Teams Books

Although I have never been to Charlotte Motor Speedway, after reading this book I felt as if I had.

and now I feel like I could drive it. This is the book that lays it all out in a logical order, explains the terms, the rules and the strategies while taking you on an emotional rollercoaster ride. Will the car qualify for the race? You can feel the tension because for that week Huler lived it. This isn't a book full of old stories that drivers told a writer - this is an observation, full of detail - it's good old particaptory journalism like Plimpton wrote, talking to (and about) everyone from the owners and spnsors to the fans and the scalpers. What a great book!

I'd never heard of NASCAR, never wanted to know anything about it. But when I heard a short reading by Huler (the writer) from this book, I had to buy/read it. His writing could be on any topic: ice, dirt, race cars... it's just facinating in an accessable, fun, fast read. I'll read anything he writes now, and gain an appreciation of worlds I never knew. Great read. I just may join the 200,000 on site NASCAR fans next year because of it!

If you want to read one book about NASCAR, I recommend this one. Not because it's a hand-holding introduction, but because it's the best. It just does such a great job describing so many aspects of NASCAR. The organizing principle of the book is to examine a week in the life of Kenny Wallace's Square D Racing Team, but along the way, the author looks at NASCAR's personalities, history, technology, tracks, and fans. Huler has a real flair for description, and a genuine but not fawning affection for the sport.

I've also read Shaun Assael's "Wide Open" and Paul Hemphill's "Wheels," which are similar in many ways but to my mind are both inferior. Assael's book seemed flat compared to Huler's, though fans of Dave Marcis and Bobby Hamilton may enjoy the coverage that those drivers receive in "Wide Open." Hemphill's book spent a lot of time on a thesis that I soon found repetitively handled: NASCAR was once the province of the Southern working man but is now corporate entertainment. Both Assael and Hemphill follow NASCAR for a whole season and seem to get bored with it. Huler stays focused on a shorter timespan to much better effect.

I've read some more technical approaches to NASCAR as well, and found that Huler almost always snuck the information in those books into "A Little Bit Sideways."

Although I find this the best introduction to NASCAR because it's so engaging to read and so comprehensive in the bargain, those who are interested in learning more about NASCAR might also try "NASCAR for Dummies" by Mark "Awesome!" Martin and Juliet Macur. That book lacks Huler's style and story-line, but it does have a lot of interesting information about NASCAR, including some tidbits on strategy and technology that I haven't seen elsewhere.

I lived in the South all my life, always aware of NASCAR, watching races every now and then. Even so, I haven't tuned into to a NASCAR race in probably 25 years. Because of this book, I will when the next season starts.

One can truly begin to understand the mystique of NASCAR after reading A Little Bit Sideways. Scott Huler's obvious love for the material really shines through. His writing transforms what, in lesser hands, could have been a dry and boring recitation of minute details into an interesting and compelling human interest story.

Read it. You won't be disappointed.

Bought this as a gift and never got to read it personally, however, was told it was a great book. Marv's a legend, and any Bills fan should take a read, capturing those "glory years" of the Bills.

Extremely hokey and a tad bit hurried through the end, but a pretty good book covering his life of football. *Mr. Levy really needs to lay off the use of superlatives as almost every player or team he has coached was the greatest at one particular thing or another. Also, I don't think Mr. Levy intended that the descriptions he has written regarding his locker room motivational speeches were to betray the fact that the players most likely considered the gravely serious war metaphors that he was constantly drawing on as a little too serious to be applied to a football game. No wonder why they consistently fell silent as he left them to contemplate his words. I can hear in my mind a player asking another "Like, we're playing a game here, right?" as Marv proudly leaves the locker room. Marv comes off as a classy guy hoping to coach again. I hope he gets his wish.

If one were to look outside of one's immediate family for a role model, Marv Levy would be a wise choice. Marv Levy is not all about football, although he has spent most of his adult life in one capacity or another in the game. His body of work is as a human being, caring for his players and family. In this era when books usually have some axe to grind against those who "done someone wrong," Levy seldom has a bad word about anyone, and any are usually absolved before the end of the paragraph. His book details his life, the good times and bad, the celebrations and defeats, and the fights and absolutions. He is a unique man who has written and interesting and worthwhile book about his experiences, written in a positive light about incidents that helped him grow as a man and a leader. For those looking for a good football book, an inspirational book or inpiration of life, read Marv's book. It's well worth it.

[Four of Four stars] Marv Levy of Chicago
and Iowa is sort of the Red Auerbach of
Pro Football. A journeyman, who maintained
his class and sense of humour which is not
just soundbytes in NFL films clips.

Mr Burns does us an injustice below in his
review by criticising the very fine Montreal
Alouettes of the CFL, but CFL fans will love
the chapters on our favorite League, particu-
larly, "My Grey Cup Runneth Over". The only
knock that one can have on Levy, and it's a
slight one, is that he hung too long onto
Kelly at QB (Frank Reich should have started
one of those Super Bowls) and Thurman (fumbles)
Thomas, who was simply an overrated player.

One spot in Marv's fine book, he maintains one
of the hardest things he ever had to do was
keep lightning quick Steve Tasker (one-time
Kansas Jayhawk) on the bench! Tasker, like Levy
is a class act who deserves to be in the NFL
Hall-of-Fame and could have been one of the
greatest RBs or WRs of alltime. Marv, as bad
as the NFL is getting even having you back in
the League at 81, again with the Bills (this
time at G.M.) is a breath of fresh air. Thanks
for all the memories. Your dad and my granddad
chewed a lot of the same turf in World War I.

Recent history has been kind to Marv Levy as the magnificence of having won four consecutive AFC Conference championships is now replacing the earlier bitter pill of lost Superbowls. Marv Levy has become the ceremonial uncle of professional football today. He is to pro football what George Foreman is to pro boxing, the friendly enduring face of a brutal sport.

This is a campfire book, a grown-up bedtime story about a bright young lad from Chicago, one of those lucky folks who got paid to do what he liked. It is a tale remarkably devoid of rancor or regrets but rather a mixture of self-deprecating humor, a bit of self-serving forgetfulness, colorful characters, and the pleasures of the jocular world of organized football. In his preface Levy advises us that his writing style is the re-creation of the pleasures of his memory. Take away the Kansas City Chiefs and he would have had the perfect life.

