No comments about Penguin Readers Level 1: Michael Jordan / Pele / Ayrton Senna (Penguin Longman Penguin Readers).

1 comments about Leading Lady: Dinah's Story.

1. A wonderful tale of a wonderful dog. However, the alternating chapters between White and Sullivan are annoyingly disruptive. A different format would have focused more on the dog that readers grow to love.

5 comments about Finders Keepers: The Story of a Man who found $1 Million that fell off a Truck.

1. Finders Keepers by Mark Bowden is the true story of a guy in South Philly who stumbles upon $1.2 million which accidentally fell out of an armored truck. Obviously the reward money for return is not as great as the actual $1.2 million, and Joey Coyle decides to keep it. What follows is a series of mishaps which are only believable because the story is true. The story is well written and flows like a fast paced documentary. I really enjoyed it.
   
   The author adds two post scripts which are also enjoyable. The first is Joey's trial (yes, he does get caught, but this was never in much doubt). The second is what happens to Joey's life after the trial, including a Disney movie starring John Cusack as Joey Coyle ("Money for Nothing" - 1993 - not to be confused with a book of the same title that I recently read). Both post scripts are memorable and interesting. It is a short book and worth reading for entertainment.



2. Mark Bowden originally covered the true story of Joey Coyle and his demented $1.2 million find as a journalist. He then wrote this amazing account of the hapless Philly Longshoreman's botched and deranged attempt to keep the money.
   
   It's written in a pacey, manic style that conveys the drug-and-bizarre-circumstance fuelled whirlwind Joey found himself dropped into whilst driving back from a disappointing visit to his local dealer and discovering two unusual sacks at the side of the road contained over a million dollars in untraceable one hundred dollar bills.
   
   Applying a natural serendipity to the scenario, Joey decided to keep the money, seeing it as the will of his late Father. What follows is a story so unbelievable and, ultimately and ineluctably tragic, that it's impossible to put down.
   
   While the first half concerns the absolute insanity, excitement, and visceral thrill of the find, complete with Joey vowing to tell no one - then immediately doing the exact opposite and telling every single person he meets - paving the way for the inevitable second half: Joey's capture by the authorities. What follows is a truly fascinating analysis of public opinion, consensus morality, and the true definition of right and wrong, as the court drama unfolds and journalists from all over America pose the irresistible question: What Would You Do?
   
   Unusually concise for Mark Bowden, it's still a wonderfully written account of an amazing story, tinged with comedy, stupidity, and tragedy.



3. very entertaining but a little short for my taste. being a fan of Mark Bowden brought me to this book and I'm glad I read it, but honestly I should have bought it at half-price books.



4. Some of you may have seen the movie "Money for Nothing" with John Cusack. Some of you may even like it. The movie is partially based on the true account of Joey, a Pennsylvania drug addict, who back in the early 1980's caught a break in life. He found $1.2 million that fell off a truck and over the course of a week managed to lose most of it, before getting caught by FBI. Apart from the incredible luck this man had, nothing else is much interesting about what happened with him. Readers of the book will find out the numerous stupid choices he makes in an effort to keep the money.
   
   Bottom line - the book is interestingly written, but the story is ridiculous and doesn't deserve the time it takes to read it.
   
   - by Simon Cleveland



5. I actually read the entire book in a few hours while sitting at the beach in Gulf Shores. While it does not have the depth of Bowden's other work, it was a fun read. The main character, Joey Coyle, is an idiotic junkie who manages to piss away huge amounts of money over a short period of time. I laughed a few times and couldn't generate any sympathy for Coyle as his life spun out of control. The best part of the book will be your own daydreams as you wonder what you would do with $1.2 million.

5 comments about General Ike : A Personal Reminiscence.

1. absolutely great reading. his point of observation is unique but balanced as well as wholly honest. while the author's observations are a great contribution to the historical record, it also serves as a great tribute to a truly great man, a great soldier, a great American.



2. This book is especially important to anyone interested in the history of World War II or just history in general. John Eisenhower doesn't just paraphrase the works of other historians who were born years after the war - he writes first hand descriptions of the great military and political laeders of the war - all of them he met personally during war. Of course, his sections on his own father (possibly the greatest of them all) is an essential read.



