5 comments about The Captain: Steve Yzerman: 22 Seasons, 3 Cups, 1 Team.

1. A wonderful keepsake for anyone who was--and still is--a Steve Yzerman fan. A man with incredible accomplishments and integrity, he was a dedicated captain and dedicated to his teammates and his fans. His fans, in turn, were just as dedicated to him. And I think I probably speak for every one of them when I say it was a really sad day when he retired. It was almost like the lights went out in Michigan. We would have been happy to see him in a Red Wings jersey for many years to come. We would have been happy just to see him out there skating around. He is a shining example of what every hockey player should strive to be but he was pretty unique and he'll be hard to beat.



2. The tagline to this book says it all..."22 seasons, 3 cups, one team" and that one team may be more important than the three Stanley Cups. In this era of free agency and mega-million dollar salaries, Steve Yzerman was a rarity...a superstar athlete who played his entire career with just one team. You need only mention "The Captain" to any Detroiter and they will know who you are talking about.
   
   This marvelous book from the Detroit Free Press and Triumph books traces the career of one of the greatest professional athletes in Detroit sports history. The word legend is thrown about quite freely these days but it certainly applies to Yzerman. Here was perhaps the most modest superstar you could ever hope to meet. A fierce competitor on the ice, who over came numerous injuries, and a pure gentleman off the ice, Yzerman retired after the 2005 - 2006 season to take a much deserved spot in the Red Wings front office. More than any other player, coach, or owner, Yzerman was responsible for resurrecting a once great hockey team that had fallen on lean times in the 1970's and early 1980's.
   
   We get to see a young Yzerman, just 18 years old as he shakes hands with team owner Mike Illitch after being selected in the first round...only after the Wings first choice, Pat LaFontaine, was drafted one spot earlier. We can all thank the NY Islanders for that! Yzerman was named team captain in 1986, at just 21 years of age, making him the youngest captain in team history.
   
   The book tracks Yzerman's career, season-by-season, reprinting articles by Free Press writers such as Mitch Albom, Keith Gave, and Nick Cotsonika. Re-live those early playoff disappointments including the Stanley Cup finals loss to New Jersey in 1995. Then relive the glory of 1997 as the Red Wings took revenge on the hated Colorado Avs, first in the regular season, and then in the playoffs, on their way to their first Stanley cup since 1955. Yzerman's visit to the David Letterman Show and the tragic accident of Vladimir Konstantinov is also covered as well as Stevie's career achievements and milestones and his laundry list of injuries suffered throughout his career.
   
   This is a must have for any Red Wings fan!
   
   Reviewed by Tim Janson



3. Outstanding book! It really captured the whole history of Yzerman and his legacy plus legend... This is an outstanding book for both Red Wing and alll hockey fans



4. Purchased this as a Christmas gift for a BIG fan of Stevie's and she LOVED IT! Worth the money and "cheaper" than the bookstores!



5. This book reminds me a lot of my all-time favorite Yzerman book, "The Making of a Champion," which came out about 10 years ago. It's pretty much the same format - reprints of news articles and photos that appeared in the paper, along with some original features.
   
   Whereas "Champion" covered the first 10 or so years of Stevie's career, "The Captain" covers all of it. The articles, written by Detroit Free Press writers Bill McGraw, Mitch Albom, Nicholas Cotsonika and others, follow Steve from his early days as a teenage Red Wing, referring to Steve as "baby-cheeked" and telling us "if he shaves, it's only for practice" (and that he used to order white milk in bars!); as he becomes The Captain; blossoms into one of the NHL's most prolific goal scorers under Jacques Demers and then a three-time Stanley Cup champion under Scotty Bowman. All while playing for only one team - the Detroit Red Wings.
   
   "The Captain" is a great tribute to a man who personifies the words "class" and "perseverance" and the ice is a colder place without him. This book is a must-have for Yzerman fans everywhere, regardless of which team you cheer for.

5 comments about Glory Road: My Story of the 1966 NCAA Basketball Championship and How One Team Triumphed Against the Odds.

