Sports Books

This book is a great read for anyone interested in climbing Mt. Rainier. It seems targeted for beginner to mid-level climbers, as safety is plainly paramount. Let's not forget, Mike Gauthier is the Head Climbing Ranger at Mt. Rainier. When individuals get in trouble at Mt. Rainier, he very likely will be involved in their rescue.

The first part of the book is information about the mountain and the park. It is well written and easy to read. Even non-climbers will likely find this interesting. The latter part of the book is the actual route decriptions. They are properly brief, but descript enough to make sure the reader will be able to find their way.

This book is unique because the author approaches it as not just someone who has climbed all these routes, but more importantly someone who has been involved in years of rescues. Gauthier obviously has first hand experience climbing routes of all difficulty at Mt. Rainier, but his more valuable lessons have come from the years of rescuing. He has witnessed the mistakes climbers have made, and wisdom from those mistakes is clearly more valueable than uneventful ascents, regardless of how impressive. His writing very much encourages a trip to The Mountain, but at the same time he makes the dangers clear.

This book covers everything from routes (with maps, elevation gain, difficulty) to permit regulations, information on guide services and common mountain practices/courtesy. Definitely recommended, a quick read.

Read the reviews, perused the book and decided to buy 3, one for each of our cabins at Mt. Rainier. We get a lot of climbers, scramblers and hikers to our cabins near Ashford and they love the armchair reading.

I summitted Mt. Rainier in July, 2002, and bought this book beforehand. Pretty good book if you're looking to climb multiple routes on Rainier. Very imformative, and very well written. If you're heading out there to climb this beast, I'd definately recommend this book.

I'm not much of a mountain climber at all...Mount Rainier is one of the very few mountains I've ever stepped foot on. Mike's book was still highly entertaining to read for stories or general infactuation with climbing.

I'd sit on a high ridge somewhere in the park ([First] Borroughs Mountain and Plummer/Pinnacle Peaks are great places for that...) and just compare the pictures with the mountain...the routes are clearly marked and explained including all access trails and possible dangers. It's got a lot of personal and relative stories that, once more, amuse more than climbers alone.

The new edition also covers glaciers by Paul Kennard, the regional fluvial geomorphologist of that area. More medical advice and guide advice too--it covers a good range of Mount Rainier necessary information. It's one of the most (if not the top) personal books on climbing Rainier I've found.

Excellent. Having come from the 'nat.' horsemanship clinicianss, I found I was ready to know even more. Through the help of a new instructor who is 4th generation N. Calif. ranch (used to the vaquero ways) and who became appreciative of the Masters, I am starting a whole new exposure. It is wonderful! She rec'd this book and will add more as I go along. I am halfway into this book and already am realizing how much we can learn from our horses if we just slow down and pay attention to them and each one of their particular personalities and behaviours. It is teaching me even more respect. This instructor appreciates Ray Hunt but also the Masters and I'm not sure but I think she considers Ray Hunt up there in that category as well as Tom Dorrance (who was a neighbor when she was younger and a person whom she learned from as well.). I reccommend this book to every horse lover and rider. It to me is right up there in the classics for an adult just like the Black Stallion, Walter Farley books were right up there when I was a child. It is not as exciting as the Walter Farley books because it is not fiction, but it is a very worthy read. ~ Copperhorse 4 Fun

This is Colonel Podhajsky's story of his life, told in context of his relationships with his horses. Sometimes people tend to think that some of the currently popular "natural horsemandship" principles are either new, or apply only to western riding. However, Colonel Podhajsky talks in terms of true partnership and understanding with your horse from the perspective of classical European Dressage, and of course pre-dates the current popular "methods." Don't get me wrong, I am a fan of Pat and Linda Parelli, and feel that they, and others who are popular today, have done a lot to improve the lot of horses. They have also found a way to help the rest of us learn how to achieve the sort of relationships with our horses that Colonel Podhajsky describes in this book. This book is the story of a true master in every sense of the word. Don't miss it!!

This inspirational book is truly a classic, as are all of Podhajsky's writings. A timeless, enlightening book which should be read not only by dressage enthusiasts, but by all who are interested in the partnership between horse and rider.

