5 comments about Chasing the Rodeo: On Wild Rides and Big Dreams, Broken Hearts and Broken Bones, and One Man's Search for the West.

1. While rodeo insiders may find fault with this book and quibble over details, it remains an excellent introduction to the history, the personalities, and the meaning of this sport as it's evolved over the past century. Stratton, a journalist based in Austin, TX, with roots in Oklahoma, comes by his "kicker" credentials fairly enough - his mother a cowgirl in her own right and his father a rodeo cowboy who went on down the road and never came back. Stratton's book is a personal journey, a search for an understanding of the romance of rodeo - the call of the wild in the soul, the appeal of risk-taking, the love of a past that can be recaptured for a moment in a beautifully executed ride on a bucking horse or bull. And he does much to reclaim the essentials of a pastoral ritual that has been compromised by commercialism, corporate sponsorships, and marketing that positions it as an extreme sport.
   
   Stratton covers some familiar ground that will not be new for all readers, but many stories deserve retelling, such as that of George Fletcher at the 1911 Pendleton Roundup, the first bulldogger, Bill Pickett, and the death of champion bull rider Lane Frost. Then there is an account of the first rodeo "cowgirl," Lucille Mulhall and of Indian cowboy Will Sampson, who played Chief Bromden in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." In Prescott, AZ, he has occasion to recall at length the rodeo film "Junior Bonner" with Steve McQueen.
   
   There is a wide array of other personalities who find their way into Stratton's book: Justin McBride, Will Rogers, Tom Mix, Willie Nelson, Jack Kerouac, Ben Johnson, Theodore Roosevelt, Buffalo Bill Cody, and evangelist Susie Luchsinger. He gets closest to the sport itself in conversations with all-around champion Jesse Bail and bullriding champion Freckles Brown. The first-chapter account of Brown's famous ride on Tornado at the National Finals in 1967 just takes your breath away. Finally there is the search for the story of Stratton's absent cowboy father, which rounds out the book with more than a little poignance. I loved this book and recommend it to anyone curious about rodeo, the fascination it holds for both fans and participants, and its place in American popular culture.



2. Rodeo's roots may be in the primitive West of the past, but today it's prime-time TV material, even while steeped in tradition, filled with pros and tours. Journalist W.K. Stratton followed the pro rodeo circuit for one year, exploring the history of chutes to its current popularity and uncovering myths and realities alike. His findings about the people and politics of today's rodeo make for lively reading in Chasing The Rodeo: On Wild Rides And Big Dreams, Broken Hearts And Broken Bones, And One Man's Search For The West. A spirited account of today's wild riders.



3. Having grown up in Texas, I easily recognize many names and places and am quite familiar with rodeos. W.K. Stratton brilliantly blends the romantic lure of the rodeo as an expression of the American West with the univeral theme of the quest for identity. The book is a delightful mixture of colorful characters, amusing anecdotes, and sad stories. Mr. Stratton's personal quest mirrors that of all, not just those familiar with the sport or the region. His story's appeal lies in the universality of each human's struggles with issues of identity, values, and sense of place. I heartily recommend Chasing the Rodeo to anyone who appreciates a book that both transports one to another time and place and allows one the opportunity to be inspired by another's personal journey through life.



4. **For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?** "Kip" Stratton has written a winner of a book, here. I felt it appropriate to begin this review with that familiar biblical quote, although "Chasing The Rodeo" is about the search for soul as well as about its diminution. What I mean by "soul" in this context is that which makes us part of society as well as unique individuals within it. Stratton's father, whom he never met, was a bull rider. Stratton's literal search for his father is overlaid onto his broader search for the soul of the rodeo and the American West.
   
