Recreation Books

This book is initially difficult to read; I enjoy challenges. Especially mental ones and Brian will challenge you to challenge Self. NO book approaches shooting in a more cerebral way. Well, that's not true because he'll move you beyond Thinking about what it is you wish to do and simply Doing it without the Mind "thinking" away and slowing you down.

I cannot possibly over sell this book (just like Surgical Speed Shooting) and I push the book to all shooters who fancy themselves as "serious" about competition or life skills with a pistol.

I find the book difficult to put down now and reading it is "a breeze" once you get to the point that you've internalized his definitions. I rather enjoy studying the Mind so it took a day or two before all fell into place and I breezed through it after that. In fact, I breeze through it twice a year. It's one part of my "shooting bible" which must be studied dutifully.

If you decide you don't like his book I'll buy it from you and cover the shipping. It's that good. I don't think you'll find a better endorsement than that. I'll add it to the other three copies - two of which are worn out...

I've shot with Mr. Enos (hell I even beat him once, with a ton of luck), and I kinda grew up with him as a shooting guide. This book should be called "Practical Shooting: The Bible." It covers the fundamentals early on, and no not the fundamentals such as how to grip the gun or how to draw, but how to *think* and *view* shooting through your awareness and thought processes. This is the major difference between Enos and all the other greats, even TGO himself. Enos knows how to *think* shooting, and this book helps you get there too. I would recommend it to the D class shooter just getting started, the C class working on moving on up, or the M looking to perfect the art.

I'm picking it up just to refresh my skills, it's one you can read every few years and still learn something from it.

I bought a bunch of books on shooting recently. None of them came close to this one. Thanks to Brian's suggestions, I improved so rapidly it was scary. GET THIS BOOK and you'll see what I mean!

Rather IPSC and Steel Challenge-oriented, this book is not necessarily an easy read for those unfamiliar to IPSC/steel-shooting. But it is immensely rewarding for those who bother to think seriously about what they are trying to achieve on the shooting range, whether for fun or under match-conditions. So, you read the book once, then re-read the chapters one by one, make your notes, and then repeat the process during the following year until the book itself is a complete rag and you need to order another! Using the book on the range, you'll find yourself sitting on a bench reading one chapter, then picking out 2 or 3 specific details that you'll want to work on that specific day. Then you'll go home and ponder a little for yourself as the next practice-session comes up. Then, slowly but surely, you'll begin to transform yourself into a true shooter. Not easily digested, but once on the road with this book you'll never stop improving. And $19.94 is just absolutely hilarious! It's simply the best steal you'll ever do as a pistol-shooter in your life...

I am fairly experienced with firearms and have trained with some of the best instructors in the country. I have read many of the better books written on the subject and will say that this is easily the best book written on shooting the handgun. Whether you are a competitive shooter, law enforcement or interested in personal defense, this book will change the way you think about shooting. The sections on shooting technique are worth the price of the book but where Enos goes above and beyond is in how he addresses the mental aspects of shooting. His treatment of mindset could be applied to any other sport or just everyday living. This book belongs on the shelf of any serious shooter. I've only finished my copy for the first time but it is already filled with highlighted passages and notes in the margins. Cannot recommend highly enough.

Nice, solid mystery for kids, with lots of action, and a couple of great nod-nod-wink-wink bits that readers will love!

I read this book after Mr. Hale spoke at our library last year. Even if you don't like soccer, you'll still love Red Card. It has action and adventure, and it's a really good mystery. I didn't figure it out until the end...

My wife and I always check out the books we give our boys (ages 8 and 10). We grew up on the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, and we loved the pleasure those books brought us. Until recently, we'd been unable to find anything new on the market in the way of great mystery/adventure fiction. You know what I mean - pure, unadulterated, fast-paced fun. There are a lot of books out there about kids with "issues", which is fine - they're certainly needed. But if alot of the kids today are anything like my wife and I were when we were young, then there's a need for a modern Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew.

