Tracks Books

This is a great book that was easy to read, with ideas and workouts that were easy to incorporate into my training, racing and nutrition. Before I had this book, I was frequently injured and I had run a half-marathon in two hours. In the nine months since I got the book, I have run a 1:37:51, and then a 1:24:48 and I believe I'll go faster in the future. If you want to run faster and healthier, you should get this book.

Being new to the whole fitness area, this book is a god-send. I have been quite pleased...it's helping me to train for the 10k portion of a local marathon that my relay team is participating in. I know that by following the guidelines and training schedule, I will be prepared and will not push myself too far and risk injury.

I bought this book to help me train for my first half-marathon. I found it very useful with lots of information. It is very simple and easy to read while still providing good techinical information. I feel that I will be very well prepared for my half marathon in the spring!

I purchased this book to help me train for my first half marathon. There were many tips I'd not thought of, things that really truly helped me. I've done many 5K's - but even that section helped as well for me to do even better for the short races. I recommend this book if you are a beginning marathoner - - even if you have some experience as I had -- to sort of boost that confidence level a bit!

This book provided great information that I could actually apply to my own training and nutrition. It is easy to read and easy to use to plan my workouts. I'm seeing improvement in my running and training is more fun. I'd recommend it for anyone starting out or stuck at a running pace on which they know they can improve.

Although the book was somewhat informative, the author spent more time giving his own personal review of every track on every album Eric Burdon and/or The Animals recorded. He came across as somewhat opinionated and it was tough to sift through his personal opinions to get to the interesting stories & facts. Eric Burdon's autobiography (ies) are much more enjoyable to read and just as informative.

This book follows The Animals from their Newcastle beginnings to their 1994 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, including discussions of The Animals changing lineups, evolving musical styles, and tempestuous reunions. To me, this book was far more interesting than either of Eric Burdon's biographies, both of which spent too much time talking about his partying and too little time talking about the music. And isn't the music what it's all about?

Of particular interest to me are the interviews with band members describing their opinions of the various songs the band recorded, the songs they liked and disliked, how the songs were selected, and who contributed what to the arrangements. Also of interest are discussions of the infighting and ego-clashes that ultimately destroyed the band before its time.

Author Sean Egan is not shy about weighing-in with his own evaluations of particular songs, and I found myself disagreeing with him in many cases (as when he proclaims that the British take of "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" is superior to the version released in America). But disagreeing about songs is part of the fun, right?

Band members Hilton Valentine and John Steel come across as thoroughly likeable and down-to-earth, Chas Chandler as possessing a steady business-sense which didn't flower until after the band's demise, Alan Price as somewhat prickly and distant (he did not make himself available for interviews), and Eric Burdon as charmingly-but-maddeningly vain and unpredictable, often throwing a wrench into the band's best-laid plans.

I've focused on the early Animals, but the book follows the band through the Eric Burdon and The Animals psychedelic era and beyond. This book goes a long way towards filling a void about a band that's had far too little written and said about it.

Finally, a long overdue book on one of the 60's most overlooked R&B power bands. While the omission of input from Alan Price is regretable, overall, the book covers lots of ground. Author Sean Egan does a good job of highlighting a time and era that many people today still find fascinating. Why wasn't Eric Burdon a huge star? That question is never really answered by Egan, but he does a wonderful job of relating the gory details of this band's numerous financial disasters. This is a good book to have, especially since it is nearly impossible to get ahold of Eric Burdon's biography,"I Used To Be An Animal, But I'm Alright Now." Fans of the group will not be disappointed. Egan could have delved deeper into the personal lives a bit more for my taste. As it is, he focuses on the music, which is what is important anyway. A great discography puts the final touches on this long overdue story of one of rock's great bands from 1960's England.

If you have an interest in the history of the Animals, from their Alan Price Combo days thru the "new" Animals, and to the two reunion albums of the original band, you'll enjoy this book. It covers all the appropriate bases, and has extensive comment by the band members (or most of the band members, I should say, since a few did not cooperative with the author, particularly Alan Price, who does not come off too well at the hands of his bandmates). The author seems to have a very objective view of the band's output on record. I found myself agreeing with his comments on songs and albums (some of which are very positive and some very negative--the Animals were, if anything, uneven) probably 95% of the time, and where we disagree, the differences were minor (he complements Inside Looking Out, just not as much as I would, etc.). One or two caveats--there are many typos and the prose is pretty prosaic. The book is very much focused on the band, and does not offer very much insight into the times and settings, so it is definitely geared towards fans of the group. If this is you, I recommend the book.

