Athletics Books

This series Zanbanger, Zanballer and Zanboomer are about a girl named Suzanne who is constantly told she can't play sports that are supposed to be "boy sports". If you like stories about determination, hard work, and winners this is the series for you! - I also read this back 20 years ago and even still have my copies. Fantastic BOOK!

CDs were in great shape. I got them within a few days of ordering.

More than baseball, Moneyball is about questioning assumptions - challenging everything you know to be true about your situation and asking yourself if maybe it "ain't necessarily so." How did Billy Beane and the Oakland A's achieve so many wins with such a limited budget?

1. They questioned assumptions (about the valuation of players).
2. They determined that various time-honored metrics metrics (for determining a player's value or worth) did not hold up under scrutiny.
3. Because no one ELSE did 1 and 2, they were able to invest their limited resources on players who were clearly undervalued.

What happens when you question assumptions? You often arrive at winning solutions! Discussed in detail (along with other great examples) in:Shake That Brain: How to Create Winning Solutions and Have Fun While You're At It

I found this book fascinating. I had read Michael Lewis' earlier book "Liar's Poker", about his dealings on Wall Street. What struck me most was how he brought his free-market capitalism frame of reference to the world of Major League Baseball and found that for a small group avant-garde managers, the same basic rules apply. Buy low, sell high, don't listen to market hype, and never get emotional. This book might be disturbing to people who have a lifetime love of the pure game, but Major League Baseball is also a business and has to be acknowledged as such.

So I'm a big fan of fantasy baseball. And for those that are as well, you know that playing the fantasy game changes the way you look at everything. Moneyball has the same effect. It just revolutionizes your outlook on the game of baseball. The "important" stats like RBIs and runs are replaced with really important ones, like OBP and pitches per at bat. No name guys like Scott Hatteberg become cogs that make teams great.

Michael Lewis crafts a book that is engaging on several levels -- to the baseball fan, the economist, and the statistician.

Ever wonder why we give more credit statistically to a guy that bloops a single just out of a poor fielder's reach vs. the guy that smashes a homerun, but is robbed by an amazing leaping catch? This book answers those sorts of questions. And it does so through the amazingly in depth looks at the mind of Billy Beane, the genius that built the A's, renowned for their ability to find talent that other teams miss.

I would highly recommend this book to any fan of baseball on any level. It's a truly great book, and one that will leave you feeling a bit like you stumbled upon a little known secret. You'll suddenly rush and start analyzing the latest pickups of your favorite team. You'll feel compelled to run out and follow the career of guys you'd never heard of before reading the book (and hint...they don't get on SportsCenter that often...). No regrets after reading this, and I promise it will be staying on my shelf for a long time.

I love sports. I love business, finance, and statistics. I've never been a baseball fan. This book was very well written to appeal to a very broad audience with a wide variety of backgrounds on the topic. The principle observations are delivered through expert story telling around very compelling central figures.

Without flowery language or paragraph after paragraph of adjectives - Lewis recounts experiences and conversations with such clarity that you can almost see, smell, and hear the scenes unfolding.

I won't look at baseball or the exploitation of market inefficiencies the same after having read this book. I'd recommend this book to anyone with intellectual curiosity.

This is my pick for the best sports book ever written, and the reason is because it transcends sports. It captures the mood and feel of small town America as well as any book since Larry McMurtry's The LAST PICTURE SHOW. What Bissinger describes about the so-called pinnacle of life in western Texas, playing for the local team, applies just as well to high school athletes in Ohio or Pennsylvania. The flip side, of course, is once the ride is over, so is your worth to the community.

Great, great read.

Since I am not into football, this book was a long read for me. It could have been halved and the story complete.

Not sure what was worse, reading this 'item' or pounding my head against a concrete wall. It has received much fan-fare, and I don't know why, it's best described as...trite.

This book is good, but not great. Listening to the rants and raves of Bissinger's politics is painful, but it can be battled through if you're patient.

