Corcoran Books

I am a brown belt in ASK. I am working toward my black belt. This book was suggested as valuable reading material. Excellent book. Every Martial artist should have it.

I am taking isshinryu karate. It has great techinques.Anyway, This book is da bomb! It has alot of information. Every martial artist in the world should have this book. It goes over many styles in the world. Good pictures! You just can't stop reading it once it is in your hands.Big book.

This reference work was written and edited by the same authors who wrote the Q&A, "Martail Arts Catalogue" in 1976. This book is more indepth and authoritative. The primary sections are on Tradition, History, and the Pioneers who have helped shaped this multi-faceited idea of what we call "martial arts."

The chapters are very good, providing excellent history and coverage. America is probably a little over represented. This however, doesn't mean they should have written less about American martial arts, just more of other traditions.

It must also be fair to say, that America has contributed much to the Asain arts and helped expand the arts, for better or worse, where they are today. The photos are neat and add greatly to this book. The writing is sometimes dry, like most reference works are.

All in all, it is a book that stands on its own and should be purcahsed by those martial artist who either are interested in history or having a quick refernce at their bookshelf.

This book provides little information about japanese and okinawan karate masters and is much to US oriented for a real encyclopedia.

As a martial artist and role playing gamer, I have used this tome as a research aid many times.

I have had the original edition since it first came out, and used it to write generalized martial arts rules for Shadowrun (back in 1st Ed) and Cyberpunk 2020 (posted to the old cyber-rpg mailing list way back when), as well as revising and adding arts for Ninja Hero and The Complete Martial Artist. It's even listed in the Bibliography for Ninja Hero. It's a wealth of information.

I'd have given it 5 out of 5 stars if they had been keeping up with current information. I'd love to see a new edition with new information in it, or even a second volume of updates.

I wish there were more books like this: books behind famous games, or famous series' of games. Lots of detail, gives us a flavor of what it was like in 1971, what kind of social context during which the game was played. There have be a gazillion "Games of the Century," but this one truly was. I remember how big it was when I was a kid, and when I've seen clips, I can see why it was given that distinction. I don't think I've ever seen a game with fewer mistakes. And it's a fun trip back to the "old days" of "the new college football...Astroturf was new, there was a thing called "tear-away jerseys" (which was like wearing a Kleenex with your number on it), and there was NO dancing or whooping it up after a good play. If the publishers are listening, I'd tell them we need more books about classic old teams, games, and series'.

PW said fans of college football would enjoy this. I guess I'm not that big a fan. :-) On a scale of 1 to 10, I'm probably a 6; and I think you'd have to be about a 15 to enjoy the level of detail in this book!

I was wary when I picked up this little book, and I was right. I am an avid Huskers fan and I treasure this game as a great game and a proud moment in Husker history. The team always will have a place in my heart. This tiny book didn't tell me much I didn't know. I guess they thought Huskers fans and others would just snap it up and not question it. Maybe they're right. I bought it. There's nothing wrong with what's here. What's wrong is what isn't here. I wanted to know so much more about everything and everyone connected to this game.

Being a kid in Kansas in the early 70s, I was sandwiched between the two great football powers on either side of my state that this book focuses on. Believe me, the influence of both programs was incredible. Corcoran does a terrific job of recreating what college football could mean, when - get this kids- there was only ONE game a week on TV! Today, given all the explosive media growth and abundance of 'big' games, a term like 'game of the century' would sound trite, but in the early 70s such a description was fully accurate when # 1 and # 2 managed to meet on the field.

In the end, this an example of the perfect sports book, really. The writing is clear and concise and the author manages to keeps a great narrative going behind a constant historical background of a game that actually lived up to its hype.

I was 14 year old boy in 1971, living in Lincoln, Nebraska, we would ride our bikes to the stadium and sneak in games by crawling under and over fences. That season has always held a special place in my youth and this book brings back all of the memories and gives a deeper insight into that game.

Any fan of football will enjoy this wonderful book, even Sooners. It goes into history of the game and both programs and interviews members of both teams, giving a background of the game I never had.

and of course the best part is that the Huskers still win.

Now if only I can get a DVD of the game for Christmas...

This book is a good background guidebook to the martial arts. It has chapters on Bruce Lee, the martial arts in movies, and discusses karate, tae kwon do, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and others. "The Ultimate Martial Arts Q&A Book" is peppered with interesting facts and photos. For examples, photos of Elvis Presley's $500.00 karate gis are shown (in an era where $500.00 went really far). What this book will not do, however, is teach you techniques or katas, or how to win a fight. A good read for entertainment value.

