Basketball Books

Don't get me wrong, I really like this Myron Bolitar series. I especially like the interaction between Myron and his friend and associate, Win. I also like more action and this story kind of dragged in the beginning. Yes, this is a good mystery, but slow developing. I gave it three stars because it really picked up after the half way point and has an ending that you will never guess.

In One False Move Myron Bolitar is again doing more detecting that agenting when he is asked by Norm Zuckerman to play bodyguard to women's basketball sensation Brenda Slaughter (with the hopes of retaining her as a client for MB SportReps). Turns out Myron knew her father Horace, who has been missing for a week, from his days as a teenager playing basketball in some of New Jersey's rougher neighborhoods. Brenda isn't really interested in a Whitney Houston/Kevin Costner (ala 'The Bodyguard') situation, but she does agree to allow Myron to watch her back.

Jessica and Myron are living together but she has run off to L.A. under the premise of work, but Myron worries she is letting her fear of commitment get between them once again. Without Jessica around Myron is free to spend his time looking out for Brenda and she asks him to also look for her mother, who walked out on Brenda and her dad 20 years before.

Myron works with Win and Esperanza to try and track down Horace and learn the answer to the question of just what happened to Brenda's mom all those years ago. Could their disappearances be related? When Horace turns up dead, the clock is ticking even more loudly for the friends to get to the bottom of things before someone else gets hurt.

Harlan Coben leaves you in suspense until the very end. His combination of humor, action and suspense is as good or better than any mystery or fiction writer. His books are hard to put down. One False Move was no exception. His cast of characters work wonderfully together. This is simply a great read. Five Stars.

Loren Keim
Author "Selling Commercial Real Estate" and "Sell Your Home in Any Market"

Fairly typical story. I like Myron, and enjoy following him around as he tries to solve his mysteries. His friends & coworkers are fun to see again as well. Although this was not my favorite book of his (I'm not as fond of the way this book ended), I did enjoy reading this book.

One False Move, by the brilliant Harlan Coben, is the 5th book in the Myron Bolitar series. Featuring many recurring characters, especially Win and Esperanza, the story here revolves around the country's best female basketball player, and the mystery surrounding her mother and father. One of the amazing things about Mr. Coben is his ability to include many laugh out loud funny moments, even when a sense of melancholy permeates the story. This novel is no different. A brilliant book by an incredible author. In the mystery/thriller genre - and the serial mystery genre - Coben has few peers. Coben has written (as of this writing) eight Myron Bolitar novels and numerous stand alones. His characters are fully realized and you can't help but care about them. The Bolitar series in order,thus far:

Deal Breaker (Myron Bolitar Mysteries)
Drop Shot (Myron Bolitar Mysteries)
Fade Away (Myron Bolitar Mysteries)
BACKSPIN (MYRON BOLITAR, NO 4)
ONE FALSE MOVE
The Final Detail
Darkest Fear (Myron Bolitar Mysteries)
Promise Me (Myron Bolitar Mysteries)

Enjoy!!!

Phil Jackson's depiction of his journey from childhood to professional basketball will be a delight even to the casual sports fan. Centered on his philosophy of unselfishness, Jackson successfully offers insight into the mindset of high stakes coaching enabling one to understand the progression of thought behind many of the tough decisions he made while winning Championships. Sacred Hoops will offer as a special bonus some insight into Michael Jordan's world from a perspective not offered by mainstream media.

I recommend this book to any casual sports fan and in particular to all basketball fans.

I am a big fan of Phil Jackson and his approach to the game of basketball. Sports for kids, is an introduction to life, and I really appreciate what Phil has to say. I have read this book numerous times and just now bought the audio book. If you are a coach of any sport, do yourself a favor and read this book!

Is this book a slam-dunk? It could be. I'm having a hard time rating this book 4 stars when it should have had 4.5 stars. This book could be rated more like Scottie Pippen than Michael Jordan to keep up with this book's terms.

The story about Phil Jackson and the Chicago Bulls is amazing. Any story written about it has the potential to reach Jordan heights. The story described by Phil Jackson makes it even more compelling.

Getting to know the insights about Jackson's training also gives insight about the man and his beliefs as Zen is unmistakenly connected to him. This is the only flaw within the book. Although he used it on his pupils and it worked on them, it does not always guarantee succes outside sports. Business is a different league.

If you're a sports lover just grab a copy of the book and read it. If you like to step up your own game DO try this at home, although success cannot be guaranteed.

This is one of the best books I have ever read! If you are competitive and like the bulls and have a strong sense of teamwork, this is the best book to read! All I wanted to do was watch the greatest seasons of the Bulls and those amazing playoffs and championships they won!

