Athletics Books

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.<

The perfect book to lift the spirits and give you the motivation to get out and give it your best. It's a small and easy to read companion that is ideal for taking along to races and whipping out when the nerves start to set in. Every runner should have this in their kit bag or beside the bed.

This book certainly gave me a basis to build on and was very influential in my initial weeks of training. Highly recommended for the beginning runner who desires to know more. Easily understood and enjoyable reading. Highly recommended.

I've gone to a person who would hyperperventilate on a one lap run, to a comfortable 10 k runner in less then 6 months. I it ALL to this book. Not only did his workout plan keep me interested, and more imporatantly EASY while I progressed, but it taught me how to do it right, without a single injury. If I got meet the author, I would kiss him. Great book for bigger runners, I've recommended it to all my friends, who are currenlty doing their first 5 k race this weekend.

I love this book, and recommend it to anyone interested in taking up running - it has tips for beginners on up to expert runners.

Almost everything that you could want in a running reference!

Beautiful layout, and great pictures... very impressive for this type of book.

I've completed two marathons and used this book for my second marathon training program. This is a spectacular book. So good that I've recommended it to serveral friends.

What differentiates this book from most running books is the variety of programs for different race types (10k, 1/2, full) that are offered. Also, it provides programs in either miles or km.

I'm now training for my third and am pushing for a more challenging time. The book is my bible!

This really outstanding book has it all! If you want to train for a short race, a marathon or anything in between, this book is the way to do it! Colorful pages! Easy to read charts. Advice on just about everything any runner or would-be runner needs! Great book!

Greg's plan makes sense and you see immediate results. More importantly is how you feel about yourself. Early into the second week, you just start feeling trimmer, stonger, generally better! I highly recommend the Ultimate Lean Routine as a way of life and this book captures it all! Many thanks, Jill Bertolet

This is an excellent book. It's written simply and clearly, no real complications, and the author can really connect with the reader.

The workouts are expained in a an excellent way; the alternating of workouts is the most effective I have ever tried, and particularly the type of training applied to each workout can create incredible changes for the better WAY faster than any other workout system I tried. It's simple: with a test, you find the right rate YOU need wo do your cardio at (and no, it's not the same old stuff), and work at that rate, until you feel you have improved and then you can take the test again and work out at the newly found rate. Same for the strength training: you find your 10-rep max, perform 3 sets (a warm-up set, a work set and a blast set) and stretch in between sets - a technique that is most effective for increasing muscle strength and particularly for women, to get rid of cellulite in your thighs.

The dietary prescription may be too much work for some, not doable for some others and fast burners (see metabolic typing) will probably need a little more protein and good fats to feel full; but generally the dietary guidelines are good and a definite improvement over most people's diets. The fact that the diet part of the plan cannot really be personalized to the needs of the reader made it lose 1 star, I would have given it 5 stars otherwise. But it really is an excellent book. If you feel it's time you start working on improving your body shape and your health, or if you have been working out but you don't feel you are getting the results you deserve for your efforts, this is the book for you - you'll change for the better, really fast.

I used this routine last year for about 4 months, and found that I could achieve results that I had been unable to reach previously. Top notch stuff.

i liked the workout routines and overall it is a good book, but the diet breakdown was quite confusing with all the different percentages that you needed to figure out. not a simple plan.

This book is easy to understand and easy to follow. One does not have to follow every recipe. Just use it as a common sense guide, eat accordingly and follow the exersize regimen. It takes no more than one hour a day, sometime less than an hour. I lost 30 pounds of fat in 90 days following this program. I just wish that Greg Isaacs would write a follow up regimen for those who want to take his advice and move on to another level of health and fitness.

This is the best college football history book I have found. It covers every week since 1953. It has the starting line up of the top 70 college teams for all those years.
It has a year by year wrap up of awards, bowls and polls. It has the All-American teams. You'll never find a book on college football that has the complete history this book contains.
The book settles a lot of arguments.
I purchased this book for many of my friends
The book is well put together and the information is easy to find.