Confused by all the hoopla around the "Natural Horsemanship" gurus these days? Find out what is the real thing by reading Alois Podhajsky's "My Horses, My Teachers." In fact, this book could be a sourcebook in Human Relationship, or Self-Help categories as well as any equine category. AP writes passionately about his relationships with his own gurus, the many horses who were lucky enough to cross paths with this kind, gentle, patient master of horsemanship. Reading this book one feels as if these stories are being told face to face with this beacon of horsemasters, sitting in his living room on comfortable couches. This is a must read for ANY horse enthusiast!

This is a intriguing book. An insight into to the man who managed to keep the Spanish Riding School going during World War II and convinve Patton to save the breeder stock at the end of the war. He speaks of the horses that he has riden and trained and what they have taught him! I have enjoyed the book, but some may find it a bit too intellectual. Those who ride, love horses or are interested in the behavior of horses will find this an most intersting and entertaining read!

I was raised in Southern California and now reside in Indiana. I could not be happier that Coach Wooden also called both places his home. Though he clearly is a midwesterner at heart---as am I now---his legend truly grew in Los Angeles.

As my title indicates, we need more coaches like John Wooden here in 2008. Can you imagine what the current crop of college ballers would be like if they had a mentor and role model like Wooden? He had depth, insight, was spiritual, a reader, a thinker, etc. This was not required, but he knew all these attributes were necessary to grow "student athletes" into successful players and adults. Even a hippie like Bill Walton, the antithesis to a noble, mature person like Wooden---respects and admires "Coach." Wooden knew how to reach all. His quotes---taken from other coaches, his father and his own mind---are ones to heed. I have the Pyramid of Success on my wall at work.

He hated dunking, showboating, selfishness, hedonism, etc. He'd loathe the brainwashing and lack of civility rampant on today's college and high school campuses.

This bio spans a wonderful, rich life, leaving no stone or thought unturned; no mind or theory unchallenged or ungrown.

A remarkbale living legend, G-d bless Mr. Wooden (who is still alive at the age of 97) and all he has done for the game and collegians everywhere.

John Wooden has figured out some of the secrets of life. And he passes them on directly, in a way that can be transformational for a reader.

John Wooden is a hero of mine. His own heroes include Abraham Lincoln and Mother Theresa. Like them, he is a treasure for all of us because his life and lessons demonstrate what it means to live to "our personal best" in a way that is simple, profound and so clear.

This book should be required reading in "Human Being 101".

We grow up hearing about the importance of developing " good character", not always knowing what it is, or just how to obtain it. All of Wooden's books give his personal guidelines for developing character and living a decent life, whether we are athletes, musicians, teachers, or anything else.
Wooden's teachings have stood the test of time. His life and those he has influenced are proof of that.
I use his wisdom for myself, and I pass it on to all my students. They all know who John Wooden is. His life blesses us all.

This is a great book to help any coach of any sport get a good feel for the right way to coach young players. Teach them good life lessons and skills. It gives an insight into a great coach and even greater man.

John Wooden is one of my heroes. When I was growing up, his teams were dominant, but more importantly, they made the game beautiful to watch. After he retired at the peak of his game, he quietly stepped off the stage. With the rush of books on leadership in the 1990's through the present, it was inevitable, and overdue, that folks take time to examine Coach Wooden's approach to leadership. This has led to a cottage industry in Wooden books.

This book is short, personal and focuses on life lessons learned from the narrative of Coach's life. It doesn't attempt to be weighty, just a good read, that imparts wisdom without hitting you over the head with it. It touches on each chapter of Coach Wooden's life, and particularly shows the infuence of his father, his high school and college coaches and his growth thru experience

This is a fun, easy read that leaves the reader wiser. Highly recommend

This book is for you. I belong to the former group and I suspect many golfers are in the latter. After reading the book it became clear to me once and for all which swing elements are non-negotiable, and which ones I can live with and work around, the negotiable. I heeded the author's advice and went through the whole book instead of skipping around and that vastly improved my understanding of the swing. The best thing about the lessons in the book, they work!

I have been playing golf for six years and have taken numerous lessons. Additionally, I have read countless instructional articles in Golf Digest and have had limited success. It always seemed like every time I tried a new move to "correct" my swing, I would improve for a few days and then fall back to my old habits and get very frustrated.

I purchased Joe's book, "The Negotiable Golf Swing" from Amazon about two months ago and read the book from cover to cover, rather than just glancing over the areas I thought would help my golf swing. I am glad that I read the entire book before I decided to try some of his drills and exercises.

