Sports Books

If you love the game of tennis, you'll love Paul Fein's insightful comments on the game that fill this book. From the "look behind the curtain" that Paul provides in his interviews with Pete, Mac, Jimbo, etc., to the well thought out logic he applies to many of the current controversies of the game, you will find much interesting, amusing, and thought-provoking material in Tennis Confidential. Buy it!

Tennis Confidential is not an encyclopedia, but it IS encyclopedic. There's a lot of substance within its covers: player profiles, interviews, controversies, history, greatest matches, and even a brief history of racquet design.
Fein's passionate concern for the sport is evident throughout. He writes, "If tennis tries to be all things to all people, it will lose its brilliant uniqueness and end up being nothing much to anyone." His book, however, comes close to being all things to all tennis fans.

As Founder and President of the International Mental Game Coaching Association (IMGCA), I am always searching for new material, stories and background on sports psychology that I can bring to our members via articles, training programs and our IMGCA Certification programs.

I have followed Paul Fein's writing for years and have always been greatly impressed by his tennis acumen, his intellectual depth, and his writing style. He is one of the very best tennis writers being published today, and this book, Tennis Confidential, is no exception. This is a superb addition to the tennis literature, and one you will want on your bookshelf.

Paul's in-depth analysis of the social context of tennis is remarkable, and I really appreciate his engaging interviews with tour players that reveal the hidden mental dimension.

This book has appeal to all tennis players. I highly recommend this book for players, coaches, teachers, parents and officials.

As a former coach of several world-class players and also former National coach for the French, Swiss and Hellenic tennis Associations, I most appreciated the originality and expertise in Tennis Confidential. Pro tennis has plenty of controversies about on-court coaching, the scoring system, equal prize money, ranking systems, doubles reforms, the service let, etc. The essays analyze them with more thoughtfulness and fairness than I've seen before. Your opinions about certain issues will undoubtedly change after you read these essays. Interviews and features with Agassi, Serena Williams, McEnroe, Ashe, Navratilova, Borg, Sampras and other champions are also eye-openers. History fans will definitely enjoy the six retrospectives and the 10 greatest matches. On a light note, everyone will have fun with "True Confessions" and the amusing and sometimes shocking trivia that is sprinkled throughout the book. Several of the articles received writing awards. This is a book you will want to read and re-read.

As a tennis fan, especially in a family with few tennis fans, I enjoy reading outside material about the game. Not tips on playing, but about the pros, especially stories, history, analysis, etc. So I figured this book would fit right in with my appetite, especially from the subtitle, 'players, matches, and controversies.' I was right!



Tennis Confidential contains all of this and more! I was excited to read about events that happened before I was around, and also enjoyed reading about events that happened while I was around, and Fein brought a fresh and inside perspective to dozens of topics. Chapters I particularly enjoyed include the Burning Issues section, in which Fein examines modern topics like power, blacks' domination, new stats, and more; Controversies, with topics such as equal prize money, women's tennis superiority, the let rule, and more; and all time top 10 matches, with many surprises, but deep analysis.



No wonder my 2nd favorite sport is baseball. Both it and tennis, my favorite, invite analysis, discussion, controversy, have rich histories, and no clock. Reading this book allows me to appreciate the game more, want to discuss it more, and proud to be a tennis fan.
Plus, the author is very friendly and happy to discuss his work. I met him at a tournament, and we took a picture together.

I am giving this to a friend of mine's son who is nine who could care less about Derek Jeter or the Yankees. That is how good I think that this book is. It shows how Derek was focused on his goal from age 8, and I am going to get more copies for children of my friends to give to them when they turn 8.

Great book and great lessons for kids. Shows what can happen when you are ambitious enough and try hard enough. Great book about Derek and where he came from and where he wants to go!

After reading the first couple of pages I knew right away that this book would be a good one. The reason Derek Jeter became so well known is because he started very young knowing what he was going to do in life. Throughout high school and college Derek Jeter was an outstanding athlete and student, but at times he did have those people that said that he couldn't do it and that he couldn't make it to the major leagues. This book would be recommended to those who look at Derek Jeter as an idol and also are athletes. Reading this book could change the way you look at Pro athletes and maybe even inspire you to do better.