This is a Very Good Book. It provides accurate historic information in an easy to use formate. You can open up to any page and read facts about the various styles of the martial arts. This book is a Great Learning Tool. RECOMMENDED!

What I like about this book is that it is not style oriented or even traditionally oriented. It's a fun read on a wide variety of subjects. It avoids the narrow focus of most martial arts books. This is not biased towards or away from any style or system.

It's well worth the small investment.

A solid, direct, and affectionate work, "The Ultimate Martial Arts Q&A Book" will amuse martial art veterans and enlighten beginners. The authors are not afraid to dispel movie generated falsehoods, such as killing with chi powers from across the room, or catching the blade of a "live" sword with a bare hand. The writing reflects not only a love for the martial arts, but also the wisdom that comes from many hours of time devoted to the martial way.

The chapters start by covering by region as diverse a number of arts and schools as possible. The nature of the koryu , as well as the difference between budo and bujutsu are discussed in the chapter on the Japanese arts. When discussing Korean arts, Hwarang-do, Kumdo and Kuk Sool Won are not neglected or ignored, as happens in many other encyclopedia-like books.

The book also includes a very practical chapter on choosing the right martial art school for oneself, The chapter on Bruce Lee best represents this book; it attributes his great power and skill to nothing more mystical than constant training, and shows respect for the man while dispelling the myths. And what do authors Corcoran and Graden tell us was Bruce Lee's best quality?
His speed? His skill with nunchaku? The one-inch punch?
No, say the authors- it was his smile.

If you agree with that, "The Ultimate Martial Arts Q&A Book" should agree with you.

The answers are highly oversimplified, and many totally untrue. The bias of the authors is evident, and I suspect they purposefully are passing missinformation. They did not dispel any myths and only propagate some old ones. They need to pull this book, do their homework (some of the people they write about are still alive) and re-write it with reliable information.

I'm a former radio/TV journalist of 20 years -- the same as the author -- and agree with many of his points about the state of TV news: the superficiality, the "star system" for anchors and anchorettes, the "If it bleeds, it leads" mentality, and all the rest. However, his writing is all over the map. Corcoran often departs on flights of self-indulgent fancy before getting back to whatever main point he is making at the moment. As a hard-core newswriter from the "old school," I find it ponderous and, despite his completely valid criticisms, not worth the effort.

'MARBLES' is wry, dry, ridiculous, and dead-on. It takes a miracle to make me laugh out loud, but Corcoran succeeded several times. A couple of times, he actually gave me cramps.

If you want to know about how much fun television used to be in the 'good old days', read this book.

I've been in TV a long time myself and after reading "A Few Marbles Left," I wish I'd written it myself. One Anonymous (read cowardly) critic posted here saying "Corcoran is all over the place." Yo, dude, they're ESSAYS. The same could be said of Dave Barry, and Corcoran's humor reminds me of Barry at times. But he also has serious points to make, and makes them seriously. What comes through the most is his passion and his sense of loss at what TV news has become. Anyone who's actually cared about TV news during the course of his or her career, would not attempt to dismiss Corcoran's heartfelt and superbly entertaining effort. Seems to me like someone has an agenda of his own--perhaps no one would publish his book?
The tragedy is that television news has let down the country with its blind obediance to the bottom line. Corcoran understands that and mourns its loss not with a boring book filled grim reminders and dull statistics, but more like an Irish wake, with humor, terrific writing, and an occasional thought or turn of phrase that will bring a tear to your eye.
Corcoran says he's out of TV news now, which is a shame. The same can't be said for our anonymous Sacamento carper. I think TV is better off without his narrowmindedness.
I just wish everyone in the industry would read "A Few Marbles left." Maybe then, TV news could come to the realization of what an ongoing tragic farce it has become

I'm an old timer journalist with lots of sense of humour just like John Corcoran but with one big difference: my name is Antonio Brasil and I am from Brazil.
Enough for puns!
Enjoyed most of the book. Had great laughs with my colleagues in the business and am writing an article recommending this book in one of Brazil's most important media watch sites...very soon.
It is really incredible to see how there are things in common between the brazilian news tv business and its american counterpart. Mr. Corcoran's refined sense of humour is only a sweetener to the hard truths of today's news business. It is serious talk among some good jokes.
Of course, foreign readers might miss some of the details about local news shows and talents but it is well worthwhile.
Great Stuff! It is also a great incentive to write my own.

