2 comments about Jack Nicklaus: Memories and Mementos from Golf's Golden Bear.

1. If you are at all interested in Jack Nicklaus and can't, by time or distance, visit his museum in Columbus, Ohio (on the campus of Ohio State University), then this book will be a nice visual replacement. Well organized, this book follows Jack's entire career as well as his relationships with his teacher, Jack Grout, his parents Charlie and Helen Nicklaus and his wife Barbara. Especially nice are several pages of reproduced "mementos" in cellophaned envelopes for easy retrival and review.
   
   I would recommend this book highly to all golfers who have any admiration for the Golden Bear.



2. It sounds "trite" and simple to say it, but this book is a "must" for those who love golf and admire the qualities Jack Nicklaus brought to the game, talent, work ethic, competitiveness, success, and class. The epitome of what the game is meant to be.
   
   There are other, more indepth, books on Jack Nicklaus, but this one has it all, enough to appreciate the man, who is, what he stands for and his journey, a journey that has been a credit to the game of golf and has inspired many of us who have followed his career and the values and principles he has demonstrated so effectivly.
   
   There are many replica mementos, a letter from Tiger Woods, copies of his scorecards, Masters invitations and such that give this book a nice touch, a nice feel. Overall it is a comprehensive keepsake album of Jack, his career and the game of golf in his day.
   
   Simply put: "A must" for those who love golf and admire the Golden Bear.

5 comments about Best Seat in the House: A Basketball Memoir.

1. By and far the best book I have ever read. The content was not the most challenging but Spike Lee managed to tell his life story and intertwine it with the glory of the 70's New York Knicks teams and even inform the reader of his early cinematic musings. A great book for any Knick fan, Spike Lee fan, or general avid reader. I absolutely loved reading this memoir because it gave in depth information on so many facets of life important to Spike Lee: family, basketball, cinema. A definite must read, if only for the reason to see why Spike Lee is so emphatic about his Knicks.



2. Even though I'm not a New York Knicks fan, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Spike Lee, for all the movies he made, I enjoyed his foray into the world of being an author. This book mixes his life from the time he was a child to the time he was an adult with memories of his beloved Knicks, past and present. It was cool to hear about Monroe,Barnett,DeBusschere,Reed,Frazier,Russell (Cazzie, not Bill, but he mentions Bill too I think) and others as well. He also talks about stars of previous eras and comparing them to ones in more current eras. It's really two books in one, combining his life (an autobiography) with his love of the Knicks. We get to learn about both subjects.



3. Spike Lee is usually brought up when people are talking about arrogant behavior. But in this book, he shows how basketball has changed over the years. I play and follow basketball and I thought this book was great. If you like basketball, professional sports, or Spike Lee, this is a book for you.



4. There's always been room for a book for Knick fans (who are abreed apart) by an informed Knick fan. Spike Lee, one of the mostprominent among millions who've put this team at the center of their emotional lives, has come up with an informative and gutsy memoir that interweaves his personal growth with a lifelong, overly intense passion for this usually-disappointing NBA franchise. His wonderful asides include reviews of his and Michael Jordan's favorite basketball movies and a raw, unflattering look at Coney Island's Marbury (as in Stephon) family. He also had the guts to say that Riley blew it by leaving Starks in.



5. Although perennially overlooked by the Motion Pictures Academy, Spike Lee long ago proved that he is a thoughtful and engaging filmmaker (and not a racist, as some reviewers will lead you to believe). Unfortunately, his filmamking skills do not crossover to the world of books. While Best Seat in the House does provide an insighful look into the world of professional basketball, especially the New York Knicks teams of the early-1970s, it seems as if this book was written off the top of Mr. Lee's head, haphazardly putting to paper stories he recollects. If you are a Knicks fan, you'll enjoy this book. If you are more interested in Spike Lee, rent Do The Right Thing, Crooklyn, or any other of his provocative films

5 comments about Dugout Days : Untold Tales and Leadership Lessons from the Extraordinary Career of Billy Martin.

1. I found this to be an extrememly interesting baseball book, with numerous valuable insights regarding management as well. (By the way, Dugout Days perhaps should get a 5-star rating based on what I typically see in review, but I tend not to give 5 stars except for truly extraordinary books. This is, however, a very good book, well worth the money and time.)

