Athletics Books

Good book, style is a bit uneven, but it is Jim Dent's style. Football in the early days, no money, riots on the field, in the stands, gambling, and the greatest football player of the era. If Red Grange brought professional football respectability and to the nations attention, Bronko kept it interested.

Good job of reporting on the era surrounding the story. 20's through the 40's in America.

This is a highly entertaining biography of one of the most celebrated football players in Chicago Bear history, Bronko Nagurski, who starred for the Minnesota Golden Gophers as a college athlete before turning professional. Jim Dent's welcome book may well serve to introduce Nagurski to a new generation of football fans.

Nagurski, the son of immigrants from Central Europe (from the Polish Ukraine), was born in Ontario, Canada, but his family relocated across the border to International Falls, Minnesota, where Nagurski would continue to live for the remainder of his life. He compiled an outstanding athletic record while at the University of Minnesota that earned him national acclaim. Later, he would be elected to the National Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio for his many accomplishments as a professional player.

For most Americans of Nagurski's era, football was secondary to baseball and the sport was viewed by many as simply a means to pass the time during the Fall and Winter months while waiting for the next baseball season to begin. In fact, many celebrated college football players turned to the baseball diamond after graduation because it offered better paychecks and the prospect of greater job security. "Papa Bear" George Halas, himself, had played a handful of baseball games for the New York Yankees. Jim Thorpe, Ernie Nevers, Paddy Driscoll and so many others did the same, but many great football players were only mediocre baseball players. In other instances, however, pro football lost talented players to pro baseball.

The pioneers in the National Football League operated under circumstances that would seem incredible to the spoiled millionaire athletes playing today: player salaries were minimal in most cases (oftentimes, as little as $2,000.00 per season for ordinary players). Sometimes, the ticket sales receipts from the box office had to be collected in order to pay immediate expenses and wages. NFL franchises frequently folded due to insolvency.

In one telling example that addresses both the hard times of the Great Depression and the legendary penury of Bears' owner George Halas , author Jim Dent describes how players who required athletic tape, bandages and liniments from the team trainer, Andy "Doc" Lotshaw, earning some extra dollars after his summer baseball employment with the Cubs concluded, were subjected to wage deductions imposed by the thrifty Halas to recover the nominal costs of the trainer's supplies.

Another obstacle to the prosperity of professional football was the fact that an overwhelming majority of fans viewed college football as the legitimate brand of the game. Nagurski's own college coach actually tried to discourage him from turning professional. The upstart professional league was considered too undignified by many fans of the college game.

When George Halas relocated the Decatur Staleys, a factory sponsored team, to Chicago, he appropriated the orange and blue team colors from the University of Illinois, his alma mater, and named his football team "The Bears" as a derivative of the Chicago Cubs baseball team which also played at Wrigley Field. In another bid to gain further respect for the fledging professional league, Halas signed well known college stars such as Harold "Red" Grange and Nagurski to the team roster.

I found this book to be enjoyable for a number of reasons. The Halas family once lived in the same Catholic parish as did my family; the Vanisi family, which produced two sons who went on to become football general managers, once lived one block down our street. My grandfather worked with Red Grange when "the Galloping Ghost" began selling insurance after his injured legs no longer permitted him to make the "cuts" that made him such an exceptional gridiron runner. Dent provides an accurate description of Grange bandaged and taped like a mummy as he played his final season of football.

Notorious gangsters like Al Capone and his constant bodyguard and companion, "Machine Gun" Jack McGurn, were frequently in the grandstand at Wrigley Field, where the Bears played their home games for nearly fifty years. Capone would generously tip the Bears players if the team had played an especially exciting game. Players and fans frequently mingled in the same speakeasies after the contests concluded.

Nagurski continually had quarrels with Halas concerning his salary and eventually retired after one such dispute in 1937. He took up professional wrestling as a new moneymaking venture and became a champion. He reinvested his big city earnings into a gas station that he operated for many years in his hometown of International Falls.

During World War Two, when the National Football League struggled to operate with depleted rosters, Halas requested that Nagurski come out of retirement and return to the Bears. After a six year absence, Nagurski helped lead the team to another title in 1943. This unique and unprecedented comeback season is the central episode in Dent's book.

After reading "Monster of the Midway," I corresponded with the author, Jim Dent, a football enthusiast best known for writing "The Junction Boys" an earlier book which described the beginning of the career of coaching legend Paul "Bear" Bryant. "The Junction Boys" was eventually adapted for a cable television movie.

Dent, who is a Texan, sent me a gracious handwritten letter which acknowledged the receipt of a list of corrections and suggested revisions that I had sent to him. His book, like many written by authors who are not natives to the localities that they are describing, contained a number of minor errors and misdescriptions. Some authors have delicate egos when it comes to readers pointing out any research errors and omissions that they may have made, but Dent politely admitted that my suggested corrections were largely accurate and that he added that he intended to incorporate several of the changes to the text when the book was reprinted. Like many authors, Dent had almost all of the essentials in place, but missed a few secondary details about Chicago and its sports teams.