1. GLORY ROAD IS ABOUT TEXAS WESTERN COLLEGE WHO WON THE 1966 NCAA BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT. THE BOOK IS WRITTEN BY DON HASKINS WHO COACHED THIS GROUND BREAKING TEAM. BY THAT I MEAN FIVE BLACKS WERE IN THE STARTING LINEUP AN UNHEARD OF THING BACK IN THE 1960'S. HASKINS REALLY KICKED PREJUDICE IN THE ASS. HE WAS NOT PREDJUCIDE TO COLOR BUT TO GUYS WHO WOULD NOT GIVE A 100% EFFORT. HE WAS A REAL S.O.B. TO PLAY FOR, MAKING HIS TEAM PRACTICE VERY HARD AND LONG. (SOMETIMES EVEN AFTER A GAME HE WOULD WORK THEM UNTIL WELL INTO THE EARLY MORNING HOURS) THIS KIND OF BEHAVIOR TODAY WOULD GET HIM SUED OR TEMINATED OR BOTH. HE IS VERY DRIVEN AND VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT WINNING. HE ALSO TRIES TO COME ACROSS AS BEING A NO EGO TYPE OF GUY BUT HE ALSO BRAGS HOW GREAT A POOL PLAYER HE WAS. NOT ALOT OF THIS BOOK IS ABOUT THE ACTUAL 1966 TOURNAMENT ITSELF BUT MORE ABOUT HIS RESPECT FOR LEGENDARY COACH HANK IBA AND MORE ABOUT THE INDIVIDUAL PLAYERS WHO HELPED MAKE THEM CHAMPIONS. THIS IS A VERY GOOD READ AND I RECOMMEND IT MOSTLY FOR COLLEGE BASKETBALL FANS.



2. An amazing person as well as basketball player and coach, Don Haskins relates the history of Texas Western/UTEP basketball in a way that the movie "Glory Road" (though very good) simply could not. Even though the title makes it sound like the 1966 season is all that is covered, this book actually tells the history of Haskins' long tenure here at UTEP, from his first years at the school through the historic championship in '66, and beyond. His insights into the players, coaches, and personalities he came into contact with were enthralling, and the wonderful storytelling really makes you feel like you were there through all the good times and bad. I read it cover to cover the same afternoon I bought it, and highly recommend it to any fan of UTEP, Coach Haskins, or basketball in general. Thanks for everything you've done for the city of El Paso, our university, and the game of basketball, Mr. Haskins.



3. Your current published reviews are enthusiastic but in some cases contain factual inaccuracies. The movie and the book are related in title and subject (Don Haskins); but that is about as far as it goes. The movie which focuses on 1966 is moving and concludes with a happy and factual ending - that is, that Texas Western won that game in 1966 --- but the movie not always true to the facts. Understandably I suppose when you try to compress a life story, even if only one year of a life, into a 2 hour or so movie. The book, from someone who played for Coach, reviewed and commented on the galley proof, and has represented Coach Haskins and the '66 team as a lawyer and a friend for 35 plus years, is "spot-on" and should be read by everyone who has ever had an interest in basketball.
   
   As to the fortunes of 1966 team and the gentlemen representing that team so well, then and now, suffice it to say that the past 3 or 4 years have indeed been a trip down Glory Road: The team was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA this past April, only the 6th team to ever be so honored - and the first collegiate team --- with the enshrinement proceedings to be held on September 7 and 8, 2007 at the HOF facility. The team has also been honored with dinner and a movie at the White House with President and Mrs. Bush; the team will be inducted in the Boys Clubs of New York Hall of Fame in October of 2007, and some of the members volunteered to take an Armed Services Entertainment Tour to Germany, the Netherlands and England in February of 2007 to entertain our country's troops and their families. Also, Texas Western's victory on March 19, 1966 in College Park, Maryland over Hall of Fame Coach Adolph Rupp and his great Kentucky Wildcat team, that included Pat Riley, Louie Dampier and Larry Conley, among others, was selected by the National Collegiate Athletic Association ("NCAA") as one of 25 defining moments in the 100 year History of NCAA sports.
   
