H Books

THIS BOOK HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE IS ACTUALLY A PRETTY GOOD BOOK. THE GOOD THING ABOUT NOT JUST THIS BOOK BUT ALL THE BOOKS IS THAT THEY TELL WAY MORE INFORMATION THEN THE MOVIE DOES. BUT THE PROBLEM ABOUT THIS BOOK IS THAT IN THE BEGINING IT STARTS OUT REALLY SLOW BUT ONCE YOU GET ABOUT 300 TO 350 PAGES READ IT STARTS GETTING REALLY GOOD AND YOU DONT WANT TO PUT IT DOWN. PROBOBALY THE BEST PART IN THIS BOOK IS THE ENDING WHICH I AM NOT GOING TO TELL YOU JUST INCASE YOU HAVEN'T READ THIS BOOK. OVERALL I WOULD SAY THIS BOOK IS PRETTY GOOD BUT IS IS NOT ONE OF MY FAVORITE SO I A'M GIVING IT A 4/5. OH AND HERES A QUESTION FOR YOU GUYS THAT READ THIS BOOK.
"DID YOU LIKE THE BOOK WHEN YOU READ IT?

Ok, we all know and love the Harry Potter Series by J.K Rowling. And of the seven books in the series, I think Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is probably none other than the best. It's plot is amazing and it has the best descripion a book could possibly offer. The only critizisim I could give it is that things can be a bit predictable at points... The author uses a lot of conversation and dreams to really keep the book flowing. Now, here's a bit about the plot: Anyone who has read the Harry Potter series knows that the main characters are Harry and his best friends Ron and Hermione. It mainly follows a plot where the Triwizard Tournament happens at Hogwarts and it hasn't happened for 1'000's of years. Three schools are competeing, (where else would tri come from?) Hogwarts, Beauxaton's, and Durmstrang. They compete in various challenges and only one student does it per school. That's all I can tell you. Read it to find out what happens! I would highly recommend this book.

The Goblet of Fire is truly a special book. Delving even deeper (and darker) into the villainy that lies just below the calm surface, so to speak, Rowling succeeds...yet again.

The plot of the series thickens, what with fellow students turning their back on Harry, who is taking part in an old, old, old Wizard Tournament. It all culminates in a climatic battle with the flesh and blood Voldemort in a graveyard.

Rowling's writing style is so engaging and effective. She positively reduced me to pathetic tears in the closing chapters of this EXCELLENT book, leaving us on the verge of a looming danger.

As Gandalf might say; "The battle in the graveyard is over, but the battle against Voldemort has just begun."

Okay, that was a bit stupid...but true. Stupidly true.

Zap! Lord Voldemort's and Harry Potter's hex and jinx came zooming out of the tips of their wands and became connected. Find out what happens by reading J. K. Rowling's fabulous book Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Harry has to spend another grueling summer with his evil Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and his cousin Dudley, until his best friend, Ron Weasley, invites him to the Quidditch World Cup. After the exciting game every body gets attacked. Luckily, Ron and Harry are ok. On September 1, as always, Harry and his friends get on the Hogwarts Express to go to school. A few days after their arrival 2 other schools come. The schools are Beauxbatons and Bulgaria. That night Dumbledore (the head master) revels an old goblet. He explains that only 3 people may compete in the Triwizard Tournament. The tournament has 3 dangerous tasks. 3 names come out of the goblet. Then a 4th . Harry Potter. He has no choice but to compete. Towards the end Lord Voldemort comes back. Does Harry live? Read to find out!

For me the best part is the 1st task. Harry had to get a golden egg from a fierce dragon. He barely gets the egg. I liked this because it had a lot of good words and action. It kept me turning the pages.

The main character is Harry Potter. He is a good kid but gets in trouble by Snape. Ron is Harry's best friend. Professor Snape is the most hated teacher in the whole school. Malfoy is a bad kid and Harry's worst enemy.

I recommend this book to people who like long books, good words, and a great book. I bet you will love this book like me!

Listening to Jim Dale's narration of the Quidditch World Cup makes it all come to life, better than in the film. He is almost without peer. I can't imagine anyone else doing it. The conclusion of the book is effectively emotional and it all complements reading the book itself. Bravo!

Seabiscuit is a great story, book, and movie. If you have not read it, buy it today and start reading. You will not be disappointed.