I was interested to learn that Nagurski's son played college football at Notre Dame and joined the Hamilton Tiger Cats of the Canadian Football League afterwards. Before his death, Nagurski accepted an invitation to attend a Super Bowl game as the guest of NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle.

Someday, I hope that a movie adaptation of "The Monster of the Midway" can be produced. Jim Dent alluded to this prospect. In the meanwhile, seek out this book if you like old time football or are curious about the origins of the game, you will probably be pleased with this title. It is fun to read and not too heavy in its approach to the subject. By all accounts, Nagurski was an honest, hardworking and unassuming man and Dent captures his spirit in this way.

Jim Dent's Monster of the Midway is less a biography of Bronko Nagurski, and more of a historical look at the era in which Nagurski dominated the National Football League.

If you are a sports fan, you may enjoy this book; if you are an NFL fan you will love learning about the story of one of the league's most endearing names and a charter member of the pro football hall of fame. If you are a sports history afficianado like myself, you will enjoy the stories Dent has to tell and appreciate the way he makes this book read like a novel at times. In some ways I even feel this book will translate well to a television movie -- like the Junction Boys.

It took me about two weeks to finish this book which is my average pace of about one chapter per night. Where Jim Dent fails to deliver to the reader is an inside look at the life of Bronko Nagurski. After completing this book, I did not feel as if I had spent those two weeks with Bronko himself, rather, I felt I had just spent the entire time watching old films of the Bears against the Packers and reading old newspaper clips from the Chicago Tribune.

Jim Dent is a good writer, but I would not put his Monster of the Midway in the same league as Jane Leavy's biography of Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy -- one of my favorite sports books. Leavy's work made me feel as if I had spent a September evening at Dodger Stadium sitting next to Sandy Koufax reliving his glory days. I did not get that type of feeling when I read Monster of the Midway.

Perhaps this is an unfair comparison. Part of the problem that Dent may have faced, primarily is that Nagurski is no longer with us, but also, there probably was not a whole lot said or heard about Nagurski for him to work with. The National Football League at the time was in it's infancy and nowhere near the media monster that it is today, or what Baseball was in the 1960's for that matter.

Regardless, I added this book to my collection because it is a good book. As a football fan, and a Bears fan in particular, I enjoyed this book and will cherish what I learned.

The name Bronko Nagurski. You know this man was not a ballet dancer. This is more than a book about "The Nag" and the Chicago Bears. It is also a book about a number of other old football names I have heard of, but knew nothing about. Sid Luckman, Hunk Anderson, Don Hutson, Johnny "Blood" McNally, Clyde "Bulldog" Turner, Beattie Feathers, George Preston Marshall, Curly Lambeau, Slingin' Sammy Baugh, and, of course, the Papa Bear himself, George Halas. This was a period of players playing both on offense and defense, no hash marks, the fat ball, the quarterback being fair game until a play is blown dead by an official, and other rules that had not been placed into the game. George Preston Marshall, owner of the then Boston Redskins who played in Fenway Park, spoke to the conservative owners about the need to change some rules to jazz up the game to make it more exciting to the public. He was lucky to have a sympathetic listener in George Halas as support for his ideas. The demise of the fat ball made it possible to throw more passes, and put an end to the endless amount of running plays. One of Marshall's best ideas was to split the league into two conferences, and setting up a championship game each year. For all his good ideas, he stated he wanted Negroes out of the game. Black players had been part of the game since 1920, but Marshall's appeal banned black players from further play. Bronko Nagurski played for the Bears throughout the 1937 season, and left the team over a difference of $500 that The Nag and Halas differed over. Nagurski made money wrestling, and eventually came back to play for the Bears during the 1943 season. What surprised me was the number of college coaches such as Amos Alonzo Stagg and Knute Rockne who discouraged college players from entering the professional ranks. In 1990 Nagurski traveled to the Mayo Clinic to fuse bones in his ankles. A doctor asked for an autograph for his son, and The Nag wrote, "To Jeremy--Do Not Play Football. Bronko Nagurski." This is a book filled with colorful anecdotes, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Jim Dent tells the story of Bronko Nagurski's football career. "Monster of the Midway: Bronko Nagurski, the 1943 Chicago Bears, and the Greatest Comeback Ever" is not a biography. It is about a football player and why he became among the greatest players ever, with special emphasis on one season (1943). Dent, however, can't help but to provide the background of Nagurski's early life.

Bronko Nagurski was the Babe Ruth of football. No one was greater, more dominant, more powerful at their sport than Nagurski. Others have played well: We all know about Michael Jordan, Mickey Mantle, and Lance Armstrong, but few have embodied the essence of their sport with such successful excellence. I should mention Muhammad Ali. He often bragged he was the greatest, and he was.