This book is such a great resource. Year-by-Year it gives team records, awards, NFL drafts. It even gives reports on games! This is a must have for any college football fan

This thing is a behemoth. Over 1300 pages and a lot of it is in small type. So, what is 50 Years of College Football? Authors Bob Boyles have compiled something that has to be the most inclusive review of the last 50 years of college football available. It just as easily could have been called "The College Football Dictionary" as that's what it resembles.

It provides a review of 70 teams over the years 1953 to 2006. Each review contains basic school information, and career, season, and game statistical leaders - typical of stuff you'd find in a school's media guide. The reviews include won-loss records, coaching records, and bowl records, the scores of all games - stuff that isn't hard to find if you're a powerhouse school, but may be difficult if you're trying to find information on someone lesser known. The season's starting lineups and statistical leaders are also included - that is information that can be very hard to find, especially if you're interested in going back all the way to 1953.

The yearly reviews start with an entertaining and informative overview of each year, highlighting events on and off the field. As an example, the 1961 review relates how the Ohio State faculty voted down a Rose Bowl bid, resulting in the Columbus Dispatch printing each voting faculty member's name, address, and amount of reimbursed out-of-state travel they'd had over the past year. We're told that Woody Hayes was pivotal in quelling potential student riots. (Ah, the good old days!)

The preseason rankings are provided, and a recap of games played between ranked teams and many rivals are reviewed, which comes to more than 7,500 game recaps total. These don't include every game ever played, but obviously a huge number of them, including a "Game of the Year" for each season. .Each year concludes with a listing of conference standings, bowl game reviews, All-America teams, Heisman Trophy voting along with other major award winners. As if that weren't enough (but wait, there's more!), you also get the first eight rounds of each season's NFL draft.

There is a freakish amount of information in 50 Years of College Football, almost too much. At a cost under $20 (see the Amazon price above), it's pretty affordable as a historical reference. It's handy for bloggers like me to go back and find something interesting to write about and it should be in the hands of any college fans that likes to "one-up" their friends. Hmmmm.... wouldn't that be just about all of us?

Fifty Years of College Football is a little-known giant of a book that blows away the competition like the ESPN College Football Encyclopedia. Fifty Years even has a bonus...it actually chronicles 54 football seasons of all the important college teams, and does it in an amazingly detailed style. It supplies information on the top 70 football programs that can be found in very few books of this type.

For example, ESPN's book offers scores of games but otherwise all but ignores the exciting action that took place on the field. For its part, Fifty Years chronicles every important moment in more than 7,000 important college games. ESPN spoons up inconsistent "teams of the century" for each school while Fifty Years taps each major school's best 54 players, arranged as a squad ready to take on the world. Very cool!

ESPN provides a chart of each team's season leader in stats while Fifty Years lists each starting player and many reserves on offense and defense and supplies all the important stats in each season during the modern era since the early 1950s.

Boyles and Guido make football history come alive, and their amazing effort is massive, and an incredible bargain.

From the first page, 50 Years of College Football bombards you with just about everything you'd want to know about the sport from 1953 through 2006. From thousands of season and game capsules to yearly records, rosters, and the greatest players lists of 70 major football schools, the data is immense, useful, and fun to peruse.

The problems are minor, but glaring. The book suffers from a bit of a consistency problem. For instance, among Georgia Tech players, names are spelled correctly in one part of the book and misspelled in another, like "Eddie Lee Ivory" and "Keith Brookings". Joey Hamilton (once referred to as "Joe" and "Joey" the rest of the time) is even listed as being drafted from "Georgia" in the 1999 NFL draft list.

The other problem is more of a personal caveat: none of the yearly rosters have any kickers or punters listed in any year, even though they're referenced aplenty in the rest of the book. Some may not particularly care about that, but it's a shame that they were excluded.

