Sports and Recreation Books

Gene Wojciechowski hits a home run with this novel. His humor and behind the scenes realism make this book a very entertaining and enjoyable read. A must for any baseball or sports fan.

The fastest read of my life. This book flowed so well I had to stop myself from sneaking ahead. Wojciechowski has a gift that he must share again and again. Like I said, gimme more.

Wojciechowski does a great job of capturing the flavor of the less glamorous aspects of sportswriting and that's the book's strong point.

Some of the humor involving the baseball players may be a bit crude for some, but that's not too far from the way players act.

I'm not from Chicago, but I can almost feel that city's presence in every page of the book, even when the action shifts to Mesa.

Gene has grabbed the world of baseball the way no one else has in a long time. This book is outstanding and should be a must for all baseball or for that matter sports junkies. Way to go Gene and keep it up

Being a lifelong Cubs fan, I've grown to hate sportswriters since all they do is tell me how bad my Cubs are. Well, I finally found a sportswriter I like and can relate to in Joe Riley. Riley's adventures are great and there are scenes that are just laugh out loud funny. I know Wojociechowski covered the Cubs for awhile and his knowledge and passion of the game comes through in the locker room and baseball scenes. This is a great read for any baseball fan, but a MUST read for Cubs fans.

If you ski or snowboard, you must buy this book! If you don't ski, but enjoy great travel stories told with wit and humor, you should still buy this book. Finkel is one of the best and funniest travel writers around.

Three thumbs up. Now I don't have to launch myself off a 40 meter ski jump or attempt a 60-degree couloir . . . Mr. Finkel has done it for me. But skiing is just the thread that weaves this collection of diverse stories together as the book touches on Iranian politics, ski development in China (or lack thereof), the war in Sarajevo, pre-Salt Lake City Olympic bribery, and countless others. Having said that, there's also enough enjoyable virgin pistes and well-carved turns (on skis, telemarks, and snowboards) to satisfy the most selfish powder pig.

If you have a passion for skiing and traveling, this is the book for you! It's an easy read - several short stories about the author's ski adventures in the U.S. and abroad. A very enjoyable book that's hard to put down...you just want to keep reading on to his next adventure.

Most ski writers are middle-aged-plus travel hacks more interested in the hotel than the hill. Not Finkel. Almost uniquely among widely-published ski journalists, he's more interested in descents than dinner, and it's fun to travel vicariously through his work.

Alpine Circus is essentially a compendium of columns originally published in SKIING magazine. All are interesting. Most are funny. One -- the piece on Sarajevo -- is intensely moving.

Four stars out of five. While very enjoyable, the book doesn't fully display Finkel's remarkable talent as a writer. Hopefully, future collections will. You'll see a lot more of his work... he's still a mere sprat.

A great collection of unforgettable skiing stories that takes you around the globe to some of the most remote areas of the world. After reading every authors stop, you feel as if you've been there also. Easy to read, funny, and worth reading again and again...

Would recommend this to anyone who has had to cycle in the streets in an urban area. Very practical advice of things and situations I had never even thought of. A must read for cyclists

I like this book because it tells it like it is. Unlike Urban Bike Riders Tips and Tricks, another book-which I also like for different reasons, this one tells you about the risks of commuting by bike-air pollution, accidents, bike jackings for example, he explore topics like wearing your helmet. Yes it's the law, but does it actually protect you? This is first bike commuting book that I've read that raises questions like this. It's no nonsense advice for those seriously contemplating bike commuting.

Don't get me wrong, the author comes across as a serious bike advocate, but this is the first book that I've seen that takes the issues above with a little more seriousness than others out there.Down Low Glow Lighting Kit - Two Tubes-Envy(green)

The inclusion of the word "art" in the title of this book made me fear that this book would be laying out a pretentious philosophy of cycling as a form of pseudo-mysticism, a bicycle version of "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance." Gratefully, these fears were unfounded, and what we have instead is a very sober and practical account of the pleasures, risks, and techniques of cycling in an urban environment.

Opening with a brief history of cycling in America, and a discussion of the emergence of the automobile and its effects on urban design, the book moves on to describe and analyze the various kinds of hazards the urban cyclist will face, and how best to deal with them. In doing this, the author avoids the strident sermonizing often characteristic of those who promote "alternative" and "earth-friendly" forms of recreation.

