Sports Books

I was expecting some good, useful information from this book. Oh yes, it has that and much more, with an eye toward stout, functional and practical boats and building methods. What surprised me was the wit and excellent humor while the author spins the occasional yarm or tale about this or that method and why he will or will not use them, a few sea stories and history through his eyes. Hillarious, informative and immensely practical. I'd have it on my shelf even if I never touched a boat.

RadioRay ..._ ._
s/v Milenka
Virginia - USA

Buehler's Backyard Boatbuilding is a magnificent guide to thinking about the craft of boatbuilding, and a paen to the days of self sufficiency. There's a gleeful contrarian bent to this book, and Buehler's muscular 'sticktoitiveness' is nothing short of infectious. Halfway through the book I was levitating off the couch shouting, "You gotta believe!"

Buehler is a delightful pain in the arse. He recounts the various sins of modern boat designers, who, in the pursuit of creating a "boat for everybody" succeed in designing breakdown-prone 'hangar queens' that cost a fortune and satisfy very few. Buehler believes in designing them stone-simple and rock-solid. In his engine spaces you will actually have space to replace a secondary fuel filter in a seaway--try that in a modern production boat! A Buehler boat is built around the people (usually a couple) who will actually sail and use it. Buehler has harsh words for designers who compromise their interior spaces to fit around the visiting Hendersons and Joneses.

His designs, by his own admission, lack polish. I would more charitably say that he asks prospective builders to re-imagine polish. Yes, he uses loads of plywood and hot-dipped galvanized steel and home-grade lumber. This isn't "polished" in the traditional sense. But it does harken to the days of wooden ships that got their crews of iron men home safe in greasy weather, fresh winds, and foul tides. Survivability, maintainability, mean times between failure--those are elements of performance. Performance is its own polish!

I can't recommend Buehler enough. I've read and re-read this book and it's fueled more than one fantasy boat. For my money, this is the best money you can spend. Even if you don't buy into his particular designs, you'll be armed with a whole new attitude and know what to look for when you build someone else's boat.

The content of "Buehler's Backyard Boatbuilding" provides a structured, step by step, method for the construction of a single-chine workboat. The construction methods tend to focus on less expensive materials and methods for builders with relatively little experience. It effectively outlines virtually all elements of construction, from laying a keel and casting a concrete ballast, to rigging and wiring. The book provides an extremely important reference material to any boat builder; even, to a lesser extent, those constructing round-bilge boats. With a multitude of pros, excellently identified in the other reviews posted here, I will address some of the shortcomings I encountered with the materials.

Mr. Buehler included an in-depth treatment of concrete cast ballasts, however, he did not introduce other techniques, namely lead casting, in any significant detail. For the majority of his designs and builders, concrete ballasts work just fine, however, this may not carry through for some builders, other non-Buehler designs, and those using this book as a reference material.

I noted a few examples of his boats posted for sale and noted, as pointed out in other posts, that the boats do not appear to sell for much more than the cost of their materials. While you should not expect a valuable yacht quality result, their design employs massive timbers and does produce an extremely sturdy vessel.

He addresses the lofting process in an incredibly simple and brief manner. It provides an excellent introduction to the process and, unlike most other treatments, won't scare a first time builder. Unfortunately, the description does leave out a lot of advanced techniques. For the projection of the transom, frame curves, and bearding lines, etc. turn to Howard Chapelle's more difficult treatment in "Boatbuilding", as Mr. Buehler suggests.

The single most significant shortcoming I find in Mr. Buehler's work involves the exclusion of smaller boats. He includes plans for a 28' and 35.5' cutter, a 43' schooner, a 42' marconi cutter, 34' basic powerboat, 30.333' powerboat, 50' 3 or 1 mast sailboat, and finally a 55.333' powerboat.

He provides excellent and complete, although small, plans for all of these vessels; an outstanding value. Unfortunately, many builders turn to Mr. Buehler's book for a simple and straightforward construction method because of amateur/intermediate experience. The large boat designs frequently run directly counter to this. While Mr. Buehler does an excellent job of encouraging builders, many newer builders cannot justify an expenditure of several thousands of dollars on something without near certain success. A simple remedy for this would include a simple 15-20' design, allowing builders to hone their skills and make their mistakes on something far less expensive.