I was excited to read this book, to learn about the lives and the environment of football in a completely different context than the rest of us can witness. The excitement quickly dwindled as the author lost track of the actual story, and puts his own "journalistic" spin on the entire story. In the epilogue Bissinger claims that he had to report what he saw, as he had to be the responsible journalist, and from his writing it is clear that he is a typical, one side of the story journalist. Normally, I wouldn't let his clear bias affect the quality of the football story, but it became impossible to ignore, after chapter after chapter of clearly one-sided views of western Texas.

He openly mocks the fervor that the Odessa area has for George H. Bush page after page, who was running for President during this time. He makes fun of the lack of Democrats, the Texas religious beliefs, and the conservative values as if it's a complete crime that Texas supports one of its own. He doesn't even mention that Bush lived in Midland until halfway through the book, after chapters of mockery.

His view on the oil industry is completely laughable. Again, he mocks western Texas for being so foolish as to support Ronald Regan, who acted as a villain to western Texas by - ready for this - lowering oil prices. Bissinger thinks that lowering oil prices is a travesty that deserves the harshest of penalty, and that Texans are gullible for believing in the free market. If George Bush acted this way, would he be treated the same today? I wonder what Bissenger's attitude toward lowering oil prices would be now?

The football aspect is done well, with the lives of the football players, how much Permian football means to them, and the troubled and sometimes tragic life in Odessa, Texas.

Friday Night Lights
A Town, A Team, and A Dream
By H.G. Bissinger

By Cael Kiess

H.G. Bissinger spent over a year getting to know the people of Odessa, Texas. During that year he spoke with Permian football players, their families, and Odessa citizens in his attempt to write a book that told the story of how one team of teenage kids could inspire an entire town. Bissinger, an American journalist, has won the Pulitzer Prize, the Livingston Award, the National Headliner Award, and the American Bar Association's Silver gavel for his reporting. He is also the author of A Prayer for the City, and is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. Bissinger did a great job accomplishing his goal of reliving the wild journey of the 1988 Permian football season and the struggles off the field. He vividly portrays the racism through schools in Odessa County, the oil booms, typical school days of Permian football players, the Mojo Fanatics, and Friday Nights in late August. One chapter, "The Watermelon Feed," really describes the passion and devotion of Permian football fans and Mojo Fanatics. Bissinger writes, "The faithful sat on little stools of orange and blue under the lights of the high school cafeteria, but the setting didn't bother them a bit. Had the Watermelon Feed been held inside a county jail, or on a sinking ship, or on the side of a craggy mountain, they would still have flocked to attend and support their team." This description allows me to feel like I'm actually there and helps me sense the amount of pride and dedication given to Permian football by the fans. He also gives a second look farther into the town of Odessa, off the football field, enhancing a better view of what was occurring in the town of Odessa and its neighboring towns. There were many highlights and struggles happening in the streets and classrooms that one would not be able to find out in just the movie. One weakness of the book is the possible effect of losing the reader through the ongoing descriptions and passages of events, people, and struggles in Odessa. There is not as much of the actual football games incorporated into the book as one would think from watching the movie. In the book, Bissinger does a marvelous job describing the life and events of the 1988 Permian football players and the Mojo fans.

Reading the jacket blurb, one would think that The Blind Side is the football version of Moneyball - full of insights into a new approach to running a football team. And there is a little of that, as Michael Lewis chronicles the emergence of the left tackle as a position of critical importance. I liked this part of the book, even if it ran on too long and was much too repetitive. Ultimately, this book was the story of one talented boy who rose above a life of poverty and neglect, and with the help of many, got himself an education and a chance to play football at the top level. 80% of this book is a Michael Oher bio, and a good one. While the author tried to make this about big issues in football and society, the book is at its best just telling Oher's story. In spite of a number of flaws, this was a biography that I did enjoy, and I learned a little more about football in the process.

As a person who loves sports but does not have in-depth knowledge of football (nor the patience to read a die-hard Football 101 history book!), this was a great read - both educational & entertaining. It's a wonderful blend of sports history & a real-life story that is still in progress. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the game and a great story. This book is well-written and you don't have to be an expert on the game to thoroughly enjoy it.