Phil Jackson's philosophy on teamwork and leadership is based upon Native American and Buddhist principles. From his book these principles and spiritual lessons are brought to life and explained in a manner only a man like himself could do. He is trying to let people know lessons are taken from the lessons he has learned throughout his life as a basketball player and coach, but these lessons not only pertain to basketball, they can be used for anyone in order to increase the potential of the human spirit. Phil Jackson is a world-renowned player and coach of the NBA. He is now the coach of the Los Angeles Lakers and has won three NBA championships with them; however, he is most famous for leading the Chicago Bulls to 6 NBA championships with legendary players, such as, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, John Paxson, and many others. He has adopted the teachings of Eastern philosophies, like Buddhism, and received the nickname the "Zen Master" because of it. Phil Jackson has not only written Sacred Hoops, but several other virtuous books. Other books include Maverick, Take It All, More Than a Game, and The Last Season: a Team in Search for Its Soul. Jackson's inspirational messages are powerful and thought provoking and make the reader experience a sense that they are able to incorporate these teachings into their everyday lives, even if they do not play or watch the game of basketball. The methods he uses, for example, meditation, mindfulness, and visualization, and also quotes used from Zen Buddhism to Native American teachings help provide a new or improved outlook on their lives and help make them, as well as other people around them, better people. As Phil Jackson says, "Being aware is more important than being smart." Whether or not you are an athlete, student or just someone looking for inspirational insight this book is a terrific read.

I'd heard of The White Boy Shuffle from fellow classmates, but hadn't picked it up until I was required to read it for one of my college courses. The novel was at first difficult to get into, due to the complexity of the language and the ideas presented. The text at times is like a poem and has a rhythmic pattern throughout making social satirical commentary on just about everything. From the first sentence of chapter one, "bluesy earthy folksy denim-overalls noble-in-the -face-of-cracker-racism aw shucks Pulitzer-Prize-winning protagonist mojo magic black man," the reader should be aware that the novel is full of these long drawn out statements that are making comment on our American society. Paul Beatty writes from the point of view of Gunnar Kaufman as he deals with trying to locate/understand his own identity. This text was at times difficult and overwhelming to understand exactly what Paul Beatty was commenting on, since it jumps from topic to topic. It is one of those novels that could be read every year and each time you read it a new idea is further brought to light. This novel is one I will surely read again and again.

I would recommend this novel to anyone interested in a text that is making a social commentary on our American society and the way in which African Americans and other cultures are discriminated against and stereotyped. The text besides making comment on our social circumstances, is also following the lead protagonist, Gunnar Kaufman, from his early schooling to college. The change for Gunnar begins as he moves from a predominately white neighborhood to a black neighborhood. Gunnar undergoes massive transformations, as he struggles to find out where he belongs and whom he truly is as he combats a world that is filled with never-ending stereotypes and labels.

A friend of mine gave me this book, she said I might like it. I can remember taking it home and not putting it down for 3 days. Luckily at that time i was in college and worked at a book store so I could read while at work. The language in this book draws you in. Its all at once, hilarious, artistic and thought provoking.

The story details the life of a young boy who begins his life growing up "white" on the streets of Santa Monica until his Mom realizes he and his sisters are forsaking their culture in favor of "Leave it to Beaver-esque" endeavors. She promptly moves them to the mean streets of Hillside where the story begins anew.

The protagonist, who is responsible for the bulk of the narrating duties, finds a way to fit in and then finds a way to redefine what a black teenager, and finally a black man, should conform to... by not conforming at all.

Brilliantly written and poetic at times, the book shows the reader what it is like to be a black teenager growing up in a hostile environment without excluding anyone by using themes that all of us can relate to. You get to visit the ghetto without having to worry about drivebys.

Beatty does a remarkable job of silencing those of us who say, "Why can't those people just lift themselves by their bootstraps and become a banker or a forklift driver?" or "If their parent's just did a better job raising them, then maybe they could become more productive members of society". Beatty shows us there are shades of gray in these issues, removing the black and white - pun intended.

Taken literally, this book is very bizarre. Interpretting the symbolism required a little more brain power than I wanted to put in with free-time reading. However, we used this in our book club; almost everyone else liked it, and there was a lot of discussion.

Paul Beatty's novel The White Boy Shuffle is about a young black boy who, after his mom feels that his growing up in "white" society is detrimental to his and his sisters racial identity decides to move to a Los Angeles suburb. Throughout the novel, Gunnar is constantly struggling to find his identity. Beatty portrays Gunnar's identification struggle by revealing the stereotypes that society places on the black community and the stereotypes that they place on themselves. At one point in the novel, Gunnar struggles escaping from "white" language and has to constantly work on maintaining the slang of the community. However, the stereotypes in the novel aren't limited to "black" and "white" as there are stereotypes about Latino's, Korean's etc. throughout the novel.
Throughout the novel, Gunnar begins to realize that he has the ability to be a talented poet. I found this part interesting because the language within the novel itself is at times poetic and can read like a prose about the social stereotypes. Also, the language of the novel can be at times difficult and confusing. As a native Montanan, I was unaware of some of the terminology throughout the novel. However, once I began to surpass the challenging language of the novel, I was able to laugh at the humor that Beatty illuminates through his satire about social labels.
I would recommend this novel to people that are looking for a challenging novel and interested in a fresh viewpoint on racial labels. The novel for me was difficult to get in to originally, but once I started to understand its purpose, it became extremely intriguing to me. I still don't understand many parts of the novel, especially the ending, but I think that was part of Beatty's purpose. He created an unpredictable narrator to tell the fictional story of a boy growing up surrounded by stereotypes and I doubt I will ever fully understand the novel, but I still found it an interesting read.