But before arriving at Kansas City, there were the minor matters of World War II, college, and building a resume. Levy entered the Army Air Corps with the help of a friend who, shall we say, understated Levy's vision impairment. When this problem was later detected, Levy was scratched from pilot training and spent much of the war in Florida as a weather observer. After the war, already in possession of a bachelor's degree from Coe College, Levy began his much heralded graduate work at Harvard. In truth he opted out of the law school in three weeks, choosing instead to earn a masters in history and collecting inspiring anecdotes for use in the Buffalo Bills' locker room years later.

Levy had abandoned law school because of his desire to coach football. After a stint as assistant coach back at Coe for the mighty "Kohawks," Levy over the next fifteen years crafted a highly respectable resume of work as head coach of generally mid-range college football teams, primarily New Mexico, California, and William & Mary. It was a stunning upset of the nation's number one team, Navy, by an undermanned William and Mary crew in 1967 that brought Levy to the attention of NFL, and eventually to the staff of George Allen in Washington as special teams coach.

Levy could not help but be influenced by his Redskins boss. Allen referred to his defensive linemen as "rushers," benched the popular pass-happy Sonny Jurgensen for the workmanlike Billy Kilmer, and played for the least mistakes. A running offense, a veteran opportunistic defense, and juiced up special teams play were his trademarks. Allen seems to have taken to Levy because of the latter's own imaginative thinking about the critical nature of special teams' play, which comprises about 30% of an average NFL game. Moreover, Levy could not have missed how Allen cultivated an image and played the psychological card adroitly.

Levy, a man not without ambition, was anxious to run his own ship, and in 1973 became the head coach of the Montreal Alouettes. Once the flagship of the Canadian Football League, the Alouettes were an artistic, aesthetic, and organizational shipwreck, bedeviled by an atrocious stadium, poor attendance, and impossible weather. Levy guided Montreal to the Grey Cup final in his first year and a league championship the following season. His five successful campaigns in Canada brought an invitation to come back south of the border and take the reins of the young Kansas City Chiefs.

In many ways the Chiefs Levy inherited in 1978 were very much like the present day Chiefs-a potent offense with a porous defense. He also inherited an overbearing club president, Jack Steadman, who did not understand Levy's priority of drafting for defense [Art Still, Mike Bell, Gary Spani, among others], nor his coach's penchant for a tough ground game a la his contemporary "Ground Chuck" Knox. Perhaps reflecting the thinking of his old mentor George Allen, Levy believed that an adequate quarterback could direct the Chiefs, as Billy Kilmer had in Washington. At Kansas City Levy inherited the aging QB Mike Livingston and drafted Clemson's Steve Fuller. Steadman--and Lamar Hunt himself-- created what was probably an unnecessary controversy in their criticisms of the quarterbacking position, a situation aggravated by the arrival of yet another QB, the gunslinger Bill Kenney.

The Chiefs improved, and the defense became stellar, but neither Hunt, Steadman, nor many of the fans were satisfied with a .500 team. Released from the Chiefs in 1982, Levy would always remember how a meddlesome front office and instability at the quarterback position could undermine an otherwise flawless rebuilding program. Thus, when Levy accepted the Buffalo Bills' call in midseason 1986, it is no coincidence that he had already over the years cultivated friendships with owner Ralph Wilson and his executive staff of Bill Polian and John Butler, and that the quarterback situation was quite stable under the maturing Jim Kelly. Clearly a unity of respect and purpose among all levels of Buffalo management marked Levy's years with the Bills and allowed the team to focus entirely on drafting, development, and execution.

Levy assumes that most readers know of the exploits of the Bills in their glory years, and as a rule he paints with a broad red, white, and blue brush. As a history major himself, he has forgotten or omitted some situations that still intrigue knowledgeable observers: his protest of Cincinnati's no huddle offense to the NFL Commissioner prior to the 1988 AFC Championship [a style of play which, ironically, would become the hallmark of the Bills, the K-Gun] or Thurman Thomas's missing helmet episode at the opening of the 1992 Superbowl. But there is self-revelation as well. Levy was over 60 when hired by the Bills; he admits that he had begun to doubt whether he would ever coach again. How could he know then that his best days were yet to come?

A solid overview of the emerging field of collaborative and shared leadership. Joyce provides insight in a book that is thick on content and coverage while being economical with words. I have found other peices helpful, like the audiobook and website which includes practical skill building tools and helpful links.

This GEM of a book is "fetchingly" elegant, brilliant and useful.
Mr. Joyce is a superb tactician and artist in how he superbly,
succinctly and simply, uses his wise words of the everyday in the workplace to create useful knowledge for the day-to-day practitioner of organizational and relational leadership. His book is well-crafted and offers realistic lessons for anyone interested in becoming a "catalytic companion" at work and play. All the "white" space he uses in the page layout allows the reader to comfortably insert themselves into his message and get the meaning of the book from within. And, it's internet interactive too. Great job, Mr. Joyce, I've already ordered ten copies
to give to my friends, work-mates and clients. Thank you for an original breath of organizational fresh air!

[...]

In Teaching an Anthill to Fetch, Stephen Joyce gives us a new paradigm for work and life. The purpose of the book is to enlighten us to the benefits of Collaborative Intelligence (CQ). Actually he makes a very strong case that we must embrace CQ if we are going to achieve the most from work and life.

Stephen uses the ant and the anthill to illustrate and contrast the difference between the ways of nature and how most individuals act. We need to realize that "at the most fundemental level all natural system are cooperative rather than competitive". The ants, while a very basic life form, by cooperating can accomplish wonders. Humans on the other hand, while extremely complex and highly developed, struggle in so many areas of life simply because we compete with each other rather than collaborate.

While the book's primary purpose is to teach the value of collaboration, it really is much more of a manual for developing or improving your life. Stephen starts with examining our belief system. "Our belief systems control the way we live. Beliefs make good servants but poor masters." Too often, we let beliefs master us, instead of being our servants.

