2 comments about Pete Rose: Baseball's All-Time Hit King.

1. Great book! The author really captures the Pete Rose story in depth. I highly recommend this book!



2. This Book should of not been published he is a no good person dont waste your money on this book buy something else with your well spent money!!!!!!!!! But if you are a Baseball fan then your going to buy this book....

No comments about Hawkeye: The Rapid and Outrageous Life of the Australian Racing Driver Paul Hawkins.

5 comments about King Kelly Coleman.

1. West did a fine job with his book and has a real sense of capturing both King Kelly and the state tournament (I played in two). But more than that, he captured the sadness and the loss of what King Kelly could have been. As good as King Kelly was, we never got to see him mature as a player beyond Wayland.



2. In 1956 I was fortunate to have been to the Kentucky high school basketball tournament and witnessed the amazing King Kelly Coleman. He scored 68 points against Shelbyville. This book is great and a fitting tribute to a true legend. This guy is without a doubt the greatest basketball player to ever walk in a pair of shoes. He could move like Michael Jordan, rebound and block shots like Bill Russell, handle the ball like Pete Maravitch, and dribble like Marques Haynes. And those are the things never mentioned because they are dwarfed by his uncanny shooting ability. The only times he ever missed a shot were when he had two or three guys all over him, but that didn't matter because when he did miss he would get his own rebound and put it back in. His personal story is fascinating. He played a short time in the NBA but they say he quit because pro basketball didn't pay well in those days. After 50 years I got to meet him at a book signing. He deserves the title of "King of Basketball".



3. I found this book fascinating - even though I didn't grow up in Kentucky hearing the King Kelly Coleman stories. This book is more than a one dimensional basketball book. It offers an insight into the cultural aspects of Eastern Kentucky as well as the rich tradition of basketball throughout the state.



4. King Kelly Coleman is a very good read about a legend in Kentucky Basketball history and the area of our Commonwealth where he grew up. Fascinating to see how choices made change an entire lifetime.



5. This is a fun Read. Gary P. West did a great job.
   
   King Kelly Coleman..Kentucky's Greatest Basketball Legend, written by Gary P. West, is a story about a man who played basketball, not necessarily about a basketball player.
   
   It's about a youngster, the son of a coal miner, with 10 brothers and sisters, who became the biggest high school legend in the history of basketball-crazy Kentucky.
   
   The footprint he left and the records he set are still being talked about some 50 years later.
   
   His more than 4,000 career points, and 68 points and 28 rebounds in the 1956 high school state tournament have withstood the assault of some of Kentucky's greatest basketball players.
   
   In 1956 he was considered the best high school basketball player in the nation, ranking ahead of Oscar Robertson and Jerry West. He had just broken Wilt Chamberlain's national record for most points scored in a career, and University of Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp publicly called the King from Wayland perhaps the best basketball player of all-time.
   
   You can read Gary P. West's take on it all as he reveals for the first time what is fact and what is fiction in "King Kelly Coleman.. Kentucky's Greatest Basketball Legend".

3 comments about Total Tennis, Revised: The Ultimate Tennis Encyclopedia.

1. For diversity, quality and quantity (960 pages), "Total Tennis" hits winner after winner. Past and present stars from Sears to Sampras and from Suzanne to Serena are covered with in-depth and fascinating features, either from SPORT magazine or by Bud Collins himself, the encyclopedia's distinguished author. The careers of hundreds of other players are described in engrossing profiles and bios. Collins' superb knowledge of tennis shines brightest in year-by-year stories of the greatest players at the greatest venues, as well as in discussions of important issues, from 1919 to 2002. The most memorable matches come to life with intriguing prologues -- before Lenglen's 1926 showdown with Wills at Cannes, France, she told a friend: "This girl must be mad. Does she think she can come and beat me on my home court?" -- riveting match coverage, and incisive epilogues. Comprehensive registers of both the pre-1968 amateur era and later pro era provide abundant statistical information
   about leading players and Grand Slam and other prestigious events, such as Davis Cup and Fed Cup, to keep even the most fanatical follower happy. To settle "Who's Better?" and other arguments, this compendium provides world rankings going all the way back to 1913. For fun trivia, did you know: King Gustav V of Sweden learned to play during a visit to Britain in 1878, founded his country's first tennis club when he returned home, and entered tournaments under the pseudonym, Mr. G? Dazzling color photos of the greats on and off the court complete the picture. As a reference book, "Total Tennis" is unsurpassed. But as an enjoyable read, it's equally valuable because the content is so authoritative and complete, and the writing style so entertaining.