   As this book makes clear, the towns that hold rodeos provide an essential part of its unique character. Moving the National Finals Rodeo from Oklahoma, which is steeped in Rodeo tradition, to Las Vegas is symbolic of the sacrifce of soul for that most America of obsessions, making money. Character is also lost when things are made safe and sanitary, and when elements that are foreign are incorporated into a thing in order to make it "accessible" to a wider audience. Early in the book, Stratton frets about being "a generic, white bread American" but learns that the "Kicker Culture" is as much a part of him as it is of the Rodeo. I grew up in a small town in North Texas and will tell you that the "Kicker Culture" ain't pretty and it ain't sanitary or even safe, but it is genuine. There are parts of it that should be eschewed entirely, but never "prettied up."
   
   Stratton obviously spent a great deal of time researching this book. It is chock-full of the people and places that make up this sport and their history. At the same time, he does not blink from calling racism what it is or identifying as bovine scat some of the aspects of recent Rodeo venues. He may offend some folks in doing so. But to be less than honest in his assessment of these things would certainly diminish the soul of the book.



5. In these fractious times, it is a joy to come across a book that embraces something as distinctly American as the rodeo. W.K. Stratton has delivered a handsomely-rendered treasure for every man who ever wanted to be a cowboy and every woman who ever wanted to be a cowboy's sweetheart. He traces the origins of rodeoing, takes us to this wild sport's biggest events, and introduces us to the kind of outsized characters it is hard to believe still exist. So here's to Freckles Brown, the rodeo clown who rode the fiercest bull in captivity, and to Jesse Bail, the spiritual descendant of Larry Mahan and Ty Murray and all the great rodeo riders who preceded him. And here's to Stratton himself, the son of a rodeo bum, who weaves the search for traces of his father into the larger tale he is telling without ever getting thrown by it. He stayed in the saddle, and by doing so, he has given readers a chance for the ride of their lives.

No comments about The Saints, the Superdome, and the Scandal.

1 comments about Venus and Serena Williams: A Biography (Greenwood Biographies).

1. With all the action tennis sisters Venus and Serena Williams have brought to the sport, it's near certain Jacqueline Edmonson's Venus And Serena Williams: A Biography will bring added attention and a ready audience. The life stories of the tennis pro sisters is shared in chapters which cover their stories and associated topics of gender and race. An excellent addition to Greenwood's biography series.

5 comments about The Agassi Story.

1. Could not put it down. Amazing stories after stories. However, book is from the dad's perspective, which I knew to begin with.



2. This is a book about Mike Agassi and his family. Mike looks back at his past and how he produced a star tennis player. Mike, is apologetic at times, and proud in others, revealing his true nature. I enjoyed Mike's character in the Agassi story and highly recommend this book for anyone interested in raising a family, as this book is more than just a book about raising tennis stars. The book offers many good insights into parenthood and family.



3. I didn't really like the book because there was not enough about Andre really. It was 95% about his father. I guess I was mislead by the title.



4. This is a great book for Agassi fans who want an inside scoop on Andre's life. Mike is a very tough guy and tells it the way he sees it. They have been through a lot. For me, this book provides justification for the admiration I have developed for Andre over the years of watching him play and following his story. The book is a beautiful tale of determination, character, soul, and ultimately, family. It is a quick read, thoroughly enjoyable, and I appreciate Mike's efforts in making it available.



5. Being a fan of Andre Agassi, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It's a bag of mixed candies - Mike's biography, real life drama of an immigrant family, story behind Andre's "rise, fall and rise" .. and more.
   If you're a tennis fan, buy this book.
   Thanks to Dominic Cobello, Kate Welsh, and Mr. Agassi.

5 comments about Bear The Legendary Life of Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant.

1. If you are a fan of football you know, at the very least, the name Paul "Bear" Bryant one of the legends of the game, either professional or college. It is no secret he loved winning and was a tough coach. This book reveals it all from how, including how he made champions and winning football teams. A revealing book on college football and more importantly Bear himself. If you have any interest in football you owe it to yourself to pick this book up and read it no matter what team you root for. Extremely well done.