This said, he does include a full set of building plans, complete enough for a first time builder, for the "Happy Camper of Pogo Pogo" a beautiful 16' schooner on his site. Unfortunately, a recent, massive increase in their price, from $195 to $395, will likely place them out of reach of many first time builders.

While I focused primarily on the few shortcomings in "Buehler's Backyard Boatbuilding", I believe that all, but the most advanced builders will find the information invaluable. The inability to find lower priced plans for a 15-20', chine, heavy displacement boat might force a newer boatbuilder to some of the instant, keel-less, light displacement boat designs promoted by Harold Payson and, in particular, Jim Michalak.

This book is just what it says a book on building a boat at home yourself. If your interested in building a boat you need this book. He directs most of this book towards large boats 30 to 60 feet but you can apply alot of this to smaller craft. He explains how you can build cheap and substitue materials to save money.

This is fine reading and a must for all considering building your own boat. As we say in the Elevator Trade, "That man know more tricks than a two-dollar ho!", ho ho Merry Christmas. Book is full of useful info and the book list in back is also how I found Harold "Dynamite" Payson's book 'Boat Modeling'...for building small versions from any plans using real boat building techniques. Buehler is a winner.

This book is broken down into 70-something wonderful pearls of wisdom and advice-some practical, some nurturing, and some just pointing out where we can appreciate the "now". I would recommend this book for anyone, especially if you have a shorter attention span (each chapter is 2-3 pages), or if you're short on time (you can read a chapter at a stoplight or in line). Excellent insight and wisdom!

A friend of mine gave me "Creating a Charmed Life" last year and told me that she used it to read a chapter at a time to her staff at work. I found myself reading each chapter or essay in a similar manner and enjoyed it very much. So this Christmas I bought two copies to give to friends with the same advice. It has a calming effect in the harried life.

I spotted this book when I was going through a particularly difficult period in my life. (I read the book and truly felt inspired to make changes and to become more accepting of myself and others. I refer to the book all the time-it's like my own little pocket guide to life. Yes, I bleieve in God and have faith but I'll admit, I waiver. I grew up in a house where my mother did not have the skills or confidence in herself to be able to enjoy her own life or teach her daughters to enjoy theirs. If I am lucky enough to have children I will make sure I teach them these principles. Thank you, Victoria Moran for helping me wake up and enjoy life.

I have read this book and loved every chapter!....and I am purchasing a dozen, one for every female on my Christmas list, friends, neices, mother-in-law, setp-mom, etc..... I feel relieved that I am not the only female who feels this way. I especially like Chapters 8, 12, 31, 44....all of them ! This is the book you will read over and over again !!!! Thank you Victoria !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Debbie

This can be useful: to keep this book on your shelf and open it to a fun suggestion at random. It lists ways to treat yourself as a way of reminding yourself to be good to yourself at regular intervals.

But it may only work if you're a very girlie kind of gal: this is something I don't usually notice unless it's very pronounced as it is here. The author's idea of a good time is to dress up with hat and gloves and call all her best girlfriends and go out for a traditional English tea and then to get pampered at the neighborhood spa. I myself would find that a total ordeal!

So, even though she has some good insights, she and I don't have much in common, and this book struck me as more outer-oriented and materialistic than her Lit From Within book, which I would recommend, and which concentrates on inner peace.

I recommend this as a reference for anyone interested in Iaido/Iaijutsu. One word of caution, though: there's many schools of Iaido, so some of the material presented herein will or will not apply to your particular school. However, the background and philosophy material are applicable throughout.

It is a great reference for anyone who wants to learn about martial arts history, bushido or start in Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu Iaijutsu. Highly recommended!

...Let's face it everyone. You are not going to learn the kata from this book. The book is helpful for remembering them by Name and by Bunkai, helping you keep the cirriculum sorted out in your head, but to learn the kata correctly you will need instruction from a sensei. If there is no chance of instruction, like no dojo within a long distance, I recommend all you self-teachers purchase the MJER videos from the 'Sei Do Kai online catalog'. These are the best videos on MJER I've ever seen, with superbly detailed demonstrations and bunkai. Without the demonstrations and descriptions by a teacher on a video like that, you have no hope of gaining even mediocre mastery of the system without personal instruction.