Above all, the author emphasizes the importance of constant vigilance as the best way to avoid accident and injury. And, without getting too mystical about it, he points out that this heightened awareness or vigilance in avoiding trouble is - paradoxically - one of the main pleasures of cycling. Cycling, for Hurst, is very much a thinking man's (or woman's) game.

The author also discusses cycling clothing, helmets (pro-and-con), and pros-and-cons regarding different types of bicycles (he favors traditional narrow-wheeled road bikes over mountain bikes and their offshoots). In all of this he is non-dogmatic, seeing both sides of every issue.

Good is this book is, I gave it four stars instead of five because the author is not a particularly memorable stylist, and I think he could have gone into more detail about the clothing and equipment alternatives. These quibbles aside, I can recommend the book without reservation.

Excellent book for any rider who rides to commute or just rides to live. Blends the learnings of "Effective Cycling :6th edition"
and other inner city riding techniques. Provides a non-biased view of riding in the city and it's surrounds and urges all riders to take responsibity for their actions on the road.

It is rare a book be so informative and yet so entertaining. It is full of all kinds of tidbits, in addition to the practical information on riding in an urban environment. Definately helped me...

Excellent book - unfortunately I didn't buy the british version right away - which comes with an extraodinary CD. So I bought the british version as well and offered the american one to a friend. LONG LIVE OLD EUROPE

This is among the best car books I've ever seen. The photography is all new - no recycled press photos you've seen over and over. The writing style is clear and evocative of the best story telling. It could have been published as 21 monthly articles in Road & Track. The tone is friendly without being silly. It contains technical information without getting hopelessly bogged down in minutiae. HOWEVER - as I was reflecting how cool it would be to download audio recordings of these cars in action (imagining a website) I read that the UK version comes with a CD! Why isn't this in the US version? As the Buddhists say, all suffering stems from desire... Now if I could only buy (and maintain!) my fantasy Chaparral and Ford GT-40 and Ferrari Daytona and Mini-Cooper S and Lotus 21 and Jaguar D Type and supercharged Bugatti and Porsche 911 and Cobra and Buell superbike...

It can be ordered through Amazon UK; It's called "Into The Red" and the engine sounds on the CD are awesome.

This book is outstanding. Nick Mason's brief account of each car's history and how he came to buy it is interesting and often humorous and Mark Hales' account of the driving experience conveys great feeling. The photography is also of very high quality. BUT you must buy one that comes with the CD, the book is titled 'Into the Red' outside the USA. Listening to the CD (loud!) while reading the book is an awesome experience which should not be missed. Particularly track 5, the V16 BRM, the sound of which will make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck!

Recently I bought the UK-version of this book. It is called 'Into the Red' and comes with a CD with sounds of the sportscars described in the books. I agree with all other reviewers: this CD plus book is a must-have. The pictures in the book are beautiful, the text by Mason and Hales is technically, humorously and very interesting to read. Even if you are not full into racingcars, this is still a very nice book to have in your bookcase !

This is an interesting sea story that will certainly entertain sailing enthusiasts for a long time. The story focused too heavily on the rather idealized but troubled life of a friend of the author, and at times suffers from too much speculation as to the mindset of the sailors eventually lost at sea. These literary shortcomings, however, are a reasonable trade off for the authors vast experience and knowledge of sailing. Overall, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone with an interest in sailing.

I picked up this book at the independent booksellers' convention in Atlanta after hearing John Kretschmer speak. His talk was so enthralling, I couldn't resist his book. It is riveting and well written. A must for anyone who seeks well-presented thought-provoking entertainment.

I just finished reading this book. It sat on my book shelf for a good while. I had forgotten about it. I picked it up today and never put it down.
I live on the island of St. Maarten. One of the sailors in this book was a resident here. I am familiar with the waters around here and I lived through Hurricane Lenny, so I was particularly interested in this book.
I was not prepared however for the intensity. I feel like I lived this tragedy with these sailors. This is a well written, well researched book and one highly personal for the author, who was a good friend of one of the sailors.
I highly recommend this book. It is well worth the read and if nothing else, it will make you appreciate the raw power of hurricanes and the sea.
My sympathies go out to all the families who lost their loved ones in this hurricane.