Someone needs to make a movie of this story. Bronko began the Hollywood/Horatio Alger as a hardworking, not too complicated future football hero. He had heart and the physical strength size to back it up. Good true football movies are sparse. There's "Rudy" and "Brian's Song," but that's it. A Bronko Nagurski story could add to this short list.

Most of the book reads like a docudrama, utilizing storytelling techniques rarely found in sports books.

If I were a high school football coach, I would have my players read this book. Bronko Nagurski played the game before the lights shone brightly on the pocketbooks, when the swagger and dance of endzone celebrations were still years away, and the game was still played by big, tough men not pretty enough for white-toothed smiling products endorsements. Nagurski was the kind of player the NFL needs today.

I fully recommend "Monster of the Midway: Bronko Nagurski, the 1943 Chicago Bears, and the Greatest Comeback Ever" by Jim Dent.

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com

I heard about the book, "My Father's Heart: A Son's Journey" during an interview with the author, Steve McKee. The reason for the interest was loosing my husband suddenly last July 30, 2007 to a massive heart attack.
We have 4 children, 2 boys then 2 girls. They range in age 41 - 47 years old.

The children have become very conscious of making sure that they are getting thorough doctor examinations every year, something that, especially the men, have not been faithful in doing. They all do exercise. So this part is good. However, they are all having a very difficult time in the grieving process because of the closeness to their father. He was a very animated and loving man, so the void is great.

When I listened to the interview on the Today Show, I thought that this book might just be something that the children should read to help them in their loss. I purchased 4 copies and gave a copy to each one on Valentine's Day.

I have started to read the book and have found many similarities that I know they will be able to relate to.

I was very happy to have found the book on Amizon.Com. The cost was a lot more reasonable then if I had bought these copies at a book store. I received the books 3 days after I ordered them.

This book depicts the love of family and the loss of a very dear member of that family, even though the father, knowing his condition, did not take care of himself as he should have.

The number one killer in the United States has a personality. In Steve McKee's family odyssey--as with most people's--heart disease is very personal. It can snatch the life of your father, turn your world upside down, make you obsessively interested in your family tree, drive you to swear oaths of healthy eating and exercise, wring your worried hands over living long enough to see your own children make it to adulthood, curse the universe because you got what your father got, and finally understand that the life you want is up to you. "My Father's Heart" is as much about healthy hearts and loving hearts as it is about hearts under siege.

A touching book that brought me back to my own childhood...I am thankful to the author for impressing on me a very important lesson, that is, even though our fathers may pass on physically, their memories continue to live in our hearts forever influencing us in very important ways. Even though I was fortunate to have my father until he was 84 years old, it will always feel that he too was taken from our family too soon. My father's death, like the author's, from a heart condition, taught his children how very important it was to take better care of ourselves physically before it was too late. I especially appreciated the author's depiction of his childhood years, growing up in a neighborhood similar to my own in suburban Detroit. The author brought it all alive for me. This book is a GREAT read and I highly recommend it...

As a teenager author Steven McKee watched his father die of a heart attack in their living room, part of a family chain of heart disease and death caused by lifestyle and family heritage. Disappointed by his father's ignoring of his disease, the author vowed to keep his heart in top condition - yet a lifetime of dieting and exercise didn't change his own diagnosis of serious cardiovascular disease. McKee's probe into a family heritage of illness makes for a moving story blending health and genetic insights with his own discoveries of motivations for change and health, making for a moving, engrossing survey hard to put down. Both health libraries and general-interest collections will find it involving.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Steve McKee has written a touching, nostalgic and informative book that will appeal to everyone.
My Father's Heart is about Mr. McKee's family's experience of his father's fatal heart attack that came in the prime of his life. The book explores the personal and biological legacy of Mr. McKee's father's death. Cutting back and forth in time and geography Mr. McKee creates an engaging story that weaves themes of family and community relationships, coming of age and how he has come to terms with his father's heart attack and death.
The book is also very informative about the current state of medical arts concerning healthy heart care and healthy living; the interplay of biological predispositions and the impact and control we can have on our own medical destinies. Mr. McKee leaves us with the reaffirming message that we are capable of influencing the course of our physical wellbeing and our life outlook.

Joe's story is interesting: he grew up in central Illinois in a small town called Cuba, he tells us," Cuba has a population of about fourteen hundred, if you count the cats and dogs".Other than being passionate about fitness...he also has a sense of humor, I like that.