There are more high school girls in sports today than ever before. Unfortuantely, the sports literature has not quite kept pace. This book helps rectify that situation. Madeleine Blais tells a great story of persistence, teamwork, and drive that all students need to learn if they are to succeed in a world based on competition. She writes with a journalist's eye and it is easy for the reader to place the team's quest in the larger context of the role of women in American society (but I do not see a feminist agenda being promoted here). A great story told well!

I picked up this book and read it because I like sports stories, I work with high school students, and I am on a committee to recommend books for our school reading list. This book is well written, and the author spends a lot of time painting a background for this story - covering both the area (Amherst, MA), and the families of the players. Each anecdote was interesting, but probably 60-80% of this book did consist of "background" anecdotes. And there was not always a strong connection to the story of the girls on the basketball team. And so the story never really picks up momentum. The other flaw was that it was too respectful of the girls. This was fine, and I expected nothing different from a book about high school kids. In Blades of Glory, about high school boys hockey, the players were painted more realistically, warts and all. That was a riveting story about a high school team. This wasn't. With "In These Girls, Hope is Muscle," I felt that I was reading a homage piece, and I did enjoy a good part of that. I'm not sure I will recommend this for a summer reading book. There was enough that might appeal to some girls, though, and I may. This story would have been perfect as an article of 20 pages or so for a magazine. It was overly stretched out to a book length.

I love basketball! I played it and I've coached it. I chose this book to find out the story of a team and how it got its act together to be successful.

Well, I got that information, but it was mixed up with lots of other factoids that I really didn't care about. You were told about the town, the colleges, the weather, the families of the players, the kinds of summer jobs the players had, whether they were popular or not....the list goes on and on.

The writing was descriptive, but I feel like the author just got bogged down by too many details. This book wasn't what I hoped for.

In These Girls, Hope is a Muscle is an extremely uplifting story that shows what young women can do when they put everything they have into it. I really enjoyed this book because it not only portrayed basketball scenes, but also the storys of all of the girls on the team. The down-to-earth stories of small town girls allowed me to realize that these were real girls who accomplished something that had eluded them for years. Although at times, the story seemed to not move along fast enough, for the most part it left me always wanting to read more. The ending of In These Girls, Hope is a Muscle left me utterly speechless with a huge smile on my face. The joy and triumph that the Amherst Lady Hurricanes felt literally jumped of the page and into my heart.

I confess to being a fanatic about girls basketball. I've coached my daughters over a total of close to 9 years, and loved every minute of it. I also went to college in Amherst, as did my eldest daughter. She even knows one of the assistant coaches in the book.
I loved the book because of those interests, but I was a bit disappointed that it didn't provide more that would catch the interests of people who are not already passionate about it. I was hoping I would be able to recommend it to the middle school girls I coach to provide them some inspiration, but it didn't fit that bill. It is more of an almost superficial study of some very committed girls without giving any insights as to why they were so committed. Everybody knows that it takes commitment to win championships. Where does that come from?

I recommend the book to the parents of girls who are passionate about basketball. I recommend it to coaches of girls teams. And I recommend it to anyone with ties to the Amherst area. Beyond that, it's an ok read, and pretty short so it won't take a whole lot of time.

p.s. unlike another reviewer, I didn't find a feminist agenda coloring the book.

With the shifting points of view, I got to know these characters that much more. I jumped into the novel and was immediately transfixed, as always, into this world of high drama. It was easy to hang-in-there with all the points of views and twists because I remember when these characters were falling in and out of love for the very first time in Morrison's riveting earlier books. The novel has so much who-done-done-what drama, crime, and deceit that it is amazing how the author returns us all to love in the end. The characters all become like friends, relatives, and the muse to read the next book.

Very disappointed! This was a good series gone bad! This last booked was so rush!!!!! I guess you can read to see the end of the series but I was disappointed!

I MUST SAY THAT BY TIME I GOT TO THIS BOOK. I WAS SO SICK OF READING ABOUT THIS FAMILY. DARIUS IS WHO I WAS SICK OF. I DIDNT LIKE THAT MARY B MORRISON DIDNT GIVE HIS CHARACTER SOME GROWTH. I KNOW HE WAS YOUNG. BUT MAN CAN A GUY BE A IDIOT FOR THIS LONG? YEA I KNOW THEY CAN BUT STILL. OTHER WISE I ENJOYED THE 5 BOOK SERIES OF THIS FAMILY. BUT I MUST BE HONEST IM GLAD ITS OVER. TO MUCH DRAMA. BUT STILL WORTH THE READ.