   Dugout Days presents a great perspective on the legendary manager/player. DeMarco has interviewed scores of former players and teammates, lending the book a firsthand quality often missing from biographies, especially those in the sports field. Furthermore, the subject inherently adds some value to the equation, as Martin was an intriguing figure within one of sports' legendary franchises.

   From a business perspective, I consider Dugout Days better than most. (I generally am skeptical of the "business" book genre.) Whereas most other offerings pass off common sense observations as platitudes on how to succeed, etc., Dugout Days demonstrates a few key points with actual situations, how they were handled and what the results were. There is no sense of "stretching" to prove a point, thereby avoiding the bloat to which business writers succumb.

   I highly recommend the book for any baseball fan.




2. According to the subtitle, DeMarco provides "untold tales & leadership lessons from the extraordinary career of Billy Martin" and indeed he does. I am among those who saw Martin play for the New York Yankees and I later followed his career as a Major League manager of several different teams, including one in Texas where I now live. He always fascinated me. DeMarco draws certain appropriate comparisons between Martin and George S. Patton. Indeed, many of the same qualities which explain Martin's success in the dugout and Patton's success on the battlefield help to explain why both had so many problems elsewhere.

   Consider first Martin's and then Matt Keogh's explanation of "Billyball": "Just give me a little room, I'm going to take advantage of it. What the hell. When you're a leader, you have to lead. That's when you stick your neck out. Leaders ar not followers. They are innovators. They are gamblers. They're not afraid to take a chance, not afraid to fail....Billyball is nothing more than just aggressive, old-fashioned baseball where you're not afraid to make a mistake...forcing the opposition to make mental and physical mistakes. Going against the grain. Going after them all the time...Force the other team to execute perfectly...Always looking for an opportunity out there to create something. But get it quick. Right now. Not two innings from now." Now consider what what one of his former players, Matt Keough, has to say: "A definition of Billyball would be: What we did equaled making them worry. Talk about spitters and all that. stuff -- the whole thing was to create anxiety. And when you create anxiety, you beat 'em. That's all it was. He generated a tremendous amount of anxiety, because no one wanted to look stupid."

   Especially the younger members of teams which played "Billyball" under Martin's leadership usually performed above their talent levels. They developed a swagger, a brawler's mentality, and a hatred of losing. Meanwhile, the values and principles which drove Martin the player and manager suggest why he was fired eight times and divorced three times as well as why he initiated so many heated arguments which often resulted in a fight with an individual or a brawl involving both teams. According to DeMarco, Martin "was a great leader, but like General George Patton and General Douglas MacArthur, he was not a great employee." Indeed, Martin eventually (and inevitably) shredded every welcome mat which greeted him when he first assumed the manager's position with a series of teams which include the Minnesota Twins, the Detroit Tigers, the Texas Rangers, the New York Rangers, the Oakland Athletics, and finally once again the New York Yankees whose owner George Steinbrenner hired and fired him five different times. Martin seems to have been most effective when entrusted with relatively inexperienced and less-talented players, players more inclined to be deferential to him, although a few of his World Champion Yankee teams are among the best during the last 30 years.

   As indicated previously, the bulk of the material in this book is provided by 33 people who either played with or for Martin or were in some other way closely associated with him. All duly acknowledge Martin's flaws -- and some speak frankly about having been personally abused by Martin -- while suggesting (to a degree of agreement which surprised me) that Martin was also an uncommonly sensitive, thoughtful, loyal, generous, and (believe it or not) spiritual, if not precisely religious person. They knew him well, both in and out of the dugout; I knew of him only from a great distance and was almost wholly dependent upon how he was portrayed by the media.

   Near the end of his book, DeMarco includes some insightful comments by Paul Stoltz, author of The Adversity Quotient: "So many entrepreneurs and leaders have some of Billy's profile -- a nontraditional path, childhood adversity, being made fun of or ridiculed, and an uncompromising track record of relentlessness. This is the high AQ [Adversity Quotient) Climber profile. These people can really irritate....Thank God! Without them, this world would be far less interesting and rich. It is It is the Climbers who shape whatever game they are in. Once the wounds are healed and the hurt feelings mend, we remember the Climbers most fondly and admiringly for the impact they have had and legacy they left." The 33 provide "untold tales" and DeMarco suggests several "leadership lessons." Read the book and then take your own measure of Alfred Manuel Martin.