I read his very moving childhood story.The way he was bullied by other kids, because he was " fatso".What can I say?-here is a trainer who cares enough, and it pushes him to be vulnerable with his audience.This made me admire Joe even more. This is before he mentions his football injury, a sad story that lead him to being mindless. If you've got any kids, this story will remind you about giving your kids a balanced childhood.From his testimony I learnt that we shouldn't dwell on making our kids super athletes, and neither should we make our kids believe that sports, social affirmation, or being involved with school activities will make them fully complete.A child has to be comfortable in their own skin, first and foremost-without all that cheerleading,football team,Lacrosse, swim team nonsense.From Joe's story, I learnt the importance of self love and acceptance. Thank you for this message Joe.

Joe later tells us about his military basic training-it was an experience and a half.He had to stick it out completely, otherwise he would have been stuck in the " fat boy program". This was funny, like I said before this man is candid about everything.

The book has a unique tilt to it.Any extreme person would find it useful, because Joe is an extreme person. At one point he was a heavy drinker and horrible eater, and he then swings from one end of the pendulum to another-into being an extreme athlete.

His transition from being a binge and heavy drinker was very emotional.He tells us of how he got into a gradual routine that started with working with an old set pair of beat-up sneakers. This man had been pushed to the bottom of the barrel. He goes on to describe the chin up bar that he used.Then there was the light walking that he took. Such a moving testimony indeed....this man had actually began his transformation process.So encouraging was his progress that he decided to join Western Illinois University, where he earned a b.A in exercise science.

Joe is a man who has lived and also understands fitness, he just didn't wake up yesterday and then decided to publish. He earned his stripes.At the end of the day, it is a good read, especially for those who have been exercising.It might be too overwhelming to a novice exerciser.

This book is the best and so is the author - Joe Decker.
This book is a total package. This is not another lose weight, get fit gimmick. Joe Decker has truly put together a great tool for improving ourselves, not just physically but also mentally.

I am a single mom in my mid 20's. I have gone through struggles I don't think anyone can imagine. At times, I felt so depressed that I thought I would never get out of the hole I was in. About three weeks ago I was listening to the radio on my way into work and Joe Decker was being interviewed. Immediately, I liked him and decided to buy his book. Now, I am not a book reader, I don't buy books and if I do I usually return them to the book store. I decided to give this book a try. I love it.

Through healthy eating and exercising I have started to lose weight. I feel so good. I exercise an hour 5x a week. I have never kept to it for three weeks in a row.
I am so glad that Joe Decker after his personal success he has given back to all of us the tools of survival and health through his book. Through e-mail he also helps you by answering any questions and he motivates you. By the way HE RESPONDS!! not someone working for him.

This book has been the best thing I have ever invested money in.
Also, I did try liposuction 5 years ago, It doesn't keep you thin or fit. I gained 60 lbs. after it. It was a waste of money!

After reading Joe Decker's book I wrote him the following e-mail:

Dear Joe?just to let you know that your book is being a help and inspiration to me. I'm 234# this morning down from 250. Yesterday I moved to a new hole in my belt, and this a.m. I put on a pair of formerly too-tight jeans, grinning from ear to ear.

Yeah, I know, that's still too heavy, but I'm making serious progress and will continue.

Thanks again for your help!

* * *

Mr. Decker's book makes it clear that you won't lose weight nor become fit without steady, the-rest-of-your-life effort. There are no secrets, no short-cuts. But he also tells how you can do both, and offers examples, inspiration, and explanations. He is an excellent example himself, having gone from pudge to fit, back to pudge and finally to the title of The World's Fittest Man, as well as becoming a fitness and training expert.

The book is in readable, plain English, no psycho-babble nor fancy body-chemistry language. If you want help in losing weight, becoming fitter, or both, The World's Fittest You is an excellent choice.

Joe Decker has authored the best fitness book you'll ever need. It is grounded in reality, not deception and myth making. If you are attracted to promises like "rock hard abs in 30 seconds," don't bother with this book. Joe is a realist about what it takes to get and stay in shape: it requires time, commitment, and effort, six days a week. You're fooling yourself if you think 20 minutes a day three times a week is enough. Decker outlines a well-balanced approach, including cardio, strength training, and flexibility. Other books I've consulted emphasize one of these areas over the other, focusing only on weight training, or cardio activities like running or biking. But Decker's approach is comprehensive and sound in every respect. And within each of these three areas (cardio, strength, flexibility), Decker provides challenging guidelines on workout frequency, intensity, and technique. Joe's program is all about variety, a key to avoiding boredom, a killer if you want to persevere. The illustrations are helpful, and the workout plans can be tailored to any level, beginner through advanced. I like his suggestion that you should add an "out of the box" fitness activity each week, as well as a yearly "mega-event" like a triathlon or some other fitness competition. This book has really helped me put together a realistic, motivating, and effective fitness program, and got me off a stagnating plateau.

Joe Decker has put a lot of effort into this book. There is a comprehensive food plan and exercise plan. What he says for the most part is eat a healthy diet and exercise and you can feel and look better in 4 weeks. He also debunks other programs like the one that claims you can get fit in 8 minutes a day.