(first off, excuse tha way i write, i write how i speak, [young reader]) :) ok, well..i really enjoy mary b's work, and this novel is addicting, because there's drama, and we all know that er'body enjoys readin bout somebody else's drama. :) i mean, it has like a "soap opera" feel almost, a black soap!! just cuz ur taken back n forth thru tha book. but, i would reccomend this novel to anyone who wants to read it, cuz theres a chic in this book thas CRAZY and this guy's mother is nuts too!! so, i say read it, with tha rest of tha line. (this one is tha last episode of this story line)

This was a good book, I will not spoiled it for anyone, but I have to say Ashlee and Darius is something else. Fancy need to get herself a better man and leave Darius alone. Ashlee need to be locked away in a crazy house.

As others have stated, this is an extremely well-written book. But it is also the first book I ever remember reading that had a dark cloud hang over every page. The quotation by Magic Johnson to Pete's children at the All-Star game naming the Pistol as one of the top 50 in NBA history is memorable. "Your father was Showtime before there was a showtime." You always hope sports heroes have happy endings. I wish Pete could have experienced more of it.

It is a must read.

I BOUGHT THIS BOOK TO INCLUDE IN MY GRANDSON'S PACKAGE THAT WAS HEADED FOR IRAQ. HE LOVED THE BOOK BECAUSE HE GREW UP IN THE PITTSBURG AREA AND PLAYED SPORTS AT SOME OF THE SCHOOLS THAT WERE MENTIONED IN THE BOOK.

NEEDLESS TO SAY, HE ENJOYED IT FROM COVER TO COVER AND I AM A HAPPY GRANDMA. ACTUALLY, I'LL BE HAPPIER WHEN HE GETS BACK TO THE USA.

I read PISTOL during the last week when my brain was in gear, my emotions high and my persona not cracked. Good thing, too. If I had been depressed, I might have eaten more junk food than my diet allows.

Yes, PISTOL deserves five stars. The lives of Press Maravich and his son, Peter Press Maravich, are, however, Pittsburgh bleak, covered with soot and anchored by the angst of control and chaos.

Basketball should a fine, fun game, but this book proves it doesn't have to be any fun at all. It can merely be twisted.

The sun is shining now, and the temperature is crisp. I think I can forget all Pete's "showtime" moves, the suicide of his mom, the manic control of his dad and the up-all-night drinking bouts.

What I can't forget, yet, are all the tortures his sons went through when they tried to honor their dad by playing basketball, too. One coach in particular at LSU needs to be put down for his cruelty.

As with the classic pick-and-roll - where it takes the solid work of two players to make the offensive play successful - Pete Maravich would not have been the "Pistol" without the guidance of his father, Press (Peter).

And in this dual biography, author Mark Kriegel brings the legend of Pete and Press to life, on and off the court.

Press - who had a cup of coffee in the pro game, with Youngstown and Pittsburgh - used basketball as a means to have an escape from a tough childhood. Though he set out early in Pete's life to develop his basketball skills, this is not a classic case of an overbearing father forcing his will on a son.

As Pete emerged as this larger-than-life figure - whose shooting, ball-handling and passing brought a wonderful brilliance to the hardwood floor - he became Showtime, Inc. He took a struggling Louisiana State University program - with Press as the head coach - and turned it into a SEC power, going 20-8 overall in his senior year, while averaging an amazing 44.2 points per game in his varsity collegiate career.

A new, state-of-the-art, arena came into being at LSU, based on Pete popularizing the program, which had been playing home games in a facility designed for livestock shows.

But with these triumphs, both found later that the breaks in the game of life can find the ball rolling out-of-bounds, never to be the same when retrieved and put back into play. And that may be the biggest lesson of all.

I admire the fact that Mark Kriegal had the guts to devote about a third of the book to Press Maravich, Pete's father. But it got tedious to hear the endless details about who scored what during which game, and so on. Perhaps that's common to most sports books, I don't know. I understand why the author wrote this book: Pete Maravich's life is a fascinating story. Unfortunately, I had mixed feelings about Pistol overall. Yes, I got bored with the first third of the book about Press Maravich, although it did give you a nice overview of the origins of pro basketball, if you can call it that. I also felt that the last 30 pages devoted to Pete's sons was overkill. Just my opinion. The middle part of the book about Pete was superb, though. There were so many touchstones that were handled exceptionally well----on race, the marketing and growing popularity of basketball (college and professional), the complexity of Pete's relationship to Press, Pete's various obsessions with UFOs, vegetarianism, martial arts, etc., plus his alcohol abuse. Pistol, for all its stylistic virtuosity, was a little too sentimental sometimes. Nonetheless, I'm glad I read it.

The first thing this book has going for it is its narrator. Jerome is bright and witty. He is a black kid in junior high school who lives with his mother and two brothers. We learn that Jerome has some tough things in his life. First of all, he has no father; his father died so long ago, Jerome doesn't even remember him. Second, Jerome is so smart he is in a bunch of accelerated classes that set him aside from his friends. Third of all, this year the all-white high school has decided to start the integration process by adding a single black student--Jerome. It seems like this book could be about how hard Jerome's life is, but it's not. Jerome mentions these things, but he doesn't see any of them as setbacks. He is confident enough about himself that nothing seems to faze him. He is free to write this book about his best friend, Bix.

