National Team Books

If you're a girl who dreams of writing books, check out this cool one by a 12-year-old. Read it from cover to cover. Look at the photos. See how it's organized. You'll not only get inspired and get a feeling for what it takes, you'll also learn alot about soccer. Good job, Leah!--Catherine Dee, author of The Girls' Book of Wisdom and The Girls' Guide to Life

As an author, I meet many, many people who tell me, "Oh, I'd love to write a book!" But they never do it. They need to take lessons from Leah Lauber. She wrote a book chronicling her amazing journey following the extraordinary accomplishments of the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team. Passionate about soccer, Leah attended many of the history-making soccer matches not just as a fan, but also as a reporter. She interviewed her role models: Mia Hamm, Lorrie Fair, Cindy Parlow, Briana Scurry, and many other team members. Leah incorporated these interviews and game coverage into articles she wrote for Florida's largest newspaper, the St. Petersburg Times.

These accomplishments are admirable. But there's more to this story ... Leah did all this when she was just 12 years old!!! By following her twin passions for writing and soccer, Leah first achieved her dreams of meeting and talking with her heroes, attending the Women's World Cup, and reporting for a major newspaper. Then she reached her dream of writing a book. And what a book! Colorful photos and vivid writing truly bring women's soccer to life.

As you read "Soccer Dreams," you'll get caught up in the excitement of the sport and the thrill of the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team victories -- whether or not you're a fan. Leah's book makes you feel like you're right there in the middle of all the action. The book brims with added bonuses. Page 6 features reproductions of autographs Leah obtained from members of the national teams from both the U.S. and Norway. Section 3 is an absolute goldmine -- here's where you'll find Leah's unedited interviews with the national soccer team players.

Get this book for your daughters, it will inspire them to follow and reach their dreams. Get this book if you love soccer. Get it if you enjoy the thrill of a game, a good read, or a close look at sports history. I give this book 5 stars plus. An inspiring, motivating masterpiece!

-- Graciela Sholander (...)

I began this book with some skepticism. I'm not at all a soccer fan and was afraid I'd find it boring -- or poorly written, given the author's young age. But Leah Lauber won me over by the second page! Her fresh voice, enthusiasm for the subject matter, and beyond-her-years writing skills make Soccer Dreams a pleasure to read. I was hooked by her chutzpah in dreaming big dreams and finding ways to make them come true. And I learned a lot about the sport and the women who play it. Lauber's book gave me a new respect for these outstanding athletes, not just for their prowess on the soccer field but for their character, loyalty, and sense of teamwork and camaraderie off it. Lauber's journey covers not only her trek across the country to follow the team through the realization of its dreams, but her own increasing skill and confidence as a writer. I expect we'll see more great things from this talented young author.

When I got ready to read Soccer Dreams, I wasn't sure if it was something that would interest me. I'm not much of a sports person and know almost nothing about soccer. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I didn't need to know anything about sports at all to enjoy the book.

While the book is about 12-year-old Leah's experiences reporting on the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team for the St. Petersburg Times, it is also about a girl following her dreams. Leah takes the reader with her as she applies to be a reporter for the newspaper's X-Press Team -- a select group of kids who write a special section of the paper on various topics for other kids. A soccer player since she was seven, Leah is able to meet the players, cover the team's practices and be there for their victory at the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup Championship. Like any good book, the story has its ups and downs, its victories and defeats, but it is real life, and seeing it through Leah's eyes makes it all the more real.

I very much enjoyed reading the book, as well as seeing the letters and newspaper columns she wrote, the tickets she saved, and the color photographs her father took of her adventures. Her writing style is clear and natural and she knows how to tell a good story. If she writes like this now, I can't wait to see what she will do in the future!

