Tracks Books

I read this book to my six-year-olds and they were spellbound. By the end of the story I was bawling, but the author did such a wonderful job describing the hero and his courage that they understood why and felt the emotion, too.

I love the story of Phidippides and through this book, my boys now love it. The illustrations are a bit cartoonish, but it holds their attention and doesn't detract from the story. They have asked for it to be read many times and when we go to the gym they 'run a marathon'.

I'm so glad there's a book which makes the courage, bravery and nobility of Phidippides accessible to children. Most teens and adults would enjoy this book as well as it easily explains the story without dumbing it down.

Read it. And then go running!

It's always scary changing jobs or careers. I'm a Naval Officer with some very solid management experience. I'm leaving military service for a private sector job and I was extremely impressed with the systematic and thourough preparation this book gives you. It was definitely a "glad I read" it book!

This is a book enjoyed by both my husband and I. The author writes a book which is easy to read, well researched and if you can find it well worth buying.

I'm not much on self-help books or parenting books in general, but this is a great book for helping fathers gain a perspective on their significance in the lives of their childern. The model of the "wheel" seems a little strange at first, but it really helps you visualize the points the author makes. The book has a slight conservative Christian lean, but it never becomes over-powering or preachy. A great book to have around when you need a little injection of wisdom to help you make it through those tyring moments of fatherhood.

"For a good summer read on the track's quiet day, Noel Michaels' FIX SIX is just the winning ticket. It's light and breezy like a frisky colt in a field. Four 'Jersey boys' have a reunion with the aim of fixing a pick six ticket for a big score. Sort of like Janet Evanovich's Jersey Girl, Stephanie Bloom, things don't go quite right for the guys - must be something in the Jersey water. Each one brings a particular talent to the task. Jimmy is the scam artist, the one who dreams up the plan. Austin is the racetrack tout with the betting knowledge, Larry Lipwinkle (who might as well be called Larry the Loser) is the computer geek, the one who can hack into the pari-mutuel system. Tony is the moneyman who provides the start-up cash for the scam. Tony is also a sleazebag who frequents strip clubs, particularly one called the Love Tunnel. (Tony gets his comeuppance when he is beaten up by a gang of enraged strippers. Stiletto heels should be registered as lethal weapons).

Throw in a dogged cop names Bragg, a mad veterinarian, two black bikers and a dominatrix mother - who bakes cookies - and you have enough insane characters to fill an asylum. Oh, and add four fired Latino jockeys to the nut mix. Michaels is an equal opportunity offender. The only sympathetic character in the book is Austin's long-suffering girlfriend Alana, who mistrusts the Jersey boys but understand's Austin's need to remain part of 'the old gang.' And even Alana can't resist the lure of the quick buck.

What few vulgarisms are uttered by these characters only adds to the authenticity of the racetrack scene, which the author knows well. Michaels has written books on the topic as well as columns for the Daily Racing Form. FIX SIX was inspired by a real life attempt to fix the pick six through computer fraud. One can only hope those perpetrators weren't quite as hapless as Michaels' characters, who elevate the word 'incompetence' to new heights. In fact, the real life scammers were caught in the act. At least one of the Jersey characters makes out like a bandit.

A review from Saratoga Summer 2008, Marilyn Rothstein

(3 elementary students: ...): It's a very interesting book. It tells about Flo Jo's one-legged suits and her unique personal style. It inspires people never to give up on something you love a lot. There were times when Flo Jo was worried she wouldn't be able to compete, but somehow she perservered through the difficult times. In this book you will find out that Flo Jo made many new world records in running. (We don't understand how she could sign autographs with her six-inch long fingernails!!) Flo Jo wasn't allowed to run in the hand off relay because her fingernails were too long. In the end, the the coaches let her keep them (the second time). We would recommend this book for people who are looking for a good biography and love running. We think the reading level for this book is appropriate for grades 3 and up, or as a Read Aloud for grades 2 and up.

this is great book, u can learn a lot from this book...

I really found the dialogic interview style used in these CDs to be very effective. The instruction here is excellent.

In November 1864 in Colorado Territory a village of Cheyenne and Arapaho was savagely assaulted by the Colorado Volunteers under the leadership of the Reverend Colonel Chivington. Ortiz calls to mind this event in prose, and then offers on the facing page poetry of hope and renewal. That is how this remarkable book begins. Throughout the book, the author (one of the best American poets writing today) pairs poems on one page with historical vignettes, personal notes, and political comments on the facing page. The book moves through alcohol treatment in VA hospitals, American mythology that undergirds a sense of mission, episodes in Indian-white relations, and many other such topics. In this work Ortiz builds toward a vision of America that is political committed, spiritually centered, and humanizing. He expresses this vision in full knowledge and acceptance of the awful truths of patterns of mistreatment and oppression. Unlike so much of the patriotism that is rooted in a "my country right or wrong" attitude, Ortiz writes as an Acoma Pueblo Indian and US citizen who loves this country deeply for what it can be.

I came to this book a number of years ago full of anger and cynicism developing as a result of learning the history that had been suppressed from the school curriculum. I had always been deeply patriotic, but was finding the truth might shatter that. Ortiz offered more evidence of the lies, but placed these facts in a framework of a dream "of love and compassion and knowledge" (96). No book has done more for the development of my sense of myself as a white American. From my point of view this book is simply the best book in print (and it was out of print for several years).

This book has information that is hard to find and not many people are willing to give up. It will set you on the right path to running a race or pro-street vehicle on constant flow mechanical fuel injection. It is a great work bench resourse book.