No comments about Joe Gans: A Biography of the First African American World Boxing Champion.

No comments about The Last Man Across the Atlantic.

5 comments about Sting: The Moment of Truth.

1. I would deffinately recommend this book as well asthe DVD it was awesome!!



2. Steve Borden was at the ultimate crossroads of his life.
   
   As the character, Sting, he achieved iconic status in professional wrestling, one of a few performers who could tear the roof off of any arena in the world with his persona and signature finishing moves for victory.
   
   But Sting couldn't assist Steve Borden on that day in August 1998, the ring makeup was off and it wasn't about the promoters & fans, it was about family. Addicted to prescription drugs and years of living a fast-lane lifestyle of a pop star, Steve Borden was on the verge of losing his wife and two young children.
   
   It was his moment of truth.
   
   The reader takes the journey with Steve Borden as he puts his ego aside and confronts the demons that are damaging not only his soul, but destroying the ones who love him the most.
   
   This is a side of Steve Borden that you may not know about before picking up the book; it's how he got on his knees, raised his arms and looked up to the sky to accept the ultimate guidance in the main event of life.



3. This book is a great and helpful book for christians who have fallen off their path. Sting is one of my favorite wrestlers. I am very proud to say that because he is a christian. I cant wait for the movie to come out. I do believe that the book was short and sweet but I wanted it to be longer.



4. STING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MY FAVORITE OF ALL TIME FINALLY WRITES ONE OF THE GREATEST WRESTLING BOOKS EVER. IF YOU LIKE STING BUY THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!



5. OK, so maybe it DOESN'T deserve 4 stars, but it is one of the rare books that move you and that make you feel touched.
   
   Just like Castaneda's Journey to Ixtlan book, it contains life story of a man who felt reformed by, in Borden's book, some Higher Good and faith in something UNmundane.

5 comments about Game of Shadows: Barry Bonds, BALCO, and the Steroids Scandal that Rocked Professional Sports.

1. Any true fan of baseball will love this book. Not only does it provide factual reporting, but is presented in a way that anyone who picks it up can read it & understand.
   
   It is nowhere near a "long read," it's long, but is written in a way that it will suck you in until you flip that last page. I liked it so much I ordered a copy for my dad!
   
   I am nowhere near a Barry Bonds fan, but this book doesn't 100% focus on Bonds. A great read!!!



2. "Game of Shadows: Barry Bonds, BALCO, and the Steroids Scandal that Rocked Professional Sports" details the story of how performance-enhancing drugs have entered the world of sports. As of this time, the case has not been completely wrapped up, with Barry Bonds still awaiting trial for perjury and tax evasion. The book is really a definitive reference to performance drugs, their composition, their effect in bodies and why they work. As banned drugs in most sports, there has been a constant game of cat-and-mouse between athletes and governing bodies to stay one step ahead of the other, to prevent these drugs from being used. In baseball's case, the only governing body for athletes and owners was greed, so using the drugs was winked at by both. The result of this was the creation of records by people who never would have come close to creating them. Equally incredible was the creation of "mutations" (for lack of a better word) in the bodies of users: Barry Bonds, for example, had his shoe size grow from 10½ to 13, his jersey size increase from 42 to 52, and his head grow two sizes, despite being bald - all in his late 30s, long after the normal body grows anything close to this much. No telling what kind of health risks he will be running in the years to come. This is no doubt, though, that this is a riveting book - despite what may seem to be a boring topic, the authors make it a thorough and interesting book.



3. Bought this for my husband... he loves it. Good read for those into Baseball and baseball history.



4. I am a big baseball fan so i had to read this book and , altough, it is a sad thing to find out how huge is this problem, i am grateful that those who have lied and hide this problem have been prosecuted.This book is a great account of the problems of drugs in sports.So far, everything that the authors have said in this book have been proven true.This book is a no non-sense approach to the story with the authors putting all the cards on the table and not holding back.I think their approach to the subject is fantastic and the fact that they have researched and documented all their information is a testimony to that.Great book!!



