Sports Books

I am just beginning to incorporate golf as a method for acquiring new clients in my practice. Michael's book answers many questions I've had about how best to conduct a 'business round' of golf. Not only does he give a wealth of info on proper golf behaviors and etiquette, he also provides a wide range of advice on how to build a successful business. I'd recommend this book to anyone wanting to integrate the wonderful game of golf with becoming a better businessperson.

Author Mike Smith is articulate and delivers a highly organized, common sense look at how to comport oneself while on the links w/ a client. All 18 chapters give you the chance to score your "game" versus what may be your competition! A fun, quick read choc full of great advice. Go for it!

In this age of ethical confusion detached from traditional sources of guidance Mike's delightful compendium of observations is refreshing indeed. This slender volume poses and answers disarmingly simple questions that often lead to exquisitely delicious reflections on morals and mores.

You'll love it if you love golf or life.

Mike Smith's book is packed with tips that are very helpful both on the golf course and at the office. As a re-emerging golfer, I found it helpful for my golf game and etiquette, and it has given me useful insight into running my business.

If you're an entrepreneur who likes to play golf or if you think playing golf could be a good business networking opportunity for you, you'll enjoy reading "Business-To-Business Golf: How To Swing Your Way To Business Success" by Michael Smith.

Smith divides his book into eighteen chapters, one for each hole of golf. Smith begins by posing a question about business-golf etiquette, answers it, and then discusses solid business ideas based upon his experience in the financial services industry and as an entrepreneur in the field of manufacturing.

On the 6th hole, Smith gives us this scenario: "... You're on the green putting for a birdie from about twenty-five feet away. Your guest is standing quite close to you and does not seem to realize how much it is bothering your concentration. You wish to communicate using one of the following:"

Smith gives three possible golf-etiquette answers:

"A. Wave your arm at your guest to have him or her move a little and say nothing.

B. In a pleasant way, ask your guest to move away since it is bothering you.

C. Don't rock the boat since this is an important client and you do not want to miss any sale opportunities. Go ahead and putt."

What? Whack the guest on the shin with your putter is not an option? Smith says the correct answer is B because it shows diplomacy and shows you're willing to confront problems without hesitation. Smith says C is the worst choice because it may indicate a personal weakness your guest is trying to probe--a lack of assertion which might well lead you to hide problems from the client.

On the 8th hole, Smith poses the question: "...Your second shot finds you just off the fairway in the rough. While addressing the ball, you inadvertently touch the ball with your club and the ball moves from its original position about an inch or so. You know full well that the golf rules mandate a one stroke penalty."

What do you do? Smith gives these choices:

"A. Do not worry about it since your guest was on the opposite side of the fairway and could not have possibly noticed.

B. Your intention is to say something but wait until later in the round.

C. You immediately add the penalty to your score and hit the ball. You advise your guest right away of your score."

The birdie (correct answer) is C. However, since the film "The Legend of Bagger Vance," I question people who call strokes against themselves for just touching the ball. Are they really just being honest or are they sacrificing an insignificant golf stroke to impress me with their Matt Damon honesty?

So, maybe, if you are playing the skeptical, untrusting sort, it's better to ignore the minor touch. Or, if you feel it's really a question of ethics, take a huge swing and run it over the top of the ball! Personally, I feel that the rules of golf should be changed to exclude any stroke, excluding putts, which moves the ball less than about five feet!

Many of the golf-etiquette lessons are pretty basic, but some are also more advanced and could really help you in a business-golf situation. For example, I didn't know that the rules of golf disallow a person to search for a ball for more than five minutes.

While half of "Business-To-Business Golf: How To Swing Your Way To Business Success" is devoted to golf etiquette, the other half is devoted to business lessons entrepreneurs will find useful.

For example, Smith tells us about the 80/20 principle which says that for many businesses only 20% of all customers account for 80% of the company's sales. Smith compares business measurements to golf scores. How can you know how well your company is doing if you don't keep proper score?

Smith writes: "Do you list your most important statistics? Can you readily assess your key costs? How are your sales listed--by type of units or services, volume or profitability? Who are your most profitable customers? Why do they place their business with you? Are there others that you can add to your list of key customers? Do you know what your tip customers represent in overall sales to your business?"