Book review mod 1

Over the summer I read a few books. One of those books was The Life You Imagine: Life Lessons for Achieving Your by Derek Jeter. I choose this book because I'm a Yankees fan and love Derek Jeter. This book is a great book for someone who needs a role model. Derek Jeter is an amazing role model he had strait A's growing up. In this book Derek Jeter tells you how he grew up and how hard it was for him and how he never stopped trying to get what he set his goals for. This book is wonderful it shows you how any body can do it. His dream his whole life was to play short stop baseball for the New York Yankees. This book is one of those books that will inspire a person to go out and try harder then every one and get what he set out for. That's how good this book is, your are into baseball and trying hardest any way. This book is written well and will show you how a person who really like really tries his hardest and never gives up and will do what ever he has to, just to get what he sets out for. If there was a rating for this book it would get a 10 out of 10 or 100 out of 100 or 5 stars. That's just my opinion. This book is just like I said be for just one of those books that just makes a person want to do something good in life or achieve a goal or something. In this book Derek Jeter said that he would write all of his goals down and check them of as he achieved them threw out the year. This book is wonderful inspiring and just an all around baseball lovers dream book, if I was to recommend this book to anyone it would defiantly be a YES! This book is one of my favorites and would hope it would be one of yours as well. =]


By Kevin Lunn

This book starts off as derek jeter stating that he wil play for the New York Yankees when he is 8 years old. They discuss the 10 rules about how to live you life and what to do. Growing up derek had alot of racial problems with his parents. He had one black and one white, and he had a sister, they were a really close family.

growing up there were many racial problems in his town. He went to college in Kalamazoo michigan. He played baseball there and now hes making millions doing what he loves. He said he loves to wake up every morning knowing he loves his job.

Derek is always saying set your goals high so you are always working toward them. Not too high to where you cannot reach them but just high enough that you have to work at it to get to them.

This is one of the greattest books i have ever read. I will give 2 thumbs up. It was a very interesting book becuase i lvoe baseball and i want to be exactly like derek jeter.

For young and inexperienced players, Ted Williams' name may no longer hold the magic it did when I was growing up and playing baseball. But most of us "old-timers" will still remember that Williams was the last professional ball player (in the MLB) to hit over .400 for a full season. So when my Little League aged son was struggling a bit at the plate a season ago, I broke out my copy of Williams' The Science of Hitting to look for some kernel of wisdom that would help my son get out of his slump.

But, the first line in the book is an admonition that today's best hitters fail more than they succeed "...even if you're a .300 hitter...you are going to fail at your job seven out of ten times." This statement is at once encouraging as well as discouraging. That is hitting in a nutshell (triumphant in success yet unbelievably humbling and potentially discouraging in failure) and any good player will need to remember that success as a ball player is measured a bit differently.

The admonition out of the way, Williams' book splits the topic of hitting up into two basic parts--first, the physical mechanics involved in hitting; second, the mental duel taking place between the batter and pitcher.

Much of what is written in the book is the result of Williams' conversations with great hitters of the past. As a result, much of the advice in the book is shared in the form of readable anecdotes, which make the book easy to read and enjoyable for baseball aficionados as well -- where else are you going to learn about Harry Heillman's philosophy of hitting?

One of the primary keys to Teddy Ballgame's success was his swing. The best "old-time" hitters (and Williams was certainly one of them) had a nearly a flat swing plane, flat wrist-roll and a low, rather than high finish. Most of today's hitters' display an upper cutting arc and high finish to their swings. Yet, in the "dead ball" the old-timers managed to wrack up nearly as many homeruns but had much higher batting averages and strike-out to hit ratios. This ended up being the clincher for me. I noticed immediately that my son had started trying to uppercut the ball so he could hit more homeruns (after hitting his one in his first at-bat of the season).

We started working on having him hit line drives and sure enough he raised his average from .175 to .403 by the end of the season. Then this season he kept the swing we worked on and ended up hitting .390+, but also leading the league in home runs, finishing with 22 (including 6 in the post-season).

The other thing that Williams writes (which is often misinterpreted) is that he'd never swing at a pitch he hadn't seen before. Often time people will swear (incorrectly) that Williams never swung at a pitcher's first pitch. Williams was, if nothing else, a student of the game. He intently studied pitchers watching them warm up, watching them from the on-deck circle and mentally replaying previous at-bats in his head. When he stepped into the batters box he had a game plan and he had a good understanding of what a pitcher threw and when. My son used this part of Williams' game as well and it was fun to watch him "studying" the opposing pitchers.

Thank you Ted Williams! My son, whose name is Theodore William by the way, earned the nickname "Teddy Ballgame" from his coaches and teammates as well.

Williams text in The Science of Hitting is accompanied by the wonderful pen and ink illustrations of Robert E. Cupp. These drawings and other explanatory photographs to help illustrate the points Williams is trying to make and really enhance the book.

If you are a player, coach or just a parent wanting to help your son or daughter improve their game, this book is a must have!