5. There is no way to make a positive case for anabolic steroids or HGH in any sport. The story of BALCO and the involvement of one of the biggest names in sports makes for an interesting read Game of Shadows: Barry Bonds, BALCO, and the Steroids Scandal that Rocked Professional Sports albeit one of the darkest sides of professional sports.
   
   Hidden behind a "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" back-drop, the book names people who became contenders by buying into the back street sales of steroids in order to build strength, enhance musculature, elongate careers and cheat their way into the record books with the excuse that they were better than other players but just needed that edge to be best, as though it was their divine right! Gone were the days of Willie Mays, Roger Maris, Hank Aaron and Mickey Mantle, those who made and broke records by sheer talent and will. The days of steroids were now foisted upon an unsuspecting public via Victor Conte, a self-made, self-serving and self-proclaimed nutritionist who became a "cocktail" mixer to the super stars of sports. Throw into that mix the world of Major League Baseball, who, along with its Commissioners, owners, managers, trainers and pumped up stars, turned a deaf ear and a blind eye to all that was happening around them. Together, they've turned a wonderful, healthy and beautiful sport that was America's Favorite Pastime into a debacle of muscle-bound "terminators" whose job it is to hit the long ball and keep people coming to fields and stadiums where they can witness the side-show of freaks which once was, the heart of American sports.

4 comments about H. W. Tilman: The Seven Mountain-Travel Books.

1. An avid collector of Himalayan subject matter, I have also been lucky enough to have wandered around the upper Langtang Valley on several occasions in the last few years. Not only is Tilmans book still accurate in many respects, but it is also highly amusing at the same time. Fact, folklore and quotations are fantastically woven into a single, almost epic tale of discovery. It is, at times, laugh-out-loud funny, and yet one might feel a certain sense of guilt at particular comic moments. Where Tilman describes one of his porters as "slow in mind and weak in leg, and not, one suspects, long down from his tree", it is an hilarious turn of phrase, but in our modern standardised and easily-scandalised society one feels the need to look over one's shoulder to make sure the PC police aren't looking.
   I would heartily recommend anyone to read the book, particularly if it is available, the Nepal Himalaya single edition, - great, great books for travelling minds (and soles..) so long as you can cope with the mountain of salt required to see some of Tilmans less emphatic points.



2. Tilman and Shipton were the first humans to enter the Nanda Devi sanctuary, a valley surrounded by some of the greatest Himalayan peaks. They were indelibly marked by the experience.



3. Not only is Tilman's book brillantly written, but his chapter on "Two Mountains and a River," which focuses on the Swiss/British expedition to Rakaposhi and the Kukuay Glacier illustrates all the problems and hardships my uncle, Hans Gyr experienced during his quest for conquering the Rakaposhi in the Karakorum. Thanks to Tilman, I know now so much more about these few trying weeks in snow and ice. I recommend this book to all who like not only mountains, but solitude and the ultimate challenge.



4. In this anthology Tilman's pioneering travels through central Asia are recounted in his wonderfully laconic voice. This is a great addition to any exploration or mountaineering collection, particularly because Tilman was the first European to visit many of the peaks and places described. The portrait of Nepal he presents I will always treasure.

5 comments about Jackie's Nine: Jackie Robinson's Values to Live By.

