5 comments about Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices, and Priorities of a Winning Life.

1. I believe that Tony Dungy is one of the greatest coaches that have been in the NFL. After reading the book about his style of leadership and his faith on and off the field it made me look at him being a greater person that he really is. This book I believe isn't just for the football fan. Yes it does have a lot of his experiences playing and coaching throughout his years in the NFL. It also has alot of his accomplishments. This book is a great easy read and you will find yourself not putting it down.



2. This is an excellent book that I purchased as a CHRISTmas gift and sat down to read before wrapping. I could not put it down. It is a book that should be read by everyone. Great insight with direction and goals for life. A must read for our youth.



3. There's one piece during practice when a player asks Coach why he doesn't yell--Dungy replies that "I'm not a yeller, but watch out if I whisper at you." Dunge has proven that he's more than a football coach; he is a Man of God. His character, persistence, faith, and dedication to the Word and Faith is evident on each page of this book. He definitely has the shield of faith, breastplate of righteousness, helmet of salvation, and sword of the spirit (from Ephesians 6:6-18). This is truly an inspirational book that tells you more about the Coach than the NFL. Dunge's non-profit "All Pro Dads" born in Tampa during his tenure with the Bucs continues to this day and is a testament to his belief that the Christian's husband responsibility is to his wife and children. Most poignant was his "homegoing" homage to his deceased 18-year old son to be a participant on the ultimate eternal playing field.



4. I truly enjoyed listening to this book on audio. It was very inspirational. I think it should be required reading for all high school or college aged men. I have shared this with many members of my family already. Don't pass up this book.



5. It reads like a calm, confident conversation with Coach Dungy. I wish that all young men could be tutored by people like this man.

2 comments about NPR Driveway Moments Baseball: Radio Stories That Won't Let You Go.

1. The best of the "Driveway Moments" so far. Snappy and engaging and hilarious -- there's not a dull moment in this collection. I'll be buying this for all of my baseball fan friends.



2. I bought this for my Dad; and he loved it. The pieces cover a broad range of eras and topics about the Great Game. If you love baseball, you'll enjoy this CD.

5 comments about Open: An Autobiography.

1. Andre Agassi keeps it real, in a very good way. He seems to have an open soul. Whoever he had helping him do the mechanics of writing is a brilliant writer. Each sentence piqued my interest to read the next, as did the paragraphs and the pages. I enjoyed reading this book, and read it too fast.
   
   Not one chapter bored me or made me wish to skip it. This book is very well-written.
   
   I never liked tennis either, but the power and competition of the games he described really gathered me in. I know a lot about competitive sports, so I could relate to the heart-crushing defeats and the mind-blowing wins. How sport does become a metaphor and frame for life. One gets knocked down, and one gets up again.
   
   Thank you, Mr. Agassi, for allowing us quite close into your world, to see how you grew despite emotional abuse, and how you truly did become the kind of person that makes a difference on the planet. I miss being in on the ups and downs of your life.



2. This autobiography can also interest those readers who are not tennis fans because the author writes a great deal about his parents, the people who helped make him into a tennis champion and about his relationships with the three important women in his life. Once you start reading, it is difficult to put the book down.



3. I am not into tennis nor did I know anything more of Andre Agassi other than he was a tennis player when I began reading his online book reviews while searching for a good book to read. I was drawn to read Agassi's story by all the positive reviews and was not disappointed when I picked up the book and began reading. I couldn't put it down. Agassi says something we can all learn from. I have jotted down lines from "Open" to read and re-read, reminding myself that choosing your life changes everything. This was not just a story of a boy who had no choices, but of a man who powered through those youthful years and his career with amazing fortitude, with a vision in mind. He was surrounded by people who believed in him, his character and his strength, and from that love and support he selflessly chose to help better the future for others. I didn't want this book to end. It was sweet irony that Agassi's childhood passion was literature and poetry, and that he was finally able to put down his tennis racquet and allow us into his private life, encouraging us to choose our destinies by sharing his own personal story, through his passion for literature.