   I could go on but I think this should at least clear up a few matters and hopefully whet the appetite of prospective readers and reviewers to pause and consider reading this book, viewing the movie. Coach Haskin's story is presented in an interesting manner, containing both Coach Haskin's well known skills as a pick-up riding around story teller and the literary skills of Dan Wetzel who spent hours upon hours riding, listening and recording those stories.
   
   It is well written and factual to a fault; and points out what people can do when they put aside prejudices, rediculous stereoptypes (blacks had no discipline, couldn't be a point guard or quarterback) and circumstances and judge people by character and performance; not color and privilege. Every one of those (then but now not so) young men -- all are still alive except Bobby Joe Hill who passed away of a heart attack in 2002 --- that comprised the Texas Western Team in 1966 had talent and skill; more importantly they had character and heart and respect for each other and their coaches and that combination took them to over the top.
   
   Enjoy this story and share it with others - because of their courage and accomplishments, and those of others in other aspects of the 60's civil rights movement, questions surrounding recruiting, playing, starting and honoring people of color in sports today seem strangely quaint, and beyond the imagination of most people born after the '60s. But it wasn't always so and for this all of society owes a debt of gratitude to Don Haskins, the members of his '66 team, the University of Texas at El Paso (formerly Texas Western College) and the citizens of El Paso for contributing to the environment in which we now find ourselves with respect to race relations in sports.



4. I have the honor of being Don Haskins teammate at Oklahoma A & M, now Oklahoma State University and couldn't be prouder and happier for a very good film about a very historic Coach and athletic event. Please be advised that Don's whole 1966 team was just inducted into the new Collegiate Hall of Fame in Kansas City, Missouri. Buy it, you will like it...!



5. In one of those quirky moments in the book and movie industries, the autobiography of coach Don Haskins was already "in the pipeline" before the development of the picture.
   
   The book and movie share the title - Glory Road - which is a name of a street on the UTEP campus to commemorate the championship basketball season.
   
   The book obviously gives a more fuller picture of Haskins and does not solely focus on the monumental victory by Texas Western College (UTEP) over Kentucky in the 1966 NCAA Finals. There will be areas "filled-in" where the movie takes artistic license with some facts/scenes to push the plot along.
   
   The years after the title run are especially interesting, since the basketball program somewhat faded from national view as the sport became a multi-billion-dollar industry.
   
   It is a shame that history - especially when it comes to matters of race - oftentimes become blurry as the years lumber forward. Though Haskins has always downplayed his role in what was a defining moment on the court of race & athletics, he truly deserved the attention from the national platform that propelled the book to national bestseller status.
   
   The lessons learned along that glory road are as important today as they were 40 years ago.

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.

5 comments about Beyond Suspicion.

1. This book started off pretty good. But it did began to get really slow in the middle. I fond myself skipping over all the flashback scenes from all the different characters.
   
   Ultimately the book failed because the ending was horrible. Tried too hard to be complicated and it was silly and beyond belief. A lot of the characters and actions were beyond belief.
   
   One example: No hospital would allow the parent to sign off on permission, especially when the spouse is right there. jack is a lawyer, and would know that!
   The Latrina character just never truly fit into the story. There was nothing believable about her. Someone as careless as she was, was some informant? The whole revenge part was just too much, and really weakened the story.
   
   The transformation of Cindy was also another unbelievable plot gimmick. It was just not believable.
   Even the last accusations Jack makes at the end are just stupid!! Exactly when did it happen? between the time they arrived at the house and the time Jack got to the room?? Who broke the glass in the house??
   Just makes no sense at all.
   
   Are there any good writers left? Do all the suspense writers use the same BS gimmicks that insult people's intelligence.?



2. This author always keeps me on the edge of my seat. His books are hard to put down and are read within a few days. I find myself reading the book when I should be doing something else.



