Sports and Recreation Books

As a strength and conditioning professional and avid snowboarder I would give Rocky Snyder's "Fit to Snowboard and Ski" a solid "5 Star" rating. He has laid out functional progressions that will take a novice through expert rider/skier and develop the whole body for the demands of the sport.
The descriptions and pictures are easy to follow making this a very practical self-help guide. You can have lots of desire to improve but if you don't have the strength and stability behind it you will never reach your full potential.

I left New England in '98 because it was too cold and because I never learned to ski. In college, everyone came back from the slopes with broken parts and not just on their skis. After reading this book, I am glad to know that there are slopes on the West Coast because I'm giving this thing a shot. Snyder makes skiing and boarding sound not only fun and good for your health but necessary. His writing style is as free- flowing and easy as a trip down the bunny slopes. His encouragement is like having an instructor by your side cheering you on. I'm going to add his regimen to my fitness activities because he is so thorough, positive, and knowledgable. Thanks Mr. Snyder. Can't wait to see what's next in store for us!

Getting ready for this years ski season, I found this book to give me an excellent foundation in getting ready to hit the slopes. Mr. Snyder, made it simple to understand and follow, and I recommend this reading for all skiers/snowboarders.

As a practicing chiropractor for 25 years I have seen all of what can happen when you don't have a reference like Fit to Ski and Snowboard in your library. Rocky Snyder is a master at translating a no-nonsense training protocol into pure joy in skiing and snowboarding. Rocky's book will help prevent injury and inspire more charging and fun. What's not to like about a book like that?

Dr. Herby Bell
Capitola, CA

As an avid skier, I have personal experience with Rocky's books and his fitness/training regimine. What I have found most helpful about this book for ski/snowboard training is that it has a variety of exercises that will keep you busy throughout the off-season and keep you tuned during the season. If you get too familiar with an exercise you can easily find other exercises that will challenge you. Rocky's proven exercises really do work in keeping that edge to edge fitness and quickness required for skiing and snowboarding. The pictures and instruction make it easy to follow. The added bonus is that many of these exercises can be transfered to other sports. Every skier and snowboarder should have this book on his/her shelf. You'll use it often.

What a great way to learn the rules of golf and etiuqette! I appreciated the golf etiquette tips and terminology that you may not find in other books or fellow golfers may be hesistant to tell you. A must read for all women golfers!

Reviewed by Susan Pettrone for Reader Views (7/07)

"From the Red Tees" is one of those books that every golfer needs. It is small, only 256 pages, but it is filled to capacity with common-sense knowledge, reminders and advice that even the most seasoned of golfers can take to heart and learn from. From the very beginning, "From the Red Tees" addresses the problems and important information female golfers need to know to play a round of golf and enjoy the experience as well. With lighthearted humor intermixed with information and tips for women golfers, this book proves from page one that it is a hit for women golfers of all ages.

Addressing preparedness is one of the chapter focus' within this book. From the first sentence of this chapter, it is made evident through storyline and easy-to-understand information that being prepared is essential to any golfer's game and something women in particular need to think about. Covering "what to wear," "sun protection" and much more, this is a chapter that even long-time golfers can benefit from, with its gentle reminders of essentials for the game. And on goes this fascinating book for women about the sport of golf.

Being somewhat of a novice myself in a family of avid golfers, I especially found chapter 4, "Fried Eggs and the Dance Floor," to be one of the best chapters in the book. With its explanations of the acronyms so often heard in golf, basic information on equipment and places, and of course, phrases heard on the golf course itself, this was a great way for me to study up on my terminology and jolt my memory with the terms used on the course without feeling as if I were playing `catch up' when I next visit the green. With its' somewhat confusing phrases for the new golfer such as "the beach," another way to say "sand trap," "choke down," a term used to describe moving ones hands further down on the club and "scramble," when everyone hits and you choose the next shot to be hit from the best shot in the group. I found this chapter to be exceptionally beneficial.

As this book goes along, the reader discovers a chapter entitled "How to succeed as a Mom and a golfer." I saw all too clearly the problems many women face when they have to choose between being a mother and a golfer. That is not to say that men don't have the same problems but let's be honest here; it is usually Mom who sacrifices her round of golf to play "mommy"" and rarely does Dad do the same. Being a mom and a golfer demands a certain amount of finesse, planning, and, of course, adaptability, in order to make the mix work. In this chapter, the reader can see a new way of looking at this problem and how to mix motherhood and sport, so that each works out fine.

I found "From the Red Tees" to be, not just informational, but entertaining as well, with its light-hearted humor inserted within the pages, and its basics of golf presented in a new way. This book would make an excellent choice for any and all the female golfers on your list. It seems to me that with all the high school golf teams in the country, this would also be a great gift for the younger female golfer in your life. She would benefit from the facts and from the perspective the author gives when discussing the game of golf and how it fits within a woman's life.

