Adventure Racing Books

The Introduction, by Larry Niven, is worth the price of this book [IF you are a fan of "Lucifers Hammer" or "the Mote in God's Eye"]!

I had read 1/2 of what's in this Hardbound, in used ING paperbacks. But I was Delighted to get a "Keeper Edition" for Christmas!

This reprint collection collects two novellas and a short novel featuring Harve Rackham, Bay Area PI, bounty hunter and survivalist. "Inside Job" (2001), the most recent, is the earliest in Rackham's timeline -- but his timeline doesn't make sense, as "Inside Job" is a near-future piece, while the last, set about 10 years later in Rackham's life (but written first, in 1980), features a Soviet nuclear attack on the US!

Well, let's call it an incompletely-retconned alternate-history, and move on to the stories themselves, which are all worth reading. "Inside Job" is a pretty routine techno-thriller, featuring an attempted large-scale terrorist attack on San Francisco by dastardly Middle Easterners. The pages turn, and I enjoyed it.

The second novella, "Vital Signs" (1980), has Rackham the bounty-hunter hunting a savage ET hunter-killer, with a sweet twist ending. Slight, but nicely done.

"Pulling Through" (1983) , the only one of these I'd previously read, is a story of surviving a (then) near-future full-scale nuclear attack on the US, by the USSR. It was intended as somewhat of a didactic civil-defense preparedness message, the utility of which has (probably, and fortunately) mostly passed, but it still works pretty well as a story.

Ing is an underrated writer, imo. These aren't among his best works, but they're all competent or better commercial fiction, and well-worth reading if you're a fan of this sort of thing.

Happy reading--
Peter D. Tillman

Only four short stories packaged as "novels" into this new juvenile series, and it's already feeding off itself. Here's a retread of the second "novel", ROBOT OLYMPICS, except this time the fellers are building small jets souped up with rocket boosters, instead of building fighting robots. As usual Andy Foger is the bad guy, but the REAL bad guys are, well, you know, that anti-technology terrorist group which seems to have replaced Brungaria or whatever it was. There are no surprises. I found it difficult to picture an audience (or even a target age group) for this series. And Tom-as-narrator is very hard to get used to. And Bud Barclay could really be annoying if he set his mind to it. Wonder what the sales have been so far?

These books are good. The stories are quick and short and full of science and adventure. They're great for young boys and girls just getting into science fiction and if you just want something fun.

My son got book #1 from his school's book fair and quickly finished it. I went online to seek out others and have since purchased 5 more. My son reads for 20 minutes/day and likes to be timed - he does the reading without issue but doesn't necessarily enjoy it. Since he's been into these books, when time is up, he says, "okay but just a little bit more!" We especially like the hardcover feature at such an affordable price.

A good, interesting book that has a mixture of suspense, action and romance. The characters are gutsy, such as the race car driver who started with nothing and became a champion, the young woman who marries the millionaire team owner and finds herself a widow and an overwhelmed CEO, and the corporate mogul whose takeovers cannot compensate for the loss of his only son. Much like the real life events in this sport of NASCAR, and some cunning additons and surprises.

Poorly written on low quality paper with only a few fuuzy photos, but it is not about the presentation, it's about the material. Most books today are written in cookie cutter fashion by the same authors again and again. The Golden Age of Enduros is a first hand account of how the sport started here in the USA by an interesting rider who was there. The American Motorcycle Heritage Foundation rcognizes that artifacts survive, but our heros of the sport have knowledge that is easily lost with time. This book is a priceless relic that will probably be printed only one time, so buy enough now to give to friends and family who will enjoy it.

A bit of smuggling turns into more than expected..There is understated and sly humor throughout as our hero struggles to decide between profit, limbs and honesty...I enjoyed the book and look for more from an upcoming new author

This book captured the highlights of the movie and some photos of the movie too! I enjoyed this book greatly! Stripes- a zebra was taken to a farm when he was very young. Because he was left behind by a trailor. Cold and startled the Zebra must be trained and try to win a huge race! Can Stripes do it? Read this book today! A wonderful summer riding book for the whole family!

I read this this book to my 4-year old daughter, Sarah. She loves it, and has learned some important sailing concepts from it. We are building a live-aboard sailboat, and have been very concerned about child safety. After reading _Sarah's Boat_, we find her playing sailboat in the back yard, coming about and ducking the imaginary boom! She has been able to stand on a beach and judge the direction of the wind, and predict whether we could take a straight course to the opposite shore, or whether we would need to tack. She gleans this knowledge from what she considers a bed time story. I wish there were more books like this!

My son got book #1 from his school's book fair and quickly finished it. I went online to seek out others and have since purchased 5 more. My son reads for 20 minutes/day and likes to be timed - he does the reading without issue but doesn't necessarily enjoy it. Since he's been into these books, when time is up, he says, "okay but just a little bit more!" We especially like the hardcover feature at such an affordable price.

My son is in 7th grade and read these books as part of the reading program at his school. He's not real big on reading but is big on video games and this seems to be the sweet spot for him. He said that the first book was good, the second better and the third the best.