3. I guess the main reason this book was written was to provide a more balanced account of Billy Martin. He certainly had a number of people who didn't care for him and a number of derogatory stories have been told about him. This book relates experiences about people such as Willie Horton, Paul Blair, Rod Carew, Mike Heath, and others who had positive experiences regarding Billy Martin. Any manager has individuals who can tell both positive or negative stories about them so Martin would not be unique in this respect. I find Billy Martin to be an interesting individual to read about in baseball, but I found the book to have pretty much the same people commenting on him throughout. It is not a story of his life, but one that is told by those having positive experiences with him. I buy baseball books to save for my baseball library, but if I had the chance to do it again, this book would have remained in the bookstore. I found it to be repetitious and boring at times.



4. DeMarco goes against coventional wisdom and appeals to the less visable side of the reading audience....the virtuous side! It's so easy to capture us with the picture of a man which the dotors of spin have firmly established....whether true or half true (which is another way to say false!) But Demarco elects not to take the easy way out. He goes to those who knew Billy personally and I'm not talking about a handful of cronnies but, rather, fourty plus former players and fellow managers. What we get for the more than hundred hours of interviews and research is the truth about Billy Martin....The GOOD, the BAD, and the UGLY. However with the previous writters appealing to our ever hungry, "give me the dirt side", DeMarco focouses more on the former....the good. Much to my surprise and my "already spun" perception of this man, I found there was a great leader and,even more surprising, a soft side to this tough guy....a tremendous giver to the underdogs of life and an amazing spiritual side that was very real! I highly recomend this book for personal consumption you will be pleasantly surprised once you get past Billy's "cover". Well done DeMarco!



5. This is a fascinating look at Billy Martin that works on two levels. First, it shows how Martin rose to the tops of the baseball managing ranks through his passionate love of the game. From his apprenticeship at the side of Casey Stengel through his later wanderings with second-rate teams, Martin was learning the game inside out so that when the opportunity came to manage, he was ready. Second, the book shows how Martin unleashed his knowledge as a manager. Through conversations with many of Martin's players, the author shows how Martin worked one on one with his players to inspire their best, and then fit those players together at the team level to orchestrate some amazing seasons. Players from the "Billyball" teams in Oakland (like Mike Heath and Mike Norris) and the "Turnaround Gang" in Texas (like Toby Harrah and Lenny Randle) offer fasicnating pictures of a man full of confidence, bravado, and knowledge, willing to do ANYTHING to win a ballgame. He created opportunities for success and pumped up his overachieving players to attack those opportunities. Billy's raw, energetic confidence emerges very clearly. Martin was certainly a fascinating character and leader, and that's readily clear in "Dugout Days".

3 comments about Harry Haft: Auschwitz Survivor, Challenger of Rocky Marciano (Religion, Theology, and the Holocaust).

1. The premise that this guy was so formidable that his life was threatened if he didn't take a dive against future champion Rocky Marciano is ludicrous. First, Marciano was an unknown who had only had 17 fights at the time, fighting out of New England, hardly the Mecca of the boxing world of the 1940-50 era. At the time of the fight you could have got odds of 500-1 that Marciano would never be heavyweight champion. Why would the mafia or anyone else threaten someone with death to lose to him?
   
   Also, Haft had lost 6 of his last 7 fights when he met Marciano. In fact he lost to Roland LaStarza just before the Marciano bout. Does his son want to claim he took a dive against LaStarza also? After all, Roland was 32-0 at the time, a much more likely prospect for heavyweight champion than Marciano. And he was also Italian and fighting out of New York.
   
   Three fights before he fought Marciano Haft lost to a guy who was 20-38-8! Come on, why in the wildest flight of fantasy would organized crime think they needed to threaten someone who was on a rapid downhill slide unless he lost to an unranked fighter who had only had 17 fights?
   And why would it be to Marciano, the unknown from the little town of Brockton rather than the relatively well known Roland LaStarza of New York, who really was on the fast track to the heavyweight title shot?
   
   Haft finished with a record of 13-7-0 with 7 KO's, losing 7 of his last 8 fights, with Marciano being the final loss. He was knocked out in 5 of those 7 losses, all in a span of six months. It is likely his license was suspended after the Marciano fight to protect him.
   
