Sports Books

Good book. Worth getting.

Boy, this one really brings back the memories! But it also gives one pause for reflection on what real martial arts training is all about.
A wonderful book. I've already read through my copy several times...

Kris Wilder has put together an excellent book of anecdotes and learnings he has gained from the floor of his karate school. These lessons are important philosophical approaches for all martial artists, but they are also great lessons for life in general.

I read the whole book in a single sitting, and recommend it highly to all martial arts instructors and practitioners.

Kris Wilder shares his hard won wisdom through a collection of poignant tales and pithy vignettes. This is a book I can pick up for a few minutes or a few hours and gain something new each time. It is thoroughly enjoyable and easy to read yet thought provoking and profound. I recommend it without reservation.

This book is about so much more than martial arts. It has something to offer anyone seeking wisdom, insight and shared knowledge. I am not a martial arts fan or practitioner but I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and will reread it for the gems of wisdom it bestows.

I am a 29 year old that used to love to draw, and have wanted to get back into it, but needed a place to start, and some help along the way. I found this book, and it's one of the best books that I could find about drawing, and probably the best Manga drawing guide out there. It covers everything that you could ever imagine about the genre of manga art. It's detailed history on Manga, it's artists, and the step by step instructions are like nothing I have ran into. I plan on using it just for the fun of drawing again, and putting together my own graphic novel. If you're looking to improve your skills, want to know how to market yourself, or just want to brush up on your art skills while learning Manga at the same time, I highly reccommend this book.

I purchased this because I was a dummy with regards to drawing in general, and for some reason got a "wild hair" to try and draw manga. After looking at other how-to books, this seemed the most basic and I have learned to trust the dummies series.

In no time flat I was drawing faces and having fun. I spent my free time over the next few weeks going through the book advancing through the techniques. What I found is that nothing is impossible and I was able to draw Manga characters.

The author does a very good job at starting at ground zero, and giving very basic steps that you can replicate to produce decent results. He covers a wide array of topics that give you the tools you need.

Start with a head, then do eyes, nose, mouth, ears, and hair. Step by step you work through each of these either doing advanced drawing with a lot of detail or more cartoony features with less detail. After the head is done he moves to the body - first basic layout, then more detail to create a full body, and then add clothes. All of this in a patient step-by-step manner that makes it achievable - for a dummy like me!

Finally when you are able to draw a character, you have a lot more to consider: what other characters are there? How big is he compared to others? how do i draw landscapes, cities, or space ships? The author walks through these types of topics and more to give you a basic understanding of what you need to do if you want to draw a manga page.

In addition to all this, he covers the basics of drawing, for instance, what tools do you need to draw (a pencil and piece of paper), or ink, or draw a full manga page, or publish a full manga magazine.

I purchased this book based on experiance of using the " For Dummies Series" in the past. The book does a good job on creating heads, bodies, and the differences in male/female. I had great results with those lessons. It does get brief in the areas for eyes, noses (especially front view), and mouths. Overall this book is a great book and I would recommend it to anyone interested in learning the Manga style of drawing or to expand their current drawing abilities.

You may not be the greatest manga artist, but you WILL have the confidence to start.

I bought this book for my 17-year old stepson who always loves manga. He is very excited to have this book that can teach him Manga from very basic stuff to the leve he can draw himself.
Ths shipping is very fast although I chose free-shipping for order 25$, it arrived in a week.

I love Amazon!

Wow, I loved this book. I remember reading an excerpt from it somewhere online several months ago and I was so engrossed in it that I finally had to buy the book recently. And I was not disappointed - the entire book was incredibly easy and engaging to read. The only minor exception was that the last third of the book kind of got away from what made the book so interesting the first 2/3, but overall I would still give the book five stars without a thought. I can't remember the last time I enjoyed reading a book as much as I did this one.

the only few words i can use to describe this book is that it was a truly....inspirational and fantastic read. great book, i was so engrossed in it that i finished it in two days. runners and non runners alike can enjoy it. running for women has come a long way. i have read it once and will read it again. go ahead people buy it....you will never regret having this book in your collection.

As a woman born in 1980, I really had never grasped the concept of what the generation before my birth had done. I never really understood what the world believed about the abilities of women. Katherine Switzer's story is powerful and amazing. I'm so glad I could grow up believing that I could do anything. The book is well written and powerful.