After reading the book, I now understand why the golf ball slices, hooks, pulls and pushes. So when I am practicing on the range, I can now take the necessary steps to correct my ball flight, instead of just hitting ball after ball and hoping to correct my problem.

I suffer like most golfers do, with the over the top move, and hitting the ball from outside to in. Joe's simple explanation of how to correct the over the top move has helped me immensely. I am now able to hit the ball from the inside and I am using less effort then before and I am hitting the ball solid.

The book is very well illustrated which has really helped me understand how to correct my swing path and to have me swing from the inside to out instead of outside to in. Once I corrected my swing path, I was able to hit the ball straight and also gain some distance. The illustration and explanation on page 129 is my favorite, it shows you that "from a player's prospective, it appears that it would be impossible to hit a ball if the angles are maintained this late in the downswing. This lag creates clubhead speed and power." This illustration and explanation has helped me convince myself to trust his advice and to maintain the angles and lag.

I would recommend this book to golfers who have become frustrated with their golf swing and have considered quitting the game. Read the book from start to finish and do not jump from chapter to chapter. Also, have an open mind and try his drills and exercises on the range for a month or two. It will be well worth the time and effort you put in at the range, before you try it out on the course.

Thanks Joe for making golf fun again.

The Negotiable Swing is, by far, the most straight-forward and informative golf instruction book I've read to date. The concept of "negotiable" vs. "this way is the only way" is long over due, particularly because one size does NOT fit all. The illustrations are top notch. For any golfer (even a lefty like me)who wants to think out of the box, this book is for you. It has been said that "tradition is the enemy of progress." The Negotiable Swing is certainly a break with tradition...in a very positive way.

I purchased this book because it had several reviews with 5 stars. I have to agree with them! Joseph Laurentino does a marvelous job in breaking down the swing into negotiable and non-negotiable details. He writes in an easy to read manner and I have already benefited from his book in my iron play from one chapter in the book. Finally my iron shots have stopped pulling left of the target and I am more able to hit greens for GIR's and thus pars and maybe birdies. I was able to shoot a career best round of 90 at a local course two weeks ago (I am a 44 year old, 20 handicapper). I highly recommend this book for any golf nut, 5-35 hndcp.

This is the Best golf instruction book! The author allows you to be an individual and shows you how to make your swing work. Just the section on chipping is worth the price of the book. It's probably the first book I've read cover to cover in 10 years. I'm reading it again because there is so much good info that I want to get it all. The instruction has taken much of the stress off of my swing and allowed me to really start enjoying golf for the first time in the 40+ years that I've been playing. There is so much good and understandable info that this is a must read if you want to play better.

I could not find this book anywhere until I ordered it through amazon. And when I say no one had the NOAA dive manual I mean no one, my favorite dive shop listed it as out of stock so did Barnes and Noble and Hastings where all out of stock with no definitive stocking date.But as soon as I looked at Amazon.com for the publication they had it and shipped to me very quickly.I was very impressed, so thanks again Amazon.com for your professionalism.

This book not only outlines diving processes and procedures, but also the scientific principles behind them. It is by no means light reading, but it you are looking to enhance your knowledge about diving, this is an excellent reference point.

I purchased this book to give me more information on the science of scuba diving for my Dive Con and Dive Instructor courses.

The book gives detailed information on the gas laws, decompression theory as well as information on various forms of diving from contaminated water, tri mix, nitrox etc. The book is very well written and very clear.

If you are interested in get truly advanced knowledge of the effects of scuba diving on the body, I would highly recommend this book even though it is a little on the expensive side.

You can find all the explanations you need for those difficult issues related to diving. Excellent presentation, Beautifully illustrated. Easy to understand. If you want or need to go farther in your understanding of diving, you should get this book.

I sincerely feel that the NOAA Diving Manual should be a required text for anybody who is a diving professional. The information presented is valuable to all divers: recreational, technical, scientific, and commercial. I refer to this text often and bring it to all classes I work.

If you want to read about Piscator, Venator, milkmaids, and the rising of huge trout to those "little sailboats", this is not the book for you. If you are stuck in Yellowstone, New Zealand, or the Catskills and are complaining about the hatches while striving for the nature experience, this book is not for you. However, if you are a city bound angler needing to feed his urges, this is a good read. You will enjoy the stories as you gain insight on how to get out and rise to angling bliss when stuck in the concrete valleys. Arelt and O'Kelly have arranged the road trip for the forty-something urban angler.