2. 
   This is not a biography of Paul ("Bear") Bryant. Rather, Don Keith provides a profile of the legendary football coach, primarily based on Al Browning Jr.'s screenplay. Keith does not provide his material in chronological order and I think this strategy serves him well as he succeeds brilliantly when offering his response to a question many people ask: "With all due respect to Coach Bryant's numerous accomplishments throughout his coaching career, what was he really like as a person?" We learn that he loved with great passion the game of football, that he hated to lose games and hated doing so with insufficient effort even more, that he was intensely loyal to his family members and friends, that he was an astute judge of talent and an even more astute just of character, that he had an especially versatile personality (e.g. he could charm or intimidate on a moment's notice, depending on what the given situation required), and that almost all of those who coached with him and played for him loved him despite his various human flaws, not because of any success and glory they may have shared with him.
   
   I was eager to read Keith's account in Chapter Six of the first off-campus training session Coach Bryant conducted for his Texas A&M team in Junction, Texas, prior to the 1954 season. There were more than 100 players on the original roster but fewer than that participated in the camp and only about 35 lasted all ten days of intense practice in summer heat that frequently exceeded 100º. So what did I learn about Coach Bryant in this chapter? Not much, really. Certainly nothing that had not been revealed in earlier chapters covering his previous positions at Kentucky and then at Maryland. Coach Bryant was apparently convinced that severe hardship did not develop character, it revealed it. At the Junction camp, he created conditions in which quitters would reveal themselves...and they did. It is worth noting that the team went on to lose nine of its ten games that season but its only victory was against then ranked #1 Georgia and all but one of the losses were by six or fewer points. When asked, Coach Bryant said that - if forced to make a choice -- the 1954 team was his favorite.
   
   Note: Jim Dent has written an outstanding book, The Junction Boys, that examines the ten-day camp in detail.
   
   Statistically, Coach Bryant's legacy includes a record of 323-232, six national championships, and selection as National Coach of the Year in 1961, 1971, and 1973. That is admirable. Two other legendary coaches spoke for their entire profession after Coach Bryant's death in 1983 at age 69. Nebraska's Bob Devaney said, "He was simply the best there ever was." Penn State's Joe Paterno observed, "Even his peers in the coaching business felt in awe of him. He had such great charisma. He was just a giant figure." That said, Don Keith adds that Coach Bryant was also "a man of great commitment and class, and a gifted motivator of men." I am grateful to him for helping me to appreciate the man as well as the legacy he left behind.



3. Paul "Bear" Bryant begins with Bryant's death and then flashes back to his early life growing up as a poor farm boy in Arkansas. We are presented with stories that establish Bryant's toughness, his willingness to work hard and his drive to become a winner, including the story of how he earned the nickname "Bear".
   
   The book confirms that Bryant was a manipulative SOB who loved his Chesterfield cigarettes and whiskey, but above all loved winning. It presents him as a man who would accept nothing but the best from his players and himself. He was hard when he had to be but taught that hard work was that which made champions. The book doesn't shy away from the more controversial aspects of his coaching career, such as his tenure at Texas A&M where in his first year he drove away all of the players he considered slackers.
   
   
   
   Fans will enjoy the book's take on college football as it evolved throughout Bryant's career, particularly the section on Texas A&M's NCAA probation for paying players. Bryant's complaint was that everyone else was doing the same, but only the Aggies were being persecuted for it. The book portrays the 'Bear' as a humble man, denying his greatness even when he surpassed Pop Warner and Amos Alonzo Stagg in all-time wins. Some of the stories about Bryant's antics will have you laughing out loud.
   
   
   
   The only negative aspect of the book is the confusion that results when it jumps from one point in Bryant's life to the next without warning. Since it's written in a story-like style instead of a documentary format like most biographies, it's a very enjoyable read. It's understandable why the legend of Bear Bryant is very much alive and continues to grow because by the end of the book, you can't help but admire Bryant and feel much closer to him as a person.



