Athletics Books

I ordered this book for a valentine's day present and it arrived before the scheduled delivery date and was in perfect condition.

I ordered this book and the seller actually lived in my area and offered to deliver it to my house. Great Service!!

I bought this book along with one other for my husband's birthday. He started reading it that night. The info is great and there are pictures in it that are not very often seen. Very interesting!

As the book title says, this is a "retrospective" and not a history, which explains why there is little to be found about the early days of the New York Yankees in between being certified as a member in the American League of Professional Baseball Clubs and the purchase of George Herman Ruth from the Boston Red Sox. Despite the 41-win season of Jack Chesbro, everything before the Babe is prologue. Besides, for most of those years they were the New York Highlanders and they have never been considered part of the fabled team in pinstripes. The team's centennial is as good as excuse as any for a book like this, since there is essentially the same problem that would have faced a similar effort 50 years ago. The Yankees are once again an on-going dynasty so there seems no real reason to wait for the end of the Joe Torre years or for Derek Jeter to retire before putting together such a book.

Edited by Mark Vancil and Mark Mandrake, "The New York Yankees - 100 Years - The Official Retrospective" is more in the style of sports journalism than academic history, which is fine. Throughout the volume there are a series of essays on the team's greatest players by some of the finest sports writers around: Richard W. Creamer on Babe Ruth, Donald Honig on Joe DiMaggio, Peter Golenbock on Mickey Mantle, and Ray Robinson on Lou Gehrig. Roger Kahn looks at "The Battle of the Boroughs" and Leonard Koppett writes about the Yankees dominance of New York City. There are, as you would expect in such a book, an All-Time Yankees team, selected by the New York-New Jersey Chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America, who also picked "The Top 25 Moment, Marks, and Events" that concludes the volume.

The sportswriter picked those lists but the justifications are provided by Bill James, the dean of statistical analyses of the game of baseball and a person who knows how to make an argument supported by compelling evidence. For example, James makes a case for Roy White being a better player than Jim Rice and even goes so far as to argue that Whitey Ford's consistency was more important that the spectacular efforts of Sandy Koufax. James provides similar arguments for the Yankees Managers and pretty much settles the debate as to which New York Yankee team was the greatest of all time (no, it was not "Murderer's Row"). Actually, James ends up accounting for about half the text in the book, which is welcomed if you like his brand of analysis and disconcerting if you hold other beliefs.

The book does skew towards the second half of the century, i.e., to the fans who would buy this nice looking book, which explains why the roster of great players gives space to Bobby Murcer but not Bob Meusel. As you would expect, the book is richly illustrated and you might be surprised that many of hte most familiar photographs in team history are not to be found in in this collection. Attention is paid more to the details than the big picture: Keith Olbermann tells Babe Dahlgren's version of the end of Lou Gehrig's playing streak; This is a page devoted to the wisdom of Casey Stengel; and the three major obstacles Elston Howard faced when he joined the Yankees. This book suffers from not having an index, but that seems a trivial concern in the end. You do not have to read this book straight from cover to cover, but as you look as you get around to everything sooner or later.

Now I know why this was shrink-wrapped in the stores, which made it impossible to look inside. But after getting the book and removing the shrink-wrap, it is nearly impossible to read. The layout is similar to ESPN's Magazine, with small colored print on top of colored background, pictures without captions, etc. This was supposed to be for my Dad, but at his age he won't be able to read this. Heck, I can barely read it, and I don't even wear glasses. I'll never buy a shrink-wrapped book again. I should have known better.

Not the most fascinating subject but Murphy's writing rises above the fairly mundane topic. The premise that the college game beats pro football ignores four hour bowl games that carry into mid-January. That said, Murphy finds the humor in anything and has a real knack for people that comes across in his writing. His earlier books are five star efforts so this is, as they say, wide left.