This book is a true American legend at its best. "Seabiscuit" was written by Laura Hillenbrand based on a true story of one horse and jockey's incredible life. This biography is set in the 1930's and 1940's and takes you on a journey with someone and something that no one believed in until they were given a chance to prove themselves. The perseverance of these two characters is admirable; they never give up, no matter what. The jockey, John Pollard, was struggling in life until given the shot to show he was more than just an average jockey. Seabiscuit, on the other hand, is my favorite character; he never accepts the possibility of losing. Pollard and Seabiscuit's relationship started when trainer Tom Smith paired them together out on the racetrack. I love that they were given a chance to prove everyone wrong by winning race after race with odds stacked against them; both had been injured numerous times. Read about how they smashed people's disbelief and made history, performing one of the greatest comebacks in all of sports. The theme of "never giving up no matter what" would most likely interest people who enjoy sports novels. "Seabiscuit" is truly the greatest sports story of all time.

This narrative leaps out of the first paragraph in the same way Seabiscuit learns to bolt from the starting gate. From the start, Laura Hillenbrand draws the reader into the story with colorful, taut writing. There are no meaningless side stories in this book - each detail weaves itself back into the tale of a horse who beat the odds to become one of the greatest athletes of the 20th century.
This story is gripping even if you have no interest in horseracing.

I loved this book !! It made me feel as though I was there watching the drama unfold as the unknown underestimated horse rose to champion status. The characters are real and the story is built piece by piece. If you like rooting for the underdog and enjoy the thrill of competition, this book is for you. The large print of this edition was easy on the eyes as well.

This book follows the life of Seabiscuit, an incredible racehorse in the 1930's, and the three men who were entwined in his life: live-wire owner Charles Howard, taciturn trainer Tom Smith, and reckless jockey Red Pollard. WOW. This is an amazing book. I read it because I had watched the movie and loved it, but I wasn't thinking I would actually enjoy the book. I felt obligated to read it. Well, it's probably my favorite book to read this year. The author sets up each character carefully, going back to the man's birth, or further back, and the reader really gets a sense of what drives each person. The character development for "the Biscuit" is truly great, as well. His personality really shines, and I wish I could have met him! Her insertion of anecdotes is masterful, as well. The era (the Depression), the nation's mindset, the men who loved Seabiscuit, the means jockeys undertook to maintain racing weight are all described and explained wonderfully, without the author ever becoming pedantic or talking down to us folks who don't know racing. One doesn't have to be a "race person" or a "horse person" to enjoy this beautifully crafted book. The rave reviews are well-deserved. It's the story of underdogs achieving great things. It was an exhilarating and enthralling read; better than any fiction I read this year. After reading this, I would read anything this author put out.

I did not realize when I bought these books that they were for young adults, I still thoroughly enjoyed reading about Alanna's adventures, friends and family. Alanna proved to the men again and again that "anything you can do I can do better". A great message to put out there for young girls. And even though it took me 1 day to read each book I just couldn't stop until I was done!

When I first picked up this book, I was the typical bookworm. I knew every corner of my middle school's library. Most often, I'd find myself in the mythology section or classic plays. However, one day, I took a fateful journey into the fantasy section.
I was 12 years old, timid and accepting of even the worst opinions of me.
When I read it, I was enlightened. A whole five foot one, (four foot eleven at the time), I was keenly aware of her height issues and the jokes her friends made.
The way she shaped her own life made me feel as if I could do the same. And I have. I took control -- or as Alanna would say "rode the tiger" and I've made my own way in the world and I don't think anyone would call me timid now.
I'm in college now, and I know if I start to feel down or like I'm losing confidence in myself, I can just pick up my old worn out copy of Alanna (or any of the subsequent sequels) and feel better, feel like a stronger woman because of it. Tamora Pierce was a saint for writing this book. Sometimes I even feel like she wrote it just for me!

Is no one bothered by the essential lack of values in this book? Getting what you want is more important than honesty or respect for others. The main character threatens others with horrible, supernatural punishment, tricks her father, lies outrightly, and that's just in the first chapter.
What about integrity, justice, truth as foundations of doing right?
Compare this heroine with Jonas in The Giver, Frodo in The Lord of the Rings, Andy in Wolf Rider, or Karana in The Island of the Blue Dolphins.

I thought this book was wonderful. However, it is not appropriate for children under 14. The reading level is not that difficult, but the content is for upper grades. This book inadvertently appeared on my daughter's third grade reading list. She did not understand why Alanna's sheet were "smeared with blood" She also had lots of questions about fertility cycles, sleeping with men and getting pregnant.