   It's a fabrication to sell a book. If LaStarza had been champion instead or Marciano, it would probably claim he took the dive against Roland instead.



2. This is an impressive addition to holocaust literature. The life of Harry Haft is well worth telling. When he entered Auschwitz he was forced to fight other Jews in bare-knuckle boxing bouts for the entertainment of the SS officers. These battles were usually fought to the death of one of the fighters.
   
   This is quite a different story than that usually told. He survived, and eventually escaped, likewise not a common occurance. He eventually made his way to America and decided to take his boxing skills into the professional arena here. In boxing at that time, the fighters were under the control of organized crime and he was eventually told to lose a match or he would lose his life.
   
   All of this left permanent mental scars on Mr. Haft that were never truly removed. This book is also a story of the life of his son, the author who in writing this probably understands his father better than he did before.



3. Harry Haft: Survivor Of Auschwitz, Challenger Of Rocky Marciano is the unique biography of a Jewish man who survived the Nazi concentration camps while being forced by brutal German officers to fight his fellow prisoners -- to lose was to die. Haft was only sixteen when he was sent to the concentration camps; four years later, he barely escaped with his life, and killed German civilians while struggling to survive. Prone to fits of violent temper, made worse by the permanent scars of the unspeakably inhuman treatment he endured, Harry Haft decided to take his talent for fisticuffs into the professional boxing ring. But in an era when boxing was heavily infiltrated by organized crime, gangsters threatened Haft with execution unless he lost his fight with heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano. Written by Harry Haft's son, Harry Haft: Survivor of Auschwitz, Challenger of Rocky Marciano gives a complete picture of a flawed yet courageous human being, a survivor beyond measure, and is highly recommended for biography and holocaust studies shelves.

5 comments about Angeles Crest: A Memoir.

1. The parts of this book about the Angeles Crest 100 were great. I could not get into the stream of consciousness elements that are 90% of the book. I tried, but ended up skipping them and reading the parts about his 1989 sub 24 hour performance at AC. Not sure I gave it a real chance, but after a couple of pages, it seemed self indulgent. But, his race report was very good



2. Pros:
   1. Anybody that can complete a 100 mile run has my respect whether he can write or not.
   2. When he chooses to actually write about running every 25 pages or so, it is pretty good.
   3. This one cracks me up - when he goes from the garbage stuff to the running stuff, he changes type faces. It's more of a bold font. His writing is still pathetic, but at least he tells me where the better stuff is.
   
   Cons
   1. This book isn't about running, its about some sort of religion thing. Running is just his means of talking about his religion thing.
   2. I just finished reading Dean Karnazes book, Ultra Marathon Man. What a terrific book: short sweet and to the point. Then I pick up this piece of trash. How depressing ! Dean's book just made this "book" appear that much worse



3. I can't agree with the sweep of 5-star ratings. This book has it's moments, but at times it was so slow and boring. Don't know how it ranked this high.



4. After reading "Angeles Crest" I know now that there's a difference between living and being ALIVE. Mr. Modzelewski exudes life-force, courage, humor, and rare sensitivity in not only running 100 miles -- but in not being afraid to answer the very questions of our existence. That's it. No more smoking, eating junk -- I'm lacing up a new pair of running shoes and hitting the trails, with an open heart and mind to all of life's possibilities. Thank You, Michael Modzelewski.



5. Angeles Crest is pure bliss! Michael Modzelewski opened the Door with his first book, Inside Passage and here he runs through that door into a world we all should be living in, if we only we had the courage to open our minds to explore and accept "paranormal" worlds existing in parallel universes around us. WOW, Michael! You've taken your potential as a writer and a man and with this book blown it up sky-high and soul-deep. Michael Modzelewski is the prototype of the man for the future NOW. He operates on "all cylinders" -- and then some!!

3 comments about More Than Goals: The Journey from Backyard Games to World Cup Competition.

1. "As one of the most gifted players in U.S. soccer history and national team captain, Claudio Reyna has helped the team to be more successful and competitive internationally. Through his professional experiences in Germany, Scotland, and England, he's become a great pro and a wonderful student of the game. More Than Goals is a special look at what motivates this great player and how he's developed his skills. I highly recommend this book to all soccer enthusiasts."