I'm not a big reader, but I picked this up on a whim cause I used to like to fish and am now stuck in a big city. I really enjoyed the book.

I really liked this book, let me tell you why.

There's a passage toward the beginning of Dandelion Wine where the protagonist is lying on his back in the forest, squinting at the sun as it squeezed it's way through the leaves above him. It's a simple passage that effectively evoked the carefree afternoons of a young boy - it transports you to your own youth - and thereafter you read the book as if you are Douglas Spaulding. Similarly, by taking you along on his first fishing adventure as a child, Chris Arelt reminds you of the tension you feel when getting caught in a childish prank - you're now in synch with the authors as they walk you through their thirty years of piscatorial exploits.

The stories are fun and have a consistent mischevious bent, which for me, strikes home. When I went fishing as a kid, I was always getting away with something. Maybe I snuck out of the house, or was smoking a cigarette, or well, doing something I wasn't suppose to be up to. The Offbeat Angler captures that spirit, and by doing that, captures the essence of fishing.

There are a lot of fishing guides out there that teach you how to land the big one. They're not for me. It was a hell of a lot more enjoyable to sit back & read some yarns that reminded me why I grew to like fishing to begin with. It was all about being young, having time, breaking rules and getting a breath of nature. The dream was catching that big one, but in reality there were a lot of rewarding afternoons where I can't remember if I even got a bite.

So, in many ways, it was enlightening to read this book. I've got kids of my own now, and when I take them fishing, we'll hop a fence, skid down a hill, and pass a no trespassing sign. Then I'll know they know what fishing can be all about.

Buy this book, you'll be glad you did. I'm keeping an eye out for the sequel.

This book is a delight for anyone who has ever gone fishing, would like to, or simply enjoys good storytelling. Fish tales have often been prone to exaggeration, but these tales carry the ring of truth. The book can be enjoyed as separate and complete short stories, or savored as a whole. The authors have inspired me to pick up a fishing pole and go catch some fish.

After reading the reviews I was really looking forward to this book - what a disappointment. Don't the others who reviewed this thing ever leave their apartments? The stories and topics are pretty boring - and not at all well written. I found nothing "offbeat" about their "adventures." After years of angling and reading great books by people who understand the sport and nature, I am dumbfounded as to how others might find this book to be of any real value - especially 5 stars.

Fishing is connection with nature, which usually means the practitioner learns something about nature - this is the first fishing book I've read that calls a rock ledge an "escarpment" and brambles or thorns "pricker bushes". The authors also seem to think they were the first to ever trespass or to fish for carp in ditches or stripers from a rented rowboat. If the authors were talented storytellers perhaps they could turn these trips into something interesting, but this part of their craft is lacking.

If you want to read well written stories of offbeat angling, get some early Gierach books, not this one. Arelt and O'Kelly write in a breathless style, sharing sophomoric observations and their own opinions, which are neither enlightening nor fact based. Guys, Jane Fonda comes from a fly fishing family and she brought Ted Turner to the sport, so don't worry about her. Instead, worry that people in our society mistake what you do for literature.

I got this book to help with a drama camp that I was teaching. It helped me organize and plan in a way that kept the kids focused. They had a great time and so did I. I highly recommend this book.

This book is amazing. It gives great instructions for many fun games. The instructions are brief,but fun,and give enough information to make the games easy to implement. I have used the book twice for a group of kids, ranging in age from 9-14, and they have loved the activities! I've purchased a couple other similar books that were not nearly as fun and well-put-together as this one.

I bought this book to use to teach a drama class in my homeschool co-op, and I'm so pleased with the fun games and ideas for teaching basic drama concepts. The kids are loving all the games and I think that the games and exercises really spark their creativity.

I never take the time to write reviews for books but I had to for this one! EVERY activity is great--you don't have to search through picking and choosing. I know this will be an invaluable source for me in teaching drama to both elementary and high school students. Thanks to the author for such a great resource!

I purchased this book before I started teaching creative dramatics in Recreation deprtments teaching K-8. It was wonderful. I loved it. I would reccommend it to every teacher (theatre or not) it has wonderful classroom activities.