Much like college rankings, Murphy takes half of the chronicled season before the book begins to feel coherent. While I'm a longtime Sports Illustrated reader familiar with Murphy's weekly college football coverage, there's something lost in the translation from magazine page to "Saturday Rules"--the play-by-play coverage of games drags on forever, and fails to bring the season alive. The behind-the-scenes access that Murphy has makes this book required reading for Notre Dame, USC, Michigan, Florida, and Ohio State fans (all of which are covered in-depth). Most other fans can pass on this one.

Great running commentary on the 2006 season, mostly from the perspective of USC and ND, but great insights into Ohio St, Michigan, and Florida. I would definitely enjoy reading a similar book about any season.

The book is not great and I lost interest in it near the half way point. If you want to read good books on College Football, go with Dixieland Delight by Clay Travis or Bowls,Polls, and Tattered Souls by Stewart Mandel. Leave Saturday Rules at the store. It is not worth it.

I was excited to see Austin Murphy had written a book about the 2006 college football season. His college football articles in SI are solid, typically containing cool backstories that you would not find anywhere else. I also read his earlier book on D3 fooball in Minnesota (St. John's I believe) and found it very funny and insightful.

As a Buckeye homer I didn't get everything I wanted. Obviously Austin did not write this for me, and the 2006 season did not end well for tOSU, so I'd still rate this a 'strong buy'.

If Coach Tressel ever allows it, Austin Murphy would be the writer I'd want to write the book on Buckeye football. He makes Charlie Weiss human for goodness sake! If a writer can take the most egotistical and foul mouthed coach in football and make him somewhat of an interesting person then that's quality writing.

The Michigan program is portrayed as expected: paranoid and ill tempered. Columbus is going to miss you Llllloyd!

I'd have preferred more of the stories behind the stories vs. game recaps. I understand why the game summaries were needed however as they are the spine of the book.

If you are a college football fan you will enjoy this book. If you are a true fanatic (Go Bucks!) it won't be exactly what you want because it's not about a single team. SC and Domer fans will enjoy it the most as they get the best treatment from the writer. Again, it's likely deserved as their Sports Information Departments appear to embrace this project and hook the author up with the necessary access.

Finally from what I can discern in the text, if you ever get the chance to have a drink with the author definitely take him up on it. He's experienced some great college football moments and some stories he shares from when his brother played for BC are tremendous.

Well I'm a Track and Field guy so I was interested a few years back to read the story of one of America's premiere female athletes who happened to be a legend in southern California high school Track and Basketball. This book provides what won would expect to learn. trials, triumphs background.

The recent revelations don't corrupt this book for the most part but it is sad that she fell so far. It really is a shame.

What a joke, should be titled, "Making of a Cheater"

Now that the facts are out, wasn't it always obvious?

Marion Jones was a good kid she grow up with a loving family and didn't get in to trouble often well she never did. Marion was a good student and would all way do her homework when she got home from school.
Marion Jones and her struggles with life and her accomplishments in the life. She had some hard ones and some that she will remember for the rest of her life. At the age of 5 she was all ways a good student in school. She would get A's all the time I think there was onetime that she had a b in one of her classes but other than that was it. In little leage she was beating evey body that she was running a genst was getting beat. She was really fast at that age . she was the bst on her tram then and I think that she was the best one on every team that she was on. At the age of 13 she was able to touch the rim at 10 feet. At the age of 14 she was dunking at a regular 10 feet hoop. She would start all of the games that she played. She was a runner in school to but she wasn't that good back then. The kept on practicing every day.
She got a scholarship to play in college to the North Carolina Tar Heels. And she gladly excepted it. She didn't start every game until her 2nd year there and then started to start every game. She was really good at basketball at the time was she playing. She was the best player on the team and there was like 30 people on the team at that point. She was the starter for point gard. That Is the best place to play I think it is any way. Some of the people said that she had the sweetest jump shot of all the player on the team. She only dunk one time at the game but it was during worm up so I didn't count but it was still impressive. It was cool because the people in the crowed was like (WOW)But that game that she had wasn't one of her best games she only got 20 point that night. Her all time heights point in a game was 45 points. So fare that has been the most on that team that any player for girls team had ever got.
She didn't finish college because she got a chance to go running for free with the best instructor so she could run. She all ways wonted to run and now was her chance to do it so she decided to take a chance. So she did and its paying off for her. Latte on she was working with her coach and they started talking and they started go to dinner. Then they started going out to dinner and then after a while he proposed to her. That all i have to say with out giveing the book away.

