Teams Books

This fantastic workbook is a labor of love and full of great solutions to complex business problems using the arts to facilitate collaboration at work. I bought this book to learn how to begin to facilitate corporate workshops using the arts for The Bite-Size Arts Ensemble, an organization I have created devoted to entrepreneurial growth for artists. Not only will it provide a platform to build on, but it will serve as the model for using arts based learning as a change agent in organizational development. Don't let the price of this book stop you! Buy it.

This is a great resource. It's a great collection of exercises that draw upon a wide variety of arts modalities. Each exercise is described in enough detail to be able to easily implement them.

This book was one of the first and best to explore using arts-based techniques and processes to address organizational issues. The introduction is a superb distillation of some of the reasons why the arts work in the business context and the exercises themselves are generally well thought-out and easy to use - they should be, as they come from some of the leading practitioners in this ever-growing field. The book may be expensive, but it is worth every cent for any trainer or facilitator who wants to take a more creative approach to their work.

I have discovered the power and the simplicity in finding/applying a wide variety of experiencial excercises that spark creativity and imagination in groups. The beauty of this valuable workbook is that it unleashes our hidden potentialities. I have successfully used these activities in private business and in non profit organizations and in every ocassion the results have been the creation of high energy and relevant discoveries among participants.
Thank you Arthur and Linda for your valuable contribution.

Arthur VanGundy has already given us just about every conceivable aid to creative work--from "Brain Boosters" to "101 Games" and "101 Activities." Now with Linda Naiman he delivers the most comprehensive and accessible creativity and innovation resource for groups I've ever seen.

And it's about time someone got business people to start thinking like artists. Anyone in business creativity, ideation, and new-product development will find the VanGundy-Naiman approach not only inspiring and fun but incredibly effective.

This binderful of brilliance would be a bargain at $900.

This is one of the best wrestling books of all time and I rank it right up there at the top of my list of best wrestling books. Greg Oliver always delivers. He is well researched and he knows his stuff inside and out. I read this book cover to cover when I first got it and have read it several times since. I use it quite often as a reference book also.

If you love wrestling and want to read about the boys from the past and now and want to hear their stories in and out of the ring get this book... and anything else Greg Oliver and Steve Johnson put out.

Finally, someone has written a book that mentions the tag teams I grew up watching when the NWA was in full bloom: George Becker and Johnny Weaver; George and Sandy Scott; Rip Hawk and Swede Hansen; Aldo Bogni and Bronco Lubich; The Infernos and more. Up to now, I thought no one would ever acknowledge the excellent performances of these folks. If you feel the same way, buy this book - you won't be disappointed!

Colorful stories and a great look at the history of professional wrestling. The authors take you from the very beginning of "Australian Rules Tag" matches to modern day. I don't know how younger fans will appreciate this book but for anyone over 35 this book is a MUST READ. It can also be used as a reference when arguing with your buddies. The photos are a great throwback to a time when wrestling publicity pictures were black and white and reminded me of my childhood paying 50 cents for a glossy 8x10.

This is a good history of tags teams in wrestling. It gives a good account of in ring actions as well as the story behind the men. The only thing it lacks is more tag teams especially the last 10 years or so.

Greg Oliver & Steve Johnson did an outstanding job in writing The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams. No other wrestling history book ever has gone to the effort that these guys have. Ever tag team written about was either contacted an interviewed or if all the memebers were deceased at least a family member was tracked down and interviewed. Their rating system was well done and not without contraversy. Love or hate where they ranked your favorite tag team, they made you think about it and discussion amongst the wrestling community has been hot and heavy on this book. Great insight into many tag teams from years gone by the most fans either new little about or never heard of. They helped bring back memories of great teams like the Kangaroos, Kentuckians and The Infernos. Great photos a sprinkled throught. This is a must read for any wrestling fan of tag team wrestling. No other wrestling history book even comes close to covering tag team wrestling like this book.

the book was in great condition. and as a flyers fan, i am happy to have this book in my library.
thanks!

This book is probably the best history of the Flyers that you could find out there. Full Spectrum ranks right up there, but it doesn't have Mr. Heart's personality like SCORE! does. I'm gonna miss Gene.......

Having grown up a Flyers fan and hearing Gene Hart for many years, I loved this book. It's a great combination of how Gene became associated with the Flyers, as well as a timeline of the Flyers' history from the beginning up to the early 90's.