This book started with a great IDEA. I liked the idea of Allana becoming a knight in her brothers place. It sounds like a book that can have SO MANY possibilites. However, the auther's choppy writing and typing errors were just sad. The author moves from one scene to the next, with no flow whatsoever, and simply skims the surface of the character's identity. There is no depth, and no description. It is almost a simple statement of facts throughout the whole book. Though I really want to know what happens in the series, and HOPE very much that the auther's writing has improved, I think I'll just look at the library for the rest of the series.

... "On June 4, 1960, the Big Creek Missile Agency, fresh from its medal winning performance at the National Science Fair, is sponsoring a day of rocket launches at its Cape Coalwood range. Everyone reading these words is invited..." This quote can be found on page 356-357 of a book called Rocket Boys; this statement showed me that the success of the main characters was a result of personal hard work and teamwork.

"Rocket Boys" by Homer H. Hickam, Jr. is a nonfiction account of a group of friends from Coalwood, West Virginia in the early 1960's who have a fetish for making rockets. Homer and his friends have a dream to shoot a rocket up into the clouds. This story gives the reader a message that dreams really can come true.

Rocket Boys is one of the strongest books I have ever read. The author accomplished his goals to tell people that team work is one of the most important things to know in your life. This book is recommended for people that like space and rockets and who want a hopeful book to read. Reading Rocket Boys really gets you thinking about team work and how far you can get with it.

I was a little disappointed by the ending and the fact that Homer Hickam gave John Kennedy the idea to go to the Moon but other than that I couldn't help but root for the band of misfits.

I bought this book and the audio tapes and my son and I listened and read this amazing book together. Our plan was to read for 30 minutes a night...however it was sooooooo good we listened and read for 5 hours!

We are now going to rent the movie that was made from the film! All systems go....we enjoyed the adventure!

Just finished this book at 3:00am last night and the only negative comment I have is "why did it have to end?". I saw October Sky a few years ago and it was an exceptional movie - don't make the rash judgment I almost made in thinking that the book would probably not be be better than the movie because it is much, much better. It has only been a day since I've finished it but I'm still warmed by it and would have to put in into my top 10 all time greatest books. I was born in 1949 in a small upstate NY town and lived the fear generated by Sputnik. I think Homer would agree with me that, as tough as it was growing up then, it was the closest thing to heaven on earth as one could be. Wish I could go back.

Children in West Virginia mining towns became coal miners. They did not become rocket scientists. But it did not matter how well-known this was, for Homer "Sonny" Hickam, Jr. there was only one way out. He was the right age and had the right amount of ambition when the United States and Russia became entangled in the Space Race and as far as he was concerned, his fate was sealed.

Hickam's writing carried the comfort of conversation with an old friend. It was remarkable how easily I became nostalgic for neither a time nor a place that I had ever known. The story drips with the passion of a man who if he had to do it all over again, probably wouldn't change a thing. He understood and appreciated the importance of everything that happened to him and helped him on his way.

One thing that I found particularly fascinating was how closely this book resembled the old proverb that It takes a whole village to raise a child. And I mean no disrespect to Mr. Hickam when I point out how amazing his circumstance was in that he could not have done it alone. The stars seemingly aligned perfectly so that one boy from West Virginia could capture the hearts of so many people that he would be able to get such invaluable assistance. There was probably no way anyone else could have done what he did. And that is to his credit. (The way his path was guided by fate, or something like it, reminded me of how Ruth Reichl became a food critic in Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table.)

I loved this book for Hickam's ability to transport me from my favorite reading chair to a West Virginia high school in the late 50s. I found myself hanging on every word wondering what would happen next. There is something special about an intelligently written story about a successful man who takes no credit for himself, but rather gives it to each person who helped him make his dreams come true. Rocket Boys may now find itself among the short list of my favorite books.

except for the Bible, this is the best.
It is the full and undiluted version from the first english translation.
read it, learn it,live it.
j

The book is excelent reading but please get a different version.
This version only has 580 or so pages where as other versions have over 1,300 pages. That means that this version is only half the story.
So much gets lost in translation already don't cheat yourself even more.

Although the story is well known to me, the editing of this audio book was so confusing. I absolutely could not follow it. Too much is cut out.

Story has good twists, but there are too many French places and people which makes the audio confusing.