I have been an avid golfer for over 15 years now and for the first time, feel like I understand the dynamics at hand for womens golf. I have previously tried to bring my wife and sister along into the sport, but have failed miserably. This book would have been a perfect introduction for both me, and the women I was trying to teach.

This is a humorous and witty book for woman golfers. The authour shares stories we can all relate to and laugh at. The etiquette and terminology that is explained is helpful and can help beginner golfers feel confident on the course. It is also a great motivator for those of us who can't find the time to golf.

This is a fun & easy read! Palermo educates the novice golfer about proper course etiquette & terminology, and peppers her not-so-technical golf "manual" with humorous anecdotes. I highly reccomend Red Tees to any woman hesitant to brave the links - it will provide knowledge, confidence, and some laughs!

This book has been the best I bought about sailing so far. I was looking for a book that would give me some guidance on how to start sailing and get my family into it. This book is so nicely written that it's inspirational. Don't expect sailing lessons on how improve your sailing performance from this book. Instead, you will find a passionate author that will tell you how to enjoy a small sailboat with your family. Based on this book and others we bought a West Wight Potter 15 and we are enjoying it every minute. My wife also loved the book because it explains how to get the kids involved so that we all enjoy the adventure. If you like family adventures or if you had your adventures when you were a teen, then you would like the author's approach and he might get you into trying them again but this time with your family. Love it!

Love this book. He also published "Sailing on a Micro-Budget" which is basically the same book but available used at a fraction of the cost.
Larry also wrote "Sailing America" which is in the same vein and an excellent read.

That book is the best antidote against the well known cabin envy syndrome. Read it and start spending your money on your house where headroom is really needed. Learn to enjoy your small sailboat or get one and sail away.

THis is a wonderful book for anyone contemplating small or medium boat sailing. Filled with lots of info. and written in the right spirit- fun! Try to find it at your local library or sailing club though...cause spending $35+ on a used book IS NOT FRUGAL!

This book should really be called "Why small boats are more fun!" Brown sagely observes that (1) most sailboats are daysailed, which means most of the sailor's time is spent in the cockpit; (2) a trailerable boat costs a lot less over the years than a boat in a slip, and (3) the simpler a boat is to rig and miantain, the more time you spend actually sailing.

Any sailor is familiar with the typical marina scene: Big boats tied up at the dock, being used as a floating picnic table, as the owner doesn't have the motivation or the crew to actually take her out for a real sail. Or the boat that's motored out of the harbor, parked a mile off shore for use as a swimming and drinking patform, and then motored back in. Or the boat that can only bve sailed from one expensive blue water marina to another becuse of its deep draft.

Brown likes small, shallow-draft boats that can be hauled up on a beach, or at a minimum, anchored near enough for the crew to wade in. He likes gunkholing- lazily exploring little inlets and estuaries where the big boats can't go. And most of all he likes the West Wight Potter, a 14' mini-cruiser that he and his young family sailed for many years. Brown has probably done more for that boat than all the advertising the company has done over the years.

Now there are plenty of people who can buy a 31' boat and afford the slip fees without a second thought, and who don't mind paying someone else to do the maintenance. But there are a lot more people who'd like to sail, but who can't afford paying as much for a boat as they did for the last two family cars. If you're at all interested in sailing, but think you need a big boat with 4 berths, a head, and a galley to enjoy time on the water, read this book; it'll be a revelation.

This well-written book took me back to Shelbyville IN in the 1950s, when every barber shop displayed a picture of the 1947 championship team and every patron knew all their names. No one would question the effect Bill Garrett had on his home town, but few could have predicted the impact he would have on collegiate sports for years to come.

The little town of Milan provided great sports drama for the movie "Hoosiers," but the life of Bill Garrett is more than a sports story. He did for NCAA athletics what Jackie Robinson did for Major League Baseball. Young people of today would be shocked to learn what he endured just a couple of generations ago.

Thanks to Tom and Rachel Graham Cody for this great read. As a Purdue grad, it pains me to praise a book that casts such a positive glow on Indiana University!

This is a good book and a good read. If you're from small-town Indiana (like me) and old enough to understand what single-class "Hoosier Hysteria" really meant, then you'll like this book.

However I respectfully offer that it's not a 5-star book. It may be a 5-star story in search of a 5-star telling.

I just finished the book yesterday, and I find myself wishing the authors had been less dispassionate. Or more passionate? Whatever.

So who was Bill Garrett? The book talks a lot about his life and times, and provides some ancedotes, but always left me wanting more about Bill. Sadly, Bill wasn't available to be interviewed, but his teammates, friends and wife were all sources for the book.

Here are some examples:

We learn a lot about how Bill came to enroll at IU, but we don't learn about the man himself. Bill left Tennessee State after enrolling, and took a bus to IU. No one was available to meet him there! How did he feel about this?

Bill was on the road and separated from his wife for several years while he knocked around the fringes of professional basketball. How was their relationship affected? We don't know.