This was hands down one of the most inspiring running books I've ever read. Kathrine's foresight into the sport of running amazes me - we can thank her not only for bringing the women's marathon to the 1984 Olympic games but also for today's modern marathon "comforts" that didn't exist when she first hit the streets of Boston.
I read this while training for a marathon and her story kept me going during those long and painful runs. This book is a must-read for any runner, male or female.

If ever there was a real-life Wonder Woman, it's Kathrine Switzer...whose brave pursuit and promotion of running events have benefitted countless millions who want to similarly express their joy for the sport. This fun-to-read, fascinating autobiography beautifully communicates the voice of its author: enthusiastic, funny, passionate. It's a must-read for marathoners and entertaining for anyone else who's ever shared in the excitement of witnessing and/or participating in a sporting event.

This is by far the most researched book of its kind on the market today. To say that it is full of fun facts, Mopar models, various engines of the era, etc., etc., would be an understatement. Having lived in those glory days of Mopar myself - and owned and raced a few Mopars of my own - I highly recommend this book for any automotive enthusiasts library.

a good history of early MOPAR cars and the motors that made them great. If you know what a max wedge is you are in the right place. 413 and 426 wedges and then on to the hemi, its MOPAR at its best. Enjoy!

Very good book, but I was hoping to see more of us who raced our MaxWedge and Hemi Mopars on the west coast at LADS, San Fernando, Bakersfield, etc., but the book concentrates primarily on the mid-west and eastern area cars... and it was great to see these guys again. I bought my '62 Plymouth 413 Sport Fury from Milne Bros., trading in my '60 Chevy 348 tri-power, because I was tired of getting beat by the Mopars. My '63 426 Belvedere and '65 Plymouth Hemi also came from Milne Bros. and as Jim points out in this book, the Hemi HP was grossly understated, as mine was producing 543HP out of the box. Blueprinting it produced even more.

Overal, a very good book with a lot of good background and product spec. details. I only wish it had more of what us west coast guys were doing. Jim, FYI, Chrysler made a Teflon valve seal and valve guide machining tool for installing the Teflon seal available during '62. Stopped the 413 sparkplug bad oil fouling!

All that I was hoping for and more - very informative enjoyable book.

For those who love mopar and cool, classic Chryslers, you will love this book. Pictures of some really cool Plymouths and equally serious Dodge classics delight the eyes. A beautiful ca. 1965 Plymouth graces the cover. Note the strong resemblance to the 1965-1966 Dodge Dart 270. A very serious car indeed, that Dart! Super stockers never had it so good!

Book was nicely put together and contains some great pictures as well as reproductions of his first contract, a letter from Richard Nixon, a love letter to his wife, etc. I'm sure there are better books out there in terms of the amount of information about Mantle. Buy the book only if you want to own reproductions of Mantle memorabilia but skip it otherwise.

The book was given to my husband as a gift and he enjoyed it so much that we bought one for a friend. Our friend was equally impressed with the book from the different memorabilia to the overall presentation. It's a book you want to look over again and again.

This book contains many seldom to never seen photographs from the Mantle family archives that make the book priceless. The inserted reproductions of Mantle memorabilia are a perfect supplement that give the reader an insight to Mickey that you can't get anywhere else. Top that off with great stories from Mickey Herskowitz, David Mantle and Danny Mantle and you have a real winner.

Mantle was a one-of-a-kind ballplayer that the sport has not seen since his retirement. Almost 40 years later, Mickey still holds many baseball records including the fastest time from home plate to first base (3.1 seconds), the longest measured home run (565' even though he hit a few in excess of 600' that could not be measured) and most World Series home runs (18).

The legend of #7 will live forever.

My favorite player (my nickname is 'Mickey'). Well done different presentation. I really enjoyed

I got this wonderful book for my father for Christmas and he loves it! It's his favorite book on Mickey Mantle. As a Yankee fan myself I also love the book-it's very touching how Danny and David Mantle talk about their Father.The photos are beautiful and all the little extras are really neat to look at. I recommend this book to Mantle and Yankee fans everywhere.

This book was received in a very timely fashion,much faster than I expected.For a used book,it was in excellent condition.I also enjoyed this book very much.It was a heart warming story of a wonderful and some what eccentric family.