We'd all but given up on finding anything like that, until I noticed a teaser on an uncle/nephew mystery writing team in last week's Apple eNews email from Apple Computer. I checked out the full story on Daniel J. Hale and Matthew LaBrot on Apple.com's Pro site. I was intrigued. I ordered both books in the Zeke Armstrong series. I read both Red Card and Green Streak in a single day (when I should have been making sales calls). They blew me away. They took me back to my youth. I gave the books to my wife. She stayed up until 3 AM reading them. They blew her away. They took her back to her youth. We gave them to our boys. They devoured them. For the past two days, all they've been able to talk about is Zeke and Pow Wow, Zeke and Pow Wow, Zeke and Pow Wow. My wife and I have never seen them so excited about books.

At last! In Zeke Armstrong, we have a worthy successor to the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. Thanks to Apple Computer for bringing him to our attention.

Okay, I got into the Zeke Armstrong Mystery series backward. I read Green Streak first. I loved it. My ten year old son loved it. I ordered Red Card and received it yesterday morning. Like with Green Streak, once I started reading, I couldn't put it down. I had it finished by the time my son came home from school. He picked it up and kept reading until HE finished it. We both understand why this book won the Agatha Award, and we expect Green Streak to win even more awards. Daniel J. Hale and Matthew LaBrot have definitely got something going with the Zeke Armstrong Mystery series.

Mr. Hale came to our school to tell us about this book. I reccomend it to anybody who likes mysteries. I don't really like soccer, but I still give this book two thumbs up

I had the opportunity to sail Pink Cloud through Newport (CA) harbor with Pat Royce in 1978. He gave me a signed copy of his book which I will forever cherish; I started sailing International 14's a couple years later and had a chuckle when I looked to see Pat included the 14 in his book. A wonderfully illustrated and narrated book. Buy one for yourself and give as gifts to your friends who want to learn about sailing.

I've never sailed, but bought this to understand what was going on in the rigging as I read Two Years Before the Mast, and have since found it an invaluable companion in reading such books as In the Heart of the Sea, The Loss of the Ship Essex, the Patrick O'Brian Aubrey/Maturin books and others. Much to my surprise, the book included diagrams of the Pilgrim in which Dana sailed and some of the other ships mentioned in Dana's book, and of the Essex as well. Many of the wide variety of sailing ships mentioned in O'Brian are also shown. Fascinating reference to deepen the understanding of this literature.

Great book - have the one from the 70's but just wanted an update and to give one away to a new sailor friend who is taking sailing courses.
Wooo hoooo!!

Only telepathy could have provided a faster & more pleasant experience.

I have shelf after shelf of books on sailing and boating, but only Royce's Sailing Illustrated is essentially worn out. This and the accompanying workbook are the only books of which I have two copies; one set at home and one set the boat. If you want an excellent introduction to sailing, buy, borrow, or steal this book. It's still no substitute for actually spending time at the tiller (and making your own mistakes), but Royce, through this little book, will teach you more than a boat-load of much more expensive volumes (or most sailing "schools", for that matter).

A very entertaining book.

Growing up, everyone has lessons to learn. As we get older, we start to see that our parents are human beings--men and women--not just dad and mom. Thirteen-year-old Ruby Tuesday Sweet's awakening begins with the wedding of her older brother.

Sports have always been an important part of the Sweet household. Ruby Tuesday's dad, Hollis, is absolutely obsessed with the scores of the game--any game. Little does Ruby Tuesday realize that the reason Hollis is so concerned is not a simple love of competition, but a love of income: the Sweet family income. But during her brother's wedding celebration, a series of events gets the ball of awakening rolling for Ruby Tuesday and, suddenly, she is on the road with her rarely-present mother, Darlene, to hide out in Vegas with Hollis's crotchety old mother, Nana Sue. With her eyes opened wide by these two outspoken, independent women, Ruby Tuesday learns more about life--particularly her own--than she ever knew existed.