4. I do not have enough superlatives in my vocabulary to adequately describe this book. Just looking at the dust jacket tells you that this memoir is aptly named. On the front cover, Andre meets your gaze directly with eyes that tell you that he is vulnerable and wanting to hold nothing back. The photo on the back shows a sad little boy keeping his eye on the ball, perfecting his backhand but hating and fearing the sport into which his father drafted him. In the 388 pages in between, Andre bares his soul. It's all there--the drug and alcohol abuse, the wear and tear on his body, his lack of a high school education, his victories and defeats, the lie that he concocted when he tested positive for crystal meth, the story of his hair falling out, on and on, related with almost perfect recall. Andre was much more candid than you would expect a celebrity to be, if perhaps a little too hard on himself. I only sensed that he held back in talking about his romantic life, not wanting to dish out the dirt on Brooke Shields and describing his current wife Steffi Graf in nothing but glowing terms. But you can hardly fault him for that, right? (No pun intended.) Andre's story "ends" well, although at age 36 in this book he is still far from his final chapter. He is happily married, with the proverbial boy and girl to raise, retired from tennis, and founder of an educational foundation for underprivileged children that funds a school in his name. And not until the very end do we find out that Andre paired his eidetic memory with the elegant wordsmithing of a supremely talented ghostwriter, J.R. Moehringer. He begins the book with a phrase that could just as easily conclude it: "I open my eyes and don't know where I am or who I am." While Andre's identity crisis is very real and perhaps the dominant theme of Open, by the book's conclusion the reader senses that he is well on his way to finding out and this gives me hope that he has at least one more book in him for us to look forward to. Game, set , and match--Agassi.



5. On the day after I finished this 'brutally honest' book, I encountered the following passage from Robert Harris' The Ghost: A Novel. With some substitutions, it perfectly describes what makes 'Open' so compelling:
   
   -----------
   "Why don't we try to make this book unlike any other [sports] memoir that's ever been written? Why don't we try to tell the truth?"
   
   He laughed. "Now that would be a first."
   
   "I mean it. Let's tell people what it really feels like to be [Andre Agassi]. Not just the [sports] stuff -- any old bore can write about that. Let's stick to what no one except you knows - the day-to-day experience of actually [being the top-ranked tennis player in the world]. What do you feel like in the mornings? What are the strains? What's it like to be so cut off from ordinary life? What's it like to be hated?"
   
   "Thanks a lot."
   
   "What fascinates people isn't [sports] -- who cares about [sports]? What fascinates people is always people -- the detail of another person's life. But because the detail is naturally all so familiar to YOU, you can't sort out what it is the reader wants to know. It has to be drawn out of you. That's why you need [JR Moehringer]. This shouldn't be a book for [sports junkies]. This should be book for everyone."
   ------------
   
   That's this book. Even if you've never read a sports biography, read this book. Even if you don't care about tennis, read this book. Even if you think you didn't care about Andre Agassi, read this book.
   
   Andre Agassi looks at his life through collaborator JR Moehringer's Pulitzer Prize-winning lens and emerges with one of the finest memoirs on record.

5 comments about The Talent Code: Unlocking the Secret of Skill in Sports, Art, Music, Math, and Just About Anything.

1. "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell, is an awesome book on greatness. Like a great general science manuel.
   "The Talent Code" is like physics. It is breaking down how the mind works when principals such
   as "10,000 hours" of training to master a craft (soccer, art, teaching) are applied. It gives
   great insight into how the mind processes learning. It even tells you how to train the mind to think
   when learning to play the violin (perfection is hitting the one note "exactly right") vs playing soccer,
   which has an infinite number of reactions and actions that equal perfection. I really enjoyed the book and
   hope he comes out with more reads to help understand the awesome process of learning.



2. The title perked my interest and since I had read several other text dealing with deliberate practice, I expected great things. Unfortunately, I feel that Coyle promised much, but failed to deliver anything of significant applicalbe value. He broached the concept of myelin wrapping in relation to increased performance, etc. He then proceeded to use an "examples" of hot beds of training; however, the attempted tie in with performance became anecdotal. I did not except a "how to do book", but I did expect valid insights in the process of talent development -- Basically, Coyle fell well short of proving anything of value. On the positive side, the book was well written even if it circular in its content.



3. If you are interested in teaching hand skills, or learning to be better at anything that uses your body and mind, this is an excellent insight concerning how people learn. The classic "10 years, 10,000 hours" of deep practice is an encouragement to those who are not considered "gifted".



4. Eye opening new science. Written in a digestible entertaining form. Learn how to understand your own brain better. If you want to be excellent at something, if you have a child and want to help her find her calling or if you are intrigued by the mysterious workings of the brain, this is a MUST READ.



5. With its inspiring dust jacket message -- "Greatness isn't born. It's grown. Here's how." -- Coyle's book rounds out the egalitarian excellence trilogy, taking a refreshing new slant on ground already covered by Geoff Colvin ("Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates World Class Performers from Everybody Else") and Malcolm Gladwell ("Outliers: The Story of Success").
   
   Colvin's basic message from "Talent is Overrated" is as follows: Greatness comes from something called deep practice, which amounts to working your butt off and enduring insane doses of psychological pain (because deep practice is hard and taxing and it hurts).
   
