Athletics Books

Just the information needed to help you and not more! That's "Treat Your Own Rotator Cuff." Johnson writes clearly for the non-medical-professional, so you'll understand his message easily and get started right away (today).

About six months ago, I fell. A perfect four-point landing, I thought at the time, but it turned out to be more, much more. Within a month I began having trouble pulling a shirt on over my head. Then shoulder and arm pain settled in full time.

I decided to forego conventional medical treatment (for example, shots and surgery), and the pain continued. In fact, it not only continued, but grew so much worse that I considered revising my decision about the shots. However, finding this book and reading the glowing recommendations for it, I decided giving managing the problem on my own one last try.

Of course, getting the book did not solve the problem by itself. I had to use the information to stretch and exercise. So I did, and, sure enough, after a couple of weeks I saw both improved range of motion and less pain.

The stretches and exercises are not necessarily pleasant, but the results make it worth the effort.

If you have rotator cuff pain, get this book. Regardless of whether you decide on conventional solutions to the problem, you'll need the stretches and exercises to regain full range of motion. Stick with the program. It works!

Highly recommended.

After two weeks of following the exercises in this book, I made more progress than six weeks of PT. I like this book because not only does the author explain what to do, he also explains WHY.

I found Jim Johnson's book to contain an amazing amount of information in a relatively short read. There are several very good reviews that detail what he covers in this book so I'll stick to points not covered by the other reviews.

First, yes, it is a small book. This is actually a bonus because he covers the pertinant material thoroughly but keeps the book to a size easily read in one sitting. This is important when you are looking for answers and not a lengthy read. I found illustrations and the text were all useful - there is no filler or fluff in this book.

Second - the stretches and exercises are explained in detail so you can be comfortable with the knowledge you are doing it right. So, as you follow one of the 3 programs laid out, you can refer back to the detailed descriptions and illustration as needed. If you are a picture person and not a verbal person, this is priceless to have on hand.

Third - the information on how to distinguish the different types of injuries and how to approach rehabilitation gave me insight to what was going on with my own injury that no professional I had taken this problem to have ever bothered to explain. Again, illustrations were to the point and provided clarity that words can't always deliver.

Last, I have sought medical advice with my shoulder problems off and on for years yet this book gave me more information in a 30 minute read than I had gotten in any consultation. This book is priced around $30 retail and that is far less than a doctor or physio visit.

Note that I am *NOT* saying to skip seeking medical advice, I am saying that this book gives you a ready reference to supplement your knowledge and to keep on hand while treating your injury. If you are like me, the shoulder problems you have will quite possibly reoccur as time goes by and you either quit doing the exercises and revert to bad habits or if you find a new way to injure yourself. So, having this book handy for reference is far more economical the returning to the doctor over and over again.

Having suffered with three broken shoulders with arthritus in them, I highly recommend this book for people with shoulder problems. The book gives you an understanding of the shoulder area and some really good exercises to help you stretch and strengthen your shoulder muscles. The exercises are easy to do and don't require a lot of expensive equipment to perform them. As my chirpractor and I agree, if you don't use it, you loose it.

Another book to consider purchasing along with this one is "The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook" by Clair and Amber Davies, which is a tremendous resource for people in pain. Stretchening and strengthening your muscles, without first dealing with the knots (trigger points) in them can cause more pain. After having tried many natural remedies for my shoulder pain, I've found this trigger point program coupled with the shoulder exercises works best for dealing with pain. Glucosamine while it helped, did not totally alleviate the pain. Magnet therapy helped for awhile, but eventually made the pain worse. Chiropractic treatments, which used trigger point therapy worked for a time, but then my knots would return and cause pain. I didn't know the importance of at least six times a day massaging your central trigger points until the knots are gone.

"The Trigger Point Therapy Wookbook" has excellent information on the muscles. It also has excellent charts which help you locate specific trigger point (knots in your muscles) which cause pain. It tells you how to message those painful areas to get rid of the knots in your muscles. While the information is thorough, it is written for the lay person in an understandable way.

I also highly recommend a Thera Cane, which is like having very long, totally mobile arms, which enable you to message hard to reach trigger points. These three excellent products work together for effectice pain relief. While these two books and Thera Cane may seem expensive, they are much cheaper than repeated Chiropractic visits.