Bix is a boy Jerome meets when he goes to this new high school. Jerome had admired his baseball-playing skills over the summer, but he didn't know who this boy was. Jerome, as a fantastic basketball player, admired the pure athletic ability and grace that he saw in Bix. When the two boys end up as the only guys in a home economics class, they begin to bond a little bit.

Bix is strange to Jerome. He is concerned with not lying, and the sheer thought of lying seems to bother him a great deal. When he asks Jerome to teach him to play basketball, a foreign sport to him, Jerome finds him a fast learner--except when it comes to moves, to faking someone out. That's just too much like lying for Bix. He says that he could beat someone with the pure game, and not have to pull any of the fancy moves Jerome tries to teach him. But will he be able to stick to that when it really counts?

I loved Jerome's voice. He was honest and funny, and he accepted who and what he was without complaining about his situation. I didn't like that the end of the story was unresolved. I wasn't sure how to react to Bix's stepfather, and that bothered me. I wasn't sure if he was the bad guy or not.

I was very surprised that a lot of peole thought that this book was bad.I thought that the book was gripping but I guess that is just my oppinion. Even though the book had absolutley nothing to do with basketball I still thought it was a pretty good book. But not as good as 5 stars

I really enjoyed reading the Moves Make the Man.The book is about two kids Jerome and Bix. Bix likes to play baseball and Jerome likes to play basketball. They become really good friends. Bix's mom is in a mental hospital and Bix wants to see her but his dad won't let him.Then Bix asks his dad to play him in a basketball game and says if he wins he could see his mom so Jerome teaches Bix all he knows and Bix becomes good at basketball. Read the book to find out if Bix beats his dad and is able to see his mom.

This is an awesome book for anyone. Pick up the book and you won't put it down. This is a journey of friends, sports, and all the other stuff that goes on in a 7th graders life. However this is different. This is a story of a boy who runs away because his father is a couch potato and his mother drinks. I recomend this book to all and I mean all ages over 9

Children are taught that they should tell the truth, no matter what. But is that how things really are? There's truth, and there's diplomacy. How much of truth is in diplomacy, and vice versa? What if a child isn't taught diplomacy? Does that make his world black and white?

That seems to be the case for Bix Rivers, since he went from complete honesty to complete dishonesty after realizing that complete honesty doesn't always work. He doesn't understand that sometimes you have to fumble through the gray areas in order to get to where you're going. Jerome Foxworthy tries to explain it to him, but Bix just doesn't get it.

I admire Bruce Brooks for bringing such intriguing questions to kids, and doing it through a fun and interesting story.

Bernice McFadden had me at Sugah. After reading that series, I was a solidified fan. Loving Donavan encapsulated me in the same way as Sugah's tragic story. The depths of Love, especially Love as experienced by African American woman (of three generations no doubt) are poetically captured in this book. Love equals vulnerability, and vulnerability equals the risk of being hurt. Despite these laws, Campbell, one of the book's main character's, takes a risk at love. What ensues is a melee of circumstances,written in such a manner that the reader can't help but be emotionally connected to the story.
Bernice McFadden's writing is much like prose at times. Her style also reminds me of Toni Morrison, in that the words are not only rhythmic but expertly weaved into a storyline that will hold you captivated. Even the most disturbing passages of this book, are masterfully written. The reader is invited to peek into the mind of the book's nemesis, who is also a variable in Campbell's attempt at love. If you like books, that emotionally connect you to the story line, leaving you wanting more long after you have read the last page, then Loving Donovan will be satisfy your desire for good organic literature. Thank you Bernice for sharing your art with the world.

While I enjoyed reading this book, only a few chapters were dedicated to the relationship of Campbell and Donovan. The title is misleading. I liked the book and would recommend it.

This was THE saddest story I EVER read....I swore off of B.McFadden because of this book...I was actually tired after I read this one. I had so much hope and the let down was so hard....I read this book quite a while ago and I've given B. McFadden/G. Holliday another chance (she's really one of my favorite authors ;-)) B.McFadden wrote this book and I read it. If a topic comes up about a sad story, I'll bring this book up. I'm just a sucker for happy endings and you can look at this ending in more ways than one.

Love it!! it was so close to home sort of to speak, kept my interest. it's a keeper, I read it for the second time,and love it even more,as if reading it the second time gave me more insights
on the characters and the book as if I'd read it for the first time. Did I say that I love it!!!!

This is the second of Ms. McFadden's books I've had the pleasure of reading, and I look forward to reading more. This novel reminded me of Toni Morrison's "The Bluest Eye." I agree with the reviewer who wrote that the final part of the story seemed a bit truncated, a let-down, since it followed a thorough and completely satisfying analysis of the protagonists' pasts. I wish it could have lingered a bit longer on the later lives of Campbell and Donovan. The far-reaching symptoms of child sexual abuse are movingly and accurately portrayed, however. Usually, early sexual abuse is ascribed to a female, so it was particularly poignant to read of its effects on Donovan. I know the story first hand, from clients and friends, and it's just as terrible as McFadden writes it. This novel could be suggested reading for men in sexual abuse/addiction support groups. I will recommend it to people who I know have experienced this trauma in their lives. There's very little about male childhood sexual abuse available in literature. Thanks to the author for her contribution, and for the fabulously complex characters (including the horrible "Grammy"). Bernice McFadden is a true artist.