I read this book this past week during a cross country flight. I have been a Yankees fan since 1959 and have consumed almost every word written on the team. This publication is the very best of anything I have read on the team in the past 43 years. The writing took even familiar Yankees' lore to another level by digging beneath the surface to fully understand how being a Yankee impacted each and every one of the subjects even beyond their playing days. Regardless of the player's era, the author delivered a consistently enjoyable book that flowed and entertained at the highest level.

I think this is the best book that I ever read. I couldn't put this book down. This is a good book for die hard Yankee fans or just people who love baseball. Bill madden goes out to find players from past Yankee seasons. This is a good book I recommend this book for all baseball fans.

Baseball is a game of stories, and Bill Madden has transversed the United States to garner tales from a unique group of alumni, those who played for the New York Yankees through the twentieth century. The title is something of a misnomer. Some of Madden's subjects were never young Yankees. Reggie Jackson cut his teeth in Oakland, Lou Piniella caught fire in Kansas City, and Paul O'Neill even won a World Series ring in Cincinnati in 1990 before arriving at the East Coast. And even with the Yankee "lifers" interviewed for this work, many of the best remembered stories are about established ball players and their antics in their prime. Whitey, Mickey, Billy and Hank were hardly kids the night the Yanks trashed the Copa in 1957-in fact, it was Billy's 29th birthday that sparked the occasion. Yet this tale appears-more than once-among the multitude of memories along this nostalgic trail.

There are some interviews that actually do shed new light on Yankee history-or hagiography, if you will. Marius Russo's inclusion among Madden's subjects is fortuitous. One of the team's lesser known talents over the years, Russo, a left handed pitcher who joined the Yanks in 1938, was included in this work as one of the last living connections to the Iron Horse, Lou Gehrig. Russo sheds light on a remarkable Yankee pitching staff of 1939 remembered both for its depth and its sabermetrics. Seven starters finished the season with double figure wins: Ruffing [21-7], Hadley [12-6], Pearson [12-5], Gomez [12-8], Donald [13-3], Sundra [11-1], and Hildebrand [10-4]. Russo, added to the rotation late in the season [why?], went 8-3, including a 7-0 stretch in September. Russo would never win more than 14 games in any of his six Yankee seasons, but one of his most poignant memories involved fallout from the demise of Gehrig. When the Yankee team fell to fifth place in 1940, columnist Jimmy Powers of the New York Daily News reported that the entire team had been infected by Gehrig's "polio," as his affliction was then diagnosed. The report shook baseball and resulted in a $1 million lawsuit against the writer.

Another lesser-known Yankee interviewee was the observant bench jockey and reserve catcher Charlie Silvera, whose entire nine years of backing up Berra, Houk, and Howard produced only 429 at bats. Silvera recalls an obscure but impressive Casey Stengel accomplishment: winning five successive World Series with a depleted roster. The Yankees, under the rules of the day, carried two or three prospects who never made the team but counted against the 25-man roster. Silvera's recollections also highlight one of the secrets of the Yankee dynasty: a network of astute West Coast scouts who steered reports of promising young prospects to the East Coast Yankee front office that took such reporting seriously. Silvera as much as anyone recounts the awe that most players since 1920 have felt about donning the Yankee pinstripes. Silvera and others-including many of the household names--are as proud of their being Yankees as their personal stats as Yankees. In a year where Silvera, for example, did not get his first at bat until June 17 [1949], he still won his first of five consecutive World Series rings.

As all of the interviewed players wore Yankee pinstripes, it is hard at times to separate the individuals from the history of the team itself. And one era that Madden treats with considerable detail is the post 1964 Yankee decline. Some of the best interviews come from Yankees who played or managed through that ten year era: Yogi, Ralph Houk, Mel Stottlemyre, Joe Pepitone, Bobby Richardson, Ron Blomberg, and Bobby Murcer. There are many theories of the fall of the Roman Empire, nearly as many as to the decline of the Yankees in those years. The author and the players named above are in fair agreement that poor front office management [trading Roger Maris to St. Louis, for example], the failure of certain Yankee veterans to obey "one of their own," Yogi Berra, as manager, the free agent draft, the decline of the farm teams, and parity. One other applicable statistic: I looked up the 1965 Yankee roster, and discovered exactly one African-American in the starting lineup, Elston Howard [whose widow Arlene is the only non-player interviewed for this work], and one black pitcher on the staff, Al Downing.