What a wonderful book of the American Family. Written from the perspective of the oldest sibling, who is also the only girl, it is just plain fun. Growing up without a lot of money doesn't mean life has to be boring or painful. Parents don't have to be perfect and neither do the kids.

For anyone who grew up around Columbus, OH in the 60s and 70s, this is a must. But, incredibly, O'Neill makes the book fascinating as well for her look at NY and its restaurant scene in the 80s and 90s. And the glue to the whole narrative is her and her family,including her famous little brother, Paul. Well done Molly.

Molly O'Neill has a very engaging writing style that pulls you into her world. It's a world peopled with the wildly obsessed, but go along as the ride is enjoyable. Molly O'Neill writes about a life that straddled midwest big city longings with utopian politics and food plays a big role at all stops. My only quibble is that the book has less to do about being Paul O'Neill's sister than the book jacket may lead you to believe.

After reading this book I ordered several copies as gifts. That probably says it all, but I can't just leave it there. Molly O'Neill and her family grew up in the neighborhood where I live and I was taken by her memories of family life where she was the only girl with five male siblings and a father whose main focus was baseball. The exploits of the boys had me laughing out loud while also being thankful I didn't live next door to them.
I enjoyed reading how Molly's cooking expertise evolved and even included her brothers in this endeavor. Her writing, as always, was a delight.

A fantastic insight to the what the Search & Rescue volunteers go through to aid and assist the common and, not-so-common, adventurers. Exciting read where every chapter addresses a different rescue, different aspect, and different experience of Dr. Van Tilburg's.

With this insider's view of mountain rescue and wilderness medicine, Chris van Tilburg takes the reader along on some exciting missions. Along with the gripping tales, Dr. van Tilburg has included many thoughtful discussions of the issues involved, such as how some of the victims ended up in trouble in the mountains. He also shares a personal view of how he balances mountain rescue, medicine, and family life with a wife and two young daughters. I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in mountain rescue, especially as a member or potential member of a rescue group. For doctors and other medical professionals who are interested in wilderness medicine, this is a must read.

I read this book in less than a week. Even though I am not part of the medical profession, rescue profession, or familiar with mountain climbing, I found it both fascinating and entertaining. Dr. Vantilburg relays his experience as a rescue doctor in a manner that is technical and interesting, but not too weighty in medical jargon. The stories are fascinating recounts of local rescues that balance tension with eloquent descriptions of natural beauty. I wanted to keep reading after the last story ended.

Our community is fortunate to have the Crag Rats as a rescue team, and I am grateful Dr. Vantilburg made me aware of this fine group of men and women. The book carefully describes the dedication, skill, and fitness each member must maintain so that we can be a little safer exploring the wilderness. It also brings to light the ongoing discussion as to who should be financially responsible for rescues that tax local resources and funding.

I recommend this book to anybody who is interested in outdoor recreation as it captures the wonder of the outdoors, but also delivers a cautionary warning as to what can go wrong if one is not prepared.

Wilderness medicine is the art and science of practicing medicine in unpredictable and sometimes extremely harsh environments, as found in the mountains at high altitude, at sea during expeditions to remote reefs or under the harsh sun of an equatorial desert. It is not for the faint of heart and requires a willingness to endure isolation, limited resources and physical and emotional hardship.

Most tales of search, rescue and wilderness medicine begin with an account of how the victims got into trouble. Sometimes they venture into inclement weather without having thought about how to prepare a shelter or what to do if they become injured or lost. Sometimes it's just plain bad luck, as the forces of nature conspire to produce an unanticipated storm or avalanche.

Christopher Van Tilburg, M.D. offers a collection of tales about mountain rescue in Oregon, where he is a member of the Hood River Crag Rats, reputed to be the oldest mountain rescue team in the United States. As an emergency physician and an expert in many aspects of wilderness medicine, he is well qualified to be part of such a team; as a skilled writer, he engages, informs and entertains the reader.