This is a most excellent book which will sure become a sailing book classic. It tells the story how the paths of an American, an Australian, a Frenchman and a Brazilian in three different vessels crossed each other in the eyes of hurricane Lenny. With the insight of someone who seems to have lived their lives Kretschmer sketches us why they were sailing, what they loved about sailing, and why they were there when the hurricane struck.

The story is told by someone well-versed at sailing, but one who doesn't forget to explain the technical terms to newbies, but also does not bother experienced sailors with long explanations. It seems details have been researched painstakingly.

If you have ever dreamed about sailing the oceans, read this book.

This is a well written and gripping tale of three sailboats caught in a Caribbean Hurricane. As their paths and stories converge, the tension gets tighter. We know how it ends, but finding out how it gets to that point keeps the reader from putting it down.

Excellent insights; especially into the behind the scenes elements in Tyson's life - or lack thereof. The darkness of Boxing is exposed by the accounts of the deals made without the neccessity of finding smoke-filled rooms.
While you may find it hard to pity Tyson of today; it's easier to understand the path he's taken after the reading of this book.

Buy this book read & see why Mike Tyson was the greatest Boxing Champion ever.
Tyson will always Rule!

This book gets five stars alone for the great investigative journalism and stop-at-no-ends-to-get-the-truth reporting.

This kind of writing is getting rarer and rarer given sooo many writers -- especially of sports book -- come with a slant that once you get beyond it's timeliness, really paints the author in a worse light than the subject/team/issue they wrote about.

This is by far and away one of the best books I've read in a long, long time.

Mike Tyson as ... mindless brute to be feared? con artist too smart for his own good? endlessly incredible athlete to be respected? menace to be locked away? and self-destructive, innocent manchild predestined to failure?

These are all concepts that are explored and in depth in this book.

I honestly can see all of the aforementioned perspectives!!!!!

It's interesting but the writer supports each of these ideas enough that you really can't automatically tell just from reading this book what opinions/conclusions the writer actually reached on a personal level -- and this book is all the better for it.

Mike was one of the most physically awesome athletes of the 20th Century and he also said/did some disgraceful things.

Mike is yet another pro athlete that fell victim to all the vulptures who saw him and used him as a meal ticket.

And he's also on woeful little boy who grew into a man who acted out his childhood traumas.

All in all, is he a hero or a monster? A man who just didn't take responsibility for his actions or someone to be pitied because of his (inherent?) personal inability to do so?

You have to read this book and THEN make the call. It's not as easy as you might think.

Bar none, this is the best book I've read about Tyson. It's full of facts and direct quotes from loads of people who worked with/against Tyson, as well as the man himself. It's also a great book for someone like myself- a fan who loved Tyson the boxer but always found Tyson the man to be a jerk, albeit a sometimes misunderstood one.

This book traces Tyson's history from his reckless juvenile days in the streets and the Tryon home for outcast boys, all the way up to Don King, Robin Givens, and his rape conviction. There's a subsequent update chapter that describes the goings-on after his release, but this is just a few pages long and stops before his first post-jail fight with Peter McNeely. It's interesting, but it's very short. Fortunately the book itself is a meaty several hundred pages.

Its outdatedness is the only real problem with the book. Originally written in the mid 90s, it describes everything up to his rape conviction in great detail. It reads like a page-turning novel, a tale full of treachery and corruption - the honing of a wayward youth into a disciplined fighter and his subsequent recidivism. The book is completely objective, as well. It shows us the sweet side of Tyson, and makes no bones about the fact that he had one. But it's also crystal clear that he was a beast, giving us many examples of Tyson's primitive and criminal behavior. Beloved trainer Cus D'Amoto isn't safe either, for there's evidence in this book (which I'd never seen before) that shows he wasn't just a sweet old man who took Tyson in and raised him as his own.

But in addition to discussing main characters like these, people like Robin Givens and Don King are discussed in great length as well. They emerge as the real villains of the story, as well they should. Everyone knows how badly they affected Tyson's career, and the book traces all the details of how and why. In fact, King has his own lengthy chapter, giving us a full portrait of the man's history and questionable relationships with countless people on his way to Tyson -that's how thorough this book is.

Long story short, it's a shame that this book doesn't continue past Tyson's imprisonment and brief release, because it's a greatly researched, open-minded, passionate and thorough account of Tyson's career as well as boxing itself and loads of the people on Tyson's periphery. Loaded with insight from other boxers, scholars of the sport, and many (like Teddy Atlas) who worked with Tyson himself, it's a very broad offering of information. Pick it up whether you like the man OR hate him, it's a fascinating read.