The book is filled with meaningful quotations tied to the subject being discusses. There is a wealth of wisdom in the book. There is really so much wisdom that it would be difficult to absorb it all in one reading.

Some of my favorite bits of widsom are:

"The only happy people I know are the ones who are working well at something the consider important." Abraham Maslow

You can "survive any how if you have sufficient why." Nietzsche.

The book is well written, easy to read and has very important exercises at the end of each chapter. Also there are references to his website for "Go Deeper" on many subjects covered in the book.

The world is changing. The old system of command and control no longer works. If you are going to survive and thrive in today's more complex world, you must learn to collaborate. This is a wonderful guide to the new paradigm.

One word of caution, reading it is not enough. Take action on the lessons that are contained in the book.

This book reads as if a really engaging, curious and bright gentleman took a look around his bookshelves; pulled out the full range of quotes, tips, models, favorite stories; and then jammed them all into a big old shining aluminum can and painted "Collaborative Intelligence" on the front.

To be clear: "Collaborative Intelligence" is a GREAT way to market the stale old cliches of teambuilding. And no one who does leadership or organizational development should EVER get points taken off for writing the obligatory book to accompany the lucretive consulting gigs. But try as I might---I really couldn't find anything really new here. NOT that Joyce is putting anything out there as new. He is very respectful of citing his sources. And he does add value making the work of Senge or Sharmer perhaps a bit more accessible (although I always found the Senge "Field Books" to be extremely accessible. And "Presence" is a book I'd call brilliant.)

As it appears this book will sell---perhaps he can now afford a ghost writer or even an editor. There is a conceptual muddiness that runs through the book. One quick example: Joyce cites "Perception" as being one of the 5 elements of Perception. (page 30). On page 129 he introduces a question (and it is an important one) that he tells us "runs through the whole book." Mr. Joyce---why did you wait till the middle of the book for that?

That's the frustration---the guy really is good. The book really has a core sense of having a message that is vitally important on all sorts of levels. But the book itself is full of half formed, cliches (see the chapter on "Communication")and platitudes that get in the way of his message.

Look for his NEXT book. I'm betting that should he decide to partner with some of the folks he's read---he'll have something important to say. Maybe even something new and conceptually sound.


Roger Wright
Leadership and OD Consultant

I read a lot of business books. I mean a LOT. I even write one occasionally. What Stephen Joyce has done with this book is quite extraordinary. It's rare that we discover a TRULY new way of looking at how the world works. That's exactly what this book does. Joyce practically compels you see and act on new solutions and opportunities. I really think that this is one of the best and most useful books that I've read in a very long time. I highly recommend it.

This is an illuminating book about unheralded Army Civil Affairs teams in Iraq and Afghanistan and their heroic endeavors to improve life for the townspeople. Their everyday efforts are the personification of commitment and grit. I was saddened to read in another review about the death of Staff Sgt. Robert Paul in Kabul, whose portrayal in the book is so memorable. The book contains some distracting editing and proofreading lapses, but they aren't enough to diminish its value. Kudos to Rob Schultheis for bringing these outstanding soldiers to our attention.

As a Civil Affairs (CA) operator from the 1st rotation (2003-2005), I have been disheartened by the media's portrayal of the war in Iraq, the US soldiers and overall "fair and honest" reporting. I heard about this book at a drill weekend in late 2005 as it made quite a buzz around the drill hall of a CA unit (not the book's unit). I thought the author was fair and honest. I had a few "ouch that hurt for us" moments, but overall I thought he portrayed what CA does well and the actions of this CAT-A could represent many of our experiences as well. I purchased the book for my civilian boss, as a way to answer his question: "what is it that you do in the Army."

As I prepare for my 2nd deployment to Iraq, I'm often asked about my military job and I always respond with "you have to read Waging Peace. It will give you a great prespective about what CA does."

A must read for anyone interested in:
* knowing more about CA.
* hearing about what the US Army is trying to do (NO we don't just kick in doors!)
* understanding the frustrations, elations, depression and joy of being a US Army Civil Affairs Soldier in a combat zone.

Our invasion of Iraq was part of an effort to bring stability and democracy to the region, to build an area where terrorists could not train or get support, where people solved their problems through talking it out. This is going to require good governments and strong economies -- and to have those Iraq will need an infrastructure.

Waging Peace relates the story of a small team of Army soldiers who carry a big burden in their operating area: restore water, sewer, schools, electricity and trash pick-up. Plus, build better relations with the government, the mosques, and the police. Oh, yeah, and the gun slingers are not going to give you much security, if any.

Especially right after the invasion, most of our effort in rebuilding Iraq came from Army Civil Affairs -- before the State Department and International Agencies really got started on the big projects. These Civil Affairs teams were critical to the impression that the Iraqis had of us.

Rob Schultheis does a great job of telling the story of one small team. Thing is, he could write two or three more books on the same subject and they would be different -- because each team and each neighborhood is so different. This team was a great one and their story is interesting. Major Clark and Sergeant Paul are true heroes to Iraqis and Americans.

This book came out before people generally understood the nation building aspect of the U.S. mission in Iraq so I think it's gotten missed. I think people should see this in the newstands and book stores again like it was a new release because where people weren't ready for this information in 2005, I think they are now in 2007 as the Bush admin talks more now about nation building and moves away from talk about conquest.

Excellent book, excellent illustration of the issues we are FINALLY seeing in the main stream news about Iraq.

Okay, so i am in the book, but I can still remain objective. Most military books I have read deal with specific combat operations or tactics as that seems to be what people expect when they think of the military. Like going to go and blow up a bridge or something.

There are a lot of people in the military and most of those that serve have jobs other than combat operations. It is interesting to read about a military job that specifically does not use combat operations in a hostile military environment to acheive military goals. Like going to go and repair a bridge or something.

I really like this book. I have written short stories before, but I am actually writing my first novel. This book has been very helpful as far as style and writing. I was stuck on POV, and it really helped me through it. And then the fact that it is also written by a publisher is great for when I get to that stage. Most books for writing I don't like, but I recommend this one.

