Ball Books

It's not easy to find good quality children's books these days and this one is a keeper! I'm buying a copy for all the children on my Christmas list this year. It is a wonderful story with many lessons to be learned.

This book is really a gem, the pictures are so understated and funny and kids really can really relate to Redd's situation. I love this book, it is one of my favorites.

Little Redd has been invited to the prestigious Boll Weevil Ball, but will his size deter his enjoyment of the event? Kelly Murphy handles this little bug's troubles with style and grace. What a beautiful book! The text is simple and pleasurable, and the illustrations.....the illustrations are simply breath taking. The character design, the layout, the colors - everything is top notch! Kelly Murphy - we want more!

Very good review of a variety of tricks. Will allow you to advance your juggling in complete isolation from the rest of the juggling communinity, something that would be difficult to do otherwise. Having all these tricks laid down in a hard copy rather than trying to find them online is very helpful. Contains a fair amount of juggling theory as well. This is a must for anyone looking to take the next step.

I love this book.
Easy to read and understand. Also, it is extremely funny.

Dancey's encyclopedia is the bible of ball juggling in my account. He has gathered amazingly many tricks, and does a good job explaining them too, often using helpful drawings. The fact that the book is all about ball juggling gives it a depth in ball-tricks that other books, written more generally about juggling, often lack. The structure of the book, giving the tricks in alphabetical order, makes it easy to find what you are looking for. It also encourages going back and forth in the book, which I find is a great way to constantly find new tricks to learn. Very inspirational.

I have two daughters, an eighth grader who is really into softball, and a fourth grader who is just getting into the sport. I ran across this new drills book and highly recommend it. It's really organized, with good pictures to go along with the drills. And it's great for both of my girls. I'm definitely going to tell their coaches about it.

As a league administrator, I'm always looking for great coaching
resources for the coaches in our league. I love this book because it's
a combination coaching and drills book. Many drills books out there
just have drills (with a smattering of ad hoc remarks on mechanics).
But this book is different. Every section of the book has a thorough
discussion of the required mechanics (hitting, pitching, defensive
footwork, infield defense, outfield defense, etc.), followed by a slew
of drills. The book contains a progression of drills for every level of
player (youth league level, as well as tons of "advanced variation"
drills for travel league and high school players). The book is very
organized, and therefore is a great resource for coaches to refer back
to on a regular basis. You can tell that Michele Smith is a stickler
for details because the photos and captions are very detail oriented and
helpful. All and all a fantastic resource!

This book is a great reference for any coach of U10, U12, U14 and high school girls softball. The book is very organized and well written, and explains very clearly the fundamentals behind each drill. As expected, the pitching chapter is excellent. But the hitting and the defense chapters are also outstanding. There are lots of advanced level coaching tips throughout the book, including in each drill's "hints" section. Michele Smith is in alot of the photos personally demonstrating the mechanics and drills. The diagrams are good, and clutter free.

G. K. Chesterton was probably the greatest optimist who ever lived. He BELIEVED where most of us give up and become despondent. The three stories in this volume take place in a strange twilight world in which the author, as he says in THURSDAY, makes you want to see the lamppost by the light of the tree rather than vice versa. This, by the way, is his most profound and eccentric book.

In THE MAN WHO WAS THURSDAY, we see an incredible global conspiracy dissipate like swamp gas. (As Calvin Coolidge once said, nine out of ten of the troubles one sees down the road swerve off and disappear before they get to you.) THE BALL AND THE CROSS is about two heretics who appear to fight each other to the bitter end, until they find a worse enemy. And THE CLUB OF QUEER TRADES is a delightful entertainment made up of wonderful shaggy dog stories, much like THE PARADOXES OF MR POND.

If life hasn't been going your way, curl up with this volume -- and you WILL feel better.

The Club of Queer Trades - Not quite like the Father Brown mystery stories but very close. GKC traces the adventures of a club comprised of men and women who invented their own trade. You usually don't understand the trade until the end of the story, and the book never disappoints.

The Man Who Was Thursday - This is probably the most famous of all Chesterton books. The book describes the attempts of a Scotland yard detective to infiltrate a secret anarchist society. The garden party conversations between anarchists are laugh out loud funny. I'm still fascinated by the ending, mainly because I don't understand it.