Kogler brings excitement and realism to Ruby Tuesday without crossing the line for adolescent readers. There is a lot of gambling slang used throughout the book, and readers may be rather confused by this language, just like their new friend Ruby Tuesday. But Kogler includes a glossary at the back of the book, and this will help readers decipher the "code" of the bookie-gambler world.

Fun and excitement, along with some rough awakenings for the naive-but-feisty heroine, make RUBY TUESDAY a coming-of-age eye-opener for both tweens and teens.

Reviewed by: Mechele R. Dillard

Ruby Tuesday Sweet's family has always been a little different from her classmates' families, but she never knew exactly how different. She had only a vague idea of what her father did, but now things are becoming a lot clearer. Ruby Tuesday has always known that her "Uncle" Larry, mother, grandmother, and father weren't like other people, sure, but now she knows that they're more than eccentric; they've been involved in some shady business, and now her father is in trouble following Larry's murder.

Ruby Tuesday and her mother, Daphne, skip town for a little bit until things blow over. Where do they go? To visit Ruby's grandmother, who lives with her pet iguana, 21, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Apparently, a lot of the secrets in Ruby's family go back to Las Vegas--and gambling. It's legal to gamble in Las Vegas, but Ruby's father and Larry were involved in that same business in California. Now, it's gotten them all into some hot water.

Ruby is just one of many fascinating, unusual, and well-written characters in a great novel by debut novelist Jennifer Anne Kogler. I also believe this is the first YA novel I've read taking place in Las Vegas, and that setting gives a lot to this book. Jennifer Anne Kogler has put captivating people in an enthralling location and written a funny, entertaining, original, and absorbing novel about them. It's a page-turner!

Reviewed by Jocelyn Pearce
12/20/2006

4.5-BOOKS on WUAT = 5-STARS on Amazon

Ruby Tuesday is one of those rare books that successfully voices the weirdnesses, funninesses, sadnesses, and revelations of moving from a kid world to an adult one, while managing to throw an iguana-filled Vegas adventure into the bargain. Like Roald Dahl, Jennifer Anne Kogler infuses an alternatively dark and touching humor into her novel that catches hold of both adults and kids- although Kogler's protagonist, being a bit older, speaks more to adolescent confusion than childhood rebellion.

Unlike the worlds of Harry Potter or Lemony Snickett, recent hits that also transcend the kid category, the world of Ruby Tuesday, although decidely wacky, is refreshingly and very recognizably the real world. Although Vegas glitz, grimy casino backrooms, and mafia hitmen aren't exactly part of the normal tween experience, the gritty reality of realizing that parents don't always do or say the right thing, and that sometimes it's the kid that needs to forgive, is. The best parts of the novel plunge you, right along with Ruby, into the dicey contradictions of adult relationships and the tension between doing the right thing for the wrong reasons or the wrong thing for the right ones.

And as anyone who has read the book will tell you, we're all excited to see what Ruby will do next....

Insightful, hilarious, creative... Ruby Tuesday is impossible to place into a single genre. Its also impossible to put down. Though its hero is a 13 year old girl, her context is decidely unique. A bookie father, a rock-and-roll mother, an iguana-toting grandmother, and an adventure in Las Vegas a normal adolescence does not make. With Janet Evanovich-esque humor, its hard to believe that Miss Kogler pulls off a drama amidst her comedy. I was particularly impressed by how real her characters were even in an atmosphere few of us can relate to. A great adventure, its like Finding Nemo - appeals to all ages, with smart humor and lots of heart.

On the roots of Kyokushin and Ashihara Karate, there is an excellent book of Kancho Joko Ninomiya.
Over 2000 photos and diagrams. Every full contact Karate fighter will learn a lot from that book.