1. Jackie Robinson was the first African American to play in Major League Baseball since the nineteenth century. He had to deal with much criticism and harsh environments because some of the United Sates was still segregated. Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia, on January 31, 1919, the youngest of five children of Jerry and Mallie Robinson. He grew up in Pasadena, California and lettered in football, baseball, basketball and track at UCLA. He was widely regarded as the finest all-around athlete in the United States at that time. After three years in the Army, he played with the Kansas City Monarchs of the American Negro Leagues in 1945. Later that year, in a historic move that ended decades of discrimination against blacks in baseball, he signed a contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers organization. After a successful season in 1946 with its farm club, the Montreal Royals, he became the first black player in the Major Leagues since the nineteenth century. I would really recommend this book because it is very interesting and has many morals in it.
   I like this book because of the character traits shown. There are nine chapters in this book and each has one character trait. There are nine character traits: courage, determination, teamwork, persistence, integrity, citizenship, justice, commitment, and excellence, which are explained thoroughly. In each of the chapters there are three sections. Most of the time there is one written by the author, Sharon Robinson, one written by Jackie Robinson himself, and one written by another famous leader that elaborates on the character trait. They all give an example of them showing this trait and say how it is good.
   I also like the stories told in this book. There are many stories told about the character trait written by different people. There is one written by Christopher Reeves, Martin Luther King Jr., and Roberto Clemente. All of them include elaboration about why it is good to show that trait and a story of when they showed that trait. Sharon Robinson, the author of the book, had many stories being that she is Jackie Robinson's daughter. She had hard times sometimes because of the segregation so she writes about them and how she still showed the character traits to get through it.
   Finally I like the characters in this novel. The most important one is Jackie Robinson. Jackie Robinson was such a great leader to all African Americans pursuing a goal because even through all of the hard times he had and all of the nonsense he had to go through he still showed great integrity to not let it get to him. He fought through many obstacles to get to where he is now and that says a lot about him and to any other minority pursuing a goal.
   This book has lots of good knowledge that the reader can achieve about being a better person. It shows that through all of the good and bad you can still come out on top. It shows how being determined can get you anywhere you want to go and how striving for excellence can take you to far places beyond your dreams. I would highly recommend this book to anybody because of the character traits shown and how it teaches you to become a better person.
   
   - Byron N.



2. "A Hero for Everyone"
   .
   Reviewed by Joseph Rosenberg
   --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   
   
   Jackie's Nine: Jackie Robinson's Values to Live By
   
   written by Sharon Robinson
   Scholastic, 2001
   
   On August 25, 1945 a scant three weeks after the atomic bomb destroyed the city of Hiroshima, Jackie Robinson sat down in an office at 215 Montague Street in Brooklyn, NY and signed a contract to play baseball with the Montreal Royals, liberating a nation divided by pigmentation from its own horrific past.
   
   This book, written by Robinson's daughter, is a simple primer of the values this man lived by in his too-short life: courage, determination, teamwork, persistence, integrity, citizenship, justice, commitment and excellence.
   
   Every chapter explains how each of these values was a part of the author's and her father's life, using as examples events or writings from other people Ms. Robinson considers heroic. Although aimed at young adults, the book's 181 pages have a message for anyone who seeks meaning from a less-than-ideal world.
   
   At first Jackie Robinson's courageous efforts as a baseball player were like a paper-cut on the segregated, bigoted American psyche. As his career progressed and the African-American athlete became accepted by his peers, the press and the public, the paper-cut became deeper and deeper, until at last Martin and Malcolm and their followers shamed the white establishment into making the lovely words of the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and the rest of the Constitution into a reality.
   
   Jack Roosevelt Robinson started a process that still evolves and resonates in our lives.
   
   I grew up in Brooklyn, and my first memories as a Dodger fan are of rooting for them in 1950, when they lost out on the last day of the season to the Philadelphia Phillies. The next year, when I was 9, I started going to the public library and began taking out books on baseball and my hero, Jackie Robinson.
   
   I recall the day when I went to check out about a half-dozen books on Robinson, and the lady stamping my books looked at the name on my library card and said, "Figures, all of youse is just nigger lovers." This was not Mississippi, but nice Jewish and Italian Bensonhurst. Somehow, I felt like I was not fitting in.
   
   Later, as an adult, I read in Roger Kahn's books how in the very conservative Dodger clubhouse, Jackie Robinson warmly greeted Edward R. Murrow, another hero, while owner Walter O'Malley openly wondered why such a "pinko" was in his house.
   
   Now revisionists say that Branch Rickey just signed Robinson so he could line his pockets with revenue from African-American fans and that Robinson himself was a chronic malcontent. The truth is that Rickey sowed the seeds of his own demise in a power struggle with Walter O'Malley, who forced him out of the Dodgers in 1950 because O'Malley implied Rickey destroyed the status quo of baseball and angered its establishment.
   