Twelve year old Leah Lauber was more than an enthusiastic soccer fan -- she also landed a job as a Junior Reporter for the St. Petersburg Times covering the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cub. Soccer Dreams is the unique story of how for one year, a young girl covered the story of how the team prepared for the event, and how they went on to win this prestigious soccer event. Written with the help and assistance of her family (Leah's yonger sister Nicole and her grandmother, Nanny Pat Lauber, transcribed hours of Leah's interviews and recorded comments during seven different sessions with almost every member of the women's team, and her mother, Rya, worked on the book's cover design and her fahter sorted through hundreds of photos and scanned them into the computer for use in illustrating the thoroughly engaging text), Soccer Dreams is "must" reading for all young soccer enthusiasts and would be a popular addition to any gradeschool, junior high, or community library Sports collection.

This book is like an NFL Rocky type story. Except there are 10 different Rocky's that are the focus of this book in the form of football players. Not to say that it is a ripoff in anyway. It's a book that truly stands on it's own. The author seems to be very talented. His first? Are you kidding me? Sometimes I laughed and sometimes I felt sad for them. Especially knowing that all this really happened to real people makes the impact even stronger. Don't let it's setting of it being preseason football make you think it's boring. It's a book of hope, determination, preserverance, and the cold reality of life that we all have to face. This book was so good it's compelled me to write my first review for Amazon. Congratulations Woody F. and I'm looking for your next book!

I bought several copies of Falgoux's book for the football fans in my family and they were a huge hit. By our next family gathering, One Dream was the one and ONLY topic ofconversation. This book is extremely well-written, informative and impressive in it's ability to show the human side of what has become a mega-industry in the US.

This book is precisely what every NFL fan wants to know about what it takes to make a professional football team's roster. Woody does an excellent job at grabing your attention within the very first pages and holding it to the very end. If you are a fan of the NFL, this is a must read and Woody will have you turning each page anxiously awaiting the fates of the players struggling to make the Saints team. This book is masterfully written and you will find yourself rooting for the underdogs. Woody is a gifted story teller and makes you feel like you are sitting along side him at the Saints training camp. At times, I was rooting for Woody himself as he describes the difficulties the media encounters from the Saints organization during training camp. I highly recommend this book and only hope Woody has his second book in the works.

An amazing read! The author puts you into the mind, body
and soul of the players. It is more than a book about football, it is about having hope and chasing a dream. Even
when you know you wont win. Read it and pass it on,
quickly.

Woody had a great premise for a book, let's follow undrafted rookie free agents through training camp showing the emotional highs and lows of who makes the team. Since his favorite team is the New Orleans Saints, the story starts in a small humidity oppressed Louisiana town that is the sight of training camp. Woody does a great job getting to know the players and attempting to know management and how decisions are made. It's clear very early that the NFL and the Saints don't know what to make of this book and seem to have some concern that it will be a hatchet job.

But Woody writes like a true Saints fan who wants to know the players and what it's like to try to make a team. The deck is really stacked against these guys as they must beat out returning players and drafted rookies. Woody gives great examples of the many undrafted free agents who went on to become quality NFL players. But this year's group doesn't appear to have an immediate star and some of the players start dropping immediately. Some of the rookies have great practices followed by weak practices. Some have minor injuries that limit their already limited playing time. And some are trying to fill positions where there are no real spots.

It makes for an interesting read from the early cuts to the few that make it right to the final cut. Woody does a good job of showing the fears, insecurities and sacrifices these players make trying to fulfill their dream. Read this book if you are a fan of football.

All american girl is the storyr of the golden oldies of the Womens National soccer team! It shows how some 10+ ordinary girls came together to make a HUGE difference in the history of sports! Best book ever!!!!!!

This book will give you the facts and inside scoop of the wonderful ladies. Some of the stories the team tells are hilaroius. It's not the best book I've read but it's great for young girls to see how they got to the highest level.

This book is fantastic. It gives an inside look at each player to pass through the National team program for an extended period of time. Includes player interviews and a sort of "rap"sheet for each player, like their most embaressing soccer moment, their favorite number, and other interesting facts. I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in learning more about the Womens National team. Don't Miss it!!

If u don't have this book, u must buy it because i never liked soccer untill my friend bought me it. I was hooked. I read it 5 times that is how good it was. Please buy the book. If u don't, you are missing out....... BIG time.

