sacrifce of soul for that most America of obsessions, making money. Character is also lost when things are made safe and sanitary, and when elements that are foreign are incorporated into a thing in order to make it "accessible" to a wider audience. Early in the book, Stratton frets about being "a generic, white bread American" but learns that the "Kicker Culture" is as much a part of him as it is of the Rodeo. I grew up in a small town in North Texas and will tell you that the "Kicker Culture" ain't pretty and it ain't sanitary or even safe, but it is genuine. There are parts of it that should be eschewed entirely, but never "prettied up."
   
   Stratton obviously spent a great deal of time researching this book. It is chock-full of the people and places that make up this sport and their history. At the same time, he does not blink from calling racism what it is or identifying as bovine scat some of the aspects of recent Rodeo venues. He may offend some folks in doing so. But to be less than honest in his assessment of these things would certainly diminish the soul of the book.



5. In these fractious times, it is a joy to come across a book that embraces something as distinctly American as the rodeo. W.K. Stratton has delivered a handsomely-rendered treasure for every man who ever wanted to be a cowboy and every woman who ever wanted to be a cowboy's sweetheart. He traces the origins of rodeoing, takes us to this wild sport's biggest events, and introduces us to the kind of outsized characters it is hard to believe still exist. So here's to Freckles Brown, the rodeo clown who rode the fiercest bull in captivity, and to Jesse Bail, the spiritual descendant of Larry Mahan and Ty Murray and all the great rodeo riders who preceded him. And here's to Stratton himself, the son of a rodeo bum, who weaves the search for traces of his father into the larger tale he is telling without ever getting thrown by it. He stayed in the saddle, and by doing so, he has given readers a chance for the ride of their lives.

5 comments about The Boys of Everest: Chris Bonington and the Tragedy of Climbing's Greatest Generation.

1. I enjoyed this book with some caveats. I have been reading climbing literature for over 30 years and have read the original accounts of most of the climbs in Willis' book. I live in Seattle and have the opportunity to attend lectures by many of the prominent figures in the book. A lot of time has passed since I read most of Bonnington, Boardman, and Tasker. I lived thru all the deaths and having them retold in narrative was both chilling and disconcerting. I knew what was coming and who died when and still I found myself intrigued by how Willis would deal with each event. His projections were a little repetitive, especially his assumptions about Joe Tasker since he was never found. I think we all got some insight into the process of dying at high altitude in 1996 when we were privy to the communications between Rob Hall and those lower as he died high on Everest. I liked the overview, I liked going back to those years in my life when climbing books were my escape reading.
   
   I was most disappointed in the lack of maps and pictures. Especially in the Himalaya a picture is worth many thousands of words in conveying the mountains'haunting and astounding beauty. The elegance of the routes described needed maps. The audacity of tackling those routes is not as clear from the narrative as it could be with some graphics.
   
   The tragedies of "the Bonnington years" and beyond have certainly created many climbing questions. Subsequent alpine style climbing has resulted in many more deaths over the years. Commercial climbing has been full of senseless(?) loss as well. This book leaves off where Dave Roberts book On the Ridge Between Life and Death takes off. Here we have terrific introspection questioning the ultimate value of climbing, it's associated losses, and it's place in a life.
   
   As a summary of those exciting years in climbing I give this book a 4, in total maybe a 3 since it's has some major defecits.



2. Let me first say that I am an avid reader of climbing literature. As a non-climber, I found the author's description of every piton and carabiner on every climb to be immensely tedious. Likewise the endless sequence of who was in which camp every day and who led every pitch. Climbers who attempt these or similar routes might be enlightened, but I found it rather mind-numbing. I found Willis' suppositions about climbers' thoughts just before death to be banal and presumptuous. After slogging through 315 pages I could no longer feign even the slightest interest and quit reading.
   
   Clint Willis edited the excellent anthology "Epic: Stories of Survival from the World's Highest Peaks." He apparently gained no literary insights from any of the fifteen authors whose works he included. Readers wishing to get a feel for what it's like on the mountain should read "Epic" instead. It's a good way to sample the writing style of a variety of climbers, as well. Other excellent choices for climbers and non-climbers alike are "Minus 148 Degrees" by Art Davidson or "Touching the Void" by Joe Simpson, and anything by Greg Child.
   