As an interviewer Bill Madden is more Eddie Lopat than Vic Raschi. The questions arrive to the plate with a gentle thud in the catcher's mitt or get obscured in the dust in front of home plate. Madden has no problem getting his subjects to cry, but he is averse to making them squirm. Thus the free pass to Whitey "Slick" Ford, whose nickname comes from the old expression "city-slicker." Whitey's description of himself as a "professional drinker" in his playing days says nothing and says everything. It is no surprise he does not like to talk about Mickey and Billy, and Madden does not press.

But perhaps we should not be surprised that Madden is no Bob Woodward where investigative reporting is concerned. The author has covered the Yankees for a quarter century. I hardly think he would endanger the source of his bread and butter. It is in his vested interest in continue the legend, and he does this in a warm and congenial way. And we always have Jim Bouton for the hardball accounts.

Author Bill Madden has come up with a first rate book on significant Yankee players who have had distinguished careers with the team over the past several decades. The book reminds me of Roger Kahn's effort on the Brooklyn Dodgers of the early 1950's in which he traveled across the country to visit surviving members of that team. Madden has come up with a similar book on the Yankees with the only difference being the players that were interviewed didn't necessarily play on the same team. The oldest player interviewed by Madden was pitcher Marius Russo who concluded his career in 1946 with Paul O'Neill being the most recent Yankee included in the book. Madden interviewed the late Elston Howard's wife Arlene. Otherwise the book includes interviews only with still-living Yankee greats. The only disappointing omission from the book is Ron Guidry who certainly should have been included. However, Yankee fan or not, this is a first rate book for anyone who considers themself a baseball fan.

There have been a whole bunch of book put out to celebrate the first century of New York Yankee, of which "Pride of October: What it Was to Be Young and a Yankee" by Bill Madden is one of the best. It is also one of the more different, consisting basically of a series of conversations (they would not really be considered "interviews") between Madden and 17 former Yankees (and one very special Yankee widow). The other common denominator, obviously, is that they have to be alive, which sounds stupid when you write it down like this, but matters because it leads to some interesting and poignant choices.

Mickey Mantle and Billy Martin have died, which leaves only Whitey Ford to talk about the hell-raising days in the Fifties. Madden does talk with Hall of Famers Phil Rizzuto, Yogi Berra, and Reggie Jackson, but the chief charm here is in names that do not come to mind. I have all the New York Yankees Topps baseball cards from the year I was born, so I recognize the names Tommy Byrne and Charlie Silvera, but I do not know a lot about them. However, the name that stands out is Marius Russo, one of the last remaining links to Lou Gehrig, because I do not think I had ever heard (or even read) his name before.

I became a Yankee fans in 1965; in other words, the year after they stopped winning championships. So my early memories are watching Mel Stottlemyre hit an inside-the-park grand slam homerun at Yankee Stadium and my biggest (early) heartbreak was when my favorite player, Bobby Murcer, was traded for my father's favorite player, Bobby Bonds. So while "Pride of October" starts with as far back in Yankee history as living voices can remember, it eventually gets up to the teams and players of our lives. Even if, like Ron Blomberg, they never played in a postseason game. When Madden has chapters on Bobby Richardson and Joe Pepitone back to back, you know you are getting a true cross-section of the guys who have played for the Yankees.

The one exception to this rule is Arlene Howard, the widow of Elston Howard, who was the first African-American ballplayer to play for the Yankees. I totally buy into the argument that the reason the Yankees went from first to worst in the 1960s was because the front office was racist and refused to sign any blacks when they probably could have signed anyone they wanted (Mantle, Mays and Aaron in the same outfield? Sure, why not?). The only way to touch on that issue is for Howard's widow to relate what it was lie, talking forth in the home in Teaneck, New Jersey where the city fathers once tried to keep her and her husband from occupying.

My recommendation is to do what I did, which was basically to only read one chapter a day. Just enjoy the Scooter's stories about his friendship with Gerry Priddy and be offended by the way the Yankees forced him to retire, before moving on to Russo's recollections of the Iron Horse, Cro, and Fat Freddie Fitzsimmons. There is a brief section of black & white photographs, that starts with Gehrig and DiMaggio kneeling side by side in Spring Training and ends with Paul O'Neill cleaning out his locker for the last time. The photographs are just the frosting on the cake, because the main treat here is just reading how Madden sat down with each of these individuals, who told their stories, with Madden supplying relevant information to fill in the gaps.

Trust your first instinct when you hit the green, and learn to keep those negative thoughts at bay. This mental and technical guide to putting will help you improve your form.