Finally - the authors talk about the changes in college basketball in the 1950's (pp 169-175), Branch McCracken's sporadic recruitment of black players, yet fail to mention that IU WON the NCAA championship in 1953!

Sorry 5-star raters...it's a good book and a story worth telling, but could be a lot better. Probably a better movie than a book.

Seldom have I been so touched, entertained, and educated by a book as I was by Getting Open, which I read in two days. It is truly a masterpiece and something I will keep on my bookshelf for the rest of my life.

Although born and raised in Indiana, I didn't know much if anything about Bill Garrett before reading this book, but I was just blown away by his story. Not knowing the story, it was almost like reading a well-crafted novel and I hung on every new development the authors revealed. I also didn't know much about the racial intolerance of the times. My neighborhood and high school were all white, so I really had little if any contact with blacks before I went to Indiana University as a freshman in 1963. It hardly seems possible that such racial intolerance existed in the Midwest so recently before then.

This book exceeded all my expectations and I highly recommend it to anyone, whether you're a basketball fan or not. If you have any ties to the Hoosier State or to Indiana University, you will love it all the more.

At the pinnacle of his high school career - leading Shelbyville High to the Indiana state championship; a team that had three black starters - not one college scout in the arena attended the game to recruit Bill Garrett or his two teammates due to the color of their skin.

At the pinnacle of his collegiate career - leaving the court to a standing ovation that lasted several minutes - Bill Garrett was refused service in a restaurant days later; one that had on its marquee that it welcomed fans of Indiana Unniversity basketball.

And when Bill Garrett was ready to launch his pro career, the team in his home state did not draft him.

But Bill Garrett was stronger than those who attempted to keep those doors closed. And we are better because of him.

For author Tom Graham - with his co-author/daughter Rachel Graham Cody - the book took seven years of reseach, and certainly a lifetime of not denying the facts from the past and understanding the urgency in the present to set the record straight.

Getting Open is more than a biography on Garrett and how he integrated Big Ten basketball by playing and starring for IU. It is a history of institutionalized racial hatred in the State of Indiana - at one point in the 20th Century, the KKK essentially controlled all essential government offices - and the tireless work of person's from different sides of the tracks to fight the good fight.

Graham is a Shelbyville native who was old enough to vividly recall the times, which certainly helped as he meticulously did his research to cut through the fiction that builds from facts as the years tumble on.

It is a book from the heart that will make you realize how we must celebrate those who had the courage then by continuing to challenge those who want to forget - or rewrite - the past.

This book is an incredibly well written and well documented story that should be more widely read. It is an important history that many sports fans, and non-sports fans, will enjoy tremendously. It is an inspiration to us all, and offers many lessons and insights about overcoming racism. Thank you to the father-daughter authors for getting out this story!

The strongest features of this book are the extensiveness of the research on the numerous architects from the early part of the 20th century in the US, and the period photographs showing what many of the most famous courses looked like before others could alter them.

The Golden Age, as it is called, came just after people began to realize that golf courses needed to be something more than strait shots down alleys surrounded by bunkers. Men who had experienced golf in its native form in Scotland brought back their insights to the US and transformed the alleys into true adventures across the landscape. Sadly, many of them had been all but forgotten until a resurgence of interest in the art of golf design. American golf architecture again was stagnating, and new inspiration was needed.

Geoff Shackelford has stood by the pirnciples of many of the architects he discusses in this volume, and as such takes great care in his descriptions of thier lives, influences, and design philosophies.

Although not as intense a discussion of arcitecture itself that may be found in the writings of the individual architects, Shackelford's overviews combined with the numerous photographs of exemplary holes helps make clear what many of them intended with thier creations.

Of greatest interest is the attention he gives the "Philadelphia School", which includes Pine Valley creator George Crump. The details of how Pine Valley came to be, and how the group out of Philadelphia went on to inspire one another and spread the gospel of golf will be of interest to most.

A wonderful collection of photographs and biographies. All of these courses are classics that I can only dream of one day seeing, much less playing. The vintage photos of the courses provide a glimpse of the majesty of each course and Geoff Shckleford's musings and collection of quotes fill in the rest. Shackleford brought each of the great architects to life. What a great book. I'd love to see a follow up on courses in the West(including Hawaii).

This is a fine historical book that is a worthy addition to any golf library. Many of the photos are very rare and interesting to one who has "seen it all".

My only criticism is that there is a wealth of information on Thomas and other west coast designers whom Geoff has spent the majority of his time researching for his other books. There is an embarassingly small amount of information and absolutely nothing new about Donald Ross. Geoff could be accused of mailing in this section of the book.

More on MacDonald, Raynor and Banks would have been nice, but we have George Bahto's book to look forward to on that account.

The book is very much reflective of the work previously done for his other books and his personal experience, but it still deserves a solid five stars.

A must have for anybody interested in golf course architecture. As great as Pebble Beach is today, you'll wonder why it was ever changed after seeing the old photos of it following Chandler Egan's work in 1929! Buy this beautiful book and you won't be disappointed.