Smith suggests listing your top 20% of customers by both gross sales and profitability and then looking for similarities between these customers so that you'll have more insight into finding profitable customers.

"Business-To-Business Golf" also contains a short glossary of golf terms (bogey is one over par, birdie is one under par) and a short list of some basic golf rules which people new to golf can use.

Overall, if you enjoy golf (or, are just learning to play it) and you enjoy reading about business, you'll probably enjoy Business-To-Business Golf.

Peter Hupalo, Author of "Thinking Like An Entrepreneur."

Congratulations on this book Mr James. and the research which went into it. The data on the Byerleys of that era is rather obscure, and the horse has always been referred to as an Arabian rather than the Turk it was. Thank you for clearing up many of these questions, and reading about the Colonel (I share his name and lived near Goldsborough in my youth when talk of the Turk was frequent)was a great thrill. I understand that the Byerley line died out with his children, but thats another story.....

Then you will enjoy this book. The epic adventure of a horse, Black Beauty style. Well researched and written in a captivating manner, the author weaves and interesting story out of threads of truth. Ofcourse, I love Thoroughbreds!

This was one of the best horse stories I have read in a long time. I couldn't put it down. I thought that Jeremy James did a wonderful job of writing and interpreting the history of this horse and the people that were connected to him. I happen to love horses but I think that this book would appeal to almost anyone. I'm sure that I will read it again.

"The Byerley Turk: The Incredible Story of the World's First Thoroughbred", is a fantastic story, masterfully told. It is a story of a horse, from his auspicious birth while in the care of his Turkish groom, to his peaceful death while in the care of the wealthy Englishman, Robert Byerley. It is most compelling, and contains a graphic intensity that the author Jeremy James, who has knowledge and experience with horses, weaves into his story.

Jeremy James has the ability to take you inside the landscape, and into the hearts of horses and of men. In fact, the way that this story is told, gives insight into an era that is long gone. Buildings, scenery, attire, relationships, protocol, and events are lavishly described. It gives insight to vastly different cultures in conflict, and yet the element of the human heart, and the heart of the horse are amplified throughout. The author has an uncanny ability to involve the reader, so that the passions, horrors, joys and sorrows, are deeply felt.

This is a story of trust, loyalty, and supreme athleticism, during a time of war and upheaval. There are heroic deeds performed as a matter of fact, and in retrospect, deeds with a seemingly supernatural aura... deeds which connected the events with their destiny. There are elements of beauty amongst the serious gore. Fear and friendship, supreme intellect, slavery, survival, suffering and opportunity are juxtaposed inexorably into the landscape spanning from the Ottoman Empire, to Ireland.

The stallion and his groom inspire awe and change, where ever they go. The relationships that they offer are of such a deep and profound nature, that, whether they are at home, or in a foreign land, at times it seems that they are from a different world altogether.

There are emotionally charged sequences of courage and sacrifice made in the name of love, not war. This story illustrates the power of deep relationships, the power of `home', and the transformative power of understanding.

It is not a story for the faint-hearted. The senses are floridly described in scenes of death, stress and suffering. Partings are painful. Love is not a petty emotion. Devotion is not a fleeting fulfillment of convenience. It is a book of extremes. Extreme beauty and style...extreme dedication, extreme danger, and the fantastic power of a strong-willed and defiant stallion, and the tender moments he creates when the touch of a whisker brings about peace and comfort...

It is the story of how Robert Byerley came to be in possession of the Turkish horse known as the Byerley Turk. Well researched and well presented, it is a wonderful use of the novel in depicting a time in history. It successfully captivates the imagination, and allows the reader to understand the importance of the horse in World History.

Congratulations to Jeremy James.

The horse is known to history as a foundation sire. I expected much more emphasis on his contributions to thoroughbred history (there are are no notes on who he sired, how fast they ran, what they won, or when his significance was noted, etc).
There is a lot of dialogue, so to me this is not a true "nonfiction" work. It is an historical novel, well researched it seems, but it is not true nonfiction.

This is the book to have if you fly fish or ty flies. Thats all that needs to be said!!!

Gary LaFontaine's Caddisflies is the classic study of the caddis. Clear, comprehensive, thoroughly researched and well illustrated. All you could want to know and more about the subject. Relevant to any fly-tier or fly-fisher.

this book is the most extensive book written on the caddis fly. it should be part of every fly fishers library.