Van Tilburg's stories are highly personal, each describing the setting and events of an actual rescue. In river parlance, that is the main run - but as anyone knows who has floated the Colorado River within the Grand Canyon, there is much to be learned from the side hikes. Brief literary forays are scattered throughout Mountain Rescue Doctor as Van Tilburg shares his thoughts on what it means to be a physician, how he became an aficionado of wilderness medicine and how he depersonalizes rescue situations. He discusses topics such as injury prevention, rescuer and physician liability, and the risks, rewards, appropriateness and ethics of rescues. One of the questions I am most frequently asked by medical students and residents-in-training is how they can work wilderness medicine into their future as busy clinicians. Now I can suggest this book as an example of how one doctor answered his calling. Mountain Rescue Doctor is a useful addition to the literature of wilderness medicine because it sheds light on one doctor's motivation in devoting a large part of his professional life to this dynamic and essential specialty.

As an EMS volunteer, I've participated in a few rescues myself, but none as difficult or dangerous as described in this book. Van Tilberg's stories make for compulsive reading. He does an excellent job of explaining the difficult thought processes behind the amazing number and variety of life-and-death decisions that rescuers must make on every mission. This is a worthwhile and exciting read.

I have several books written by Dave Gerr.
In This book, He explains many things what boat builders,designers and other boat related professionals should know ..

If my wife read this book, she would divorce me instantly, as she would understand why a Nautically Obsessed person will never change, and will get worse as time goes by.....

Honestly, this book made me realize there are others like me that can't stop thinking about boats and the ocean! It feeds the fire burning in your soul and loads you up with all kinds of facts, concepts, and the author's experience to send you off to the drawing board, the boat show, or maybe West Marine. Great writing and a flow of information that will make you not want to let it down until you've committed to memory. While you're at it, get "Elements of Boat Strength" also. Highly recommended!

Great book for all the same reasons listed by all the other reviews. However I have one to add. At a party, try reading the section titles out loud in a somewhat suggestive tone. It will astound you how almost every single section title can be read literally or perverted. Whether or not the author meant this to be the case he accomplished it quite well as there are many- many sections.

I love books on how things work, and I love books on boats. This one is a great combination of both. It covers a lot of naval architecture subjects and all in just the right depth for the interested novice.

The book begins with a review of different types of hulls and their advantages and disadvantages. That is followed by my favorite section which is the one on the theory of naval architecture - the parameters and how they affect the problem space. After that there is another good section about how to understand a drawing of a hull and relate that to performance characteristics of the boat. Engineers love to talk about tradeoffs and this book covers that really well, including topics like stability and roll resistance, hull strength versus shape and many others.

There is a lot more, but I don't want to spoil the ending, so I will just say that if you are interested in boats as an engineer, sailor or purchaser, then you need to read this book.

Subtitled Insights and Esoterica for the Nautically Obsessed, this book is a direct hit on its intended audience. Read it once through quickly, then enjoy it over and over again like a favorite song, and you will learn an amazing amount about every sort of boat an individual is likely to own or dream about. Gerr covers design and construction, sails and motors, and boats from homemade paddleboat to liveaboard oceangoing cruiser either motor and/or sail, and everything in between. He covers more about boats than you could imagine he would, and writes wonderfully.
It is difficult to say in a few words how useful, or how enjoyable, this book is. I love it.

This man is a genius, as much as for what he leaves you to imagine as for what he writes. Great entertainment.

I have always thought that Patrick McManus is the funniest writer on the planet. I read his stories when I need to laugh or relax. Sometimes I irritate my wife by reading it in bed. I try not to laugh out loud, but I only succeed in sounding like I am trying to muffle continuous sneezes.

However, not everyone gets it. I have been shocked by watching people read McManus without so much as a smile (though most start snorting like wild pigs on acid) . My only guess is that getting McManus requires a couple things. First, it requires some understanding of his experiences. He absolutely nails all of the stupid things 'outdoors men (outdoors people)' do and think, but don't want anybody to know about. Second, you have to see the self-deprecating aspect of his humor. Third, you can't look for great literature in integrated books. Patrick McManus is an excellent writer, if you see these as independent stories simply collected in a volume. They are meant for adults who want to laugh at themselves. So, If you are willing to or already meet the above three criteria, you will love this book.