Despite these flaws, 50 Years is the best college football resource on the market today. No college football fan should be without it.

Vern Gambetta requires respect. His words and actions speak for themselves. This book doesn't do justice to the depth of his knowledge and experience as a trainer and educator.

This book is full of information, but I found it somewhat difficult to get through because it is very technical in nature.

Athletes, trainers, and anyone studying sports medicine should check out this guide to sports conditioning. It's a great help to prepare for the CSCS exam.

Vern has been around the block and he knows his stuff. Read every word of his book and let it sink in.

The thing that makes this book so very exceptional is its seamless combination of the author's significant personal coaching experience and the state of the art in exercise and sports science. There is just enough theory and background to understand where the ideas come from, helping to put them into better context.

Although there is no formula that works for creating a training program for every athlete, this book probably comes as close as you can get to that goal. It provides you with the basic principles you need for assessing what each athlete needs in order to achieve their potential and training them to attain it. The components of performance are clearly laid out, along with the methods for developing them and also the places where qualities depend critically on other qualities.

The author addresses all of the usual questions along the way with unique and practical answers that can be applied to any sport once you understand the needs of that sport. Get realistic, effective answers to your questions about sets, reps, periodizing, plyometrics, machines, bands, weights, strength vs. power, functional strength vs. absolute strength, flexibility vs. mobility and stability; all of the important questions that arise in the mind of any athlete or coach who takes the training process seriously.

No fads here, just good solid principles proven by experience and explained in terms of current theory. No matter how much you already know, you can't help learn something about training for human athletic performance if you read this book. If you are a trainer, this book may well become one of your most treasured resources, a place to go to help cut through the fluff and fashions of the industry when you have a real question.

Mr. Watterson has presented us with a volume that is unique among sports books - a comprehensive history of college football and its relationship to college life and American society. I recommend it for two reasons:

1. It is incredibly well researched; Watterson has spent years digging through college and university archives around the country. He has amassed a mountain of valuable information about the progression and development of the college game that is not available elsewhere.

2. Despite being an academic, the author writes in a style that is easily readable. In my experience, it is rare to find a scholarly book that is also comprehensible to a lay audience.

Though it has many positives, there are two major flaws that drive me to distraction.

1. Watterson insists on repeating himself, sometimes making the same point in the very next paragraph or on subsequent pages. At times, I found myself wondering whether I had mistakenly lost track of my place in the book and was reading a page that I had already covered. The author's tendency to rehash previously made points slows the reader's progression and makes each chapter significantly longer than it needs to be.

2. The index is woefully incomplete. For example, references to Glenn "Pop" Warner are listed on three pages - 137, 146 and 172 - but more information about him appears on page 180. Likewise, Richard "Von" Gammon is referenced in the index on pages 36-38, but he also appears on page 47 (misspelled as Richard Gammen). There are many such instances in the index.

Nevertheless, this book is very valuable for the many nuggets of insight and history that bubble to the surface. The information contained in this volume is found nowhere else, and far outweighs the drawbacks in writing and editing.

This a dry read and takes some effort as it is essentially an academic tome that is concerned with the evolution of modern college football from a political, policy, and business standpoint. But it is quite thorough and hits the nail on the head. The final pages discuss how the game can be saved .... since reform is not an option. This is the weakest part of the book, but understandably so since it would take the wisdom of Solomon to fix this problem. I have always felt that a return to one platoon football makes a lot of sense regarding costs (less insurance, travel and equipment, scholarship dollars).

The editing in the book leaves something to be desired. There are a number of typos - and a few sentences that make contradictory statements. The author is not a well versed student of the game since there are several technical mistakes which indicate some deficiencies in research. Some of these are listed below as examples.

(1) Identifying Brian Bosworth as an Oklahoma lineman when he was a linebacker,
(2) Claiming All American status for 4 years (1982-1985)for a very average SMU running back,
(3) Confusing the major Western Athletic Conference (WAC) with the minor Rocky Mountain Conference,
(4) When describing the 1943 game between the College of the Pacific (COP) and USC attributing Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) membership to COP which was in fact an independent school during the 40's and never was a member of the PCC or its later version, the Pac 10.