Required reading for my private students. This book mirrors in words, photo's and highly illustrated drawings, one of the first things I learned when sparring: move around and outside an incoming attack. This book then shows how to best utilize this movement. I got the book back in 2002 and am still trying to drill some of these techniques into my repertoire. The book does an excellent job of displaying the basic punching and kicking mechanics and then moves into intermediate and advanced tactics and techniques. Then the book shows how to use this method for a very effective self-defense. The section of breaking ice with the hands and one (or more!) baseball bats with the shin was fascinating. I just wish they had gone into a little bit more on the conditioning to make these breaks.

Even if you are not going to engage in full-contact sparring, the tactics and techniques are easily adapted for self-defense, point sparring, etc.

This book is one of the best you can find out there on Knockdown Full-Contact Karate. Very complete and with good explanations. The only lack you can find is some of the photos are a bit too small.
Really good.

Joko Ninomiya (Kancho is a title, not a name) was a champion of kyokushinkai full contact karate before breaking away to found his own style -enshin karate (although he spent some time in ashihara karate inbetween). This book is of great use for any practicioner of a kyokushin derrived style (Kyokushin, enshin, ashihara, seidokaikan, seido juku, world oyama etc etc). Practicioners of other styles may find it of great interest awell.

This book is awesome! It is one of the few books to focus on the fighting aspect of full contact, knockdown style karate (where most only focus on formal technique and kata). While many of the techniques and combinations shown are not allowed in knockdown rules (even in Ninomiya's own organisation and their rule variation), what matters is the movement pattern and tactic that is taught.

This is a introduction to jissen kumite (full contact karate fighting) as it is supposed to be.

If I must find something to complain about, it is that some of the photos are to small. But that is the price to pay for cramming so much good stuff into the book.

Circular motion is used in virtually all combat disciplines and sports. Wrestling, Judo, Boxing, Basketball, Ice Skating, Football etc. all utilize circular motion. Any athlete and or martial arts practitioner will tell you that circular motion is useful for a number of situations. The focus of this book is on Karate or more specifically a style of Karate called "Enshin". The premise behind Enshin Karate is that a smaller fighter can overcome a larger and stronger fighter by using his strength and momentum against him. One uses the opponent's momentum by utilizing circular motion to move out of the way of the attack, move to the opponent's blind spot and then counter. If one uses his imagination, the techniques are virtually limitless. One must keep in mind however that the techniques in this book are Enshin Karate techniques which means everything done is under that system's rules.

In most styles of Karate, you aren't allowed to grab but Enshin allows one-handed grabbing in order to generate more leverage from your opponent and to use circular motion better. The techniques of Enshin Karate are indeed beautiful, but most of these techniques are incompatible with other styles of Karate because of the no grabbing rules. So what works for Enshin Karate fighting will not work for Taekwondo, Kyokushin or point fighting. The idea of circular motion however is good to keep in mind for any martial artist especially when you are going against a larger opponent.

As usual Don Casey has taken a cryptic topic for many of us and opened up it up into a very clear and easily understood system. Reading what he says about batteries will pay for the book ten times over, and reading the rest will save your boat. I will never leave the dock for more than a day sail without his complete library.

This is the best electrial book on marine electrical systems I have ever read. I am a power boat owner and would have titled the book Sailboat and Power Boat Electrics Simplified. I wired our 23' Bayliner Ciera for AC power using this book. Every boat owner needs to have a copy of this book. They make great Christmas and Birthday presents for your boat owner friends.

I was trained as a microwave electronics technician in the Air Force, and have studied Ham radio theory for years, so I didn't go into the wiring of my Newport 27, or my investigations of installing an HF ham transceiver cold, but Mr. Casey has written a book that, as others have said here, is so easy to read, and covers so much ground at the same time, that it's a truly profound work that added greatly to my technical and theoretical abilities and understanding. You don't truly understand the depth he touches on, or the wisdom in which he unifies and relates various theories, unless you come from some technical discipline. Only then do you recognize his insight as way more than a basic book for beginners. Don't let the personable, "easy read" fool you, this guy's good. I think it was Einstein who said something like "you don't really understand your field unless you can explain the most complex of it's theories to a child." Well Mr. Casey exemplifies that concept.