Along with the Yardbirds, the Animals were the great overlooked band when it came to 60s biographies. No more. Yardites were finally rewarded last year with Greg Russo's exhaustive tome, ULTIMATE RAVE UP. Here, Sean Egan chronicles Newcastle's finest in a lucid and engaging bio that highlights the Geordies' thrilling music, clashing personalities and disaster-prone management. Good points: a thorough run-through of the band's history, freckled with commentary about their records, interesting road stories and a rock solid analysis about why the Animals were unable to build upon their massive early success. (Hints: Mike Jeffery; a lack of songwriting talent). The insightful interviews with John Steel, Hilton Valentine, Vic Briggs, Dave Rowberry, Zoot Money and Eric Burdon are the best part of this book. Bad points: Not enough photos; no commentary from Alan Price (though that's not Egan's fault, Price refused); and Egan's silly conclusion that the New Animals made better music than the originals (be honest - do YOU prefer "San Franciscan Nights" to "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"?). Perhaps Price's instincts were sound - all of his ex-bandmates trash him, especially Burdon and Steel. On the other hand, Price's hoarding of the "House of the Rising Sun" royalties looks all the more suspicious when he refuses to defend himself. The erratic Burdon comes off as alternately charismatic, gutsy, obnoxious, backstabbing and goofy - sometimes all of the above on one page. Chas Chandler's role as the band's muscle and soul is contrasted by the others' assertion that he really couldn't play the bass that well. Hilton Valentine's LSD collapse is addressed tactfully, while John Steel comes off as the most likeable Animal - a laid-back guy with a talent for putting things in perspective. Given how volatile they were, it's amazing the Animals were able to get as far as they did. These guys made the Who look harmonious. If you're a fan of the band (or 60s Brit-rock), this book is for you. Just don't expect a happy ending.

As a handicapper who is considering buying a thoroughbred race horse, I had high hopes when purchasing this book. I have read many handicapping books; this one is the most poorly written book by far. I can't believe a professional editor, if one was used, would have ignored the spelling, grammatical and typographical errors as well as the incomplete and awkward sentences. It made it difficult to read. The material was also very weak with very limited detail on any subject. Skinny to begin with, the author repeats many of his points using almost the same words with little additional insight. Hard to assess the value of the subject information. I can't say that it's not right and it gives the reader some different things to consider when handicapping or claiming. Despite all its weaknesses, I rated it one star because it got me motivated to quickly learn as much as possible about acquiring a horse, before I jumped in.

Page 13, paragraph 5 outlines a handicapping secret to look for pre-race. If you read the book, and remembered this handicapping secret, you would have avoided betting Barbaro in the Preakness Stakes-----

I find MisterG's bashing review ridiculous. It is fine to disagree with someone's opinion but to say this book rates 1 star when there is a picture of a WINNING $16,000 ticket AFTER THE BOOK WAS PUBLISHED is utterly stupid, and to allow the review to be published is ridiculous. I am going to take the book with me this weekend for the Breeders Cup races and i'm going to bet a few superfectas on 2 year old and 3 year old races, and if I win i'll make sure i send a copy of my winning ticket so that MisterG seethes and burns more for whatever reasons he has for giving this book 1 star besides his stupid review- stillc annot understand how someone can bash a posted $16,000 winning ticket in images above.

THIS BOOK IS STRICTLY FOR THE BEGINNER I WOULD SAY, AND HAS LITTLE TO NO HANDICAPPING INFORMATION

The book outlined some great ideas on picking a horse to claim, I found a horse that looked sound and had great breeding, claimed it, tweaked it, and it's won a few, raced it even in some stakes races, the horse is Tacky.

This book is amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I recently got engaged and the first thing I did was buy the new Bravo! wedding planner. I had heard about the old one being a great resource and was plesantly surprised to see they've updated it! I've looked at a ton of organizers out there and this one is awesome! It's like a day planner that takes you through each step of the planning process without a bunch of useless information. And I love the simple and beautiful look of it! I would definitely recommend this to anyone planning a wedding.