I WAS FORTUNATE TO HAVE READ THIS WHEN I WAS LOANED A COPY FROM HIGH SCHOOL COACH - UNFORUNATELY I NEVER GAVE IT BACK, UNTIL NOW - BUT I DID SHARE IT WITH MY COUSINS AND THEN SONS AND DAUGHTERS - AND NEPHEWS - ALL TO FANTASTIC RESULTS...THIS IS THE HITTERS GUIDE BY THE GREATEST HITTER OF ALL TIME...THANK YOU TED WILLIAMS - AGAIN AND AGAIN...

Nice read, talks about a ton of ideas for hitting better, have used some of them, and have noticed improved power to the opposite field.

Ted Williams was the second best player of all time, anytime he speaks or writes about baseball, it's in your best interest to soak up the info.

- I think this should be the first book on hitting any baseball player reads.
- Should be "The ART of hitting." Very little, if any, science in this book. Mostly stories and tips from Ted Williams.
- Ted Williams makes a great point that 50% of hitting is from the neck up. Many players are physically capable of hitting a baseball but lack the confidence to do it in a game. Mr. Williams gives some very good information on developing game confidence.

This book, along with "The Art of Hitting .300" by Charlie Lau, simply belongs on every ballplayer and coaches bookshelve. This book is rather simple in format, yet loaded with subtle tips and techniques.

Are there books that may be better? Absolutley.

However, these two books are the foundation on which all others are built.

If you dont own it, buy it!

This book is very well written and gives great insight into the motivations and commitment that that form the basis for undertaking this incredible journey.

I highly recommend this book for hikers and non-hikers alike.

I've been considering hiking the A.T. for many years now, after reading this book its a no-brainer. Insightful, funny, i felt as if i was walking up every mountain right beside Awol. This book is a must have for any reader who enjoys the outdoors and all the struggles and joys that comes along with challenging yourself and reaping every benefit.

I picked this book up both for entertainment and because I was interested in learning more about the experience of thru-hiking the AT. Satisfaction was delivered on both fronts. The author provides just enough detail that you're there with him on the trail, while not boring you with constant day to day information which could get tedious. This is not a book for planning a hike, however is still a useful read for anyone who may be toying with the idea.

I won't pretend to know what it's like to be on the trail for 6 months and 2173 miles, but at the end of the book I felt a sense of not wanting it to end. When AWOL speaks of his longing and loss in the months following his hike the reader feels a similar nostalgia. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to spark their sense of adventure.

I've read almost a dozen books on thru-hiking the AT and this is simply the best. Honest and real in his actions and thoughts- AWOL represents the best you will ever encounter on the AT.

As soon as I finished reading Awol on the AT, I wrote the following note to the author:

"Just a quick message to let you know how much I enjoyed Awol on the Appalachian Trail. I read it for the first time last week, and I can't stop telling my friends about it. I've read a lot of books about the AT, and your book is now one of my favorites -- definitely the best-written. Your insightful descriptions of the sights along the trail and the mental highs are lows are absolutely top-shelf. You are truly a gifted writer. Some of your imaginative metaphors -- such as giant rocks that look like the backs of whales diving into the soft ground -- will stick with me forever. Although I've not (yet) hiked the AT, my fever to do so is getting stronger. Thanks for the added inspiration. By the way, if you aren't currently writing for a living, you absolutely should be. Excellent work. Adventure onward!"

If you are interested in hiking the AT, this is one of THE books to read.

Decades ago I saw on TV the movie Don't Make Waves, and I remembered Tony Curtis's foil the great beast of a man, blond and mostly mute, when the luminous James Wolcott linked to a literate and aging body builder in a blogpost this year.
And so they are the same. This warm and wise book is a great encouragement to those of us whose bodies need the stress of physical work to maintain health and joy.
Part technical guide, part moral guide, part memoir, the Bomber's book is still a whole work and for me it lifts the strange sport of body building, sans steroids, up on Dave's big back to a new level of respect. Highly recommended.

Both informational and inspiring, this book from a veteran bodybuilder will teach you everything you ever wanted to know about the sport.

The most useful part of this book is the advise about how to train around injury and over training. This is what happens when yer an old geezer and want the 18 year old body. I'm 59, and actually don't look like I'll be dead in 13 years. Thank you Dave.

Draper has an odd writing style, but his stories are motivational and informational. Everyone who lifts should read this.

I enjoyed it but it needed pictures for the all his exercises, I read other review saying the same thing.
I found it inspiring and he is a poster child for bodybuiling beyond your years.