   I gave the book one star for its explanation of the changing politics and policies of climbing in Great Britain after 1953. There were also some good insights into Bonnington's character. But if you want a thrilling read, look elsewhere.



3. I have recently read "No shortcuts to the top" and I loved that, but this is even better. It details the generation that really made the modern vision of mountain climbers - a bit aloof from the world and somewhat conceited about their business, but motivated by some need to go to the top, and by a harder route to prove something. This era of climbing and exploration is somewhat under-represented or is generalized all to Messner or his cohorts, while this book details so much of what was going on in the high mountains.
   Great book!



4. If you want to know about the folks that lived to climb and died while doing so, this is the book. Bonington is still alive, but the stories of he and his collegue's climbs are amazing.



5. Willis' current book (he's edited a number of collected excerpts) was the most intriguing mountaineering book I've read in a long time -- and I've read quite a few, although I myself am an "armchair" climber. Perhaps true mountaineers will find the book wanting for lengthy descriptions of raising funds for the climb; of the travails of arriving at base camp; of the flora, fauna and cultures encountered on the way in, but personally when I read about the extremes of high-altitude climbing, I'm always most attracted to how the alpinists themselves -- as humans -- cope with such extreme conditions. What do they think? Feel? What does this other worldly existence -- for it's nothing like everyday life -- give them that drives them to return, again and again, despite the torments, the cold, the hunger, the closeness to death that almost inevitably accompanies every serious ascent? Willis allows himself some artistic freedom in placing himself in the climbers' boots as they wake to bitter cold; as they jumar up old ropes; as they place weak protection knowing that any failure can lead to their death and possibly the death of their comrades. But this is why I, for one, read about alpinists: they compell themselves to extremes, and Willis -- far better than anyone -- places you alongside these climbers as they unravel, or ignore, the reasons they are high on these mountains, and always destined to return to them.

2 comments about A Day of Light and Shadows: One Die-Hard Red Sox Fan and His Game of a Lifetime: The Boston-New York Playoff, 1978.

1. Jonathan Schwartz captures the sweet sadness of being a lifelong Red Sox fan (at least until 2004).



2. Unless you are a Red Sox fan, you may not know about the Curse of the Bambino. In the early part of the 20th century, the Boston Red Sox dominated the American League. One of their best players was a pitcher named Babe Ruth. The owner traded the Babe to the New York Yankees in exchange for the money to invest in the Broadway production of No No, Nanette and it's been no cigar for the Red Sox ever since.

   Jonathan Schwartz has one of the worst cases of Red Sox addiction that I have ever heard of. He has been a radio announcer in New York for over 30 years (that's enemy territory for Red Sox fans). To stay up with his beloved Red Sox, he spent almost $15,000 in long distance charges from 1970-77 to listen in to the air check for WITS in Hartford of the games (calling in from Paris in some cases).

   This is a story first published in Sports Illustrated in 1978 and covers one of the worst periods in Red Sox history: The season when they blew a late 14 game lead to the dreaded Yankees. I lived in Boston at that time, and it was painful to recall the swoon. Yet at the end of the season, they pulled a comeback and tied the Yankees. There was to be a one-game playoff in Fenway Park (determined by a coin toss) on October 2, 1978. In a prior playoff against Cleveland in Fenway in 1948 (also on October 2), the Sox had lost 8-3.

   During the slide, the worst time had been when the Red Sox lost four in a row in Fenway to the Yankees with less than a month to go. Schwartz recounts his reaction. In a funk, he impulsively walked out of his apartment with $50 and a credit card, and flew to California. Only after arriving did he remember to call his live-in girlfriend and tell her what he had done.

   With the big game coming up, Schwartz thinks he should take it easy and watch the game on television. At the last minute, he cannot resist and calls in some markers to get a press pass.

   Most of the book recounts the game. It is interspaced with pre and post game comments from the key players.

   The ironies continue to abound. You'll have to read the book to get them all. The Sox took a 2-0 early lead, but the faithful were fearful. Bucky Dent, the light-hitting shortstop, fouled a ball off his leg and play was stopped temporarily while he was treated. On the mound, the delay cost Torres (the Red Sox pitcher and former Yankee) his concentration. You guessed it. Dent hit a home run. Gossage replaced Guidry later on and stops the Red Sox from rallying back.