If you are a fan of any player on the US womens team and wonder what they do in there life (Yes they do have a life out side of soccer)this is the book for you. Your brothers picking on you saing girls cant play sports. Will now you can prove him wrong. Hand him this book tell him to read the first page, it will make him think twice before he makes fun of womens soccer again. This book has each player tell about there life in and out of soccer. They tell of all the interesting hobbies they have and some of am even rat on there team mates. If you buy this book and dont enjoy reading it you are not a true womens soccer fan.

MY SON COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN AFTER HE OPENED IT UP XMAS MORNING. I'LL GET HIS REVIEW.

"Glory for Sale" is full of the sort of detail most football fans only dream of accessing...the book enables readers to become part of the franchise process, to feel as though they were actually there. Jon Morgan's style is fluid and literary, and the book, however intricate, reads as easily as a novel. This is a must-read for anyone interested in the world of sports, and for anyone with a solid appreciation for plain old good writing.

Morgan goes through excruciating detail as to how the cities of Cleveland and Baltimore will now be forever conjoined. The book gives the reader a true perspective of the shenanigans by owners who are looking for the "easy money" of professional sports and how they will stoop to breaking the hearts of thousands of loyal fans just to fatten their wallets. Not only does it cut to the quick about the move of the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore; it also touches off on that fateful winter's night when Bob Irsay packed the beloved Colts onto the Mayflower trucks and stole away the heart of a city. A great read for Clevelanders and Baltimoreans alike; both of which can take small consolation that the heartbreaks of '84 and '95 will finally be resolved when the Browns return next August.

Why do elected officials at the state and city level continue to prostrate themselves before professional sports teams? Jon Morgan uses one of the most controversial team transfers of all time to examine a serious public policy issue with bright, jargon-free writing that cuts to the heart of these issues. If you're a taxpayer who's ever wondered about whether sports teams really goose the local economy, you need to read Glory for Sale.

If you have any interest in sports, you have to read Glory for Sale. Jon Morgan has written a fascinating and carefully crafted book about the inner workings of professional sports. Few of us have ever been privy to the secret meetings, the betrayal, the calculated lies, and the greed at work whenever a professional sports franchise tears free from a city. This book is more than the tale of Art Modell's apostasy, it is the frightening blueprint for a society whose religion sports is founded on a single commandment: Thou shalt win. -- Tim Green, author of The Dark Side of the Game and sports commentator for ABC's "Good Morning America," "NFL on Fox," and NPR's "Morning Edition

Glory for Sale is a fascinating read. Morgan manages to penetrate the personalities and structures of the NFL in a lucid and compelling fashion while providing a probing and critical analysis of city stadium subsidies, franchise movements and the business of football. -- Andrew Zimbalist, author of Baseball & Billions: A Probing Look Inside the Big Business of Our National Pastime and co-author of Sports Jobs and Tax: Economic Impact of Sports Teams and Facilities

. . . a detailed, engrossing and fast-paced account of am increasingly volatile aspect of sports. -- Bortz & Co., Sports and Media Consultants

Team relocation is a controversial and complex issue that hotly divides avid sports fans. Jon Morgan's Glory for Sale insightfully lays out the importance of stadium economics in building a competitive team, and it clearly, easily explains why teams move. It is one of the best analyses I've read. --Paul J. Much, Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin (financial advisor on sports economics to teams, leagues, stadiums, and governmental agencies)

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!

This book is a must have for Baseball historians like myself, chronicling the careers of players who played before the "long ball" was fashionable and at a time when the game was "becoming" the National Pastime! SABR writers have given us a valuable insight into the lives of these players of yesteryear. We cannot appreciate what it must've been like to play baseball back then, when salaries were extremely low and players had to take off-season jobs to augment them. One bad injury could cost you a career and if you strayed off the straight and narrow and put your lot in with the gambling element, banishment was always a possibility, as was the lure of alcohol. The stories of these gentleman are told with affection and with such clarity that we might just as well be reading about a long deceased family member than a ballplyer from the distant past. After reading this wonderful book you will find yourself re-evaluating your thoughts on today's star players, who want for nothing and are able to dictate in what direction their careers take. Such was not the case in the years between 1895-1920. It is sad to relate that we never got a chance to see these fine players in their heyday but thanks to magnificent books like this one, we can at least read about their exploits, some happy and mostly sad but always interesting and entertaining. A glorious book, I can't wait to recieve the American League edition.