Joe Decker is in the Guinness Book of World Records holding the title of the World's Fittest Man. Joe completed an ultimate athletic circuit that included a number of events like running, kayaking, Nordic track, swimming etc. to earn his title. He feels that everybody can challenge themselves to a better body.

Despite Joe's obvious desire to help others I just found the book lacking. Joe says DONT DIET. But he tells you what to eat and for women its a 1400 calorie a day plan that includes foods like egg beaters, reduced calorie dressing, lo-fat cheese etc. Sounds like a diet to me! For the most part the food items included are healthy ones. But there is no room for treats like chocolate of which a fine quality bon-bon can be healthy in moderation or say a small scoop of ice cream which is also fine in moderation. He also tells you to drink water to get filled up. But studies done by Dr. B. Rolls show that drinking water does NOT fill you up. Eating water rich foods like grapes does.

Next he gets into an exercise plan. He encourages women to use heavy weights stating that this will make them sleek and sexy. Not true. If you take a look at females who use heavy weights they do build bulk and a lot of muscle that many females do not want. At one time I also believed this till I noticed how bulky I got using heavy weights. Now I use light weights and more repititions for better results.

Joe also busts fitness myths that people believe. But many of these myths have been "busted" so many times that its old news. For example he says you can't spot tone. How often do we have to read that we all think we can spot tone? He also recommends supplements glucosamine and chondroitin which are not FDA approved for safety.

The exercise program and the diet program are intense. And you are expected to jump in right away. No easing into anything here.

Throughout the book Joe also refers to things with a "World's Fittest Man" prefix as in "World's Fittest Man Catfish Creole" recipe - this gets annoying.

I can see that Joe put a lot of effort into the book but its really only for those who are ready to knock themselves out which usually lasts about 2 weeks and then its back to coach potatodom.

There are some good reviews here of his book, but interestingly enough they are mostly by "a reader" and all around the same time frame.

My suggestion would be to take a more sensible approach one step at a time that will be longer lasting.

I really enjoy this book, I wish that Art Chansky had waited until Smith past Adouph Rupp (which we all knew was going to happen) to release this masterpiece (Now I have to go out and by another editon of the same book!!!) None the less this is something all true blue fans need more than oxygen!! Congrats, Dean, we miss you. GO TAR HEELS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Dean's List details every year of North Carolina basketball during Dean Smith's reign as coach. You get a brief commentary from Art Chansky, alot of good pictures and a team roster. The championship year of 1982 gets special attention, which is justified as it was a special team. You're not going to find any major revelations amongst these pages, but if you are a fan of Carolina basketball, this is an enjoyable read.

Great pictures, great memories, and great storie

The second I opened it I could not put it down! I love tarheel basketball. Everthing you want to know about tarheel basketball is in this book, baby!!

The problem with this book is not the content; Chansky's stories are often interesting. The real problem is that Chansky has serious problems with the English language. Scarcely a page goes by without a mangled mixed metaphor or breathless cliche. If you're a Carolina fan though, you probably won't notice.

It took so long to get it. My class only had 2 classes left.
I didn't need this anymore.
Linda Morgan

I have this book, and really think that it has a vast ray of information that helps the Physical Education Teacher prepare a developmentally appropriate Lesson.

I have used this book for two years now and found it helpful with lots of practical information. Implementing the lessons will require the lesson plans(not included) to fully utilize the contents of the book. This book is Sport based and Standards based. There are 36 weekly lessons which gives the program lots of structure. The author assumes you have enough space (indoor & outdoor) to teach the program. The cost of equipment can be high although there is a pretty good section on "How to make your own" equipment. I believe this book is a good resource, chapters are organized and mirror the weekly lesson plan book.

This book has great listings of activities to do with kids, whether in the academic setting or a camp/child care setting. Fun games, exercises and other activities are easy to look up and have good directions. A solid textbook for new teachers.

This is an excellent aide in learning how to teach physical eduation to elementary school students. Pangrazi is an excellent author and essential information and helpful tips to teach physical education. Overall, this book is the most useful and I am definately not selling it back.

It is amazing how vivid it all came back to me, since I was about 8 years old and the name Bannister became passed around. What is exceptional about this account, is how chosen pivotal athletes seem to be in their respective sports, so that when we read their stories there is much to be mined. After reading this offhand, medical student's on-the-run account of those heady days, I am even more convinced how special he was to the sport and the discipline of life. Like Ray Berry, Johnny Unitas's wide receiver on the Baltimore Colts in the late fifties, Bannister possessed an incredible self-awareness and keen analytical skills that pre-date the modern athlete. Outsiders only see the athlete, but inside is the scientific mind at work, attempting the impossible feat of cheating nature and man's limitations. It was apparent to this reader early on, that Roger Bannister was about to make larger contributions in the medical field as well. It was also gleaned how foolhardy Steve Prefontaine was in his training habits by letting his heart run free; Bannister explains how the body had to be trained for higher performance, not just willed. Bannister's philosophy about running appears clinical, serving notice to all, that the pathway to a widened life is unrestricted if one leads an examined life.