3. First rate! Could not put the book down, lots of new and fresh insights into DeGaulle, Churchill, Patton, and Montgomery (what a piece of work...) I read a great deal of WWII history, and it is a joy to read new information for a change! In addition the reader will gain knowledge of the great and rather-more-complicated man than we might think, President Eisenhower. Written in a clear and understandable way for the non-military, John Eisenhower is a gifted historian. In summary, I am making it a priority to purchase his other books, as this is the first of his works I have had the pleasure to read.



4. All in all, this book does a really nice job laying out a biography of Eisenhower, and does so in an interesting fashion. Ike is explained in chapters that could largely standalone and are demarcated by the people he's working with. There's a chapter on Eisenhower and Pershing, then one on MacArthur, Patton, DeGaulle, Montgomery, and Churchill. Needless to say, the chapters on Patton, MacArthur, Montgomery, and Churchill were very interesting. I dozed off on the DeGaulle piece, while was riveted by the Patton chapter. Those who are familiar with the Patton story will appreciate Eisenhower's behavior toward his early (and ranking) comrade.
   Some of the other interesting takeaways from the book come from Ike's early days. Those of us familiar with the nature of the political army can appreciate how Ike nearly ended his career by advocating the tank in independent operations. An early mentor saved Ike's career by having him transfered to the Adjutant General's Corps.
   I haven't read the Ike autobiography but I would estimate that this book would complement that work. The author seeks to avoid restating the same data over and over, and instead offers the unique view I described above, plus adds his own fly-on-the-wall viewpoint that he enjoyed being Ike's son. His own anecdotes, while interesting, wouldn't stand on their own as a booke but are very well-used here.



5. This book is written by DDE's son, John. The book covers many people that Ike dealt with during his army career and as President. It is well written, well researched, and very enjoyable. I recommend this book to anyone interested in history, WW2, world politics. One of the best biographical books I have read.

5 comments about Isaac Newton.

1. Newton the man was a classic, and this slim, readable biography is very good. Newton studied and wrote in secret, argued and lived in public, recreated the world we live in, and knew he stood next to God Himself in understanding the creation.
   
   Interestingly, millions of words of his works were sold in small lots after his death and scattered about Europe; to date, much remains unpublished..



2. Gleick brought Newton's world to life in this tightly written biography. I felt, though, that it left a lot out. I am interested in reading other biographies of Newton because he seemed so fascinating. It is a glimpse at an amazing figure with some elucidation on science and the world of Newton's time.
   
   I felt that Gleick took some liberties in saying that Newton presented a fork in the road as far as the divorce of philosophy from science. That had been going on since Descartes, even if Descartes' science was mistaken philosophy wouldn't know the difference. Also, left out, was mention of Ovid's Metamorphosis as an alchemist's cookbook.
   
   Reading this I felt like I was reading a half hour summary of movie fragments of a 12 hour motion picture; but at least I still want to see the motion picture. I think there may be better biographies out there. I hope



3. Several versions of Isaac Newton's life have evolved in the three centuries since his death in 1727. They are the products of admirers, detractors, philosophers, scientist, and poets. Some have the virtue of being partially true. Indeed, Isaac Newton was brilliant, restless, creative, vindictive, and proud. That his image today is so disjointed comes as no surprise. James Gleick attempts to sort the wheat from the chaff, but his work goes far beyond that, to a splendid essay of Newton in his time.
   
   The 17th century was a curious time to be alive in England. Diarmaid MacCulloch, in his brilliant study of the Reformation, identifies Newton as the pivotal character in the swing from theology to science as the defining key of existence. But the old cosmologies were dying slow, painful deaths, while the new ones were generally infantile, utopian, or speculative. Even Galileo hesitated at first to turn his telescope to the skies, for fear of offending the divine, and when he finally caught glimpse of Saturn, the imperfections of his optics led him to announce "a planet with handles." [Newton himself had to disguise his mathematics of infinity under the cloak of annuity interest projections to maintain proper theological etiquette at Cambridge.] The new science, such as it was, required as much faith as the old religion. A few souls like Kepler understood that there might be logic at the root, but his mathematics were daunting.
   
