2 comments about Clemente: La pasión y el carisma del último héroe del béisbol (The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero).

1. I gave this to my hubby for fathers day. He is an avid Clemente fan. He's not much of a reader, but this was one he could not put down!



2. Esta excelente biografia de Roberto Clemente nos adentra a la vida de un idolo que, a pesar del tiempo, sigue siendo un ejemplo para todos. En ocasiones se tiende a olvidar sus vivencias, pero David Maraniss nos ilustra con lujo de detalles muchos detalles desconocidos de esta leyenda. Este libro incluye fotos, datos estadisticos y es un excelente recurso para aquellos que deseen conocer mas de este heroe que trascendio el beisbol, y las fronteras sin dejar su humildad, y amor hacia el projimo. Hacen falta más personas como Roberto Clemente. Excelente libro.

5 comments about Only With Passion: Figure Skating's Most Winning Champion on Competition and Life.

1. I read over this book in the waiting room of my Dentist's office. All in all I think this book is a good guide for parents of aspiring skaters. On a personal note one has to really ask if it is worth sacrificing a childhood for a medal?. These skaters have to train relentlessly for years.In the process they miss out so much of childhood which when lost can never be replaced. I have no children of my own but given what I saw during the whole Lillehammer Nancy Kerrigan / Tonya Harding scandal someone needs to watch over these young athletes so they do not lose contact with reality. I wish Ms. Witt had the courage to write more about her life in the former East German sports machine as it is especially relevant today when we read about athletes and doping scandals. I think Ms Witt like so many of the former Communist Bloc athletes were products of a system that treated them like racehorses to be bred and trained. Many had health problems in later life due to the strange performance enhancing drugs given them. Ms. Witt was hosting a TV show in Germany called "The OSTALGIE Show ". Ostalgie is term used by Germans as nostalgia for the good aspects of life under the old regime. I wonder if Ms. Witt has read "Faust's Gold: Inside the East German Doping Machine". The problem with nostalgia is no matter what the past is always better because one can be sentimental about the good and forget the evil.



2. I am not a skater but I am a great fan of Katarina Witt since my childhood..I have grown up with watching her skating programmes and when I was a little girl I was wearing my rollerblades at home and I was Katarina Witt:)collecting all the flowers -that my mum,grandfather,and other family members that I made them throw me flowers:))-but due to the lack of skating arenas I have never been able to start to skate seriously although I was very talented and willing but I always admired Katarina Witt.This book is really good for me to observe the mentality of the East German approach for sport and emposing being ambitious and tough to their sporters.I have read some comments regarding this book before ,some people say this book will not be a good example for young skaters in mean of nutrition but I want to say that in these years we were not as conscious as today regarding nutrition.Remember we were still watching the Cigarette Advertisements on TV.So the nutrition mentality has changed a lot in all over the world and Katarina just told her working conditions frankly .She did not give this as an example to be copied of..Besides today's teenagers and their trainers are so conscious that they will only take the parts that will be helpful to them from this book they are aware of what's good or what's bad..
   On this book I reccomend to the readers that when you read for example Olympics part from the book ,it will be more fun to read the Olympic parts and after to watch Katarina's that show on youtube ..
   Thanks a lot to AMAZON for providing this book !!
   NIL



3. Throughout the 1980s and early '90s, East German Katarina Witt dominated the world of ladies' skating. In her autobiography, Witt describes what skating has meant to her, as she details a coming-of-age story being "told" to a young up-and-coming skater, Jasmine.
   
   The book is a fast read, and while it is mildly interesting, it is also very repetitive. Katarina skates past her childhood in the GDR, briefly mentioning her parents, and glosses over the competitions she has had in her life as well. There is virtually nothing about her Olympic bids in Sarajevo, Calgary, and Lillehammer, and little is mentioned of her famous rivalry with American Debi Thomas. Instead, the book focuses on advice Witt has for young skaters - namely, stay true to your dreams and don't give up.
   
   When compared with what is perhaps skating's most famous memoir, "My Sergei" by Katia Gordeeva, this book falls far short. There is virtually no emotion, and the character Katarina is supposedly telling the story to may or may not exist (it's not made clear whether she is real or not). Little insight is offered into the world of skating, either at the amateur level or professional (Katarina doesn't talk about her years on Stars on Ice at all).
   
   Overall, this book is decent, but by no means great. It is emotionless, and mildly intriguing, if more for its outrageous title than anything else. Looking for a great skating book? Try "My Sergei" instead.