If you think you can fit all the details of your wedding plus brochures in a one inch thick binder, you're kidding yourself. Basically, I took everything that came in this binder, and put it in a 3 inch binder. The only thing that I find useful are the tabs and business card holder page. I could have made those for less than $20. Everything else you can find on great wedding planning websites like theknot.

I love this organizer! I'm attempting to plan a wedding in 6 months and this binder has been so helpful! I love that it's a 3 ring binder so I can keep various papers and info with the proper catagory. All of the vendors I have met with have been very impressed with my questions and worksheets that were provided. I can't rave enough about this planner!!!

After reading the absolutely glowing reviews written by others who purchased this binder, I nixed all the other planner candidates and ordered it at once. I must have spent 3 weeks scrutinizing every wedding planner I could find on local bookstore shelves, with this one being the only one under the sun that they didn't carry. I think I now know why; the merchants were likely tired of having copies carted out the door and marched right back in by dismayed and dissatisfied customers.

This binder is the coldest, least intuitive, most vague, condescending, and half-hearted guide to what is typically a very emotional and stressful time in a person's life. Granted, when under pressure, even the most collected mind may be prone to dropping normally obvious factiods and details, so there is some value to be derived from having common sense minutiae enumerated and idiot-proofed on a piece of paper in front of you. However, the equivalent could be accomplished by printing off any of the scads of Internet-available how-to sheets, punching holes in them, and stuffing them into any binder left over from a grade school project. In fact, the reason such an analogy comes to mind may be because that's what the publishers of this overpriced garbage appear to have done; the paper, ink, and for that matter, overall substance quality pale in comparison to lousy half-awake philosophy papers cranked out on a hand-me-down inkjet printer in college, and by a large margin.

This planner was touted as having "essential room for your contracts and vendor information." However, it does nothing extraordinary to assist in this regard. My advice to someone planning and interviewing vendors would be to keep a separate folder or binder for these things, and carry it with whatever more visually-stunning wedding planner you choose. To opt for this product will leave you punching holes in all your paperwork and duplicating documents left and right, just as you would with an external storage medium. At least by going with an alternate planner, you'll have pages of sugar-coated and cutesy suggestions to help you enjoy this period that is your engagement and give you brain candy and stuff for fantasies while you're nauseous and alone at lunch trying to digest the fruits of your myriad wedding-related meetings.

If there are any principles that planning a wedding has renewed or driven home in my exhausted mind as of late, the first to mind is not to settle for less than you want, followed closely by the idea that priceless convenience and peace of mind are worth paying for. This planner seems to have reversed and/or exploited the crux of each tenet. This super-inflated, Xeroxed, quality-free insult to the wedding planner's intelligence is far from what I wanted, and it is worth a mere fraction of its cost. I am very much looking forward to returning it.

I looked around a lot for a good wedding planner and I think that this is one of the best out there. Here is what I like about it:
1) Spiral binding. Don't get a planner without it. You can add clipouts from magazines, contracts, lists, etc.
2) Details. The worksheets include of every detail that you could possibily imagine. You won't forget all those things you need to ask the florist or caterer or photographer.
3) The worksheets also double as contracts in case your provider doesn't give you one. You fill in all the details and then the provider can sign at the bottom and there you have an offical contract.
4) Organization. It is broken down with tabs into a very workable system. If you are having a more simple wedding and don't need all the worksheets or info you can just ignore them, but if you need them, they are there for you.
This is not a book about weddings at all so don't expect to find creative ideas about centerpieces or anything. But the great thing about it is that you can get ideas and pictures from other books and magazines and write down or clip out your favorites, punch some holes in the paper and put it in the relevent section of this, bringing together all your favorite ideas. I highly recommend this and it works very well for me.

As a former teammate of Brads, I enjoyed reading of his antics and career moves in the sport. He writes well and conveys his message nicely. I'm looking forward to the sequel. Keep up the good work Brad!

A wild man!! The best years of my life were with Brad.