This book is long out of copyright and so is available free for your Kindle elsewhere on the net.

(Great book though!)

In his telling of his experience in some of the most intense battles of WWII in the Pacific, Eugene Sledge takes you into the foxhole for an incredible journey through two battles fought by US Marines. Between the equatorial heat, cement hard coral landscape, intense relentless enemy fire, dead and rotting enemy bodies baking in the sun, bad K rations for food that is made worse by the smell of gunpowder, sweat, human waste and rotting bodies, and the 75% chance you will either be killed or wounded, you somehow can't leave his side as the reader or it would somehow be dishonorable. Through Sledge's storytelling you grasp a real sense of what "team", "core" and "band of brothers" mean to a Marine. It is the absolute best recount of war that I have ever read. We as the next generation of "free" Americans owe it to the men and women who fought for our freedom to read this book.

As a WWII history buff I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to see combat from a combat Marines perspective. GREAT!

I really can't say anything better than has already been said in the previous reviews. This is a horrific, and at the same time, fascinating read. Sledge tells it like it was and holds nothing back. The descriptions of the blasted battlefields full of dead is something you won't forget. His descriptions of the fighting conditions will make you thankful for dry clothes, hot coffee and fresh socks every day after reading this. Should be required reading in schools today - an important gift from someone who lived in the horror of war.

I recently read this book for the second time. As others have noted, this is by far the best American memoir of the Pacific Theater. While Sledge's narrative style is straightforward and plain, there is a sensitivity to the work that is not found in other American war memoirs. Sledge was a good Marine, and understood that Japanese brutality had to be answered in kind: he had absolutely no compunction about killing the Japanese and often expresses an extreme hatred towards them. His descriptions of what he witnessed are often horrific--the picture he paints of "Maggot Ridge" on Okinawa is nothing short of a hellscape. And yet a central theme in the book is that in the midst of all the brutality of Peleliu and Okinawa, one had to try to maintain at least a modicum of sensitivity and human compassion. That, I believe, is what makes this such a remarkable record of the war.
I had the privilege of talking to Dr. Sledge about a decade ago, and he was a true gentleman--courteous, kind, and very generous with his time. Indeed, my overwhelming impression was that he was a very gentle person. Perhaps that is why his memoir is so haunting.

Having seen Ken Burns films on WWII and his mention of this book, I decided
to read it. I was not disappointed. Ordinarily I don't like works like this
but Sledge handled his on-the-ground experiences in the Pacific with simplicity
but with elequence. I was very impressed with the book, moved and sometimes
shattered by the bravery and determination of our troups. It makes for
exciting reading, if you're inclined to know what war was like then, and
probably what war is still like for men and women on the ground now. Read it!
You won't be disappointed.

I am a divorce attorney. I order ten copies of this book at a time and give copies out to people who are hurting. You can read this book in one night, and I recommend that you read this book over again during the next days as needed.

When my own girlfriend/partner had a sudden stroke, I was devastated. One of my divorce clients who I had given this book to, told me, Gary, there is this book.... I read this book again that night, and found it to be quite helpful as I supported my Marilee with her stroke and then a painful death from cancer that was discovered.

This is an excellent book for anyone who is experiencing a loss, be it due to divorce or separation, or any other loss, such as a sudden illness of a loved one, or even the loss of your own employment, etc. Also, people who initiate a divorce are also suffering from a loss, albeit a less sudden loss. They are faced with the loss of the dream that they had when they committed to their partner.

This book walks through many of the steps involved with loss, and the three mega-stages of surviving, healing and growing.

But this book! Dollar for dollar, it will be one of the very best investments you will ever make. When you are next hurting due to an unexpected loss, read this book that day, and the next day or days as you need to. And buy a second copy of this book to give to friends who are devastated by loss.

THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS I HAVE EVER READ!! ITS SO POWERFUL FOR YOUR HEART, BODY, AND SOUL!!

This is one of the best Self-Help books ever written! Even though it is a little corny and uses bad poems, I use it every time I have had a major loss and it has served me well. It defines loss and the stages of grief, and helps you work your way through them.

My younger sister gave this to me 15 years ago when I was going through of very painful divorce. She was reluctant to give a book to me and told me so. However, the type of book it is gives you little bits of stuff to hold onto as you go through the emotional roller coaster of losing someone you love, be it from divorce or death.