   What makes Newton's life so interesting is the intellectual and philosophical journey that took him from the age of Galileo into the age of Einstein. He attended Cambridge in the aftermath of Oliver Cromwell but his Protestantism was not entirely appropriate as he harbored closet doubts about the Holy Trinity, finding no scriptural basis for it. His theology evolved from Aristotle as much as from anyone. He respected Aristotle's concept of First Cause, and he had enough innate oppositional defiance to approach his studies with a rigorous scientific method in the manner of The Philosopher, chips fall where they will.
   
   Newton excelled in mathematics, physics, and mechanics, and his interests were broad enough that he brought a philosopher's eye to these various disciplines. In a sense he began his life's work while still a college student, looking for a unifying factor or factors to all the known sciences and disciplines of his day. This was a gargantuan task, and its audacity took Newton to the virtual doorstep of the best of medieval theology. His quest became an obsession, and for several solitary years it led him down the dark alley of alchemy. Alchemy was highly suspect; its practitioners were considered either heretics for seeking divine secrets, or outright charlatans looking to create gold. Newton, however, was attempting to find a bridge between the stasis of matter and the observable flux of actual life.
   
   What seemed to bring Newton out of his cave was the appearance of a spectacular comet in 1681. A young astronomer named Halley, an early admirer of Newton's work, postulated that comets might be cyclic objects with elliptic trajectories. Halley's thesis on the trajectory of comets--rather easily substantiated even in his day by visual observation and Kepler's foundational math--was a physical puzzlement in an age when behavior of heavenly bodies was something of a psychological/religious given. Not even the telescope had shaken that. Why, then, would a comet make what amounts to a 270 degree change in trajectory as it passed the sun?
   
   Gleick traces with broad sweeps Newton's intense pursuit of an answer, which led to the basic laws of physics we call Newtonian. Gleick's economy is appreciated: Newton's paper trail is extensive and exhaustive; one key to his success was exactitude. [The economist John Maynard Keynes led an extensive recent effort to recover and catalogue Newton's body of work.] Although his publications in his day had modest circulation due to the highly technical nature--Halley, in fact, funded some of the publishing--there were two polarities permeating his theories that captured public attention and attracted considerable criticism in his time: his dependence upon the invisible, and the extensiveness of his claims.
   
   There is irony in the fact that Newton's passion for scientific verifiable method allowed room for what his enemies would deride as invisible forces. Gravity is the most obvious example, though here the difficulty was mathematical semantics: just as most of us labor with the material reality of e=mc(2), so too in Newton's day the mathematics and physics underlying gravitational force escaped even many professionals of his time. But in other areas of his work Newton claimed a certainty that was at best hypothetical and at times almost magical. So confident was he in the power of computation and observation that he promoted his ideas about atoms and light transmission, for example, as Gospel. The debate over the nature and transmission of light was an intense one during Newton's working years. Newton himself made major contributions in his work with prisms and improvements on reflecting telescopes. But his hubris and scientific acclaim led him into an alchemy of speculation which later scientists corrected.
   
   On the other hand, Newton was attacked by poets and artists for redefining the world in the cold jargon of scientific certitude. He was accused of stripping the human experience of mystery. Even some scientists worried that Newton had left nothing for them to do. In some cases these criticisms are the fruit of Newton's own exhaustive claims, and like many famous men, he did suffer in translation and adulation. Newton's personality--including his lifelong love of declarative sentences--did not facilitate clarification or negotiation. Having solved to his own satisfaction the mysteries of the universe, Newton turned to an even greater challenge: the English economy. In 1696 he was appointed Warden and eventually Master of the Mint where he essentially restored credibility to the coin of the realm. Little wonder Keynes would protect his memory.



4. James Gleick has written some excellent books -- Chaos and Genius, but this book fails to clear that bar.
   
   Inside the front flap of the dust cover it reads "In this original, sweeping, and intimate biography, Gleick moves between a comprehensive historical portrait and a dramatic focus on Newton's significant letters and unpublished notebooks to illiminate the real importance of his work in physics, in optics, and in calculus." In my opinion, the book fails to meet this objective. The biography and other information is superficial and far from initimate -- the book is a good introduction to basic facts but no more than that. His biography of Richard Feynman in Genius comes much closer to the goal of an intimate biography.