4. Award-wining newswriter Don Keith presents The Bear: The Legendary Life of Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, a most unusual biography of charismatic football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. The Bear is based upon a screenplay by Al Browning, Jr. and reads like a fluid novel, yet firmly grounded in actual events and corrects common inaccuracies or misperceptions held about Paul Bryant to this day. A handful of black-and-white photographic plates illustrate this true tale of the vivacious man who turned around a struggling football program in Alabama, led the record in career victories for a college football coach, with 323 major-college wins and had the loyalty and steadfast determination to resist a $1.7 million offer to coach for the Miami Dolphins. Enthusiastically recommended reading especially for football fans.



5. If you are an Alabama fan you will love this book. It is a quick read and very interesting.

4 comments about And Then Jack Said To Arnie (Running Press Miniature Editions).

1. Very very relaxing Reading with a lot of laughs.



2. I liked the comedy in this book. It made me want to keep reading because of the laughter.



3. Don Wade, author and senior editor of Golf Digest Magazine, has put together a well-crafted book of true golf stories that he has collected since the '70's. There are over a hundred different golfers featured in this book. Each story reflects on the events told to Don Wade or personal expiriences by him while covering the game. This book is very humorous and is sure to be a hit with anyone, whether you are a golf fan or not!!!!



4. This book is extremely entertaining. I liked it a lot. It shows that not only is golf a game, it's a way of life. Some of the stories are incredibly funny. There seems to be a story about everyone, including Willie Nelson. I think anyone who likes light hearted short stories. Be sure not to miss the ones about Dwight Eisenhower!!!

5 comments about Savage Summit: The True Stories of the First Five Women Who Climbed K2, the World's Most Feared Mountain.

1. There just aren't many books by women about high-altitude climbing so this one was a welcome addition to the pantheon. Jennifer Jordan (who is not herself an Alpinist) has written an interesting but slightly flawed book about the lives and deaths of the first five women to summit K2.
   
   Everest may be the world's tallest mountain, but K2 with it's unpredictable weather systems, isolated location, avalanche danger (made more prevalent by global warming), technical complexity and colder climate is considered the more difficult climb. At the time this book was written, out of the nearly 200 people who had summited, only five were women who are all now deceased (there have been a few more women who have successfully summitted in the time since.) Three had died on the descent, the other two later on subsequent climbs. In the group were two Frenchwomen (Chantal Mauduit, Liliane Barrard), one Pole (the legendary Wanda Rutkiewicz) and two Brits (Julie Tullis and Alison Hargreaves.) Jordan has researched their lives as best as she could given some (particularly Barrard) left little in the way of autobiographical information. Along the way, they deal with sexism-both from the Pakistani government as well as, more depressingly, their male climbers-as well as certain advantages of biology (women seem to be less prone to high-altitude sickness and frostbite although the reasons for this are still speculative.)
   
   Jordan has lots to say about sexism in mountaineering that was quite illuminating. Additionally, she is a worthy voice for these women who are not near as famous as their male counterparts. She clearly liked some of the protagonists better than others but she does make the effort to portray them as the complex, flawed and original women that they were. There is lots of information about the history of mountaineering both in the Karakoram and on Europe's summits and some great anecdotes about the women's early climbing experiences.
   
   What was less enjoyable was Jordan's thesis that there is a curse on women who climb K2 (the mythology being that K2 is masculine energy as opposed to Everest's feminine energy.) With a 1 in 7 chance of a climber dying on descent, it is sad but not surprising some of the first women to climb K2 did not make it down. As many men in the book survive K2 only to die on a future summit as well (Michel Parmentier, Rob Hall and Benoit Chamoux to name a few), Rutkiewicz and Mauduit's later deaths are indeed tragic, but also not unexpected. High-altitude climbing is a hobby with high mortality rate. No mystical reasons need be sought and I think it does something of a disservice to the climbing community-female in particular-to spread superstition. As some other reviewers, I also found Jordan's habit of speaking of the dead's thoughts in their final days as disconcerting since some, such as Hargreaves who died in a storm on her descent from the K2, could not have left a record of her thoughts on making the summit. While Jordan mentions in the beginning she took "Perfect Storm" liberties, it was mildly off-putting.
   