As another reviewer here has said, it would be nice to see an updated edition covering the latest technologies like conversion of lighting over to LED, Absorbed Glass Mat Batteries (AGM), etc., and Mr. Casey, I'm ready to buy it if you're ready to write it.

But don't wait for a new edition, buy this book, without a doubt.

Book is very good, recommend reading straight through if you have the time or if you have a basic understanding you can go to the section that is applicable. even if you have basic understandings of the system, the insight of reading every chapter is valuable.

Execlent Manual
Note: Don't buy if you already have "Don Casey's Complete Illustrated Sailboat Maintenance Manual" as you will find this manual inside the "big" one.

First of all, this book is excellent, and it's 27 years old.

I am wondering if there is someone who will write a universal solution book to let a player achieve any possible specific pattern from any possible pattern. Ex., let every square of every facet marked with digits 1-9 while the Rubik's cube at the pattern of all squares of the same color on a facet, and then, scramble it several times randomly, note the pattern, scramble it several times randomly, try to let the cube be back to the pattern noted.

Or, there maybe someone who has made, or will make computer programs to show how to achieve any possible specific pattern from any possible pattern.

I bought this back in '81 when I was a freshman in high school. I spent about four hours a night for a week memorizing the patterns and here it is in 2008 and I can still solve the cube in about 50-60 seconds (my personal best is 42 seconds). I keep a cube in my office and amaze co-workers.

My neighbor's kid has discovered the cube and wants to know how I learned it, so I naturally came to Amazon and looked...sure enough, this book is available. I've only read one other Rubik's book (I forget the name) and this was 10X easier than the first book I read. Since all the patterns in the book seem to flow in symetrical patterns, I found this to be very easy to master. The author even offers reverse patterns to save you steps (e.g. when orienting the bottom corners, you either run through pattern "A" (for example) twice to orient them, or run the reverse of it (call it "B") once to finish the corners. If I could memorize the colors and their relationship to the others, I could probably solve it in 40 seconds everytime. It seems I spent more time figuring which colors to solve than doing the actual moves. In fact, I can look at the cube and put it behind my back and run a move, look again, run another move behind my back and solve it that way. If you play guitar, then it's basically the same thing...after awhile, you just know what to do by only glancing at it.

I highly recommend this book. I still have mine...27 years later!

I originally owned a copy of this book years ago and easily learned and memorized the steps to solve "the cube" using the guidance provided. I can't say that I recall my personal best time on solving the puzzle; but the patterns were easy enough to memorize that I could find the solution while talking to friends or walking down the street. Considering all the possible moves, I think that's it's impressive that the book is simple enough to memorize those solutions. My original must have found it's way into a garage sale years ago, so I purchased a recent copy and a new cube. If my brain can still understand it at my age, anybody can use this book to solve this frustrating little puzzle and maybe even actually impress their spouse or, amazingly, their children! I see that other reviews that say there are solutions requiring fewer moves and I have no reason to question that. All I can say is that the solutions provided in this book are easy to understand and that they work!

This is an easy solution but will not solve it fast. You will probably get it done in about 3-5 minutes. I have used Jeff Conquers the Cube in 45 seconds and Minh Thai's The Winning Solution in the 80's. I used to average 38 seconds with a best time of 23 seconds using the Jeff Conquers the Cube method.

I just got the Jeff Conquers the Cube book again and after about a month average just under a minute and have a best time of 38 seconds.

Superb book - short and to the point. The explanations are clear and simple. Nourse even provides expert variations for when you get the hang of his solution. WARNING - it's virtually impossible to find this book in most brick-and-mortar book stores (nowadays puzzle and game shelves are filled mainly with books on sudoku or poker), so buy this book ONLINE if you get a chance. You might never find another copy!