May 6, 1954: 3,000 spectators, a number of competitors, one runner with a historic goal.

On that afternoon, Sir Roger Bannister broke through a mythical barrier, running one mile under four minutes. It was accomplished during a meet between British AAA and Oxford University at Iffley Road Track in Oxford.

This 1955 autobiography is more than a chronicle of his chase for immortality; it is an exploration into disappointment on the international stage - he did not medal in the 1500m in the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games - self-sacrifice and the balancing of a number of goals on a variety of tracks in life.

While runners will never tire of the story of this challenge within the mind and body, those who have never laced up a pair of racing spikes can appreciate a spirit of motivation that can be applied in all facets of the daily grind.

"The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win," says Bannister. And those words resonate on the drive to any finish line.

Short read, perfect for the summer vacation on the beach. A really talented man, amazing what he accomplished considering some of his training ( smoking and hung over collegiate). The book is very literate, and illustrates a personal side of an accomplished doctor.

As a cross-country runner in high school this book by Roger Bannister was a great inspiration to me. His description of the assault on the 4 minute mile barrier is fascinating but also memorable are his recollections of the Helsinki Olympics (where Bannister failed to achieve a medal), and his success at the Commonwealth Games where the only two sub-4 minute milers met face to face for the first time.

It's now about 40 years since I first read the book and I was very pleased it was republished in a commemorative edition.

Reading the book again was a joy. The book went very quickly and had most of the excitement of when I first read it. It was not surprising tha the prose and impressions seemed less mature than when I first read them, but that was to be expected as Bannister wrote the book when he was in his twenties.

I was disappointed that the pictures were not the same as the original edition, with perhaps too many pictures of Bannister in later years. The original pictures of the Helsinki Olympics and other competitions were an integral part of the book and it's a shame that they were missing.

Bannisters achievement in breaking the Four Minute Mile was a milestone (pardon the pun), as was the fact that he did it as an amateur and while he was in the middle of his medical studies. In my opinion his book is also a great achievement and is certainly worth the read.

A great story about a great runner! You keep reading only wishing that he had put more about his career. It reads really slow and much of the book could be skipped over. I recommend the book if you are looking for a background of Bannister starting from birth. I was looking for something about his running.

This book offers background information of the sport of rebounding and provides exercise programs for age groups small child to senior with different levels of expertise. A lot of information for the money.

The book is an easy read. I've been rebounding for several years. The routines in the book are easy to follow and I am very pleased with the results- been using his plan for 2-3 weeks and can already see increased strength and muscle tone. I will definitely keep this in my daily fitness routine. My teens are enjoying it as well. Another plus is you can work your body on many levels all at once and it doesn't have to take long on days when rushed.

I have been in the fitness industry for over 25 years. We all know there is truly nothing new under the sun, only new presentations and combinations of the old! There are certain things that have not changed in 25 years in this fitness industry! The important basics, most experts agree, haven't changed: Sound stretching, Strengthening with resistance, and Cardiovascular basics! I feel Dr. Sneider's book is the pioneering standard in the industry. Being a 2 Time Women's World Long Drive Champion, I have found Resistive Rebounding to be one of the many secrets to my power!

If you have a rebounder you need this book. I bought a copy back in the 80s, lost it and just had to buy another. The exercises are simple and explained well. I do advise getting the soft weights they recommend, as I have hit myself in the head with them more times than I can count.

Who would have thought that bouncing, shuffling, jogging and using soft hand weights on a mini trampoline would be so beneficial to one's health. Harry and Sarah walk you through the steps of turning one's body into perfect shape. Although first published over 20 years ago the information is timeless and even today they run the Schneider Fitness Center in California using the technology included in the book.
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One Great Game is an interesting chronicle for those who like high school football. The analysis of the longest winning streak in history in any sport would be enough in itself. Indeed the game account seems less important than discourse on social and economic differences between the featured schools and their students. Though the writing is ponderous at times, I learned a lot about the nature of high schools in other states - for instance most of the perennial powerhouse football teams are from private schools. The character sketches of players and coaches is good, but I still would like to know how to pronounce Bob Ladouceur's name. Cover notes on the book say it is "an engaging cultural history about twenty-first-century American life." I submit it is, instead, a cultural narrative about life in California. Where else would you find players, when gunshots erupt in the neighborhood, react by citing the type weapon being fired, then resume practice as if nothing unusual happened. Going in, I expected the story would convince me that California high school football is the best played anywhere in the U.S. Despite the author's conviction that California has not just the best but probably the second- and maybe third-best teams anywhere any given year, I came away figuring teams from my state and others would fare well playing the Golden State schools. Had there been more interstate games, I doubt The Streak would have happened. I give the book 3 stars because I consider it about midway between the most and least enjoyable books I've read. Oh yes, if you're buying it, suggest you get the September 2005 edition that includes epilogue and afterword rounding out the story.