This book is just a perfect overview of the old architects and their design work. I disagree with the reviewer who said certain sections were mailed in. At least to me, each architect was well covered and it did not seem anyone received special attention unless they deserved it, and the Donald Ross chapter was one of my favorites. It includes an incredible picture of the great Seminole course. There is not a single picture in the book I did not want to study closely, and it seemed that every architect included was there for a reason -- their work was sensational golf course architecture that we just don't see these days.

This book starts with a brief history and background on Helio and Royce, as well as their fight philosophy. There is a brief section on what makes someone a good BJJ practitioner and how to train techniques.

It then moves into what this book is all about BJJ submission essentials. It starts with Helio demonstrating a number of his favourite submissions before Royler takes up the rest of the book demonstrating a plethora of other submissions.

The book covers submissions from all situations and positions whether standing, mounted (top and side), guard, from the back or fighting from the bottom. All techniques are explained in great detail to ensure that the technique you're executing is correct. This is enhanced greatly by Kid Peligro's large, clear photos, which includes close ups of grips and multiple angles etc when necessary.

Basically, this book is exactly what it says on the cover - an explanation of BJJ submission techniques.

What this book is not - while it may be a useful reference book for a newer student it doesn't go into fundamentals of wrestling such as basic positioning, transitions between positions, or wrestling theory. Applying these techniques without any of those basics in a fight situation is almost impossible. These are however, covered in other Gracie BJJ books. As such this book is most useful for those who already have wrestling experience, though this doesn't necessarily have to be in BJJ.

Once you have a good understanding of the basic of BJJ, this book takes your game to another level offering you many options in term of submission. To get the most out of this book, it is recommended that you master one technique at a time, then try to combine it with other techiques. For example, I found that the bent arm lock works really well with Kimura as a second attack option.

This is a great book by the Gracie's. But as you go along in the book you can see it wouldn't benefit a beginner much. It is for those already with brazilian jiu- jitsu experience.

A solid addition to the series - good fundamentals from the Grand Master Helio Gracie. Simple, yet effective techniques that are the foundation for any Brazilian Jiu Jitsu student. Royler takes it further with some great chokes. Good ideas to take to the mat.

Gracie Submission Essentials is 240+ pages of full color photos that explain how to do Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu submissions from almost any position. The photographs for each submission are large, clear, and plentiful - usually four or more for each technique. While those reading it will not be able to master the techniques without a partner, this book is an incredible starting point for those new to the sport and also a great reference for more advanced students. Kimuras, chokes, gogoplatas, omoplatas, locks, triangles, etc... they're all inside.

While there is an introduction section with brief biographies, interviews, and training tips, the primary sections of the book break down as follows:

- Grandmaster's Favorites. Helio Gracie dons a gi and demonstrates the basic (but devastating) submissions of BJJ. These include the standing kimura, choke from the mount, americana, various arm-locks, and the legendary rear-naked choke. 13 techniqus, 29 pages.
- Stand Up Submissions. Royler grapples with Megaton (I though that was MegaTRON the first time I read it) for the rest of the chapters. The standing techniques include standing chokes, wrist/arm locks, knee locks, the guillotine, and pretty much everything you'd ever want to know from the standing position. Since a lot of new BJJ practitioners don't learn these techniques in class (a lot of schools start rolling from the knees), this is an important section for any new student heading to a tournament to read. 26 techniques, 51 pages.
- Guard Pass Submissions. These are some pretty intense techniques that will take a lot of practice and timing to do properly and safely (most of them involve flipping your opponent over). 3 techniques, 7 pages.
- Side Control Submissions. A lot of newer students see side control as just a transition stage, and it is not. Leg-locks, knee-on-the-stomach attacks, chokes, americanas, spine-locks, arm-locks, and arm-crushers are covered. 19 techniques, 46 pages.
- Mount Submissions. Submissions from the mount are some of the most common, but can always be practiced. Chokes, triangles, nutcracker chokes, arm-locks, and the knee-split are shown. 9 techniques. 20 pages.
- Back Control Submissions. The submissions in this section are interesting because "the back" is a broad definition; these techniques tend to be defined according to situation and include "opponent bridges" and "opponent stands up." 5 techniques, 14 pages.
- Turtle and Half Guard submissions. This is a sort of a short "miscellaneous" chapter. The bananna split, chokes, calf-lock, and kimura are covered. 5 techniques, 12 pages.
- Guard Submissions. Are you comfortable fighting from your back? If not, this chapter is a MUST. Chokes, arm-bars, triangles, wrist-lock, omoplata, shoulder locks, crucifix chokes, reverse americanas, gogoplatas, and more. 25 techniques, 63 pages.