3. This is my second Grippando novel (I previously read Under Cover of Darkness) and I am starting to become a fan of this author. This book takes a big turn from the other book and has a great deal more action and suspense. Jack Swieteck defends a former girlfriend who ends up dead in his own bathtub. To complicate matters she apparently was murdered because of a medical scam against a group of investors who had bet their funds that she would die of Lou Gehrig's Disease. At first Jack is the primary suspect but then the blame seems to shift to his friend Theo (a former death row inmate).
   
   
   
   The book has the usual "unstoppable" assassin (Yuri) running around that likes to determine how his victim will die by whether or not they left their porchlight on. He gets involved in some really graphically described scenes of pure torture that could make the most insensitized individual cringe.
   
   
   
   Meanwhile there is an avenger named Katrina (she is really Cuban but Katrina is her adopted Czech name) who you are never really sure what side of the playing field she is on.
   
   
   
   The book is full of plot twists and turns and never gets boring.



4. After reading some of the reviews I was a little worried. Don't be worried. I really enjoyed Mr. Grippando's second installment of Jack's life. I'm not going to write a plot summary since Amazon and several reviewers do that quite well. I liked how fast paced this novel was and I did like the concept/ideas presented. I did agree with some of the other reviewers about how it wrapped up. Just felt it wrapped up way too quickly with some plot holes. I enjoy his books so maybe I'm a little bias. I do recommend this book in the series so you can understand the future books but The Pardon has been the best one so far that I've read.



5. Albeit the theme's book is kind of new, the viatical story with the Russian mob, the book loses itself in overly Miami descriptions. It also makes the love story of the first book "The Pardon" a phony one because in this book you'll know that Jessie was distraught since she were nine. So many of the situations in both books were because of Jessie, not because of Jack.
   
   If you read this book first than the other one you may like it because of the brisk pacing of the story. But that won't happen if you first read "The Pardon"

5 comments about Richie Ashburn Remembered.

1. Very first class informative history of Richie Ashburn. Was a fan growing up and found this book very helpful to answer questions and complete information that I often wondered about.



2. I grew up as a fan of Richie on the field and through his announcing games for the Phillies I was able to keep following him over the years until the day he died. This is a wonderful book and a fine tribute to him as a player and a man. To me he was one of a kind and this book does him justice. I thought I'd seen every photo of him but there were several surprises in the book. I enthusiastically recommend it to anyone who's interested in Richie-lots of great memories.



3. I was a bit taken back on the format once this came. Its very short, only about 100 pages of real material, and has very large font. Otherwise, it was a good book about Whitey.



4. I just finished reading this lovely tribute to Richie Ashburn. I can remember him so well. My Pop used to listen to the Phillies on the radio before there was tv. So I grew up with the Phillies and he was one of the best and most endearing characters ever. Fran did a great job of capturing his great character and personality. He was truly one of a kind. Good job Fran!



5. I was recently the greatful recipient of the above mentioned book. This is the 3rd book I have read by author Fran Zimniuch. His (past) books answer many of the questions you ponder. Like what ever happened to ???? Fran gives it all to you. This latest book is a wonderful tribute to Richie Ashburn and you can tell that the author truely loves the sport of baseball. It is more than a story to him. Way to go Fran and keep them coming......Now what ever happened to Bobby Rydell, Don Cannon and the rest of the oldies...

5 comments about Yastrzemski (Icons of Major League Baseball).

1. Carl Yastrzemski has always fascinated me. I was in awe of him as a child, astounded by him as a young man. This is the third autobiography I have read of his, and I wasn't the least bit disappointed. Great work, Yaz - for I'll always salute you. AND as a bonus, there is a disc. Some clips I had never seen which included clips from both the 67 & the 70 allstar game!