The professional historians faint as prominent mathematician Doctor Fomenko et al research the known historical data and come to fairly controversial conclusions.

For example, the English historians rage at the suggestion that the history of Ancient England was de facto a Byzantine import transplanted to the English soil by the fugitive Byzantine nobility. As the sign of recognition of the special role of the English historians who consider themselves the true scribes of World History, the cover of the present book portrays Tintoretto's Jesus Christ crucified on the Big Ben.

The Russian historians brand it as pseudoscience because Dr Fomenko asserts that there was no such thing as the Tartar and Mongol invasion followed by over two centuries of slavery, providing a formidable body of documental evidence to prove his assertion. The so-called `Tartars and Mongols' were the actual ancestors of the modern Russians, living in a trilingual state and aspiring Global Empire with Arabic and Turkic spoken as freely as Russian.

The ancient proto-Russian state was governed by a double structure of civil and military authorities and the hordes were actually professional armies with a tradition of lifelong conscription (the recruitment being the so-called `blood tax'). Their `invasions' were punitive operations against the regions that attempted tax evasion.

Fomenko proves for a fact that official Russian history is a blatant forgery concocted by a host of German scholars brought to Russia by the usurper dynasty of the Romanovs. Their ascension to the throne was the result of conspiracy, so they charged these German historians-imports with the noble mission of making Romanov's reign look legitimate.

Dr Fomenko et al prove Ivan the Terrible to be a collation of four rulers, no less. These rulers represented the two rival dynasties - the legitimate Godounovs and the ambitious Romanov upstarts.

The European historians fume not only because Fomenko blows consensual Russian history to smithereens, successfully removing a crucial cornerstone from underneath the otherwise impeccable edifice of World History but for asserting that all medieval European Kings and Princes were but breakaway vice-regents and vassals of the Global Empire who badly needed glorious and very `ancient' past in order to legitimize their new independence from the Empire.

Dr Fomenko adds insult to injury, wiping out one by one: the Ancient Rome: the foundation of Rome in Italy is dated to the 14th century A. D., the Ancient Greece and its numerous poleis, which he identifies as the mediaeval crusader settlements on the territory of Greece, the Ancient Egypt: the pyramids of Giza become dated to the 11th to 14th century A. D. and identified as the royal cemetery of the Global Empire, no less.

The civilization of the `ancient'' Egypt is irrefutably dated to the 11th to 15th century A. D. following the breakthrough in decoding of the ancient Egyptian horoscopes cut in stone and painted on the temple walls.

Arabic historians may find some consolation in the crucial historical role of the Ottoman Empire as a part of the Global empire in the 15th - 17th century. The trouble is that this Empire was initially a proto-Christian state, with Hagia Sophia identifiable as Temple of Solomon, but built in 1550-1557 A.D. by Sultan Suleiman according to Fomenko and Islam with all its key figures is datable to 15th 16th century A. D.!

The Chinese historians are also an unhappy lot because Fomenko wipes out the Ancient History of China outright. No such history. Period. The compilation of the so-called Ancient Chinese History is reliably datable to the 17th 18th century only. It is perfectly recognizable as the Ancient European history, reworked and transcribed in hieroglyphs as yet another historical transplantation.

The Divinity excommunicates Dr Fomenko because the history of religions according to Fomenko looks as follows: the pre-Christian period (before the 11th century and Jesus Christ ), Bacchic Christianity (11th to 12th century, before and after Jesus Christ), Jesus Christ Christianity (12th to 14th century) and its subsequent mutations (15th to 17th cy) into Orthodox Christianity, the Catholicism, Protestantism, Islam, Buddhism, and so on..; and The Old Testament written after the New Testament in xiv-xvi cy A.D., if you please! Everybody served? Saint Augustine was quite prescient when he said: "be wary of mathematicians, particularly when they speak the truth."

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RAZQNMXM4M9CL Has history been tampered with? Yes, it has! Did events and eras such as the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the Roman Empire , the Dark Ages, and the Renaissance, actually occur within a very different chronology from what we've been told? Yes, they certainly did!

The history of humankind is both drastically shorter and dramatically different than generally presumed.

Why is it so? On one hand, it was usual custom to justify the claims to title and land by age and ancestry, and on the other the court historians knew only too well how to please their masters. The so called universal classic world history is a pack of intricate lies for all events prior to the 16th century. World history as we learn it today was entirely fabricated in the 16th-18th centuries. It's likely that nobody told you before, but

there is not a single piece of firm written evidence or artefact that is reliably and independently dated prior to the 11th century.

Naturally, after what you've learned in school and university, you will not easily believe that the classical history of ancient Rome, Greece, Asia, Egypt, China, Japan, India, etc., is manifestly false.