   Gladwell's message from "Outliers" was even more succinct (or clichéd, depending on one's point of view): All greatness pretty much boils down to the 10,000 hour rule. If you want to be world class at something, put 10,000 hours into it. Period. Child prodigies like Mozart, we are told, merely got a head start on this onerous requirement.
   
   Daniel Coyle puts a uniquely scientific spin on the pursuit of excellence, focusing on the neuro-physical essence of skill formation and boiling it down to a strange waxy substance called myelin.
   
   "We are myelin beings," Coyle intones with a sort of mystic reverence. Myelin is the speed-enhancing stuff that wraps the signal-generating nerve fibers in our brains, turning slow, sluggish 56K modem connections into the mental equivalent of fiber-optic cables.
   
   "Skill is a cellular insulation [i.e. myelin] that wraps neural circuits," Coyle writes, "and that grows in response to certain signals."
   
   With this wonky definition in tow, Coyle travels the world in search of "Chicken-wire Harvards" -- hotbeds of excellence where unlikely concentrations of talent spring up, usually in sparse surroundings. His examples range from Brazilian soccer players to Curacao baseball kids to cello players in upstate New York.
   
   At a fairly compact 220 pages (give or take), the book is organized into three main sections: Deep Practice, Ignition, and Master Coaching.
   
   "Deep Practice" is all about the means of "earning myelin," i.e. building skill, as effectively and rapidly as possible. The essence of deep practice is a sort of intensely focused start-stop observation and experimentation, in which the practitioner is constantly making mistakes and looking to correct them one by one. It is not so much about speed as relentless repetition in the pursuit of small, incremental improvements... pushing the edge of the envelope inch by relentless inch. There is even a universal facial expression: As Coyle describes it, deep practicing kids all over the world bear uncanny resemblance to a squinty-eyed Clint Eastwood.
   
   The section on "Ignition" is all about the critical factor of motivation -- the source of passion and desire that keeps the fire burning. Without ignition, i.e. the presence of that constant burning fire, the energy and mental drive to continue on in the grueling path of deep practice is not there.
   
   "Master Coaching" focuses on the methods of top instructors and teachers -- the older, wiser souls who are great at helping others become great. Surprisingly, the profile of the master coach is not so much aggressive and enthusiastic as focused, personalized and low key. Coyle's investigation reveals the perhaps surprising truth that master coaching, in its essence, is far more cerebral than emotional. There is indeed an emotional component to it, but the emotion is strategic and applied with calculated purpose. Everything the master coach does, down to the slightest interaction, is meant to maximize skill transfer. In a way it comes down to a sort of brute force mathematics: The greater the number of meaningful small adjustments a coach can pack into a tight time space, the faster the student learns (and thus the faster the myelin forms). This idea of coach as rapid-fire iteration machine is eye opening.
   
   As for personal takeaways, Coyle's book has inspired me to take even more deliberate strides towards excellence -- to sort of hire myself on as my own Master Coach. The practical application of this involves more routinely stepping outside myself... evaluating a performance or a piece of work from a distance... recording detailed critiques in a journal or personal recorder... and looking for as many rapid-fire points of incremental improvement as possible before moving on to the next project.
   
   The book's payoff was greater than just that, though, in fostering more commitment to learning processes I had already embraced intuitively. I was delighted to discover the concept of "automaticity," for example, as this term (which I had not heard before, in spite of having read a number of brain books) synched up with a phrase of my own invention. Automation and Documentation, or "autodoc," is the self-styled terminology I had previously used to describe the process of articulating and unpacking information into the subconscious mind, such that commonly executed skill routines gradually become automatic. I did not realize there was already a term in the field for this.
   
   One question "The Talent Code" brings to mind is this: What does it mean for the human race now that we are getting so much better at skill development, i.e. figuring out what deep practice really is (and how to do it)? Are we going to see more prodigies, and ever greater levels of achievement, now that a new generation of kids -- and more importantly their doting parents -- are getting a clearer sense of where "talent" actually comes from and what it's really all about?
   
   On the one hand, you have inspiring books like this one, complete with the egalitarian excellence battle cry and the nascent promise of rapidly spreading competence. We are finally learning to maximize human potential, huzzah! On the other hand you have all these laments -- which seem to be growing at about the same rate as video game popularity -- about how the mind is being destroyed by Xbox and Playstation, mindless Google and Youtube searches, Facebook friends and Twitter feeds, cell phone texts and so on... all these never-ending distractions that are turning our collective brains into ooze.
   