4. I wonder why Katarina stirs clear about her real life and her close involvement with the Stasi, and how it ruined and destroyed people's lives, it would at least have made a more interesting read than this dull book.
   
   Ho hum, it has been said that Ms. Witt was never a very naturally gifted figure skater, that even her wonderfully choreographed programs were never easy for her to do.
   
   It's also rather odd that for such an unrepentant and strident communist to take advantage of all the opportunities western life has given her, but she doesn't seem in the least bit grateful. Everything is about her, her, her. Definitely NOT a good role model for young girls or women.



5. Tear your eyes away from the winter spectacle of the Turin Olympics and treat yourself to multiply talented skating superstar Katarine Witt's most intimate memories. She tells them all to a young girl whose name she kindly changes to "Jasmine," a young girl who comes to her in need of advice. Witt sees Jasmine as a version, perhaps, of her younger self, the self that grew up behind the Iron Curtain, indeed behind the Berlin Wall only to become a pawn of the feared Stasi. As Jasmine spends a week luxuriating in the presence of the adored Katarina, she asks her mentor a series of penetrating, even probing questions and these questions, together with the Delphic replies Katarina makes in response, form the backbone of this wise, witty and winning little book. Some may say, it feels like only about 30,000 words, far too short for a book costing $23.50, but i say, it was just the right length.
   
   Jasmine asks about dating, and of course Katarina, as one of the most beautiful women in competitive sports, or indeed on Planet Earth, has plenty to say about it. Did you know the she once dated East German rock singer Ingo? In fact he was her first serious boyfriend; they met at a "youth festival" and fell madly in love. Those European "youth festivals" sound like fun. If I'm correct, that is where ABBA met each other a bit further north! Anyhow the government soon separated the young lovers. Jasmine then asks Katarina if it is true she once dated "McGyver"! Yes, she uses the name McGyver, almost as if she could not remember the actor's name who played him! (Richard Dean Anderson.) Instead of getting huffy, Katarina smiles sadly and reflects on how neither she nor Anderson were willing to move to the other's continent and that killed the romance, which however was quite "intense." What's little known is that McGyver himself (RDA as his fans call him) isn't a bad skater himself! In love, Witt advises,"if you want to become really serious, to have the relationship work, then somebody has to play second violin." Doesn't she sound charming and old world, where we in California might say, "second fiddle"?
   
   Katarina also discusses her famous nude appearance in PLAYBOY. And she puts it in context, the context of the way that in Europe, particularly her country, nudity is natural. Until she was sixteen she walked around topless everywhere. Reading her life this way, you realize that an appearance in PLAYBOY was just like breathing in and breathing out for Katarina Witt. Ahe is magnificent, the Princess Caroline of Monaco of the ice world. Long may she reign, in the USA at any rate, for she admits that in the US audiences are warm and love an old skater, whereas in Europe the attitude is much more, you're old, get off the ice. In America, she says, she was shocked to see Dorothy Hamill still feted and hailed and worshipped by audiences even in her late forties! Wouldn't happen in East Germany, Hamill would be relegated to cooking strudel for the younger players.

4 comments about All Things Are Possible: The Verlen Kruger Story: 100,000 Miles by Paddle.

1. I found out about this book through an online review by Maine sea canoe adventurer Reinhard Zollitsch.
   (R. Zollitsch has a website). Very good human interest story whether paddling is your thing or not.



2. This book is readable and the pictures are terrific.
   Peterson did a great job telling the Verlen Kruger story.
   I recommend the book as both readable and beautiful!



3. If you are a fan of paddle sports, and have an interest in Verlen, you will want to read this book. It is a well written, very complete and mostly non-judgemental biography.



4. I've read books by Kruger and by Valerie Fons about Kruger. This book, by far, gives the greatest insight and objective look at a fascinating individual. Wonderful photography and good analysis of endeavors that few of us could comprehend the difficulty of. This is a well done, comprehensive biography.

3 comments about It's Only a Game...Unless You're Married to the Coach.

1. This is an incredible tribute to coaches and their wives that are involved with Little League programs, junior high sports, and jay-vee teams. The author has captured perfectly the emotional turmoil endured when most people think that people involved at this level do not have any stress!

   Yes, the book is halarious, but I cried tears of joy at times knowing that someone understands how involved the entire staff becomes with the kids, and the hurt that others inflict upon them thinking that they're in an easy position. Varsity coaches and their wives are not the only people who have problems! In fact, I think the rest of the staff has it worse because they never get any of the glory that the head coach gets, but the author does a beautiful job of recognizing that.