I suffered a rotator cuff injury about five weeks ago that left me with little pain but some restricted movement. I'm under the care of a physical therapist right now, and I bought this book to get a cheap second opinion on how to treat this injury.

The highlights of this book include a brief but well written overview of just what a rotator cuff is and how it works. I wish the drawings were larger and clearer, and that's why I coulndn't give this book a five star rating.

The other highlight, to me anyway, is the section containing descriptions of all the exercises that are used to rehabilitate a rotator cuff.

That said, I don't think this book actually gave me any knowledge that I would not have already obtained without it. Just during doctor and physical therapy visits I learned all about the rotator cuff and the bones and muscles, and that the one thing that is needed to settle exactly what injury you are dealing with is an MRI. Also, the exercise descriptions are rather standard and ironically my physical therapist assigned me three new exercises the morning after I read about them in this book.

Still, this book was enouraging to me if for no other reason that it quoted a number of studies that prove the importance of exercise to rehabilitate a shoulder after such an injury.

But the bottom line to me is that nobody should just try to "treat their own" rotator cuff injury without consultation with a doctor and without some physical therapy.

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.

Funny how a book needs a DVD to help demonstrate. So get the DVD too. Not much to say other than a good reference, the value is in the whole book.

This is an OUTSTANDING complement to the DVD. I hoped that the DVD and book would not merely be redundant...and they aren't! The overlap to some extent so that you can get results with only one or the other, but I am VERY glad to have both. They fill in some gaps that each has.

This book changed the way I look at fitness and is appropriate for the weekend warrior or professional athlete. The author's expertise is expressed in such a manner that comprehension and practical application is easily reached.

Push your body to its limits and get the most out of it with these training drills. As a physical therapist, the author shows you the safe way to workout.

I've only scratched the surface of the useful information in this book. It's full of stability, agility and explosiveness drills as well as strength and flexibility programs.

Anyone interested in getting the maximum functionality from their body should take a look at Gray Cook's site, especially the Functional Movement Screen. The programs in this book reflect the information on the site and are easily understood by the enthusiast without an exercise physiology degree.

Having gotten away from the bodybuilder-based mythology of my early years and moved on to core and performance-based programs, this book is a must for anyone wanting to get the best result for their training time.

I've found this to be a critical part of my ballroom education, both reinforcing the instruction I receive from my classes and prepping me to better receive instruction. I use this like I would a college textbook, reading the chapters on the dance I'm about to learn in class, taking the class, and then going back to re-read the chapters in the book. I've found that the nebulous terms used in instruction like Contra Body Movement, Body Flight, and dance lines/curves, are all explained in detail in this book, providing instruction in two different voices (the book and my dance teacher) to help me comprehend and apply these theories in my dancing better. I've actually noticed a drastic improvement in my dancing since studying this book.

I've also enjoyed learning the how to lead (I'm female and usually following) from this book, as learning the mens part helps me become a better follower when dancing with a variety of leads.

I would highly recommend this book as a supplement to a structured dance program. I don't think it would be easy to learn to dance with only the use of this book, but by combining it with the practical instruction of a qualified teacher, this book is an amazing resource.

As a professional teacher (Di Marsh) with my own studio in Tasmania (Heals & Souls Danceworld) , I can attest to its value as an excellent and informative publication for beginners, competition dancers and student professionals. All tuition is from the maestro himself, Alex Moore, and the book easily lives up to it's reputation as "the ballroom dancer's bible", with not only interesting information for everyone but diagrams to enhance the teaching. I highly recommend this product for all who have the slightest interest in ballroom.

Please be aware that this particular offering is not the 10th Edition (the newest) of this title. This is a pre-historical edition (before my time, anyway) published in 1939. Even though the changes occurred between this edition and the later ones may not seem to be that significant, I am wondering why Amazon is offering this edition to the public who are interested in "modern" ballroom dancing (just can not resist the pun) instead of the more "modern" version of it.

I am giving it a three star for the obvious old feel of it.

A new version of this book is actually available through the ISTD. It is a very helpful book, with thorough charts for all the standard dances. There is also a comparable book for Latin.