While this is one of the best books on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu submissions on the market, it is not the ONLY book you will ever need. It is VERY specific to gi (uniform) submissions, so not every technique will work in a no-gi environment (UFC, etc...). As well, this book does not cover movement - something that is critical to getting into proper position for submissions. Other books (including Royce Gracie's excellent Ultimate Fighting Techniques Volumes I & II - Volume I being a great reference for movement) are necessary to truly understand Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

This is the best system to learn the golf swing out there. The drills are so demanding that if you can get results with them, you will get better. I started using them 8 years ago and they took me from mid to high nineties to low seventies in about 12 months. Whenever I get away from them or try something else, ie. swing flatter or around a la Ben Hogan, my swing goes straight to hell, losing both accuracy and distance.

What will determine how much you get out of this system is how well you apply it. People look at me funny at the range when I'm doing the drills and ask a lot of questions. I play with local PGA teachers and they all raise comment. But I enjoy hitting ball well too much to worry about it. I hit the ball better standing on one leg than on two. I've even won money playing people standing on one leg, shooting high 70's to mid eighties on 7000 plus golf courses. I've beaten many of the local PGA guys who ALL teach Hogan's method. I didn't even start playing golf until my mid twenties and these guys have played all their lives!

So apply the system and let your golf game do the talking. Don't worry about what others think or say because this system will work if you apply it consistently.

When I read about these drills in this book at first, these drills didn't appeal to me at all, but I still wanted to give it a try.

After working on these drill what a surprise I am hitting the ball more solid with less effort.

If you are serious about the game, definitely give these drills a try.

Prior to the drills I could barely find 265 yards after the roll. Now I easily get 270 yards on the fly. People on the range stand there and gawk.

I had several clients who work with David Lee personally and they strongly recommended I learn more about Gravity Golf. Long story short, this is the real deal, folks. Remember those shots you've hit where the ball just rocketed off the club face but it felt absolutely effortless? David's drills teach you how to do that consistently, by design, using the laws of physics.

The book can essentially be divided into two parts: how it works, and how to apply it. The first part is interesting to golf geeks like me, but the second part is the meat of the book. The foundation of Gravity Golf is the drills. THEY are your instructor. Do the drills consistently and your body will have no choice but to learn how to generate power appropriately, and then this will `infect' your regular golf swing and you'll be amazed at the difference.

One important note: I'd also recommend getting his DVDs. If you just work from the book, be advised that he no longer teaches the one footed drills but has replaced them with a crossfooted version.

second note: I have had the opportunity after watching the DVDs and reading the book to meet David Lee and spend some time with him one on one. He is an absolute gentleman and knows the golf swing in and out. Golf Magazine had it right when they named him one of the top 100 teachers in America.

About 7 years ago, I started playing golf by going through a traditional PGA professional. I was in high school at the time, so I also tried out for the high school golf time - not suprisingly, I didn't make the team. That summer, I saw an infomercial on the Gravity Golf Videos and was immediately interested (good marketing). When I saw the book in a local golf equipment store, I bought it and applied it's drills. The next year, I tried out for the golf team again and the other players and the coaches noticed how much better my swing was and how much farther the ball would travel on drives. While I was still far from being the best player on the team, I was most certainly the longest driver.

The meat and potatoes part of the book is most certainly the swing drills. The chapter before hand on the theory behind the "gravity swing" is very interesting but not necessary to gain something from the book. For somebody who wants to get straight to the heart, I'd recommend skipping the first few chapters and reading the "gravity swing" chapter and onward. In essence of learning the "gravity swing" is through proprioception (a.k.a. muscle memory). In a nutshell it means learning to swing a golf club through drills.

In the end, this method teaches a swing that has a lot of power but lacks control. Most of the time I can hit a predictable shot, but if I get off slightly the ball could end up anywhere (which is what kept me from doing well on the high school golf team). All in all, I'm a casual golfer and do enjoy it when I can hit a really long ball while playing a round to impress my collegues.

The book really has everything you need, and despite what the book may tell you, the videos are not necessary to gain a full understanding of the process of gravity golf. For somebody looking for distance at the expense of control and some bizzare looking drills, I'd recommend this book.

Here's a little time travel for you. I first got my hands on this book when I was a little baseball-loving kid, back in 1974. This book scared the hell out of me back then.

Thirty years later it turned up again, and this time it blew my mind. It's one of the most creative, touching, thoughtful, mildly mean-spirited works of literature I've ever come across (And I read books for a living.)

Here's the backstory on the book. It's the early 1970's in Boston, and two witty, profound, slightly geeky local bookstore employees decide to rummage through their childhood baseball-card collections and write a book about their love of the game. Please note: this book **isn't** about baseball or even about baseball cards (here I'm citing the authors in their preface), it's a book about childhood as recalled through the prism of baseball cards.

This book isn't for everyone. It's for grown-up men who loved baseball as boys, weren't very good at it (as the authors admit about themselves), and were probably picked near the end in gym class when teams were being chosen.

This book is probably best (and most mind-blowing) for people who grew up during the late 1950's and early 1960's, as the authors did. But the generations of childhood baseball fans ever since will also find great pleasure in this entirely irreverent and clever book.