2. I highly recommend "It's only a game..." as a soothing balm for any coach who has endured season(s)of criticism from parents, fans, school administrators, and school board members. The books tells how to handle the criticism while focusing on the real payoff for coaching: the kids. Its a "Mr. Holland's Opus" for coaches.



3. A "must" book for every coach's wife. This book makes you realize that you are not the only one going through the trials of being a coach's wife. Being a coach's daughter and a coach's wife I thought I had heard and seen it all!!! If Mary Lou decides to write a sequel to this book I hope she interviews me-I have plenty of stories.

5 comments about The Wicked Game: Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, and the Business of Modern Golf.

1. A generally quick and easy-reading overview of the lives of Palmer, Nicklaus, and Woods is ruined by the author's insistence of sticking racism and sexism in your face.
   
   Sounes uses a self-important journalistic style dripping with preconceptions. And this: A player uses a masturbatory grip on a golf club. Please ...
   
   Sounes is hip and investigative - OK, I got it. No wonder personalities in the limelight avoid characters like Sounes posing as authors who demand their time, then produce drivel like this.



2. Only a racist can so incorrectly evaluate racism in golf and only a true sexist can incorrectly evaluate sexism in modern golf. Shame on Mr. Sounes for attempting to sully a great game with contrived evidence.



3. The game of golf is racist and sexist. I get it. In fact, I got it after the first twenty times Sounes whines about it.



4. Tartly written, well researched, and consistently entertaining, I can't believe this book ranks so low on Amazon's list right now. I've been a casual golf fan for a very long time and played golf as a kid on the course Tiger Woods grew up on (Meadowlark, in Huntington Beach), and I found Sounes' book well worth the read. As a Tiger "fan" myself, being almost a hometown boy, I found the book to have a great deal of verisimilitude and accuracy. In fact, I have a lot less respect for Tiger now than I did before. Then again, I can't imagine what it's like to have such celebrity thrust upon you before you've even had a chance to mature as a person.
   
   Sounes really has the tart, dry British reporting style mastered. He is blunt and direct (humorous at times - check out the "heavily bosomed" comment about Phil Mickelson) and holds consistently to a theme in this book, which is that golf is truly a hidebound cultural phenomenon marked by a grimly maintained tradition of racism and elitism - and not just in America. Sounes marshals a large battery of evidence to buttress this view, and some of the information he unearths about golf clubs in the American South is just astounding. He also manages to cover pretty much every key golf event in the last 50 years in a compelling and entertaining manner. This is a remarkable achievement in his limited page count.
   
   The book focuses on three primary personalities - Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger. The first two made themselves very available during the course of the book; in some ways they may regret having done so, as Sounes is not unsparing in his analysis and criticism. But surprisingly enough, Sounes saves his most stinging commentary for Tiger, and to some extent for his father, Earl Woods. Palmer and Nicklaus, despite their credentials as rock-ribbed Republicans, still come off as human beings. Tiger decidedly does not.
   
   I won't go much further to avoid spoiling the book, but any open-minded golf fan really must read it. It's a minor classic. I feel that it's one of the few of its kind that actually comes from the real world, instead of being a hagiography. He sounds a little bit like Edward Gibbon, another English writer with a tart tongue regarding his subjects.



5. The story of men's professional golf since the 1950s is laid out in an easy-to-read, highly enjoyable style. The chapters are well-crafted, and lively and fun. The stories of the classic major tournaments are re-told in a fresh way, based on new interviews. But the heart of the book is what we don't usually learn about the likes of Palmer, Nicklaus and Woods (also Gary Player, Lee Trevino, Byron Nelson et al): the business deals, the politics, the personal lives. And some of these golfing heroes have feet of clay. Criticism is well-balanced and fair-minded, however, unless you happen to think pro' golf already has an open-handed attitude to women and ethnic minorities. Sounes obviously has a low opinion of the golf establishment, bodies like the PGA and PGA of America. But at the same time there is real affection here for the great tournaments and genuine appreciation of big characters like Arnie Palmer who are, whatever their faults, interesting men who have lived rich lives. Now I know exactly how rich.

3 comments about When the Tuna Went Down to Texas: The Story of Bill Parcells and the Dallas Cowboys.