For those who are recieving instruction the book is perfect, since the kata descriptions are mostly for reflection after being taught firsthand. As mentioned by the other reviewers, the best aspects of Flashing Steel are the Philosophy section and the Kihon. These will help you learn the purpose and fundamentals of Iaijutsu, but for the kata, this or any other book will always be insufficient on their own.

I give the book five stars because it is definitely a great read and reference, but don't buy this thinking it is all you need to master Iaijutsu. Too many people make that mistake. Just look at YouTube.

A well written book with good hints for those who are well qualified in Iaido and just need some very details about the Katas. The book covers all levels and all major Katas. Probably due to size limitations the number of pictures are less than enough to follow in detail the actions. The posing helping staff in the pictures are beginners which greatly hinder the understanding of the real meaning of the bunkai (applications).

If you are, or ever have been interested in the art of samurai sword fighting, this book is definately for you! It has great introductory chapters discussing the samurai/eishin-ryu-jutsu philosophy and way of life, as well as excellent instruction on cutting techniques. It gives you a new respect and outlook on life, and teaches you to truly respect your katana; if, in fact you have one; as an entity of its own, as well as an extension of yourself. If you have ever been interested in samurai swordsmanship, BUY THIS BOOK!!!!

Gincy Self Bucklin is the trainer I wish I had had all these years I've spent riding! I have been training with qualified instructors for 18 years, and I have still learned SO much from this book. I cannot say enough about this book and its sequel. This book is wonderful and it FAR exeeded my expectations. I only wish I had these books when I first began riding - I could have saved so much time, trouble and bad habits!

I reccommend this book to everyone who rides and loves horses, whatever level, whatever style. I first bought it because, in my youth having ridden wonderfully kind horses that pretended like I knew how to ride, I wanted to get back into riding when I was in my late fifties. After a year of lessons with a well-qualified instructor, the school horse I was riding got fed up with my mistakes and sent me sailing. Two operations and two years of physiotherapy later, I went back, just to make a point. It took me a year to get back to about where I was before the accident. Then I hit a block. I didn't seem to be making any progress, in spite of two or three lessons a week. That is when i read this book and a lot of lights came on. Gincy's "active hand" transformed an irritated,head-tossing horse to a calm, attentive partner. Once I grasped her explanation of lateral centering, the horses I rode stopped cutting corners. My instructor and the people I ride with started paying me compliments on my position and my progress. I continue to read and reread her books, and the lights are still coming on. Some people may complain about the detail, but if that's the particular problem you're working on, you want all that detail. Someone commented that Gincy writes for instructors, to help them be better teachers, but if you don't have an instructor, or if he knows it all and doesn't think he has to read books, students can learn directly from the book. As Gincy mentions, many instructors know what you should be doing, but don't know how to explain to a student how to do what is an automatic reflex for an advanced rider. It's certainly helped me to understand why my instructor was always saying "shoulders back, heels down!" etc. I reccommend it to my friends, but as someone else mentioned, it's not a book you can lend, because it doesn't come back. And perhaps the best thing about the book is Gincy's wonderful attitude towards horses and understanding their behavior. I found that Gincy accomplishes everything she set out to do in her introduction.

How Your Horse Wants You to Ride: Starting Out, Starting Over

If our horses could have a verbal conversation with us, it would be about how they want us to ride on their backs. So, if that is the information you are looking for, this book will do that for you. Coming to horses late in life, with only weekend trail riding and no ownership in my background, learning to train my horse and ride her has, at times, been overwhelming. All bad habits that horses have are from bad training, not from stubbornness or naturally occurring mean spiritedness. Every interaction we have with our horses teaches them something, good or bad. Gincy is a patient person, I know from interacting with her on her Riding with Confidence list group on Yahoo. She has great insights into muscle memory, fear, breathing, etc. and the way those things cause horses to react in one way or another. How Your Horse wants you to ride is not a quick fix answer. It is deep and thoughtful requiring work on the part of the owner/rider. The reward is as great and worth striving for. After all, if you have a horse, you want to have fun with it, not be fearful of it.

This book has inspired me to work on bareback exercises this summer to retrain my balance. I'm sure my horse will thank me. Having ridden with the author when I was a teenager (40 years ago), I remember the value of the bareback riding after this book reminded me. I have tried to read Sally Swift's "Centered Riding" but just didn't engage me. This book has and I will be applying the lessons to myself.