I bought this along with the American League version. I like to pick it up and read about an older player or two each week. Interesting stuff. My friends who like baseball like to browse through it as well.

The Society for American Baseball Research rarely turns out a bad book, and "Deadball Stars of the National League" continues that trend. It is an excellent book, with short biographies of the major stars for each of the franchises active between 1901 and 1919, complete with photos rare and common. The book was an enormous undertaking, with a huge amount of people on the "Deadball" Committee of the organization taking part in the writing, editing and fact checking. It's a wonderful book for those wanting a feel of the game in the first decades of the 20th century, and of the players of that time, and I highly recommend it.

Fantastic book chronicling stars of the most misunderstood era of baseball. I really enjoyed learning of some of the lesser known stars like Orvie Overall and Mike Donlin. Great work by the SABR members. I can't wait to get the companion book for the American League.

I've been a member of SABR (The Society for American Baseball Research) for eight years, and I have always enjoyed the publications that they put out and send to their members. Many of the members of SABR work very hard on the projects that interest them, and the books that get put out reflect a lot of love, if not always a ton of quality.

This book is an exception. This is the best book I've ever received from SABR, and it's the sort of thing that makes me proud to be a member. Meticulously researched, beautifully laid out, and compulsively readable, this book offers profiles of over 100 players, managers, and executives from the Deadball Era of Major League Baseball (1900-1920). A few of these guys are still well-known today (Christy Mathewson, Honus Wagner, Rogers Hornsby) but the majority are players who, despite long, successful careers, have been forgotten by all but the most die-hard fan. I've been a baseball fan all my life, and I couldn't tell you the first thing about Armando Marsans, Howie Camnitz, or Homer Smoot until I read this book.

Thanks to the work of the members of the Deadball Committee, though, now I feel like I know these guys. I applaud the members of the committee for putting together such a well-written book, and I eagerly anticipate the AL edition!

Run to Daylight was published in 1963 and was instantly recognized as a classic. Written by legendary Green Bay Packer head coach Vince Lombardi, RTD details Lombardi and the Packers preparation for an unnammed opponnet in the 1962 championship season. The book is a must read for the aspiring coach or anyone interested in pro football coaching. RTD provides the psychological motivation of both the players and coaches and a highly readable account of a week in a pro football season. Along with John Wooden's "They Call Me Coach", this is a must read for coaches of any sport.

In this book Lombardi's life is played out during a week as the patriarch of the Packers. He highlights in detail why they were a 60's dynasty. From the cycles of game planning, interactions with his team, you get to see Packer football from a new perspective. Despite his gruff exterior, it is crystal clear that he genuinely cared about his players on and off the field. This is not a how to coaching book or a biography. It is a slide snapshot that tells more than the reader expects.

Such a rare gem of a book, I was floored by it's great detail and was very happy with this book!! This 1963 publication written by Vince Lombardi, is sure to be missed by much of today's generation, and unfortunately so. Lombardi SHOWS why his Packers were the 60's greatest football dynasty, and how his life plays out during a week as the leader of the Packers. This is an absolute MUST read by ANY real football fan!!!

Vince Lombardi's dedication and devotion transcended football. His quotes are used all the way from the high school locker room to the corporate board room.

This diary is Lombardi in his own words. It covers his views of the weekly cycle of planning for battle, preparing for battle, and then the football game itself.

Packer fan or motivational fan - this book is an easy read worth the several hours to get cover to cover.

This book is mandatory reading for football fans, particularly fan of the Green Bay Packers. Some of the ideas about this book are misleading. However, it is still a great read.