1. THIS BOOK IS ABOUT BILL PARCELLS TAKING OVER AS HEAD COACH OF THE DALLAS COWBOYS. ALONG THE WAY WE GET TO READ ABOUT JERRY JONES'S FACE LIFT, JERRY JONES QUITTING DRINKING AND A BUNCH OF OTHER UNRELATED JUNK TO FILL THIS BORING BOOK. AS FAR AS I AM CONCERNED, THE ONLY INTEREST IN THIS BOOK CAME IN THE SECOND HALF OF THIS WHEN WE TAKE A RIDE GAME BY GAME THRU THE SEASON AND ENDS WITH THE COWBOYS MAKING THE PLAYOFFS BUT LOSING THEIR ONLY PLAYOFF GAME. OTHER THAN THAT, THIS BOOK IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR THOSE WHO SUFFER FROM INSOMNIA AND WANT AN INSTANT CURE.



2. As someone that knows Mike Shropshire personally, I can assure you that he does not love Jerry Jones (quite to the contrary actually). Armadillo, doing what he accused the author of doing, wrote a review in pure ingorance, taking ambiguous pieces of humor and taking them directly into technicality, a problem that many readers today seem to have with works of literature. The book is well-written and bases itself solely on what it is supposed to do: get into depth with Bill Parcells in his first year as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys and related material, which it does.
   
   The book is still a great read for, if nothing else, a retrospect of the 2003 Dallas Cowboys season, putting inspiration into a story and a team that is now, with the changes the team has gone through in the last three years, insignificant.



3. The author is biased(he loves Jerry Jones), misinformed(lot of incorrect information), and just plain mean(blasting Jimmy Johnson, Houston, and Dave Campo). If this book is legitimate to you, you probably have the same traits. Probably the worst Dallas Cowboy book out there. Check out this book at the library and ask yourself, "How did this book ever get published?"

No comments about Coming Unbuttoned.

5 comments about The Guv'nor.

1. A Walk Through LifeThe Guv'nor is a great autobiography about a tough man who comes from the East end of London and gives you some good insight into the underworld of unlicensed boxing. One of the stories inside is how Lenny Mclean was flown to new york to fight the mafias top man, he beat him in the less than three minutes! if you like your tough men like Kimbo Slice, Mike Tyson and many others this book is for you to read!.



2. I always wondered who played the role of "John the Baptist" in the movie, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. The name Lenny Mclean kept popping up in books on British gangsters. He is Lenny McLean. A man who grew up tough under hard circumstances. Showing a talent for fighting, he starts doing enforcer and door man work for the local mobs. Later, he fights for money. Totally fearless, he takes on all comers "I'll even fight King Kong," he states. "And I'll beat the hairy b....ard!" Some of his exploits and boldness had me laughing. Like when a group of tough guys approached him at a bar that he was managing and asked for his job. After soundly beating the lot, he tosses them out of the club. There is another incident where he beats up an opponent before getting into the ring.
   
   There is no bragging or nonsense in this well-written biography. It is an honest, straight-forward story about one hard guy.
   
   Doug Setter, author of Stomach Flattening



3. If you ever saw the movie Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels , you probably noticed the mob enforcer character, "Barry the Baptist", who "baptized" his victims in trash-bins filled with water. While reading an article about the movie, a mention was made of the real mobsters and hard-edged sorts that were used in bit parts. One such role was played by Lenny McLean, who portrayed Barry, and was called out as "in real life, the hardest man in England".
   
   As an American fight fan, I'd never heard of Lenny McLean. So I did a bit of Internet research and happened upon his autobiography -- this book -- over at Amazon.co.uk. I bundled it with a few other UK-only purchases (at the time, certain AJ Quinnell books were only available there, too) and received it days later. It was a captivating, compelling read -- the working-class, Cockney nomenclature notwithstanding -- that details McLean's rise from an abused child to the top of England's unlicensed fight game.
   
   An unlicensed fight can take place anywhere: a warehouse, tavern, gym... wherever there's enough room for two willing fighters and a plethora of bettors. The rules? Let's just say there aren't many. Head butts, hair-pulling, elbows, knees, and the like are all part of the game. One might consider UK's unlicensed fights as the logical ancestor to today's UFC or mixed martial arts.
   
   Over time, McLean proved himself the most dangerous man in the fight game. He participated in thousands of these no-holds-barred bouts, and it can be argued he lost only once. And in a rematch of that fight, he handily won. McLean doesn't shy away from describing his experiences on the seamy side of things. He details his role as a real-life mob enforcer willing to do anything -- except kill -- to collect or intimidate. Even his tangles with the law -- including a murder charge for which he was found innocent -- are fully described in colloquial, yet entirely satisfying, prose.
   