I started riding quite late in my life and this book has been a great help to me. Whenever I encounter a problem I consult it again and it always gives me new ideas which work. I like especially the mixture of at home, on the ground and on the horse exercises. You can try basics safely first before you mount your horse. I am a Western rider and although its focus is English riding I was able to use it.

When it comes to martial arts, kendo is my second choice after karate. If you plan to enter a kendo dojo, read this book first. It introduces you to the world of this great art and makes you want to practice it even more. I recommend you the both: to read the book and to perform the art.

Anticipating the start of Kendo classes, I ordered this book to get an overview of what to expect, what to do, and how to do them. The book is well translated by Angela Turzynski, and makes for a quick, easy read. Segmenting the chapters into snippets is perfect for one studying, and not looking to get an overly drawn-out explanation of procedure and custom.

Not looking to memorize the entire book, I went through the book rather quickly to pick up the basics and have a small understanding for the first lesson. Upon entering the class, after the first practice the sensei asked me if I had studied Kendo before, which I had not. I attribute this compliment to "Kendo-The definitive guide". When I learn something new, I can also come back to the book and review in more detail what the move entails without having to drag the class down with questions.

In the appendix you can even study scoring, refereeing, terminology, and get a list of Kendo associations near you.

The book has good illustrations to show you the different strikes and the katas for Kendo. This is a good suppliment for any new student to help review what they learned in the dojo. It is also good for experts to have the names of the techniques and the rules for the tournaments. The book is a complete guide. The Heart of Kendo and Kendo: Elements, Rules and Philosophy is good if you want to know the history of Kendo.

This guide is a must have for any kendoka, with correct and up-to-date information on the IJKF rules, techniques and theory. I highly recomend it.

but still a very good guide yes... i have very much intrest in kendo but don't have the chance to do it here... no clubs near or far... i do iaido that is... and i can imagine how it must be...


but then again, i can not really tell if it's a good book for people with years of experience...

I am an avid cyclist and have ridden across the US. Many chapters were excellent and the book is full of quotable quotes. The book is a little uneven in the level of interest it generates from one chapter to the next and I could have done with less of the Metal Cowboy's political views. Overall, I would recommend it to friends and family.

This book is about cycling, raising kids, and finding out after you're an adult that there is more growing up to do--things I've done recently.
I laughed harder and cried harder. I wanted badly to hop on my bike and ride off into the night--but I couldn't put the book down long enough to get on my bike.
Most importantly, after reading this, you will learn the answer to the question: What bike would Jesus ride?

If you are not familiar with the Metal Cowboy, I encourage you to read this book. If you're tired of all the negativity the daily news lays in your lap, then read "Momentum..." to reinforce your belief in the goodness of most people and the joy they can bring into your life.

The Metal Cowboy and his posse of two (his very young sons) ride their bicycles across the country seeing important national sites such as the world's largest ball of twine; and, more importantly, meeting and introducing you to real characters who will make you smile at the things they do and say, and who will renew your faith in America and her people. Two people I met in the book, Stacy and Benny, helped me close a tragic chapter in my life with a smile instead of a tear. And two others, Joe's young sons, renewed my faith in the future of our country.

I recommend you visit the Metal Cowboy on the Internet. He's every bit as fascinating as the real people he introduces you to in his books. And if you're looking for adventure, travel, interesting characters (who are real people), and good writing read this book.

This is easily one of the best books I have read in years. As the father of two young boys, I am amazed that Joe even entertained the idea of riding cross country with his sons, much less actually doing it.

One of the few books that have actually made me laugh out loud. Momentum is Your Friend is typically catagorized under the "Sports" section but would be just as comfortable resting in the "Humor", "Travel", "Self-help", or "Parenting" sections. If you are a parent, cyclist, adventurer, or just somebody looking for some great writing, you will love this book!!!!!

Young father pedals across America with his two sons. It sounds grueling. It was, but the way Joe writes, we get to experience both the exhaustion and the pleasures of the ride. With his 250 pounds of "dead weight" in back, he goes up and over mountains, and battles winds and storms, and manages to keep his sense of humor.

His parenting from the front of the caravan (Joe pedaling in front, kid sort of pedaling behind him, kid riding in trailer) makes me wish I'd read this much earlier in my life.