   Bruce Arena
   U.S. National Team Coach and Technical Director

   "When Claudio's on the field, teammates know he's going to get them the ball and that he'll help them to play better. More Than Goals gives insights into becoming that kind of player."

   Landon Donovan
   2002 and 2003 U.S. Player of the Year




2. Tired of typical linear, from-youth-to-star books? Unsatisfied with "how-to" drills? If so, this is the perfect antidote.

   Claudio's story as a genuine American soccer hero is a special one -- and he tells it in an engaging, exciting way. With the help of talented soccer journalist Mike Woitalla, Claudio weaves various parts of his career with thoughts on the state of American soccer today. Using his father (his first coach) as an example, Claudio describes his view of American soccer -- the ideal, and the reality.

   The book can be read and enjoyed by many audiences: young players seeking inspiration; coaches looking for tips on how to teach and motivate, and soccer fans hoping for an inside view of a true American hero.




3. The U.S.'s greatest soccer star, Claudio Reyna, has always put more effort in his game than most players, and he does the same thing in this book. Instead of simply writing an autobiography, or an instruction manual, he does both in More Than Goals. And he does it with great style too, using his own personal experiences to illustrate the general principles and techniques that have made him one of the world's premiere players. If you're a fan who wants to know more about Claudio, or a player who wants to learn how to take your game to the next level, this book is for you...

3 comments about Paterno: By the Book.

1. "By the Book" chronicles the life of Joe Paterno. It begins with a description of his childhood and prep school years in Brooklyn, takes us through his football career at Brown University, and how he became the head coach at Penn State. The book is rich with descriptions of Penn State players and seasons up through the 1988 season. But, this book is much more than a football story. It's a view into Joe Pa's heart and soul. It is a portrayal of his values, his motivations, his vision and dreams. These, not just for his football team, but for his family, his university, and his profession. Much more than a fun read for Penn State fans, it is a valuable resource for aspiring coaches and players searching to find the essence of their relationship to their sport.



2. Published before the 1989 season, Paterno: By the Book provides a great deal of insight into the mind of one of the greatest college football coaches ever. The book is more memorable for Paterno's musings on life, recruiting, winning, losing and growing up with a strong mother rather than for his specific thoughts on the numerous games he has coached. Assuming the book is in fact an accurate portrayal of Paterno, it is clear that he will never voluntarily step down from Penn State, no matter how bad things get. He is determined and driven to succeed. He will not quit and he will not go quietly. From many of his remarks in the book about Penn State, it is clear he feels the same way a number of his supporters do, Penn State owes Joe loyalty for his many years of service. A solid sports book about sports...and life.



3. This book is a must read for football fans, coaches, players, and for anyone interested in how to succeed in sports competition. Although it is his life story, one can garner many pearls of wisdom about how to succeed, how to compete in an honest and sincere way, and the values that must be instilled in any sports players, young and old. You can find out why a man would turn down a 1 million job to coach at Penn State for 100K. Or why Joe Paterno rolls up his pants for games. Most of all, you can find the nuances and ideals behind the most successful college football coach, and the most successful college football program, in history.

5 comments about Baseball's Forgotten Heroes.

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



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



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

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

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

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




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



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

2 comments about Behind the Mask.

1. I have read this book a few times and am so glad that he was able to write it. This type of treatment needs to be shown to the world. How much longer will it be before people are accepted for their abilities without regard to their sexual orientation?



2. Dave Pallone did something in baseball that, to my knowledge, no one else has ever done: he came out of the closet. Pallone wasn't a player, but rather an umpire. It cost him his job. Reading this book you will find that you are angered and uplifted. Pallone did not deserve the treatment he received from baseball. Pallone's treatment will be the reason that any others in baseball who are gay, remain in the closet. After all, we can't have anyone who is in team athletics acting in a non-acceptable manner... Funny isn't it that drugs, illegitimate children, murders, assaults, etc. are all acceptable behavior by professional sports, but homosexuality isn't.

   This book will provide you with an insight into something that is rarely spoken about. It isn't great literature, but then it isn't supposed to be. It is a biography of a person during a specific time. I recommend this book.

5 comments about Trailblazing: The True Story of America's First Openly Gay Track Coach.