Well, one third of the book was written about his childhood, his junior life experience in high school and university which are .... nothing but common growing up experience to every one. Writing style is nothing exciting to write about.... 2 stars...

As with most books written by athletes, this book reeks of self-obsession. I had to put it down multiple times because I got so tired of reading about how good, smart, deserving, etc., he was. Contrary to many of the reviews on this site, it doesn't reveal anything particularly hilarious, stunning, or even that insightful. I'm not sure what I was expecting to get out of this book, but on the whole it was quite a disappointment. Buy it used or make sure you can sell it to someone else for a few bucks.

Sick of being told how to do this or that? This book is for you. Brad tells hilarious stories of his training, racing and traveling. You'll find yourself laughing out loud. Brad is one of the true characters of the sporting world.

These tapes and books will help you if you already have some knowledge of the language, as it goes right into conversation. But I was lost, forever lost in a world of unfamiliar letters, unusual sentence structure and words that incorporate the prepositions.

I hate this thing, not only did it cost [$$$], but it has no english! This is not for beginners! I repeat, it has NO ENGLISH at all! None! Not even in the Audio! [...].

I have to say it for people who actually KNOW russian it a great product with audio tapes and work book.

[...]can't understand it.

IT HAS NO ENGLISH!!!

This seems an excellent course for those who wish to really learn Russian. Since I am someone who learns languages best by speaking, reading, and writing, I liked the fact that this course starts you out writing (just like kindergarden, you form the letters), something that many courses ignore. The tapes are of fine quality;the texbooks are well thought out and very nicely illustrated. There's also a fair amount of information on russian culture. I used this a a complete beginner, and though I'm not particularly good with languages, I found it easy to use and effective. Different learners function differently,and I like the idea that there is no English on the tapes. Trying to learn a langiuage by constantly shifting back and forth between English and the target language does not work well for me;in contrast this approach does work for me.

This isn't bad, but the Living Language Ultimate Russian Basic/Intermediate course is quite a bit better for about the same price.

The living language series is also coming out with CD editions, which makes it much easier to convert them to MP3 and study your language while walking, etc. Cassettes are a pain, difficult to access tracks and they wear out, too. Another plus with the living language ultimate Russian course is that there's an advanced course, should you decide to continue your study.

This just isn't worth it.

I wanted to learn Russian, and I found this program to be worthwhile, and effective. Express track to Russian comes with a text book, work book, learners guide, answer booklet, as well as four audio tapes. This program emphasis all areas of language learning, speaking, listining, writing, and reading. If you are willing to put in the effort and time, this product will help you learn Russian.

May 6, 1954: 3,000 spectators, a number of competitors, one runner with a historic goal.

On that afternoon, Sir Roger Bannister broke through a mythical barrier, running one mile under four minutes. It was accomplished during a meet between British AAA and Oxford University at Iffley Road Track in Oxford.

This 1955 autobiography is more than a chronicle of his chase for immortality; it is an exploration into disappointment on the international stage - he did not medal in the 1500m in the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games - self-sacrifice and the balancing of a number of goals on a variety of tracks in life.

While runners will never tire of the story of this challenge within the mind and body, those who have never laced up a pair of racing spikes can appreciate a spirit of motivation that can be applied in all facets of the daily grind.

"The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win," says Bannister. And those words resonate on the drive to any finish line.

Short read, perfect for the summer vacation on the beach. A really talented man, amazing what he accomplished considering some of his training ( smoking and hung over collegiate). The book is very literate, and illustrates a personal side of an accomplished doctor.

As a cross-country runner in high school this book by Roger Bannister was a great inspiration to me. His description of the assault on the 4 minute mile barrier is fascinating but also memorable are his recollections of the Helsinki Olympics (where Bannister failed to achieve a medal), and his success at the Commonwealth Games where the only two sub-4 minute milers met face to face for the first time.

It's now about 40 years since I first read the book and I was very pleased it was republished in a commemorative edition.

Reading the book again was a joy. The book went very quickly and had most of the excitement of when I first read it. It was not surprising tha the prose and impressions seemed less mature than when I first read them, but that was to be expected as Bannister wrote the book when he was in his twenties.

I was disappointed that the pictures were not the same as the original edition, with perhaps too many pictures of Bannister in later years. The original pictures of the Helsinki Olympics and other competitions were an integral part of the book and it's a shame that they were missing.