2. One thing that's great about being a Red Sox fan is the huge selection of books about the team and its players. Here is a new autobiography of Yaz, apparently all in his own words since no co-author is listed. It's a very admirable package. The book is nicely written, capturing Yaz's development as a player and all the key moments in his career, a career highlighted by the memorable 1967 and 1975 seasons. Like Ted Williams before him, Yaz's individual achievements were enormous but the highest achievements of the teams he played for consisted only of near-misses. His greatest legacy, perhaps, is that he was a player who gave it everything he had, day in and day out, and made the utmost of his ability. Yaz confesses that he did not enjoy playing baseball so much as it was something that consumed him.
   
   The collection of photographs in this book are the best I have seen in any baseball book, large, high-quality pictures spanning the period from the early days of baseball right up to Yaz's retirement. Many of the shots come from Sports Illustrated magazine.
   
   As for the DVD, I can't give it any points for being well-organized. The clips are thrown together haphazardly with no narration to hold them together. Nonetheless there are some vintage moments captured, from Yaz's homers in the 1967 World Series to his emotional farewell at Fenway. It's hard to believe that farewell came 24 years ago.



3. I'm writing this review at a time when (1) Michael Vick has just been indicted for hosting dog fighting events (2) Mr. "I Didn't Know I Was Taking Steroids" Barry Bonds is on the threshold of breaking Hank Aaron's all time home run record (3) riders in the Tour de France are dropping like flies thanks to positive drug tests (4) NFL player Pacman Jones is under investigation for his involvement in a fight in Las Vegas that involved firearms and left one man paralyzed and a few other scandals that I just can't recall right now.
   
   Carl Yastrzemski reminds me of a time - an era when the game and sports in general wasn't so "corrupted" by money. Of course, baseball, and every other sport has ALWAYS been a business, but money was, in my opinion, always a secondary thing. Now it seems, an athlete sees his sport as nothing more than a stepping stone to a lucrative endorsement contract. And sponsors couldn't give a damn about the character of the player who's pitching their product. The athlete could be an axe-murdering child molester for all NIKE cares - as long as he sells lots of running shoes for the company.
   
   I came of age in the 60's and glommed onto the Boston Red Sox (despite living in southern California) as my favorite team at a very young age. And Yaz quickly became my favorite player.
   
   I guess what I admired about him was the fact that he may not have been as gifted as some other players of the era or been blessed with incredible athletic prowess, but he worked very, very hard at his craft and always gave 100% effort. A consumate professional.
   
   And for those of us who were around in the summer of 1967, who could possibly forget Yaz's contribution to the Impossible Dream when he practically single-handedly carried the Red Sox to the pennent and the World Series. Yes - it was painful to watch them lose to the Cardinals and Bob Gibson in game 7, but they did their best and what more could you ask of an athlete.
   
   Again, in an era when you have the likes of Terrell Owens or Randy Moss or countless other snivelling, whining little millionaire athletes complaining about everything,it's nice to be able to look back at the career of a man like Yaz and know that there were - and still are - some athletes who took / take their responsibilities as both a player and role model very seriously.
   
   Yaz was not only a Hall of Fame ball player, he was a Hall of Fame human being.
   
   Carl, thanks for all of the great memories and thrills you provided to me and countless other Red Sox fans - we'll never forget you..!!



4. The late great sports writer of the Los Angeles Times, Jim Murray, once said, "You don't pronounce the name Yastrzemski, you sneeze it." The format of this book is great. It has several colored photographs with sufficient text material to keep youngsters interested who may be turned off by too much reading material. The accompanying DVD also provides the reader with highlights to add to the text. An interesting part of the DVD is the Carl Yastrzemski song which was recorded on The Impossible Dream LP record following the 1967 season. Here, on the DVD, however, the song is shortened from the original. Why only four stars? The book needed more careful editing. Page 138 mentions "Don" McAuliffe of the Detroit Tigers who ended up the 1967 season by grounding into his one and only double play of the season. The correct name, of course, should be Dick McAuliffe. In other instances just last names of opposing players are often used which made me think that perhaps the first name had been forgotten. Page 197 has a misprint stating, "The guy who led the club in winds in '77 was Bill Campbell..." Obviously the correct word would be wins. Page 237 begins the page with the capital letter "Y" in a box for the first word of "The." These were careless errors that should have been caught by a proofreader. I may sound picky, but the book rates a strong four stars with me. A great lesson for youngsters in this book is that, although Yaz and other athletes have ability, they still have to struggle and work hard to become the player they are. You don't simply show up and play the game. I know of three former Little Leaguers of mine from the 1970's who were big Yaz fans and are going to receive this as a gift. If you know of a young baseball fan treat him to this book, he'll love both the photos and text, and let him learn about a true sports hero. Our young people certainly need them.