Not necessarily the best writing per se, but if you ever wondered: Can a fly-fishing book put forward the synopsis of a novel insight into fly-fishing that does both: (1) helps you catch fish, and concurrently (2) could stand alone as a novel scientific study of trout behavior?

The only book that I have ever read that can answer "yes" is this book.

I would love to hear about other books, maybe Gordon or Hewitt have something out there from the early 1900s (???), but for sure this book is the most original contribution to American fly-fishing in the past 30 years.

As LaFontaine states midway through the book, "The study of caddisflies is the graduate school of an angler's education." His book clearly mirrors both the diversity and complexity of its subject matter - caddisflies. LaFontaine mastery of the bug and how to present it to trout in it's varying life stages is apparent. But the crowning achievement in these pages is the bridge LaFontaine builds between this insect's world and the mind of the angler. It's a bridge every angler must eventually cross in order to master the complex interaction between these bugs and feeding trout. I couldn't really come up with the number of days and the river miles you would need to wade in order to gain the knowledge Lafontaine distills onto paper... but a lifetime wouldn't be a stretch here (wearing out many pairs of wading boots along the way).

The writing takes a no-nonsense approach, but you feel his excitement and willingness to share the insight he has gained with the reader. The expression "doing one's homework" comes to mind when reading Caddisflies. Lafontaine spent ten years of intensive study (and of course fly-fishing) to develop the material and support his observations. As he put it: "It was not writing that took so long... The subject, however, proved to be so fascinating that it deserved much more than just a rehash of the past literature or a smattering of untested opinions."

Lafontaine structures the content into two parts: (1) Tying and Fishing Caddisfly Imitations and (2) The Biology of Caddisflies. The first part of the book is likely as comprehensive and authoritative treatment of tying and fishing caddisfly patterns you'll find published today. Even if you don't seat behind the vise tying these flies, the chapters offer as much "why" as they do "how" (i.e., the thinking behind using a particular material, color, shape).

The second half focuses on the biology of these amazing insects with well over 1200 species of caddisflies in North America. Lafontaine highlights a key attribute leading to their bio-diversity today: "Caddisflies basically owe their diversification in the aquatic world to the ability to make silk. This is the evolutionary tactic, a wonderfully functional tool, that has been used in so many ways to solve problems of dislodgement, food gathering, respiration, and protection." A comprehensive listing of each caddisfly genera provides a great reference. To aid the angler, Lafontanie uses the listing to emphasize the species which are more likely to force a trout into selective feeding.

After reading Caddisflies, I'm not ready to claim I've completed the caddis "graduate school of angling." That claim may come after a couple more readings and application on the water. I can say for certain that my appreciation and understanding of caddisflies has gone up dramatically.

All the information you need to explore new rivers. Giving it as a gift to all our paddling freinds and family.

It would be nice if it were easy to scout out a river before driving to an access point and paddling it. This book does it for you. The directions to access points and places to park are very detailed and good. The maps are excellent and very clear. There are written notes on the problems or special circumstances you will encounter, which are very intelligent and accurate. I checked the rivers I have paddled and read the remarks, and they are just what you need to know, and they are true. The author really knows what he is writing about, this is not a book thrown together by someone who hasn't actually been on the river. If you want to know which Michigan rivers are in this book, here is a list:

Lower Peninsula:
Au Sable
Au Sable South Branch
Betsie
Black
Boardman
Cass
Chippewa
Dowagiac
Flat
Huron
Jordan
Kalamazoo
Little Manistee
Little Muskegon
Mansitee
Muskegon
Ocqueoc
Pere Marquette
Pigeon
Pine
Platte
Rifle
Shiawassee
Sturgeon
Thornapple
Thunder Bay
White

Upper Peninsula:
Black
Brule
Escanaba
Ford
Fox
Indian
Manisique
Michigamme
Montreal
Ontonagon (East Branch, Mainstream, Middle Branch, South Branch)
Paint
Presque Isle
Sturgeon
Two Hearted
Whitefish

What a great book! I am a beginner kayaker having never kayaked a river before - and was nervous even thinking about it. This book was very descriptive and informative. We did the Platte River from Loon Lake to Lake Michigan and it was a blast. Very relaxing. The maps of the rivers were great as was the description of the landings and portages. Looking forward to my next river, and this book will help decide which one!