The Ball and Cross - Chesterton's hilarious story of how an adamant Catholic duels to the death with an ardent atheist is a worthy read. Chesterton systematically critiques popular delusions of educated thinking as the book unfolds. The atheist and the Catholic grow closer together through their duel, and realize that they understand each other better than the other characters understand either of them. Chesterton's wit is second to none and if you liked Pilgrim's Regress by C.S. Lewis, you will love this book.

I've loaned two of these books to friends, and both of them were immediate fans. If you find this collection interesting, try the Napoleon of Notting Hill also by GKC.

The Club of Queer Trades is by far the funniest story I have ever read! I assure you that it will keep you rolling on the floor from the beginning to the end of the story.

I was surprised that I liked this book (having been an apalled visitor to South Africa in the early post-apartheid days), but I love it.

Bosman is THE literary genius of South Africa. By turns, funny, ironic, sad and engry, he reveals all the foibles of South African rural Afrikaner life in the first half of the 20th century. If you can read only one South African writer, make it Bosman, you will be well rewarded.
The challenge is that Bosman is so little known outside South Africa, yet he remains perpetually in print in South Africa.

I grew up with Bosman on the family bookshelf, and launched into his tales of South African life at an early age - my family have teethed on his stories as he attended the same high school as my father, which therefore makes him almost part of the family I guess!

He gives a unique insight into the humour and pathos which characterised that country in the days before the second World War. Although he is best known for his short stories and poems of South African life, there are two of his book-length stories included in this Collection - Mafeking Road (perhaps my most favourite) and Cold Stone Jug (from his time spent in jail).

Some of the short stories are depressingly sad, but no matter whether they are sad or filled with humour - they do give you a realistic impression of what life was like in the years of apartheid in which he lived. Bosman has not always been popular with his fellow countrymen, mainly, I think, because of his ability to scratch below the veneer of their life-surface and expose their soft uderbelly. He pokes his finger with a toungue-in-cheek look at South African (mainly Afrikaans) life and relationships between the different colour and ethnic groups.

I was sad to learn that this book is out of print, as my copy is badly in need of replacing now ... might be worth a re-think by the publishers, perhaps!

Considering a ball python? Already have one? Don't waste your time buying all those other 40 page throw away books, you can get all the info from those books straight off the web. This book is a text book. It's huge, it's got tons of pics, and it is well worth every cent. Everything you need to know is here. Buy it now. Do a little hunting around and you can also get an autographed version.

this book is probably the best investment i have put into my snake hobby by far. It is more informative than the vets around my location and it contains beautiful full color pictures of every thing from enclosures to breeding and on to the many genetic morphs of the ball python its easy to read and contains the info for the entire aspect of owning and caring for ball pythons in my opinion and i hope other buyers will think so also.

I had purchased several smaller paperback books on ball pythons and found them to not contain very much in the way of helpful information.This book covers all that you need to know to own,raise,breed,and provide proper care for ball pythons.

I love teaching with this book. I've used it for five semesters, and have never repeated a course. Each one of the selections can inspire six weeks of discussion, the issues are so complex and provocative. Nevertheless, there is a handful of work I would drop in the next edition, for example, the Reality T.V. essay is not well organized; even though the subject remains relevant, this is not the essay with which to open the exploration. There are also some photos which haven't awoken any interesting conversations. (Whereas the Sally Mann group has been a source of eternal delight and debate.) I'm ready for a new edition, but Mr.Atwan is the author-editor I'll stick with. (Check out his America Now, also from Bedford St. Martins. This is the editor's eye you want trained on your classroom.)

I used this book for an English 101 class during my freshman year of college. This book inspired a composition class that I enjoyed thoroughly. Never had I had so much fun writing and analyzing before in a class. I would strongly recommend this text for any teachers/professors searching. Students love the non-traditional topics, diverse contributors, and unique voice this book provides to the class.

I truly regret not ordering this text for my composition courses this semester but I definitely will teach it next semester. I have been reading through it and I find that it is carefully structured. The themes focused on are fascinating. I can well see how students would become drawn to this text. There are a wealth of essays, short stories, commentaries, and images here: the images are just a wonder, ranging many different subjects. The images are followed by questions designed to provoke deep thought. What a way to encourage class discussion and encourage students to stop and carefully examine what they see! I congratulate the author for a superb job.