   The final score: New York 5, Boston 4 (or as Schwartz puts it "Destiny 5, Boston 4).

   Required reading and rereading for all Red Sox fans until the Curse of the Bambino is lifted!

   Overcome your disbelief that anyone team could have so much bad luck with so much talent by reading this engaging story of baseball tragedy!

5 comments about 1939: Baseball's Tipping Point.

1. This informative and engaging book covers the state of baseball in a key year. In 1939 Lou Gherig retired due to a tragic illness, Bob Feller emerged to win 24 games, Ted Williams arrived in Boston, and the Hall of Fame and Little League World Series began. That was the year the last holdouts (Dodgers, Giants, Yankees) began radio broadcasts, night baseball increased, and television was even used experimentally. Readers learn about broadcaster Red Barber of Brooklyn, the thriving Negro Leagues, and increasing editorials for ending baseball's color barrier. There is also a look at umpire Bill Klem, and Cincinnati's "Deacon" Bill McKechnie, who'se intellect and patience were (and remain) a rarity among managers. Author Talmage Boston provides us with an 12 documented and easy-reading chapters. The result is an informative, enjoyable read for old-timers, and anybody else interested in the game.



2. Hats off to Talmage! Being an avid baseball fan, I have read many baseball books. I discovered many new significant factual nuggets and saw a great number of photographs that I'd not seen before. Obviously written by someone with a great passion for the game of baseball. Can not wait for his next book.



3. I've been a baseball fan for over 50 years and I have a library full of baseball books. I've even done some free-lance baseball writng of my own. So I don't give out praise lightly. This is a wonderful book and I would have to rank it on my list of Top 10 All-Time Favorites. It is more than just a baseball book...it covers a slice of Americana that all students of American history should find of interest.
   
   The author has done a compelling job developing his premise that 1939 was a extremely important year in the history of baseball and in the history of the United States. The book is actually a collection of twelve essays covering pivotal events and dominant personalities from the baseball world of 1939. Other reviewers have covered these topics, which include notables such as Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Lou Gerhig, Leo Durocher, and the great broadcaster Red Barber. I found each essay to be well written and highly informative. Mr Boston has certainly done his research on the selected subjects and he writes in an engaging, highly enjoyable style that kept me turning the pages.
   
   Even though most of the material was familiar territory to an old basball fan like me, I found that I learned something from each essay. Leo Durocher is my favorite character in baseball, and I've studied him intently. And yet I found the chapter devoted to him to be delightful and contained a lot of information that I was not familiar with. Likewise, the chapter on the Reds' great manager Bill McKechnie - one of the lesser known personalities that the author covers - was actually my favorite; and Mr.Boston has convinced me that Bill McKechnie is one of the most underrated managers in the history of the game. Other essays, such as the ones on the Negro Leagues, the founding of Cooperstown, and the advent of televison in baseball were also well done.
   
   If you are a baseball fan as I am - or just a fan of American history - do yourself a favor and read "1939: Baseball's Tipping Point." Trust me...you won't regret it.