This book really gives you insight you wouldn't normally read about. The book starts when she was born, and continues up to the 2000 Olympics. Rapoport does an excellent job in writing about Marion. You go through the pain with Marion. I couldn't put the book down.

Marion Jones is one of the Most Important Athletes in Sports over the past Decade She has forever changed what a Athlete can Proclaim as Goals.She had a Great Year at the Olympics.She will only get better with time.this is a Good Solid Book on Her I can't wait to see what Her Next Journey shall be She is Very Talented&Hard Working Person&very Down To Earth.

I cannot remember if I watched the medal presentation ceremony for the 200 meter race at the 1968 Olympics. I think I did, if I did not then I missed a historic occasion.
At that time racial problems in USA were not unfamiliar to me and I knew of people like Eldridge Cleaver, Malcolm X, Stokely Carmichael, Angela Davis... However I thought that those problems would not affect top class athletes and that they were fairly treated by the white society. So I regarded the medal ceremony as a strong and emotional protest by people who though not directly affected wanted to give a voice to the majority of afro-american citizens.
I could not be wronger. For instance, it never crossed my mind that Carlos and Smith feared to be shot by someone from the crowd.
The book under review is a detailed account of Tommie Smith's life, focussing on the events that led to Mexico 68 and what happened afterwards.
It is hard to believe what the two athletes, Smith and John Carlos, gold and bronze medallists respectively, had to endure: insults, menacing junk mail (a friend of a Smith's sister later confessed she used to send similar messages just for fun), the collapse of a marriage, a wife's suicide, the lack of support from people who could have helped (the former footballer Jim Brown was one of those), other black athletes strongly complaining their careers had been destroyed (Jim Hines, for example), no jobs...
Also the families suffered. Smith's mother died at 57 and he strongly implies her death was caused by the stress that the situation generated. His brothers and sisters suffered all sorts of abuse and his youngest brother still seems to blame his life failures on him.
It is no wonder that Muhammad Ali threw his Roma gold medal into the Mississipi river when realized that he was treated as before in his home town.
The story appears to have a happy ending, the book closes with the unveiling of a statue
portraying both athletes where everything started - the campus of San Jose State College -,
but has it? Does anything in the world erase the strong suffering both athletes had to face?
On reading this book I was reminded of a TV movie I watched long ago. The character played by Bette Davis, an old teacher, bumps into a former and much, much younger pupil.
They recall her motto - It's better to lose on one's terms than to win on someone else's. (I'm quoting from memory). I think that Tommie Smith might agree.

I thought the book was wordy but interesting. I wish the ghost writer had more control. Sometimes preachy. Slow read.

I enjoyed learning more about Mr. Smith, but found the writing to be cumbersome, and a bit boring.

The concept was a good one, unfortunately the writing was poor.

I feel that the previous reviewers each has an ax (albeit a different ax) to grind. I am simply a progressive who happens to follow the sport of track & field, and have since before 1968. I admire both Smith and Carlos, but I thought Smith's book (I have not read Carlos')was self-serving and, as one reviewer noted, compromised by regret. To those of us of that generation , to whom that silent gesture was meaningful indeed, whatever its exact motivation, this volume constitutes a terrible disappointment. I'll take the Tommie Smith of 1968 without resrvations, but who's THIS guy?

With several long-winded sections on the kinetics of sprinting and slams against athletes - John Carlos, George Foreman, Bob Seagren, Lee Evans, teammates on the Cincinnati Bengals - and others - Dr. Harry Edwards, Jim Brown, the NAACP - it is no wonder why it took 40 years for Tommie Smith to get his autobiography published.

In what is oftentimes a very tedious read, Smith and co-author David Steele ruin what is a powerful personal account of an athlete who truly wanted to use his talent for a greater good and the institutionalized racism in this country that he has confronted his entire life.