This work is a masterpiece of sight and sound; reading Shul's writing you feel like you're right there with him, at the controls of the greatest, most beautiful airplane anyone ever built.

I was given an earlier edition of this book (back whent he price wasa only $57) and DEEPLY regret that I cannot afford the Special Edition to replace the other, which was stolen.

If you CAN afford it, BUY IT NOW AND REJOICE! It simply IS that good. Kudos to Kelly Johnson (the plane's designer) and Kudos to Brian Shul for such a great book!

The amazingly true story of Sled Driver was about a very daring pilot that flew one of the most secretive airplanes in history, the SR-71. Brain Shul, the author and the main personality throughout the book, started as a military fighter pilot, was one of the few people in the world to be to be trained to fly the SR-71 "Black Bird" or the "Sled" as it is sometimes called, let alone actually fly the beast, was chosen to fly the airplane. Two months of severe flight simulating and text manual reading, Brain is chosen to fly the "Sled" and is partnered with the only black man to ever fly the SR-7, Walt Watson. These two men are paired for their entire career of flying the SR-71. The rest of the book are tales of wondrous experiences and frightful mishaps that nearly take their lives, though they always came out strong.
In every book there are at least on thing that does not click with the reader, and in this book this rule holds true. The only problem I experienced while reading this book was the odd placement of pictures. Whenever the Author got into a serious thought or story, the next page would have a picture or series of pictures that would make you lose your trail of thought and provoke you to look at the photos. This severely annoyed me most of the way through the book. I don't quit think the author was thinking to deeply into the placement of the photos or he's a total genius and didn't want you to get completely trapped into his story, giving you time to think about what just happened or recollect on what exactly he was saying.
Of course there are good or great things about a book or the reader would stop reading it, unless he was forced to read it like I was in grade school and throughout High School. The pictures were phenomenal, even though their placement was off. The sheer quality and beauty of them was overwhelming. Also, the author used so much detail in his writing, it was almost as if you were in the cockpit with him and Walt. He used so manning adjectives, that it was almost as if he wanted your full attention on a specific object or experience, just so that you didn't miss a thing.

I first heard about this book when i was a freshman in high school seeing the add in the pacific flyer newspaper, Ever since then I have always wanted to get this book! I searched book stores to this day to find a copy! But after searching I have found it here only to have my dreams shot down like a japanese plane over pearl harbor that at a price of 245+ I will never be able to add this book to my extensive collection i have collected ever since i was 8! I hope one day to win the lottery or something so i can buy it!

yes i know that the 'sled driver' by shul is a fantastic book!!
and yes indeed, i have yet to read it
at nearly 1/2 a grand to purchase, i believe i shall never read it
i find it wonderful that the author wants to release another limited printing of 3500 copies
once again, i am sure to be left out of the fold
what is the motivation here?
am i not to ever get a crack at reading this fine work??
am i expected to ever get a truthful answer to my questions??
being a realist and a pilot, i must say its a lousey day for v.f.r
warmest regards to all those profiting at my expense
tim

I got my copy from Brian when he was selling them at an open house at March AFB. He was planted right under the left wing. You could sit in the cockpit of the SR-71 for a photo for $5. That was well worth it! When you look behind you and see all that mass of black titanium, and imagine that you would leave a 30-06 bullet in the dust, it is truly awe inspiring. By the way Brian was signing, to you personally, his Sled Driver books for a paltry $35. My friend who is also a plane nut , got one too. My treat. I also got his second book by mail from him for the same price. He is a great guy who answers his own phone and takes your order himself. He is also very funny. Look him up at the next big airshow you attend. He'll tell you all about "the sled" Lee

Excellent, excellent book! I have been in aviation for 20 years as a flight attendant at three airlines. The variety of quotations is excellent. The book makes me appreciate aviation even more. These are exciting times and this book helps me navigate the past and apply great quotes for my continuing aviation career.