By the way, I am a professor of clinical psychology and (other than worrying a little about McManus) I sometimes recommend this and other McManus books. I do this with people who have racing thoughts and anxiety at bedtime, and when I believe they have the necessary experiences to find it funny. It often works quite well. I think of his stories as little pieces of happiness. (Oh, that even makes me sick to hear. Sorry)

This is the second collection of stories by Patrick F. McManus that I have read, and while he is compared to many notable names on the jacket, and I compared him to other humorists I like the first time I read his work, he deserves to stand on his own. It is not an issue of his being as good, nearly as good, or better than another humorist. He is unique and very special, Mr. McManus is an original.

I think the title of this collection, "Never Sniff A Gift Fish", is unfortunate for no such activity takes place within the book. Not unlike the dozens of stories on hunting and fishing, all he generally brings back from an outing is new humor; he apparently catches and shoots virtually nothing. As I mentioned after reading his first book, his friends will stop by and ask that he not even think about whatever it is they are off to hunt or fish while they are off doing it. He has said he is so bad entire states have banned him, as he can single handedly destroy tourism for a state, and no one will lend him small motorized machines as he invariably causes them to cease to function.

This collection is much earlier than the first that I read, and the stories contain wonderful bits about his childhood, and also as a new husband and a father. These are great stories, many that include his young family and virtually everyone is G-rated, place them on film and they would probably be made by Disney. This is great reading, great fun and wonderful humor totally lacking in pretense or show. If this man records his stories on tape I might break a rule that has never been broken, that of listening to an author as opposed to reading his book. And I don't hunt or fish, neither activity is necessary to enjoy these tales as they are about human behavior, his humans are just generally outside.

NEVER SNIFF A GIFT FISH
By: Patrick F. McManus

Have you ever heard of a great outdoorsman? You know, the one whose fly-casting technique can be compared to an old lady fighting off a bee with a broom handle. Or maybe the one whose attempts to pitch the family tent terrorized entire campgrounds. Well, for those of you who haven't heard of him, this book, will give you a little insight into the life of the great outdoorsman. Never Sniff A Gift Fish, is a great source for those useful camping phrases. Here are some of them.

Corn Flakes: A common camp food. Often eaten dry with salt and pepper since no one thought to bring milk.

Camping manuals: Books filled with ingenious camping tips which are forgotten the instant the camper sets foot in the field. "I read about a way to cook a chicken with a camera lens and a wire clothes hanger, but I can't remember how," he says. "Better just fry it."

Downwind: Whichever side of the campfire you happen to be on.
And who could forget "When hell freezes over": An expression used by wives and mothers to indicate the next time you'll get them to go on another camping trip.

This book is a hilarious combination of philosophy and fishing, all rolled into one. I loved the book, and I would definitely recommend this book to any outdoorsman, great or not, that has a sense of humor and a sense of what the author is going through.

i first theses books when i was ten years old and i haven't stopped yet.. we only have four books but i intend to get more of the books.. they are funny.. i like the one where he goes hunting on his bicycle and gets the deer stuck on the pedals.

Rec'd book on time; cheaper than area bookstores. This is not the first time I purchased items from Amazon and I plan to continue. Great job! Thanks!

This is a book that you'll love. There's a lot of things to learn in it and some terms you probably can't listen anymore. A perfect book for a really baseball fan !

This is a book that you'll love. There's a lot of things to learn in it and some terms you probably can't listen anymore. A perfect book for a really baseball fan !

This baseball dictionary is clear, concise and helpful, particularly for people like me. I love baseball, but when I was growing up, girls weren't raised on sports, so I became a fan with sketchy knowledge of the rules and nuances of the game. Since I bought this book, I've learned a lot about pitching maneuvers, stats, history of the sport, slang terms and dozens of other things that make baseball more and more interesting to watch. I'm very glad I own it.

In baseball, what is a crackerjack? A cradle? A drawing Card? Feel the apple means what? What happens when you go to the pump? Who made up Murderers' Row? Open the New Dickson Baseball Dictionary and you'll find out.

This A to Z complete listing of baseball term is about the best book on the subject there is. Paul Dickson has put together over 570 pages of facts, terms, definitions and trivia that are sure to please every baseball fan.

Filled with over 100 photos and illustrations you are sure to find just about every baseball word you can think of. Also included are a thesaurus, a section of abbreviations and a fully annotated bibliography.

The baseball purest is sure to love this book as a gift, and it is priced to meet most budgets. Overall this book is great reading and makes the perfect handy reference book!