I am a huge Mike Tyson fan, and this is pretty much required reading for any Tyson fan. If you want to know about Mike, read this book. Provides lots of information, and Peter Keller really picked a great title. This book takes you through all of Mike's various stages, and each is fascinating: From Mike's early years in Bronwsville as the kid who was teased on as a young child, to a bully by age ten, a hardcore criminal not long after that, a Cus D'Amato disciple at age 13 who soon moved to Catskills, a pro in the making and a ferocious fighter as an amateur for five years, a pro at age 18, the death of D'Amato, a champion at age 20, a superstar and legend not long after that, the blowout of Michael Spinks, and then of course there is Don King, Robin Givens and her mother, the divorce to Robin Givens, the shocking KO loss to Buster Douglas, the rape conviction, and then the beginning of his post-prison comeback.

Unfortunately, that is where this book ends, so there is no mention of all the other fascinating stuff in Mike's life after that.

One thing that some readers might not like is how Keller goes into deep detail on virtually everyone in the Mike Tyson story, and explains their background, history, etc. Ordinarily, that would put me off, but since I am such a huge Tyson fan, I was interested in knowing about Don King, Robin Gviens, Cus Damato , etc.

Originally found this book lying around in a dusty drawer, but was thoroughly entertained by it from beginning to end. Very easy reading and it's fun going back to it over and over and over. Really makes me wish there was a Louise Gehrig out there somewhere.

This book was not only incredible but an inspriration to me, before I left for school and began playing college softball! This book isn't just for atheletes though, my best friend who is the polar opposite of an athelete love this book as well.I would suggest this book to anyone who loves sports,The Yankees, Billie Holiday, or even loves to read.

Where does he get it? Louise Gehrig is an amazing heroine, and the Manhattan Meteorites are my second favorite team, right after the Mets.

You can tell from "Balls" that Gorman Bechard is a New York Mets fanatic. But I'll forgive him, 'cause the guy writes one heckuva a novel. His lovably loopy story of the first female professional baseballer has a ring of truth, most notably in terms of his view of expansion; the league he concocted back in the early `90s bears a startling similarity to the overstuffed Major League of 1999. If only Mr. Bechard would accept the fact that the Cubs are infinitely superior to his beloved Metsies, I think he'll be just fine...

Not only did the author create an interesting set of characters, but he also created a fully realized vision of baseball in the year 2000 (this was written in 1995). Yogi Berra and Hank Aaron as league presidents; new teams added and others in different cities; standings for all of the teams; and best of all... Baseball Commissioner Dan Quayle.

The book mixes baseball with speculative fiction, a little romance, and some suspense.

A winner all around

There are a lot of similarities here between Barney's story and Jake La Motta's story and they both could have been RAGING BULL the movie. This book is concise and written very smoothly--an even-flow to read thru.
A good boxing and Jewish lifestyle book at the same time.

Every few years I stumble across a short, breezy biography that far better treats its subject than it would have at ten times the length. "Barney Ross" is one of these delights.

Douglas Century's story of Jewish boxer Barney Ross renders an evocative portrait of the forgotten, dangerous world inhabited by the ancestors of today's American Jews a century ago.

Ross's father was a Talmudic scholar, chased from the old country by pogroms, and murdered in the new one during an armed robbery. The family was scattered. Ross boxed for money to get the youngest brothers out of an orphanage, which he did.

The book illuminates two colorful groups of yore: Jewish boxers and gangsters. Both groups - the one aboveboard, the other not - speak to a Jewish yearning for strength, as well as an ambivalence about it, after centuries of weakness. Judaism disparaged athletics, let alone criminal violence, from the time of the Greeks and Maccabees.

Tough guys - shtarkers, in Yiddish - weren't what their mothers wanted them to be, but had credibility on the Lower East Side and Chicago's Maxwell Street, where Ross grew up. Both gangsters and boxers stood up for their people when no one else would, defending their neighborhoods against interlopers.

Ross, who simultaneously held three titles in the 1930s, was definitely one tough boychik. In 81 pro fights, he was never knocked out. That includes the last one in which, over the hill, he was savagely beaten by Henry Armstrong. Virtually helpless, he took an estimated 1200 punches, but refused to go down and kept answering the bell. He never said "no mas" in any language.