5. How can you sum up the life of Newton in roughly 190 pages. This is nothing but a pamphlet of one of the greatest lives of discovery the world has ever known. If your IQ is below 130 and you are looking for good reading go for it, but if you need meat and deeper substance about Newton, this is not where you look.

5 comments about Downing Street Years.

1. Mrs. Thatcher's memoirs of her decade-plus as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom are a very illuminating look at the 1980s, which were perhaps the most critical decade for Britain - and the rest of the Western world - since the Second World War. This is a massive, 800-plus page tome. But if you're interested in recent British history, or in the 1980s or the late Cold War, this book will reward your time and effort. Mrs. Thatcher may have been controversial - loved by many and hated by nearly as many - but one thing you can't accuse her of is failure to lead.
   
   All of the important events of her tenure as PM are covered. Some of it is tedious - such as minute details about tax policies, for example. (Though these do, however, illustrate Mrs. Thatcher's impressive ability to understand the complexities of important issues.) But the wonderful thing about this book is that it's organized simultaneously chronologically and topically, which means you can skip over parts you're not interested in and go ahead to something else. (I admit I did this more than once.)
   
   I particularly liked the parts dealing with the Falkland Islands War and those dealing with the Cold War. In the case of the former, I've read several military accounts of the conflict, but Mrs. Thatcher's detailed chronicling of the diplomatic aspects added greatly to my understanding of it. It was amazing how much the US, in the form of Secretary of State Al Haig, meddled in it to try to achieve "compromise," despite the fact that Argentina was clearly the aggressor.
   
   The parts on the last phases of the Cold War were the strongest parts of the book. It's neat to get an insider's account of all the personalities and the diplomatic wrangling. Mrs. Thatcher was the Churchill of her time - she was instrumental in using real leadership skills to help hold together an alliance against aggressive dictatorships. The combination of her leadership with that of Ronald Reagan, Pope John Paul II, and Mikhail Gorbachev - the first Soviet leader who seemed to genuinely have good intentions, despite his continuing belief in communism - was a major factor in bringing about the end of the Cold War. I believe that as time goes by, Mrs. Thatcher will only be more vindicated, both for her contributions to the West's Cold War victory, and for starting the process of revitalizing Britain. (A former professor of mine who specialized in modern Britain and was - of course - a dedicated left-winger always gave Mrs. Thatcher a lot of credit for making some tough decisions that had positive long-term effects on the British economy; in fact, my professor even said that the prosperity Britain enjoyed in the `90s probably had more to do with Thatcher than with Blair. Coming from a leftist, that's saying something!)
   
   Yes, this book is biased and one-sided; Mrs. Thatcher, atypically for a European leader, speaks (and writes) in a very straightforward, tell-it-like-it-is, here's-what-I-think-and-why-I'm-right fashion. (She almost seems like an American, with a habit like that!) But remember, these are memoirs. Memoirs, especially by former political leaders, are ALWAYS biased; they're not meant to be objective. Instead, they're meant to be one person's account, one person's case. If you keep that in mind, this is a very good book - huge and dense, perhaps, but worth the effort if the subject matter interests you.



2. Hillary Clinton has mentioned that she went blond after reading Thatcher's autobiography.
   Why did Thatcher go blond?
   
   Thatcher's books don't list blond, bleach or hair in the index.
   I wish more books were in digital form.
   thanks.



3. 
   "The Downing Street Years" is an interesting, informative, enlightening and fascinating account of Margaret Thatcher as the Prime Minister of Great Britain for 11 years. Lady Thatcher was clearly a brilliant politician with a sharp intellect who has left an enduring legacy and indelible mark in British and world politics. Readers can get an insight on how she made certain decisions.
   
   My political views are very different from hers but I greatly admire her achievements for Britain. She had the courage, perseverance and decisiveness to stand up for her beliefs and not just to please some people. Her rise to power in a male dominated society and Conservative Party is nothing short of remarkable. Things to her were in clear black or white, no grey areas, which generated either intense loyalty or deep seated dislike of the lady. She was truly an "Iron Lady".
   
   In her memoirs, the reader will learn how she dealt with various significant events during her tenure in office such as the Falklands War, the USSR, the Miners Strike, and the privatization of nationalized industries, her encounters and opinions on various world leaders as well as how she won three elections (1979, 1983 and 1987). Her close friendship with Ronald Reagan played a significant role in the collapse of the USSR. She also reveals the challenges she often encountered in politics including betrayals and dealing with government officials steeped in bureaucracy.
   