Don Wallace did an excellent job profiling the stark differences between De La Salle and Long Beach Poly, creating much more interest in the game and it's outcome. Whether you are a fan of DLS or Poly, you couldn't help but come away with a greater appreciation of the other school. Yes, it was One Great Game, and it was One Great Book.

Don Wallace's account of the first ever high school football championship game is frequently riveting, and always insightful. In the chapters leading up to the Game (An October 2001 matchup between #2 Long Beach Poly and #1 Concord De La Salle)Wallace proves himself more than able to juggle two disparate narratives, managing to track the players and football programs at these two perennial powerhouses while capturing the social dynamics of the towns in which they reside.

At first, the towns seem diametrically opposed: Concord is a predominantly white, upper middle class suburb; Long Beach is an ethnically diverse community replete with gang warfare and violence, as well as Wallace's alma mater.

But Wallace, it's clear, does not buy in to the American Dream vs American Nightmare pitch. Poly, it turns out, is an academic as well as a football powerhouse, a diamond circumscribed within the rough streets of Long Beach. And while the students at De La Salle may be economically priviliged in comparison to Poly's, they are also burdened by heavy expectations (A 116 game winning streak on the line)and must dedicate themselves completely to football.

One Great Game concludes with a vivid account of The Game itself, often digressing into a play by play account. It's during these moments that Wallace's intimate familiarity with the two teams, as well as the game of football, comes across best.

I highly recommend this book, not just to football fans, but to anybody with an interest in contemporary American society. You won't mistake One Great Game for a PHD thesis--its far too interesting and well worded--but you may find yourself admiring the poignancy Wallace discovers, or creates, from our best, quintessentially American sport.

This book chronicles the first-ever meeting between the #1 and #2-ranked high school football teams in America. In October of 2001, #1 Long Beach Poly, a Southern California powerhouse with a long, storied tradition, alma mater to a record 50 past and present NFL players, played host to #2 De La Salle, a Catholic all-boys school from the upper-class suburban town of Concord, CA, home of the nation's longest football (and perhaps all team sports) winning streak, which, before the Game, stands at an astounding 116 games.

Prior to this game, no #1 and #2 teams had ever met in head-to-head competition, which always beggared the question, "Who's REALLY #1?," since most, if not all of the USAToday's Top 25 high school teams would end up the season undefeated.

Long Beach is the "most diverse city in America," a sprawling city of 425,000 sandwiched between monstrous L.A. to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the south. It has a long and rich history, much of it less-than-sparkling, where waves of immigration, first of blacks, Hispanics, and Japanese in the early part of the 20th century, then of Vietnamese, Cambodians, and Central Americans following upheavals in their respective homelands, made for a boiling brew of racial tension. Despite all this, Polytechnic High School, located in the decaying heart of downtown Long Beach, is a shining beacon for the whole community, not only as an athletic powerhouse, but as an academic springboard to prestigious colleges. in the 2001 season, the Poly Jackrabbits have perhaps their most talented team ever, with 5 players ranked among the 100 best high school players in the country.

Concord, California, is a wealthy, mostly white, upper-middle-class suburb in the East Bay Area, populated by the professional, educated types who toil in nearby San Francisco. De La Salle is an exclusive all-boys school where tuition is $7,200 per year. The De La Salle Spartans are coached by a living legend, Bob Ladouceur, who since 1979, has lost only 14 games in his entire career, and none since December of 1991.

The book takes two parallel stories, one of Poly, the other of De La Salle, focusing on the players, coaches, families, and overall atmosphere of each school and community, before intersecting them at the Game, which is described in bone-jarring play-by-play detail. You can almost imagine listening to the game on the radio, the play-by-play is so well-written.

The Game was billed as a sort of David vs. Goliath, with De La Salle playing the part of David, traditionally undersized but winning on the basis of suberb coaching and relentless conditioning, and Long Beach Poly playing Goliath, with massive offensive and defensive lines and Division I college talent populating every skill position. However, when reading about each program, the reader gets the impression that instead of David vs. Goliath, it's more like Godzilla vs. Mothra, two unstoppable juggernauts heading toward a climactic Battle Royale. And ultimately, that is exactly what it is - simply one of the finest battles between two programs of the highest caliber in the biggest game of their lives, and possibly the lives of many others.

I was very satisfied with this book. If you like football, sports in general, or just like a thrilling and consuming read, this book delivers.