I am so glad I bought this book! I write as a hobby and my goal is to become an author. A few years ago I quickly wrote a story, randomly picked a publisher off the internet, and sent it off with dreams of success. I thought it didn't need to be absolutely perfect--that's what editors are for, right? Won't they help me develop my story into what they want? After reading this book, I now know why 6 months later I received a cold, generic rejection letter. (I was probably lucky to even get that!) I unwittingly sent in a rough draft and an awful query letter that publishers/agents despise and toss in the garbage minutes after it hits their desk. Left to my own devices, I'm sure I would have sent another quick rough draft to yet another publishing company or agent and wondered why no one seemed interested in my work.

The truth is, publishing companies and agents are swamped with desperate pleas from new writers and piles of awful manuscripts, and they aren't going to look at anything that isn't the best. This book shows you, step by step, how to develop YOUR skills to write a terrific novel and revise and polish it to perfection. Lots of reviewers said they skipped this section, but I encourage any writer to read it. What writer doesn't appreciate great advice from another writer who has achieved success? The second section of the book actually left me scared and ready to give up in despair! So few manuscripts are even looked at by publishers, let alone go on to become a best seller, that it seems hopeless. However, the agent gives you valuable (and sometimes harsh) information that every author mailing out large envelops stuffed full of sloppy, rushed chapters and dreaming of the day they are rolling in royalties needs to know.

I feel like I now have insider tips into the world of publishing, my blinders are stripped off, and my novel will stand out from the others laying on an agent's desk. This book is invaluable to me, and I expect it to be worn thin as I write and attempt to publish my work.

Finishing my first novel was a long, often painful, often exciting journey. But when it was done, what came next? I really had no idea.

Having accomplished one of my life's major goals, I was thrilled just to complete the darn thing. But would it ever get published? Would anyone ever read it?

I felt like Peggy Lee singing "is that all there is?"

I needed help. After taking a look at many of the resources out there, I settled on Ann Rittenberg's and Laura Whitcomb's excellent Your First Novel as my primary guide.

I'm so glad I did. Now, to be honest, since my book was already done, I didn't read Ms. Whitcomb's chapters, which focus on the writing process. Instead, I hungrily jumped to Ms. Rittenberg's sections on how to sell it.

And sell it I did. Following Ms. Rittenberg's very clear and logically organized advice, I was able to obtain an agent and a publisher. I knew what questions to expect, what objections I'd have to overcome, and how best to package and present my work.

I've looked at many books of this sort, and Your First Novel was the most helpful for me. In fact, now that I'm writing my second novel, I've started to read Ms. Whitcomb's writing advice. Hopefully, it will be as rewarding as Ms. Rittenberg's contributions were, and it will help me avoid the dreaded sophmore slump.

Good luck to you in your journey!

Scott Sherman, author, First You Fall: A Kevin Connor Mystery

This book is a great way for those who are struggling to even get started writing their first novels to sit down and map out the process. It is a step-by-step guide that helps give you ideas and resources about how to go about writing a novel. Be prepared to want to buy some of the recommended books the authors discuss!

This book was very helpful. I have just finished my first novel after a year and a half of work. I only wished I had read this book before typing out over 250 pages. Depending on your reason for writing, this book could either be a help or a major discouragement. When I read the second half of the book which was written by a literary agent I was shocked by how hard it is to even get a book considered, let alone published. She describes one agent who decides whether to read a manuscript by how much dialog is in the work. If there is too much empty page or not enough the manuscript gets tossed into the slush pile. One wonders how many great works of art have been passed over by such approaches. However, you can't hold the agents too accountable. Do you actually expect them to read each of the 20 manuscripts they get a day. So first and foremost, if writing is not a passion you would endulge in whether you became rich and famous, then proceed. If you think it is a quick and easy way out of your dead end job, you might find another hobby. According to these authors, the writing field is one litered with broken spirits and rejection. Nonetheless, there are a great many tips on both writing and manuscript submisssion that are very very important. You owe it to yourself to invest in this book. Good Luck!

As a sports fan I found Blades of Glory to be a great story of a team's journey toward fullfillment of a life long dream. Rosengren does an outstanding job of highliting the ups and downs of high school athletics and the culture of youth/hs hockey. Additionally, the historical aspects of the book made me more appreciative of past programs and the role the sport plays in the hearts and minds of Minnesota residents.
However, as a high school coach, what I found even more valuable were the qualities and characteristics needed to build and maintain a successful program. Rosengren's brings to life a number of ethical questions that coaches face concerning winning, loyalty, and relationships making this a must read for anyone interested in coaching.

This is a great inside look at an elite high school hockey program. From the players to the coaches to the parents to the cheerleaders to the fans, no angle is left unturned.

Humor, history and controversy: Blades of Glory has it all. More important, Rosengren taps into truth from a variety of perspectives, including those parents, players, coaches--and scouts whose livelihoods depend upon not just upon a prospect's potential but also his circumstances.

But these aren't the reasons I selected the book in the first place. No, I picked up Blades of Glory because I'm a hockey fan (of all levels) and a hockey player; I selected the book because I have lived in Minnesota and have coached hockey (and other sports). I didn't know I'd learn so much about things I thought I knew about, and I didn't realize I'd get more than just a fleeting glimpse of the big hockey picture.

There is a wide variety of hockey books sitting on the virtual shelves at Amazon.com: NHL autobiographies, training manuals and minor league misadventures. I have read many of these books. I'll continue to read them--and will enjoy them for what they are. But these other books won't likely be laced with the same doses of humanity and history as Blades of Glory.

The story of Bloomington Jefferson Jaguar hockey in 2001 could easily have been written about my high school 15 years prior. I grew up one 'burb over and attended Tom Saterdalen's hockey schools as an early teen. It was held at the Bloomington Ice Garden in "prestigious West Bloomington" - the storied venue chronicled in the book.

High school hockey in the Lake Conference is a very big deal. I knew as much from the time I was a Mite and my dad took me to watch our community's team play. Yes it is competitive. Yes there is a win-at-all-cost mentality that draws fire from many - including some of those that have reviewed the book for this site. You can be the judge of whether that is good, bad, or neither.