That said I highly recommend the book for anyone interested in the history of college football.

This enlightening book covers the history of college football from an interesting and neglected point of view. That is to say, it contains none of the usual lionisation of players and coaches, and no re-working of big games we're all familiar with. Rather, Watterson examines (and questions) the place of the game in American society and its role on campus. The book establishes quite clearly that the over-emphasis placed on gridiron is hardly a recent phenomenon or even (as I foolishly suspected) down to the evils of television - that schools have been fielding ineligible players, fiddling grades, and operating slush funds from the days of Walter Camp. Watterson details the various movements which have attempted to reform the game and how it is run, and explains lucidly why virtually all of them failed. A seemingly insatiable desire for victory and glory to the alma mater has resulted in a gradual yet steady erosion of the original purpose of sport on campus, to the point where today a college President can express a desire to "build a university the football team can be proud of" without a trace of irony.

The book's only real fault lies in some woeful editing, which results in a few stories being re-told, and several paragraphs being repeated almost word-for-word many pages later (not to mention some grammatical howlers which don't strike me as being the author's fault). I found myself able to to overlook this, though, and can unreservedly recommend it. It may not be one which the more avid Sooner, Fighting Irish, Crimson Tide, or Buckeye-backer will gravitate toward, but those who enjoy big-time football and yet abhor how tainted it has all become will find it difficult to put down.

College Football is an outstanding and important work. It is a true history--not a greatest teams and greatest players-type of celebratory writing--and falls under the rubric of sport history. Sport history, which is a subcategory of social history, relates sports to broader themes in society, and John Sayle Watterson in this regard does a terrific job in relating the history of football to the issue of collegiate life as a whole, and even to society as a whole (particularly where the colleges had to fight the pro game for the public's entertainment dollar).

College Football is published by a university press (Johns Hopkins), but it is marketed as a trade book. Thus, the misleading subtitle "History-Spectacle-Controversy," as there is not much spectacle in this book. But there is plenty of controversy, relating to violence, subsidies, and cheating scandals throughout the sport's history and the mostly failed attempts by the college football establishment to reform the sport.

Watterson's work is actually a more narrow history of the governance of college football, rather a broad history of the sport (Johns Hopkins surely did not want to put the word "governance" in the title). As such, however, College Football is the best overview of the subject ever written, primarily because the author takes the story from the beginning up to the present day.

I have some minor carping: there is an excessive number of typos and errors in this book for a university press book.

A useful book for everyone who has a long-lasting interest and knowledge on the College Football, but it can be a little bit dazy and hard-to-understand for the beginners. College Football by Watterson is an analytical book which also solves the past-time football's problems according to the periods national crisis' and situations with huge acknowledgements. If you already have a good knowledge on College Football, then you will find a lot of interesting things in this book; if you have no or a little knowledge, then I will suggest you to read easier books to prepare yourself for this book. I really liked reading and learned a lot from this book though.

I have owned this book ever since it was first published. Periodically I give it to people asking for guidance on weight training. It is nicely comprehensive on the various exercises, giving the proper form and names of equipment, movements and such. The photos are 80's vintage and dated but the info is not. Training with free weights has not changed. The exercises that worked twenty years ago work just as well today.

This book has good detailed descriptions on every exercises and also has info on reps, restance training and how to recover from a workout. The exercise routines are a little out-dated.

I liked reading this book but I don't know exactly how scientific some of the terms are; like when he calls people who jerk the weights around for high reps "pumpers." I usually refer to them as time wasters because they are injuries waiting to happen. The book does present you with modern training methods, but if I have to recommend one book.....Steve Reeves' new book "Building the Classic Physique" is still the best.