"GOOD NIGHT, SIBBI SISTI, WHEREVER YOU ARE." When I read this line in the book back in 1974, it gave me the willies. Now I just grin.

Beautiful, brilliant and witty. Once you have the book, you'll never forget it, and you'll probably keep wanting to show parts of it to fellow fans. However, in the name of humor, the book is a little cruel to some players -- for example, "Hal Griggs was to pitching as Wayne Causey was to hitting -- that is to say, nothing." Even as a kid I was made uncomfortable by things like that. But, some of those things, I just LOVED, like the teasing about how ugly Don Mossi was and about how lousy a hitter Hank Aguirre was ("...I mean to tell you, he couldn't even come close..."). So, where should they have drawn the line? Heck if I know. Also, the book seems to show a bias toward players from Boston and Philadelphia, giving them more space than they deserve, and a lot more kindness. But actually I enjoyed that, since, as a New Yorker, I've always been embarrassed about the disproportionate attention that is usually given to the Yanks and Mets. It's nice to see a couple of other towns getting their turn.

I received this as a Christmas gift one year and was initially disappointed. I had only heard of a few of the guys that were showed on the cards and I set it aside, figuring on sticking it up on my bookshelf with the other boring books that I had and never bothered with. Several days after Christmas we went on the annual family gift return, a day I truly hated. In desperation I grabbed this book off of my pile and took my accustomed place in the back of the station wagon. For the rest of that day and night the only time I put the book down was to eat, and then only briefly. This is a completely irreverent look at baseball as a whole, and the thing that really sealed the deal for me was the card of Whammy Douglas and the comments made by the author. I tried to get my dad to read it because I figured he would get more out of it than I did, (I'm 41 and consider myself to be on the trailing edge of those who might "get it",) but he wasn't interested. Maybe I'll try again. This book might have a limited range of interest, but if you have fond memories of baseball in the 50's and 60's, I think you'll fall right into that range.

This book is a treasure. I think if I had to pack one bag of books for a long stay on a desert island, this would be one of the first ones included. Like one of the other reviewers, I have worn out more than one copy and find myself puzzled why it's been allowed to go out of print.

"The Great American Flipping, Trading and Bubble Gum Card Book" has three principal sections. The first, "Where Have You Gone VINCE DiMaggio" is a warm and very witty recollection of the co-author's childhoods in the 1950s and the central role that baseball cards played in them. Part two, "This Kid Is Going To Make It," is a look at how the baseball card business operated circa 1973, the date of the book's original publication.

As entertaining as these openers are, the best (and largest) part of the book is the one simply called "Profiles." Reproduced in full color are hundreds of cards from the early 1950s to the late 1960s, accompanied by the author's observations about the players immortalized on them. You'll find greats on these pages, like Richie Ashburn, Stan Musial and Ted Williams...but the real joy is the rediscovery of the men on the fringes of the game's glory...."immortals" like Chris Cannizzaro, Frank Leja, Foster Castleman, Clyde Kluttz and Coot Veal. It's tempting to quote from the book at length, but that would spoil the fun. Just to give you a sense of the flavor though, I opened at random to the page featuring Hector Lopez, poor-fielding third baseman for the Yankees and Kansas City A's. After judging Lopez not to be just a bad fielding third baseman for a baseball player, but for a human being, they declare, he did not "simply field a ground ball, he attacked it. Like a farmer trying to kill a snake with a stick."

This is a wonderful book for any baseball fan, and should especially be treasured on those short, cold winter days when the crack of the bat and the warm blue skies and green grass of summer seem oh-so-far away.--William C. Hall

Each of us occasionally has experiences that are so vivid that they make immediate and permanent imprints upon the memory. For example, I can still remember my excited first day of kindergarten, as well as my first glimpse of Three Rivers stadium, as our family car approached it along the jumbled, congested streets of the North Side.

Believe it or not, I can similarly remember my first experiences reading this book, as though they were yesterday. I was in grad school in California, and a friend was visiting me with this book in tow. As he spread out a sleeping bag and nodded off to sleep, I curled up with his magnificent book. I can still picture that entire scene, my old apartment as it was then, and even one particular page on which I lingered in fascination (the Joe Fornieles profile.) The feeling of reading it was that electric, that hyper-engaging.

A book has got to be good if reading it is remembered as a formative experience.

Let me try another way to explain how much I loved this book. When I couldn't find this book anywhere (it being out of print), I directed a nationwide book search to try to find it for me. They did, a flawless hardback edition that I still treasure, and still maintain in carefully guarded, pristine condition. Mind you, I was a starving grad student when I did this, and could hardly afford such luxuries.

As you can see from the other reviews below, this book takes that type of hold on those who love it.

There are three major sections in this book; one covering the sensory atmosphere of a 1950s suburban childhood, one on the baseball card industry as it existed in 1973, and one a series of profiles of players as depicted on samples from the authors' baseball card collection. The first and third of these are the great ones.