We (and I'm including pretty much every male hockey player in my community) all wanted to suit up for Varsity very badly. We wouldn't have wanted it so much if it weren't as competitive, as important. Like professional sports, successes are a great source of civic pride.

Blades of Glory takes you inside this world for one sometimes glorious, sometimes frustrating season. Indiana basketball, Texas football, Minnesota hockey. This isn't participatory high school athletics in obscure sports at some random school. Rosengren does a very good job of capturing the emotions. He also weaves in enough tales to make stabs at social commentary without coming across as preachy.

My only knock against the book is that he opts for an effect that takes things out of their chronological sequence in order to emphasize certain emotions and certain points. (Example - wait until you read about the Jefferson Jaguars GIRLS hockey team late in the book. We hear about how some of the boy players are dating girls that play on the team throughout the book... their successful season is covered late, almost as an afterthought. Another example - much is written about a parent's critical letter to the community paper in the early 90s about Saterdalen's overzealous competitive drive. Context on the source is provided at the very end. I'm not sure why that was held back as some sort of finale.)

Anyone that thinks they'd like this book will. A great work.

A former UM-Duluth goaltender loaned me this book. I enjoyed parts of it, but Rosengren's factual errors call into question the whole narrative that the author asks us to believe.

Among Rosengren's goofs:

1) Larry "Pops" Ross never coached at UW-River Falls, as Rosengren claims.

2) Scott Stevens never went head-hunting for Eric Lindros, which led to Lindros' sixth concussion. I watched that game, and Stevens hit Lindros with a legal shoulder check delivered at chest level. Lindros came across the blue line with his head down and he paid for it. There was no malicious intent on Stevens' part, as Rosengren implied.

3) The United States Hockey League (USHL) is not a "beer league" filled with goonery as some of the Jefferson players in the narrative state. Rosengren later slips in subjective evidence to reinforce the notion that the USHL is a thug-filled, bottom-end league. He's way off: The USHL is a top-tier Junior A league with many talented players that end up playing collegiate hockey and beyond.

Here's proof: Blake Wheeler, who played with the USHL's Green Bay Gamblers in 2004-05, was taken fifth overall by the Phoenix Coyotes in the 2004 NHL draft. A bloke named Gretzky runs that outfit. In the NHL's 2005 draft, 26 USHL players were selected by NHL teams.

Must be some beer league. I don't know of any beer leagues that have teams that draw more than 100,000 paying fans a season.

Moving on, I had trouble keeping Rosengren's five hockey-playing characters straight. Perhaps that's on me.

Give Rosengren credit for exposing the drug use among the Bloomington Jefferson players and head coach Saterdalen's erie obliviousness to drug use by his players. I liked the way Rosengren neatly worked in Minnesota hockey history, assuming the new history I read was accurate.

As for Minnesota hockey parents, he nailed the worst ones dead one. I coached youth puck in Minnesota for two decades. While most hockey parents in Minnesota are wonderful people who put the game in perspective, there are the toxic few who only see their investment (child) and nothing else. Some of the Jefferson parents demonstrate what psychologists call "achievement by proxy." It's grossly unfair to any young player.

I sometime suspect that we hockey fans are so glad to have anything in print about our sport that we become giddy with joy reading it. This is an average hockey book that fires some of its factual content wide of the net.

Fenway Park is amazing, and so is Tim Shea's Fenway Pole Finder Guide. The guide points out some of Fenway's inherent design flaws which can make the viewing experience a little less enjoyable. In fact, prior to owning this guide, I was reluctant to purchase any GS seat, fearing that I would have an unadvertised obstructed view of the game. This is not the case now - I can easily reference the section, row and seat in the guide before committing to a purchase.

In addition to the valuable obstructed seat diagrams, there is a wealth of Fenway general information included in this guide. I would point out to potential purchasers that the seating prices have gone up since the book was published - but other than that the book is spot on.

Tim Shea's Fenway Pole Finder is one of the best, if not the best guide to help determine if your view will be obstructed. It is a must for any fan looking to take in a game at Fenway - regardless of where you sit!

This book is one of the best guides I have ever purchased. I have used it to purchase 4 sets of grandstand seats and have had a perfect view of the field using this guide. This guide was sent from the Fenway gods.

In the interest of full disclosure, I know Tim Shea. He even wrote a testimonial on the back of my book Green Monster University: Creating Die-Hahd Fans Since 1901.
But that aside, you must believe me when I say this book leaves nothing to chance in guiding you in and around the most historic ballpark in the country.
Things have changed since I was a kid and had season tickets. For one, you could GET season tickets. But now, with added seats, and exorbitant parking rates, and a concourse containing an expanded array of foods, it's become a science to plot your day at the park.
This book is to Fenway Park as the "Let's Go" series is to travel abroad. For anyone that is about to experience Fenway for the first time, GET THIS BOOK!

If you are a huge baseball fan like I am, a visit to Fenway is absolutely a must even if you just go once in your lifetime.

Just obtaining a ticket to a Red Sox home game can be a daunting task due to the extremely high demand, so before spending your hard earned dollars READ THIS BOOK. It tells ALL the intricate details of the mind boggling choice of seats and how to avoid the dreaded "pole obstructions". The book also has a wealth of many other tips on how to make the trip to The Church Of Baseball a truly memorable experience.
A 5 Star job was done by this author and wow, thanks to him for this wealth of information!

If you are a Red Sox fan, and visit Fenway alot. You need this book!!

I never again am sad when I get to the park to see my view at home plate is a pole!!!

Dont buy the bad tixs!!! Save them for the uninformed!!!

Of all the material I have read concerning U.S. Naval Aviation in WWII, this book is tops.
Read about the minutemen who were on the front line when WWII erupted.
The heroic exploits are at times so dramatic as to be almost unbelievable.
These are the men who held things together when the war started, and also the equipment with which they did their job.
This ex NAS aircrew (1943 - 1946) flew in TBF'S/TBD's, and SB2C's. I can tell you the smell of truth permeates these pages.
A great read for anyone who is interested in how it began.....

This is an amazing book for a number of reasons, including the fact that all of the reviews previously posted (as I write this) are four or five star (mostly five). The text of some of the four-star reviews even sound like they should have rated a five. Few books on Amazon get near-perfect appraisals--the fact that this one does is a telling mark of its quality.