This book has a nice collection of exercises, with photographs and detailed description on the proper execution techniques for each one of them. The detailed description on each exercise include: The muscles emphasized by the exercise, its starting position, movement performance, exercise variations and training tips.

One valuable aspect of this training book is that at the end of each chapter you will find a lot of routines from Professional bodybuilders and champs. Each muscle is treated with great detail in its own individual book chapter.

Since the Table of Contents is not included in the book information presented above by the seller, I am including how the book is organized, so everybody can visualize what topics are covered:

- Basic information.
- Biceps training.
- Chest training.
- Shoulder training.
- Back training.
- Thigh and hip training.
- Triceps training.
- Abdominal training.
- Calf, forearm, and neck training.
- Advanced training techniques.
- Glossary.

In summary, very useful manual, with lots of exercises and routines, and plenty of information on training techniques and principles as they apply to bodybuilding.

For those who want to learn an extensive set of exercises for each muscle group, this is the book. It illustrates every exercise it refers to and indicates the muscles affected. Moreover, the descriptions and illustrations are almost always on the same page for easy reference. Very useful for learning your set of routines and as a reminder before a training session.

Rick Talender creates a new view of collage football for the eyes of all involved. Talender stumbles over an unusual premonition. "Child abuse" constantly realed across his mind. He related it to the treatment of the collage players by the collages and spectators treat the players. Student dealing with collage life as well as playing tirlessly with no pay and no moral support except for the little relatotionship they have with their coach. Rick Telander casts some light on the much ignored situation.

Rick Talender creates a new view of collage football for the eyes of all involved. Talender stumbles over an unusual premonition. "Child abuse" constantly realed across his mind. He related it to the treatment of the collage players by the collages and spectators treat the players. Student dealing with collage life as well as playing tirlessly with no pay and no moral support except for the little relatotionship they have with their coach. Rick Telander casts some light on the much ignored situation.

Telander exposes rampant cheating, exploitation, and NCAA hypocrisy in this searing look at the sordid underside of college football. The author attacks amateurism as fraudulent and unworkable, and shows that scandals have recurred almost since the game's founding (by rebellious students) in the late 1800's. We also learn that athletic programs rarely turn profits or boost fund-raising for their host schools. Despite these criticisms, this author (and ex-player at Northwestern) remains as attached to the game as us fans. Telander concludes his concise and highly readable book with a sensible proposal for reform. "The Hundred Yard Lie" fell on predictably deaf ears when first published in 1989. Still, it's an eye opener for those who dare question football's relationship to education.

Read this 10 years ago, and have never viewed bigtime college athletics the same way since. In a just world, this book would be very well known. In reality, this is the type of thing that the NCAA, big 3 networks, sports magazines, and sports announcers don't want you to know about. Too many cushy, do-nothing jobs ride on the exploitation of superstar college athletes that really have no business being in college at all. Telander's writing is clear, simple, passionate, and grabbing. His arguments are lucid and well constructed. Unfortunately, they fell on deaf ears.

A good book with some slow parts in the middle where the author goes to subjects that could be shortened. Telander is a former player in college and is watching the game he played be ruined. But he honestly discloses more than once that what is being said now has been said since the 1930s.

Maybe Telander should stop tilting at windmills and just give up to fight another fight and that may be my feelings also. But then you read his well-thought suggestions for changing the game and you see they could solve the problem. Let big colleges run professional sports team for entertainment and segment other colleges. The players would be paid and would not be required to attend college. The suggestions are fascinating and seem to address most of the points of weakness in the problem. All it will take is backbone from the college presidents and a few other powerful players. Oh, well. There goes this problem as no one associated has backbone. Witness the Oklahoma president presiding in the late 80s who years later tries to downplay the problems he faced. Witness Walter Byers who presided over the NCAA and now has his own book stating that there is a problem and it should be solved. Where were you years ago Mr. Byers?