   Despite these complaints, I still did enjoy this book. It is for the most part well-written and gives attention to a chapter in mountaineering that is sadly marginalized. Read it and learn about the pull of the Death Zone, the history of K2, and the victories a small group of exceptional women experienced in a male-dominated sport.



2. "Savage Summit" - it seems that every author who writes about K2 feels the need to write IN BOLD the difficulty of climbing the world's most dangerous peak. Or is it a weakness for climbing cliches? It is difficult to find well - written mountaineering books, and Jordan's lack of climbing experience (or is it writing experience? Or both?) marrs this attempt.
   
   The climbers she covers are all exceptionally interesting, and Jordan does do an adequate job of depicting the difficulties encountered by female alpinists in the hyper macho, competitive and male dominated world of Himalayan climbing. Especially interesting to read about are Mauduit and Rutkiewiecz, opposites in their personal style in the Himalayas. But I do agree with other reviewers - too much juvenile male-bashing here. And given the arena, its not hard to find easy targets.
   
   But her attempts to resurrect the psychological states of these five dead climbers can be awkward, and sometimes just inept or embarassing. The writing in general is unexceptional, too amateurish, and sometimes I wondered how much she really knew about the climbers, or climbing in general. In the end, it comes off as an attempt to write a feminist critique of Himalayan climbing by trying to show that there was some general feminist motive shared by all five of these climbers. And as they are all dead, we can't ask them, but Jordan founders in this respect. In the end their only shared legacy is a love for the highest ranges in the world.
   
   Overall, worth reading. Not worth buying.



3. Jennifer Jordan is an outstanding writer and somebody who knows mountaineering inside and out. Because of her background, she makes the tragic stories of the first five women who climbed K2 (Wanda Rutkiewicz, Liliane Barrard, Julie Tullis, Alison Hargreaves, and Chantal Mauduit) come alive. These women were all complex individuals, but they all had what I consider an insane drive to achieve something few people would bother to achieve. And in the end, like so many other top mountaineers, they ended up dead.
   
   Some may romanticize their deaths as something they would have "wanted," that the manner of their deaths was better than rotting away from Alzheimer's, cancer, or getting killed in other, more mundane accidents, but in the end this reader was totally appalled by their foolhardiness, their stupidity even. Just in case the reader may think I am sexist, I also think it is idiotic for men to engage in high-altitude mountain climbing. Sooner or later, there is a very real chance a person will die from it. And for what? For bragging rights? Talk about pointless.
   
   Nevertheless, this is a great read, almost as good as Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air.



4. I could not put this book down. I knew nothing of alpine climbing to begin with, but became engrossed by the descriptions of the mountains that inspired the lives of the first five women who climbed K2. Myself, I am inspired by the strength of these women. One reviewer commented that the author seemed to have something against male climbers. I did not get this feeling, but rather felt that she was descrbing things as they were, with men often resenting and feeling threatened by these women's accomplishments. As other reviewers have said, these women were indeed complex. I was struck by the pattern of some of their deaths: continuing on when weather was bad for example, or underestimating their need for gear in their summit bids. But then, at 8,000+ meters in freezing temperatures and with little food to eat and scarce oxygen in the air, one can understand how decisions would be difficult! I suspect that these mistakes are not unique to women, but have claimed the lives of many a climber, male and female alike.
   
   A wonderful read, an inspiration, and a tribute to the awesome power of nature and the strength and fragility of human life.