Lewis has always been great at dissecting the strategies people use in sports and business. Business is a big part of big football. And so are the people. As the story unfolds you will be impressed with the evolution of the game and the people who make it happen. And you will have your heart strings tugged by the story of Michael Oher, his adoptive family the Tuohys, Big Tony, and all the rest.

I loved Michael Lewis' Moneyball, and per the suggestion of a friend I picked up The Blind Side. While Moneyball was excellent, The Blind Side may have just topped it.

Michael Lewis has a gift for being able to tell a story in a way that explains the basics of an idea and makes it fascinating to learn about. Prior to reading this book, I would have classified myself as a casual NFL football fan; However, after reading Lewis' account of the evolution of the left tackle, it completely changed both the way I think about and watch the game.

As if redefining the game of football wasn't enough, Lewis also has taken a character in Michael Oher and created one of the most interesting, unlikely, and moving stories I have read about. Oher's story gives a sense of hope that by being surrounded by special, caring people, there is no limit to what one can accomplish.

A great book, easily one of the best I've read all year.

First to give you full disclosure I'm a University of Georgia (UGA)Ball Fan. In the South "Ball" means just one thing, football. Does your son play ball has only one meaning, unless you are a Tech fan, then it could mean basketball, but those guys still carry slide rules.

I bought this book because I thought it was a "sports story". I was wrong. It is an incredible human interest story, also. One which has caused me to laugh out loud and read some passages to my wife and, others, which made me cry.

This should be required reading for every school board official in the country.

Oprah ought to put it in her book club.

The author starts off explaining why an offensive left tackle is important in football (See Lawrence Taylor (L.T) and Joe (How I got my leg broken on national television) Thiesmann. It tells of the evolution of the passing game in the NFL from a steam-roller running game to a finesse passing game ala Bill Walsh (see west Coast Offense that was really born in Cincinnati).
I particular enjoyed the antidote about his official trip to visit the University of Tennessee.



But what will be of greater human interest is the overlay of the story of Michael Oher, the "man/child" currently playing football at Ole Miss. Oher shows up at a predominantly white Christian school in the 9th grade with virtually no school history and horrible family background. An incredibly shy 350 pound kid struggles but ingratiates himself to faculty and staff and manages to stick around. Finally one Thanksgiving Day a volunteer assistant coach and his wife see him at a bus stop in his usual shorts and recognize that in addition to no money for food, he is traveling to the gym to watch practice just to be in a heated room. Through incredible acts of kindness and caring this young man is taken in by this wealthy Christian family who attempt to socialize and educate him for the future.

But little did they realize that at 6' 6" with an incredible frame and quick feet, football coaches would see their answer to possibly the most important position on the football field and they would relentlessly come calling. This presents many problems as Oher has virtually no chance of attending college with his past educational background. Thus begins the odyssey of the recruiting wars for this individual who by the end of high school has been called the best pro prospect even though he has played in only 15 football games.

This portion of the book dominates approximately 60% of the book. It is incredibly touching and I certainly applaud the sympathetic, caring approach by Leigh Ann and Sean Tuohy. This book is not just for football fans as the issues here are much greater. How does a child get to the 9th grade with virtually no retention of knowledge or ability to function in a social setting? What can a change in culture and caring do for this young man? And other questions will also appear such as is their potential ulterior motives for selecting this student out of so many and wasn't the final steps to eligibility really inappropriate? As to my opinion I choose to believe that the Tuohy's were interested in helping another human being, and in the process, it enriched the lives of their family, this young man and the possibilities that a loving, caring environment can create.