   After two years of silence, the same man who battled the US Army about a seat on a bus, who was an All-American football player, basketball and track star, showed that he could fight back and hold his own with anyone.
   
   I recall seeing him recently on an old episode of "Happy Felton's Knothole Gang," a show that aired before Dodger home games. There, some kids catch and throw, and the best get to play catch with a favorite Dodger. In this episode, a young Italian kid won the right to chat up Jackie Robinson and asked him a complicated question about the infield fly rule. With a slight smile on his face and in a "man to man manner," Robinson answers the question, looking the kid and the camera right in the eye.
   
   In the same forthright manner, I remember Robinson explaining in 1960 why he backed Nixon, and later how he was interested in Black enterprise, and finally, in his last appearance at the 1972 World Series, saying he'd be really satisfied if he saw a Black face in the third base coaching box.
   
   I believe it was Rickey Henderson, in many ways a poster child for the immature, unaware athlete, who, when asked about Jackie Robinson, answered that he was nothing special, that he was doing what a Jackie Robinson was supposed to do.
   
   No, Rickey. You are wrong.
   
   I remember Jackie Robinson following Bobby Thompson around the bases in the Polo Grounds in 1951, making sure he touched every one. I remember him stealing home in the 1955 World Series, the only World Series the Brooklyn Dodgers won against the lily-white Yankees. His autobiography, exerpted in this book was titled I Never Had it Made.
   
   And I remember reading about an old bearded man in Ebbets Field one day shouting, when Robinson delivered a game-winning hit, "Yankel, Yankel, atta boychick, mein hero!"
   
   Kids like me worshipped the Dodgers, the Willie Mays/Monte Irvin Giants, the Larry Doby/Satchel Paige/Luke Easter Cleveland Indians.
   
   It is a shame the institution of the Negro Leagues was destroyed by baseball's integration. But many good institutions like black-only academies were harmed by the growth of integration.
   
   Some Englishmen said the leaders of WWI were forged on the playing fields of Eton. The values of a progressive post-war America were formed on the hard chairs of Ebbets Field, the Polo Grounds and other places where we were exposed to people like Jack Roosevelt Robinson, and the values he has come to represent.
   
   They called Jackie Robinson "Ty Cobb in Technicolor," but to me Cobb was just a monochromatic, self-absorbed egoist compared to the self-sacrificing, most important athlete of our times, Mein hero.
   
   
   
   --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   
   Copyright © 2003 The Baltimore Chronicle and The Sentinel. All rights reserved. We invite your comments, criticisms and suggestions.
   
   Republication or redistribution of Baltimore Chronicle and Sentinel content is expressly prohibited without their prior written consent.



3. It is Jackie Robinson's daughter Sharon who first came up with "Jackie's Nine" as part of an educational program called "Breaking Barriers: In Sports, In Life," an in school program supported by Major League Baseball, which used baseball-themed activities as teaching tools. These nine values are the ones that Sharon Robinson sees as being instrumental in her father's life, a subject which she has written about previously in her family biography "Stealing Home: An Intimate Portrait of Jackie Robinson." She picked nine because a baseball team has nine players and a game is nine innings long.
   
   As far as I am concerned Jackie Robinson and Babe Ruth are the two most important sports figures of the 20th century from the perspective of their impact on society. My argument would be that the popularity of other athletes like Muhammed Ali and Michael Jordan are separate issues from their social significance. You can claim such stars are, in a way, the Babe Ruths of their day, and while Ali and Jordan may well be more popular around the world than the Babe ever was, Jackie Robinson has a legacy that can not even be approached, let alone be equaled (I remember that Larry Doby was the first African American to play in the American League, but I could not tell you who broke the color barrier in the NBA or NFL.). We can argue about who is "best," but who is "first" is a much easier argument to make.
   