4. Assemble baseball historians over their favorite adult beverages with the topic "most important," "most pivotal," "most famous" baseball season and the conversation heatedly rolls.
   Strong cases can be made for several seasons from baseball's past. In my pomposity I always insisted 1947 the most pivotal because of Branch Rickey's breaking of the game's color code with Jackie Robinson. There's no argument, 1947 was a strong and very important year for the game and for society.
   My friend and Dallas-lawyer-baseball historian-writer Talmage Boston has changed my mind with his work "1939 Baseball's Tippping Point." So much import was packed that year into a six month baseball season.
   Over two years before U.S. involvement in World War II, young up and coming stars outfielder Ted Williams and pitcher Bob Feller had begun showing the stuff that would lead to the Hall of Fame. That year, neither had become jaundiced due to what both thought was an excessive amount of career time lost due to the war effort. Yankees outfielder Joe DiMaggio began defining his career as elite that year.
   In 1939 Brooklyn Dodgers General Manager Larry McPhail began dragging a lowly franchise out of the doldrums. By hiring fiery Leo Durocher to manage the club, McPhail served notice to his players and other clubs that wins were expected in Brooklyn. By wisely breaking a very silly, sophomoric ban on radio broadcasts, McPhail with the hiring of southerner Red Barber to call Dodgers games, took soap operas away from New York women and gave them the game. In doing so, the Dodgers created a completely new, educated genre of fan--females. That year, Barber also broadcast baseball's first televised game.
   If 1947 marked the official end to appartheid in baseball, 1939 represented the time when newspaper editors both black and white began screaming for social change. Bigotry stories abounded. One of the most famous was a Daughters of American Revolution attempted ban on black singer Marion Anderson's appearance on the steps of the Lincoln Monument. Press coverage beat the ban.
   While the Baseball Hall of Fame opened its doors in 1939 to its first class including Babe Ruth and Walter Johnson, in Cooperstown,New York, historians began refuting claims that native Cooperstown son Abner Doubleday invented the game.
   Little League Baseball began operations in 1939, giving youngsters ages 8-12 their first shot at an organized style of play.
   But perhaps the most famous historical item coming out of '39 was Yankees slugger Lou Gehrig's demise. Gehrig that year had been diagnosed with Amyotropic Lateral Sclerosis, a form of polio, now known as Lou Gehrig's disease. As Gehrig stepped out of the playing field limelight, he gave his famous, "Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth," speech to a sold out Yankee Stadium.
   To me, "1939 Baseball's Tipping Point," went one step further. It is a missive that should be read and re-read by baseball fans as one more poignant reminder how this grand game became that way.



5. This is an excellent baseball book -- about the unique baseball happenings in 1939. Each chapter is devoted to a special story ... Ted Williams rookie season with the Bosox, the Yankee team after Gehrig retired and other interesting stories. There is a lot of great background regarding each story -- and is very well written.
   
   This would be a great gift for Christmas or birthday
   
   Greg Langdon

5 comments about Fly Fishing Through The Midlife Crisis.

1. Book arrived in excellent shape, promptly, and well packed.
   
   Will use this source again.



2. A coworker of mine let me borrow this book to read...because he knew I liked fly fishing books. I think I could have very easily put this book down and not finished reading it. I really do not care to spend my free time reading about politics but it's 4 degrees outside and my flyline keeps freezing to the ground so I decided to continue on. What I found was an author who learns how to come to terms with his mortality through the death of a close friend. I think if he had listened to his preacher as a child instead of shunning him he might not have wasted so much of his life fearing death. If you're looking for a book to help solve your mid-life crisis I wouldnt read this book. Try reading the Bible. I'm giving this book 1 star because it's a flyfishing book and another star for the recipes which I may try some day.



3. Howell Raines' "Fly Fishing Through the Mid Life Crisis" is a pretty good read full of the wisdom of fly fishing, friendship and coming to terms with one's mortality. He also gives a brief history of fly fishing in New England with some of the greats of the sport like Bob Closuer and Lefty Kreh. It was an enjoyable read but could have been just as good without his political commentary. I could have done without his endless praise of past Democratic Presidents and disdain for the Republic ones. It has a definite liberal bias that took away form the main point of the text, the joy of the pursuit of fly fishing and how it made his life better. I would rate it a six on a scale of ten.



4. This book puts it all together, lifes high and low spots, our successes and failures, and the drive to overcome the challenges presented by these situations. It makes one realize that there is a degree of "The Redneck Way" in all of us.



5. Really good fishing stories which are ,unfortunately, injected with liberal politics. Why did he have to do that? Apparently he doesn't know that people fish to get away from things like politics.
   
   Would have been close to a 5 rating without the political stuff.

1 comments about Tent Boxing: An Australian Journey.

1. I must admit I loved reading this book. I could not put it down . I myself traveled for years on many shows in the United States. I knew many guys who were just like the characters in the book. This book nailed down what it is like to be a showman. It dealt strickly with the working men and how they came to the buisness and how they lived. If you ever wanted to know what it is like to travel with a show then this is a good primer. Wayne McLennan does fine job explaining what is like to live in an era that has almost forgotten the the old showmen paticularly the Boxing Tent fighters. It is sad this way of life is dieing out. Good for Wayne for preserving a small bit of it . These shows have long been forgotten in the States. They used to be known here as AT shows or athlectic shows. They usualy accompanied Carnival and even Circus Sideshows. They actually were quite profitable in their time. Fun and interesting read for any one who wants to really know what that sort of life was all about. Books on this subject are so hard to come by.Army

1 comments about Game of My Life: New York Rangers.

