5 comments about The Winners Manual: For the Game of Life.

1. This book was a joy. It's one of those that you savor, reading a little at a time. There isn't a page that doesn't have a story or anecdote that will touch your heart. I especially liked the section on hope where Maurice Clarett was mentioned. Coach Tressel is a treasure. Thank you for writing this.



2. The Winners Manual is a guide for living one's life but the emphasis is throught sports so it appeals to folks who normally would not want to read a self-improvement book. My 16 year old son started reading this book and realized it was full of great ideas to become more successful in life and not just about Ohio State Football! This book is a WINNER.



3. Apparently Jim Tressel has been a huge impact on my life without me even knowing it. Imagine how hard this was to accept for a Penn State Graduate. My high school football coach was on Jim's Youngstown State Penguin teams before he started coaching us in the late 1990s. Apparently my former coach learned from one of the best as hundreds if not thousands of these ideas and quotes from the book were used all through out my high school football career. This book was a nice trip down memory lane. My former coach was one of the most influential people in my life so I guess I owe a lot to Jim for passing on such great teachings.
   
   I can still remember running across the width of the football field 53 yards and then turning and running back 53 more yards during those scorching June and July conditioning drills. We had to do it 20 times before we could make the team. This is all detailed in the book. Jim's website is also great allowing you to print out some of the goal setting pages in the book.
   
   I think it must be weird for people to read that Jim didn't get upset after losing the national championship. It really puts things in perspective when the coach of such a big program stays humble. Granted i still don't understand the sweater vest, but like I said I am a Nittany Lions fan. Anyone (PSU fans included) will appreciate this book and it might even help you put some things in your life in better focus.
   
   Just ask yourself: "If the game of life ended tomorrow would you consider yourself a winner?"



4. I almost stopped reading this book after the first hour because I was afraid I would have to rethink my perspective.
   I might have to change my ways.
   I'm going to set some life changing goals and its all because of Jim Tressel.
   I thought this was going to be a "Book of quotes", but its not, its deep.
   I actually feel like a better person.
   To be a championship team, you must first become a group of individual champions.
   It has a religious feel to it, but in a broad and general "Be a good person, find inner peace, be the best you can be in whatever you do, go do good things in your community" type of way.
   I already knew Jim Tressel was some kind of super human, i just had no idea how super he was.



5. Not one to buy positive motivational books I gave this one a try because I admire the author. There is a load of ideas one could adapt for personal use in this book. he author does not try and sell you on 'his program'. He is just sharing what has worked for him and his programs over the years. You pick and choose what you want to do with it.
   It is also a good insite into a major college football program.

5 comments about The Match: The Day the Game of Golf Changed Forever.

1. Mark Frost leaves you breathless as he paints an unmatched literary canvas with words--you can hear it, see it, smell it, feel the tension. Throughout he intersperses snippets and bios of the players so you can't wait to get back to the action. Each time I put it down I looked forward to picking it up and reading it again. I have read also The Greatest Game Ever Played and The Grand Slam. Both excellent, but "The Match" to me was one of the richest literary creations on golf I have ever read.



2. 
   In The Greatest Game Ever Played, Mark Frost provides a brilliant account of 20-year-old Francis Ouimet's 18-hole playoff victory over Britons Harry Vardon and Ted Ray in the 1913 U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, where Ouimet once caddied. That said, I think his account of an 18-hole match at Cypress Point Golf Club on the Monterey Peninsula (just before the annual "Crosby Clambake" in 1956) between professionals Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson against amateurs Harvie Ward and Ken Venturi describes a match at least as significant. His is certainly the best book on golf competition that I have ever read.
   