Most financial market books, especially those on TA, seem as though addressed to prospective targets: "Suckers, use my superdooper-specialized proprietary method, trade a lot, get my newsletter, and open an account at my very own, highly recommended XYZ brokerage firm." They are, generally, composed of descriptions of too-well known indicators, replete with glowing, yet unsubstantiated, accounts of the profits the author has obtained by using them. Even the more serious attempts, like those of John Murphy, are merely encyclopedic gatherings of indicators, with little effort made to determine their objective utility or profitability; or, like Kaufman's, while addressing a more intelligent, educated technician, too compendious. Sadly, the better books present the reader with barely more than introductions to approaches that are mathematically and computationally more rigorous; and, while they may also indicate further directions of study, do little in the way of providing it.

This book, I am happy to say, avoids all of these objections.

The author discusses and describes a number of statistical methods, and develops them into tools with which to measure and identify market development and direction. And though his instruction is often brief, it is to the point. This adds a certain density to the presentation, but it IS presented. As an example, he uses a quantile segregation of price-data to reduce the adverse effects of noise in a moving average. He indicates in two sentences the formula to use in EXCEL to obtain it. Testing of these tools is, of course, the responsibility of the reader, but there is no arguing the fresh, original character of these methods, and the patience with which the author explains them. If nothing else, it stimulates the imagination. Wait, that is everything, isn't it?

Very highly recommended.

This is a piece of original work that you rarely see in financial books. I find the author's web site a great pratical complement to the book. The combination gives you the theory and pratice to profit in the market. I have to respectfully disagree with the bad review given before. You simply have to be the right target for the book; more on the advanced side. Please preview the book for yourself but I assure you that the content and ideas are simply original and made me money so far.

I'm not very sure I agree with the other reviewer's assessment of the book. Luckily for me, I read the book before coming across the review and corresponding rating on Amazon.
This book provides a very decent overview of the latest thinking about market dynamics. Trading systems being what they are, mechanical representations of underlying market mechanisms, it really helps if the (would-be) trader were to understand the reasoning behind system internals. This can further lead to a proper grasp of "how, when and which": how to tweak a system, when to tweak it, and which system to modify.
I heartily recommend this book to all those who are interested in exploring the fascinating world of markets that lie underneath our trading systems. Just don't expect to get rich quickly by reading this.

such a bad book..completely meaningless..it isnt about long/short market dynamics at all. the author doesnt even know how the market really operates and just citing some academic research as if he really knows what they mean.

If you are interested in learning about Jackie Chan's films this is a good introduction. However, not enough personal data. I have read better accounts of his life. However, not bad.

"The Unauthorized Jackie Chan Encyclopedia" is a nice reference guide to Chan's prolific film career up to the year 2002. The book contains many interesting and obscure entries about Chan's career and the HK film industry in general including: Maggie Cheung, Hwang Jang-Lee, Wille Chan, Ng See-Yuen and the Shaw Brothers Studios.
The Unauthorized also includes Jackie Chan's first English language interview from 1981 and provides a musicography of Jackie's music career. There are also plenty of interesting and rare photos and magazine covers throughout the book. The only negatives are that author John Corcoran does not go into a lot of detail on many of the entries and seems to have aimed the book towards younger readers.

Overall the unauthorized Chan encyclopedia is a nice guide to the world of Jackie Chan and is recommended for die hard Chan fans.