Very straightforward and comensensical. Seems everything we read these days is about positive thinking. And it does work along with a good basic set up. I especially like his instruction that once you are over the ball, don't wait there and let negative thoughts sneak in. Go ahead and hit the ball. He says to trust your first instinct when you read a putt and I have always found that to be true. Can't wait to put his recommendations into play.

After reading Golf is Not a Game of Perfect by the same author I got this one and found it to be just as good which I rate as 5 stars *****

Any golfer (including disc golfers) would benefit from this book. It's a very good book!

So much of golf and golf instruction is mechanical, and justly so. Technique is very important in a complex action such as the full swing, and improper form can lead to both bad shots and injury.

In contrast, we have putting. The action on the ball is so slight and simple, mechanics themselves are important only at a very rudimentary level. Technique has more to do with guaging individual variances for a particular situation than it does moving from positions A to B to C.

This is why putting is called the "game within a game". It resembles so little of the rest of golf. It also makes it one of the most difficult for the mechanics oriented golfer to master.

What Rotella has done here is to lay out his observations of what the best putters in the game think and do, not with their stroke, but with their minds. Using examples of unusual putters like Locke, he points out that it is not the stroke itself that counts, but your confidence in it. Locke believed he was hooking the ball into the hole, when this was likely not the case. Still, his stroke, which cut across the ball, made him one of the best putters ever because he believed in it.

Rotella goes further, discussing people with more "technically sound" strokes, such as Faxon and Crenshaw. Crenshaw, in particular, is an interesting case. Rotella introduces a story in which Crenshaw, in one sentence, completely turns putting instruction on its head, much to the horror of a professional golf instructor. Again, what is important is what was in his mind, not what a slow-motion camera might reveal.

People frustrated with their putting may find good, solid information here on how to improve. The biggest test will be trying to apply it, which may be harder than any swing change you could imagine.

Beyond what the public has seen from Jake Lamottas incredible bouts in the ring, there is much more people should know about Lamottas life. Through this book you will uncover Jake lamottas Physical and mental struggles, whether it be taking a tremendous amount of abuse in the ring and still staying on both of his feet, Or his madness at home with his family and closest friends. He tells his separate problems which included his best friend, his wife(s), and the mafia. His childhood alone as a thug living in tenements in the early Bronx will draw you to read more and soon you will start to understand where all the rage came from.

"Bull" is one of the most powerful biography's written. La Motta went step by step relaying his life story, in a transparent way. He not only draws us in round by round to him being on the top of the world, he also clearly gives the reader his blow by blow decent into hell, and even worse for a showman, anonymity. He became a nobody, because of his unhealthy actions.
I for one give La Motta a tremendious amount of credit, for coming to terms with his greatest opponent and knocking him on the mat, himself.
The movie is equally as engrosing.
Great read.

There just isn't another biography/autobiography involving an athlete that can measure up to RAGING BULL.

The book depicts self-hate and the self-destruction that goes with it in the kind of succinct style you expect from a ghetto-bred boxer. What sets it apart though is that what one finds between the lines is often more revealing than the lines themselves.

Jake's method of confessing to grotesque acts without the vocabulary of rationalization says volumes about the pathologies behind them. Instead of getting lost in Freudian buzzwords, La Motta recounts his life in terms that sum up and surpass every treatise on self-destruction ever written.

No need for Psychology 101. RAGING BULL is the real textbook on the subject.

A Page Turner - More Like A Page Pounder

Reading this book I felt like Sugar Ray Fighting La Motta - couldn't put it down -

OK - that's a stretch, but you get the idea. I could not put this book down. It reads like a bull charges. A little bit of wind up - I'd say the first 19 pages - then it's a charging bull.

Jake's story is much more than what the movie shows and is different.

As we all know and heard so many times - the book is always better than the movie and again it's very true here - the book is Jake's exact story not changed one hair for Hollywood. It's such an intense, real and gritty story.

It starts off in Jake's childhood as a tuff Bronx kid taking a beating from his father and the world - and as he got older the beatings continue and get worse - the biggest beatings coming from himself.

La Motta is brutally honest and doesn't try to hide anything or paint himself in a special light. It's a powerful and straightforward look at his life, his heart and a candid look at the sport of boxing back then.

It's a great book, you'll pound through the pages like a raging bull.