I strongly recommend this book for football fans, sociologists, and people with interest in politics, religion, or Southern Culture as there are many issues intertwined. Once again, the weakness to this book may be that he narrowed its focus by making it a "sports book". It's not. Its main message concerns underprivileged kids and how a change in environment can produce incredible results

I thought it was hilarious that Sean Tuohy read Michael the following and told him that it was about Ole Miss going into the stadium at LSU (THE STADIUM IS KNOWN AS ""Death Valley,":


The Charge of the Light Brigade
by Alfred Lord Tennyson

Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
"Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns!" he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
"Forward, the Light Brigade!"
Was there a man dismayed?
Not though the soldier knew
Some one had blundered:
Their's not to make reply,
Their's not to reason why,
Their's but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.
Flashed all their sabres bare,
Flashed as they turned in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wondered:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right through the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reeled from the sabre-stroke
Shattered and sundered.
Then they rode back, but not,
Not the six hundred.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came through the jaws of Death
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.
When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!

Oh, I'm an ex-artillery officer as well.

Highly recommended for educational professionals and members of Boards of education. It wouldn't hurt if you are a fan of college football ,either.


Gunner August, 2008

As an arthritis doctor, I have suggested this book to probably over 200 patients in the last 5 years. It is like "Ibuprofen on paper" but MUCH healthier. Don't be intimidated by the index, simply look at each page that offers stretches for your area of pain...then follow the ones that show the shaded area where your pain is. I use it myself daily! KH, MD

We are implementing stretching on the job and a copy of this book was purchased for each supervisor. It is simple to follow, organized by activity and will be very helpful with the implementation of our program.

This book covers every aspect of stretching, for every part of the body. Many illustrations help the reader understand and execute the movement. The three pillars of fitness are strength, agility, and endurance. The stretch routines in this book are a supplement to whatever strength training and aerobics excercise you currently do. The rewards from the relatively easy act of stretching are many, as are the rewards of this book.

All I wanted was to learn how to properly stretch to increase my flexibility and to prevent injuries. This book not only did that, but it hammered home the message that you shouldn't compare your flexibility to that of others, and that stretching has a multitude of practical benefits, besides flexibility. This is not a book for extremists trying to do the splits on two folding chairs with a child perched on their shoulders. I've never been able to touch my toes, but this book has shown me what stretches to do to get my hamstrings more limber and it's also shown me that stretching is beneficial in many more ways than just flexibility.

I recently purchased the book "Stretching" by Bob Anderson. It is great a book for any one that has back problems, sore hamstrings or that just needs to stretch the body from soreness. It is extremely informative and easy to follow.

When I first began doing triathlons there were not many resources available. I was excited to try the sport but I had no idea where to begin. This book provided me with coverage on all topics. How to prepare for the swim and make my stroke efficient. Drills for the bike and run and even tips on gear, clothing and transitions. It was truly a savior. Now there are communities like [...] and online coaching services like trainingpeaks but if you're old school and just want to pick up a book, this is a great place to start

I would recommend this book to anyone looking to train for multisport
competition. It has giving me a guide for preparing for my
1st event coming up in May of 09.

This is the Wal-Mart of Triathlon training guides. There is a representative in every department of training, but it does not contain enough of the depth of knowledge and detail that you would like from a "Bible" to be truly satisfying. Throughout the book you will find diluted versions of other works and training books/products (Pose Method, Total Immersion, Paleo Diet, etc). I've found that reading the original sources is much more satisfying for that craving of knowledge. If you are really looking to gain in depth knowledge about the skills, training, and diet necessary for triathlon I would recommend reading the following books as either a supplement or replacement for this book:

1. Dr. Nichloas Romanov's Pose Method of Running (and DVD)
2. Daniel's Running Formula
3. Triathlon Swimming Made Easy: The Total Immersion Way for Anyone
to Master Open-Water Swimming
4. Easy Freestyle DVD (also by Total Immersion)
5. Bicycling Magazine's Complete Book of Road Cycling Skills
6. The Paleo Diet

One word: AWSOME.

Get it as fast as you can. Everything is finally available for even the non-pro.