He's a great writer with a fascinating topic.

Nice, colorful, easy to read and has 40!!! stickers, which are the most important part after the kid reads the book. Organized in one full book.

I have recommended these books to all of my friends. They have helped my 4-year-old (born October) read and he LOVES to read them every day, twice a day. He can read sentences with ease like "I want a plane and a crane" or "The hot dog is on a log." In a matter of one month he's learned to read. The stickers offer a great incentive and make it so much fun for him. I have bought these for kids birthday presents (they have enough toys already, right!) and have 5 of them at my home. I wish there were more!

Great for blossoming readers. My kindergartener is really enjoying these funny short books. He loves seeing what happens next as he sounds out new words. My only complaint is that in this series as well as the level 3 the font isn't appropriate for new readers. The "g" is cursive looking & is very confusing. Don't know why that changed from the pre-readers & level 1&2, disappointing.

The best way to expose your child to reading. My daughter reads a couple books on most nights and she has improved dramatically over the past months. She enjoys reading the stories and putting a sticker on each time she does. Every parent that cares about education should get these books for their kids.

I bought this for my 4 yr old after having used the first two sets of Bob Books (scholastic). Now I'm Reading!: Amazing Animals is an excellent next step! Amazing Animals introduces long vowel sounds and vowel pairs (digraphs) in managable chunks.

This set is great for kids who are intimidated by the usual graded learning-to-read books (like Danny and the Dinosaur) or books which rely on the repitition of longer sight words.

Younger readers benefit from these short funny texts with lots of words worthy of sounding out. The illustrations and vibrant colors have kept my dughter enthused through out.

Young children can learn to read too with patience and these great books.

One of my students wrote the following review:
If you are a baseball fan you should read this book. This book is about a kid with a power. He can go back in time. He goes to 1919 to make the White Sox win the World Series by not letting Shoeless Joe Jackson take money. What will happen next?
It was so fun to read it! I couldn't stop reading this book. It is a long book but it is fun when you read it. There are more books that this author wrote about baseball.
-Brian

The book I am reviewing is Shoeless Joe & Me written by Dan Gutman. I think this book deserves five stars because Dan Gutman doesn't stretch the book and he does not rush it. This book is about a boy named Joe Stoshack who can travel through time with baseball cards. The problem in this story is that when Joe had lost a game because of a bad call, he complains to the sponsor of his team, Flip Valetini. He says that it wasn't fair, and Flip tells him about the Black Sox sandal and Joe Jackson. Now he wants to fix it. But the rest... you will have to figure out. I would recommend this book to anyone from 3rd to 5th grade that loves fantasy books.

Shoeless Joe was a fun book to read. It was about baseball. He was a good player but did not have power. I liked this book because it was about baseball. He was a player on the White Sox. The story was in Chicago where Shoeless Joe was a famous baseball player.
The kid in the book went back in time. The boy wanted to meet Shoeless Joe, so he went to the store to buy the card. Then he packed his tooth brush and clothes. Then he went to his room. Then he hugged the card and went back to the past. This was the most exciting part of the book.

Shoeless Joe and Me is one of my favorite books! The book is about a kid who can Time-Travel by using Baseball Cards. He tries to go back in time to stop the Black Sox Scandal. The Black Sox Scandal was when 8 players on the White Sox were tricked by gamblers into losing the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds on purpose.

Even if you don't like Baseball, I'm sure you will love this book. I loved it SO much that I couldn't take my face away from the book. I recommend this book to ANYONE, as long as they love a good book. It is part of a series, which include:

Honus and Me
Jackie and Me
Babe and Me
Mickey and Me
Abner and Me
Satch and Me

Haven't you ever wanted to go back in time to prevent something that happened to you? Shoeless Joe Jackson was one of the best baseball players in 1919. His career was destroyed by a gambling scandal. Joe Stoshack was a young boy and he heard about the famous player from a guy named Flip who worked at the baseball card shop he always went to. Flip told Joe that Jackson was not allowed to make the Hall of Fame because of the scandal he was in. Flip gave him Joe Jackson baseball card and the little boy thought to himself what it would be like to go back in time to see what the scandal was all about and even maybe prevent it from happening. He thought if it works in movies then it should work now. The next day Joe Stoshack found himself going back to the 1919's and found Joe Jackson at the stadium. He talked to Joe and asked him to leave the game before it started. He told Joe if he didn't something bad would happen. He told Joe he came back from the future and he knew that if the great Joe Jackson did anything to lose this game, he would never get all the rewards he deserved. He wanted to prevent the "Black Sox Scandal" from happening so Shoeless Joe Jackson could get into the Hall of Fame.
I would rate this book a 5, on a scale of 5, with 5 being the best. Grades 4th and up would love it and its great family story.