I first started listening to Gene Hart calling Flyers games in 1968. He was a wonderful announcer when the Flyers were mediocre and was absolutely superb when they were on top. I've heard a lot of sports broadcasting in a lot of cities around the country in the last 35 years and no one else in any sport approaches Gene's work. I was disappointed when he stopped announcing and deeply saddened with his passing last year. His book is every bit as fine as his radio and television work. Of the several Flyers books in print, his supasses the others in intimacy, first hand recollections and general nostalgic value. I sure miss Gene Hart, but this book and some tapes of television broadcasts he did are my most treasured sports memorabilia. He is a Hall of Famer and his writing belongs there too.

No one can tell a story the way Gene Hart did. He made you feel as though you were a part of every experience he retells in this book. Gene's love & passion for the game of hockey and the Philadelphia Flyers is clearly evident in this book. Gene not only chronicles the Flyers history from their entrance into the NHL, he also gives you a deep insight into the pride and character of a close knit group of players. We are all truly enriched by Gene's efforts.

The nun completely cracks me up! There were a few times while reading this gem when I thought I would die laughing!

A nun in the major leagues? No way! But Hanson makes it happen, and with hilarious results. The combination of burly athletes who aren't always on their best behavior, and a devout Catholic female who insists that they behave, is truly entertaining. I look forward to more books by this author.

I loved this book. The author's got a great sense of humor that carries the story, even in the more serious parts. While it's not likely that we'll see a nun pitching in major league baseball anytime soon, Hanson did his homework and came up with a scenario that could happen: a woman knuckerballer playing major league baseball. Why not? The Spring Habit's got a strong storyline with real conflict. It combines religion and politics and America's favorite pastime. What's not to love?

The Spring Habit is an irreverent yet upbeat novel featuring a most unlikely heroine - a chaste and virtuous nun with a singularly amazing knuckleball. The big league Washington Memorials grudgingly accept her, yet as she strives to make headway in an all-male world, she develops a bond with the team's female beat reporter. With the World Series underway, tension promises to be high amid a gender-redefinition of pro sports!

This book is really a fun read. If you like baseball, it has enough baseball to keep you interested. If you don't like baseball, you'll still enjoy it. Hanson is a really fine writer and the story is funny and moving.

Very well written account of a great era in Cleveland Sports history. I had moved back to town in the time frame and was so excited to have the Browns back in my life that strongly. A great group of guys. Really is a shame they were not able to take it to the next level, but in the end, truly, the experience is way more about the journey than the end result. To Earnest Byner.....a quote I once heard from Julius Erving after he had lost to Kareem and the Lakers for the second time and lost in the champioinship for the third time...."In order to be great, you have to DARE to be great, and I will continue to dare to be great." I think of that qoute when I think of his experience in those years.

I loved this book, I vaguely remember these Browns teams as I was only about 10 years old, but I knew how much they meant to people around me. Reading this enable me to learn how this team connected with the city and how much heartbreak there was. I couldn't pt the book down wanting to relive everybit of the history.

I love this book (as well as "The Kardiac Kids", also by this author). As someone born and raised in Cleveland, I've followed the Browns since the early seventies. The Schottenheimer era, along with the first year of Bud Carson's reign, contained some of the most exciting (and heartbreaking) Browns games I can remember. I still have a lot of VHS tapes of those games, which I occasionally get out to re-live the days when the Browns were a real contender.

Mr. Knight's book begins with the last part of Sam Rutigliano's reign as head coach, when the Kardiac Kids were becoming a memory and the team began to return to the losing ways of the mid seventies. We learn how Rutigliano was fired and replaced by Marty Schottenheimer and how the team acquired the players whose names would come to represent the newer, better Browns: Kosar, Slaughter, Dixon, Golic, Byner, and so many others.

There were a lot of classic games in the late eighties, and Knight takes us through all the important moments - the 1985 divisional playoff in Miami, the thrashing of the Bengals at Cincinatti in 1986, the Steelers games, the Oilers games, the great playoffs against the Jets in '86, the Colts in '87, the Bills in '89, and, of course, those nightmarish Broncos.

When the games are really big, Knight's coverage is quite in depth. For example, we read Nev Chandler's own words as he describes Kosar's touchdown pass to Brennan in the '86 AFC Championship for the radio audience: "... he's firing the home-run ball for Brennan... turns one way, turns another...HE'S GOT IT AT THE FIFTEEN! TEN! FIVE........" I still get excited at that! For a moment anyway, we were going to the Super Bowl!!

Besides the game action, we also learn a lot of what was going on behind the scenes - the death of Don Rogers, the issues that caused Schottenheimer to leave for Kansas City after the 1988 season, Kevin Mack's drug addiction, and how the bottom finally fell out in Carson's second year.

I can't praise this book highly enough for the true Browns fan. Pick it up and enjoy the great memories. It will help to hold you over till that sweet day when we finally, someday, get another contender in Cleveland. And when we do, I'll be cheering as loud as ever!