This is a great book for both beginnners and intermediate triathletes. The book contains the basics, as well as advanced techniques, of training. The concept of "periodization" was especially helful for me. It is easy to read and the author fully explains everything. It is does not matter whether you train for sprint events or Iron Man level events, the concepts still apply.

In the early twentieth century, we had "To kill a Mockingbird". Now in the twentieth century we have "until Proven Innocent". I highly recommend that you read this book.

As Nadine Strossen of the ACLU said in her blurb of "Until Proven Innocent," this book illustrates the importance of rights for the accused. Let's keep that in mind when we rush to judgement against the many, many people with far fewer resources who are accused of various crimes. Investigations utilizing DNA research have acquitted many people (mostly poor minorities) who not only had their reputations destroyed, but who spent years in a cage, sometimes on death row. It's curious how this case has gotten such sustained national attention, while far more egregious cases of false charges go barely mentioned, if at all. How many people are familiar with the case of the dozens of people of Tulia, Texas who were imprisoned by the acts of a single rogue DEA agent Tulia: Race, Cocaine, and Corruption in a Small Texas Town? Matters are even worse when it comes to people of color who face charges of "terrorism." Actually, some of the Arab people we are "renditioning" in gulags around the world haven't even been formally charged. They've just been caught in the U.S. empire's unjust war of terror The Road to Guantanamo.

It is unacceptable that men are sometimes falsely accused. It is also unacceptable that each year in this country, around 30,000 women are impregnated through a sexual assault. It's also unacceptable that each night several hundred women will be punched, have their teeth knocked out, or be threatened by a man who reminds the woman that he has a gun.
It's this larger context of violence against women and the unjust imprisonment of minorities that the discussion of this case has ignored. Media figures who have given this case so much attention, like Sean Hannity, haven't said much of anything about the people on death row who Jesse Jackson helped to release. Many people who are concerned about the injustice of this case couldn't care less about the injustices activists like Jesse Jackson have been working on for years Legal Lynching: Racism, Injustice and the Death Penalty. In fact, cases involving poor minorities being railroaded have become more likely since right-wing politicians have cut the funding for services like legal aid.

Two of the books that cover this case use the term "political correctness" in their title. Right-wing ideologues have massively publicized and seized upon this case to advance their perception management agenda PR! - A Social History of Spin. Meanwhile, they will systematically ignore even worse cases of being "found guilty until proven innocent," to say nothing of the hundreds of thousands of people in prison for violations of unjust laws, such as the laws of the anti-Constitutional "War on some Drugs" Perpetual Prisoner Machine: How America Profits From Crime.

We need to look at cases like this in their larger context. We need to ask why there was such a coordinated and sustained effort to entrench this particular case in the public mind, while other cases are marginalized. And we need to avoid the efforts by some to use this case to diminish the very real and very common instances of violence against women.
Here are some resources for those who are interested in the related subjects of race, class, gender and justice:
Global Lockdown: Race, Gender, and the Prison-Industrial Complex
Slam
The Warehouse Prison: Disposal Of The New Dangerous Class
Rich Get Richer and The Poor Get Prison, The (8th Edition)
Overcoming Violence against Women and Girls: The International Campaign to Eradicate a Worldwide Problem

So many of the other reviewers have so forcefully and eloquently expressed my feeling about the book, I need hardly add to them. But my "heading" is quite serious: This book is worthy of a Pulitzer and a National Book Award -- non-fiction, investigative reporting, whatever the categories. (I believe the Pulitzers are to be announced in early April.)
Bob

It is quite likely that the infamous Duke rape case chronicled in Taylor and Johnson's book will one day be regarded as the emblematic parable of our time - in much the same way that the McCarthy hearings have become the emblematic episode of the early 1950s Cold War. It is difficult to conceive of an event that could more starkly highlight the societal dysfunctions of our era.

Taylor and Johnson's book amply demonstrates the incompleteness of viewing the Duke rape case simply as a rogue prosecutor running amok, unfairly targeting three boys despite profuse evidence of their innocence, and getting his comeuppance in the end. However unethical his conduct, DA Nifong could not by himself have catapulted these young men to national infamy. That sorry result required the active collaboration of countless accomplices: in the media, on the Duke faculty and administration, and within associations dedicated to the propagation of identity-politics grievance-mongering.

