5 comments about Lance Armstrong's War: One Man's Battle Against Fate, Fame, Love, Death, Scandal, and a Few Other Rivals on the Road to the Tour de France.

1. This book pretty much rules. If you have an interest in professional cycling, you've probably already read it. If you don't have an interest in pro cycling... well, you should. No sport mixes cutting edge science, the limits of human endurance, complex tactics and horrific physical pain into a more engaging final product. I mean come on, I know all about hemocrit levels thanks to my interest in little dudes in tights.
   
   This book is first about a report following Lance's attempt to gain a sixth Tour de France victory. You get a real sense of what a driven man he is. Lance is apparently not a very nice guy to work for. He holds grudges; he hates his enemies with an unhealthy passion. But he wins bike races, and he is a really compelling athlete to follow.
   
   This book is, however, more than a book about Lance. It is a great primer to pro cycling, giving you sense of who these mostly working class kids with nothing to lose are and how they and their teams go about trying to win the Tour. I found it totally fascinating.



2. Of real interest to any serious observer or participant in the sport of bicycling. One learns about the big tour from the inside and gains some insight into the complex person that is Lance Armstrong. Almost reads like a novel.



3. Mr. Coyle has given us and his subjects (including the elusive Mr. Armstrong) a great gift. His funny, beautiful prose was in perfect juxaposition with the essence of the sport he covered with much affection. Do sane people ride nearly naked (Lycra!) at 60 mph down twisting, narrow mountain roads (in the rain!)? We can only look on in wonder at their courageous, graceful, crazy, difficult, "cut of coffee short" careers. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading.



4. I had just finished "It's Not About The Bike" when my wife -- a keen cyclist -- turned to me and said, "That's only half the story." She handed me "Lance Armstrong's War." "Here's the other half of the story."
   
   You know a good book when you should be doing other things and... you can't put the book down. Bills don't get paid. E-mails don't get answered. You spend too long in the bathroom. "WAR" is one of those books.
   
   Naturally you need to have some passing fascination with the world of professional cycling. For me it was watching the Tour de France and wanting to know more about how it all worked. Daniel Coyle will lead any interested reader into a fascinating world...
   
   An opera needs to be written about the Tour. The melodrama. The characters. The morality plays. The blood. The guts. The insanity. The money. The doping. The journey. The jeering crowds. The test. The human spirit. Victory and loss. It's all there, a nice thick juicy slice of Life! And a huge bite or two of that slice is in WAR.
   
   On the cover of my copy Sports Illustrated has described WAS as a "literary tour de force." A bit of a snob when it comes to writing I noted to myself, (a) What would Sports Illustrated know about literature? and (b) Daniel Coyle's a SPORTS writer for God's sake!
   
   And... the writing is wonderful. Great character sketches. You'll get all the ins and outs of race strategy, sponsorships, training. You'll see France. You'll get a great glimpse of what Bob (Bobke) Rolls calls Eurotrash. You'll love the wry humor and jaundiced eye. Just wait until you meet the Lance hangers-on, "The Dudes" and "The Bros." Be prepared to LOL.
   
   So if you're at all curious about this fascinating world -- but, like me, are either too old or too wise not to join it (!) -- WAR is Highly Recommended. You're in for a good read.
   
   Dr. Kirtland C Peterson



5. I was expecting this to be another story TOLD by Lance, but it was not. I found this to be a more refreshing view on Lance and the Doping Scandles that encircled his Tour De France days.
   
   No matter what my opinion is on Lance and the doping, I found this to be a great read. I learned about some of the "players" in the Cycling media community that are attacking lance's position and character (justified or not), and how the Team operates around the Cycling legend.

5 comments about Jonesy: Put Your Head Down and Skate: The Improbable Career of Keith Jones.

1. For a Philly Hockey fan and fan of the overall game, Jonesy is an amazing read. Great stories with insight into the game that most of us never get to see. I laughed outloud more than a dozen times. I literally couldn't put it down. That is the best compliment you can give any book.