   This is excellent reading for executives and politicians of all political persuasions.



4. I can't help but like Margaret Thatcher, even though much of what she stood for abrades my own values and sense of what is right and wrong. If for nothing else than her iron-hard, Churchillian stance against the IRA in the 1980's---thus in the face of no British pullout from Northern Ireland sparing the Republic in the south from dealing with the fighting in Ulster---she rates all right in my eyes. She rose to power in her own party in a time when even in matriarchal Great Britain women were not supposed to be able to make it to the top. She also orchestrated the defeat of the entrenched if unpopular Labour Party in the 1970's by taking the minds and souls of her countrymen back to more glorious times of Empire. If there is any doubt that so many parallels can be drawn between her and her contemporary US counterpart Ronald Reagan, then consider how expertly she used one-liners and power slogans in her own campaigns and political battles. ("Labour Is Not Working" a popular banner of the late-70's is probably the best and most clever tool her party employed.)
   
   In this memoir of the Downing Street years, Thatcher does only one thing wrong in my view and that's how she drifts too often into self-congratulation. I mean, that's the only way I can say it. Instead of sticking to facts and letting society and history be her jury, she appears perfectly content to do it herself. If "humility is truth" maybe in a way her take on herself is a virtue, I don't know, but to me, it came off as a slight faux pas.
   
   The Prime Minister a reader meets in these topic-by-topic discussions of events germane to her lengthy time in office (she outlasted two US Presidents and nearly a third) is a capable, tough, self-confident personage who was probably the best and most fitting person to lead her nation at that moment.



5. Athena was the ancient Greek Goddess of war, wisdom, and strategy and is a common Jungian archetype. Lady Thatcher was a living breathing embodiment of Athena and well deserved her iron lady nickname. Britain must be doing something right because they had Churchill and Thatcher as Prime Ministers in the same century just three decades apart. Churchill was the bulldog who refused to say uncle to Germany. Thatcher was a conviction politician (an even rarer breed in 2005) ... who gave the defiance to communism. The Downing Street Years are her personal testamony of her courage to bring Britain out of near bankruptcy, her strength to crush the socialist unions, and the stealth to hold to her vision. In a world where too many leaders spend 90 percent of their time worrying what other people think, Thatcher had a steely spine and never bent to win some fluffy popularity contest. The prequel "The Path to Power" is an equally fascinating personal memoir of a life designed out of unbelievable confidence.
   
   Thatcher entered Oxford at 17 on full scholarship despite opposition from her Headmaster. Teenage Maggie challenged the latin exam, crammed three years of study into four months, and aced her scholarship to read analytical chemistry at university. If you want your daughter to manifest her leadership, dsetiny, and persevere according to an inner compass, Margaret Thatcher is one of those mentors whose actions truly are larger than her words.
   
   Having had the privilege to hear Lady Thatcher speak in person during Unviersity, her ability to move the room, only sharpened after her exited 10 Downing Street for the final time. Ronald Reagan and Thatcher's warm friendship sealed the melting of the iron curtain. It took iron to melt iron. Lady Thatcher is one special leadership, intellectually powerful and able to translate and apply her brilliance for enduring political currency. Her legacy is unlike any other female leader in today's climate. Only Senator Clinton might share a similar legacy whilst not quite sharing Thatcher's policies. If Thatcher was two decades younger I would lobby her to cross the pond and take over the leadership of this (Canada) other Commonwealth country. After four decades of socialism ... we need it!

5 comments about A Taste of Power: A Black Woman's Story.

1. A taste of Power by Elaine Brown is a compelling and passionate
   autobiography which highlights the internal tensions inside the BPP and
   the fascinating stories of party members. It is at times heartbreaking
   and beautifully written.



2. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Black Panther Party. Comrade Brown's memior is well written and very interesting.
   
   The main problem I have with this book is that I feel Elaine's narrative is biased and self serving. (Especially her commentary on Bobby Seale.)Furthermore, I can't help but to wonder if some of her sexual adventure chronicled in this book are overblown.