I adore the opening chapter, which brought childhood back to me even though I didn't grow up in the same era as the authors. But some things are universal I guess, including the way that childhood memories exist as scraps and floating debris of the odd popular cultures through which we guide our children.

Boyd and Harris's childhood world will be recognizable to anyone who grew up in America -- a world of advertising jingles, cap guns, yo-yos, Pez, and of course, baseball cards. A time cycle in which the kids learn to break down the interminable flow of their school year according to the changing weather, the holidays and favorite activities of each mini-season. And even those of us whose childhoods weren't so innocent nevertheless cling to those small fragments of memory of a time when we had no responsibilities and the world was a fascinating and wondrous place. I once wrote a newspaper review of this book in which I referred to this opening chapter as Marcel Proust in Levittown, and I think it still fits.

But the real core of the book is the "Profiles" section. This is a procession of baseball cards, one after another, two per page, each of which triggers a particular set of memories from the authors. Many of these, if not most, are really funny. But others are poignant.

Not all of the little capsule profiles are about the players themselves. Sometimes the authors take the opportunity to laugh over the baseball card itself -- a goofy pose, a bad airbrushing job, an inexplicable caption, an ill-considered description on the back.

It's an exquisite feeling, thumbing through their card collection with them. You feel the pang of reverence for the Ted Williams card. You snicker over Choo-Choo Coleman and the lousy catchers collected by the New York Mets. You ponder how it could be that Charlie Smith was traded straight up for Roger Maris. You nod knowingly over the author's continual confusion of Mike de la Hoz and Bob del Greco.

The visual design of the book is central to its power, which is why I particularly treasure my hardback edition. One page of umpire cards has a colored backround on which is stamped,simply, "Boo, Boo, Boo, Boo. . ." A page with the cards of Jackie Robinson and Roberto Clemente contains no commentary, just a respectful black background (each had recently passed at the time of the book's original publication.)

Somehow it all seems to mean something, even without seeming to try to mean anything. And therein lies the book's genius.

I know of no other baseball book like this one. It defies categorization, and despite my poor effort above, it really defies description. Buy it, hide it, shut the door and turn out the world, savor it, ponder it, laugh at it, love it.

Have a good time. It's meant to be fun, you know. Let's play two.

This book is a must for Dodger fans, and the best of its kind.

But by 1957, Ebbets Field was no longer a suitable ballpark for a major league team. The park and its neighborhood were deteriorating, there was no public transportation, and attendance had been steadily falling even in their pennant-winning years (the previous review notes that the powerhouse Dodgers were drawing around 10,000 fans per home game). Renovation was not an option because there would be insufficient additional revenue projected to cover the cost. The Dodgers simply could not stay there. But Walter O'Malley did not want to leave Brooklyn.

In reality, he wanted to stay in Brooklyn and build a brand new ballpark at the corner of Atlantic and Flatbush, near public transportation. Walter O'Malley was not the villain of the piece; rather, it was Robert Moses, then the most powerful man in New York City, who refused to let him do so, insisting that he build instead in Flushing Meadows (where Shea Stadium stands today). They would no longer have been in Brooklyn, and O'Malley naturally refused. He left reluctantly, narrowly choosing Los Angeles over Minneapolis. In doing so, he brough Major League Baseball west of the Mississippi, and forever changed the game. He deserves to be in the Hall of Fame (plenty of even tougher businessmen are), but East Coast writers like Roger Kahn and misinformed fans like the one who posted that he "hates O'Malley" to this day have blocked his entry. Shame on them.

I liked this book ... it's one of the better street-insight books from the Brooklyn-as-the-center-of-the-baseball-universe genre, and I got a better feel from this book than from any other of what it would have been like to see a game at Ebbets Field. But as usual with the Brooklyn revisionists, the book ignores the fact the Brooklyn Dodgers were a doomed franchise from the time Walter O'Malley was thwarted in his effort to obtain land for a new ballpark.

Few, if any, owners in the major leagues then or now would have remained in a rotting ballpark with no parking in one of the worst neighborhoods in a dying borough. The Dodgers' attendance in 1955, their World Series title year, was just over 1 million, almost a 50 percent drop in only eight years, and if any other franchise had suffered a similar attendance drop, it would have taken wing also. The Dodgers also had to deal with the Milwaukee Braves phenomenon, which is mentioned hardly at all as a factor in the Dodgers' departure, even though it played a very important role.

McGee, and other self-styled Brooklyn historians, also glosses over the fact that Ebbets Field was a very dangerous place in its final years, with many beatings, assaults and robberies - many of them racially motivated, the Jackie Robinson experience notwithstanding - inside and near the ballpark.

Brooklynites of that era claim that the Dodgers leaving killed Brooklyn ... it's my belief that Brooklyn would have killed the Dodgers if they'd stayed at Ebbets Field much longer.

At any rate, this is a well-written book, but I'd like to see someone write a Brooklyn Dodgers/Ebbets Field book that isn't an exercise in Pollyannish literature. If you're sick of hearing about Brooklyn as the fulcrum of society as we know it, don't bother with this book.