I purchased this book on a lark right when the 2006 football season began. As the Browns started their all-too-familiar path of on-field ineptitude and losing, I decided to pull this book out for a read.

Thank goodness I did, as it made me remember how good things used to be for those few years in the 1980s. The author did a great job of describing the games and providing insight as to what was going on within the team, organization and community at the time.

A wonderful read that took me mind away from another abysmal season and reminded me why I love this team.

I read this entire book in two days, and I was completely taken back to the mid 80's. Cleveland has lived through more heartbreak then any city in the histroy of sports. It has been 40 years since we won a championship, Almost 60 since we won a world series, and NEVER for the Cavs. So other then people over 50 or so, no one has experienced the excitement of a championship.

This era, from 1985-1989, got us closer then ever (in football), and every season was full of almost unbearable excitement. It ALWAYS came down to the last game, the last minute, the last second. And usually we lost.

Hard to believe that only 22 years ago, Bernie Kosar gave up a truck full of money, and the possibility to go early in the forst round(possibly #1), to play for his hometime Brownies. Reading this book brings back terrific memories, and Jonathon Knight has scored his second Browns classic.

I was anticipating the publishing of this book as I have been familiar with Stein's work as the Dodgers' official team photographer. What you get in this book is a nice blend of posed shots along with never-before published shots of various game stills along with behind the scenes snaps. In addition, Crosby and D'Agostino enlist the help of the still living Brooklyn Dodgers (including Vin Sculley) to tell the reader what is really happening in the photo or why the photo was taken.

This is clearly not a rehash of old Dodgers lore or the same, well-published photographs...but an intimate family album of the Brooklyn Dodgers from '37-'57.

Forests have been felled with books written about the much beloved Brooklyn Dodgers. Roger Kahn, Carl Erskine, Red Barber, and numerous others have relished telling us what life was like with Brooklyn baseball, especially from the years 1947 through 1957. In addition, numerous authors have written about Jackie Robinson. However, author Dennis D'Agostino and Bonnie Crosby, daughter of Barney Stein, who was the official photographer of the Brooklyn Dodgers have put together several of Barney's photographs of his years in covering the Dodgers from 1937 through their last season of 1957 in Brooklyn. These are photos not seen before in other books, and numerous details are provided that the reader may otherwise overlook in the picture. I'm fortunate to have the book entitled "The Rhubarb Patch" published in 1954 with Barney Stein's photos and text by Red Barber, and this new effort is a treasure trove of photos from this historical era. One photo that has been often seen is of Jackie Robinson stealing home in the 1955 World Series on pages 90 and 91. The view we are given shows the entire dugout and many of the fans in the stands, several dressed in neckties and fedoras. The on-deck batter for the Dodgers, Frank Kellert, appears to have the best view of whether Robinson was safe or out. When asked for his opinion on the play Kellert drew the rath of Robinson by answering, "I thought he was out." Not mentioned in the caption, but seated in the front row of the stands is "The Big O", Dodgers' owner Walter O'Malley, nattily attired in suit and tie. I'm thankful I can remember the Dodgers of the 1950's, but whether you are old enough to do so or not, if you enjoy baseball history, I would highly recommend, yes, one more book on the Brooklyn Dodgers.

I thought I had seen just about every shot of the "Boys of Summer" but boy was I wrong. The book had some fabulous and nostalgic photos of my childhood heroes. Well written and enjoyable reading added to the wonderful photos. A must for every Brooklyn Dodger fan

Having only been told of the folklore of the Brooklyn Dodgers from my father, it was a real treat to see new photos of a golden age of baseball. This book captures the essense of baseball in Brooklyn and the love affair of the fans and the players. My Dad's favorite player was Don Newcombe, and there he was putting on his uniform at Ebbet's Field with a huge smile. This book gave me a connection to Brooklyn I only heard from the stories of my father. After reading and viewing these photos I felt like I was part of Happy Feltons Knothole Gang....What a treat and I believe for Brooklyn Dodgers fans a Treasure!

Thank heaven for Barney Stein, the five foot tall giant of a man whose personal rallying cry of "Uno mas! One more!" allowed for the creation of THROUGH A BLUE LENS, a "family album" of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Barney was the team's official photographer from 1937 to 1957. Indefatigable in composing the best shots (he is said to have climbed the old dirigible mooring mast on the Empire State Building for a panoramic shot, and climbed the north tower of the then-under-construction Triborough Bridge for much the same reason), each of Barney's photographs tells a complete story.