3. Intelligently written and inspiring!! The truth about the black panthers is revealed in this book. Enter Elaine Brown, Smart, intelligent, witty, and truthful. A member of the black panther party exposed and subjected to the sexism, chauvinism, and often sinister side of the party. Elaine Brown has endured the harsh realities of living in a time of revolution. In their search for social and economic change, the party insisted on doing things on their own terms by setting up programs, fighting against oppression, police brutality, and racial discrimination. However, there was a darker side to the panthers only few knew, and in this book Elaine tells it all. The sex, drugs, and divisiveness of the panthers is only the beginning of what eventually caused the destruction of the party. A long but powerful look into the nation's most powerful revolutionary group.



4. Elaine Brown went from the hood to the governor's office in her search for identity as a black woman coming of age in the 1970s and to make the black power movement - the Black Panther Party - a powerful voice in California state politics.
   
   The autobiography is seemingly an act of catharsis as Brown bares her soul without justifying what she has done with her life. It is what it is and she keeps it real.
   
   There will be segments that you'll be touched by, others that will repulse you and some where you question why, but it ultimately is her life story. Sexuality and violence - oftentimes at the hands of her lovers in the BPP - overshadows Brown's quest for love and acceptance, but you will find segments of her life that intertwine with snapshots from your past.
   
   Brown takes what I consider some unnecessary swipes at Angela Davis - it is taken for granted that many in the black power movement questioned her membership in the Communist Party, USA - but she does have unapologetic portraits of people throughout her life.
   
   If you are looking for an autobiography solely on the BPP from a party member's perspective, you may want to look for another book to read. But you will be missing one of the most powerful writings on one's life that has ever been published.



5. While reading this book I experienced a wide range of feelings because Elaine Brown basically bared her soul when writing this book. She also has a great sense of humor. I give her the highest respect for the soul searching she did while penning her autobiography.
   
   The book gives a clear look into the BPP and its members and the changes the party went through. I found the information of Huey P Newton, Eldrige Cleaver, and George Jackson especially eye opening and helpful-it answered some of the questions I had been seeking answers for.
   
   The book also gives a clear look of what it was like to be a woman, a black women, in the 60s and 70s operating in a male dominated party and society as a whole
   
   I noticed there are a lot of negative reviews on this book and wonder if the people who left them, wrote them because they really disliked how Elaine presented her story or are using the media's interpretation her legacy and the historical legacy of the BPP to fuel their comments. The story in the context of times and situation of the party and Elaine along with the political and social changes the party was trying to achieve.
   Anyway I high recommend.

5 comments about Autobiography of a Yogi.

1. I will have to go against the flow, here. So, some people can actually perform "miracles" like talking and seeing gods, teletransporting themselves, materializing objects and even entire castles out of thin air, appearing in two places at once, bringing back people from death, fighting and taming wild tigers armed with only their kindness, levitating, predicting the future, healing wounds and fatal diseases with only their will, reading minds, etc, etc? Sorry, I don't think so.
   
   I am almost finishing the book and if it were sold as a fiction piece I would give it more credit. But since it is the author's "biography" and all the fantastic events in it described as truth... sorry again, I just can't.
   
   As a philosophycal way of life it is still very interesting, though.



2. Understand spiritualism and see the larger picture of life and existence through this autobiography, which breaks down barriers between religions.



3. Yogananda's message is potentially world changing. However, I got more out of the Autobiography of a Yogi published by Self-Realization Fellowship because it was full of added footnotes which I found just as important and meaningful as the text. Many explaining the essential oneness of western and eastern religions through biblical passages, etc.



4. This is a wonderful book. This book is valuable to me than all other books that I have read put together. This book has so much of wisdom that I cannot explain here in few words. This book is NOT about religion or is biased to any religion. Yogananda tells about the universal truth that everybody must be aware of. Please do not try to judge this book without reading, and you will know why after you read it. I am sure lot of your inner questions will be answered after you read this book. This book will definitely be an inspiration to seek the ultimate truth which can be attained by each and everyone of us.



5. Unbelievable I say not as a skeptic, but as a true rational person. This same skepticism opens up other horizons in one's thinking - is this all true? Yogi Paramahamsa, the author, renders in this charming and lucid storytelling, facts he came across in his life - like his Master being able to 'know' that they will have guests arriving in the middle of the night; another yogi predicting the author's arrival and telling him of what he did miles away and many more such incidents.
   
