Athletics Books

Great look into the world of college athletics that you don't see on ESPN.

Gives the readers a real look at what goes on; what's really involved in the world of college sports and the "student athlete".

Great reading.

You think that college athletics have become more show than competition? Well, read this book and come away with what really goes on. Excellent read.

The book offers a great read on the history of intercollegiate athletics. The specific stories about universities and conferences allow the reader to connect to what is current in the world of college athletics. It is gives a good story of what was going on behind the scenes. It is a good book for policies concerning college athletics.

Tom Waddell always planned on writing a book on his life. He thought he had more time, in life, to write about his life. However, his life was abruptly ended at the age of 49, before he could complete his journal about his life. ABC Sportscaster Dick Schapp completes Tom's dream of writing a book. Schapp first became interested in Waddell's life at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. Waddell competed against U.S. Decathalon Champion Bill Toomey. While Waddell didn't win a medal, his time at the Mexico City Olympics was somewhat controversial. Waddell campaigned against the opression of African-Americans, in the Southern United States, and drew fire from the U.S. Olympic Committee. In his personal life, Waddell was also making news. After coming out of the closet, Waddell organized what was to have become the "Gay Olympics". However, the U.S. Olympic Comittee would not allow Waddell to use the word Olympic in the title of the games. That litigation began an ongoing legal battle that would not be solved until Waddell's death. In his personal life, Waddell was also controversial. He wanted a child so much, that he and a lesbian conceived what would become his daughter Jessica. He and Sara, another Olympic Athlete, later married. Waddell's dream of seeing his daughter grow up never materialized. He was one of the first to become infected with the HIV virus, and died in 1987. "Gay Olympian" is a moving account of Waddell's life. his love of life, sports, medicine and his daughter. Dick Schapp combines Waddell's Journal to his daughter with the story of Waddell's life. It also paints a disturbing picture of the vindictiveness of the U.S. Olympic Committee, and the pain the organization caused in his life. I highly recommend this book

Tom Waddell is more than just the creator of the Gay Games, he is someone who has dedicated his life to making people feel welcome, making them feel accepted, no matter what is different about them.
This is the heartwarming story of a young man who knew the feeling of being "different" and decided to dedicate to fight intolerance and AIDS until the very end, his death.
After hearing about the Gay Games, I decided to write a paper for one of my classes about this. I interviewed people who had worked with Tom Waddell, and people who still worked for the Gay Games, that were held that year in my home country, the Netherlands.

The story of the 60 year old woman who had never participated in a sports contect before, who wasn't particularly athletic, who didn't win an official prize but who won the prize of being part of something fantastic. The story of the swimmers not getting out of the water to collect their medals, but to cheer for those still in the water.
These stories truly touched my heart, and I can't do anything but recommend this story to everyone. Gay or straight, "normal" or "different", Tom Waddell's will teach all of something about the true spirit of sports and games, love and acceptance.

George Toma has inspired so many people with his great work ethic and dedication. This book does a fine job of detailing the life of a great man.

I don't think I've ever read any biography that did a better job painting a picture of a person. I laughed. I cried. I couldn't believe with which the art that Goforth used to paint his words. I especially liked reading about Toma's tales about getting the football field ready for the Super Bowl. That's probably why I liked this book--there was something in it for everybody--sports fans, George Toma fans, or anybody else who just wants to read a colorful, delightful book. This is one tome that should make any Toma lover happy. There should be more books out there by Goforth and other journalists like him. What a talent!

This is a wonderfully strange and inticing little book. I came to the running revolution in the mid 70's with all the other boomers. 30 years, 23 marathons, hundreds of road races and 20+ years of coaching and I'm still addicted. My heroes were Ryun, Liquori, Prefontaine, Shorter and Rodgers. There was always this myth of a man named Gerry Lindgren who may have been the greatest high school runner ever. Legend had it that he ran ungodly mileage 150, 175, 200 miles a week. 50 mile runs, 80 mile runs. Lindgren has given us a special little book that recounts his high school years and his emergence as a world class runner. It is a beautiful window into his world. Writing it as his shadow allows him to use the third person which, in this case, works very well. His replays of his races and his internal dialogue are worth the price of the book. This is a great little read.