When I first picked up the book I was worried that the account would be bias toward the Poly side, especially considering it's the writer's alma mater. However, Mr. Wallace presents a fair, balanced account of one of the most anticipated prep sporting events ever. He starts off about a year prior to the game, when it was only a rumor and concludes with an action filled account of the game (portrayed play by play). Characters are well developed, and -- although I can only speak from experience on the De La Salle side -- seem to be very accurate. The introduction leading up to the game got a bit long winded at times, but outside of that the book was hard to put down. I recommend it to any fan of high school sports, as well as for people curious of how two of the most successful football programs in America opperate.

I couldn't put it down. I literally read it cover to cover in less than a day. It was an honest look into her life that was absoltely brilliant. It's the best book I've read in a long time.

This is a wonderful book. It may be a bit deep for some people (judging from one of the reviews), but go ahead and jump right in as long as you're not afraid to think outside of the box. I have been a female athlete since I was 8 years old, and totally understood everything Heywood writes about. Performing... the drive to make a name for yourself... the way life can seem to get out of control when you're trying so hard to control it... this book is very true to life. I really think any parent of a hard-core athlete should read this; it just might help them understand where their daughter is coming from.

I am a 17 year old girl and a distance runner on my high school track team. I found Leslie Heywood's book to be an abosutley incredible memoir that touches the soul. There are so few people in this world with the drive, determination and dedication to make themselves the absolute best they can be. It is obvious that Heywood has the true heart of a champion, that not only made it in the world of athletics but struggled and conquered things like sexual harrassment, (and just harassment in general), bulemia, the tourturous colligate track life, and made it through all of it to write an extremly powerful and well written novel. She is a role model to the girl athletes who strive to do what she did.

I suggest every father or mother who has a young girl interested in sports read this book. It is apparent everyone can take something away from Leslie's mistakes and triumphs. She has written a clear,captivating and disturbing memior. It is truly an eye opener and a page turner. Leslie, "Keep on Rocking in a Free World."

I am the same age as the author of this book. I graduated from a high school a few miles from the one she attended. I should have enjoyed this book more than I did. I found Ms. Heywood's prose style irritating: "It is 4pm. I am writing a customer review for Amazon. My feet are cold but I do not put socks on. Breathe, deeply breathe." One sentence in the book simply reads "My legs are big in the world." In the world? As opposed to Mars? Annoying prose style aside, I felt that the book lacked a truthful core. I feel that the author presented herself in a positive but not entirely honest light. Did she abuse drugs as a teenager? Was she promiscuous? Though she was taken advantage of by a reptilian coach, one wonders how impaired this girl's judgment was. I did not get a strong sense of Ms. Heywood as a person, of the time and place in which the events of the book occurred, of the other people in her life, or of the particular difficulties women athletes face. For me "Pretty Good for a Girl" was not a very successful memoir.

Books are easy reads for a number of reason, the primary ones are you are engrossed in the material or the writing is straightforward and to the point. This book is a combination of the two, I enjoyed the personal reflections of Mr. Burfoot (i.e. I enjoy biographies) and so the stories were quite enjoyable. I also liked the fact that it was written to be read by the everyman, straight with no chaser. Good read and a book I will pass on to others.

I probably won't read the book, as I don't run. The birthday gift will be given June 14, so I won't hear about it until after then. I am giving 5 stars for the good delivery servicde.

Amby Burfoot may be more known as the long-time editor for Runner's World magazine than for his 1968 victory in the searing heat at the Boston Marathon.

Burfoot merges his skill of a journalist with his many years in the sport to deliver wonderful essays on the peaks, valleys and rugged terrain of life. Though the starting line is his running, the course that is mapped out is accessible to those who never laced up a pair of shoes for a marathon or a jaunt around the block.

This is a gold medal performance by Burfoot, that comes straight from the heart.

Running has always been one of my favorite things to do. It relaxes me, clears my head, and gets me ready for the day. This is a classic about the world of running. If you run occasionally, or obsessively this is a must-have.

Burfoot's "The Runner's Guide to the Meaning of Life" is so simple yet so thorough. It's such a quick read, but the depth and variety of each short, powerful chapter is incredible. I literally could not put it down.

I particularly connected with the chapter on traditions (the need for anchors in this fast-paced world). Amby talks about the draw of Manchester and it's annual Thanksgiving day Road Race, which he has done 37 consecutive times. This fall will be my 17th straight. Like Amby, I make the pilgrimage back to Connecticut (despite now living in Chicago) because of the opportunity to re-connect with family and friends for this one "magic" day.

As a father of three daughters, I also appreciated his perspectives on his children and how he came to the realization that they must choose their own paths. While I would love for my daughters to share my passion for running, I have learned through Amby that it is OK if they don't. Finally, the chapter titled "Materialism - what you really need you already have" is right on and should be "must read" for our entire society.

This is a book much like "Tuesday's With Morrie" that I will refer back to from time to time to put life - and running - in perspective.

Thanks Amby and see you in Manchester!

Todd Gothberg
Gurnee Il.<