   "Jackie's Nine" is essentially an anthology, which includes autobiographical passages from both Jackie Robinson and his daughter as well as profiles of people she sees as carrying on her father's legacy in terms of each of the nine values: (1) Courage: Elizabeth Eckford; (2) Determination: Christopher Reeve; (3) Teamwork: Pee Wee Reese and David Robinson (her brother, not the basketball player); (4) Persistence: Roberto Clemente; (5) Integrity: Muhammed Ali; (6) Citizenship: Marian Wright Edelman; (7) Justice: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; (8) Commitment: Rachel Robinson; and (9) Excellence: Michael Jordan and Oprah Winfrey. This book also includes the eulogy for Jackie Robinson delivered by the Reverend Jesse Jackson.
   
   "Jackie's Nine: Jackie Robinson's Values to Live By" is what I think of as a nightstand book, where you read a section each night before going to sleep because it is beneficial to mull over each of the values and how they manifested themselves in the public careers of Jackie Robinson and these others. Of course, then it becomes impossible not to consider how your own live exhibits these values (or fails to). This is not a book that preaches, but rather one that tries to makes it point by example. Do not be surprised if after reading "Jackie's Nine" you are not interested in reading all of "I Never Had It Made" by Jackie Robinson, "Stealing Home" by Sharon Robinson, "Still Me" by Christopher Reeve, " or any of the dozen books from which excerpts are drawn for this volume.



4. Jackie's Nine is broken down into values rather than chapters. Each is a true value that Jackie Robinson lived by. His daughter, Sharon, also lived by them after his death. Jackie was a great baseball player of all time who fought for his rights to play. Sharon shares his stories and many other people's stories of courage, determination, teamwork, persistence, integrity, citizenship, justice, commitment, and excellence. Sharon uses flashbacks of when Jackie first started playing ball and of her childhood days to explain some of the values. I feel this would be a good book for baseball lovers and young adults. It is a good book that helps people understand what Jackie's family went through when he started to play Major League baseball. This book is unique because it not only tells about Jackie's values, but it demonstrates other famous people who share similar values. I enjoyed this book because I learned a lot more about Jackie Robinson and other celebrities such as Muhammad Ali and Michael Jordan. Athletes of all kinds can come to enjoy Jackie's Nine.



5. Jackie's Nine is broken down into values rather than chapters. Each is a true value that Jackie Robinson lived by. His daughter, Sharon, also lived by them after his death. Jackie was a great baseball player of his time who fought for his rights to play ball. Sharon shares his stories and other people's stories of courage, determination, teamwork, persistence, integrity, citizenship, justice, commitment, and excellence. Sharon uses flashbacks of when Jackie first started playing Major League baseball and of her childhood days to explain some of the values. I feel this would be a good book for baseball lovers and young adults. It is a good book that helps people understand what Jackie's family went through when he started to play Major League baseball. This book is unique because it not only tells Jackie's values of life, but it demonstrates other famous people who share similar values. I enjoyed this book because I learned a lot more about Jackie Robinson and other celebrities such as Muhammad Ali and Michael Jordan. Athletes of all kinds can come to enjoy Jackie's Nine.

1 comments about The Accidental Adventurer: Memoir of the First Woman to Climb Mt. McKinley.

1. Accidental Adventurer by Barbara Washburn proves to be a well written autobiography. Her husband was late Bradford Washburn, a man of science as well as a explorer. Her book reflects her quiet lifestyle until she married this man and how that marriage totally transformed her, almost by accident, into a world wide adventurer, traveling with her husband from the depths of the Grand Canyon to the top of Mount McKinley (being the first woman to summit that peak in 1947). During the entire time, she was rising children, being a house wife and a teacher. Her life was definitely not boring and reading this book helps us understand how exciting it really was.
   
   I found the book to be entertaining and fun. It shows how a wife can be a true partner with her husband in all things, not just at home but in the field. Barbara Washburn not only embraced her husband but his lifestyle and work. The trials and tribulations of both man and wife proves to be truly extraordinary and the book reflects on that life very clearly.
   
   This is an easy book to recommend to anyone to read.

3 comments about Michael Schumacher: The Whole Story.