   All this makes one ask - is this all true or is the author lying? I would want to think, given the book's and the author's reputation, this is all true. Believing so also opens up different realms of possiblities defying all rationality. Who wouldn't want to attain a state where they can exists without eating or sleeping for days together OR having the ability to read clearly and correctly into another's mind? Knowing the power of meditation myself, I won't doubt the power of an absolute calm mind.
   
   Aside from the skepticism, I totally am enjoying reading this book. The storytelling abilities is that of a master and an erudite author. Just seeing photos of sages in the 19th century is itself inspiring. The book provides a great understanding of a young man's mind who seeks out and believes in spirituality. The power of written expression is to be truly found in this book. There is a charming nature about this book you won't regret reading it.

5 comments about Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy.

1. I HAVE READ MANY BOOKS ABOUT SANDY KOUFAX AND THIS ANOTHER THAT IS PRETTY GOOD. THE AUTHOR JANE LEAVY, DOES A GREAT JOB FOLLOWING HIS CAREER AND EARLY LIFE, BUT I FELT THERE WASN'T ENOUGH MATERIAL ABOUT HIS LIFE AFTER HIS CAREER ENDED IN 1966. SAND KOUFAX IS THE GREATEST PICHER I HAVE SEEN. I ALWAYS TRIED TO SEE HIM ON TV ON SATURDAY GAME OF THE WEEK, ALL STAR GAME OR WORLD SERIES. WE HAD NO CABLE OR SATELITE TV THEN. LOOK AT HIS STATS, AND YOU WILL SEE THAT HE JUST DOMINATED ALMOST EVERY GAME HE PITCHED. I FOUND IT VERY INTERSTING TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HIS RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND HIS FAILED MARRIAGES ALONG WITH THE HIGHLIGHTS OF HIS FABULOUS CAREER. I KNOW SANDY IS A VERY PRIVATE PERSON AND THAT MAYBE WHY THE READER DOESN'T GET MUCH INFO ABOUT HIS LATER LIFE. BUT ALL IN ALL I RECOMMEND THIS FOR ALL DODGER AND BASEBALL FANS.



2. I'm not a baseball, or even a sports fan, but a good biography is worth reading no matter how the subject spent his or her life. I was drawn to reading this because I happened to see Koufax pitch one of his last games. It was in Chicago, and he lost to the Cubs. I've seen maybe half a dozen pro baseball games, and that's the only one I remember at all. Leavy is a fine writer; her prose is energetic and highly readable. Any really good biography is also history, and she made the historical setting, of the days when Koufax was actively pitching, come alive. Baseball, like the rest of the world, has changed a lot in the last forty years, but if Koufax made an impression on me way back then, he must have been some phenomenon! A fine read from any angle.



3. This admirable biography mixes a little baseball history with its revealing insight into one of the game's greatest pitchers. Readers learn much about Sandy Koufax, from his Brooklyn childhood, to his college basketball days, to his modest-then-stellar career with the Brooklyn/LA Dodgers from 1955-1966. As these pages show, Koufax was highly intelligent player who marched to his own drum. He also emerged from several years as a struggling southpaw into the game's most dominant hurler. During the five seasons (1962-1966) that he dominated baseball Koufax sported a phenomenal 111-34 won-loss record and 1.95 ERA - far eclipsing the game's other top hurlers. Sadly, painful arthritis in his pitching arm led him to retire (at age 30) after the 1966 season, when his superb record (27-9, 1.73 ERA) helped lead his team to another pennant. As a Jewish player, Koufax endured occasional Anti-Semitic taunts, and he made headlines by electing not to pitch the opening game of the 1965 World Series due to a major Jewish holiday. Still, many teammates thought him quite cool, and Pirates slugger Willie Stargell said that hitting against Koufax was like trying to drink coffee with a fork.
   
   Author Jane Levy interviewed hundreds of teammates, friends, etc., in writing this book, although Koufax himself declined to participate. His absence leads to a slight feeling of incompleteness, but this remains a very interesting and revealing effort.