This book is not a biography of Lombardi or a guide on how to coach football. This book does give readers insight as to what it was like for Lombardi during his coaching tenure. Based on technology alone, there are great differences now. The readers get to see all of Lombardi's preparation for the mystery opponent in silver uniforms.

Several of Lombardi's famous quotes are included. Lombardi also discusses specifc intereactions with players as well as a number of interesting stories about various players. Despite his tough exterior, he genuinely cares about his players. When the book arrives at game day, you get to see the game form Lombardi's perspective. It is a real treat for football fans.

If you have read other books about the Packers during this era, you are not likley to learn many new facts. Many of the facts in here are credited as a primary source in other books. However, you do get to see Packer football from a new perspective.

As a hardcore Vikings fan I was thrilled to find this book. I truly believe this rivaly is the greatest in the NFL past, present and future. Nothing can discribe the feeling I get when I go to the local pup to watch the Vikes battle the Pack. With this book I can relive past victories and heartbreaks. This book is an excellent book to compair numbers and scores. A must have for Viking or Packer fans but can definitely appeal to NFL histroy buffs. What a find!

Mishler has gone the extra yard to interview great players from both sides of this rivalry. From "crossover players" who found themselves in the enemy camp for their professional careers to the great anecdotes which fill each page any Packer or Viking fan will be entertained. I thought I had heard or read most of the Lombardi year stories, but Todd came up with some new ones I hadn't heard from the post season circuit. A perfect complement to D'Amato and Christl's "Mudbaths and Bloodbaths".

You don't have to be a Vikings or Packers fan to enjoy this book. Any true NFL fan will want to read this book to relive some of the greatest games ever played between these NFC powerhouses. Insight from players and fans alike give a personal feel and provide that extra "edge" that will leave you both chuckling and gritting your teeth depending on which side of the Minnesota-Wisconsin border you happen to live on. Don't hesitate, but a copy for yourself and get some extra's for Xmas gifts!

Cold Wars: 40 Years Of Packer-Viking Rivalry by football enthusiast Todd Mishler is an informed and informative review of every game these the cherished Greenbay Packer and Minnesota Viking football teams have played since 1960. Filled cover to cover along with anecdotes, insights, and cheers from players, coaches, sports writers, and fans, Cold Wars is enthusiastically recommended as an engaging history perfect for Wisconsin and Minnesota football buffs and could well serve as a template for writing books about other historic football rivalries!

Who would have thought that aviation and medicine were so much alike. This book reviews the safety culture in both professions (albeit from an aviation point of view) anb shows that both can learn from eachother.

I have used this book in aviation safety training and it does provide a solid basis for creating a safety culture.

Recommended!

Too many books on this subject are either just too academic or too trivial to be worth the price. This book avoids these pitfalls and provides helpful analysis to the 'real world'.

Robert Helmreich is regarded in the aviation industry as the father of Crew Resource Management (CRM), and in this book he and Ashleigh Merritt (with material contributed by many others) discuss the effects of cultural issues on safety in aviation and in the operating room.

While the bulk of the book is devoted to CRM in aviation (the researchers have vastly more data and experience in that field), the book serves well as an introduction to cultural influences in the operating room (and in medicine in general, to a degree.) This book is not light reading, and is most suitable for professionals in aviation, medicine, or behavioral and social sciences familiar with inter- and intra-cultural dynamics and the statistical methodologies typical in such studies.

The book is excellent at breaking down cultural influences by national, organizational, and professional affiliation, and it adds a significant amount to the body of knowledge in this area. As a long time airline pilot (and part-time safety and training consultant), I found the book fascinating and generally in agreement with my experiences working with pilots from airlines around the world. There are a couple of minor areas where I disagree with the book, for instance on page 105, the authors state "we believe that every national culture values the safety of its members and that every airline is dedicated to improving the safety of its operations." I agree that this is the case in the vast majority of cases, but I have been given reason to doubt the complete accuracy of the second half of that statement based on my personal interactions with many pilots from airlines around the globe. I think that management at all airlines would prefer safe operations as a matter of profitability, but that some are content with doing the minimum mandated training with safety as a second thought to legality and profitability. This is a minor semantic point separating my opinions from those of the authors, and is based on my personal observations and interactions with several thousand crew members from scores of airlines from all over the world. I will unequivocally say that the cultural profiles that the authors have established for the pilots are nearly identical to my own perceptions.