5. I was a 7 year old Red Sox fan when Yaz was a rookie in Boston and I attended his last game in 1983. As did many fans, I spent most of my life assuming his name would be third in the line-up that day. Yet, in a city that has an obsessive relationship with its baseball team, Yaz' place in the hearts of Red Sox fans is a curious one.
   
   On the plus side, he almost singlehandedly lifted the Sox out of the mediocrity of the late Williams era and into the World Series in 1967. He was at his best in the clutch (7 hits in 8 at bats in the final deciding games that year). He was a 5 tool player, albeit in moderate amounts, a Hall of Famer, the last Triple Crown winner and the first in the AL with 3000 hits and 400 home runs.
   
   On the other hand, he made the mistake of following the legendary Ted Williams in leftfield. He hit 40 home runs 3 times from 1967 to 1970 and, due to the effect of injuries, never approached those power levels again. Yaz made the last out in game 7 of the 75 World Series and the 78 playoff game against the Yankees, both of which were decided by one run. Most importantly, Yaz seemed to be a cranky guy, smoking cigarettes in the runway, uncomfortable in interviews and often fighting injuries. He did not have the majesty of Williams, the grace of Lynn or the charisma of the always smiling Luis Tiant.
   
   This book is a perfect antidote to that image. In the first person, Yaz tells of his endless preparations growing up in Eastern Long Island as well as the passion, work and focus he brought to every game. In an amazingly frank revelation, he tells us: "I'll level with you; I never enjoyed it. I never had any fun." He explains that not having the natural size, power or ability of a Williams or Lynn, everything he did was the product of uncounted hours of work. At times in his career, he was booed by Boston fans.
   
   We should have loved this guy. The son of a working farmer just across the Sound in Eastern Long Island, Yaz spent endless hours as a boy swinging a bat in an unheated barn through Northeastern winters. He and his dad spurned the Yankees' offer to play in Boston. He stayed in Boston for 23 years and did not make his contract signings into an annual "Maybe I'll stay" soap opera. And, most importantly, Yaz cared about every win and loss as much as we did.
   
   Freddie Lynn was sometimes called "Beach." A South California kid, he could shrug off a tough loss and go on with his life. Yaz would rework each at bat in his mind after the game until he could let go and begin to prepare for the next game. Lynn is who we all wanted to be. Yaz is who we are. And if his swing or the final pitch had been one centimeter different in 75 or 78, there would never have been a Curse and Yaz' image would have eclipsed Ortiz, Fisk and Dave Henderson.
   
   It's great to have Yaz back; baseball's version of Larry Bird (unfortunately without the rings.) This is also a great book about baseball in a more innocent time. There is a DVD included so younger fans can watch Yaz in his prime.

1 comments about Paul Anderson: The Mightiest Minister.

1. Very thoroughly researched. Gives a lot of insight into who Paul Anderson was. Does a very complete job of making the case for many of Anderson's unofficial lifts being legit.

   Paul Anderson was simply an amazing person and the story of how he dedicated his life to Christ while at the peak of his lifting career and how he used his physical gifts to help troubled teens is very inspirational.

5 comments about The Player: The Autobiography.

1. I was a major Becker fan back in my teens, so it was great to hear his story in his words. I tend to read autobiographies as opposed to biographies. I think it's usually more fun to read what a person has to say about themselves as opposed to what others have to say about them. A person writing about their own life has an agenda, of course, just like any biographer but this just tells you even more about them, and that's what I wanted to read. If you are a fan, you should definitely take a look.