I have purchsed several copies of this book over the past years to help others. There were days I didn't know how I was going to get out of bed. So, I'd pick it up and skim through it and it really made a difference.

My latest purchase was form the widower of the sister that first bought it for me. She died of leukemia at only age 50 in April 2007. I thought that perhaps if he knew she had bought this book for me, that it would also help him.

I recommend that one keeps extra copies for those times when we don't know quite what to say to someone who is hurting. This book says it for us.

This is a great book. Although a lot of the book centers around divorce, it is a great help for those who have suffered a death. Although don't get most of the poems it is a great help and makes you realize you are not going through this alone, there are people who feel the same as you.

DRAGS A LITTLE IN THE BEGINNING BECAUSE THEY ARE SETTING UP THE BACKGROUND,
BUT WELL WORTH THE WAIT. ON A SCALE OF ONE TO FIVE, I GIVE IT 4.5 BELLY LAUGHS.

LOVED BOTH "GODS MUST BE CRAZY" FILMS - SAW THEM OVER AND OVER AGAIN AND WILL SEE THEM AGAIN. THIS IS A MUST SEE!!

The first of a type of movie is usually the most impressive and this film is most impressive. It is written in a narrative style; the narrator describes three intertwined themes.

A coke bottle falls from the sky. It proves to be such a useful tool from the gods. This tool causes coveting among a Kung San tribe; therefore the gift must be returned.

On the journey to return the gift, we cross other groups of people pressing their own journeys in life. We follow a keystone cop type good people chasing clumsy revolutionaries. And a tongue tied (along with everything else) scientist who is enamored of a new teacher (Sandra Prinsloo.) Keep an eye on her daisies.

And what trials and adventures lay in store on the journey of the gift bearer (N!xau)?
Will the gift return be accomplished?

In any event you will never look at a coke bottle the same way.

I really enjoyed this movie when it was first released. Recently rented it to share with my kids and we could not even make it through the first 30 minutes. There are wonderful messages conveyed, and it definitely strives to be slapstick, but oy, it's a painful journey trying to rewatch it some 25 years later!

The Gods Must Be Crazy DVD

The Gods Must Be Crazy is a delightfully funny movie. It is about an African bushman who discovers an empty Coca Cola bottle that has been thrown from an airplane and the Bushman believes that anything that comes from the sky must be from the Gods. He has no idea what it is or what its purpose is. He eventually starts calling it "the evil thing" when his family wants to use it for themselves and squabbles develop. There are several side stories, as well. This makes you wonder how much "civilization "has improved our lives.

All in all a funny movie. Recommended for the entire Family.

Gunner March, 2008


P.S. Must have been sponsored by Pepsi

I had not seen this movie, but I was so glad that I bought it. It was wonderful!!!!!

I found this movie utterly predictable and Dennis Hopper's performance as the town drunk only tolerable. Gene Hackman is the new high school basketball coach in basketball crazy Hickory, Indiana in 1951. He is a man with a past, although it is not as dark as it initially appears. Hopper plays Shooter, the town drunk whose son is on the seven man team. Despite his sodden brain, Shooter has a superb understanding of the game and Hackman selects him to be his assistant coach. You know immediately that Shooter is going to sober up and become a real coach. The scenes where Hackman is thrown out of the game and Shooter must take over are forced and unrealistic; Hopper is unconvincing as a person stressed out over the combination of alcohol withdrawal and having to take charge.
Even the scene when Hackman is attending a town meeting where the purpose is to decide whether he should be fired lacks a great deal of tension. It is not out of the apparent politeness of the townspeople, there is a lack of passion among all participants. This is supposed to be a town passionate about basketball and a coach passionate about the game.
I was bored throughout the entire movie and struggled to watch it through to the end.

Love this movie! I love the flavor of Indiana more than anything. Visited that state and the area they speak of many times in my youth. Great inspirational story. Just a quick note...a joke is lost in the subtitles mid-way through the semi-national game. After being fouled out of the game, Coach glares at his player, for which the subtitles read "It was for the team". The line is actually "it was Dentyne", throwing back a joke Coach said in an earlier huddle. Being deaf helps with these things! Amazing movie still.