1. John Halligan did an amazing job on the Rangers' 75th anniversary book and in this new title, he has an opportunity to tell more in-depth stories about some of the most popular Rangers players in history. His inside knowledge of the team and clear, crisp writing style makes him THE authority on the Rangers. I highly recommend this book.

1 comments about Kathy Whitworth's Little Book of Golf Wisdom: A Lifetime of Lessons from Golf's Winningest Pro.

1. This is a really good golf book which has a number of useful tips (many from Harvey Penick who was her long time coach). However, even more valuable are her thoughts on managing your yourself, your game and the course. None of this nonsense of pretending you are simply having "fun", when competing. I have read a number of golf books on the psychology of golf and none were nearly as helpful as her common sense thoughts on managing your game. In my first round with two of my friends after reading her book I won all 18 skins!

5 comments about Positively Page: The Diamond Dallas Page Journey.

1. This is not really a book about professional wrestling.
   
   This is a book that is partially set in the world of professional wrestling. The subject of the book is really positive thinking.
   
   It's out of print, and it may be hard to get, but if you are into human potential and the power of change - combining discipline with positive thinking - then this is a VERY good book.
   
   If you know (or if you are) a wrestling fan who needs to hear this message, then this may be the PERFECT book.
   
   Some people think that Dallas Page is a relentless self-promoter, but they're the ones who haven't been listening. He believes that anyone can do anything that they really want to - if they're willing to work hard enough for it. He uses his own life as the example.
   
   It's worth a read.



2. It is a well known fact that DDP is a no talent in the wrestling business who got to the top by kissing Eric Bischoff's ass. They were next door neighbors for godsakes. DDP's book is full of crap. He never drew flies. His workrate sucked. He was over, but not to were he drew money. The book itself is bad. 400 someodd pages of his life. 200 of it on wrestling. He writes about how he was a bar manager for 200 pages. This was incredible dull. He puts himself over so much that it is tiring and he positively sucked. He was a product of the WCW Bischoff era and we now know why WCW went under. DDP you will never be in the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame. And that's not a bad thing, that's a good thing.



3. I guess everyone and their mother decided it was time to write their gripping life story. This poorly written book is yet another discredit to the wrestling business. This is a business where so many people have given pride back to the business and then Page Falkenberg produces a book written on a third grade level full of wrongful facts.

   The question is obvious, why does Diamond Dallas Page even have a book? I can't answer that one. If he has a book then why doesn't Marty Jannetty, Pat Tanaka, Buff Bagwell or even Scotty Riggs? Why don't they? Because with all due respect nobody would want to read a full book about these wrestlers. Certainly one shoot interview on video or 4 page one on the Internet would be enough for a fan. Just like Bill Goldberg, Page is another guy who was convinced by Eric Bischoff that they were a star and even though he is by the way one of the worst champions of all time according to the ratings, Page bought it.

   This book was the fire back from WCW to the WWF at the time for having Mick Foley's book. Well if that is the case, that is a bigger joke of a fireback then the debut of the Maestro. If you are looking to buy a good wrestling autobiography, pass on this one at the bookstore. It is a terrible book!




4. All the History comes flooding back with each word. The times and places so easily parallel life and it's many hits one takes, leading to a the ultimate take-down. We all wish the best and try our best, some deal with the injuries better than others...some will always keep the bag of ice handy so the swelling doesn't show. We can all take a lesson and hope that our trials will bring us back to the same familiar places so near and dear someday. Here's to happy summers on the shore with those we'll always treasure. One Jersey girls' dream.



5. good book and all, ddp's a cool guy and everything, but none of the books compete to foley's 2. but hell, ddp still made a good read. get foley's 2 first (like you haven't) then get bobby the brain's second.

1 comments about Annapurna South Face: The Classic Account of Survival (Adrenaline).

1. The first ascent of the South Face of Annapurna is told in Bonington's characteristically engaging style. No detail of organization, logistics or communication is left out, with the result that we end up knowing quite a lot about what the climbers had for breakfast and what was said during their radio conversations; but I see this as a good thing. The book is slightly lacking in exciting scenes of actual climbing, as many expedition books unfortunately tend to be, but has plenty of gripping material nevertheless.