Gerry Lindgren is the greatest high school runner in history. In 1964, he was running within seconds of World Records and chasing the fastest runners in the world. He also won the Olympic Trials 10k. No high school runner before or since has come close to his accomplishments. He is also the closest any American has ever come to the World Record in the 3-mile/5000m, coming within 0.6 seconds of the world record in 1966. In 1965, he actually got the World Record in the 6-mile/10,000m. He logged 200 miles a week and inspired a generation of runners to excel. Selfless and tireless, Gerry broke barriers thought impossible and is a hero to thousands. He's finally written the first of two books on his life in running, and it is a treat for any fan of the golden era of American distance running, or for anyone wishing to be inspired to achieve personal excellence in running. A must-have.

I bought this book back in 1993 after listening to Larry North's Saturday afternoon radio show while living in Dallas, Texas. It was an "easy" read and made such perfect sense. Larry North is just simply inspiring.I have referred to this book on and off, rereading parts of it again for almost 10 years now. Each time I am reinspired and more motivated. This is not a fad diet or exercise program, it's a way of life.

I read several newsletters and magazines on health, nutrition, fitness, and longevity every month, and have read dozens of books on health and fitness. GET FIT is the ONLY book I've ever read where I could find NO misinformation. (Believe me, I looked hard!) And this book covers a lot of ground. Granted, GET FIT is no literary masterpiece, but it's easy to understand and enjoyable to read. If you're tired of fads and quackery, Larry North is the real deal.

This book was recomended to me by my doctor. I am athleticly cut but no bodybuilder, and have done prior reserch to my regular routine. This book showed me how to pass that plateau I always hit, and made working out more enjoyable. It's all about intensity and not overtraining, so my workouts are much harder yet shorter, and my gains are amazing. I cannot recomend this book highly enough.

Every serious bodybuilder, or even just your average lifter can benefit from the info in this book. It covers everything from what to eat, to how to lift. Inside there is an article about a world renown trainer, in florida, that guaranteed one half inch gain in upper arms, in only two days. Reguardless of the size of the arm or the size of the trainee the results were a given. If you are serious about this sport or are tired of all work with no results, this book will change your workouts forever.

This book gives great information and is very helpful to anyone looking to do any kind of training for sports or even for general conditioning very good workouts and drills to work on all levels of athleticism as well the book works on all aspects of being good at a sport. The drills and workouts given are phenomenal and are very straight forward. Plus it gives sport specific programs, written by experts. For example: the strength and conditioning for the Seattle Seahawks wrote the program and exercises for Football. The information is great and is very effective in improving performance in a sport.

Great book for anyone, beginner to advanced... exercise descriptions, modern information that is tried and true and explained effectively, and it is all put together in an orderly fashion.

Bought for my husband - he loved it. Texas football up to lat years Rose Bowl game - with excellent pictures.

I bought this book for my dad for his birthday. He absolutely loved it. He graduated from Texas and has followed Texas football since the 60's and there were still some things in here that he didn't know. This is a great gift idea for those Texas Longhorn fans

Every student-athlete in the nation should read this book by Rodney McKissic

Amesome, entertaining book!!!!

It is a short easy read that doesn't go beyond the scope of novices, yet not too simple for short distance runners ready to attempt a marathon.

I bought this book in 1982, a time before liquid carbohydrates, heart rate monitors, and tempo runs. What it lacked in technological mumbo-jumbo, it more than makes up with a stick to this running schedule and you'll finish a marathon period simplicity. The training program is not confusing because it's based on time and not on distance. You'll get to a point (something like 5 months into running) when you'll be logging hours on the road. That's the time when you'll be ready. Great book! A true comfort book for runners.