This book presents maneuvers that are very leadable. The lady
can follow the man without knowing in advance what he will do.
The very detailed technique is based on the bio-mechanical
necessities of good dancing. It has been the most respected
book on ballroom dancing worldwide for decades. It is useful
for teaching yourself without a teacher, if you are a serious
student. It covers international style, which has some figures
in common with American style. Where they diverge international
sticks to leadable figures, American to showy figures.

I really enjoyed reading this "Dummies" book. The author put lots of practical stories that really made the points. While I won't be training others for profit, I've already started working with other missionaries that want to get healthy. The book already has given me several ideas about how to work better.

This book does not really teach you the basics of becoming a personal trainer, but yet it teaches you how to start your business as a personal trainer. Was not what I thought based on the title.

Not really what I was looking for, but I started reading and its a great book, I really recomended to all beginners and experience, it has all the information you'll ever need, trully a well written and great referance book to have.

This is a very easy to read primer for those considering a career or hobby in personal fitness. It gives a nice overview of what the career is like and what it will take to gain a certificate and proceed to line up those all important clients. I also learned a few things that can be incorprated into my own liftness lifestyle.

This book is really good! It's funny and extremly informative. The only pitfall I think this book has is that it seems more geared towards people who are already certified. On the flip side though, it does have extremly good advice on becoming certified, taking exams, finding you niche etc...I would recommend this book to amatuers who are still in school (like me) and certified veteran personnal trainers alike :)

What a book! According to me, it is the best book to help an independant player to progress by himself. The explanations are very clear, simple. And the CD is fabulous: fabulous to watch the exercices, fabulous to avoid wrong positions, wrong movements,...Thank you very much for this conditionning Bible.

Like the title states, this is a very complete and thorough conditioning book designed for the needs of the tennis player. With chapters on condition assesment, flexibility, strength, agility and others, a complete routine can be established that players of all skill levels will enjoy. I strongly recommened this book for players, or parents of, looking to compete at the highest levels. Being a 1-2 times a week player, some parts don't apply to me but will the most serious. The majority of this book can be used by players of every skill and dedication level.

Son broke a bone in his foot and was going to be off the court for about 8 weeks. We decided to utilize the time improving strength, reflex reaction time, etc. We took this book to a personal trainer who used many of the ideas during the hiatus. Results - he went back to the court with a stronger serve, stronger strokes and better endurance than he went out with. So good in fact, that he continues to work with his personal trainer in addition to his on court time.

All books on conditioning will get you into shape, but THIS book was the best for tennis I have ever come across. As a 4.0 level player, I was looking for a book that gave me step-by-step instructions to beef up my conditioning - while focusing on the tennis side in a big way. I leafed through this one in the bookstore, and liked what I saw. Upon reading it cover-to-cover, it was EXACTLY what I wanted, and got me excited to play again! I've never seen the in-depth, attention to detail, and one-step-at-a-time coverage this book has.

I gave this book 4 stars mainly beause here is nothing out there like it. Power tennis training is not even close to the coverage of this book. This book is for serious players in good shape already. I would say it is designed more for Juniors and Satalite hopefulls than the weekend player. If your working on the gut and hoping this will bring your game up you need to do more work before getting started on this book. It has great streching tips and fantastic agility drills and explains how to train based on playing tennis. What it contains is very good. The training programs however are written by people with no real world lives. They are all pros or have been around pros without I would suspect a normal 9-5 family and job. It references a lot of weight training equipment that must be in a nice gym. It covers and gets into more tournament fitness building strategy rather than an average weekend game. A modified version for the average guy would be nice. A very big dissapointment was nutrition. I was really hoping to learn when to eat, what to eat before a match etc. This book covered nothing about nutrition. It talked about water and sodium, thats it. If your really into tennis and run three times a week already and work out some, you can benefit from this book. The fitness test is good and gives you goals to shoot for but you better be self motivated. If they add two more chapters; nutrition and a modified weekend players life, home workout system this book would be perfect.

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.

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.
[...]

I thought the book was very good. Would recommend it to Penn State fans as well as any other football fans.

One of the great joys of Penn State football fandom is reading books about Coach Paterno and his program. As both a fan and a reader, any disappointment I had with this one was chiefly due to the limited access given to the author. After a nine-loss season in 2003 that marked the nadir of precipitous competitive slide, and an increasing number of off-field incidents, Coach Paterno was understandably guarded -- even abandoning a longstanding tradition of meeting with reporters over cocktails the night before game day. (Stiffing reporters in this fashion was probably an unwise political move that helped to contribute to the "JoePa Must Go" sentiment.)