I am very thankful for this book. I will keep it by my bedside and take it on trips.

I bought this book as gifts for my rc- aviation friends and it was an instant hit! This book makes an awesome bathroom quote book- or a lovely coffee table book. It is small but thick. A great read. I gave it 5 stars, but I will say that I expected pictures to go along with the great quotes.-this is just a minor flaw. Most probably wouldn't expect pictures anyway. The words inspire scenery in the mind by themselves. Definitly worth the buy!

My husband likes to fly (we have a small plane) so I thought he'd enjoy this book even. He loved it! And I loved it too I n=must say. Its a terrific collection of quotes the reference or talk about flight and flying. The quotes are organized into chapters: high flight, magic & wonder of flight, predictions, first flights, air power, combat, bums on seats, cliches, misc., piloting, safety, space, women fly, last words. There must be hundreds of quotes in here. There are some photographg (B/W). Its a terrific collection! Highly recommended!

My father was an air traffic controller (firstly in the air force and then in civil aviation) so I grew up around airports and aeroplanes.

I can just sit with this book for half an hour any time. It is a wonderful combination of humour - "Airplane travel is nature's way of making you look like your passport photo." (Al Gore) - might be my favourite. But there is also the deeply profound and quite moving.

It'll be a well thumbed and much quoted book for years to come.

Flying is a PASSION and "Slipping the Surly Bonds" is a great book for anyone who shares that passion....

This is a must read for pilots or ANYONE interested in flying or connected with the aviation industry. It is NOT a " sparse, flowery book of aviation poetry," - it is a very thorough book of aviation history in the form of various quotes. I would estimate that there are approximately 1000 quotes contained in this easy to read format.

This book makes a WONDERFUL gift for pilots and those who have always been fascinated with flying. However, unlike most books that contain a few poetic lines on each page - this book centers more around historic and literary quotes. Although it is more than a "coffee table" book, it is certainly a book that would easily interest most guests.

"Slipping the Surly Bonds" is divided into 14 areas and has an index for easy referencing. Areas of interests include: First Flights, Magic and Wonder of Flight, Air Power, Combat, Predictions, Piloting, Safety, Space, and Women Fly and more.

As a female Vice President of two small Aviation Companies, I have often searched for gifts for pilots, etc. who have been difficult to buy for. I have never gone wrong when purchasing this book as a gift.

For basketball fans and coaches, this book is a must read. It's a short, but graceful and humorous look at basketball through the eyes of one of its coaching deans. Readers get Carril's insight into collegiate basketball and his opinions on various techniques and fundamentals. His dry wit and plainspoken style exemplify Carril at his finest as he discusses the philosophy behind the "Princeton offense" that his teams invented and perfected. If you enjoy college basketball, it's well worth the money.

"The closer you live to the wrong side of the train tracks tells me if your gonna be a good rebounder." Reading this book I got blown away about the lessons in it. First off, there's very little your learn in terms of X's and O's, so for that matter go to a basketball camp and learn from a coach live. What you will learn is that life and basketball is about putting forth the expriences you've had into the best possible mold of yourself. I've read about Andrew Carnegy so I know about the town fo Bethlaham PA, but that doesn't give the hardship that Pete Carril grew up in. What I did get was that it doesn't where your from or your who your parents were(your parents and family are important for personal matters), it's what you do with your self that makes the difference. Carrils insight in what made his teams successful are very helpful. Athletes are pampered too much today, what is really needed is honesty and a fair shake. Pete Carril was best in saying that the true stars at Princeton were the ones in the libary. Alot has been said about Carril's teams and their offense but I like the fact that it was always about the "teams" and not individuals. The sad fact is that in the big time college basketball world, there's not enough Pete Carrils. Just look at the graduation rate of college basketball players and ask yourself who's getting the raw end of the deal. Carril's got his deciples out there, John Thompson the younger at Georgetown to name one. Read this book and forget about basketball and take it like a wise bartender or cab driving giving you his life expriences.