This is the most revolutionary business book of the last twenty years! Not since Tom Peters masterpiece, "In Search of Excellance" has a book captured a message so profond, yet so simple. This book can change the course of American business and re-establish our country's confidance in corporate America. Timely, Powerful, Necessary!!!

During my 14 years as a business attorney I have seen clients rise and fall, succeed and fail - and one thing always stands out. The most successful clients are not threatened by the competition, have loyal employees and love what they do. I have read this book 3 times and it has helped me in reshaping my practice. Now, I give it to clients, especially those who have backed themselves into a corner and need the rest of the world to get out and succeed. Contact Sport lays it out clearly and the value system it presents works. As a business woman, I'm not crazy about the macho sports paradigm though. Not everyone does sports ball guys!

At first blush, Tom Richardson and Gus Viduarreta's book seems only to tell you things you already knew. I built a large computer-consulting firm (600+ employees) using many of the same principles described in the first chapters of the book. My first reaction was "Why do I need this book?" After reading it through to the end my feelings changed drastically: "Why didn't I have this book ten years ago?"
What Vidaurreta and Richardson do so well is provide an effective framework for organizing and harvesting a company's relationship management techniques - techniques that we all tend to use, but only in a haphazard and slipshod fashion. The book, in a practical "what to do on Monday morning" fashion, outlines how, with a little thinking and organization, you can vastly increase return on the relationship management techniques that you may already have in place. It then goes on to point out techniques you probably never thought of...
In my opinion a lotta bang for very little buck!!

I guess I'm one of the fortunate ones. I had the opportunity to work with Tom and Gus for a few years back when they first birthed Systems Consulting Group. I spent quite a bit of time with Gus and noticed from day one that he had an uncanny way with people. So I paid close attention and began to soak up all I could. I'm not wired like Gus is motivationally, nor am I gifted with his charismatic personality. I'm a software consultant, I'm still thrilled with the technical side of IT, and that's where I want to remain...but the competition is getting more and more fierce.

I recently discovered that Gus and Tom had written, "Business is a Contact Sport" so I rushed to Amazon[.com] and purchased it...more from curiosity than anything else. What I never would have realized had I not read the book was just how much I had gleaned from my time with them. I've actually been using many of their principles for more than a dozen years and greatly benefiting from them. I've had numerous long-termed engagements as I watched people with more expertise and more years of experience than myself being laid off. I've been able to cultivated relationships with key individuals at many of the clients I've worked at and have frequently been able to leverage these relationships into longer term or repeat engagements. Along the way I've always tried to help people in every way I could, even when I knew there would be no chance for reciprocation.

Maybe you're like me, you're not CEO material (or CRO for that matter) and you don't have the desire to IPO new companies, you're happy with your career but want a edge at being able to land the longer term or more lucrative job assignments. This new book is not just for the top executives, it's for the average person like myself who just wants a leg up in this new economy.

By the way, my wife and I attended the first Christmas party that SCG gave back in 1988, the one that cost 10% of that year's profits. They didn't have to invite me, they knew I'd never be a large source of income for the business, but they cultivated the relationship anyway. Relationships truly are circular aren't they...here I am fourteen years later giving a rave review on their book!

Of course you don't have to buy the book to benefit from their knowledge, you could begin your career under their tutelage like I did!

Kurt Sligh
Software Consultant

Tom Richardson and Augusto Vidaurreta, the founders of the Systems Consulting Group, have had tremendous success since the late 1980's using some of the obvious techniques necessary in business that we all know are important, but sometimes forget to practice. For the seasoned business professional BUSINESS IS A CONTACT SPORT easily defines and labels terms for the principals we know are important for us to succeed, but didn't know how to organize them to teach them to new entrants into the business world. Business leaders should read and develop a cheat sheet of the 12 principals and post it as a reminder of what we need to be doing each day. BUSINESS AS A CONTACT SPORT has been tested and passed with high grades from some of our best business schools. RAM, Relationship Asset Management and CRO, Chief Relationship Officer will become a standard in the evolving business world. Managers need to arms their sales staff with this book as well as department heads and HR personnel.

