Associations Books

"As one of the most gifted players in U.S. soccer history and national team captain, Claudio Reyna has helped the team to be more successful and competitive internationally. Through his professional experiences in Germany, Scotland, and England, he's become a great pro and a wonderful student of the game. More Than Goals is a special look at what motivates this great player and how he's developed his skills. I highly recommend this book to all soccer enthusiasts."

Bruce Arena
U.S. National Team Coach and Technical Director

"When Claudio's on the field, teammates know he's going to get them the ball and that he'll help them to play better. More Than Goals gives insights into becoming that kind of player."

Landon Donovan
2002 and 2003 U.S. Player of the Year

Tired of typical linear, from-youth-to-star books? Unsatisfied with "how-to" drills? If so, this is the perfect antidote.

Claudio's story as a genuine American soccer hero is a special one -- and he tells it in an engaging, exciting way. With the help of talented soccer journalist Mike Woitalla, Claudio weaves various parts of his career with thoughts on the state of American soccer today. Using his father (his first coach) as an example, Claudio describes his view of American soccer -- the ideal, and the reality.

The book can be read and enjoyed by many audiences: young players seeking inspiration; coaches looking for tips on how to teach and motivate, and soccer fans hoping for an inside view of a true American hero.

The U.S.'s greatest soccer star, Claudio Reyna, has always put more effort in his game than most players, and he does the same thing in this book. Instead of simply writing an autobiography, or an instruction manual, he does both in More Than Goals. And he does it with great style too, using his own personal experiences to illustrate the general principles and techniques that have made him one of the world's premiere players. If you're a fan who wants to know more about Claudio, or a player who wants to learn how to take your game to the next level, this book is for you...

There are few books that I've read that are as wickedly delightful as this one. Since I love the fields that Monteleone specializes in, namely horror and dark fantasy, perhaps I'm more fond of this stuff than your average non-afficionado would be - although I can say I have read some of these columns to a relative who is not a fan of those genres and she seemed to think them as hilarious as I did.

What we have here is a large collection of columns that Monteleone wrote over a period of several years, and, in so doing, brought a lot of joy and laughter to a goodly number of people. It's hard to describe Monteleone's humor, but it is as trademark as that of Joe Lansdale, another brilliantly funny writer. Despite winning the Stoker Award in 2003 for this book, Monteleone, I feel, deserves even MORE acclaim for this collection because it is, by and large, the very definition of a "hoot."

A favorite of mine is entitled, if I remember correctly, "What's A 'Hate Puppet?" It's about the author's wild, hilarious ride in script-writing for Hollywood. Moreover, his series on his experiences stemming from his phoning in to a radio talk show and his subsequent encounters with UFOlogy, were just about the funniest and most entertaining things I'd read in quite a while.

(There is one column I wish he hadn't written, but it is a small part of this massive, magnificent collection.)

Anyway, if you love reading both Mencken AND Lovecraft, and you take an interest in the fantasy and horror genres this book is almost certainly for you. It was worth every penny and then some.

Just a quick note to the effect that this book won the Bram Stoker Award from the Horror Writers Association for Best Non-Fiction Book 2003 (presented on 5 June 2004)

Nearly a quarter century before Bill O'Reilly established his 'no-spin zone' on Fox, Thomas Monteleone (author of the stellar dark fantasy Blood of the Lamb) created a similar forum he blithely labeled "The Mothers and Fathers Italian Association" within the pages of Knights, a SF fanzine. Despite having had several homes over the years (it's been featured in Horrorstruck, The Horror Show, Mystery Scene, and currently resides in Cemetery Dance), Monteleone's column has always been a place where candor was king and debate actively promoted. Now, to the pleasure of many, and the dismay of quite a few more, twenty seven years worth of these columns have been gathered together in a single volume.

Virtuoso fusions of humor, anger, contempt, and informed opinion, any one of Monteleone's columns is likely to piss at least part of its audience off. Although one's enjoyment of a particular column often depends on whether you or a friend is a target, they always manage to provoke thought. Several leitmotifs run through the columns. First, Monteleone makes it abundantly clear that he loves his wife, the formidable Elizabeth. Second, he doesn't suffer those whom he considers fools gladly, skewering them with enthusiastic glee. Third, he thrives on stirring up controversy--you'll probably never encounter anyone so eager to throw gasoline on a fire. Fourth, there's a heck of lot of chest pounding going on--it's often hard to tell the difference between shtick and self confidence, but Monteleone probably prefers it that way.

Highlights of this long overdue collection include "The (Pretty) Good, The (Not-So) Bad, and The (Man-This-Is-Gonna-Get)Ugly," wherein Monteleone names those he considersd the most overrated writers in horror/dark fantasy, "A Heinous History of the Hardly Writing Association," his take on the HWA, and "The Shadow Over Bethel Park (and Other Tales of Unspeakable Dread)," where he relates a personal anecdote involving a retailer's illegal practice of selling stripped paperbacks.

Even after over a quarter century, the column remains vital. Ample proof of this lies in Monteleone's recent columns on UFOology, which, besides appearing in this tome, are now running in the latest installments of Cemetery Dance. Therein, he relates a tale so entertaining it's surprising he's saved it so long. The true story of a college prank taken to extremes, the columns collectively from a hilarious, biting piece which will provoke laughter (at the author's antics) and perhaps dismay (at the gullibility of so called experts desperate to prove their whacked out theories). On display in each are the erudition, egotism, chutzpah, insight and lively writing style which has kept his audiences following him from one venue to another.