THE GREATEST BALLPARK EVER is a paean and a song of love to Ebbets Field, home of the "original America's team," the Brooklyn Dodgers, from 1913 to 1957. Author Bob McGee writes a detailed and crisp history of the team and the place, but far beyond the FACTS surrounding the history of the physical structure of the park, and the men who played there, he manages to capture---amazingly enough, and very well---the SYMBOLOGICAL importance of the Brooklyn Dodgers and their home in the American, and particularly Brooklynite, psyche.

Of particular joy is the fact that McGee refuses to fall for the revisionist dreck presently being touted by the O'Malleys and their supporters, that "The Big Oom" had no choice but to hijack the Dodgers from Brooklyn in 1958. He relegates their arguments quite properly to the floor of the horse stall where they (and Walter) belong.

If McGee's symbologizing of Ebbets Field sounds awfully highfalutin', it isn't. McGee loves the IDEA of Ebbets Field, and in communicating that love, recreates the ballpark in words, an almost impossible task, considering that, like much of his reading audience, he never experienced the reality. That he could succeed at all is a measure of how fine this book is. THE GREATEST BALLPARK EVER comes VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

---Order me dogs and beer. Here comes the Duke of Flatbush to the plate---

Even though I grew up a Senators fan, having lived in Washington, DC., my parents, both of whom are from Brooklyn, instilled in me a love and respect for that grand old city/borough. I was born on October 16, 1956, 8 days after Don Larsen's World Series perfect game, but this book brought me in a time machine, allowing me to sit with Charley Ebbets as he planned to build this park, talked strategy with Uncle Robbie, laughed as the three Dodgers ended up on third, cried as those close chances in the World Series of the 1940s, cheered for Pee Wee, the Duke, Gil, Oisk, Campy and Jackie, booed Walter O'Malley and cried as the wrecking ball wiped out a landmark. Read this book today, immerse yourself in an era that was simpler, more neighborly, more alive. Take those memories and share them with all people, your kids, grandkids and their kids. Keep the memory of Ebbets Field and the Brooklyn Dodgers alive forever.

What differentiated this book from the countless others witten about the Brooklyn Dodgers was the author's attention to small detail. Now being from Brooklyn myself I appreciated this. The references to Steeplechase and the clown with paddles, Jim McElroy bring the Torre brothers to games at Ebbets field, the old Washington Park, Jack Kaiser, etc. For the average baseball fan outside of Brooklyn this is a great way to experience what once was. Even though I was only 6 when the Dodgers left and never saw a game at Ebbets Field the only logo's I display on anything I wear are Brooklyn Dodgers hats or shirts. You can't believe how many compliments I get. McGee in his writing really connects the Dodgers into the everyday life of every Brooklynite. I could only imagine what it must have been like (neither of my parents were sports fans nor did I have brothers or sisters). Growing up on the streets of Brooklyn you never had to worry how much junk food you ate because you would constantly burn it off playing stickball or basketball in the schoolyards. I find it interesting the players lived right in the neighborhoods, todays players live in castles and mansions, how could they ever connect to today's fan. I read this book very slow in order to digest every detail, there are plenty to digest. I highly recoomend this book to anyone baseball fan or not to get a glimpse into what was the "greatest place in the world" to grow up in. I only regret the Dodgers were not there when I could have appreciated them. I had the pleasure of meeting the author at a book signing and if he is ever in your area make it your business to meet him. The only thing better than the book is actually meeting Bob McGee.

As a new fly tyer I find the book a terrific resourse for learning about the critters that trout daily feed on. The information has added a totally new dimension to my fly fishing.

This book is for the fisherman who wants to know what is going on underwater on trout waters. It details the life cycle of those insects that comprise the trouts diets and evolves a fly pattern to mimic each phase of insect development. This book is a must for anyone who fishes with flies.

Best book on fly fishing I have ever read. Wish someone had given me this book after I had been fishing for a year or so. Presents a lot of info in a well organized, manageable manner that is an enjoyable read. Give it to all of your fly fishing friends, but only if you want them to catch a lot more fish.

Dave Hughes has hit a homerun with this offering. Very informative! Good reading, as well as a great reference guide. I've been fly fishing for over 25 years and have accumilated quite a library of books that cover all aspects of the sport. Many books dredge over the same material over and over again. Handbook of Hatches gives a different perspective at choosing the best fly for a particular situation. Imitative vs. impressionistic. When and where to use each.
My copy stays in my Jeep, ready to be thumbed through during a break to help me solve any trout food issues that I may be encountering. It has proven to be a fine streamside guide that myself and my fellow fly fishermen have gone to many times.

This is far more than an introduction to the entymology, the context, and the how-to instruction to identifying, tying and fishing with flies that match the hatches. Clearly written and well illustrated with color photography, Handbook of Hatches is a pleasure to read and reread. Food here for the novice and for the experienced fly fisher.