2. "Jonesy" is an entertaining story. The biggest problem with it is that is could have been written better by an 8th grader. There are more than just grammatical errors; some sentences flat out don't make sense as written. I was stunned that a published work could be such a mess (didn't anyone edit this?!) Oh well, if you can get past all that and enjoy hockey, you will enjoy the book.



3. First, this was a great read. I enjoyed it a lot despite thinking back to the Caps postseason woes under Terry Murray and Schoenfeld when Keith was there. Let me say he was one of the most clutch Caps ever, one of my favorites and I was ticked they dealt him for Chris Simon and Curtis Leschysin (spelling?), who was in town a minute and a half. I was never really a Chris Simon fan when he was here.
   
   Three of Keith's stories I loved: I'll try not to tell too much as I don't want to spoil them.
   
   The grueling skating regimen after Caps practice during the '92 playoffs, with Keith getting ticked that the Caps were beating the Pens and that meant more skating. High fiving Steve Konowalchuk when the Caps were losing so the skating would end.
   
   Handling his own contract negotiations with GM David Poile and bringing the empty briefcase to the meetings. I kept thinking of the Animal House scene where one of the Delta's points to his briefcase and smiles before the student body hearing.
   
   The Anson Carter stick story.
   
   I also liked the John Poor story at the end.
   
   Great job. Sure there was an error ir two in there but I got the gist of what Keith was trying to tell us. Excellent read!



4. As a WMU alum (class of '94) and hockey fan, I had the good fortune to have great seats for pretty much every home game for Jones during his junior & senior years in college. He impressed me as a player then. Given that connection, and hearing through John Buccigross' column that the proceeds for this book would go to charity, I pre-ordered this and read it immediately upon receiving it.
   
   The life and career of Jones are told through his unique voice throughout. This makes for very easy reading - if it seems aimed at a slightly younger-than-adult audience - and the 200 or so pages, much like Keith's career, go by far too quickly.
   
   Passages are both hilarious and touching.
   
   Highly recommended!



5. I liked this book. It's not horribly well written but it was enjoyable for the price.

4 comments about Golf Dads: Fathers, Sons, and the Greatest Game.

1. Really good portrayal of the essence of golfing w/ your dad. All the experiences of the game w/ the emotional attachment of enjoying each others company!



2. Golf Dads: Fathers, Sons, and the Greatest Game is a terrific book that I found easy to read and interesting in its exploration of the complexity of relationships of fathers and sons and how golf affects communication between generations. I am not a golf enthusiast but I loved Curt Sampson's style of writing and illuminating content. The stories of fathers and sons / daughters is a book well worth reading. I would highly recommend this book.



3. I loved it. More than any book I've ever read, this one included me, if that makes any sense. I would read for a bit and then find myself lost in some memory of my own father, reminded of it by something that Sampson had written and written well. Every emotion in life, both the good and the bad, was played out in a round of golf with Dad. This book touches them all.



4. Despite my two stars rating, I really enjoyed this book. Why the mediocre rating? Because I found myself wanting a lot more. As a weekend golfer and one who watches a lot of golf on televison -- I thoroughly enjoyed the stories about Wie, Trevino, Feherty and Jacobsen. But the rest of stories were just okay but not ones I can relate to. This subject matter had so much potential and I just think Sampson came up short. Recommendation: If you need a quick golf read, then find a used copy because its not worth the $20. I love Sampson's books but this one failed to live up to my expectations. I guarantee that if Mr. Sampson did a sequel it would be much, much better.

4 comments about Klaus Balkenhol: The Man and His Training Methods.

1. This is really three to this book. The first is Mr. Balkenhol's biography, the second is his training methods, and the third concerns the duties of riders and coaches.
   
   In his biography, the author presents a fascinating story of Mr. Balkenhol's childhood, his riding career as a mounted policeman, to his rise to the top of the international scene and coach of the US dressage team. Throughout this part of the book, Mr. Balkenhol also talks about the different horses he has ridden and what they have taught him.
   
   In the second part of the book, Mr. Balkenhol also discusses his specific training methods for the upper-level movements of piaffe, passage, and one-tempi changes. In the third part of the book, Mr. Balkenhol discusses what makes a good riding coach. He offers advice on what a rider should get from a good coach.