Bannisters achievement in breaking the Four Minute Mile was a milestone (pardon the pun), as was the fact that he did it as an amateur and while he was in the middle of his medical studies. In my opinion his book is also a great achievement and is certainly worth the read.

Roger Bannister sets about telling the story of his historic record 4 minute mile but in the process he reveals that there is more to life than just running. This book is quite unlike most running books I have read in that Bannister strives to keep things in perspective amid spectacular and historic events. It could just be his British demeanor, but I found narrative rather enjoying.

A great story about a great runner! You keep reading only wishing that he had put more about his career. It reads really slow and much of the book could be skipped over. I recommend the book if you are looking for a background of Bannister starting from birth. I was looking for something about his running.

A very tough task Mr. Strong has embarked upon with this book, and it's quite informative. However, like so many books of this kind, there are tons of mistakes and typos. In Ozzy's section for example, keyboardist Don Airey is called Don Avery, and Mike Inez is said to have played bass on "Ozzmosis" when it actually was Geezer Butler. Drummer Deen Castranovo and keybaords players Rick Wakeman and Michael Beinhorn (the LP's producer) and even guitar great Zakk Wylde aren't even mentioned! Nor is Joe Holmes who replaced Wylde on the ensuing tour which also John Sinclair return on keys and midway through saw Butler and Castronovo leave replaced by Robert Trujillo (who he does mention) and Mike Bordin (who he doesn't). This is just a minor example. Also, for whatever reason he only lists the Top 100 album placings for US charts when it goes to the Top 200. I don't get it. He also fails to update lineups on many of the later albums by bands. He lists no personnel on the last 4 Dio albums! And, many singles have the b-sides and a-sides backwards. Also, I'm ahuge Asia fan, but metal? Plus, he hasn't updated their career since 1994! That being said, he must be given credit for the inhuman effort and I'll continue supporting his works.

WOW, there is a lot of information here. I've been a Metal DJ for 10 years, and this book is really helpful as to 'who played with who and for how long and when they left said band'. Some of the names are spelled wrong and some of the band members are listed as playing instruments they didn't play, but overall this is a nice companion reference book .

This book contains some good info, like the actual names of many musicians, bands' lineup changes, and other things that are lacking in Martin Popoff's book. However, as the above review mentions, there are TONS of bands not mentioned, too many bands that are in NO WAY metal (Prodigy??? What the hell are they doing in here?), an essay style that makes poor attempts at humor at the sacrifice of info and history (this IS a discography, right?), and a serious slant towards bands that he curiously likes (see Prodigy - he gives one of their albums a VERY rare "9" while giving Metallica's Ride the Lightning an "8" - YEAH RIGHT). In fact, most of the bands and albums he lists hover around the 5-6 out of ten. Which begs the question, if he likes Prodigy and Smashing Pumpkins so much, and gives mediocre ratings on most metal albums, whe did he put the word METAL in the title? This guy does not seem to be much of a metal fan; they need to retitle this book THE NOT-SO-GREAT, MOSTLY HARD ROCK MUSINGS AND DISCOGRAPHY.

It's easy to find faults with this kind of work, but you have to admire Martin Strong's exhaustive works. You may disagree with his selections and ratings, but that's part of the experience. Besides, agreeing with people is very dull

There are no other reference books that can match these, the full tracklistings being one of the main strengths. You can spend hours leafing through aimlessly, always finding something new and absorbing

Can't praise this one highly enough

I've heard it said that people are upset with some of Martin Strong's album ratings, but I think that is missing the point by a long shot. This isn't a book to be bought for it's reviews. It's to be bought and savored for it's unbelievable wealth of discographical (?) information. I've logged countless hours on the toilet with a Highlighter running through the bands and rediscovering songs that I had long forgotten. The Rebel MC's books hold down a place of honor in my music library, right next to Joel Whitburn's Billboard books. Both of labours of love that I can identify with. (And the fact that you can STEAL this one for $1.99 just KILLS me! DO IT!)