Smith's recollections of the Olympic Project for Human Rights is particularly moving and he does an excellent job is dispelling the myths that has clouded the issue since the late 1960s. For the record, his Olympic gold medal was never seized by the International Olympic Committee.

But his personal vendettas against so many people and institutions detracts mightily from his message. It may have been theraputic for Smith, but whining about the salaries of Bengal teammates and magnifying every perceived slight from friends/colleagues into high drama becomes juvenile and silly.

I was very excited when I heard that Smith's autobiography was finally going to be published. But it proved to be a very disappointing read.

When I read the review by tjh, I was hesitant to buy the book. However, I decided to take a risk, and I'm glad I did.

I am not a professional trainer, athlete, or physical therapist. I lead a sedentary lifestyle, my job requires that I sit all day, and exercise is not my favorite thing to do. As I have grown older, I have noticed the loss of flexibility. I am precisely the audience for which this book was written.

I found this book to be extremely informative about the mechanics of how our muscles work, easy to understand and follow, and most importantly, effective in reducing many of the aches and pains associated with a sedentary lifestyle. And because I feel better, I am motivated to increase my previously minimal amount of exercise to walking 45 minutes each day.

To the professional athlete, the stretching exercises may appear rudimentary. But for the average person, Chris Verna has assembled an easy-to-follow guide to identifying and improving individual fle! xibility for different body parts. The only way this book could be improved would be to include a 25-year old Trainer to come with it!

I think my title pretty much says it. There are no stretches to do on a daily routine. They all apply to specific things like golf or tennis. I don't play golf or tennis.

I am in private practice and see a wide range of patients and problems. I treat many professional athletes, but also our Az. "snow birds" who want to be painfree when they golf, jog, etc... I consider this the best tool I have to help them, not just for the moment, but from this point on. The vast majority of musculo-skeletal complaints I deal with can be traced to poor flexibilty and subsequent decreased function or complete malfunction. Chris' innovative approach to how the body works together has made these stretches very effective. More than one patient has been spared shoulder surgery due to Chris' perspective on shoulder motion and the stretches developed from that ! As more of my patients join HMOs, their access to good physical therapy is dramatically reduced. I have gone to prescribing Chris' book over arguing for a few physical therapy visits in a poor facility - and had much better outcomes !!! The text is clear and the photographs assure that positioning is correct. This book has been a huge help to my back pain patients, many of whom have now found relief they felt they would never experience again. If you hurt, this could easily be the best $20 you ever spend. Christopher R. Carlson PA-C ATC

This book is more than I expected. I only bought it hoping it would pinpoint the best stretching exercises to help in my bicycling. Besides getting sport-specific stretching suggestions, the book gives general stretching suggestions too. Chapter 1 walks you though a flexibility test for each general body part. Using the results of the test you can determine where you most need to improve on your flexibility. For example, if the flexibilty test determines that you need improvement in your hip area, the book refers you to which chapter or chapters of stretching exercises would most benefit you.

Yoga based stretching presented in a easy to follow format. I am a certified fitness instructor and recommend this book for my students. The photos are very clear and lots of beginning modifications are included.

This is a great non-fiction book. I am in high school so i am searching for a college. i aslo play football wnd would wish to do so for a D-1A college program. this book was very helpful and showed me that D-1 football is not all fun and games. It was very interesting and i could not put it down. it was also very informative and tells may fun and exciting stories about life in the big time college football scene.

This was a fairly interesting book that provides some insight into the inner workings of a major college football program, but I didn't think it was very well written, and I had a hard time getting into it. It tried to tell so many different stories that it just seemed too jumpy to me. I thought "A Civil War" about the Army/Navy rivalry was a much better read and did a better job of making all the various characters interesting and bringing them to life. "For the Glory" was okay, but hardly stellar.