1. This book should be required reading in all high school classes. It is
   a testament to the courage of the writer and his team of athletes.
   Their acceptance of a coach who had the courage to come out to his team and the community is inspiring and these young athletes show they are far more mature and understanding than the school administration.
   
   
   This is an well written, absorbing story which I found hard to put down.
   I have purchased about 10 copies to give to young people that I know.



2. I currently have a class with Gumby (Soc of Sport @ UCI), and reading this book was one of the requirements. However, it wasn't just another class textbook--in addition to being educational, it was extremely inspiring. I have not been exposed to many gays or lesbians (maybe a few lesbians and bisexuals here and there, but I was never close to them), in fact, I have been exposed to more conservative, anti-homosexual, and heterosexist views for most of my life, so many of the things Gumby brought up in his book were new to me. For instance, I never really thought about how hard it must be not just for a person to come "out of the closet" but how it would affect his close ones. Though I'm not close to Gumby, I learned a little more about how and why he thinks certain ways, mainly due to his treatment and experiences before and after "coming out". In addition to learning about issues on homosexuality, heterosexism, and how hegemonic masculinity can be, I learned more about how these issues are dealt with in the school administrative and sports arena through Gumby's experience. If you are interested in these sociological issues, or just want inspirational/motivational support in coming out as a homosexual, then READ THIS BOOK! It has definitely changed my view on homosexuality forever.



3. I am no fan of athletics or stories about same, but I found Eric Anderson's book an engaging memoir. He keeps the whining down to a minimum and provides instead a truly inspirational piece about an individual who would just not give up on attaining his goals, no matter what obstacles were strewn in his way. Sometimes I found myself skeptical at how easily and immediately accepting his friends, family, colleagues and students were of his homosexuality, but I am inclined to give Anderson the benefit of the doubt. He strikes me as an honest man. His life could certainly serve as some sort of model for young folks of all and any persuasions or predilections: perseverence is the key to success; hard work is unavoidable.

   I would liked more about Eric's personal life, but perhaps that would have thrown the book out of focus, because TRAILBLAZING is as much about the talented young runners as it is their hard-headed, hard-working young coach. And if we are lucky, Anderson might even be penning a sequel that gives us further details about his life and loves. Let's hope.




4. I am usually loathe to read biographies of individuals under the age of 40. As Benvenuto Cellini once wrote:

   "All men. . . who have done anything of excellence, or which may properly resemble excellence, ought, if they are persons of truth and honesty, to describe their life with their own hand; but they ought not to attempt so fine an enterprise till they have passed the age of forty."

   Coach Eric "Gumby" Anderson, however, is an exception to this admonition against youthful indulgence. While he glosses over the more personal aspects of his life, like coming out to a gay-friendly mother, his professional struggle to coach track at the high school level is more than worthy of book-length treatment.

   Coach Gumby lives in less than an accommodating part of California (Orange County), though it is still probably more "socially progressive" than most other areas of the nation. He demonstrates that a steadfast commitment to pursue one's life calling -- the unyielding exercise of individual volition -- can overcome those orthodox cultural hurdles rooted in misinformation, fear, and the anti-social desire to exert power over other persons.

   All persons - gay or straight - who yearn for a civic community where individuals are judged according to their unique merits and talents, as opposed to their "identity," shall find a superlative instructor in Coach Gumby. There is still much work to be done, and his story shows that genuine progress comes from courageous acts of individual initiative and persistence.

   The human quest for freedom against the incursion of others' belligerence pertains to all, regardless of sexual orientation. I know that I am a much richer person for having read "Trailblazing," and I strongly encourage all parties to learn from, and empathize with, Coach Gumby's successes and failures (many of which were the product of others' shortcomings).




5. Eric Anderson's book gives us a powerful and up-close look at sports in society and the importance of teamwork. Combining a rigorous account of the fast-paced high school distance races he coached to victory with a compelling and shocking journey, Anderson clearly illustrates homophobia is still very much present in our culture and that sport, when abused, reinforces and perpetuates discrimination and male dominance. His powerful journey urges us to form new perspectives on sport, the system that creates and manages it, and the ludicrous racist, sexist and homophobic beliefs which plague our society today. This book is truly a gem--a must read for every high school and college student and for anyone interested in sports, sociology or humanity.