This is the best horse racing book ever! I went to the Derby last year and won over $150,000 using the pointers described in this book! Since then I've quit my day job and now travel the country implementing the very techniques in this book. It's amazing! I never thought that two hours reading time would turn in to a fortune! I thought it would take years to learn to play the horses, it only took two hours! Highly recomended read, it will change your life!

I read the book in about 1-1/2 hours two nights ago. The author is not a skilled writer. Like a lot of horse racing books, he repeats certain information far too much. The book is also small and thin (starts on page 11 and ends on page 82 with blank and significantly less than full pages between. I will not agree with the author with respect to Martingale betting and in over simplifications regarding professional, rational and irrational bettors. The book appears to have been written over a two week period in November 2004.

I think there are some reasonable points raised with respect to ideas such as wagering on Belmont Stakes (bettors caught up in hype), types of races to look for (e.g. 3+ yo vs. 2 & 3 yo), and strategies for certain types of races (e.g. MCl and MSW races). Many books I have read advocate avoiding horses higher than 5:1, but the author has some ideas for higher odds horses (not tried). He also tries to tie the ideas together at the end.

If you play the horses regularly you'll want to keep the insights of Handicapping The Wall Street Way: Picking Extra Winners At The Track close at hand: it's a slim handbook but packed with insights analyzing the betting market, the psychology involved, strategies for successful horseplaying at the track, and developing an effective personal risk profile to hone risk and skills. A very basic, excellent introduction to handicapping horse races!

This book is a beautiful blend of both stock market and handicapping theory. Mark Ripple has the double fortune of an advanced knowledge of both and it shows in "Handicapping the Wall Street Way." He takes the time to explain how to win certain races, and utilize strategies that he developed. I found that extremely helpful. He picked Pleasant Home at 30-1 to win the Distaff on Breeder's Cup day (not in the book; a Las Vegas radio show) and gosh, that was amazing in it of itself. There is a great section on exactas as well. This book pieces a lot of things together for me, and that is the point I am trying to make. Previous handicapping books were fine, but when you tie this one in, you will soon see that past, present, and future books (even this one) are not meant to stand alone, and that one really needs a library of them.

After reading about this handicapping book in an interview Mark E. Ripple did for CBS Marketwatch.com shortly before the Kentucky Derby, I bought it, and was able to coax my friends into making a few online racing bets. The results were fantastic! In that interview, Amy Hoak called Mark Ripple an expert, and I will agree that he certainly is an expert teacher.

Handicapping the Wall Street Way is a very well-written, easy to understand book for novice horseplayers like me. Another one of my friends, who I would consider an intermediate to advanced player herself, said that she could relate to the stock market, financial aspect of it, and it changed the way she thinks about certain types of bets. I have a financial background, and I'd wager that I will start to rethink some of my investment plays as well.

I wasted a lot of money on a lot of handicapping books, and I can honestly say that for $12.95, this is by far the Handicapping the Wall Street Way: Picking Xtra Winners at the Track.

Son used it for college and really thought it was a great book. He now is a long distance runner, so something worked!!!!!
Plus written by Bowerman - Oregon's coach of Steve Prefontaine....well, we know PRE got the benefit from this man!!!!

I'm a hurdler and this book provided me with lots of excersizes and times that I should be running.

A very easy to read and follow book on Bowerman's philosophy of training in track and field. A common sense approach that is refreshing.

When I started coaching track as a graduate assistant at a small Division 3 school, I really needed some help creating workouts for my athletes. I found this book to be extremely useful in its content with regards to workouts, sprint/hurdle/field techniques, etc. Of course, it is esstential that you have some type of track and field experience in order to understand what is being presented in the book. Every coach has their own style of presenting workouts. Fortunately, I have experience running track at a Division 1 level school--so I found it easier to use the workouts in accordance with my own style. Don't forget though--as a coach, you need to take into consideration the level of athlete you are dealing with (ie. no experience, some, elite level, etc). Basically you can use these workouts to fit the level of your athletes. I really liked how the authors incorporated an entire year of workouts for every event in track and field. Overall, I thought it was a good investment for any coach at a highschool or college level.

There are almost no illustrations of the movements described in this book. There is some good information but I think they are assuming you are already an experienced coach and have seen all these complex movements they talk about. if you are a novice looking for some detailed descriptions of the training movements, along with pictures, this is not the book for you.