Posed shots are here as well as in the old Dodger Yearbooks that Barney contributed so richly to. Action shots of crucial and not-so-crucial moments on the field pepper this book. What sets THROUGH A BLUE LENS so far apart are the informal and candid shots of the team going about the everyday business of Dodger baseball. Barney's quick eye captured the fun and the excitement and the team's Love of The Game, and captured the unique personalities of each individual Dodger. He also captured Ebbets Field at its best and in its sad death throes, the true end of an era in Brooklyn.

Did I say thank heaven for Barney Stein? Well then, thank heaven for his daughter, Bonnie Crosby, who has managed to preserve so many of her father's never-before-seen creations. Doubtless many of Barney's photographs are gone forever, and THROUGH A BLUE LENS is too short at 162 pages, but this wonderful coffee table edition is a must have for the dedicated Brooklyn Dodger fan.

Great book. Useful and informative. I enjoyed the theme of lighthearted fun since it was backed up with useful information. A valuable resource for anyone thinking of taking tmie off (hard to do), and even more so for anyone thinking of taking time off and staying put (even harder to do). Pick up this book for now and the future as it is a great reminder about what's important in life...

A fun, adventurous, humorous & practical guide for the uninhibited!

O.K., so I would probably fall into the middle bell curve of the population that endures their specific work life to support their real life. For those that are in this category (and worse) then there are some useful morsels in this book that might help to lift your spirits or even inspire some adventurous life outside the box. Some previous negative reviews struck me as coming from souls that are rigidly programmed and if that describes yourself, then be forewarned, this book is not about coloring within the lines. After all, if you are not happy with the present picture, then why would you continue to live by the same set of constraints?

Great book helped me tremendously in keeping a positive perspective on my Time Off as I look for the next Career Adventure. I love that most of the research has been completed and now I just have to decide day by day how I make my part of the world better for me and all around me at a budget of course. Anybody who has time off right now should pick up this book and see what ideas they can explore. All I can Say is get out there and have a cheap and meaningful adventure. YAY!

Relax! You're a smart, talented individual. How do you think you got your last job? Now, stop and think... how often do I get time off? Never is right. So, if you find yourself out of work (like I did) don't stress. Pick up a copy of this book and spend a few days in the park. You'll be surprised by all your options -- these guys have done all the work for you! And if you're stuck in a grind of a job, give some serious thought about taking some "Time Off" yourself. They'll get by without you, and you just might gain a fresh persepctive on what's really important to you in YOUR life -- remember, you only have one... don't waste it!

Don't leave home without it! Make a difference in your world, but do it right the first time. Eaton and Hurst use their experience to guide the reader through every aspect of a vacation with a purpose to a developing world.

That's the only word to describe this book - for both leaders and team members. VWAP is always one step ahead, because they have 'been there' and 'done that'. From first-timers to experienced missions teams, this book is a MUST. It is THE way to maximize your group's mission trip experience.

That's the only word to describe this book - for both leaders and team members. VWAP is always one step ahead, because they have 'been there' and 'done that'. From first-timers to experienced missions teams, this book is a MUST. It is THE way to maximize your group's mission trip experience.

Very "real world", comprehensive guide to experiencing and leading a short-term mission team. My experience with it came from two trips to Bolivia. The first as a team member, and the second as a team leader. Both times I found it to be an invaluable resource for preparing myself and others as we ventured into a totally foreign culture.

Easy, we thought. Our church wanted to do a short-term mission trip. We had eager participants, all ready and willing to "go". We just didn't know what to do... or even where to go ... we'd never done this before!! Yikes!! To the rescue ... Vacations with a Purpose!!! The VWAP leaders manual provided insight from people who had lead teams before, practical training ideas and a checklist to get us started.

I recommend this book for those just getting started with short-term missions, as well as to those who want to learn how to do better teams.

This guy can flat-out write. the first 100 pages or so are wonderful. After that,it flattens out to good. He is very adept at weaving real historical figures(Babe Ruth, Ernest Hemingway,etc.) into a fictional setting. A fun read

Amazing...I'd love to meet the guy who wrote this!

This book transports the reader into the era of pre-Robinson, Mexican baseball and beautifully portrays baseball legends, writers, and dreamers.