Today (in 2006) John Lundstrom enjoys a much-deserved reputation as a preeminent author and historian in the field of U.S. naval aviation, particularly when the subject is his core specialty, the early years of World War II. That said, it is interesting to go back and read this 1984-vintage volume and compare it to his later award-winning works. Does it exhibit the growing pains of a budding expert still learning his craft, or does it rate as world class not only today but among its peers when it was first published? The short answer is: five stars, then and now.

This reviewer's specialty is the Battle of Midway, which only comprises the final third of the book. But even though his primary focus is on the fighter squadrons, Lundstrom's short history of that battle is among the very best references available anywhere. It is meticulously accurate, thanks to the author's deep research into archives and veteran testimony not available or not explored by other Midway chroniclers, including Lord and Prange. That it came out many years before other modern references on the battle that similarly improve upon earlier works is a tribute to the author's diligence. As a Battle of Midway resource, I rate it in the top three or four along with Cressman's "A Glorious Page in Our History" and "Shattered Sword" by Parshall & Tully.

The First Team - Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway
and
The First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign
John B. Lundstrom
Naval Institute Press


I have been studying naval aviation combat since the early 1960s, and I have never come across a book half so comprehensive, from a historical basis - nor half so useful, from a modeling perspective - as this two-volume set recently reprinted by the Naval Institute Press. The title - "The First Team" - refers to US Naval Aviator fighter pilots who were in service at the start of World War II; a convenient way of focusing on naval fighter combat from December 7, 1941 to the end of the Guadalcanal campaign in early February, 1943. This was a time when the F4F Wildcat bore the brunt of the aerial warfare - a few F2A Buffalo fighters served in the Navy during this time-frame, but the only Buffalos that saw combat were serving with the Marines (who are outside the scope of this two-volume study).

This book covers literally every incident of aerial combat that included US Navy fighter aircraft from December 7 through the end of Guadalcanal. I mean EVERY incident, every American shoot-down (and every American shot down) and every American carrier attack on a Japanese island target fought during the first 14 months of the war in the Pacific: the Wake relief force, the Gilbert, Marshall and Marcus Island raids, the assault on Rabaul, and the attacks on Tulagi, Lae and Salamaua - and of course, Guadalcanal. The books also cover every carrier vs. carrier battle that was fought in the Pacific before 1944: Coral Sea, Midway, Eastern Solomons and Santa Cruz. In short, The First Team two-volume book is incredibly comprehensive. Maps and charts illustrate each battle, each significant combat incident, each movement of carriers and air groups - the detail is remarkable. Author John Lundstrom makes these battles come alive in ways that no other history I've read have been able to accomplish. But for all their value as pure history, these books go way beyond that.

For instance, The First Team covers combat tactics - the prime reason why the vastly-inferior F4F-4 Wildcat was able to best the incredible Japanese Zero in almost every encounter (including decisive victories at Midway and Guadalcanal). Pre-war, the US Naval air service - alone among the world's air forces - trained its pilots to successfully use deflection shooting, permitting pilots to attack from beam positions, instead of just from directly astern. To perform a deflection-shooting attack successfully, the pilot couldn't aim at the target; instead, he had to aim for where the plane would be when the bullets arrived.

Deflection shooting is a kind of lead-the-target targeting performed by duck hunters and skeet shooters; a process vastly complicated in aerial combat because both the attacker and the target are moving at several hundred miles per hour, generally in different planes. However, when successfully executed, deflection attacks are almost unbeatable. This kind of deflection shooting permitted American Naval fighter pilots to attack the enemy with limited risk of counter-battery fighter from defending aircraft. Deflection attacks were decisive in attacks on bomber aircraft, but this approach also gave U.S. Naval aviators a significant advantage over the more maneuverable and - at most altitudes - faster Japanese fighters.

Other tactical elements explored in great detail were the comparative tactical formations - American transition from four-aircraft divisions to two-aircraft divisions while the Japanese held onto the far more awkward and inflexible three-plane formations - as well as the evolution of the "Thatch Weave," a mutually-supportive defensive formation the Japanese were never able to effectively counter.

The First Team also looks - in depth - at the training of Japanese and US Naval aviators. In 1941, Japanese naval aviators were, man-for-may, the best-trained pilots in the world, yet thanks to different tactical approaches, they were consistently outfought, first by well-trained US Naval Aviators and later even by grass-green Ensigns not long out of advanced training programs. Training and organization were critical - Japanese were taught to move in units of three aircraft, and to take advantage of their aircraft's incredible maneuverability.

American Naval Aviators were trained in deflection gunnery, in pilot-wingman cooperation and in emphasizing mutually-supporting defensive tactics culminating in the unbeatable Thatch Weave - which remarkably was under development before the outbreak of the war, though "conventional wisdom" has held that Commander John "Jimmy" Thatch developed the mutual-support tactics in response to initial combat with the Japanese.

Another factor that The First Team explored which worked against the Japanese was the very different organizational structure of the two countries' carrier air groups. In the US Navy, carrier air groups were fungible organizations - new squadrons and new pilots could be shuffled through the air groups, and these groups could be shuffled from carrier to carrier as needed. By contrast, Japanese carrier air groups trained as a unit, and were permanently assigned to a specific aircraft carrier.

When a Japanese group suffered significant combat casualties, not only were the individual squadrons no longer combat-capable, but the carrier itself was out of the battle. As a result, after the bloody draw at Coral Sea, surviving Naval aviators from the sunken Lexington were able to go back into combat onboard the Yorktown at Midway - less than a month later - effectively replacing losses the Yorktowners suffered at Coral Sea with combat-tested pilots. Even though the Yorktown had been badly damaged, it was patched together and able to field a combat-ready air group that proved decisive at Midway less than a month later.

However, as explained in The First Team's assessment of Japan's carrier air group organization, the Zuikaku - which, unlike the surviving Yorktown, was undamaged but which also suffered heavy pilot losses - was unable to serve at Midway because the Zuikaku's carrier air group had been decimated, and a carrier without an air group is little more than a target. Although sufficient combat-experienced pilots from the heavily-damaged Shokaku had survived and were at least technically available, because of a long-standing organizational policy, the Japanese were unable to restore the Zuikaku's group.