   With the curiosity of a cultural anthropologist and the skills of a master storyteller, Frost establishes and then explores a context within which four of the greatest golfers in the 1950s agreed to a "friendly match." They knew each other, respected each other, and enjoyed each other's company. However, in his own unique way, each was a ferocious competitor, especially when engaged in match play competition. Frost provides a hole-by-hole account (the primary story line) but he also brings to life each of the four competitors, explaining their respective backgrounds, personalities, and motivations while stressing their passion for the game of golf. The supporting cast includes Eddie Lowery who, when years old, caddied for Ouimet during his Open victory and is now a wealthy car dealer and among the leaders of the USGA. Also George Coleman, also a multi-millionaire as well as a member of Cypress Point who accepts Lowery's challenge to select any two professionals to compete against Ward and Venturi.
   
   Credit Frost with accomplishing two separate but related objectives: to provide a riveting account of the match itself over an especially challenging as well as beautiful course designed by Alister MacKenzie, and, to place the match within a much larger frame-of-reference that includes the emergence of professional golf following the retirement of Bob Jones, real estate development of the Monterey Peninsula area, and the evolving controversy about the meaning of the term "amateur," given the fact that both Venturi and Ward were two of Lowery's salaried employees who devoted almost all of their time and energy to competitive golf.
   
   Even those who have little (if any) interest in golf will thoroughly enjoy reading this book. It has everything: a full cast of colorful characters, several compelling story lines, multi-dimensional social commentary, and following the conclusion of the match, an "Afterward" that provides what Paul Harvey calls "the rest of the story" concerning the four competitors and their two supporters. Then in an Appendix, Frost provides historical information about the Peninsula before focusing his attention on Marion Hollins and her involvement in both competitive golf and efforts to realize her "oversized dreams" for the area.
   
   This is one of very few works of non-fiction that I have read in recent years that created in me a growing sense of sadness as I approached the last few pages. I really enjoyed it that much? Yes. In fact, I began to re-read it the next day and although I knew the outcome of the match, enjoyed the second reading at least as much as the first. Thank you, Mark Frost.



3. I found this incredible interview regarding how the game of Golf has changed over the years. You wouldn't believe the evolution! If you have any interest in the history of Golf, this is a must read. If you want to become even more knowledgeable on the subject, scroll to the bottom of the interview and get in touch with the author. After reading, I guarantee you will be able to lead the most interesting discussions and impress your friends!
   
   http://www.golfclubatlas.com/interviewroden.html



4. You can almost see the course contours, smell the salt air and feel the lush grass underfoot in this epic depiction of the towering talents of four larger-than-life golf heroes. If this were fiction, the reader would beguiled by the sheer momentum in this solitary golf match . . . but it is absolutely true!
   
   I caddied once in my youth for one of the golfing giants prtrayed in this book and later in life interviewed one of the players in THE MATCH so I have a more-than-passing interest in this memorable tale. Memories of the bygone days of renowned amateur golfers, the honor of the game and competition that goes far beyond money burst forth from every page of this book that is detined to be a classic.
   
   A lifetime of golfing recollections washed over me in a book that I could not put down. This book would be a marvelous gift for every golfer in your world.



5. This is a very interesting book about a little-known golf match between two famous golf pros and two amateurs. It is an easy read with some interesting historical facts about the evolution of professional golf in the U.S.

5 comments about Cute Overload Page-A-Day Calendar 2009 (Color Page-A-Day(r) Calendars).

1. Meg Frost is the creator of CO. Now, she has taken the elctronic version of her website and made it into a printed version that can be spread throughout offices, homes, tents, trailers, RV's, cafe's, veterinary clinics, stores and anywhere else - ALL OVER THE WORLD. The future is ours - we have the menas to overtake the world with CUTENESS. This calendar will rock your world and you have to 'coo' and 'aww' when you see these pictures, not to mention laugh your rearend off when you read the captions that go with it. Peeps, for only 4 cents a day, you too can live the CO lifestyle. Buy one for every 'difficult' person you have to deal with and share the love. This item is guaranteed to soften them up. Congratulations Meg! Thank you for blessing all of us with the CO lifestyle. (No, we are not a cult....or are we?) LOL



2. This is the sweetest, cutest calendar ever ! With this CO calendar to look at every day, you can't help but feel good. The big challenge for me is not paging ahead to see the next week or so. Try to hold out. This is a great daily pick me up !
   