He was just as tough at Guadalcanal, enlisting in the Marines at the advanced age of 33. He fought alone through a harrowing night to defend several wounded and cutoff men, firing hundreds of rounds and throwing dozens of grenades. They were finally relieved the next day. Around Ross's foxhole lay two dozen dead Japanese soldiers.

Hospitalized for three months, Ross began a morphine addiction which nearly killed him. He fought it just as courageously, turning himself in for arrest so that he could be sent to a prison specializing in drug addiction treatment. His drug addiction tainted his celebrity; a planned biopic was quashed and turned instead into a fictional story loosely based on his life. This is why most people today have never heard of him.

Ross worked to raise money and Holocaust awareness even as the Warsaw ghetto uprising raged. He smuggled guns to the Irgun for battles leading to Israel's independence. And he may have been one of the Jewish tough guys who terrorized Nazi sympathizers in Chicago in the 1930s. Another was Jack Ruby, a friend of Ross's; Ross last entered the public eye when he was questioned by the Warren Commission about Ruby's early entanglements with Chicago gangsters.

As Century notes, Ross was special. He retained religious ties throughout his life. He didn't have much of a mean streak, apologizing to his sparring partners for hurting them and showing little taste for putting away a weakened opponent. To Jews, boxing was a means to an end, a way out of poverty. When times changed, twenty years later, there were no more Jewish boxers. This little book is a reminder of what life was like for American Jews before they succeeded.

I KNEW BARNEY ROSS WHEN I WAS A YOUNG LAD GROWING UP IN THE SUBURS OF NEWARK NEW JERSEY. BARNEY SUGERMAN Z'L, MY FATHER AND BARNEY ROSS WERE CLOSE CLOSE FRIENDS. SUGIE AS MY FATHER WAS ALSO KNOWN WAS IN THE JUKE BOX AND GAME BUSINESS. HE CAME OUT OF THAT VERY SPECIAL WORLD OF PROHIBITION, ROARING 20'S, PROUD JEWS INCLUDING MOBSTERS AND PRIZE FIGHTERS. POP HAD HIS OFFICES AND BUSINESS ON JUKE BOX ROW, TENTH AVENUE AND 43RD STREET IN MANHATTAN. BARNEY ROSS WAS AT THE OFFICE TWO OR THREE TIMES A WEEK AND AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK, THE TWO BARNEYS WOULD MAKE THE ROUNDS IN THE CITY. DOUGLAS CENTURY DID AN OUTSTANDING JOB OF CONVEYING THE TRUE PERSONALITY AND CHARACTER OF BARNEY ROSS. THE BOOK IS OUTSTANDING. IT CAPTURES THE TRUE SPIRIT OF BARNEY ROSS. I WILL TELL YOU THAT WHEN BARNEY ROSS WOULD SAY HELLO TO YOU, IT MADE YOU FEEL YOU WERE SPECIAL. HE HUGGED YOU, KISSED YOU, AND HE BLESSED YOU IN PERFECT HEBREW AND IN PERFECT YIDDISHE. HE WAS A REAL PROUD JEW AND HE KNEW THAT HE CARRIED ON HIS SHOULDERS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF JEWISH PRIDE TO A NATION THAT HAD NOT YET FULLY ACCEPTED THE JEWISH PEOPLE. IN FACT GROWING UP, ANTI SEMITISM WAS NOT A RARE OCCURENCE. BARNEY CARRIED THE CROWN OF JEWISH PRIDE WHEREVER HE WENT. I WILL TELL ONE STORY. IN THE MID 50'S I WAS A STUDENT AT BUCKNELL UNIVERSITY WHICH WAS A SCHOOL ASSOCIATED WITH THE BAPTISTS. IN THOSE DAYS, THERE WAS A LIMIT ON JEWS GOING TO BUCKNELL, WE HAD A 5% QUOTA. SO WE HAD ONE JEWISH FRATERNITY HOUSE. IN MY JUNION YEAR, 1958, WE HAD AT THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR THE ANNUAL SPORTS EVENING. ALL THE ATHLETES OF THE SCHOOL WENT TO THE ANNUAL DINNER. SOMEBODY KNEW THAT MY FATHER AND BARNEY ROSS WERE CLOSE FRIENDS, AND THE SCHOOL BOXING COMMITTEE ASKED ME IF IT WOULD BE POSSIBLE TO INVITE BARNEY ROSS TO COME UP TO THE SCHOOL TO GIVE A SPEECH. I CALLED POP. HE SPOKE TO BARNEY ROSS. BARNEY RIGHT AWAY SAID OF COURSE HE WOULD BE HAPPY TO DO IT. THAT WAS BARNEY ROSS. THE WORD "NO" DIDN'T EXIST IN HIS VOCABULARY. I TOLD POP TO MAKE SURE HE WAS UP BY 4 OR 4.30 BECAUSE THE DINNER WAS SCHEDULED FOR 6 PM. POP PICKED BARNEY UP EARLY IN THE MORNING. IT WAS NO MORE THAN A 4 HOUR DRIVE UP THROUGH ROUTE 22 TO MAKE IT TO LEWISBURG PENNSYLVANIA. BUT NO SIGN OF THE TWO BARNEYS AND BY 5 PM. I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO LOOK LIKE THE LAUGHING STOCK OF THE SCHOOL. FINALLY AT SIX PM ON THE DOT THE BIG BLUE FOUR DOOR CADILLAC PULLED UP AND OUT CAME BARNEY ROSS WITH BARNEY SUGERMAN. BARNEY ROSS SMELLED LIKE HE FELL INTO A BATH TUB OF WHISKEY. I ASKED POP WHAT THE HELL TOOK HIM SO LONG. POP EXPLAINED THAT BETWEEN NEW YORK CITY AND LEWISBURG PENNSYLVANIA BARNEY ROSS INSISTED ON STOPPING IN EACH TOWN AND HAVE A DRINK. AS SOON AS HE WALKED INTO A BAR IN THOSE LITTLE BLUE COLLAR TOWNS IN NORTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA, GUYS IMMEIDATELY RECOGNIZED HIM AND BEFORE LONG, "BARNEY HAVE ANOTHER DRINK ON THE HOUSE, AND TELL US ABOUT THE FIGHT WITH TONY CANZONERI, WITH JIMMY MC LARNIN, ETC."