2. The book is well written and an easy read, however, a lot of space is used to boost Klaus Balkenhol which should not be needed. He is already well known and respected. I think this can happen when the author is a friend to Balkenhol or too much of an admirer. I would have liked more of his training methods, more horse facts. The overall impression though is that the book has its place in the flood of horse books, and that Balkenhol's love for horses, and respect for them, comes through very well.
   Carina Gerken Christiansen



3. This book is a combination of Mr. Balkenhol's life story and his training methods. It's not a step 1, 2, 3 book. How his philosophy on training evolved over his lifetime with specific examples is fascinating. The book has a unique format, the top half of each page is his philosophy and examples and the bottom of each page is his life biography. I highly recommend this book for both the advanced and the beginning rider.



4. An excellent book that looks at the life of an interesting master. Includes some nice tips on training, but the highlights are the stories of his horses and how he dealt with different issues with them. Lovely pictures.

2 comments about Out of Nowhere: The Inside Story of How Nike Marketed the Culture of Running.

1. Hollister's account of NIKE's origins, trials and tribulations, successes and failures make terrific reading for anyone who favors and enjoys knowing the 'inside' story of a company that's more an icon than a business.



2. This was a great book about what made Nike, NIKE! The perspective that comes through and is shown through Mr. Hollisters account are spectacular. The most amazing thing I got from this book was what was happening on the inside of the most prestigous and inovative companies that has come along in the 20th Century. Great Read!

5 comments about The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest.

1. Having read Krakauer's book, seen the movie and watched the PBS doc, I read this, purported to be the closest to the ten sides of the truth in this adventure/disaster.
   In a nutshell, Krakauer looks bad from this perspective, Sandy Hill Pittman still looks like a phony new money weasel, and Fischer looks much better than anywhere else; he is unfairly slammed in the tv movie if this book is at all true, and it does ring truer than the other projects (though the PBS doc Storm Over Everest is a must-see).
   Worth reading for anyone into climbing and/or this incident, which says so much about our massive egos and small brains.



2. This book appears to be written primarily to rebut certain incidents mentioned in Jon Krakauer's book, Into Thin Air. I have no doubt that Boukreev was an experienced and dedicated climber but this book is presented as if he did nothing wrong up on Everest in 1996.
   
   I have read almost every book published about the deaths on Everest in 1996 and the concensus of opinion is that everybody did something that contributed to the disaster. Boukreev made his share of mistakes and I would have been more impressed with this book if that concession had been made.



3. In 1996 one of the worst mountain climbing disasters that ever occurred on Mt. Everest took place. This tale of death and near death has been told and retold a number of times. With too many people who have paid large sums of money trying to reach the top, disastrous weather conditions, and bad judgments, loss of life was inevitable. It can be argued, that some of these deaths were needless, and that other actions would have brought other outcomes. If you are going to read only one book about this disaster, Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer is considered one of the best, and if I had to choose between Krakauer's book and Anatoli Boukreev's The Climb, I would choose Into Thin Air. Still, there are often two sides to a story, and Krakauer heavily criticized the actions of Boukreeve in his telling. The Climb gives you another perspective on what happened, showing Anatoli Boukreeve as more of a hero than someone who could have done more as Krakauer alleges. He stepped into the storm and rescued three of his own clients, bringing them down alive in a raging storm. Yet, could he have saved others? People who were not part of his expedition? This is the crux of the criticisms levied against Anatoli. This book, in many ways, feels like Anitoli trying to defend himself against Krakauers criticisms, but if you would like to hear more of the story, from another point of view, then I would recommend reading this book. When you are done, you can try to make your own judgment on what really happened.



4. After i read Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air, i thought i knew all there was to know about the 1996 Everest tragedy. Was i wrong.
   