This book is really good to have in the car or for planning a trip. It is really handy having the maps next to the description. Good accurate maps and great insight.

The people who wrote this book definately did their homework. I've gone down a few of the rivers in the lower peninsula and this book was an impeccable guide. Now, Lower Peninsula rivers aren't exactly the meanest or fastest, but there are enough twists and turns to keep your attention and to want a book like this aroud, if only to know what's all out there. There was also good attention paid to campsites and drop off points gone through in great detail. I once tried a dropoff point agains the recommendation of this book and paid for it dearly.

The problem about getting hardcovers of natural wonders like rivers is that all too often the data becomes obsolete after a couple years. For this case is seems that it's still pretty to date, but check on the web anyways just in case conditions change.

An excellent book for anyone starting to learn celestial navigation. It provides sufficient theory to explain the basics without baffling anyone able to understand simple arithmetic and geometry. This is the best book on this subject that I have read to date.

Before crossing the Atlantic in 1978 on my 22' sailboat, I read many books on celestial navigation and became convinced that it was an inpenetrable subject and then, on reflection, I realized that that could not be so as so many navigators had had less geometry etc than me. I figured the authors did not really know what they were talking about. And then I came across Prof. Blewett at the Boston Museum of Science, teaching on 10 Wednesday evenings. After the first lecture, on the noon sight, she said, if you your boat is going faster than 20 kts then you don't have to come back for more. That is all you need. She was absolutely right. But I did continue -- I took the course so I could do the fun-and-games of star sights too. I can now teach her course in 45 minutes.

Celestial navigation, like knots and splices and reading maritime charts and tide tables, is one of the essential sailing skills. Whether you are a daysailer, weekender, blue water cruiser or lone circumnavigator, there WILL come a time when the GPS quits, the Loran won't work, and you're going to say, "Where the &$@!* am I?". If you haven't learned celestial nav at that point you had better be a real quick study or have hired a good estate planning lawyer.

But assuming that Clarence Darrow Dershowitz Kunstler Belli Nizer, Esq. isn't in your crew, Mary Blewitt's book is a good thing to have. Brief, concise, and Ptolemaically simple to understand, Blewitt takes the hocus-pocus out of asking the heavens for directions. The difficulty with learning celestial nav isn't so much the math (as most people want to believe) as it is that modern man is SO far out of touch with the natural world that looking at the night sky is like looking at---something dark and mysterious. However, add a few very basic, easy-to-grasp concepts to your skill set and your Sunfish will suddenly become the Santa Maria.

Knowing celestial navigation will help you to sail anywhere and, even better, to know where you are when you get there. To that end, this book is an invaluable learning tool.

An excellent and clearly written book.
Easy to follow and understand.
A must for anyone interested in this subject.
Written by an expert for both beginners and experts.
I am delighted I purchased it.

This is a neat little book to read if you're serious about finding your position without the benefit of GPS. It's well written and the computations required are basically only addition and subtraction. You can practice using a GPS instrument to check your sights. (What you will find is that you need a lot of practice to get even close!)

What a wonderful book - filled with statistics, stories and sometimes pictures. It takes the champions of the 20th century (American thoroughbreds, for example, Horse of the Year, and tells the stories of their racing careers decade by decade. Each chapter of text is followed by Past Performances, as put together by the DRF. There are stories about long-ago horses I haven't seen since Robertson's History of Thoroughbred Racing in America. It's going to take a long time to read this book - not because it's slow reading, but because I keep going back and forth in time to compare stories and speed fractions.
One thing I'd change - even if they didn't have the space to tell the story of each champion, I wish they'd found the space to have a picture of each one. As they say.....one picture is worth....... I love looking at pictures of the old racers and the newer ones - line them up next to each other and look at their relative build, then go to the track and see who reminds you of the great old geldings or the powerful sprinters. Now THAT's data!

i already wrote a review praising this book, but i wanted to leave another to let people know that they don't have to pay the extravagant prices wanted by the thieves selling here on amazon. simply go to drf.com and you can get this book for the list price of $50. i'm not affiliated with them, i just think it's wrong for someone to try and over-charge by 7 times because someone might not know where else they could get the book.