Indeed, the distinguishing aspect of this case is not that a prosecutor attempted to wrongfully charge three boys with rape -- for it seems sadly inevitable that somewhere, sometime across this nation, some such prosecutorial misconduct will recur. What distinguishes the Duke case is the ease with which so many attempted to shoehorn the events into a preconceived narrative of race- and sex-based exploitation (a narrative further spiced with an element of "revenge of the nerds" (faculty and press) against the "jocks" they resented.)

It is daunting enough that so many would jump to completely unsubstantiated conclusions before all the facts were out. The even greater tragedy is that once the facts were known, many people in positions of power and influence simply chose to disregard them insofar as they were inconvenient to the fantasy narrative in which they had invested so much of their professional identity. Perhaps the most egregious example of this is the disgraced "Group of 88" Duke faculty, who published an ad that presumed the fact of a sexual assault, contained a series of anonymous, unsubstantiated race-baiting quotes, and which encouraged the noise of the mob over the dispassionate evaluation of the evidence. Sadly, most of the Group of 88 has failed to apologize for their contribution to the hysterical atmosphere that gave momentum to the wrongful prosecution, but has since portrayed themselves as victims rather than transgressors, and misrepresented the plain language and intent of their own published statements. The juvenility of the Group of 88's methods of processing information has been on public display, and it has been an ugly sight to behold.

The stubborn refusal of so many in academia and the press to recognize factual reality even in the face of overwhelming evidence rightly calls into question the states of both competence and ethics in America's universities and in press rooms. As one example, noted sports journalist John Feinstein, we now know, was exactly wrong in his initial written interpretations of events, yet still had the audacity to write an article well after the resolution of the case, decrying the continuing lack of accountability in the Duke athletic department, while himself once again getting the facts wrong, and oblivious to the irony of his own calls for accountability in others. That so many in academia and journalism could sail blithely through this episode without looking themselves in the mirror and acknowledging their own pivotal roles in a gross injustice, sadly, speaks volumes about the state of both professions, and greatly explains growing public cynicism about each. Nifong was prosecuted for his misconduct, but Feinstein, Nancy Grace, and the Group of 88, among others, are still paid handsomely to prattle on as though their credibility is intact.

Taylor and Johnson relate the facts of the case in vivid, gripping detail. I give the book four stars rather than five because at places the text veers unattractively into an overheated blog style. The story is damning enough without this occasionally hamhanded commentary by the authors. But this is a minor sour note in the book; the reader is likely to be so incensed by the facts of the case, of which this is the best available history, that they will be unperturbed by stylistic imperfections.

Perhaps the clearest picture of the insidious forces of illiberalism that tried their best to deprive these young men of their freedom is obtained by drawing analogies with the McCarthyism of the 50s, as the authors do. It is frighteningly easy the way some people can change from persecutee to persecutor in such a short time. What is just as worrying is that this illiberal bloc that has developed in the States is mirrored all over the western world by similar forces in each country, which have spread like a particularly virulent fungus to wherever democracy has taken root, and which all guarantee the continuation of similar injustices, while the individuals involved continue their backpatting, under the illusion that they are fighting for freedom rather than against it. Well, this book is a wake-up call for you guys - the party's over, or at least winding down. For so long, critics of illiberalism have been branded right wing conservatives, fundamentalists, etc. if they so much as raised a voice in protest. It is important to all reading this review for you to know that by buying and reading this book, and throwing in your weight against these disturbing forces in our society, you are not throwing yourself in with conservative, reactionary, forces, but are in fact, taking a stand against them. This book is a Godsend to all who have suffered from today's McCarthyists, be they in America or around the world, because it gives an insight into the kind of minds that are ruining any hope of a decent society for our descendants to grow up in, and it is to these innocents that every thinking man and woman is morally obliged to ensure that those who have perverted the names of equality and correctness fail to reach the misty, utopian goals they have set for all of us.