5. As a man, I came looking for a story of risk and adventure from a woman's perspective. I too wanted to understand what drew these pioneers to the high and lonely places. The stories of the five women were gripping and well written, but I found the harsh and unrelenting criticism of the male ego tiring. The men and women of the climbing community share the same desire to conquer and to be tested. I had hoped for a story of shared desire, not of bitter divide between fraternity and sorority.

5 comments about Hell, I Was There.

1. Elmer Keith is a legend of the American West and of firearms. He was a contemporary of Charles Askins (Unrepentent Sinner) and of many of the other greats of American firearm experts.
   
   I never met him though had I known how close I was to him during the late 1970s, I would have made the effort to meet him. Elmer was typical of the classic western male of the early to mid-1900s. The effete, feminized, modern urban male will classify him as arrogant and a braggart. This is understandable, yet regrettable, because the modern male understands nothing of committment to anything except their own self-interest and comfort. They do not understand conviction or character. Elmer had plenty of both.
   
   I thoroughly enjoyed the read. I first read it in the late 1980s in a borrowed book. I enjoyed it now even more. I was dismayed at the amount of carnage in the hunting stories he provided. The number of wounded game and the multiple shots required to kill game as they suffered and fled is tragic. The needless suffering of hunted and trapped animals is disturbing. But, it must be kept in mind that these were different times and trapping and hunting as a means of survival is far different from the motivation of most hunters and trappers of today. I could not even read Chapter 7 because of the accounts of the slaughter of African game, especially the elephants.
   
   The most compelling portions of Elmer's memoir are his accounts of the broncs he rode, the country he saw, his encounters with incompetent and arrogant law enforcement officials, game wardens and other government bureaucrats like the Forest Service, and his dealing with extraordinary physical pain and suffering. This was one tough son of a bitch (and that is a compliment).
   
   A very noticeable thread in the book is the confrontations with law enforcement officers, especially Idaho game wardens. These accounts further corroborate the conflicts that occurred between Claude Dallas and the same department officials in 1981 ending with Claude shooting and killing two of them. There are also accounts by Elmer of the old time law enforcement officials that understood the differences between good guys and bad guys and encouraged citizens to take action against the bad guys. A far cry from the "obedient street bureaucrats" that assault all citizens with impunity in today's world.
   
   This world, both domestically and internationally would be a better place if more of our population adhered to the values and certitudes of right and wrong that men like Elmer took as a matter of course.
   
   Elmer came up during hard times, but these times were, arguably, among the best years of America. We had a stable and homogenous population that had greater continuity of values and a love and respect for America. The country, especially the West, was less crowded and self-sufficiency and independence with a love of individual liberty was the order of the day. It was a time when a man carried a six-gun and was expected to conduct himself honorably and carried the means of dealing with those who were dishonorable. It was a better time and place.



2. Elmer Keith was referred to as the dean of American gun writers and that may have been an honest title. He wrote about cartridges and firearms as much as about hunting and the outdoors.
   
   This is his autobiography; told in his typcal bold and bragging way he was the real life version of type of character that was typified in John Wayne movies. He was truly an American legend. There is a certain amount of bragging and patting himself on the back in his story along with his ability to stretch the barrels on some of his big bore firearms, but it is also a tough and gritty story written with Keith's wry sense of humor.
   
   Elmer Keith was a man who saw the door close on the era of the old west and the ushering in of the new west. He was an anachronism, a nineteenth century man trapped in the twentieth century.
   
   This is not a gun book as such, but a lot of ammo gets expended in the telling of it. All in all, it is a very entertaining read for anyone interested in firearms, hunting and the outdoors.



3. A couple of generations ago, you couldn't have a conversation with someone about big game hunting or big bore cartridges for very long without the name Elmer Keith coming up. Elmer was a man's man, to be sure. In HELL I WAS THERE, Keith has assembled a bit of a personal memoir of so many of his adventures from `back in the day'. Keith was not that great of a writer, but not many could come close to his prowess as a storyteller.
   