For all of us in the Horse Racing business as owners, toutes, fans, etc, everyone knows the Daily Racing Form is the key publication for past performance data and news.

The PP's(past performances) of famous champions of the past really open your eyes as you see that some of them ran within days of their last start in Major Stakes races and others ran at tracks that no longer exist, or across the country and both coasts in the same season.

The best of the best are in here, and as DRF did a very good job with arrangement and information. Its like looking at the Breeders Cup Entries of the Immortals !

Best Regards to All, MC - TheStickRules.Com

a good book which serves as both an overview of horse racing in the 20th century, as well as offering loads of past performance lines so race fans can compare the greatest thoroughbreds.

I bought this as a birthday gift for my 25 year-old daughter, and it's her favorite of anything I have ever given her! She has always been really good at spouting names, numbers, years, tenths of a seconds, etc. Now she'll be insufferable! This book is absolutely loaded with all the racing stats you could ever think of! She actually WHOOPED when she opened the package!!! She opened it and explained all the racing stats to me--she understood every bit as soon as she saw it (I was still in boondoggled land!) The book DID have some of my favorite recent horses in it (such as Bertrando and Paseana) and it had ALL of her favorites in there! It also contains pretty much all the great horses of the century. One thing even I noticed and really loved in this book, is it tells who the jockey was in each race.

And of course, the unsurpassable Secretariat is in here; all his races. I still think that seeing him win the Belmont and with it the Triple Crown, was the greatest moment in sports history! The reruns are unreal, but there was NOTHING like seeing it happen!

I can't speak as an owner, trainer, or one who bets. But as a "serious fan" of racing, I can truly say this is one extraordinary reference manual to have on hand. WELL worth the price!

For those who are interested in doing Rally Obedience at a competitive level, this is a must read. It is a well-written book and also well-illustrated to show the reader exactly what the author is talking about and where exactly the dog/handler should be during each exercise. So... GET IT.

This book helped me understand how to teach my dog the commands in Rally Obedience. It has a great step by step description of each command, and how you are to use the clicker. It has really helped me in teaching my the basics.

This book is well written and easy to follow. I was able to get a good sense of the ins and outs of rally obedience.

I have a 10 month old basset hound and we have completed one Rally Course. I used this book and its techniques as a supplement while training my basset. It's a great approach and my dog picked up on the positive clicker reinforcement very quickly. I'd highly recommend this book. It's been very helpful in how I train my pup.

This book does a lot of stuff for you and your dog pupil(s). It teaches you how to make the dog enjoy working, make concepts super easy for it to grasp, make it so the dog learns the behaviors it needs very, very well, and, of course, tells you what the APDT and AKC rally courses require of you and how to go through the courses and kick butt! Basically it prepares you and your dog for a great, delightful journey down the training road :)

I was floored by thoroughness of expertise and professionalism in this book, which goes hand-in-hand with the sheer passion for the game and wisdom in teaching children that comes through on every page. No detail of technique, sportsmanship or strategy is left out here, and the book is as useful a guide for would-be coaches inexperienced in the ways of the game as it is for veteran coaches looking broaden their knowledge base.

Bruce Driver's talent both as a former Stanley Cup winner and a long time coach combined with Clare Wharton's flawless and engaging writing style makes this book an absolute must for hockey lovers new and old.

As a USA Hockey certified Referee I recommend this book to anyone involved in youth hockey at any level.This is how hockey should be taught.

A complete resource for coaches, yes, but also something every hockey fan and parent should read too. Presented in a concise and logical manner, with no detail left out. Extensive photos and drill diagrams for all situations. I found it to be very well written.