I bought this more than a year ago. Gave it a short trial and off it went to my bookshelf. At the beginning of this season, my handicap was 14(mainly due to a decent short game). I started practicing on the grass vs mat twice a week. As a result, I was forced to improve the fundamental of weight transfer.

I was going to play at poppy hills last month and I looked for the CD that comes with this book and listened to it in my car, but I don't think it helped me much during that round.

So why 4 stars?

I have realized that if I carefully follow the "L" drill mentioned in the book, it sets up the club on a good path and I can feel the club hitting the ball more squarely. As a result, the number of good hits went up significantly during the practice. So, in my opinion, the practice drills mentioned in the book has greater significance than the tempo theory covered in the book/CD.

I have had practice sessions where I was hitting the balls while listening to the tempo tones on my iPhone. Although, I was matching my swing to the tones, the results were inconsistent because I was not following the fundamentals consistently.

Whenever I follow the test tones along with setting up my hands in "L" position properly during my backswing, the entire swing becomes effortless with great results.

So, why not 5 stars?

That's because, greater emphasis is placed on tempo theory/tones. After you watch the video on the included CD, you get the feeling that if you can match my swing speed with the tones, you can hit the balls solid, your swing speed with increase, blah blah blah. In short, the book oversells tempo to beginning/intermediate golfer.

I recommend this book/CD along with "The Keys to the Effortless Golf Swing:..", to cover the fundamentals and tempo.

Good luck with your game and don't forget to practice your short game along with full swing! Cheers..

Tour Tempo is a very useful instructional book for someone who has an intermediate level of golf ability/experience. It may be the only golf book that deals with how fast one should swing, as opposed to the detailed positions and mechanics that also make up a golf swing. Tempo is indeed important in a golf swing, because a golf swing is not a static event.

This book is the perfect complement to another terrific instructional book, 'The Keys to the Effortless Swing' as Amazon noted.

As a coach and instructor I am allways looking for information that helps to explain aspects of the golf swing to my students. Tour Tempo has provided me with just another way of explaining what the effect of taking the club away to slowly will have on distance and direction. Thank you
John Novosel for your insite. Coach H.Turk Walker

Great product as everyone else points out. Such a simple idea, yet so remarkably capable of fixing your swing. I didn't realize just how mush I was trying to muscle the club, rather then let my natural tempo and fluidity carry it. I'm the kind of person who needs a swing thought, but at the same time they make me stiff and awkward. But if my swing thought is tempo, i.e. proper speed back and through, I become much more free loose and less timid, the club glides along rather then feeling like I have to reroute it and muscle it back to the ball. Truly a great book.

Tour tempo is easy to read, the concept is very simple to adopt and more importantly works! The downside is my wife thinks I have lost my mind walking around saying swing, set, through!

Daniels does a good job explaining all of his different ideas: the 4 (sometimes 5) phases in a training cycle, his different intensities (easy, moderate/marathon pace, interval, rep, f pace), and includes some very detailed training programs. He has general training programs, as well as programs for the 800, 800/1500, 1500/3000, cross, 5k-15k, and three marathon programs. Throughout the book he does a good job explaining everything and though at some points it can be "scientific", nothing is over the top and can be understood by probably just about anyone. He also includes helpful sections on topics such as overtraining, supplemental training, what to do during unplanned and planned breaks from running, and race preparation. Overall this is a very thoughtful, well laid out book. However, as Daniels himself says, this is just one approach to training and while he does include detailed programs, it is best to pull ideas out of the book that work for you- you cant just superimpose all of his training ideas onto your own running plan.

I wish I would of had a book like this when I was running in high school and college. Loaded with valuable info, covering just about everything.