   In Jon's book, Toli (Anatoli) was cast as a villian who knowingly put his clients at risks. After reading this book, i felt that Toli was the real hero in the tragedy. A few things strucked me:
   
   1. Toli came across as a humble and private person who just wanted to be in the mountains. This almost spiritual tie with the mountains shone throughout this book. Climbing mountains was all he ever wanted to do.
   2. Unlike Jon's book, this one didn't indulge in any conjectures. This gave Toli's account an air of honesty and somewhat more credibility.
   3. Toli was a superb climber (probably the best on both expeditions) trained in the best Soviet traditions whose actions on Everest were made based on what he thought was best for the safety of the clients. It was way too easy for Jon and others, especially amateurs, to restrospectively point fingers at him.
   4. Quite a number of people owed their lives to his personal bravery. I thought that this fact is the most telling point in the entire tragedy.
   5. Toli's poor command of English hampered him in his work in the expeditions and prevented him from explaining why he did certain things. This unfortunate fact alone could have cast him in a bad light on everyone's account of what happened.
   
   Read both books to find out what happened in 1996 but be wary of Jon's biased and ungrounded conjectures. Jon's book is by no means the official account of what happened. Read Toli's account to get a balanced view. Personally, i'm more inclined to believe in Toli's account. I was sad when i found out that this heroic man died in his beloved mountains in 1997.
   
   Read both books and see if you agree with me.



5. I was informed of Boukeev and DeWalt's THE CLIMB by a friend of mine who is an avid high altitude climber. Having read Krakauer's INTO THIN AIR, I was interested in other points of view of the May, 1996 Everest climb. Krakauer does a fine job in his self identified "personal account", but I felt that both a differing view and a less "personal" examination might go a long way to explaining the problems of the climb, the philosophy of commercial climbing, and enhance my understanding of that year's terrible loss of life on Everest. THE CLIMB did not disappoint me. I came away with all that I sought. Reading both books (INTO THIN AIR & THE CLIMB) provided me with a better understanding and a more well rounded viewpoint than reading either book to the exclusion of the other. I would highly recommend that those who are interested read both titles back to back to obtain the full informational effect. Then, make up your own mind about the danger and death encountered on that May in 1996.

5 comments about Pre: The Story of America's Greatest Running Legend, Steve Prefontaine.

1. This is one of the few negative reviews I have ever given. But I bought this book because I think Pre is interesting and I love Track and Field.
   
   This book is sooooo boring. I forced myself to finish after a few months of reading it on and off. This is basically a book just listing times from races and people talking about how much they loved Pre.
   
   Do NOT buy this book!



2. An avid runner, I enjoyed the book immensely. Read it before you hit the roads.



3. i am always interested in reading about successful athletes. pre was a great read, simple easy read, some great insight on pre from some of his running partners. i enjoy the statistics and he had many.



4. Taken too young from us - will always be a hero to us.
   Read this motivational book.



5. This is an excellent read for anyone. You don't have to know who Steve was to enjoy this book. The book has a lot of information and details that were not in the movies.

4 comments about Winning Is Not Enough: The Autobiography (UK Edition).

1. Jackie Stewart's sense of humor and keen insights as a color commentator for Formula 1 racing have always appealed to me. But I was surprised to learn he is a fine and entertaining writer. This autobiography shares the low and high moments of a fast-paced life, from his roots in Scotland, the early days as a mechanic in a Dumbuck garage to his triumphs against immense odds to become a Formula 1 champion. I was touched by his giving back so much - improving racing safety, helping others afflicted with dyslexia and organizing events to assist noteworthy causes. His adventures on and off the track will surprise you. The book has the warm feel of an armchair adventure told by an open fire - you will be pleased to enjoy his world, and very cranky that your visit is over when you turn the last page.



2. One of the best and most enjoyable books I have read in years. Anybody remotely interested in racing or cars should read this.



3. This is simply a great book. I am familiar with Stewart's excellence as a speaker so it should come as no surprise that he tells great stories in print too. What comes through beyond the details of his life is his committment to integrity and thoughtfulness above all else in human nature. Jackie is as concerned about a gameskeeper in rural Scotland as the Royal person or CEO in his next meeting.
   
   The book is full of wonderful anecdotes about his career but what is truly remarkable are the powerful recollections he brings to each tale. It's not enough for Jackie to remember the date he drove X or met with Y, he also recalls the weather, what everyone was wearing and what they had for dinner. These memories create a lush background for the storyteller to act upon.
   