2. It's much more about his personal life and business pursuits than tennis. The extent to which he has burned out on the game really comes through in the lack of interest he seems to have in writing about it. Few matches get any more than a sentence or two. Pretty disappointing.



3. I found the book pretty interesting. I was a major Becker fan back in my teens & as such I've heard so many stories about him over the years. Problem was none of the stories involved his side or his view of the events. So I enjoyed learning about the events from the major player's point of view. He is a gentlemen about his relationships with women, including the mother of his daughter out of wedlock. I respect that, in today's "Jerry Spring" environment it would have been easy for him to get too personal or [...] to try & increase sales & he refrained from that. I hope Becker finds the happiness that seems to have eluded him all these years. (But if your looking for pictures the only ones in the book are on the front & back cover)Good book overall.



4. This is an excellent autobiography about one of my favorite tennis stars of the Open era. His book compares favorably to Mac's "You Can't Be Serious." Although both personalities are equally intriguing, Becker opens up more. Mac remains more focused on the tennis. Becker engages in depth into all his demons, the tax evasion scandal, the wrenching divorce, and the sleeping pill addiction.
   
   With Becker you feel the heights and lows of fame. It is an extremely charged bipolar life. You also feel that Becker found it physically and emotionally exhausting. His body was crippled with tendon injuries resulting in several surgeries. His lingering tax evasion case lasting years took a heavy toll on his tennis career. His marriage to Barbara was a casualty of fame.
   
   Many relationships he experienced have gone through Faustian dramas. This is true with his coaches and his women. He always seems to share a very strong bond and trust at the onset. Invariably, they don't meet expectations (his or theirs). Then, things fall apart. But, somehow they often recover and end up as mature friends. This was the case with both Ion Tiriac and Barbara (his former wife).
   
   Becker is full of contradictions. For instance, when he is in court to fight over the terms of a bitter divorce he states that he lived all his life in Germany. This was in an effort to transfer the divorce case from the U.S. where his wife filed the divorce paper to Germany where he would benefit from more lenient financial disclosure. But, when the German government goes after him for back taxes. All of a sudden, he has supposedly not set foot in Germany for decades. What gives?
   
   The description of life on the tour and the limelight seems really existential at best. Becker suffered from the inability to make genuine friends with fellow tennis players. He found the resulting social isolation difficult. But, how could you be close friends when your livelihood depended on your killer instinct ability to beat your fellow pros.
   
   The richness of the book is generated by all the chapters dedicated to other stars than Becker. One of them is by Ion Tiriac who describes his side of the story, including the fall out with Becker, and the eventual reconciliation. Another chapter is about Ali, another one consists of a fascinating interview with McEnroe, another one is an ode to Steffi Graf, finally another is an ode to Mandela. So, this biography is not just about Becker or tennis.
   
   If you like this book, I strongly recommend McEnroe's "You Can't Be Serious" and Bill Scanlon's "Bad News for McEnroe." Both those books stick more to tennis. Nevertheless, they are fascinating as they are written by two of the most talented players and incisive minds in tennis.



5. I would imagine that most of the autobiographies of sports personalities (and perhaps movie stars) in todays day and age are ghost-written. This book doesn't seem to be an exception.
   
   Being a great fan of Becker, I picked up the book as soon as I saw it in a bookshop. However, I was reasonably disappointed. The book talks very little about his tennis (which is what a fan would like to read about). I wanted to read about his epic matches, and his wimbledon wins.
   
   Instead of writing about tennis in this book, Becker writes more about the off-the-court aspects of his life (his misunderstandings with his coaches, with other players on the circuit). He seems to be making a point that he was never in the wrong but that he was misunderstood. The book seems to be his attempt to set the record straight.

5 comments about John Force: The Straight Story of Drag Racing's 300-MPH Superstar.