I have a 1987 Catalina 30 sailboat with a diesel engine. I wish I had purchased a copy of this book six years ago when I bought my boat. I might have saved hundreds and maybe even thousands of dollars in yard bills by doing more of the work myself with the help of this book. I have the 2nd Edition published in 1995. I think it is well organized, well written, and I find the illustrations to be clear. A friend of mine purchased the 3rd Edition, which has updated information, particularly on electronics. However I am extremely satisfied with the 2nd Edition for my needs.

No this is not a book for inland gas boats! This is a book for ocean going vessels. Both power and sail. I have cruised on a 28' Columbia (outboard) and a 41' Islander Freeport (perkins). It was a *must have* with the Cruising Handbook in 4 years of full time cruising. [...] Fairwinds!

This is the second Nigel Calder book I own, and I am even more impressed. I am an ASA-certified instructor qualified to teach through bareboat chartering and coastal navigation. I have sailed on all sorts of boats, have owned a cruising style boat for six years, have heard boat owners and students complain about various problems, have read dozens of books, and through all of this have experienced so many mysteries related to corrosion, electrical problems, equipment problems, and issues with various boat systems. For the first time, I feel I have a single reference manual specific to boat systems that not only provides clear troubleshooting steps but goes beyond troubleshooting to clearly explain the mechanical and physical principles that demystify why things go wrong and how the troubelshooting steps systematically work through problems. The explanations are understandable, the instructions and safety tips are effective, and the diagrams and photos are valuable. It has already helped me deal with a grounding problem that was causing our main cirvruit breaker to trip!

I'm redesigning the electrical system for my boat and portions of this book has given me the knowledge to make informed decisions, with an understanding of the trade offs, about what features and capabilities I would like my new system to have. It has also provided information to allow me to make intelligent decisions about selecting new components to achieve my electrical system goals efficiently (save money by not buying things I don't need). I would recommend this book for the person with a basic knowledge of electricity who wants to understand either how their current electrical system works or how they might change it to make it better.

This is a great book. I love the extensive coverage of electrical systems, as it seems so many boaters have problems with electrical. I was a little surprised that the engine section only covers diesel engines. No big deal, as most of the other stuff applies to gas too (impellers, transmission, etc), but I wanted to know a little about a head overhaul and there's not much there for the gas engine owner.
Still, I'd highly recommend this book to any boat owner who also has the gumption to do the work themselves.

I used this book to plan my golf trip to Scotland for my brother and I, along with help directly from Mr. Ferguson himself. You really need to read this book over and over again to reap the full benfit of all the info in here. He covers so much important information. I planned my own unique trip, choosing golf courses and places to stay, plus rental car and when to go and what to bring. Our trip came off with no problems, all tee times, rooms, travel, directions, etc were all right on target. We even met other golfers who were using the book as well. I know we saved money using this book as apposed to going through a agancy. I will be using his service again on my next trip as well.

Take some good advice from a guy (Ferguson) who has been there and done that. Very easy reading with some greats tips for planning your trip. You'll pay for the book just by following his car rental recommendation.

You can scroll down to other reviews of this book, I would simply be repeating the praises that others have for this golf/travel guide.

I devoured this book in almost one sittting. The advice is sincere, genuine and as helpful as travel advice gets.

There is no mystery why everyone has rated this book five stars: it IS that good.

I am planning a trip to Scotland in 2009 for our regular foursome. With this book I have a good idea what our group needs to decide on before we go.

(E.g., Is playing at St. Andrews the major reason for our trip? Do we want to stay in a hotel/a B&B/a self-catering location? Do we want to stay in St. Andrews town itself or are we willing to pack up and re-locate to other locations? Do we want to spend $350 to play one fantastic course or 4 lesser-known links?)

This book is practical and I recommend it WITHOUT any reservation!

I have been to Scotland with tour operator, but this book is excellent if you want to save money and plan the trip yourself. Great review of golf courses and good ideas of lodging and traveling. Highly recommended. If you can find a better book, let me know.

Another great book I got my boyfriend who is going to Scotland and going to check out some of these courses

I have read it over 20 times and am still learning from it as well as most of my buddies who have read it. It makes you a better snow goose hunter.

The book helped me a lot this spring. I got a lot more snow geese using the information and tactics suggested in this book.

The book helped me last Fall and this Spring. I got a lot more snow geese because of it.

There were so many good things in this book that helped me become a better snow goose hunter.