   As the "Talent Code" revolution takes hold of a motivated minority -- while passing the majority by -- could we be headed into a society with an even greater divide between haves and have nots than before? A world where talent-enabled kids find themselves even more advantaged than before, competing against a mass of bogged down lumpen content to sink into the pleasant quicksand of sugary information stimuli? In other words, will we have "myelin megachievers" stomping around like godzillas amidst slack-jawed dodos? Or is that a bit much?

5 comments about The Blind Side: The Evolution of a Game.

1. I loved the movie, so bought the book. There is so much more in the book. Michael Lewis writes a very compelling book, and although the story line is not necessarily the sole thing in this book, it certainly drives it. There were many interesting stories about football that tied all the interesting facts together. I learned so much about the game, and no one would ever call me a huge fan. But I loved the book and went on to read "Moneyball", which is the author's non-fiction book on professional baseball.



2. This book arrived in perfect brand new condition. I would rec'd this sellar with 5 stars.



3. Much better than the movie, although the book really showed how well Sandra Bullock played her character. The chapters on the history of the "west coast" offense and the left tackle were both interesting and well written. Michael Lewis also did a great job of showing all the circumstances Michael Oher had to overcome, not just poverty.



4. A good follow-up to the movie, but sometimes a bit too detailed regarding football facts and figures.



5. Saw the movie, and found it heartwarming, but the book is another thing altogether. Just wonderful. Learned a great deal about football (The author wrote Moneyball, after all) and the human side of the story was much more richly developed.

3 comments about The Art of War.

1. You figure it out. North Viet Nam defeated the USA, which was a thousand times richer and more powerful than they were, with the art of "Sun Tsu." This ancient martial art works.



2. The Warring States period Warring States Period 475-221 BCE is a history of constant warfare, of alliances and counter-alliances, and of treaties made and broken. The nature of warfare evolved during the period. During the Warring States period, political stability was impossible to gain by adventurous military action. With the advent of swelling ranks of soldiers, protracted sieges, and an ever increasing drain on state treasuries, warfare became a serious matter for study.
   
   Thus, the opening remark of "The Art Of War" states--without exaggeration--war had become the most serious business of the state, the key to survival or ruin. The author of this and other pithy aphorisms on how to successfully fight a war was Sun Tzu. Sun Tzu scholars place his writing "The Art of War" in the Warring States Period, based on the descriptions of warfare in the text. The book has received great exposure in the west starting in the eighteenth century after being translated by a French missionary. It has been reported that Napoleon studied the text and effectively put many of its teachings to good use. For the past 2,000 years, it has been the most important military treatise in all of Asia, even known by name with the common people. Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese military figures have studied it and employed its concepts to good effect. This is especially evident in the military tactics of 20th century revolutionaries like Mao Zedong and Ho Chi Minh.
   
   The book is comprised of 13 chapters. The thesis of Sun's work is one should employ an army after a thorough analysis mandated by careful planning and the formulation of an overall strategy before embarking on a campaign. Sun emphasizes rational self-control, influenced by Daoist teachings throughout the book.
   
   Chap 1-Laying Plans
   18. All warfare is based on deception. 19. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.
   
   Chap 6-Weak Points And Strong
   8. Hence that general is skillful in attack whose opponent does not know what to defend; and he is skillful in defense whose opponent does not know what to attack.
   
   The best translation is the Samuel B. Griffith edition



3. This was purchased for my husband who is enjoying the cd to and from work..... great motivator, too!
   Thank you.

5 comments about Born to Run.

1. "Born to Run" is a revolutionary book containing an invaluable message that could change the way you think about running forever. Unfortunately, this message is buried within 282 pages of rambling narrative filled with improbable characters and punctuated with hyperbole on nearly every page.
   
   By the time I had reached chapter 8, I had tired of the narrative and was wishing the author would simply get to the point. Where was the great stuff about "the joy of running" that other reviewers had said they'd found in this book? Where was that eye-opening screed against Nike as the company that had single-handedly destroyed running for an entire generation of runners? So I did a little digging, and I found the two chapters that addressed these topics. They were terrific! I found a couple other good ones too, that had little or nothing to do with the narrative. Then I basically skipped the remainder of the book.
   
   As far as I'm concerned, the "must-read" chapters in this book are chapters 15, 25, 27 and 28.
   
   Chapter 15 speaks about running for the pure joy of it. The Tarahumara Indians of Mexico who make up the main characters of this book evidently are a tribe who never forgot what a joy it is simply to run! This chapter talks about where running goes wrong for most of us - how it is that something so joyful can so easily devolve into a chore or a contest, and also how it is that America lost its dominance in distance running as soon as money entered the equation. The chapter equates love of running with love of life. It is an inspiring and thought provoking read.
   