   Elmer was a rather prolific writer, with countless articles in gun magazines of the 60's and 70's, and a number of well known books, but this one is by far, my personal favorite. I laughed out loud as the great six-gunner told the story of when he contracted to thin elephant herds in Africa. He used the opportunity to test which weapon was most effective. He determined the .460 Weatherby Mag a poor choice as the slug had such force, it simply passed through the giant beast, making them rather angry, knocked down a few trees and wiped out an African village.
   
   This is a most enjoyable read, as are all of Keith's books, which I would highly recommend for any firearm enthusiast. If you're not of my generation or older, learn what life was like when big game hunting was still fashionable, and almost affordable, from a man who carried a six gun on his side most every day of his life. Elmer Keith was a legend. This is his story.
   
   Monty Rainey
   www.juntosociety.com



4. I picked the book up because I came across so many references to Elmer Keith as I got into handgun sports. The man behind the .44 magnum, etc....
   It took me a bit to get into the book because it is kind of a discursive memoir with a bit of a mixed chronology. This is explained by Keith's comments at the end that he dictated the book-- he was urged by many to write his memoirs but didn't want to pound out another book on the typewriter.
   But I did get into it and greatly enjoyed it. This guy was tough beyond what most of us can even imagine. Keith talks more about his outdoor life in this book than about the technicalities of his cartridge development. He expresses a few crochets at the end about how the world is going to hell, but he has a point there, too.
   A very worthwhile read if you are a traditional outdoorsman, especially.



5. From a time in our country when people were not just sheep and actually had to depend on themselves to get by and not the welfare check!!
   Elmer Keith inspires all hunters and shooters with The story of his life in a time that we can only dream of and wish for.
   This book is a must read over and over again!.

5 comments about Eddy Merckx: The Greatest Cyclist of the 20th Century.

1. This is not the greatest biography of any century. Its theme is stated in the introduction and then repeated on almost every page. You can extract some useful information and perspective - but it is not easy or fun.
   
   I would recommend this book to anyone who wants more information on Merckx than can easily be found on the Internet. However, I would recommend skimming or speed reading to find what you want and not bothering to read from cover to cover.



2. Total agreement with the first 4 reviewers. Van Welleghem should not be writing, and if he has an editor, the editor should find another occupation. Eddy Mercxx was an idol of mine as a teenager, and still inspires my riding and racing today, several decades later. Unfortunately, this book is very poorly written--utterly repetitious, without inspiration or insight--it's making a fascinating subject a chore to explore.



3. Don't get me wrong: in cycling terms, Eddy Merckx is and will be the greatest rider who ever lived (Jeannie Longo another candidate, arguably). It is impossible to imagine anyone else being able to win 30% of the races he entered in a sport where just finishing is often a big deal, let alone owning the yellow, green and polka dot jerseys at the end of a single Tour de France. Eddy Merckx was a prodigious talent but, judging from this book, an astonishingly dull person. The author concentrates on Merckx the man rather than the racer and we find a lower-middle class Belgian with no schooling, no outside interests and a tendency towards complete silence. At the end of this poorly-structured and repetitive book, we feel nothing about the great dramas of the Cannibal's sporting life, his motivitations, his training methods. It seems he got on his bike, won the race and got off. Nothing heroic about any of this yet Merckx rode some of the most dramatic bike races ever.

   The definitive Merckx book remains to be written. Save your money until then.




4. It's a shame that Rik Van Walleghem's abilities as a writer fall so far short of Eddy Merckx's brilliance on a bicycle. This book is flabby, repetitive, poorly edited and, in the end, not very informative. The only other book I have read on bicycle racing is the equally dismal An Intimate Portrait of The Tour de France by Phillippe Brunel. In my experience, cyclists aren't stupid. They deserve better than this.



5. This wonderful book gives the reader an intriguing insight into one of sports most decorated cavaliers. It's to no surprise that this SUPERMAN dominated his opposition with with relentless intensity, only leaving them to wonder at his feats.