Jake La Motta is a vicious monster. Both inside the ring and outside the ring. Growing up in the slums of the Bronx,
Jake was not loved or cared for by his father, who frequently beat him for no reason or explanation. His mother
was loving to Jake, but his father beat her too. Jake channeled all this abuse, both physical and neglect, and turned
into a thug as a teenager because what else could he do. He believed he was to have been a murderer, for bashing a bookie over the head with a pipe,and suffered for many years afterwards with self inflicting torment and abuse and anguish to all around him. While as a teen, Jake the thug turned into a life of petty crime and was sent to a reform school. While at reform school, the only thing Jake could find interesting was the gym, where he practiced and developed as a boxer. When Jake was released from reform school, he vowed to himself never to go back to jail and to try and change his way. Jake soon began to compete amateurishly with boxing, and then shortly
thereafter turned pro. While he was a freight train inside the ring, Jake was a train wreck in his personal life.
Jack's life consisted of no one he could trust. Not his best friend Pete, his wives, his brother, and especially the mob.
He battered his boxing opponent into oblivion, he battered his wives unconscious, and battered his friends if you would
even call them friends. Yes Jake was this violent. His second wife Vickie, is main wife in this book was a saint, during and after their marriage. Jake beat everyone in the ring he could. Sometimes he'd lose, not on purpose, but as a result to his mannerisms prior to a fight, which were mostly self inflicting. After 8 years of boxing pro, and going no where, Jake relented to turning to the mob for a shot at the middleweight
belt. In 1949, Jake was champ. They day after he was champ, he life went into the gutter. A good for nothing bum kid from
the Bronx, he was destined to never amount to not even spit on the sidewalk, was now the champion of the world! How was this. Well Jake's demons came forth the night he won the championship, and what he feared he'd done as a kid, was not true. Believed to be a murderer as a teen, Jake drove himself insane with pain, fear, guilt, and anger, and the only way he could channel all that negative energy was to box. Well, who he thought he killed long ago was actually alive and well and he couldn't believe it. From there on, Jake lost the spark and the fire to what drove him to be the champ, and a year and a half later after defending his title twice was belted by quite possibly
the bloodiest boxing match my eyes ever seen on February 14th 1951 to Sugar Ray. Jake got massacred by the 13th round. (if you ever get a chance to actually see that fight, seeing is believing!!!). Jake's trip into hell began in Oct 1949, after winning the belt, and he took his first steps descending into hell after he retired from boxing in 1953. His move to Miami added to the catastrophe, his wife divorced
him, he fooled around alot, he ballooned to well over 200 lbs, drank and dabbled with drugs, his business crumbled due to a prostitution charge of a minor, and once again Jake ended up in jail. Serving 6 months, Jake finally prayed to the man upstairs for forgiveness, and released from prison, Jake wanted to vindicate himself. Leaner, cleaner, and this time for certain destined to clean up his act. After prison, Jake was a whistle blower in boxing and spilled the beans about the fight set up he needed to do to become the champ. After that, Jake remarried, although it ended up unsuccessful, Jake tried, and it appears he was not abusive to his 3rd wife. After dabbling
in acting and plays, Jake found solace in performing again, but on stage instead of a ring. There were some set backs. But nothing as shocking and more disturbing as the first 22 chapters. And by 1970 Jake was acting in b-films.
In conclusion, Jake La Motto is a vicious monster. But who could blame him. I don't. Jake will blame himself, and yes, many of the horrific things he did in his youth were unacceptable and just downright unethical. But Jake never was given a chance at life. Not by his family anyways, he was raised by the mean streets of the Bronx, his family was the streets, and it was mean, and Jake was meaner. Jake was never loved as a child, and without that love, he never trusted
anyone, ever! Many success stories, or dreams come true stories are about love and trust. Jake has neither. This is a sad story, a truly sad story, of a man who struggled to make it on his own, and did make it on his own, and just threw it all away because he didn't any know better because no one showed him.
Personally, I believe Jake LaMotta to be the best middleweight boxer ever! I mean ever! For all his wrongs, he did something right, and box right he did. Jake gave boxing so many memorable upsets, so many memorable knockouts, and most importantly memorable comebacks, both inside the ring and outside the ring. Jake is a champ, and a monster, but I would never say that too his face unless I want to keep mine on my head.
Onto Raging Bull II, the continuing story...Highly Recommended!