Instead, both air groups had to be restored to full combat capability only after receiving infusions of trainees, which required a long work-up period. The Yorktown's presence at Midway was decisive; the absence of Zuikaku was at least potentially just as decisive. Had two Japanese carriers - Zuikaku and Hiryu - survived the first devastating US Naval attack, their return strike may have done more than just knock out the Yorktown.

The books even get into fascinating controversies, such as the odd decision to put six .50 caliber machine guns into the Navy's new folding-wing F4Fs, even though they'd add a further weight penalty that would - along with the weight of the wing-fold mechanism -cripple the Wildcat's climb, range and overall combat capabilities. The early-war fixed-wing F4F-3 carried four .50 caliber machine guns - which US Navy fighter leaders felt was sufficient to knock down unarmored Japanese bombers and fighters. However, the fixed wing took up deck and hanger space and sharply limited the number of fighters a carrier could handle. With fighter squadrons growing from 18 to 27 to 36 aircraft, the need for folding wings was essential, even though the weight penalty imposed by the folding mechanism would inevitably degrade performance.

The initial decision to go with six .50 caliber guns in a folding-wing Wildcat was made by the British Fleet Air Arm, which did not routinely face fighter-to-fighter combat - minimizing the need for high-end performance - yet rightly felt it needed the heavier firepower inherent in six .50 calibers to swiftly knock down armored and well-armed German and Italian bombers. Oddly, instead of listening to their own fighter leaders, the US Navy's "Brass Hats" listened to the Brits, and decided - in the name of production efficiency - to standardize on the British design.

The result was the F4F-4 - a sluggish, slow-climbing short-range fighter which had six .50 caliber machine guns but fewer total rounds of ammo (and, therefore, a much shorter firing time) than the older F4F-3. This plane had a harder time climbing to a decisive altitude. It had difficulty conducting CAPs of more than a couple of hours or escorting bombers farther than 175 miles; and when it did find targets, this new Wildcat all-too-quickly ran out of ammunition. When front-line Naval Aviators complained about being asked to fight what was arguably the best carrier planes in the world with an increasingly second-string fighter plane, the Navy Brass in Washington told these front-line troops to fly their Wildcats with a 2/3rds fuel load and two unloaded guns - absurd advice to pilots who knew they needed every bullet and every gallon of gas every time they went head-to-head in combat with the best-trained naval aviators in the world, the Japanese.

These limiting factors for the new F4F clearly had an impact in the loss of the Yorktown at Midway, as well as the loss of so many torpedo planes at that same battle - and these F4F deficiencies may have also contributed to the loss of the Hornet at the Battle of Santa Cruz four months later. Nobody from the greenest Naval Aviation Ensign all the way up to Admiral Chester Nimitz had a good thing to say about the F4F-4 - but it was only after the end of the Guadalcanal campaign that the General Motors-built FM-1 reverted to a four-gun armament - too late to face down the Japanese.

Yet remarkably, the US Navy seldom fought the Japanese head-to-head without coming out on the winning end. Ultimately, the Wildcat scored a three-to-one winning margin over the Japanese - not because the Wildcat was a better fighter aircraft, though it did have some advantages, but because American Naval Aviators had better tactics, from the two-plane division to the Thatch Weave.

As noted, while it had dramatically shorter range, at least a marginally lower speed at most altitudes - and it was far less maneuverable than the Zero - the Wildcat that fought the Japanese from December 7, 1941 to February, 1943 did have some significant advantages over its adversary. The Grumman was solidly built - earning for its manufacturer the affectionate nickname "Grumman Iron Works." The Grumman fighter was also well-armored (at least where it counted), and - early in the war - it began to receive functional self-sealing fuel tanks that would absorb a 7.7 millimeter (.30 caliber) Japanese machine-gun bullet.

While it was slow to climb, the Wildcat could dive like a bat out of hell - given enough altitude, American Naval Aviators could always break off combat with Japanese Zeros - and given an initial altitude advantage (hard to come by, but not impossible to achieve), the Wildcat could initiate combat - attack Zeros and other Japanese aircraft - with no recourse by the Japanese. They couldn't escape a diving Wildcat; they could turn and fight, but couldn't run away.

Further, in a head-to-head attack, the Wildcat's rugged structure and .50 caliber armament (either four-gun or six-gun) easily outmatched their Japanese adversaries. The Japanese Zero's 20 mm cannons were low-velocity weapons useful only at short range; the longer-ranged Japanese 7.7 mm (.30 caliber) machine guns had too little hitting power to ensure a quick victory over the Wildcat. On the other hand, the standard American .50 caliber Browning heavy machine guns were fast-firing, long-ranged and hard-hitting enough to knock down any Japanese fighter - or bomber - they could hit.

All of these factors were covered in fascinating detail in The First Team, making them a feast of information, insight and factual data for the historian - and the history buff.

Beyond that, the two "First Team" volumes also offer a great deal to modelers. Each book is heavily illustrated with contemporary photos which show evolving markings on US Navy fighters. Not a few of these photos will also offer modelers display and deck-handling diorama ideas.

In addition, Appendix 3 of The First Team and Appendix 4 of The First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign each features side-view profiles of F4F fighters in use during the time periods covered by the books. Together, these let modelers authoritatively paint-and-mark virtually any F4F that fought off one of the USN fleet carriers during the first year of the war - including carrier-based planes that temporarily served on Guadalcanal. With the recent spate of new F4F Wildcat releases in 1/32nd scale (including the soon-to-be-here Trumpeter Wildcat), this kind of reference will prove invaluable to modelers.

Bottom line: These two books are remarkable. For those interested in carrier-based fighter combat during the dark early days of World War II in the Pacific, these are "must-reads." The books have been released in Trade Paperback format by the US Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland - it's also available from Amazon.com.