   The book's ending is filled with promise for a new life as an actor: McLean appeared in several TV and film roles. But during the filming of LS&2SB, McLean was stricken by a bout with the flu. Subsequent testing showed that he was suffering from advanced lung and brain cancer and he passed away in July 1998, just days before the release of the film. The book is a fascinating testament to a hard man who lived a hard life, but was equally dedicated to his family and destined for great things no matter the odds.



4. one of the best books i have ever read
   
   a must buy



5. What an amazing book. The story of a kid, horribly beaten by his step father, who grows into the hardest bare knuckle boxer in the world. But what makes the story so great is McLean's ethic's and moral's. He clearly draws a line in the sand and if crossed there's trouble. Not just a hard man but a real character. This is a great read.

3 comments about Rusty Wallace : The Decision to Win.

1. For all you Rusty fans and those who are not, this is a must read book. Received my copy during the holiday time and I could not put the book down. A lot of information about Rusty Wallace and how he got his start into Nascar.

   Great photographs. A book you will not put down.




2. If you are a Rusty Wallace fan this is one you have 2 own. His last book RACER has long been out of print and Decision to Win has it beat. Great photography! Photos from the time Rusty was a young kid up 2 today. Almost every question you could ask about Rusty, his career and family are answered. Get it now before it goes out of print 2!



3. I only received this book yesterday, and as of this moment, I have about 15 pages left. It was impossible to put down, as it contained so many little-known facts about Rusty, Kenny, Mike and the rest of the people close to Rusty. Family and friends contributed many photos, old and new. There is so much about Rusty Wallace that you'll never know unless you read this book. The whole Wallace family was fully engulfed in the world of racing, and "Rusty Wallace - The Decision to Win" is a rare opportunity to take a peek inside the box of memories that was Rusty. A wonderful, wonderful read. The book's format is also very nice, and is a lot bigger in size than I expected. This book definitely will not be spending any time on a bookshelf. This book needs to be displayed on my coffee table! A must have for any RACE fan. Rusty Wallace fan, or not. It's a fascinating look at the struggles and triumphs along the road to where Rusty is today. I'd give it 10 stars if I could!

4 comments about Crackers in the Glade: Life and Times in the Old Evergaldes.

1. I remember and you will remember the Naples of long ago. Just looking at the pictures in this wonderful book brought tears to my eyes. A real treasure of a book for anyone who lived in and loved Naples in it's early days. My father, Ted Brack, was also a native coming to Naples in 1923. A treasure too for those who want to know the early beginnings of a fabulous city today.



2. I am thrilled to see this book so readily available. Rob Storter was my Great Grandfather and was a wonderful man. His experiences and stories were remarkable. Although most know him as Rob Storter, we all refered to him as Papaw. As a family member I received a paperback copy of the original release and enjoyed reading it repeatedly. Not only because it is regarding my heritage, but because it was educational and entertaining. I highly recommend this to everyone!



3. capt. rob storter never owned a camera, so when he wasn't fishing or working on a boat he drew or painted pictures and wrote a note netx to it telling about the scene. this book was compiled with those photo's and drawings by my friend betty briggs savage, the granddaughter of capt. rob. it is a testament to hardships of the mullet fishermen, local hunters and the women that lived in a time before manatee and wake zones fishing & hunting permits and the park put an end to a much better way of life. is a look at south florida before it was all gone and told by a man that lived it. thank's robert



4. I have not had the opportunity to meet Peter Mathiessen, but I could relate to his mention of sitting and listening to Captain Rob's tales, because I, too, have had that privilege. The book, Cracker in the Glade, is a collection of his ledger and it is written in his conversational tone. It is a recount of how Captain Rob saw the evolution of the growth in population in south Florida and the consequential degredation of the environment as he knew it. He is not judgmental in his description, rather it is matter of fact. Just as he viewed the hardships of living in Florida in the early 1900's as matter of fact. The reader is left with the sense that he knows the history of the Collier County area, and the inhabitants that endured the hardships together. While they were separate families with their own trials, they were one as a family of pioneers in area that was as rife with dangers as it was beautiful in the pristene sense of the tropical paradise. Betty Briggs is to be complimented for her sharing of her grandfather with the rest of us, so that we, too can know the adventures and evolution of this part of the Everglades.