Denlinger just tried to do too much here. He follows an incoming class of a couple dozen football players over their five years of eligibility. Unfortunately, that's such a huge subject material it's hard to have any meaningful depth to the individual players' stories. He'll be talking about player A for a couple of pages, but that will be it, since there's so many other players to follow. Then, you often won't hear about that player for "another year." One reviewer made reference to Friday Night Lights, and one strength of that book is that the author only focused on about 5 players over 1 year. I felt I knew those Permian Panthers at the end of the book; you're still struggling to figure out which Nittany Lion is which at the end of this one.

JoePa is the person you learn most about ... but even there it's just about his interactions with the players, as opposed to a macroscopic overlook of how Paterno oversees the whole football program. Paterno comes off well, and it's a credit to him that with a sports reporter lurking around his program steadily for five straight years, Denlinger (admittedly, a PSU alum) found very little negative to say about the football team's administration.

As an alum myself, it was disappointing that not much was written about what makes the Penn State campus experience unique. The book comes off as being set in Any State University, as opposed to State College vs Columbus, Ann Arbor, etc....

Overall, I suppose I sound negative. Really, it's not a bad read .... I just found it somewhat shallow and vanilla. IMHO, there's more to write about college footbook than this book found.

For The Glory calls itself "a player's book", therefore anybody looking for an in-depth study of legendary Penn State University coach Joe Paterno will be disappointed. Neither does the book concentrate on any major scandals usually associated with big-time college football. Denlinger instead details the dedication, frustration, disillusionment, and for a fortunate few, the fulfillment experienced by twenty-eight young men between 1988 and 1993, as they cope with the mental and physical pressures of playing football for perennial college powerhouse Penn State. Denlinger focuses on the fluctuating fortunes of the players as they struggle both to maintain an acceptable academic performance and also earn a starting place in the team. In so doing, he shows how for some players, the entire college experience is an attritional process of disappointment and discontent. In addition, his accounts of endless practice sessions, and moreover the disturbing frequency of serious injuries to players, raise challenging questions, not only about the intense competitiveness of college football, but about the nature of the game generally. Keeping track of twenty-eight players over five years is no mean feat, and one feels occasionally that Denlinger spreads his focus too widely. It is sometimes difficult to recall the details of each player, and consequently one cannot understand and relate to them on a personal level. Overall, however, For The Glory provides a soberly honest portrayal of the student athlete experience that allows one to appreciate the achievement of those who play football on a collegiate level.

The book did enlighten me yet it was boring to read. There are better books about college football(I have most of them). If you want to cuddle up by the fireplace with a good sports book leave this one alone and read Friday Night Lights.

Although Joan won an Olympic medal and I've only run two 5k races, I found this book to be very useful and informative. Some of the training drills are new to me, most actually, and I plan on using them. She also has a training schedule for everything from your first 10k to your first marathon. The book even touches on 5k races and the mile. I don't know that I'll ever want to train for a marathon, but the book was interesting and inspiring, with Joan's personal experiences mixed in with experts's advice on everything from stretching to buying the right bra.

I've found this book to be an excellent basic resource for female runners. I often give it as a gift to runners that I coach, since Samuelson's advice is wonderfully balanced about running and life. While others find it a problem that training advice is mixed with autobiographical info, I found it neither too dry nor too anecdotal. There aren't many good books about women's running--this is one of the best!

I enjoyed the inspirational aspect of Joan's successes and overcoming injury to achieve those successes. This book also motivated me to train harder and use Joan's advice and training programs. She shows us how to balance training with life and be successful in all of it! I highly recommend it to inspire you and take your training to higher levels.

Unfortunately, Samuelson's writing skills are far less inspiring that her gold medal win of the first women's Olympic marathon. Her co-writer does little to add clarity and excitment to the work and, instead, just muddies the waters further (the two of them continually alternate writing, switching from the first to third person with no clear segues). Even the information it delivers is old news (advice such as: ibuprofen relieves menstrul cramps). There are so many better instructional books about running.