   Chapter 25 describes the devastating effect that Nike's invention of the running shoe has had on the sport of running, dramatically escalating the rates of injury that people suffer from running. This astonishing chapter, to me, would be enough to make buying the whole book worthwhile. The chapter cites several studies that have shown that the more expensive a running shoe you buy, the MORE likely you are to suffer running injuries! The heavily-padded and rigidly constructed cocoons that pass for modern running shoes have robbed the foot of the ability to do the things it was designed to do for the runner. As a result the foot becomes weak and out of shape, and injuries result. The heavily padded heel also has changed the stride of the modern runner to a long, heel-striking stride that is destructive to the joints no matter how heavily padded the shoe. Prior to this invention, runners ran on the outsides and balls of their feet, and injuries were substantially lower. Nike itself seems to have finally caught on to this by designing a new kind of running shoe (called the "Free") with minimal padding and support.
   
   Unfortunately, most of the medical establishment has evidently not yet caught up to these truths, according to the author. He cited expert after expert who all sang the same tune that "running is hard on the feet and joints" and "our bodies were not made for running." They generally counseled buying expensive running shoes or even more costly orthotics, or else giving up running as a sport altogether. Thankfully, there are also a few more enlightened medical experts out there, also cited in the book, who paint an entirely different story. The human foot is a marvel of engineering. It is only our tinkering with its environment (by encasing it in supports it doesn't need) that have made it seem so ill suited for what it was made to do.
   
   Chapter 27 details how the author, a tall and heavy-boned man who had perpetually been plagued with joint problems and injuries when trying to run even short distances, was finally able to overcome these difficulties and become a distance runner by completely reworking his stride. This chapter includes a useful mention of three very similar running styles that all have books out detailing them, called Evolution Running, Chi Running, and the POSE method. These methods all stress getting rid of our overpadded running shoes and running more on the balls of the feet rather than landing on the heels, with short quick strides, keeping your weight centered above your feet. There is enough information in this chapter to help someone experiment with these methods, but from what I've read elsewhere it takes time and practice to master any one of them, and the reader would be best advised to refer to one of the books or videos available through Amazon that teach these techniques if the desire is to master this type of running style. Chapter 27 also talks about how the author switched to a much healthier, mostly vegan diet, and the positive effects that came from doing this.
   
   Chapter 28 is an overly-long but nevertheless interesting development of a theory that humans evolved to be long-distance running machines. The author spends a good bit of time quoting various experts and presenting evidence to support this theory. While humans are nowhere near the fastest land animals in a short race, we exceed all other species in our ability to run long distances. The theory is that this would allow a hunter on foot to catch speedier prey simply by chasing them over long distances until they fall exhausted. The title of the book, "Born to Run", comes out of this chapter, making the case that we should all be runners because, after all, we are built to do exactly that.
   
   I would advise busy readers to either buy this book used or else check it out of the library, and start by reading perhaps the first few chapters just to get the background of the narrative that winds its way through the book. If you find that the narrative appeals to you then you will probably want to just read the whole thing cover to cover. If, like me, you find the narrative to be not worth the time, then skip to chapters 15, 25, 27 and 28. These chapters are definitely worth the reading, and may change the way you think about running as a sport for yourself, especially if injuries have hindered you from running in the past.
   
   I will let the final words of Chapter 28 sum up the value of this book: "So simple... Just move your legs. Because if you don't think you were born to run, you're not only denying history. You're denying who you are." This book has definitely inspired me to get back on my feet and try running again, after having given up on running because I thought my joints could not take it.



2. I read the reviews for this book, and one of them said,"changed my life." I went in this story extremely sceptical that a book could change my life. I was very wrong. This book has, indeed, changed my life as it will yours. It is not just a motivational story. It is much more than that. I have been in the military for eight years, and it is a shame that I just started to really learn how to run after reading this book. Everyone needs to read this book. thank you C.M.



3. After reading the other reviews, I was a bit skeptical of McDougall's writing - I didn't want to be bothered with over-the-top similes and amateurish writing. But I'm glad I read this, McDougall knows how to keep his subject matter interesting, and it was good to hear that I should enjoy running instead of it being a painful, `just-get-through-it' event.



4. I've never been much of a runner, but reading this may have changed that. This book provides the perfect balance of great storytelling and science. Needless to say I couldn't put it down and would recommend this to runners and non runners alike.