You will point accusing finger to the pyramids in Egypt, to the Coliseum in Rome and Great Wall of China etc., and claim, aren't they really ancient, thousands of years ancient? Well, there is no valid scientific proof that they are older than 1000 years!

The oldest original written document that can be reliably dated belongs to the 11th century!

New research asserts that Homo sapiens invented writing (including hieroglyphics) only 1000 years ago. Once invented, writing skills were immediately and irreversibly put to the use of ruling powers and science.

The consensual chronology we live with was essentially crafted in the 16th century by the Jesuits.

The world history was compiled from contradictory mix of innumerable copies of ancient Latin and Greek manuscripts and other irrefutable proofs delivered by late mediaeval astronomers that were cemented by the authority of writings of the Church Fathers.

Early in life, we learn about ancient history. Children love the magical lessons of history - they are like fairy tales. Teachers recite breathtaking stories; very soon We learn by heart the names and deeds of brave warriors, wise philosophers, fabulous pharaohs, cunning high priests and greedy scribes.

We learn of gigantic pyramids and sinister castles, kings and queens, dukes and barons, powerful heroes and beautiful ladies, emaciated saints and low-life traitors.

Ancient history is based documents, manuscripts, printed books, paintings, monuments and artefacts - called primary sources.

The problem is that neither these ancient documents, nor events described therein can be irrefutably dated, moreover they contradict each other for the most part.

When a school textbook tells us that Genghis Khan in year X or Alexander in year Y, have each conquered half of the world, it means only that it is so said in some of the written sources.

There are no answers to simple questions:

When were these primary sources written?

Where and by whom were these sources found?

It is wrongly presumed that ancient and medieval chronicles, written by Genghis Khan's or Alexander the Great contemporaries and eyewitnesses, are readily available. Actually, only sources written hundreds or even thousands of years after the events are there, compiled mostly in the 16th 18th centuries, or even later.

As a rule, these sources suffered considerable multiple manipulations, falsifications and distortions by editing. At the same time,

innumerable originals of ancient documents under various pretexts were destroyed in Europe under various pretexts.

The names of persons and geographical sites often changed meaning and location during the course of the centuries.

Geographical locations became clearly defined on maps only with the advent of printing.

This made possible the circulation of identical copies of the same map for purposes of the military, navigation, education and governance tasks.

Historians from Oxford say: "hey, everybody knows that Julius Caesar lived in the first century B.C.

`Julius Caesar' statement is only a point of view as

there is simply no irrefutable documentary proof that Julius Caesar or any other great name of antiquity ever existed.

Better than that - extremely rare sources that can be reliably dated back to the 10th-14th centuries A D, do not show the polished picture of classical history.

They show a picture both contradictory and confusing.

All methods of dating of ancient sources and artefacts are erroneous:

Radio-carbon C14 method produces dating with exactitude of plus minus 1500 years, therefore it is too crude for dating of events in historical timeframe!

The Almagest tractate, which lies as corner stone contemporary chronology, compiled in the 2nd century A D by Ptolemy, the founding father of astronomy, contains astronomical data of 9th to 16th century!

The Bronze Age,that has supposedly began 5000 years ago. Bronze is made of 90% copper and 10% tin, but the technology for tin extraction dates back to 14th century A D!.

All eclipses contained in manuscripts, like Thucydides one, relating 'ancient' events have exclusively medieval dating. All horoscopes cut in stone or painted in Egyptian temples, like Dendera have exclusively early medieval dating solutions.

Not quite what you have learned in school? Open your eyes, and, you will find sufficient proof to reach step by step the inevitable conclusion that the classical chronology is false and therefore, that the history of ancient and medieval world universally accepted today, is also false. Have a fresh outlook on everything said or printed about "ancient" and "enigmatic" Roman, Greek and Egyptian, medieval as well as all other "lost and found" civilizations.

Antiquity and Dark Ages are phantoms invented in the 16th 18th and polished in 19th 20thcenturies. Human civilization is in fact barely 1000 years old!

This book will change your perception of History forever!
What if Ancient Rome, Greece and Egypt were invented during Renaissance?
What if The Old Testament was a rendition of events of the Middle Ages?
What if Jesus Christ was born in 1053 and crucified in 1086 AD?
Sounds Unbelievable?
Not after you've read "History: Fiction or Science?" by Anatoly Fomenko, the genius mathematician.
Armed with astronomy and computers Anatoly Fomenko turns History into a rocket science.

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun (ie. closer), different tilt on its axis (ie. less than 23.5 degrees), different orbit (ie. more circular), different rotation (ie. in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different relative positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently from how we would today? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history or geography is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Nick's older brother Scott has always been the one their father focused on. Scott was in high school and had the potential to be a basketball star, while Nick was only in junior high. Their father attended all of Scott's games but didn't have time to go to Nick's. More than anything, Nick wants his father's approval and he works hard to become a better player.

Now Nick is a sophomore in high school and Scott has decided that music is his true passion. He is not going to play basketball; he is going to be in the jazz band instead. Suddenly Nick has all of the attention that he's always wanted from his father.