The author does a fantastic job of providing the day-to-day operations of carrier fighter aircraft from just before the beginning of the war. He includes such topics as production quantities, training and individual aircraft models performance stats. I was unaware that the Lexington still operated Brewster Buffaloes well into January 1942 until I read this book. Also surprising that was the Hornet's air group comprised many biplane aircraft when she was comissioned.
The author was very thorough in his research of both sides of the campaigns (American and Japanese). What I like about this book is he did not just focus on the individual battles. He provide the operational details building up to the battles in a day-to-day, diary-type format.
I recommend this book to anyone interested in WWII aircraft combat and carrier operations.

'The First Team' was the group of Navy fighter pilots serving with the Pacific carriers at the beginning of the war. In addition, this book might be called something like 'The First Team.' It is the definitive work on the subject.

This was the time when the US had few carriers in the Pacific. It was the time of the Wildcat fighter up against Zeros. It was the time when fliers like Thatch and Butch O'Hare were first learnign their trade. It was the time when the Japanese were expanding at an unbelievable rate. The Japanese also had a 'First Team' of experienced pilots with a lot of hours. And it was the time when Midway broke the back of the Japanese advance.

This book is as close to the complete story as it is possible to get. It covers what happened, the strategy that was being followed, the tactics that were changing as they learned more. This is the book that the others use as a reference when they are writing about this area. It is accurate, it is well written, it is a pleasure to read.

A wide coverage of quality in the Juran's perspective. I recommend it to all who are interested this Guru theories, tools and techniques.

"Juran's Quality Handbook" is an excellent book on Quality by one of the most well known quality gurus. The book gives a comprehensive coverage of the subject of quality management. It includes the latest techniques on quality as well as quality theories.

This is a very useful book for those who are interested in producing quality goods and services in a customer focused organization. This huge tome is of immense value to all those involved with the quality profession and is an excellent reference book that covers the wide range of topics and subjects pertaining to quality.

This is a well written book that is very useful for all businesses where quality matters (that is, all businesses). This should be essential reading for quality specialists such as control and quality assurance personnel.

The most complete quality reference available.
The fifth edition includes new material on ISO 9000, benchmarking, the Baldrige and other awards, adoption of Strategic Quality Planning and TQM, management leadership for quality, self-directing teams, quality function deployment, and Tuguchi Methods.

Excellent reference..........Oh man the language and the content rocks. You need to read other books to appreciate this book more.
Quality pro's..........you need to have one of this for sure.

Warning: Not a best choice for "just preparing for a certification exam". It is too much of content for a "small goal of exam". Primer seems to do a good job

For decades Joseph Juran has been a famous name in the quality movement. He formed his own institute for quality and has for many years edited an extensive volume on methods for improving quality in manufacturing processes. This Quality Handbook, now in its fifth edition has long been the basic reference for quality engineers and statistician alike. To honor Juran, the fifth edition is titled Juran's Quality Handbook. The volume is now over 900 pages and consists of 48 chapters and 5 appendices. There are 53 authors including Juran himself and his colleague and co-editor Blanton Godfrey. Many other well-known persons have contributed. It includes a chapter on government services by Vice President Al Gore. Prominent statisticians who have contributed include Don Marquardt, Stu Hunter, Bill Meeker, Luis Escobar, Gerry Hahn, Ed Schilling, Ed Dudewicz and Necip Doganaksoy.
As a statistician, I particularly like having a wealth of practical statistical information and tables in one source. Dudewicz provides the introductory statistical material necessary to understand the four other statistical chapters that follow it (SPC by Wadsworth, Acceptance Sampling by Schilling, Design and Analysis of Experiments by Hunter and Reliability Concepts and Data Analysis by Meeker, Escobar, Doganaksoy and Hahn). These are all distinguished authors who are excellent writers and several have written whole text books on these subjects. This edition is up-to-date with the latest advances in quality techniques. Statistical advances in robust design (Taguchi methods), bootstrap methods, process control and capability are all included. Juran and Deming had major practical impact on the quality movement because they both emphasized the need for proper process management. This can be seen in many of the non-statistical chapters that deal with successful management techniques such as six sigma.

This edition is even better than the previous editions and is indeed worthy of the title of bible. Despite the high cost this book is prominent on my bookshelf. I recommend it to anyone heavily involved in product reliability, even if they own copies of previous editions!

This noevl The Kid from Tomkinsville, is a very interesting book. The author John R. Tunis tells us about Roy Tucker, a young man from Conneticut trying out to play for the Dodgers.

When I was in junior high, I was addicted to reading juvenile sports fiction. Shortly after beginning seventh grade, I went to the alphabetical beginning of the fiction section in the school library and began moving down the alphabet. As I went, I examined the books and read all that were sports related. In a little over two years, I had read every sports fiction book in the collection. Of all those books, the Kid From Tomkinsville was one of the most memorable.
While the background of the 1940's made the presentation difficult for someone in their early teens in the 1960’s, the descriptions of baseball more than made up for it. Roy Tucker is the title character and an excellent pitcher. However, immediately after one of his best games, he slips and cracks his pitching elbow. This finishes him as a pitcher and the main theme becomes his quest to come back as an outfielder.
He is initially very effective and believes success is assured. However, he soon begins to struggle and doubts creep in. The description of all of this is a combination of one of the best baseball stories as well as one of triumph as a combination of talent, hard work and persistence lead to his success. I still remember the scene where his manager comes to his room and tells him the problem is that he is playing for himself and not for his team.
John Tunis is one of the best writers of sports fiction that has ever lived. He makes baseball exciting, even when all the action is taking place off the field. While our society has moved on to a point quite different from the time period of the story, baseball is still a game where strategy, preparation and dedication can triumph over athletic ability. That has not changed, and the descriptions in this book will continue to keep the attention of baseball fans for decades to come.

Like another reviewer, I fell in love with John R. Tunis as a kid. Tunis has great characters and great stories. Perfect for the kid who loves baseball.

I was hardly a baseball fan at all when I began this book. Now baseball is one of my greatest loves. This book is terrific! Whether you love baseball or not you'll be pulled in as Roy-the main character-tries to overcome a freak injury and rejoin the Brooklyn Dodgers.

I read this book the first time back in the mid-80's in high school. I had a burgeoning love of baseball and fell deeply in love with Tunis' works. The point I got from this story is that there is always another door to get to your dream.