After being dissapointed and wasting money on many of todays running/training books, i found Daniels to be almost a bible for runners and coaches....Jack daniels is a genious in the way he has put together such a complete easy to understand book....it covers all aspect of training, no stone is left unturned and i can honestly say that anyone who follows his training tables and intensity charts will get faster!!!!
all the guess work is taken out of training...it even has several great training programms for most distances..and they work...i have read this book cover to cover several times and still learn something new each time....all the athletes i coach are making faster and safer progress due to his training guidlines...well done Jack Daniels

As a multi events coach in "the old days", I have more or less had distance coaching thrust upon me by some new athletes. Jack's book was suggested by a coaching collegue and I am not disappointed. It has lots of information that I imperfectly understood. Most impressed with the idea of working EASIER/SMARTER when running too fast is actually harmful to your training goals. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Scott Glaspey, Powell River, BC Canada

I think Dr. Daniels does a fine job of explaining the purpose of each of the exercises. His explanations of the physiological and metabolic changes that each specific run and intensity is trying to accomplish is helpful for people without a medical backround. However, he definitely slants the book towards collegiate and elite level athletes. As a novice runner, I found a lot of this irrelevant. I won't be running 6-7 days a week with a wife, two small children, and a busy career. I think for the bulk of Americans who run, we run for health and fun rather than to win titles and prizes. I think there are probably 300-500 people in the USA who can really follow his top training plan. For a book with less science explanation and a more realistic training schedule, try Run Less, Run Faster by Pierce , Murr and Moss. It does touch on some of the science but nearly as in depth but I found that it was more applicable to the average American's schedule.

I've used this program for several years as part of my PT training cycle, and even as Ranger school prep with outstanding results. If you need a program that takes you away from the weights or you are bored easily with your workout, his program will push you out of your comfort bubble and keep you interested, especially when you see the results.

This is one of the best fitness programs ever. Regardless of if you are trying to become a Navy SEAL or not this is a great physical fitness program. The exercises are explained well and and theprogram is easy to follow. Great tips for just overall fitness are included throughout the book. I love it and use stuff from it all the time. I will be buying products from Stew Smith in the future.

If you are looking for a book that will get you into shape as well as give you a great look, well this is the book for you. I used this book a few times now and each time always see results. I must say one thing though if you are not dedicated don't buy this book. You will just be wasting you money. It is for a person with a great deal of desire and personel resolve. All in all this book is worth its weight in gold. No matter what physical expectation you are looking for this is the book for you. I have tried many other workout books and none seem to even come close to the quality of this. Just get this book and it will be your companion for a long time.

The Complete Guide to Navy SEAL Fitness is the most complete and informative SEAL preparation guide available.

The guide covers everything needed to prepare for BUD/S. It starts off by explaining how to properly warm up, then moves on to the exercises that are experienced in the workout. All of the stretches and exercises have excellent photos showing exactly how they are to be performed. There is also a helpful workout devoted to those who wish to start the 12 weeks to BUD/S workout, but who aren't yet in proper shape.

Not only does this guide cover workouts to get physically and mentally prepared for BUD/S, but it also covers how to properly run in the sand, techniques for climbing rope, and how to perform the Combat Swimmer Stroke.

All I can say is that this workout got me into the greatest shape of my life. I did the workout my senior year in high school and gained 15 pounds of pure muscle. I went from doing 13 pullups to 25 after the workout, and from 42 pushups to 100. Definite increase in chest size and some in arm size as well. Abs are now well defined. But that is not the best part. No, the best part is the unstoppable confidence that you gain from doing the workout - after this, I felt like I could do ANYTHING I set my mind to. Trust me, this workout is not easy, but it IS entirely doable. Just thinking back to the lonely nights where I was mentally and physically exhausted, having completed 60 pullups, 150 pushups, 300 situps, 100 dips...only to know that I was only halfway done...and pushing THROUGH that mental barrier gave me the utmost gratification. You feel powerful after each workout, knowing that you are doing something that the average man could not even dream of, and knowing that YOU possess the self-discipline to make yourself great is the most wonderous benefit that you will walk away with...if you complete it.

This book is not only trains your body, but your mind as well. Do it. Hooyah!!!