1. This book is nothing more than a senseless tedious race by race account of the greatest pilot in F1. How can book about such a tremendous figure be so boring and simple? I had the greatest chance to live and enjoy the Schumi's era. And this book is nothing but waste your time and money.



2. Sorry, but I have to really disagree with J.A.G. Reid's review. He only read the first 70 pages? How do you do a review without really reading the book? That's 2 1/2 chapters of a 12 chapter book; 70 pages of a 433 page book! And none of those first 70 pages actually covers the Grand Prix era! I am guessing that J.A.G. Reid is a diehard Shumacher fanatic who wants to read only praises and positive things about a hero. That's fine, but I'd rather read the whole story - both the good and the bad, and this book provides that.
   
   I have been following Formula 1 and other racing since 1967. Over the years, I have been a Gurney, Stewart, Lauda, Andretti, and then Schumacher follower, and the Michael Schumacher story is a fascinating one. He is obviously one of the all time greats. I look forward to him following Sir Jackie Stewart's lead and some day writing his autobiography, but, until then, I was looking for an attempt at an objective look at the driver. I felt this book delivered that. It discusses the good - all the wins and the team building. It discusses the amazing, such as racing in the Benetton with only one gear (!) while adjusting his stategy to driving it like a sports car, and also winning from all the way back at 16th on the grid at Spa in 1995. It also discusses - in painful detail- the negatives of the Benetton disqualifications, fines, and appeals, the 1994 Hill collision that gave Schumacher the contoversial championship, the 1997 incident with Villeneuve, that led to Schumacher's exclusion from classification for the entire season, and the 2006 qualifying incident at Monaco.
   
   The final chapter, titled "All Time High" tries to discuss how Schumacher will be viewed in Formula 1 history. Probably the most accurate conclusions of the whole book are on the last text page, where Mr. Hilton states "One part of the fascination of his career was that he seemed to leave nobody indifferent. They railed against him or they defended him ferociously....I think in time the memories of the incidents will soften and the success will remain...." Accurate and honest. I wanted to read about both views of Michael Schumacher, and, as I have said, this book delivered.



3. Don't waste your money on this book!
   I received two Michael Schumacher books for Christmas. This one and the excellent James Allen one titled MS:The Edge of Genius.
   I gave Hilton's book 70 pages but could give no more. I have put it down never to be read by me again. What a tiresome piece of rubbish written by what appears to be a lazy hack. What astounds me is that Hilton has written so many books on Formula 1 drivers.
   Hilton's book is nothing more than a tedious race by race, corner by corner account of Schumacher's brilliant career.
   How can book about such a tremendous figure be so boring? It's almost as if Hilton sat down and watched the old races on video and has merely written what he has just viewed.
   Contrast this with James Allen's excellent book. Allen's is truly insightful filled with interviews and comments from fellow drivers and others in the know. Allen's book is such a terrific read that I really had trouble putting down.

5 comments about Chick: His Unpublished Memoirs and the Memories of Those Who Loved Him.

1. What a wonderful book about a man who loved basketball and the Lakers. Chick Hearn was a very gifted announcer. The way he would describe the game would seem to put you court-side along with the other 17,505 at the fabulous Forum! I started listening to Chick during the 70's and into the 80's. Living in Arizona I had to try and find the L.A. station when possible. When one of the local stations started carrying the games in the 80's, I was estatic. The book does a nice job starting from his youth into his last days. Reading about the last few months of his life just broke your heart for the man----and I didn't know him!! That should tell you how the fans could relate to Chick. The Los Angeles area had two other announcers that were also great in my book---Dick Enberg doing Ram games and Vin Scully doing Dodgers games. The Los Angeles area was blessed with many great teams and announcers, but none will be able to replace Chick Hearn.