2. I've read a lot of tennis books and this one is great. Except...Collins describes each season beginning with 1919...and leaves out stuff from the late 1800s and first two decades of the 20th century. Great picture of Leo Tolstoy on a tennis court though. Terrific book...and cheaper to purchase it on Amazon.com (which I did not do!)



3. The best book by far when it comes to tennis; past present and future. Everything you have ever wanted to know is in this book. The pictures are outstanding. If you are a tennis lover, this book is definitly for you!

No comments about Legacy of a Monarch.

No comments about Hockey Heroes: Jaromir Jagr.

No comments about African American Icons of Sport: Triumph, Courage, and Excellence (Greenwood Icons).

No comments about Wrestling Reality.

5 comments about Baseball's Forgotten Heroes.

1. Baseball is a game rich in history and stories abound about those who have played the game. Author Tony Salin has provided us with stories of players who are known to true fans such as Chuck Connors, Billy Jurges, Frenchy Bordagaray, and Larry Jansen. A number of stories of very obscure players who have interesting tales to tell as well is also in the book. I especially enjoyed the pronounciation of names in the back of the book. I had hoped to see the name Chris Van Cuyk listed, but, alas, that one will continue to mystify me. The book is a quick read and is worth your time.



2. Are you tired of reading the same stories about the same baseball players? Pick up this great little book for a different look at the game. Instead of rehashing old stories the author delves into the careers of some little known but colorful characters. The interviews, though somewhat rough around the edges, allow the author to give you the conversational type of history, as if you were sitting across the kitchen table from these baseball nomads. It's the kind of book you find yourself saying, "I could have written this book". But hey, the author followed through on his idea, and I look forward to seeing more of the same type material from him.



3. This is a book written by someone with a lot of love for the game of baseball. It will mostly benefit others with the same love: Salin has found sufficiently obscure figures that I had only heard of half of them. Where feasible, he lets them tell their own stories, thus preserving their style of speech and bringing them to life (very important as most are very elderly or since deceased).

   Salin must be a persuasive fellow and is certainly a persistent one; he wangled an interview with the very reclusive Pete Gray, who played major league baseball with only one arm (true story). He has gathered a collection of amusing and interesting stories that tell a lot about the times in which his subjects played.

   And as if all that weren't enough, there's a great bonus at the end: a pronunciation guide to baseball people's names. How is someone like myself, born in the early 1960s, supposed to know how to pronounce a lot of the names of the past? What a superb inclusion, and the list is both long and phonetically clear. I couldn't believe my good fortune when I got to that part, having thought that the book was over, and was so pleasantly surprised. It was like a performer coming out for a superb encore.

   Well worth the money and time for enthusiasts of baseball history. I'm going to keep my eye on this author, and I hope we get more.




4. This book, like Andrew Torrez's critically acclaimed _Off Base_, appears to be part of a growing trend among baseball authors to encourage their readers to think "outside the box." Salin's ideas, like Torrez's, are provocative and entertaining.



5. Tony Salin's collection of stories in "Baseball's Forgotten Heroes" is a reminder that baseball's charm is created by more than the superstars that the media cling to when trying to get the average fan's attention. As much as I enjoy reading about Williams or DiMaggio, Baseball's Forgotten Heroes is a fresh approach that I hope will set a standard for future volumes. Throughout history, baseball has presented many men with fascinating stories that have been otherwise overlooked. Fortunately, there is at least one author with the desire and perseverance to publish some of these unsung-heroes' stories. The style of this book would appeal to anyone regardless of his or her degree of passion for baseball or knowledge of the sport, but it is a "must-have" for any baseball enthusiast's library. I hope Salin is able to produce many sequels to this wonderful model of baseball literature. HOF!

No comments about Landing on My Feet.