The NAEH is a marvelous organiztion for helping the homeless. I downloaded a survival guide from the NAEH. It's incredible! But let's review this book. It is just wonderful! And costly! And I paid $35! You can order it from Amazon.com for only $28. The proceeds go to the National Alliance for Ending Homelessness. There seems to be some misunderstanding about the homeless. And this book has a tinge of that. But it is not as bad as some books on homelessness which deal with the subject. One has to be homeless to really understand. One suffers from what I call the "pyramid effect". This applies to all the poor. And especially the blacks. When you are homeless, your fear is exponential. Simply said, the less your resources, the more your fear will expand. Just imagine a pyramid. Now go down that axis from the center, and you will see that fear expands the more your resources dwindle. Some symtoms that I experienced were the frequent need to urinate. Putting my forefinger down my throat so that I could vomit. This seems to give some release to the fear. One needs to rent a storage bin. This will give one access to a washroom. But one should also "mark" a fast food restuarant for cleaning as well. And you have to keep clean. The NAEH hammers away at this. I am glad the proceeds from this book are going to them. A job? I think I tried for 20 or 30 jobs during this period. And I actually worked! One needs to go through thrift stores and get the feel for buying. A lot of the homeless that I met seem to be women whose spouse died and they simply didn't know how to handle money. I knew one who went insane. I also found that my sexual desire and my craving for junk foods went WAY up! This is to escape the present moment. One of my homeless friends went to prostitutes, got AIDS, and that was it for him. I don't know where he ended up! He just dissapeared. And you have to forget the jobs after awhile. I had a beautiful sports jacket, black dress shoes, nice slacks, hair cut short, and a dummy resume that I had written at the library. But the interviewers can always sense when you are scared. Which you are all the time when you are homeless! I remember their seeing my eyes filled with tension and fear. That's it. Out you go. And it is something you can't fake (your level of fear) unless you take drugs first. Which are deadly. But I did get a job for $4.25 an hour. The money just dissapeared it was so little. The manager kept jumping on me. I yelled back and quit. Getting an "entry level" job while being homeless is much like diving into a barrel of water from 1,000 feet above. The chances are not very good. This book exemplifies an attempt to get at the root cause of homelessness with words and pictures. It suceeds, somewhat. My symtoms started to dissapear when my homelessness ended over three years ago. But three still remain. 1) I don't want any posessions. I might lose them. 2) I don't trust anybody. 3) I don't want to owe anybody anything. It complicates matters. This is a wonderful book. BUY IT! Oh. Vote for Al Gore. I saw Milton Friedman on cable. He stated that the Libertarian Ideal is not yet feasible. Whoever you vote for, good luck! And BUY THIS BOOK!

Are you tired of reading the same old zhit about "The HOmeless"? THen check out my book that was actually WRITTEN by a homeless person, "SURVIVING ON THE STREETS: How to GO Down Without GOing Out" by me, Ace Backwords. Available from amazon.com of course.

Ok, It's been a long time since I read this book, close to 10 years, but I read and re-read it then. This moving story of a young girl learning to deal with epilepsy is wonderful for anyone having a hard time, especially young-adults. I think of it fondly as a fairy-tale.

When Kit learned she had to write a paper called "Who I Am" for her English class, it was the last straw to her. She felt as if she hardly had time to think, let alone write. Kit was too busy worrying about her mother's illness, her younger brother's troubles in school, her older brother's girlfriends, and her little sister's need for attention. Yet, it was through these family concerns that Kit found the answer to her question: Who am I, anyway? This is a book about a preteen's teetering between childish blunders and adult insights. A delightful character, Kit is a heroine despite herself. Like many 12-year-olds, she's funny when at her most serious, with wisecracks that come straight from the heart. (Orinally titled: I Am The Universe.)

Another quick and cute read for us, Jack and the Beanstalk/The Beanstalk Incident is both the traditional tale, told in the most basic and standard way AND it's also something totally different. Once you've read the original, from Jacks perspective, you flip the book over and meet the Goose the Lays the Golden Eggs (who tells her version of the story) hearing how it REALLY went down! The original tale, is predictable and won't be any big shakes for readers/listeners familiar with the tale already, nor does the illustration style really enhance the story. Where Red Riding Hood/The Wolf's Tale was heavy on the text and light on pictures (in my opinion), I found the mix of text and illustration to be just about right, additionally, they are done in a style that I found more appealing than with our last Upside Down Tale.

Once you flip the book over to read about the "incident", you can image the goose calling you over...for some reason I got an image of an old biddy (kind of a nosey parker) who feels the need to "set the record straight). Those nice giants (their names, as it turns out, are Alvin and Edwina), they DO NOT eat people...sure they like to cook and eat...but NOT PEOPLE. It turns out, they LOVE to entertain and play Chinese checkers!

As the goose tells it, Alvin and Edwina go out of their way to be good hosts to the rude Jack, who at the end of a very hospitable visit tries to steal their goose! I found The Beanstalk Incident to be simple but slyly clever tale with a cute ending that is not entirely predictable...well worth a read. The Beanstalk Incident also has the same illustration style which I found charming and playful.

Overall I give it 4 stars for the pure enjoyment of the giants side of the story. This is a very clean version and the book has a very clean, non-dark atmosphere to it. Worth a read for all lovers of traditional fairy tales and would make a fantastic read aloud story for younger readers already familiar with the traditional story.