5. Interesting, to me anyway, that I sit here feeling pain in my left sole, because this book is about many things, and one of them is the source of foot pain. This book is also about running, particularly long distance running, and about how man evolved (or was born) to run. The story is a fascinating account of how the author, Christopher McDougall, made his way to the Cooper Canyon in Mexico, the home of the fabled Tarahumara runners, who run long distances daily as a matter of course, so to speak, and have few to no injuries despite running in huaraches made from rubber tires. What's up with that? Aren't the latest $200 running shoes supposed to prevent injuries and turn us in better runners? No, in fact, running shoes turn us into worse runners and lead to more injuries. Running shoes cause our feet to work in abnormal ways, in particular landing on our heels, among other things. It is more natural to run barefoot, or at least with minimalist shoes that don't provide excess cushioning.
   
   McDougall, a writer for Men's Health magazine, recounts his journey to the Tarahumaras and his encounter with Caballo Blanco, an American living in the mountains of Copper Canyon, emulating the Tarahumara's running and life style. As he tells the tale leading to the planned showdown between the Tarahumaras and elite American ultra-runners, McDougall takes us through the history of running, focusing particularly on the main characters, often eccentric, from the world of ultra-running. It is a fascinating story bolstered by the underlying theme and message that man evolved to run long distances. The way various individuals from various disciplines arrived at this conclusion is gripping, so I will not reveal it here.
   
   McDougall is a terrific writer, although occasionally he overreaches in his attempt to capture the exact tone and attitude of his subjects, sounding more like he's mimicking rather than reflecting his subject's persona. Nevertheless, McDougall gets the reader right into the thick of things, as he describes the grueling trails and the physical challenges encountered by ultra-runners. At the same time, the reader is motivated to get up, get out and get running, after understanding how natural it really is for us to do it. The "freaks" who seem so out there running bizarrely long distances so constantly are suddenly transformed into the one's who've got it right.
   
   This book also adds to the discussion of man's purpose as reflected in his evolution. We are born not only to run, but to run together and for a communal purpose. Would that we could also walk and work side by side for other worthy endeavors.

No comments about Mike and Mike's Rules for Sports and Life.

5 comments about Willie Mays: The Life, The Legend.

1. The opportunity to review this book came shortly after nearly four feet of mid-February snow arrived in the mid Atlantic. What better way to fight off cabin fever and count down the days until spring training with a 560-page examination of one of baseball's most iconic players?
   
   The cover of James S. Hirsch's book contains an "authorized by Willie Mays" caption under the author's name. When I saw this, I was prepared for either an bowlderized "as told to" story, or worse, a glossy hagiography. To Hirsch's credit, this book is neither. Mays was not without flaws. And while this is clearly not an expose, they are not concealed in this book. His lack of financial discipline, his relationships O.J. Simpson and Barry Bonds, his physical reactions to the stresses of living in a the fishbowl of high expectations...any of these could have been ignored or glossed over, but they are not. The result is a great baseball biography.
   
   Willie Mays entered the major leagues at time of baseball transition: the game was moving west, moving south, moving to television and and rosters becoming more diverse as African Americans and Latinos arrived in greater numbers. He arrived via a path that took him variously through the Negro leagues and Birmingham's industrial teams, the product of an unconventional home life and blessed with enviable physical skills.
   
   What can we make of the portrait Hirsch paints? While Mays was clearly not perfect, he was also less flawed than many of his peers (from Mantle to Rose). He thrived in the spotlight of celebrity and high expectations on two coasts, and set an unequaled standard for center field play.
   
   Even if you think you know his story, this book is well worth the time to help fill in the blanks.



2. Excellent history of Willie, baseball, civil rights movement in the 50s and 60s. Well-written, a little repetitive but not too bad. Recommend for baseball fans of all ages.



3. I am about half way through this book about Willie Mays, and so far, I have found it an enjoyable read. While it has a lot of stats, both Willie's and other players in the Giant organization at the time, it isn't boring. Since, I only knew about him as a baseball player, (I was a teenager back then) I am enjoying finding out more about his personality. This book is long overdue!



4. I've been saying for years that a decent Biography about "Baseball's Greatest Living Player" (even when Dimaggio was alive),needed to be written.
   We finally have it, factual and well written as well.
   This is the man that my idol Mickey Mantle said was the best he ever saw.
   I recommend this to any seriously objective baseball fan.



5. The best ballplayer I ever saw play in person was Willie Mays. Not only was he a consummate athlete and center fielder, but he also took the time before the game to sign autographs for almost two hours.
   
   This biography suggests something of that person's essence and character.
   
   It is an enjoyable read and worth the time to read and savor, and to reread when the mood strikes.
   