WE BROUGHT BARNEY INTO OUR SAMMY HOUSE FRATERNITY. HE WAS SURROUNDED BY ALL THE GUYS IN THE FRATERNITY WHO WANTED TO SAY HELLO TO BARNEY ROSS AND SHAKE HIS HAND, ETC. BARNEY ROSS HOWEVER WAS THREE SHEETS TO THE WIND. I WAS WONDERING HOW THE HELL HE WAS GOING TO GIVE A SPEECH AT THE SPORTS NIGHT EVENT.

WE WENT TO THE DINNER. THE PLACE WAS MOBBED WITH ALL THE JOCKS AT BUCKNELL. NATURALLY, THE VAST MAJORITY WERE NOT JEWISH. BARNEY GOT UP TO SPEAK. HE HUGGED THE MICROPHONE AND HE STARTED TO SPEAK. HE SPOKE SO QUIETLY, BUT SO ELOQUENTLY AND SO PASSIONATELY ABOUT HIS LIFE GROWING UP AS A JEWISH BOY IN CHICAGO, HIS FATHER'S TRAGIC MURDER, HIS ENTRY INTO BOXING, HIS CAREER, HIS FIGHTS, HIS WAR TIME EXPERIENCE, HIS DRUG ADDICTION AS A RESULT OF THE WOUNDS HE SUFFERED DURING THE BATTLE AT GUADACANAL AND HIS STUGGLE TO BEAT THE HABIT. THAT EVENT TOOK PLACE NEARLY FIFTY YEARS AGO. I REMEMBER IT LIKE IT HAPPENED TONIGHT. BARNEY ROSS WAS A CHAMPION AS A FIGHTER, BOTH IN THE RING AND IN THE BATTLEFIELD BUT THAT NIGHT HE WAS A CHAMPION OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE. KOLHAKAVOD TO DOUGLAS CENTURY. HIS BOOK IS A TRIBUTE TO THE TRUE CHARACTER OF BARNEY ROSS

I highly recommend this book. I read for entertainment and was
thoroughly entertained. You do not have to be an admirer of the
great pugilists of the past to enjoy this book. God bless Barney
and what he left us.