For the inflated price, this book was a total disappointment. The author deals EXCLUSIVELY with the Mississippi/Central flyway, and spends a great deal of time speaking of specific areas in this region. This large portion of a VERY SMALL (8" X 6", large type, barely over 100 pages), outdated book was of zero use to a snow goose hunter from Maryland. As far as decoy types and placement, the author only reiterated what I'd already gleaned from magazines over two years (and that wasn't much). I will be returning this book, the first time I've ever returned anything to Amazon.com.

This travel tale about a diminutive gal on a small wheeled folding bike in Cuba hits a home run. Lynette's brutally honest account of her feelings and course of action taken during this trek is wonderful reading. This story is something which I believe many people dream of yet few actually do. Myself included.

When I picked up this book I thought I'd get a quirky and fun read about a solo woman bike rider traveling and learning about Cuba. Well, it IS that, but it's so much more. It's about a unique woman riding a unique bicycle (Bike Friday), getting deep into the country through living with locals. At the same time, she lets the reader into her life journey, shattering expectations about what a successful Asian woman growing up in Australia should be doing with her life.

If you're adventurous, or if you've ever fantasized about getting on a bike to ride into the sunrise/sunset, or if you're simply looking for a book that you can't put down, this is the one. And guys, check it out. Her grueling bike rides--not to mention boat rides during severe storms--will impress even the toughest bikers.

I like bicycling books with a lot of bicycling in them, and there isn't all that much bicycling in this book. That notwithstanding, it's a really good book. This lady is observant and perceptive, not to mention brave and adventurous. She is also, at times, wickedly funny and doesn't spare herself when it comes to pointing out human foibles and follies. I thought I got a real flavor of Cuba from the book as well. I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys real life adventure stories.

I recently rode my Bike Friday with Lynette and some 40 other "Friday" enthusiasts through the historic towns of Southern Arizona, so I was pleased to find that the personality that exudes from her every pore was clearly revealed in this entertaining, funny, bittersweet, educational account of her biking through Cuba. I can't think of a better way to spend a couple of hours (whether or not you like biking and travel) than to view Cuban everyday life through Lynette's perceptive and objective eyes. The only thing better would be to actually take a bike ride with Lynette.

In "The Handsomest Man in Cuba: An Escapade" Lynette Chiang wrote about her adventure biking in Cuba. Originally from Sydney, Lynette travelled light with a bicycle that can be folded, a tent, and a few other necessity items for travelling. It was a great way for Lynette to learn about the culture, food, and people in the country. Even though she was a foreigner with U.S. dollars, Lynette was determined not to travel the way Castro expected tourists to; paying exhorbitant amount of money for hotel or food. Most of the time, she stayed with families or friends that she people she met recommended or just if the rooms were cheap. She was able to learn a lot about Cuban families and their way of life in Cuba.

What I like most about the book is that the author was candid about her observation of Cuba, of the poverty and at the same time of the friendliness of the people. Unlike some foreigners, she did not romanticize Cuba. It was most fascinating to read about the characters she met along her journey, which I thought was definitely the highlight of her travelogue. However, I wish that the author shared more about her personal life, and what brought her to Central America in the first place. This would have made the book even more engaging than it already is. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about Cuba and the Cuban people. A fantastic summer read.

I'm not kidding... I did. The juggling balls are a perfect fit to anyone's hand. I bought the kit because I needed to learn how to juggle for a class, and I got an A! Pretty good for a first timer! Besides, it's a great exercise for your arms.. try it for a couple of hours and you'll see the effects!

I bought this book after seeing a few friends juggling and finding the book on sale at my local Borders store. I didn't think it would take me long to get the hang of throwing and catching three beanbags and now, almost 6 months after buying the book, I am quite proficient with a 3 ball cascade, making a few catches with a 4 ball fountain, and I've been bought juggling clubs!

I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to get into juggling, for fun or sport, it's simple to use and fun to follow along with. The only thing I do not like is that the book's format makes you wish it was spiral bound or bound in a way it can easily be laid flat.

This person is a great dealer with fast prompt service. Would buy from again.

I loved the hole pack. I was trying to find a cheap set of juggling balls to to start learning, when I saw this pack i didn't notice that the beanbags weren't balls but cubes and I was a bit worried at first. Anyway they are great, well balanced, with the right weight, and the unusual format is perfect to beginners, since you will drop them a lot they won't roll away from you like the rounds' ones.

Within an hour of getting this book, I was able to juggle ( though not skillfully at all)three balls. Granted, I've had a little bit of prior juggling experience from years and years ago, so I wasn't totally unfamiliar with the motions. The instructions were very clear and so were the illustrations after I used a hi-liter to keep track of the otherwise black and white balls.