1. Fantastic easy to read book. Very interesting and inspiring to see how persistent John was, his success was a long time in the making.



2. This is truly a great book to have if you are a true John Force fan.



3. this was a gift for my brother-in-law...he enjoyed it tremedously...would recommend it to anyone who loves drag racing



4. Excellent book. A true "everyman story", someone who started out as a nobody and became one of the most famous auto racers in history, and never forgot his roots. His is probably the most down to earth famous person on the planet. A true inspiration to anyone who has ever had a
   dream. A true class act.



5. John Force has been my favorite professional driver for years. I was happy to see this book being packaged with Season I of Driving Force. Both the book and dvd were great. I'm hoping to see John win a couple more years before he decides to hand the reins over to Ashley and the rest of the Force Team. Ashley is going to live up to her family name and be another "Force" to be dealt with.

5 comments about John McGraw.

1. I was really excited to learn more about such an important figure in baseball history. This in an unexciting story about a man of fire. It is sad that there is not more energy from this book.



2. If you are, like me, a serious student of baseball history who never tires of reading about the "old days", you will enjoy this book. If you are a casual baseball fan looking for light baseball reading, this is probably not the book for you.
   
   I think most of the other reviews posted here are on the mark: a lot of factual and interesting research into the life and times of the great John McGraw. People like me love this kind of stuff. But at times it can be bland, uninspired writing that would likely bore the casual baseball fan.



3. Born in 1873, John McGraw grew up brawling and playing baseball like he was brawling. And he was very good at it. As the scrappy third baseman and manager of the Baltimore Orioles in the 1890s, he gained fame and not a little fortune as an innovative, autocratic field manager whose teams clawed and fought to championship after championship. His teams represented the epitome of the "dead ball era" of baseball, where speed, defense, and aggressive play on the base paths carried the day. He is credited with inventing the "suicide squeeze" and the "Baltimore chop." He moved from Baltimore to New York in 1902 and during 31 years leading the New York Giants, he won 10 pennants and three World Series. Additionally, under his direction the Giants finished second 11 times. As a legendary manager, h entered the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937.
   
   This is the story told in this superb biography by Ohio University professor Charles C. Alexander, whose baseball biographies of Ty Cobb and Rogers Hornsby rank as some of the best ever in the developing field of serious baseball history. Alexander's study is in-depth, thoughtful, and engaging. It is a superb work. Enjoy.



4. I suppose I should be grateful to Alexander for doing some original research but it's hard to get excited about a book that has no enthusiasm for it's subject and some how makes a fascinating man dull. I recommend the great Frank Graham's McGraw of the Giants. It's out of print but readily available at used book stores. Graham covered McGraw for years, knew him well and, more importantly, knew countless sports writers who covered McGraw from his days in Baltimore. Graham examines his controversial subject with a critical entusiasm that brings this great but very flawed man to life. As Graham skillfully shows, McGraw's edge was sometimes so sharp as to be repellant but he was an innovative genius at baseball marketing, administration, selecting and motivating players as well as on the field strategy. If you're a baseball fan, he's worth studying.



5. This is the first book I have read from the many that Charles Alexander has written about turn of the century baseball players and I have to say that Mr. Alexander is a voracious researcher as he has facts and events of McGraw's life down to every little detail. For this, he is to be commended as he has certainly put to paper, atleast to this point, the definitive book on John McGraw.
   However, this is not a short or an entertaining read by any stretch of the imagination as Alexander's book is decidedly bland in its detailed accounts of seasons past. After detailing McGraw's many outbursts on and off the field, Alexander chronicles McGraw's gambling misdeeds and even possible corruption (to the degree of the 1919 Black Sox). But Alexander does not write with a lot of imagination. His work reads exactly like you might expect a chronological account might: vanilla.
   Although I enjoyed reading this book and appreciated all of the facts and research Alexander did on McGraw, I cannot say that this is one of the better baseball books I have read. Still, it remains the only book of any substance on McGraw, so if you want to learn about one of the most important men in the history of baseball, this is your book.