   If you love the CO website, you will adore this calendar !



3. Guineapigshamstersbunnieskittehsnmore - wait, let's try that while actually breathing:
   January 1 is a suave guinea peeg with sweeeeet leeeeps. And then we go on to hamsters, including teeny paws, lots of PAWS UP!; teeny ears, big ears, everything you love about CuteOverload. Revisit your favorite hedgehogs with tubes, puppies in mid-air, and ladybug 'tocks.
   
   If you *don't* like the website, you won't like the calendar; your loss.
   
   As with the rest of the Page-A-Day series, once you buy the calendar, you get a code to use to get another of their calendars online, a page a day, free! So if you want to get a kitteh a day, a Bad Dog a day, or even a beer a day (some people think that's cute!) on your computer, take advantage of this. The hard part is choosing just one!
   
   The only thing that could possibly make this calendar better would be if the backs of each page were ruled, to make it easier to re-use them for notes. Ah well, nothing's perfect. But this is perfectly cute!



4. I absolutely love cuteoverload and plan on buying this. My hedgehog Quentin was actually featured on her site, and I'm anxiously wondering if he is actually featured in this calender!
   
   Here he is on her site:
   [..]
   
   I would greatly appreciate if someone could confirm or deny his entry into this calender, and if he is, please reply with a picture or scan of the day using a tinypic or other image hosting link! Thanks so much!



5. Being a big fan of Cute Overload, there were certain images and captions I was hoping for that aren't in here but overall, worth it. Nothing puts a smile on my face faster than a picture of a sleepy marmalade kitten or a grinning pug!

5 comments about Starting Strength (2nd edition).

1. I have read a lot of sources on the subject of strength training and weightlifting and this book is the clearest, most comprehensive book written for the layperson I have come across.
   Coach Rip explains the fundemental reasoning behind the form that he teaches for each excercise and keeps the focus on safe and effective strength training.
   Whether you are a beginner to the world of barbell exercises, or an experienced veteran, this book will give you the tools to be a safer and more efficient lifter or give you some important coaching points that will make you a better trainer.
   I highly recommend this book to the anyone with an interest in strength training.



2. A must for anyone serious about getting the basics of barbell training right. A direct no nonsense approach to technique that will have a novice starting well and the experienced lifter adjusting their form to increase their lifting ability.



3. This is a must buy for the beginner.
   
   Amazon is full of books filled with before and after pictures of little weeds who gained 200lbs of pure muscle in 7 days of training. They are all fads.
   
   This book is about lifting free weights until you get good at it. I've been doing nothing but what this book says for months and I've had nothing but gains both in terms of weight lifted and physical appearance.
   
   Utter quality. If you'd sooner buy the fad books go for it. This is a true weight lifting bible.



4. If you're interested in coaching or performing the main strength/power lifts (squat,bench,deadlift,overhead press,power clean), gaining weight or getting stronger, get this book.



5. If you want to get strong like a bull, period, buy this book, and do this program. I have been doing this program for only one month, and am seeing steady progress in my strength. I do plan to switch to a hypertrophy program after I reach my strength goals (I want to bench press my own weight, squat 1.5 times my own weight and deadlift twice my own weight). So, for me, Rippetoe's program is a means to an end, not an end in itself.
   
   But, I am confident that I am training The Right Way (tm), because once I have strength, I can then lift heavy weights for hypertrophy, to get the "beach muscles".
   
   In short, this is the real deal for novices like me, I'm convinced. This book can change your life.
   
   
   
   
   Regards,
   
   Robert

5 comments about The Dangerous Book for Boys.

1. This is a great father/son book. There are things in there that I was never taught to do, so both my son and I are learning. Great stuff to do together!