After having read other books on women's running, I had high hopes for this one. Unfortunately my hopes were quickly diminished. This book seemed to be all about Joan and what she did to become an olympic champion. This may be good autobiographical material but as a guide to starting a running program this book flounders. Not many people starting out are capable of having knee surgery and running a race shortly thereafter. What little useful information was provided seemed impractical and laden with disclaimers such as, just because Joan did this doesn't mean that everyone can, etc. I wanted to read a book that would give me pointers in starting and maintaining a running program, not Joan's life story.

A good read about some of the great runners of the world and insight into how they became leaders in the field.

While it is a little thin on training details, this book does give you some insight into the mindset of these great athletes. As a 40+ runner who idolized some of these greats I was entertained.

I'm a recreational marathoner (7 and counting) but take my running very seriously, regardless. I bought a used, marked up copy of this on amazon and was happily surprised at how much enjoyment and useful information I have gotten from it.

So many profiles of great runners...all presented (no surprise, since it's from RUNNERS WORLD magazine) in abbreviated, interesting biographies that highlight their personal and professional accomplishments on and off the race track. Lots of pearls of wisdom, sage advice and things to think about for runners of all levels, regardless of skill or dedication.

There's something for every runner in this thick, wonderful book which I find myself picking up again and again...especially the night before a race or long run!

I must agree with the first reviewer, I too purchased this book with much anticipation and was sorely disappointed with it's lack of hard training fact. There is decent info from a few athletes but much of the training info of the more secretive elites are nothing but short biographies and anecdotal evidence akin to the dry packaged responses you get in most running mags.

I would agree with the other reviewers that this is by no means a training manual (ala Daniels or Coe). However, that doesn't change the fact that it is a very enjoyable book to read, covering legends of the past as well as more recent champions. If you are interested in marathoning, this book is particularly good, as most of the runners covered are marathoners.

Whilst the training plans will be of little use, I find this book a great motivator, and that's what every runner needs!

I remember Bobby Knight when he played (or more accurately warmed the bench) for the great Buckeye teams of the 60-61. The early part of his life was interesting, but after that I found myself skipping much of the book. If your a huge BkB or IU fan and have read no other books on Bobby, you may enjoy the book. I only read the book because I saw it available through a library. Most interesting part of the book was the statement by a neighbor of his when he grew up saying that his 1st wife and he were the most mismatched couple she ever meet after they announced their engagement. Their marriage lasted 22 yrs. That may say a lot about their personalities.

Like the BOOKLIST REVIEW says this is a book that is hard to put down. I read the intro at the bookstore, bought the book and was almost through it by the next day. The writing style is crisp and gives you a fly on the wall perspective as you tour Bob Knight's career to date. It comes across objective, not trying to sugarcoat the persona of Knight nor deride him. The authors tell the story and let you make up your own mind. I laughed out loud a few times and thoroghly enjoyed the book. It is worth the price of a hard cover and could make a nice gift for the college bball fan.

I got an early copy of the book and absolutely loved it. I've read almost all of the other bios, and this one is really different because it really looks at his entire careeer. The whole thing, good, bad and ugly. It seems like the authors really went out of their way to find new sources too, because there is some new info I had not heard before.

A great read all around. Fantastic.

Mr. Delsohn does a great job of telling the story of Bob Knight which undoubtedly was not an easy story to tell. Given the strong feelings either for or against Mr. Knight, the author does a superb job at being balanced yet not pandering to sentationalism. Often when one sees the words Unauthorized Biography, you search to see if it is an anagram for hatchet job.

In this book, the author presents a detailed history of Mr. Knight's well known actions and often his boorish behavior. While ample attention is paid to Mr. Knight's positive attributes his many examples of bad behavior are explored in-depth and no ink is spared to let the bad actions tell their own story. After reading this work it is truely scary that Mr. Knight was able to act in such a foul, crass manner for so long only because he was able to win a few championships. Kudo's to Mr Delsohn for making it clear that Coach Knight's actions do have implications and the fact he's won a few games does not allow him carte blance to act in such a foul and often obscene manner. This is really a good work of investigative journalism and took great courge to write. I hope this work serves as an example that bad behavior is not something to be tolerated as it was in this case.