...and it's a right pity so few Jewish youngsters have never even heard of the former champ Barney Ross -- the "Pride of the Ghetto."

I'd first heard about Century's book over at the always insightful website, www.nextbook.org, where he was interviewed over a seven minute stretch about the life and times of the second- (of two) most famous Jewish pugilist of all-time, other than Benny Leonard.

Century demonstrates a deft skill with the pen and a remarkable savvy for the entire era and the relevant subject material. It clearly shines through in his compact historial narrative of the period.

I'd wanted to read over the reviews of this book before devlving into my own -- figuring that if you're really keen on knowing what the book's about, you don't need me to tell you that....the editorial reviews do more than an adequate job.

Within Barney Ross' pages, expect a raft of feelgood as you stream through fellow-Canadian Century's well-crafted prose. He collates what -- to this scribe at least -- seems to be a wealth of source material in order to carve out a delectable read. In what might otherwise be a biography of the late fighter, Century eschews the traditional format of "he was born in 1909..." and opts for a more 'filmic' approach -- I swear a camera could've been trained on any one of these scenes.

You'll breeze through the initial pages figetedly, reading of the shooting murder of Ross' Talmudic-scholar father in his tiny Maxwell Street fruit shop by a pair of Chicago street thugs, then you'll root for Barney -- ne Beryl Rasofsky -- as he vows to regain his family's fallen honour -- having lost his mother to a wellness sanitorium in Connecticut and his siblings to a local Chi-Town orphanage.

You'll pump your fists silently, as you sip your preferred beverage, reading about Ross' earliest victories on the canvas and in the ring, then rallying to the fighter's side as he continues to rise through the amateur -- then professional -- ranks, on his way to boxing lightweight and welterweight stardom.

When Armstrong clobbers Ross in their to the wire slugfest, ending Ross' illustrious career, it'll tug at your heartstrings, while it continues to thump on that same spot uncomfortably as you read about Ross' subsequent enlistment in the US Marine Corps then of his injuries sustained at Guadalcanal.

When you learn of his resultant addiction to morpheine, and then Ross' subsequent long battle to trump it, you're bound to be affected.

Thanks to Barney Ross, I'm super keen on having a look at Century's other stuff. I'm sure it's moving all the same.

This is a great book. It has a wonderful amount of information. It is good for the beginner as well as an advance horse person.

Ever since I read this book, I ride my horse and when I go out and barrel race in the gymkhanas that I attend in my club, we are truly great as a team. When I first started western riding this summer I wasn't so good, but after reading this book I've gotten tougher and my horse has gotten so much faster! I know after this winter and reading it over and over, we will be unbeatable.

This is one of my favorite barrel racing books! I have owned it for years and refer back to it often when I need to "tune up". I've had the opportunity to attend a few of Sharon Camarillo's clinics and she has written two of the best barrel racing books out today! She is not only a great barrel racer but a absolutely fabulous teacher! Her books give clear easy to read instruction with great pictures to help you visualize. I loved it! Shirley, from MN

I thought this was a great book.I have improved my barrel racing ALOT since I started reading this book. It is sooooooooooooooooo AWESOME!

If you enjoyed this book also read: 'Running to Win at Barrel Racing' by Martha Josey

I read this book from cover to cover and I always refer back to it for tips and help. It's a great book for the beginner barrel racer or the seasoned racer. It's full of great pictures and information. I loved it!

"To appreciate any sport, you must learn about its entire histroy. And you can't truly appreciate baseball without learning about the Negro Leagues. Begin with this book."

-Sports Columnist, Kansas City Star

"The food industry has Emeril, the political pundits have O'Reilly and the Negro Leagues has Holway. Artfully wrote by the premier expert on Negro Leagues history."

-President, Legends of Sports

". . . statistics that prove the greatness of the Negro League players. Now, we can truly call baseball the National Pastime."

"To appreciate any sport, you must learn about its entire history. And you can't truly appreciate baseball without learning about the Negro Leagues. Begin with this book."

As submitted to Hasting House on Dec. 10, 2001 via e-mail

This is a fine overview of the contributions made by black ball players from the mid 19th Century to the more well known players of the 20th. I judge baseball books on how they contribute to the overall understanding of their subject matter. This book stands among the others, including Only the Ball Was White and Larry Lester's pictorials on the Negro Leagues in Chicago, Kansas City, and Pittsburgh.