   If there is a downside to the book it is Stewart's need to name everyone associated with even trivial events in his life. I think this is just Jacklie's way of being inclusive and thanking all, and is at best a small defect in what is otherwise a warm and readable story about an extraordinary life. Highly recommended.



4. I found this in my local book store and was surprised that it has not been released by Amazon yet. Being a formula one fan may make me a bit biased but i can say with sincere honesty that this is the best autobiography i have ever read. For a person to be ridiculed at school for suffering from dyslexia and then going on to become a true ambassador for the sport of f1 and others, Jackie Stewart is a truly remarkable man and i cannot rate this book more highly. A must for anybody's library.

No comments about The Wow Factor: How I Turned One Idea and My Unbridled Enthusiasm Into a Golf Revolution.

5 comments about A Fire to Win: The Life and Times of Woody Hayes.

1. I received the book for Christmas and read it in the span of about 4 hours. It sheds little new light on an enigmatic man who arguably was one of the best coaches in college football. I was very disappointed with the editing; too many grammatical and typographical errors. In some cases nouns and pronouns were in contrast and sentences did not have subjects or predicates. Also, the author designated Miami University (Oxford, OH) teams as the Indians. Prior to changing the name to the RedHawks, Miami's teams were called the Redskins for decades. I have not found one reference to their being called the Indians. A volume on such a noteworthy figure should strive for accuracy.



2. I am an Ohio State Buckeye Football fan and found the book to be interesting, but not in the top 20% of books that I've read. There are a few other books about Woody, but I have not read them. The author could have interviewed more former players and colleagues of Woody. Most interesting is how Woody originally got the Buckeye head coaching job and the discussion of his life immediately after his firing.



3. Mr. Lombardo seems intent on being overly objective in his book by always finding a way to knock Woody even when paying him compliments. Some examples:
   1. Woody was no racist and had black players on the team...but no black QB came aboard until well after other Big 10 teams. (So what? Does that dismiss the civil rights work he supported? Why does that need to be mentioned multiple times?)
   2. Woody was well read and very knowledgable about topics but was not a scholar because he didn't deeply explore areas that did not fit his political/cultural beliefs. (So he wanted Woody to read Marx and Mao? Give me a break with this.)
   
   I scatched my head at these and related passages. The book ends strong with Lombardo quoting from various players and coaches about the legacy of this great man and coach.
   
   However if you are a true Buckeye fan I caution you against expecting too much here. The author has consolidated information from various sources but has not effectively added enough of his own input to truly paint a vivid picture of the coach (for my taste).
   
   Perhaps I'm too spoiled by McCullough and Kearns-Goodwin biographies. While Woody doesn't merit their attention, Mr. Lombardo's effort does not reach their standards of taking the primary sources and writing a text that leaves you thinking you've met the man in the flesh. I wish I had.



4. This was a book I looked forward to reading from the moment I heard about it. I received it for Christmas and read it immediately. The book is very hard to put down and could easily be read in one or two very long sittings. What took away from the very pleasant story line and delivery was the extremely poor editing. Many times in the book I had to suffer through either double or missing articles or dates that contradicted each other. Often times words were mixed up such as "the of" instead of "of the". These were minor annoyances but still distracted from my reading pleasure.
   
   I was confused about the writers real intent. If everything the writer said is true, than the "Ohio State Football Program" was even greater than history will recognize it for. It seems that many if not most of the games and titles lost were directly related to the coach which would lead us to believe that the team should have many more titles to it's credit.
   
   Overall I want to believe that the writer was fair and balanced in his praise and critique of Woody Hayes. Growing up in Ohio, many of the things I knew to be true and had heard rumors of most of the rest of it.



5. The definative Hayes bio. No "idol worship" and no ax job. This the real Woody. Love him or hate him, he went 238-72 and won 5 National Titles his way. His kids got college degrees, Woody ABSOLUTELY made sure of that. Woody's discipline is what America needs today, now more than ever. I pulled an ALL NIGHTER the day I got this book, I just had to finish it.