What then is a writer to do? One approach could have been to chronicle the growing division within the Penn State community -- former players, alumni, students, and the media -- over the tough times in Happy Valley, using a few colorful and outspoken characters as a catalyst for that division.

Instead, Mr. Fitzpatrick delivers a fairly straightforward chronicle of the 2005 season's aspirations and disappointments. He does an adept job for those readers who may not be familiar with the programs history, but for those readers who are the chapters on glories past provide no new insight and interrupts the narrative of the current season.

Penn State's decline was primarily attributable to lackluster recruiting that produced players unable to compete effectively in the Big Ten, and Mr. Fitzpatrick is spot on when he writes that Paterno was mindful of this: "Other teams had more talent than Penn State. But to admit that too often in public was to demean his players.... [He] understood that the quickest solution to the Nittany Lions' troubles would be to search harder and more selectively for talent." (p. 287)

Once again, Coach Paterno's refusal to publicly contemplate life after football is highlighted, where is prospective retirement activity has changed over the years from collecting stamps to cutting grass. With the almost immediate death of Alabama's Bear Bryant after his retirement, Mr. Paterno is quite candid about his deep seated fears: "I'm alive. I don't want to die. Football keeps me alive." (p. 276) This outlook is quite tragic and perplexing, given his successes off the field as an educator, philanthropist, community leader and family patriarch.

In short, this volume does not quite rise to the level of incisiveness of Ken Denlinger's "For the Glory" or Coach Paterno's decades-old autobiography, which is in desperate need of an update. But it reads quickly and provides and admirable journalistic account of Happy Valley's darkest days in the Paterno era.

I just finished the book a couple of days ago and as it settled it my mind, two impressions came over me.

One is that there is a big part of Joe Paterno who still feels deep inside that he is not as good as his rich college classmates at Brown and how he has to prove to them that he belongs.

The second is that while Saint Joepa Paterno can talk all he wants about the excesses in college athletics, he is not willing to forgo any of the excesses that reward him. You don't see him turning away any of the huge salaries or the other luxuries, do you.

Paterno comes across as a control freak, if he is trying to prepare his players and assistant coaches for the outside world, why does he restrict acccess to them so tightly.

I am a big sports fan of college and pro sports but I have major issues with people glorifying coaches the way they do. They are just athletic coaches. They are not helping solve the problems of the world, just entertainers.

Joepa also comes across as humorless, a man who takes himself way too seriously.

It is a shame that Fitzpatrick was denied access to so many sources. It would have been interesting to find out why Joepa's son is unwilling or able to get a job on his own instead of depending on Daddy.

As noted above, Joepa was influenced greatly by his days at Brown. I would have loved to learn how in the world an Italian kid from Brooklynin the 40s made it to the Ivy League.

This is not a puff piece on the man, that is a great accomplishment by the author.

ok, get past the fact that this is a book written by a sports writer, and understand there will be one or two malaprops and one or two missed typos. it's actually fairly well written. more importantly, it gives us something rather unusual: an even-handed look at joe paterno, and an even-handed retrospective of the program he has created. it's hard to find- so often we see bland - and blind- praise; other times, we see negative press from those with the opposite agenda. this book gets it right, and it's a must-read for anyone who considers himself a fan of penn state football.

I hesitated picking up this book because even though it was published only one year ago, it is arguably outdated since Penn State football finally bounced back and had a very good year. That said, I am glad I read it because the book goes beyond the marketed "A Season with Penn State" storyline and provides a very good historical synopsis of Joe Paterno and his role in the history of college football.

Since Paterno has been around so long, people tend to forget his importance in the development of college football. Once he retires, he will undoubtedly be remembered in the same breath as Bear Bryant, Knute Rockne, Daryl Royal, Bud Wilkinson and the other Legends (with a capital "L") of college football.

This book provides interesting insights into his personal history and the development of Penn State University, which Paterno literally transformed from a backwater agricultural school into a well-known and successful state school. I doubt any coach in college sports history has been more important to his school's development than Paterno has been to Penn State.

The parts about the actual season are fairly boring, since PSU was horrible the year Fitzpatrick followed them but it is worth picking up if you are a fan of college football history.