This book featuring wonderful core strengthening movements! A great companion book is Mary El-Baz's "Transform Your Core 6-Week Workbook."

This book is a joy to use. Ms. Karter explains the concepts behind the workouts, then presents the exercises in a graded series of three levels. The pictures are clear and easy to follow. (There are a couple of places where the pictures are a little different than the written explanations; in that case I do what is shown in the pictures.) Each level has its own color code on the outer edge of the page, so you can open the book quickly to the appropriate level.

In the first chapter Ms. Karter explains the reasons for developing the "core muscles," that is, all the muscles extending from the the base of the neck, down the back and front of the trunk, to the pelvic floor muscles. These muscles support your spine and interior organs, improve your posture, and help you with your balance. Moreover, working on all these muscles together makes your body work more efficiently, which gives you more stamina.

In the next chapter she explains the principles of proper alignment when doing the exercises. She includes a few exercises just for getting lined up correctly. This is very important, as it greatly affects the outcome of doing this work. I found her explanations of these key concepts to be thorough and clear.

The final three chapters contain the exercises, in graded levels. You do each level for at least six weeks before moving on. I found six weeks to be adequate for levels one and two (I'm about to move into level three at this time), however, I have a yoga background. Some people may need more time. I could easily see spending three or more months per level, and that would be fine. There's no hurry in learning how to move your body in this way!

Most of the exercises are for strengthening the back and abdominal muscles. However, there are also some for stretching the hamstrings, and developing balance, arm strength, and back flexibility. Combining strength with flexibility exercises makes for a very satisfying workout.

After just a few weeks of the first level I did find that I had more energy, and my posture was much taller without me constantly having to straighten myself up. Better yet, whereas I used to use my lower back for various tasks such as vacuuming, now I work more from my inner abdominals, which has saved my back a lot of stress. The added benefit is that my abdominals are getting a workout even when I'm off the exercise mat. Finally, developing my inner abdominal muscles has greatly improved my breathing; I'm taking deeper breaths from the belly on a more regular basis, rather than the shallow breathing which was my former habit.

I've found that going back to yoga after working with this book has really enhanced my yoga practice as well. I had always been told in yoga classes to "work from my core," but as my core was undeveloped, I couldn't really feel what the instructors were talking about. Now I know, and I really can work from my core.

This is a great book for improving your overall health, stamina, and appearance.

Three levels of exercise are taught. The first level seemed a bit easy but it was a very good (and necessary) prep for second level.

The third level can be achived with a little time and effort. The program is not complicated and can be easily followed working out a couple of times a week.

Athletes as well as the deconditioned can use this well organized text and conditioning is focused on but not limited to "the core".

Denny Miller has had the distinction of playing both Tarzan and Superman, a feat no other actor has matched, though he treats his appearances as the legendary heroes with self-deprecating humor. Indeed, humor is the mainstay of his biography, a good-natured reflection on a long career in movies, TV and commercials with anecdotes about the performers he's worked with along the way, including Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis, Peter Sellers, Jack Lord and many, many others. There are also reflections on his UCLA basketball career (under legendary coach John Wooden), his time as an infantryman in Germany, and - most surprising of all - his bouts with clinical depression. And, as one might expect from a man who is still in great shape at age 70, there's some solid physical fitness advice. Miller attributes his career more to luck than talent, and seems very grateful to have the life that it's afforded him - a welcome change from the usual gossipy egocentric star bio. With his positive outlook on life and easy good humor, he remains a role model.

Didn't You Used To Be What's His Name? is the superbly illustrated, organized, and presented autobiography of Denny Miller -- a man who was a professional actor playing such roles as Tarzan and King Arthur, has portrayed cowboys, surfers, and for fourteen years was the product spokesman for Gorton's Fisherman. Black-and-white photographs, fascinating tales of showbiz, and the sometimes humorous, sometimes touching, always dedicated exploits of a true professional actor makes for an engaging and intrinsically interesting Hollywood life story.

I had the good fortune of running into Denny "Scott" Miller, and his lovely, supportive wife Nancy, on Sunday, September 18th, at the Weatherford Hotel in Flagstaff, Arizona. It was a day full of activities in Flagstaff, and Denny was doing a book signing in the lobby. What a nice, interesting guy he is, and what an interesting book he's written!