2. My nine year old twin girls love the book. Sure, they have no interest in hunting rabbits (they're vegetarians) or famous battles in history (at least not yet), but there's a lot in here for any kid who is not on too tight of a parental leash. Get this and the girls' book too. A lot of worthwhile bits in each.



3. It is a Dangerous, if you want a helpful book try U.S. Army Survival Manual.



4. I am a geezer and things like this were taught when I was young and had to run from dinos to avoid becoming supper while going home for supper BUT
   The IGGIES put everything right here!!
   --------
   Get 2 copies of this book, one for the young man who needs to know these things because... a mans gotta know what a man should know.
   --------
   Get the other copy for yourself because you've forgotten things you should not have.
   -------
   Zeke



5. My son bought this book (9 yrs old) with his Christmas money and has been glued to it. He and his father will be building a tree house next year. He loves it!

5 comments about Chemistry: The Central Science.

1. The book was in mint condition, and shipping was extremely fast, the problem I had was it came with a media pak, I paid alot for this not realizing that there were different media paks, my daughter spent a week trying to get into her college class with this, numerous e-mails waiting 24 hrs for an answer, numerous phone calls, only to find out it was wrong and we had to pay another $50.00 on line to get the right codes to get into the class. It should be listed somewhere what the different classes are we could have bought a used book & the code on line and saved alot of money.



2. My AP chemistry class used this book as well as my college General Chemistry class. Ive compared it with other popular chemistry books and none of them explain as thoroughly and cover as wide a breadth of topics as this book does. If your having problems with your current General Chemistry textbook you should definitely buy this one as an adjunct to it.



3. This was an outstanding product, came bundled and I got more than I expected in terms of quality and quantity! One of the best purchases I've ever had online. Thank you!



4. I bought this book on March 22, 2008 and received it April 12, 08. This is unexpected. I bought another book at the same day and got it within 4 days.



5. I teach general chemistry as both a private tutor and as a free tutor at Purdue University. In my time, I've seen every general chemistry book known to man come across the table. Without fail, though, BLB is my reference text. Like many gen chem books it has excellent diagrams, but in addition the text is lucid, organized, well written and makes no pedagogical leaps that the reader must figure out on their own. It is easy to read and easy to understand and the material is presented in a fairly logical order (I have minor quibbles with some of it). I forsee this book becoming a classic in the future.

5 comments about Strength Training Anatomy.

1. Excellent reference book for pro or layperson. For example, what muscles
   are you working when you do pull ups? Watch video below:
   
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1N0N--gkaSg
   
   The 16 Minute Body Sculpting Kit: Attain Your Dream Body in Just 16 Minutes a Day!



2. I just had to leave feedback on this book because I just ordered my SECOND copy of it. I ordered it after a coworker showed me his old copy. I was amazed at how it showed you which specific muscles are used during each exercise (that it details how to do). I've been looking for a book like this for a while. After getting this and the female edition (for lower body. Has many more exercises than this book.) and showing it to my husband, he just about grabbed it and ran off with it. He is a firefighter and has the luxury of working out at work and "STOLE" our home copy to keep at work (he's there for 24 hour shifts). So here I am back buying another. THIS one stays at home. lol That should tell you how awesome this book is.



3. this book is phenominal and i strongly suggest buying this book if you are at all serious about the gym... actually even if your not serious, this book might make you serious



4. If your goal is to build strength and get in better shape, this book is your personal trainer. Each chapter; Arms, Shoulders, Chest, Back, Legs, Buttock and Abdominals includes many options for working out. Each page within a chapter focuses on just one exercise which is described and illustrated along with alternate methods of execution. Both male and female figures are used in illustrations and the major muscles used are highlighted making it easy to track your overall progress. All of the exercises may be done at the gym but many can be done at home with little or no equipment. Strength building is the main goal of the book but an important added value is learning the anatomy of the human body. As a former corporate training professional, I am very impressed with the quality of instruction in this book.



5. Books is the BEST I have ever seen on showing muscles for each exercise. Hands down winner. All my workout partners use it often to review our exercises.
   