   The continuous comparsions to this man are not even worth mentioning because the technology has advanced so much in the last 35/40yrs. For his era he was truly in a class all of his own. I can only ever see one EDDY MERCKX, THE GREATEST CYCLIST EVER!

4 comments about Spirit of the Wind: The Story of George Attla, Alaska's Legendary Sled Dog Sprint Champ.

1. George Attla was no more than a name to me before I picked up SPIRIT IN THE WIND: THE STORY OF GEORGE ATTLA. The cover said he was Alaska's legendary sled dog sprint champ. Whuh? I scoffed, thinking "legendary" was a word that is overused nowadays and should be reserved for people like Helen of Troy or George Washington. However, one quick peek through the contents of this book made me think that for once, Lew Freedman is not overstating things, for George Attla has indeed all the attributes of a legendary figure. Did you ever read Joseph Campbell's HERO OF A THOUSAND FACES? That will come to mind when you sit down with a hot cup of cocoa and a copy of SPIRIT OF THE WIND. For Attla is to ordinary mushers what Margot Fonteyn is to ballerinas--the gold standard to which all others have to kneel down.
   
   He is good with dogs, and Freedman spends a lot of time detailing the extraordinary bonds set up by a trainer like Attla with some very special beasts. Freedman ascribes some of his magic to his First Peoples ancestry, for he is an Alaskan Indian with a kind of "horse whispering" background and a crippling childhood disease, one that would bring tears to your eyes, and when he conquers it the Northern Lights seem to glow a little brighter. You'll be wiping away the tears with a chamois.
   
   He has achieved too many feats to mention, and nine gold medals. When he left school, it was with a first grade education--no, I guess he made it into second grade. At the end of our lives when we approach the Pearly Gates, St Peter will ask us what we did for other people while we were alive, and George Attla will shake his noble head and say, "I did it for the dogs."



2. Without a doubt one of the most poorly written books that I have every read. The author normally writes newspaper articles and it's obvious. Each chapter is written like a short article off the main page which results in a shallow read. There is no transition between chapters and much of the information in one chapter is repeated in subsequent chapters. It takes talent to make such a fascinating life such an incredible bore.



3. This biography on George Attla proves to be interesting and well written. The book tells the story of this great Alaskan musher in an easy to read and entertaining prose.

   However, as information goes, the book suffered because while the author tells us so much about Attla's accomplishments, the book doesn't go into the man itself. Its a very friendly biography written by the author who does his best not to paint any negative aspects of George Attla. A good example would the short time Mr. Attla spent in jail up in Fairbanks for reason Mr. Freedman should have known but did not go into.

   Biography is a two edge sword. If you are going to write about a man, his greatness and his flaws must be presented. So far, the author seem to be high with praises only. How will we supposed to know who George Attla is without his weaknesses as well. Because of this, I can only considered this book as "half biography" of George Attla, entertaining reading but pretty lightweight material.




4. It was 1958 when a twenty-four-year-old George Attla limped to the staring line of the Fur Rendezvous World Championships sled dog race in Anchorage, Alaska with a team of dogs borrowed from family and friends in his hometown of Huslia, Alaska. Three days later he won with a record-setting victory -- the first of many championships won by the man who would become the greatest spring dog "musher" of all time. An athabascan Indian from a tiny Koyukuk River village, Attla was diagnosed with crippling bone tuberculosis as a child, a disability that resulted in a permanently fused knee. Unable to work with his father on the family trap line (as Attla boys were expected to do), George began work training the family pups as a young boy. The dogs became his life, and "mushing" his life's work. Spirit Of The Wind: The Story Of Alaska's George Attla, Legendary Sled Dog Spring Champ is the inspiring biography of an unusual man who overcame all manner of obstacles and impediments to fulfill his life's dream, and in doing so, became a true and authentic champion!