GREAT SPORTS MOVIE! INSTEAD OF REVIEWING MOVIE, WHICH WE ALL KNOW IS A GREAT SPORTS MOVIE, JUST WANTED TO SAY THE BLU-RAY PICTURE IS A HUGE IMPROVEMENT OVER MY OLD DVD. I'M ONLY REPLACING MY OLD MOVIES THAT I LOVE BUT LOOK BAD ON MY NEW HDTV. WAS VERY PLEASED WITH THE PICTURE QUALITY ON THIS. THE ONLY DRAWBACK TO THIS BLU-RAY IS THERE AREN'T ANY EXTRAS EXCEPT FOR A TRAILER. BUT IF YOUR LOOKING FOR BETTER PICTURE QUALITY, YOU WON'T BE DISSAPOINTED.

Hoosiers DVD

I don't know how I missed this film when it came out in 1986. It is a story of a middle-aged basketball coach and his last chance for redemption. It is suppose to be loosely based on a true story (whatever that means). Gene Hackman does a great job as the coach with Dennis Hopper as a supporting actor.

Of course every body knows that all Indiana boys play basketball, just nail a basket to the side of a barn and start shooting, right? Unfortunately basketball is more than simply shooting the ball through a goal.

The movie is set in Indiana in 1951, a little before my time as a high school basketball player. It does raise some questions with me such as how much difference can a coach make at the high school level? Mine made all the difference in the world, but I was fortunate to have Coach Jerry Wayne Shelton. I suspect they can make less of a difference at the colligate level.

Highly recommended for any one who played high school basketball.

Gunner March 2008

I had not seen this movie, but I was so glad that I bought it. It was wonderful!!!!!

I found this movie utterly predictable and Dennis Hopper's performance as the town drunk only tolerable. Gene Hackman is the new high school basketball coach in basketball crazy Hickory, Indiana in 1951. He is a man with a past, although it is not as dark as it initially appears. Hopper plays Shooter, the town drunk whose son is on the seven man team. Despite his sodden brain, Shooter has a superb understanding of the game and Hackman selects him to be his assistant coach. You know immediately that Shooter is going to sober up and become a real coach. The scenes where Hackman is thrown out of the game and Shooter must take over are forced and unrealistic; Hopper is unconvincing as a person stressed out over the combination of alcohol withdrawal and having to take charge.
Even the scene when Hackman is attending a town meeting where the purpose is to decide whether he should be fired lacks a great deal of tension. It is not out of the apparent politeness of the townspeople, there is a lack of passion among all participants. This is supposed to be a town passionate about basketball and a coach passionate about the game.
I was bored throughout the entire movie and struggled to watch it through to the end.

Love this movie! I love the flavor of Indiana more than anything. Visited that state and the area they speak of many times in my youth. Great inspirational story. Just a quick note...a joke is lost in the subtitles mid-way through the semi-national game. After being fouled out of the game, Coach glares at his player, for which the subtitles read "It was for the team". The line is actually "it was Dentyne", throwing back a joke Coach said in an earlier huddle. Being deaf helps with these things! Amazing movie still.

GREAT SPORTS MOVIE! INSTEAD OF REVIEWING MOVIE, WHICH WE ALL KNOW IS A GREAT SPORTS MOVIE, JUST WANTED TO SAY THE BLU-RAY PICTURE IS A HUGE IMPROVEMENT OVER MY OLD DVD. I'M ONLY REPLACING MY OLD MOVIES THAT I LOVE BUT LOOK BAD ON MY NEW HDTV. WAS VERY PLEASED WITH THE PICTURE QUALITY ON THIS. THE ONLY DRAWBACK TO THIS BLU-RAY IS THERE AREN'T ANY EXTRAS EXCEPT FOR A TRAILER. BUT IF YOUR LOOKING FOR BETTER PICTURE QUALITY, YOU WON'T BE DISSAPOINTED.

Hoosiers DVD

I don't know how I missed this film when it came out in 1986. It is a story of a middle-aged basketball coach and his last chance for redemption. It is suppose to be loosely based on a true story (whatever that means). Gene Hackman does a great job as the coach with Dennis Hopper as a supporting actor.

Of course every body knows that all Indiana boys play basketball, just nail a basket to the side of a barn and start shooting, right? Unfortunately basketball is more than simply shooting the ball through a goal.

The movie is set in Indiana in 1951, a little before my time as a high school basketball player. It does raise some questions with me such as how much difference can a coach make at the high school level? Mine made all the difference in the world, but I was fortunate to have Coach Jerry Wayne Shelton. I suspect they can make less of a difference at the colligate level.

Highly recommended for any one who played high school basketball.

Gunner March 2008