Who, you may ask, is Denny Miller? He will cheerfully acknowledge that you may not remember him. In fact, the title of his new book is, "Didn't You Used To Be What's His Name?" But I had no trouble remembering who he is. First of all, as an MGM contract player, back when MGM was hitting the skids as a movie studio, he starred in the 2nd worst Tarzan movie ever filmed, 1959's "Tarzan, the Ape Man" (it was the first worst, until Bo Derek came along with her version of the story, and nudged it out of worst place!). This epic used stock footage from 1950's "King Solomon's Mines", as well as black and white footage from the Johnny Weissmuller original, tinted, to make it fit in.
But Denny Miller himself is an appealing personality. I'm glad to have this book, both as a Tarzan fan, and as a fan of his. Miller is a great-looking guy with a winning smile, and an engaging personality. Over the years, he's redeemed himself in a series of movie and TV roles, not the least of which was as one of the leads in the series, "Wagon Train". In that series, he called himself "Scott" Miller, in case "Denny" doesn't resonate with "Wagon Train" fans.

This book is a rollicking romp through his life, his Hollywood years, and his more recent work as the grizzled Groton seafood skipper (and he's perfect as that character!). It is abundantly illustrated. He has worked with an astonishing number of the biggest names that show business has to offer, and there are revealing shots of many of them. "Wagon Train" had a policy of featuring a different guest star each week. That, and his subsequent movie and TV commercial jobs paired him with many stars, from Lucille Ball, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Katharine Hepburn, to Peter Sellers, Barbara Stanwyck and Frank Sinatra. His dish is delicious. For the most part, he's admiring and generous. But a few big names, like Bette Davis and Charles Bronson, don't come off too well.

When I think of the roles he might have played! He'd have made a great Superman, or Flash Gordon. And he'd have had the acting chops to bring them off! Miller is a loyal, sharing friend. He acknowledges and pays tribute to many who have influenced him, and helped him along the way. In spite of all the gunfights, barroom brawls, misfired special effects and dead lions and rhinos in his movie wake, he comes across as an easygoing guy with a great sense of humor, who loves having a good time with friends and family.On top of all this, Miller has packed into his pages a lot of wisdom. He has many
important things to say about life, health and physical fitness. It's the teacher in him I guess (another of his jobs). You'll find a lot of hints about the benefits of happiness:
humor, and good health - both physical and mental. I hope he writes more.

Denny Miller the man emerges from the pages of this book. A man of thought on many subjects. A likeable, generous guy who we'd like to relax with, and listen to his stories. Since that's not possible, we can hang out with his book - read his stories. So get the book. Kick back with it. Have a good time. And, as Denny Miller himself would say, Stay Healthy!

The book can be obtained from most book stores, or from Miller's own company;

To Health With You Publishers LLC
8550 Charleston Blvd.,
#102-374
Las Vegas, NV, 89117

Did I mention that I liked the book?

Art Scott,
Historian,
Mystery writer,
Flagstaff, AZ

This was Awsome i have all the Dragon ball vol 1-16 and this is one of my Favorite i highly recoment it

In the third volume of Dragon ball Goku goes of to Muten Roshis island to learn martial arts. Muten Roshi agress to train him but only if he brings him a girl friend. After Gokus first try which dosen't work another martial arteist named Kuririn ask Muten Roshi to train him to. Muten Roshi refuses at first but then changes his mind after Kuririn gives him a gift he changes his mind. So Goku and Kuririn set out to find a girl for Roshi. After meating Lunch Muten Roshi takes Goku and Kuririn to train at turtle rock. After six months of hard traning Goku and Kuririn go of the the world martial arts tourtment where they meet some old friends and rivals. This is one of my favroit volumes beacuse it has good humor and action. This volume has some achool and tabaco use with some mild language and some tolit humor in it so I think it may be aproproit for some kids. Anyway good buy and part to the dragon ball manga series I also owen the Dvd box set of this saga.

This book totally rules! It's not as good as Vol.2, but hey, it's still good! I would have to say that it is better to get for little chldren than alot of the other ones ( vol.1 has some nudity. ) Heck, if it had anything, I wouldn't be aloud to read it! I reccomend buying it!