In The Smart Take from the Strong, legendary Princeton coach and Sacramento Kings bench adviser Pete Carril offers an assortment of aphorisms jotted and compiled over the course of his college career. Ranging from one sentence (e.g., "Overcoming Certain Obstacles: A good mind has never handicapped a player") to 6 pages ("You Never Tire of Making Shots"), Carril's end product is part Quotations of Chairman Mao, part Clausewitz, offering dozens, if not hundreds, of pithy insights that are as useful to a successful life as they are to success on the basketball court. He is Yogi Berra turned upside down (or right-side up): elegant, yet intellectual, in utter simplicity.

In early sections of the book, Carril sheds biographical light -- and, in an unassuming style, makes light of it -- on his life growing up in industrial Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The son of Spanish immigrants, Carril learned from his father how craftiness can overcome physical talent. "Every day, before he left for work, [Father] would remind my sister and me how important it is to be smart," Carril writes. "Then, as he was going out the door, he would point his finger at his head and say, 'Use El Coco'"(17). As a young player standing only 5'6, Carril took the simple message to heart -- and, around it, developed an entire doctrine of coaching that guided Princeton to 13 Ivy League titles, an NIT tournament win in 1975 (the only by an Ivy League school) and a classic upset of defending champion UCLA in the 1996 NCAA Tournament. That he did it all in one of America's elite academic institutions, without offering a single scholarship, makes his accomplishments even more remarkable.

Contemporary, NBA-focused readers of Carril's little masterpiece will also come away with a better understanding of the style of basketball that transformed the Sacramento Kings from NBA doormat into a perennial playoff team (and, in the early 2000s, arguably the "greatest show on court", in the words of Sports Illustrated). Sections entitled "Play without the Ball (and the Coach)" and "Cut with Credibility" underscore the primary objective of a good offense: to move the defense. He touches on details ("Every little thing counts. If not, why do it?") such as bounce-passes and jump balls; he discusses his love of the three-pointer and good passers; he considers at length the value of mastering fundamentals such as dribbling, pivoting and layups. Carril is a basketball fundamentalist without hestitation. But, in an interesting contrast to the Kings teams he has helped to coach (with former Princeton star pupil Geoff Petrie), Carril is also a tough-minded, defensive-oriented coach who denounces the "three car garage guys" -- players who come from the rich side of town. "I liked to find players from schools whose names begin with 'bishop' or 'monsignor' -- city Catholic schools -- because they have learned discipline and because they tend to be shrewd, tough, hardworking, loyal to their friends and families" (169). Judging by the struggles with which the Kings have had on defense and rebounding in recent seasons, one wonders whether Coach Carril is still getting enough say in team huddles.

Ultimately, the gold nugget in Carril's treasure is perhaps his simplest point. He writes, "The most important thing you can do is to DO what you are doing well. The word 'focus' does not carry the same weight with me...When you play, PLAY...When you study, STUDY. Then it's not hard to separate the two" (191). In a world of information overload, pressure to multitask, and need to exceed beyond any realistic expecation, it is a valuable lesson for any competitor in life.

I am not a fan of the Princeton Tigers but a Wisconsin Badger basketball fan, Pete Carril is a tough, tenacious basketball coach who beleived in certain principles that went beyond the game of basketball. These principles gained the trust and confidence of his players. Which explains why he was able to coach basketball for so long in an age defined by "image over substance"... shoe contracts, commercials, etc. I wish that I could have played for a coach like this.

This book is a great look at the "Yoda" of college hoops. Carril's biography is a good look at a blue collar coach who got the absolute most from his players. He reveals no "mysteries" of the game-he stresses hard work around a solid philosophy. It is NOT an X and O book-don't buy it for that reason. It is a great basketball philosophy book. If you love the college game and the personalities that coach in it, buy this book.