Whether you are a Bob Knight fan (like me) or a Bob Knight detractor, you will be disappointed with this book. If you're looking for any new revelations about Bob Knight, you will not find them here. Instead, "Bob Knight: The Unauthorized Biography" presents the same old same old: the good (winning national championships and the Olympics, not cheating, raising millions for charity, helping Landon Turner), the bad (throwing chairs, screaming at players and writers, benching Steve Alford in that Illinois game, feuding with Mike Krzyzewski, players transferring out) and the ugly (the whole Neil Reed incident and the Myles Brand firing). There are no new insights into his background, personality, or coaching style. If you have read John Feinstein's "Season on the Brink," the Joan Mellen biography, Alford's memoir or Knight's own (very dull) book, you already know everything in this biography.

This book is very poorly edited, with some revealing mistakes. The award for the top high school basketball player in Indiana is "Mr. Basketball," but this book repeatedly refers to it as "Mr. Indiana." Todd Leary is called "Tim Leary" at one point; former Indiana state officials Bob Orr and John Mutz are called "Jim Orr" and "John McMutz." This book fouls out with me, and I don't recommend it.

If you are interested in improving your performance in almost any sport, plyometrics is sure to help you. This book is a gold mine of specific information and training programs that will supercharge your workouts.

A mediocre book on a form of exercise that is unproductive and dangerous. The book is hardly comprehensive and some of the routines and ideas are downright untrue. Give this book (and plyometrics) a miss.

This book is worth the price ($14) alone just for the plyometric routines in the back of the book. The description and science behind plyometrics are excellent and easy to read. My only complaint about the book is that some of the exercises are hard to grasp from the given instructions.

I knew of several lower body plyometric moves, but the amount of upper body ones in the book are impressive. You will need a medicine ball for most of the upper body ones, as well as plyo boxes for some of the lower body ones, but in the book they show you how to make them. This is a definite plus. I also like the suggested readings in the back, which will help if I ever need to go more indepth into a certain aspect of plyometrics.

Overall, this book is worth the money, and will help you in any sport, to become more explosive. Just make sure to study the instructions on the moves carefully, to make sure you are doing them right.

I purchased this book because I am familiar with plyometrics, having done them years ago in high school athletics. But, I am an adult now, and wanted to reacquaint myself with some plyometric exercises to give me an edge in my running.

I found this book was a bit too inaccessible for me, and ended up returning it. It's very technical and scientific, even to me-- and, I consider myself pretty knowlegeable in terms of exercise, running and fitness.

If you already use plyometrics and are looking for some new ideas, this is probably for you. It relies on several props that may not be avaialble for someone who is a fitness enthusiast, but is not a full time athlete. If you are just taking up an interest in plyometrics, I would not buy this book as my first. (For the novice, I would recommend Chu's "Jumping Into Plyometrics," instead.) The book boasts "77 Advanced Exercises" on the cover, and the key word here is indeed, "advanced."

In short, this book is for professional athletes and coaches, not for someone just getting his/her feet wet in this very beneficial form of training.

High-Powered Plyometrics is an excellent book for those striving to achieve maximum power from their fitness program of choice. This book gives plenty of information about the human physiology, necessary to understand how the body reacts to physical conditioning. It then smoothly incorporates a detailed outline of the how's and why's that make plyometrics work. The authors of the book share their accumulation of research with the reader to grant him the ability of self-evaluation. This book is amazing, it even gives you outlines for building your own jump boxes from scratch, should you be inclined to do so.

You can learn a lot from this book, since there is a wealth of research thrown into this book. Though, I'd also recommend getting Jumping into Plyometrics, by Dr. Donald Chu, in addition to this book. Chu's book, in my opinion, is no better or worse than High-Powered Plyometrics. Both books have their advantages over the other. The main advantages: High-Powered Plyometrics has a lot more routines already outlined for specific sports; Jumping into Plyometrics has outlined routines involving complex training (basically, Plyometrics + Weight Lifting).

Good luck in your quest for power.