At the risk of being overly enthusiatic, this book should be considered a classic. Its many characters, many of whom serve as narrators, all assist in telling many truly American stories. For theorists, the story can be interpreted from a racist, marxist point of view. The magic of this novel is almost matched by the short lived utopia that the players in the summer of 1946 shared, playing in a world where color didn't matter, and the players had fun. Like any utopia, the Mexican league was only a mirage, but the humor and wisdom of the novel is not

This is more than a baseball book, but ... that's, sadly, how people will read it. Even given that, this rich, historically detailed book makes even the best other good baseball novells -- The Natural, D. Hays's The Dixie Association, The Southpaw, DeLillo's Pafko at the Wall (which is the 2nd-best baseball novel) -- look slight in comparison. A great novel about race and American imperialism and sex. That a book this good could go out of print is a scandal, but maybe Winegardner's new fame (he's the author of the upcoming sequel to The Godfather) will propel this masterpiece back into print and help it garner the audience it deserves.

The New York Times Book Review, The Nation and USA Today have both called this book the best baseball book ever written. It's actually one of the best American novels of the past 50 years.

This book gave me a great education on the real story of the Washington Nationals/Senators and the Expansion Senators. Before reading this, I always thought baseball in DC failed because of poor teams. That is still true, but it also had a lot to do with Clark Griffith's selling off of star players; that he missed out on the chance to be the first to integrate the game (he was against integration, but mainly because he depended on the gate receipts of the Negro League teams at Griffith Stadium); and of unstable ownership in the 1960s, that apparently operated without long-term goals.

One story in this book really shocked me: Sometime in the 1920s, an elderly black man who had been a lifelong fan of the Nationals/Senators attended an Opening Day parade was spit in the face by one of the players who apparently could not tolerate this black man cheering on the players and calling them by name. The old man was so hurt, he never went to another baseball game again. Of course, he would not encourage any other blacks to go to games either. With all the talk today about the decline of African-American interest in baseball, I can't help but wonder if this incident was another seed sowed in the situation we have today.

Remember in the movie "Jerry Maguire" when Renee Zellweger says, "You had me at hello!"? Well, in his book about The Washington Nationals, Fred Frommer had me with the opening sentence to his preface where he laments that on moving to Washington from New York, the two missing items here were a baseball team and a place to get a good slice of pizza. Much like Fred, I am a transplanted New Yorker (and a lifelong Yankee fan who has adopted the Nats as well), and for my first 31 years here I had to do without a major league team (although the Orioles are within driving distance, they were not and never will be a Washington team). And, Fred's right, the pizza (and bagels) here are definitely not New York.

Fred's book is neatly compartmentalized into ten chapters. The first chapter chronicles the earliest baseball in Washington, actually going back to the era of Abe Lincoln! The second chapter of the book is incredibly upbeat as it deals with Washington's only World Championship in 1924. Frommer does a splendid job of taking you through the season. You can feel the excitement being generated here in D.C. by the Senators' unexpected success. The next chapter, called "Glory Years," deals with the best years of the Senators in the 1920's and 1930's, when they often contended and even won the pennant in 1933, only to have the Giants exact revenge in the World Series. Fred's following chapter, perhaps the best in the book, focuses on the Negro Leagues and Washington's entry therein, the Homestead Grays. There is plenty of excellent history and a great look at sociological views of the era. There are wonderful anecdotes about Buck Leonard, the amazing Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige, among others.

For members of Red Sox Nation, there is a chapter devoted solely to Ted Williams' stint as manager of Senators II. Another chapter is devoted exclusively to interviews with old-time fans who reminisce about attending games at Griffith and DC/RFK Stadiums. These phenomenal fans have wonderful stories to relate and Frommer does a great job of eliciting them. The final chapter is dedicated to the magical 2005 season of the Nationals.

My hats (both a Yankee cap and a Nationals cap) are off to Fred Frommer for coming up with a highly entertaining, educational book about baseball in Washington, DC.

Growing up in the District, hearing stories of the Senator's rich past from my 80 year old next door neighbor had to fill in for not having a team in my city. When other kids talked about how the Orioles were "our team", I'd be the lunatic ranting that the Orioles weren't DC's team, that our city had a long and storied baseball history; DC was once a baseball city.

Mr. Frommer's well written book is an easy read that truly imparts the excitement and depth of DC's baseball history, able to bring that history to life for the District's generations that grew up unknowing after the nation's capital was robbed of the nation's sport. A must for all DC baseball fans. Go Nats!

This book it the best little compilation of Washington D.C. baseball history around. It is packed full of interesting facts and vignettes about Washington Baseball. It also has great illustrations and photos. A must have for every Washington Nationals baseball fan.

Baseball in DC is a sorry topic indeed, with as much success coming via fictitious, supernaturally affected means ("Damn Yankees") than actually on the field. This book chronicles that mostly sorry history with grace, humor, and tenderness that only a seasoned baseball writer can achieve. The chapter on how the Sens won the World Series in 1924 actually brought tears to my eyes. This is the best history of Washington baseball I have ever read. Go Nats!