Things aren't all great, though. Nick's parents are divorcing and his father has moved out, so he only sees his father occasionally. And when he isn't doing well in basketball, his father doesn't seem as interested in him.

Adding to Nick's problems is his neighbor, Trent. Nick has always known that Trent was big trouble. His mother drinks, has a wide variety of unpleasant boyfriends and lets Trent and his older brother Zack do whatever they want to do. Zack has been into a lot of trouble with the police, and Trent seems destined to follow the same path. But then Trent develops a devotion to basketball. Soon, despite his problems, Trent is spending evenings on Nick's basketball court. He is doing homework and passing his classes so he will be eligible to play on the basketball team. And Nick is seeing that maybe he isn't as bad as he seemed.

I liked the complexity of Nick's relationships with his family, especially the different ways he and his brother related to their father. I also liked how Trent's character changed throughout the story.

I hated Nick's father and I couldn't see how Nick could keep looking for his approval all of the time. I didn't like Katya much, either, and I didn't see why she kept trying to force Michael on Nick when Nick obviously wasn't interested.

I liked this book because it was a quick read and it really captured my interest. I love basketball and it was an awesome basketball story. Also, it had a fantastic ending.
In the beginning, Nick Abbott's dad makes a basketball court on his mom's rose garden. Nick's mom gets a divorce from his dad because they had been arguing a lot. Nick plays basketball on that court all summer. Nick and his friend Luke make the varsity basketball team and so does Nick's neighbor, Trent. When school starts up, Luke starts coming over and playing on his court with him. Nick has a tournament in Victoria over Christmas vacation which he can't go to because the school doesn't have enough money for everyone on the varsity team to go. Since he can't go, he starts playing at night with Trent and that forms a friendship between them. Something very unfortunate happens at a railroad track involving Trent's brother, Zack. The varsity team goes to the championship game against a team from Garfield. Will Trent go to the game after what happened with his brother? Will Nick's team win the championship game? Read the book and find out.
I think that realistic fiction readers would like this book because the things that happen in this book could really happen and if you like basketball, this is a great basketball story.

The book Night Hoops is about a boy named Nick who loves to play basketball. When his brother Scott, a gifted athlete, chooses music over basketball Nick gains his fathers attention for basketball. Nick is only one of the three sophomores to make the varsity team. Nick struggles with becoming a team player when he finds out that he has to share the ball with Trent Dawson, the talented but troubled boy from across the street. When Nick and Trent begin to shoot hoops in Nick's backyard they begin to form an unusual friendship.
Some things I didn't like were at the beginning of the book when Trent was shoving papers off of teacher's desks. I also didn't like it when Trent and his brother were hanging out because when they hang out they cause trouble. Things I liked were when Nick made the varsity team as a sophomore and when Trent and Nick begin to form a friendship.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read about basketball or who likes to play basketball.

Carl Deuker's fourth book for young adults is another winner filled with fast paced action and surprises all along the way. Night Hoops is a fantastic book for sports lovers and Mike Lupica fans. All four of his books were nominated for ALA best book for young adults.

Nick Abbot always thought of Trent Dawson as a punk or a thug who was always getting himself into deep trouble. But when Nick Abbot only wants to make it on the school basketball team at school. But so is Trent Dawson and Nick tries to learn more about him than his family saying that Trent is a bad influence because his brother gets into to much trouble and his mom is a bad influence. But Nick doesn't care what he hears because when the coach tells him to help Trent or sit on the bench he decides to keep his spot on the team and become friends with Trent. While trying to figure this out Nick needs to show his family the same thing. But it gets harder to do when Trent makes a big mistake and Nick needs to help Trent see his mistake.

By the end of Night Hoops you will see the friendship that Nick and Trent have becomes stronger than ever. It will keep you thinking hard about this book from front to back.

I enjoyed reading this book because I have interested in basketball too. This story is very exciting because things that happen in this story is very realistic. It keeps me interested all the time by having unexpected changes in the plot.

This book is about a kid called Nick. He has a father that loves basketball and puts all his hopes of basketball into his sons, Nick and his brother Scott. His father is too passionate about basketball which results in arguements with Nick's mom and divorce. Scott has a basketballer's physiques so thats why his father spends more time training him. But Scott realizes that his interest isn't basketball but is music. So he disapoints his father. So instead, Nick is focused on being trained. He makes the schools varsity team with a friend of his, Luke. They enjoy the practices and soon this out of city tournament comes. But the school can't afford to bring all the players with them so few were left out. Unluckily, the main character of this book, Nick, is left out. So he starts to train himself and during this period. Trent, who is a known to be a trouble maker then becomes very motivated in basketball. So they practice together in Nick's basketball court. After a while, Trent changed his bad attitudes and he appologized to the coach. Then Nick and Trent becomes good partners on and off the court and the finals game came. The end of the story will be saved for YOU to explore.

This is a good book because it truly shows brotherhood and heart for basketball. Most teenagers nowadays definitely value these two things. They play a sport that they love, they play for a team and create bonds between their team mates. This applies to me too, so I see a connection between Nick and me. If this applies to YOU too, this book is definitely a good choice!