   I enjoy books on Kindle (on my iPod Touch) but the reviews with 1-3 stars slamming the book because the publisher has opted to delay its availability on Kindle are a shame because they do nothing but lower the overall review average. When you take the time to read the comments made by people who actually READ the book, you'll find it worth your time and effort.

5 comments about The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study on Nutrition Ever Conducted and the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long Term Health.

1. This very comprehensive study is an eye-opener for those who wish to live a longer, healthier life. Once you discover the correct way to nourish your body, live longer and healthier lives, you will wonder why this information is not more widely taught and embrased as the real diet we should be following. It is an outrage that Americans have been taught and encouraged to follow a diet that leads to early death and poor health. I am now following this diet and cannot tell you how much better I feel, how much better my body functions and how all of my unhealthy cravings have vanished. I commend anyone brave enough to read and follow the advice in this book - you will discover a much better, healthier future.



2. This book was everything I was hoping it would be; very thorough, educational, comprehensive, and credible information. It is a true eye-opener for those of us who are still thinking that the FDA and such organizations are really looking out for our best interest. If you seek ultimate health for you and your family, this book needs to be on your shelf. If you have health challenges that you wonder why you can't find the source of, read this book. It is very well written, no scientific mumbo-jumbo. Tons of information that everyone who eats in America needs to know.



3. This is an eye-opening book!! One that everyone should read in order to understand how to improve their health. Just a few changes in one's lifestyle can add years to your life plus quality to your years.



4. The cover of the book says it all. I have been practicing, reading, and experimenting with various diets and supplements for the past 30 years. I have been a long time member of Life Extension International and have read all of Roger Mason's books. Simply put: This is the "Best Evidence" to date on how we should eat for better health. I also appreciated the insider expose' on the Corporate influence on our health and the propaganda that follows. READ THIS BOOK.



5. The China Study was the largest, most comprehensive human nutrition study in history. The China Study was the culmination of a 20 year partnership between Cornell University, Oxford University and the Chinese Academy Of Preventative Medicine. It is the legacy of Dr. T. Colin Campbell.
   
   Dr. T Colin Campbell ( 1934 - ) grew up on a dairy farm in Northern Virginia. For about 50 years Dr. Campbell has been at the forefront of nutrition research. Dr. Campbell is a Jacob Gould Schurman Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University. Dr. Campbell has received more than 70 grant years of peer reviewed research funding. He has authored more than 300 research papers and received the Research Achievement Award in 1998 from the American Institute of Cancer Research.
   
   Dr. Campbell opens, his book, "The China Study" by telling us that the top killers of Americans are ( in descending order, page 16 ):
   
   
   1. Cardiovascular disease
   2. Cancer
   3. Medical Care
   4. Cerebrovascular Diseases (strokes)
   5. Chronic Lower Respiratory Diseases
   6. Accidents
   7. Diabetes Mellitus
   8. Influenza and Pneumonia
   9. Alzheimer's Disease
   
   
   The population of the United States is about 300 million people. Out of those 300 million Americans 82% have at least 1 risk factor for heart disease. Over 280,000 Americans died from strokes, diabetes or Altzeimer's Disease in the year 2000. During any given week 50% - 80% of Americans take at least one medication or one prescription drug. 65% of Americans are overweight and 31% of Americans are obese ( page 346 ).
   
   People can't be kept in a cages, so nutrition studies on human beings are both rare and valuable. They are incredibly valuable because animals are not people. What works/doesn't work for common lab animals ( rats, rabbits, mice, etc..) often doesn't/does work for human beings.
   
   The China Study had the huge advantage of being done in China, where for the most part, even in the present day, people don't move around much. They will live in the same area and eat the same diet for most of their lives. Composed of distinct cultures with different economic advantages, regional diets in China will vary greatly.
   
   Dr. Campbell found that Chinese people who live in regions that eat diets similar to Americans die in much the same ways and numbers that Americans do.
   
   Dr. Campbell also found that Chinese people who lived in regions where animal products are scarce ( i.e. 4 ounces of meat a day, 3 - 4 thin slices of cold cuts ) did not experience the terminal diseases that Americans do in anywhere near the same numbers. Even when attempting to adjust for physical activity.
   
   The message of Dr. Campbell's book, "The China Study", is that if you want to avoid dying and more importantly suffering from, the list of diseases above eat a plant based diet of whole plant foods.
   
   I like to read about nutrition, so the nuts and bolts of the book that other people might find interesting I did not and vice-versa.
   