If you love college football, you should read this book. Maybe it won't change your mind but it should at least let you see there is a problem. And Mr. Telander still doesn't cover football. Nice boycott.

Full of great drawings by Salvador Beltran, excellent quality MRI images, and handful boxes. The most didactic book on msk MRI. Greatly improved from the previous version. Definetly worth it, much better than the one from the Diagnostic Imaging series.

Best book in orthopaedic surgery. Huge amount of photos and illustraions, in detail review, almost every disease and the sports injuries are covered in this book. Very practical, easy to read, must-have for orthopadeic surgeon. This is not only the best textbook, this is the beautiful artwork.

This is the definitive work on orthopedic imaging. The illustrations and images are all of high quality. Unlike many other reference books, this one actually gives you an approach to image interpretation for each joint, in addition to detailed discussions of the pathology. There is also a sample report with images provided at the beginning of each chapter. Although it is pricey, it certainly blows the diagnostic imaging book out of the water. Highly recommended for any radiolgist interested in providing high quality reports to your referring orthopedists.

The illustrations are beautiful. There has been tremendous attention to detail. This is a definitive tome on high end orthopedic imaging. It contains information and concepts that are pretty cutting edge (that seem to just be getting into the literature). If you're looking for THE text on orthopedic imaging, this is the one. It BLOWS away the DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING Series - Orthopedics (by Dr. Stoller also).

This is a very large series of 2 books. Like that it's broken up into upper and lower extremity. Initially, cost freaked me out a bit. But, for what you get ... particularly the really high quality images and illustrations (and lots of them), it's well worth it.

This remains an essential textbook for musculoskeletal radiologists although one criticism would be that is a little dry . It steers clear of the opinion which makes books by Resnick or Helms so entertaining and useful. Stoller and some of the authors he has used for the chapters are enormously experienced and it would be good to read a more personal perspective .

Even if it didn't have spectacular content, which it does, this book is beautifully put together with colorful pictures, and backdrops. It is fun just to look at and even better to read. It is very practical, and although I have picked up most of this information from my personal research and coach, it is a great concise book on the athlete's sports diet. Not a penny wasted and the presentation is well worth the few extra bucks to get the new edition. It also has many helpful tables, charts, and important/highlight tips and info in the margins. Well written, well designed, and well published.

The book is very practical for somebody that is only beginning to dabble in running. For everybody else, a lot of the information is way too general and can easily be found elsewhere. I also would have liked to see more recipes in the book and less advice along the lines of "do not try food before a Marathon you haven't tried before", that is way to obvious for me.

You don't have be be a Marathoner to benefit from this book. Once again, Nancy Clark shows that it's easy to be fit, eat well -- and go beyond. For those who are - or aspire to be - marathoners put this on the top of your list. The book is full of easy-to-understand information. The photos are beautiful, and the layout makes it a joy to use. I think this is a great book for anyone who wants to eat better, and who likes to cook easy, wholesome recipes. Go for it!

Finally a nutritional guide for marathoners! And one that is written to the reader and not in scientific lingo most of the public cannot understand. This book is definitely easy to read, not full of text, and filled with colorful, appllicable pictures. I love how Nancy highlites certain information and puts it into charts and paragraphs away from the main text so it catches our eyes. Nancy tells us all we need to know about vitamins and supplements, dispells myths about carbohydrates and tells us exactly what to do the week of the marathon. I would reommend it to any of my clients!
Bobbi Hitchcock, RD, LD of Rebecca Bitzer, MS, RD and Associates

Nancy Clark hits another home run with her latest sports nutrition book. She covers everything a marathoner needs for optimum nutrition during training, the night before the big day, pre-race guidelines, hydration and fuel during the marathon, and even recovery from training or the event itself. If your goal is to complete your first marathon, set a PR, or end the race feeling great, Clark's book gives you the tips and guidelines you need. It's written in a friendly style, like sitting down and talking with a good friend; of course it's a friend who is one of the most well-known sports nutitionists in the country!