A very interesting part of the book concerns itself with pilots distrusting management. The authors were stunned to discover what low regard pilots felt for management. (As a pilot I think, in general, justifiably so.) This ties in with my comments above about genuine managerial interest in safety. They all "talk the talk," but many don't "walk the walk." The matter is fully distilled for the non-industry insider on pages 127-128 which emphasizes the group mentality (with resultant long-term corporate health) of Southwest Airlines in a press release written by their founder Herb Kelleher, contrasted with a press release from one of the embattled legacy carriers, released by the CEO of that corporation. The latter gave no credit to the employees, while the Southwest release did. The esteem with which management regards employees couldn't be carved in greater relief: the problem for management is that this is a treacherous two way street, and the employees that are desperately needed by legacy carriers are now largely demoralized in some cases to the point of apathy. Fortunately, the Helmreich team was not able to tie safety records conclusively to morale, though that may be simply because accidents are so statistically rare. On page 179 the authors deal again with the trustworthiness of management. The assertion is that for a safety system to function employees must feel free to report safety problems, instead of hushing them up (this is a major issue on the medical side of the house with the ever-present malpractice litigation waiting to ensnare doctors.) The authors are right on the money: if a hint of vindictiveness or lack of anonymity exists in a safety program, it will fail. The authors cite the excellent program at Continental Airlines as a model for how to deal effectively with an accident (in this case a non-fatal gear up landing of a DC-9) to learn from it and make further safety gains with employees.

On page 204 the authors examine cultural issues in the context of language differences. They cite the problems of Chinese pilots speaking in English. They mention the issues of sending a (non-pilot) translator with the pilots to aid communication. I have worked with several Chinese airlines and they are all bright, polite, and perceptive in my experience, but the dynamics in the simulator with the translator are unnerving as instructions are translated and queried, checklists are run and maneuvers are flown. In general under abnormal conditions I found that when a translator is used, emergency procedures took much longer (perhaps twice as long) to accomplish due to the language problems involved. I fully support the Helmreich proposition that international pilots be given more training in English (the international language of air transport.)

In sum, this book is superior and fascinating. I have commented more on the aviation side of the book because that is where the majority of my expertise is, but the medical side is equally fascinating, and heralds the beginning of a true safety system approach to medicine. I highly recommend this book.

This is an outstanding book that goes deeply inside the airline pilots and medical culture (it is much more related about aviation). Full of data and cases that supports and illustrates the author theory. It is a book not only to people that desing training but also manages those professional groups.

If you love basketball you are going to enjoy this book. It's a play by play of a championship team, their trials, tribulations, and trophy.

I bought the book just because I am a fan, but I am very pleased with its overall quality. It's a well-made hardcover book with durable sewn binding. Printed on thick, glossy paper, the large color photographs look bright and extremely sharp. The book includes Woody Durham's broadcast on 2 CDs. The book is not organized into game-by-game stories like the News and Observer's book. Instead, it has two main sections. First is a section of essays on various topics like "Workdays in Maui," "Senior Day," and "Two Steps to St. Louis." Second is a section of essays by all five members of the coaching staff and eight of the regular players. The book also includes an essay by Dean Smith, a record of the season, and list of awards and honors.

Instead of a game by game retelling, the book is more in story format. It's very well done.

There are two great things about this book. The first being the freshness of the information. When a team wins a championship, the win is almost covered to death so to speak, so I was definately pleasantly suprised when the book contained many stories that I had not yet heard. Secondly, and probably the best thing about the book was the complete Tarheel Sports Network radio broadcast of the Championship game and the post-game press conferences. This book is a must for any Tarheel fan, and the CD is something you will listen to over and over.