If you've wondered what's happened to Stanley Cup winner Bruce Driver since he wrapped up his illustrious 15-year career playing hockey with the New Jersey Devils, you'll find the answer in the new book, "The Baffled Parent's Guide to Coaching Youth Hockey". Admirably, Driver has been teaching young, would-be hockey stars the secrets of the game.
Don't be put off by the long title - in this volume, Driver, and co-author Clare Wharton have scored a major goal with this highly readable and entertaining offering. If you've stumbled across it, you've found treasure. Driver has wisely teamed up with Wharton, a skilled writer with an extensive background in Hockey. She has taken the shoulder pads, the knee pads, the helmet and skates of the material and, with humor, molded them into a star of the ice.
With sections on everything needed for first-time and veteran coaches alike, NHL drills appropriate for youth hockey, proven team-management techniques, tips on teaching and understanding hockey fundamentals and so much more, Driver lets us in on all of his secrets.
Hockey moms (and they are legion) who have had to spend endless afternoons - and early mornings, if time on the ice is limited - driving their little Drivers to the ice rink for practice, and dads, stuck at work but footing the bills for all that expensive equipment, will be happy to learn, through this enlightening tome, what happens to junior once he gets there.
"The Baffled Parent's Guide to Coaching Youth Hockey" is a winner! Anyone with even a passing interest in hockey, or sports in general, will find Bruce Driver and Clare Wharton's book a delightful experience.


Art Scott
Mystery writer
And Historian

Overall, this is a great book that touches on all aspects of hockey. I am a high school hockey coach and this book has some really nice drills and information in it. We are using a couple already in practice that work great. One thing that I was hoping for (4 stars instead of 5)was a little more intense drills or more detailed info for the higher levels of hockey. Also, it only has 3 goalie drills which was a little disturbing. As a goalie coach as well as an assistant, I find that upsetting since the position is so important, but yet it's the most overlooked. However if you are a parent or coach looking for a book that touches on every aspect of hockey as well as drills this is definitely the one. I do find the parts on dealing with parents and setting up practice plans also helpful. It was well written and has a lot of great info from an NHL player and Stanley Cup winner. It is one of the best books that puts it all together for you to learn the sport of hockey. I would suggest picking up the book: Complete hockey instruction by Dave Chambers with this book and as far as goaltending is concerned, go to www.hockeygoaltender.com. That has some of the best info concerning that position. With these 3 items you would have a pretty good arsenal on coaching and understanding the sport.

So, as a native Hoosier having the pleasure to read Day's book, I have to say first that it was highly helpful to those of us that aren't rabid football fans (yes, believe it or not there are a few of us in central Indiana.) She explained the passion behind the sport in a way that I could relate to as a single - love. As a person who fully understands the plight of the young urban single professional, Day also does a great job of presenting what is a challenge for many young, bright, professional talented singles - struggling to find Mr. or Ms. Right. Although I'm not convinced there is a Mr. or Ms. Right for each and every one of us, I enjoyed reading Professor Day's plight, which many can fully understand. Every single should read this book (and also all those marrieds out there) to fully understand the challenges. And WAY TO GO for Day to hold out for Mr. Right instead of Mr. Right Now!!!

Cathy Day's "Comeback Season: How I learned to Play the Game of Love," offers a fresh and sophisticated examination of modern society. If you are looking for a run-of-the mill, cliche, quest for love story, than this is not the book for you. However, if you are someone looking for a great, character-driven story that seeks to examine what life is all about, particularly our sometimes troubling, virtual life of the 21st century, than this is definitely the book for you. With her smart and witty, but down-to earth, midwestern voice, Cathy Day serves as an excellent guide for all readers who are attempting to traverse through their own labyrinth of love. Without a doubt, you'll be cheering for Cathy Day, play-by-play, in this incredibly, well-written book. A must read for any individual who seeks to understand both 21st century life and its complex dating structure.

"Comeback Season" made me vaguely uncomfortable at first, for which I blame this simple fact: I'm a man. I don't read books about dating, especially women dating, not even if they have a catchy football angle. And to be utterly truthful, the last time I did any reading about football, I was thumbing idly through a year-old Sports Illustrated while waiting to get a cavity filled. So one would not think that I would even countenance reading a book such as this.

However, after hearing a radio interview with the author, I was moved to check it out, in part because I, like Ms. Day at the beginning of her book, am 37, educated, and single, and I would be hard pressed to think of a single acquaintance of my own age who is stil, well, single. Like Ms. Day, I have spent an inordinate amount of time wondering what's wrong with me, not out of unhealthy self-absorbtion, but genuine concern.