   The first thing I found interesting in this book, is the list of the top killers of Americans. I have seen that list many times over many years. Never with item number 3 on it. According to Dr. Campbell physician error, medication error, hospital borne infections and adverse events from drugs or surgery kill 225,400 Americans a year( page 15 ). Reads like a good argument for getting serious about preventative self health care doesn't it? Exactly Dr. Campbell's point
   
   The other points I found interesting were in regards low carbohydrate diets. Many of the proponents of low carbohydrate diets have the near-conspiracy theory idea that low fat diets recommended by the scientific establishment only served to make American's fatter. In Dr. Campbell's own words ( page 95 ):
   
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   "One of the fundamental arguments at the beginning of most low carbohydrate, high-protein diet books is that America has been wallowing in low-fat mania at the advice of experts for the past twenty years, but there is one inconvenient fact that is consistently ignored: according to a report summarizing government food statistics, "Americans consumed thirteen pounds more fats and oils per person in 1997 than in 1970, up from 52.6 to 65.6 pounds." It is true that we have had a trend toward consuming fewer of our total calories as fat, when considered as a percentage, but that's only because we have outpaced our gorging on fat by gorging on sugary junk food. Simply by looking at the numbers, anybody can see that America has not adopted the "low-fat" experiment-- not by an stretch of the imagination.
   "
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   In other words, Americans as a whole, were never on a low fat diet. Americans are fatter now because Americans have been eating more calories overall. Again, nothing new. You can read the same information in more detail in the August 2004 edition of The National Geographic (pages 46 - 61), "Why are Americans so fat" by Cathy Newman ( not quoted in this book ).
   
   My primary complaint with this book is the title. A more accurate title would have been "What I have learned during my 50 year career of nutrition research". The actual "China Study" takes up a chunk of the book, but only a chunk.
   
   I would have enjoyed reading more about the actual "China Study".
   
   The bulk of the book is taken up by Dr. Campbell trying to demonstrate that the idea that animal products bring disease and that whole food plant based diets bring health is not a new scientific discovery. In fact, he claims it goes back at least 30 - 40 years.
   
   Why haven't you heard of this before? Well, that is the title of Part IV of his book, the last 92 pages or so.
   
   Do not expect a typical hippie health food conspiracy theory rant about payoffs and evil plots. Dr. Campbell has been one of the top researchers in the U.S. for about half a century. Many of the scientists and officials he has criticism for he knows on a first name basis. Dr. Campbell gives the reader, instead, a very sophisticated account of how health information does not make it out to the average person and more importantly, how seemingly conflicting medical information ends up in the popular media. Reading this section of the book will give you a valuable perspective on how to view reports on any given study you might find in the news.
   
   Since I waited so long to read this book, I have read many popular criticisms of it.
   
   As a popular reader, I haven't come across any critics with Dr. Campbell's credentials, who have addressed a fraction of the over 730 references of this book, who have read all of his research or who are involved in the same research as he was. I'm not saying that such scholarly papers aren't there, but that is not where I have seen the bulk of criticism coming from.
   
   Some of the popular criticisms of this book are flat out ridiculous. For example, that Dr. Campbell wrote this book because he is a vegetarian and in league with animal rights activists. These "critics" have never read this book or they would have seen this quote (page 107 )
   
   
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   "The results of this study, in addition to a mountain of supporting research, some of it my own and some of it from other scientists, convinced me to turn my dietary lifestyle around.
   
   I stopped eating meat fifteen years ago, and I stopped eating almost all animal-based foods, including dairy, within the past six to eight years, except on very rare occasions. My cholesterol has dropped, even as I've aged; I am more physically fit now than when I was twenty-five; and I am forty-five pounds lighter now than I was when I was thirty years old. I am now at a ideal weight for my height."
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   Furthermore, Dr. Campbell describes animal experiments he conducted and defends those experiments. That is something of an anathema to almost every kind of animal rights ideology.
   
   None of what Dr. Campbell has to say is all that new. A number of well credentialed experts over the years have been saying pretty much similar things. The entire book could be successfully condemned by the critics ( far from happening ) but the main message would still stand.
   
   Eating a plant based diet of whole plant foods promotes health, eating a diet high in animal products brings disease.
   
   I do think the book takes on too much and doesn't walk the reader through enough tight conclusions. I think some parts of it could have been shorter without losing any information. I also think some parts were much too dense.
   
   I do think from the perspective of the full content of this book, that this book is one of the most valuable books any American can read.
   
   Putting the message into practice in your life can save your life and make you a happier person while you are living it.
   
   This book is old enough to be in many library systems, as well as used book venues. The only thing to lose, besides early diminishing health, is a few afternoons of your time to read this book.
   
   It is worth it.