2. I grew up watching/listening/simulcasting to EVERY GAME for the Lakers from 1981 through about 2003 or so (still try to catch them on tv, but no longer live in the L.A. area). It seems that since he passed away, the Lakers were suddenly cursed. But this book brings back the Memoirs of one of my favorite idols. Chick was the best announcer, period. He was so good that even people who were simply not into the game, or even disgusted by sports in general, would get into it and watch because of his sharp apt to connect to the viewers/listeners with ease and comfort. I've seen this myself firsthand more than a plenty of times. His ability to bring the game to you in a simple and enjoyable fashion was priceless. My mom even loved the guy. So Laker fans, Angelinos, basketball and sports fans -- buy this book!



3. This book really brought Chick Hearn back to life for me...I LOVED IT! It contained so many facinating memories from Chick and those close to him. Also, the accompanying CD with excerpts of Chick's calls from many games cleverly strung together...his Chickisms....was an added treat. For anyone who followed Chick during his career I highly recommend this book!
   
   Dianne O.
   La Canada, CA



4. 
   As a lifelong Laker fan, I've felt like I've known Chick for most of my life. He was like the eccentric uncle that explained things to you when he visited, and in Chick's case, what he explained was basketball.
   
   If you're not a Laker fan, this book probably won't be as meaningful to you, but it's filled with entertaining stories and poignant nuggets about broadcasting, basketball, and life in general. Some of the material I'd read about before, but a lot of it was new to me. It gets quite emotional at times; it's not strictly about basketball or play-by-play announcing, although he looms very large in both fields.
   
   The book is mostly a compilation of other people recalling their memories of Chick, with some first-hand quotes from him as well. It doesn't really have a narrative, so it's a nice book to pick up and read from occasionally. I think the structure of it really suits the subject well. Chick was great at describing basketball and relating to people, so to a large extent the book is basketball people talking about him.
   
   If you're a Laker fan, it's a great read. If you're into sportscasting or basketball, there's something for you too.



5. For 3,338 consecutive games Chick Hern was the voice of the L.A. Lakers. He became as famous as the best of their players. As the voice of the lakers, he essentially was the lakers to millions of fans. He brought the team, the coaches, and the rest of the organization to the millions of fans. He lived Lakers basketball, and it showed in the way he talked.

   This book presents Chick in two ways: One is the writing about Chick, his life, his stories of the team, people, and life in general. Second is the CD included with the book that gives some of his greatest calles, along with narration by Al Michaels. Normally the voice of a sports broadcaster is a transient thing. You hear what he said, or maybe you miss it, and it's gone forever. Here are some of the best of his work, recorded forever.

5 comments about Keep Climbing: How I Beat Cancer and Reached the Top of the World.

1. What an amazing story of sheer determination and beating the odds. Sean Swarner is a tough and focused individual without a doubt. At the same time I found the author to be a little on the unlikeable side. Aside from personality, anybody that knows first hand or has even read something as simple as "Into Thin Air" knows that at the time his approach to Everest was both reckless and egoistic. What he lacked in experience he tried to make up for with physical prowess and by sheer luck he didn't face any truly adverse conditions. While inspiring in many ways, hopefully this book doesn't inspire anyone with grandiose visions and a fat wallet to follow in his footsteps.



2. Love the book, but unfortunately, due to the fact I needed it quickly as I'm doing a film about the author, I bought it at a bookstore. My order never arrived. This was the second time this has happened.
   
   I will not be using Amazon again.



3. This is a great tale of persistence and survival. But the book isn't really fair in its presentation. He isn't really a climber, not in the Ed Vestries or Joe Simpson vein. He is a good kid who twice beat cancer and then started to hike.
   
   His accomplishments are great, but his writing is not. It is evident that he writes this book thinking we know little about climbing, and so for some it maybe enlightening.
   
   But if you have read alot of the classic mountaineering books about Everest or the eiger...you will find this one rather simplistic.



4. Sean Swarner's story is so touching. The power to survive in this young man is remarkable. We all have our own moutains to climb and his story reminds us that all things are possible as long as you keep climbing. A must read book.



5. The book is amazing. The greatest story of hope, determination and the most incredible strength. Not just a story for Cancer survivors, a story for all people. You feel his pain, struggle, hope, and triumph. I try to apply his zest for living in my own life. A GREAT BOOK!