The difference between me and the author is that she decided to take action to change her life. And then she wrote this book. I assume you've read the synopsis already, so I won't dwell on the plotline, other than to say it is by turns funny and profoundly thought-provoking, a performance-art journal and a diary of 3 a.m. despair. It showed me a situation quite similar to my own, but from the perspective of a member of the opposite sex. And, no, guys, you'll find no feminist rants here, no man-hating or man-baiting. The most refreshing thing about the book, considering its subject matter, is its almost total lack of ideological or gender-based rancor and its refusal to indulge in victimology. Like her earlier novel, this memoir is peopled by fully-realized human beings, both women and men, who are by turns weak and courageous, despicable and generous; no heroes or heroines, nor blameless victims, nor mustache-twirling villains. Nor are there quick and easy self-help solutions: Cathy does not get a makeover, a new wardrobe, and a frontal lobotomy and immediately find the love of her life; nor does she halfheartedly embrace a bitter compromise. Instead, she finds her own core and an unknown strength of character with the help of her loving family and friends and the virtues she's learned from her sports heroes. She comes to terms with the past decisions she's made, and finds grace and meaning in her present life, without earth-shattering calamity, divine revelation, or Oprah. Rather, she finds that the simple, sometimes hackneyed, often maligned influences in our lives - football, family, friends, silly 70's rock songs - can lead us to our better, greater selves.

What a wonderful book this is. Cathy Day's search and struggle to find "the right one", like the fight of the Indianapolis Colts, is told so honestly, and in such beautiful prose, that it's impossible not to be beguiled by this book. The portraits of men, friends, and family members are precise and perfectly rendered. I'm not given to reading about dating, but this book is about so much more than that: it's about the desire and the need to--to steal a line from an old coach--"make something happen" in life.

This is a wonderful book that's fully of humor and humanity. It's a title I've recommended to my friends and family as a (true!) story that hits close to home for any intellegent person looking for their soul mate. The book has resulted in a lot discussions about relationships and the many dating moments that we've all experienced trying to find the right one. Cathy - don't give up!

If you care about walking fast, and especially if you care about your place in walking races (judged racewalks or otherwise) then this book is for you.

This book isn't designed to sell anyone on walking as a sport; this is written for readers who already know that they want to spend time and effort into learning to walk fast.

There are sections on many of the aspects of walking; e. g. technique, drills to perfect technique, common racewalking errors, and a few workout schedules. The book is written in a conversational style. He also includes interviews with elite racewalkers.

There is also a handy chart which outlines: "if you have problem X, correct it with Y" which is VERY helpful; this helped me in getting zero cautions or redcards in my last 4 judged walks.

If there is a downside it is that some of the photos are a bit small; I'd also recommend that he upgrade his "poor technique" example photo to look a bit worse; perhaps he could use a photo of a thick-skinned novice walker.

I've been to Dave's clinics, I've spoken with him personally, and reading "The Complete Guide to Racewalking Technique and Training" is just like having him right next to you, cracking jokes and commenting on everything. If you do not have the option of working out with other racewalkers regularly, definately pick up this book and re-read it a few times. You'll always pick up something new.

This book is chock full of information on how to racewalk. I have racewalked for 6 years, but found the information to be outstanding from training tips to stretching and flexibility drills. Walkers who don't actually compete in events would benefit from the information provided and would become better, more efficient walkers. Runners would also benefit from learning the how to racwalk and use it as a cross-trainer. A highly enjoyable read.

The Complete Guide to Racewalking covers the whole gamut of racewalking from how to do it, to how to train, what to eat, how to compete and even discusses the physiology and psychology of walking. Racewalking differs from athletic walking, power walking or fitness walking. These are fast ways of walking for recreation or fitness. Racewalkingis an Olympic sport and has an official definition and rules by the USATF. Good racewalkers achieve amazing speed and endurance.

The author is a former cross country runner and has been a world class racewalker and coach for over 25 years. This book is the straight scoop. I got interested in racewalking because after years of running I developed knee and hip problems. Racewalking was reputed to be injury free and excellent exercise. I had attended a couple of racewalking clinics but still hadn't got the hang of it. I wanted a detailed description of racewalking technique and found it in this book. While there's no substitute for having an experienced racewalker show you in person how it's done, this book is the next best thing

I bought this book based on the Amazon.com reviews and I was NOT disappointed. I wanted to learn how to walk faster and have been able to achieve my initial goals in the few months I have been following Dave's training and technique advice. The book is well written, has many amusing bits, so is a good read as well as being of immense practical value. I keep referring back to it over and over.