I could not put the book down.....fast reading and great stories and lots of humor.....one heck of a story teller....

Marty Appel served in the Bronx Bombers' public-relations office for nearly nine years, and was the PR director during the tumultuous early George Steinbrenner years (from 1974 to 1977). Appel's "Now Pitching For the Yankees" recalls the turmoil of that period -- and Appel's ability to function under pressure --with wit, a keen eye for detail and sensitivity.

None of the long hours Appel spent at the ballpark, the turmoil he witnessed, or the high-pressure tactics of owner Steinbrenner have dimmed his appreciation for his colleagues and bosses. It comes through in the pages of this warm, often touching memoir.

The boldface names are there -- including Steinbrenner, Mickey Mantle, Billy Martin, Joe DiMaggio and Reggie Jackson -- along with less-famous but pivotal Yankee characters like clubhouse man Pete Sheehy, team execs Michael Burke and Gabe Paul, and Appel's mentor in public relations, Bob Fishel. (It even mentions the writers: Appel's anecdote about one scribe's losing battle with bladder control in Boston is priceless.)

Appel also reflects on his vibrant post-Yankees career, including a bittersweet period with the Atlanta Olympics and a still-thriving stint as a baseball author (subjects include early baseball star King Kelly, former Commissioner Bowie Kuhn and former Yankee captain Thurman Munson).

"Now Pitching for the Yankees" is a good find for anyone who loves baseball, cherishes its history and appreciates the people behind the scenes who make it happen.

As a Red Sox fan, I was ready to read this and get whacked in the face with the hubris usually shown by anything Yankee. I was surprised by the balance shown. Marty Appel knows more about baseball than a lot of people running the game now. He was born about 30 years too late as people like Epsteil, Beane and Riccardi get to run ballclubs, while Mr. Appel 30 years ago had to come up through the ranks with Steinbrenner's Yankees no less. Mr. Appel also wrote an excellent biography on one of the first superstarts of baseball back in the 1800's--King Kelly. I recommend both books highly.

Only if you really know your New York sports would you realize that Marty Appel's in a much more unique position to write a tell-all book about the 1970s Yankees than many other athletes. During his progression over 10 years from Yankees' fan-mail gopher during the Horace Clarke years, to PR director during the 1976 World Series, Appel had once-in-a-lifetime encounters (with the likes of Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Mike Burke, Gabe Paul, George Steinbrenner and ... Oscar Gamble) every single day.

"Now Pitching...", finally out in paperback, shows Appel's origins as a Yankees fan when everyone else was rooting for the Brooklyn Dodgers, and how he turned his love for the game into a career (when everyone else was watching the NFL). Most of the book covers the Yankees from 1968 to 1976, Appel's reign. Although many of the stories are familiar to baseball readers from what seems like 100 other books, only Appel is giving you the inside view. Nowhere else will you get such insider detail about Oscar Gamble's infamous haircut, Sparky Lyle's theme music, or George Steinbrenner's management style.

The book flags a little -- only a little -- when Appel leaves the Yankees and makes his mark in other ventures, such as team tennis and local NYC broadcasting. The most interesting part focusses on Appel's brief fish-out-of-water turn with the 1996 Atlanta Olympics organizers.

Marty Appel's been a very lucky guy -- who else gets to be friends with both Mickey Mantle and Billie Jean King? "Now Pitching for the Yankees" is several cuts above your standard baseball autobiography.

Posted 5:49 p.m., December 12, 2001 - Bruce M.
If I may add another book to the list. The best baseball book that I've read this calendar year is Marty Appel's Now Pitching for the Yankees. Marty worked in the Yankees' public relations department from 1968 to 1977, and shares loads of funny and insightful stories about the CBS Yankees and the Yankees of the Steinbrenner Era. The book is well-written, flows smoothly, and strikes me as honest without "hatcheting" people in and around baseball. I'd recommend the book to both Yankee and non-Yankee fans.