4. I'll agree with the author that Sandy was a terrific pitcher and an introvert in a sport where it seems like all the really big stars were all capitalizing on their fame. But the really great thing about the book were all the personal stories...between catcher and pitcher, Drysdale and Koufax, kids and coaches who grew up with Sandy, opposing players and managers who played against the Dodgers, etc.
   
   Certainly there was some myth-making going on...by the author as well as many of the teammates who played with Sandy. I think that's what happens when you meet up with an extraordinary talent who enjoys his privacy on his terms.
   
   Loved the little quotes by Ernie Banks and the one story when Mickey Mantle faced him in the world series. Baseball isn't just a fun game to play...it's the stories that are fun as well and this book tells them very well. You'll enjoy it.



5. I really do not know much about the history, stats, or events of baseball. This book was so much more than that. It makes you wish you had either known or met Mr. Koufax. This is a story that both men & women from all walks of life would love. It was a reminder that truly complex, compassionate,non-conforming men are out there. Who are not so much impressed by WHAT they do, but more about HOW they do it. Today's athlete would never make the choices and sacrifices that Mr. Koufax did. Sadly, those days are long gone.

5 comments about The Miracle of Castel Di Sangro (Bookcassette(r) Edition).

1. This book really grasped my attention. The story throughtout the chapters captured my imagination.
   The book gave a realistic impression of an amazing country. "Joe" really explored the life of the team and the "Calcio" and every action was convincing in an unpredictable manor.
   The style of sentences and the chosen words really made up the base of an absoloutely fantastic book!!!delightful and inspiring journey through the football season.
   This is an exciting new addition to anyone's library.



2. I enjoyed this book. McGinnis was honest about his experiences and even about his own shortcomings. Just like there are no true fairy tales, there are no people without shortcomings. McGinnis portrayed himself and others in this manner.
   
   I applaud him and his book as a man who had the guts to experience something few would do and the skill to write it up artfully and truthfully.



3. Even though it is written for the football novice and can be facile at times - A WONDERFUL BOOK!



4. It's fitting that even after hearing about this book because of soccer, I ended up stumbing across it in the travel section. Soccer may be the glue of the book, but it's a travelogue at heart. McGinness starts with his newfound madness for soccer bringing him to Italy, yet quickly lets the game recede into the muddle of everyday life. The writing quickly becomes part Simon Kuper and part Bruce Chatwin. The book thankfully takes in as much lush description and hilarious anecdotes as it does tactical decisions and game descriptions. Instead of just an Italian version of a John Feinstein book, we get a truly unique story that evokes real and lasting emotion rather than the passing interest of locker room voyuerism.
   
   Much of criticism here seems to miss the point. It's true that McGinniss makes himself the main character, but it's not a weakness (some arrogance, maybe, but not mere narcissism). The book, after all, is mainly about the shock of the outsider looking in: on soccer, on the village, on Italian society as a whole, and especially the repulsive compromises between love of the game and its seedier elements. If McGinniss doesn't quite succeed at making some grand assessment of Italy or a master's analysis of soccer, who cares? The story he tells is fascinating, emotive, and tragic nontheless. It reaches far beyond the world of the game and its fans, and should be a must-read for anyone.



5. During the sixties Joe Mc Ginniss wrote about presidential campaigns and the selling of the president. He made a marvellous and unexpected comeback in 1999 with his The Miracle of Castel di Sangro. You will never regret buying this wonderful book about soccer in an isolated moutain region in Italy. Joe Mc Ginniss spends the season with this astonishing soccer team. In fact he depicts soccer as one of the pillars of communal life in this very peculiar village- like setting. But it is not an innocent setting. Innocence is definitely lost in this part of the continent and Mc Ginniss produces remarkable characters. The owner, Signor Rezza, straight out of the Sopranos, the coach Osvaldo Jaconi, "to argue with him is like throwing pebbles at a bulldozer" and the name of the team's principal sponsor, Soviet Jeans. Multiple plotlines develop in the story. The most exciting one is in the end when Castel di Sangro Calcio ultimately secures its position in the B series. The last needless game there is a smell of corruption when Castel di Sangro Calcio is defeated by 3 to 1 by Bari that thereby gains promotion. This stinking smell of corruption delivers an unhappy ending for Joe Mc Ginniss but the story is wonderful.