   But we also found a book that has the workouts planned out in simple charts. Has the weights, # of reps and everything. AND THEY WORK. I have lost over 12 lbs of fat in 3 months and spend less time in the Gym.
   
   The books.
   Weight Training Workouts that Work by James Orvis.
   
   There are 3 books in the series and they have been great addition to Strength Training Anatomy.
   
   My recommendation -Start lifting weights - everyone/any age/right now! I am 41 and feel better than when I was 25!

5 comments about What I Talk About When I Talk About Running.

1. Well I'm coming at this from he opposite direction from Emma (above), but I agree with her assessment of the book.
   
   As a 50-something runner and lover of Murakami's novels I found this fascinating - read it in one sitting (well, lying - it was an overnight hospital stay).
   
   Recmmended for runners and couch potatoes alike.



2. The publishing world has a (monetary) fondness for pushing non-fiction books by fiction writers on us, hoping to capitalize on the author's readership. Stephen King's lovely tome about writing worked. This, Murakami's book on running, did not. I, too, am a middle-aged long-distance runner but found little insight or comfort of either subject in these pages. If you want to read something of depth about running, life, and aging, buy any one of George Sheehan's books instead.



3. For a number of years, I was a big Murakami fan. Then a few of his books disappointed me so much, I sort of 'fell out of love' with his work. This non-fiction work appealed to me and I'm glad I purchased it. In fact, I purchased the audible version which is great. It reminds me a lot of Stephen King's "On Writing," which is half about living your life, half about the art of writing. I pulled a lot of useful information from this book that I won't soon forget. Don't expect some grand climax to this book, however. For what it is, I think it's a great book and a short read (or listen if you're on audio)



4. Taking its name from the play on the title of a Raymond Carver short story, "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love," the prolific and popular on both sides of the Pacific Japanese author Haruki Murakami's memoir What I Talk About When I Talk About Running covers a little more than a year in the author's life as he prepares to run a marathon in New York. However, as to be expected from Murakami, the memoir is much more than a simple exercise journal. Through it's all too brief 175 pages, Murakami weaves his own personal narrative where running, if not as essential to his life as writing novels, acts as a strong supporter for Murakami's professional career because, unlike a number of other Japanese writers such as Osamu Dazai and Ryunosuke Akutagawa for whom self destruction through alcohol and other substances acted as a creative boost, Murakami advocates a healthy lifestyle in order to keep writing, yet, Murakami had not always been quite the health nut.
   
   Writing from a desk in Kauai, Hawaii, Murakami tells of his lifestyle before he became a fulltime writer during which he ran a successful jazz bar owner with such unhealthy habits as smoking 60 cigarettes a day, but after the success of his first two novels Hear the Wind Sing and Pinball, 1973 which he mainly wrote at a table where he sliced onions and cabbage, he decided to give up his jazz bar to become a fulltime writer. Along with the bar and its noisy patrons, Murakami decided to give up cigarettes and other things which were injurious to his health and to take up running. But why running? Murakami states that it is because it fit his solitary nature best and that it required no equipment besides running shoes and because it was something that he decided to do himself without pressure from others, he took to it as easily as he took to writing novels and translating works of American fiction. Therefore, from the time he began running to the publication of his memoir on running, Murakami has been running for some twenty five years and added such sports as squash and triathlons to his repertoire.
   
   However, things are not completely smooth for Murakami, because as the years go by not only does his interest in running begin to fade, but he gets older, he will be sixty in 2009, and his body is no longer able to perform as strongly as it had when he was younger. As his muscles cramp into hard stones, Murakami, like a number of his characters, contemplates death and aging and what impact he has had, if any, on this world.
   
   Some Murakami fans grumbled when it was revealed that his next book would revolve around running because the sport was so removed from their lives and they desired a new collection of fiction more. Yet, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running is an invaluable source for the Murakami fan because one can easily see Murakami's characters within the being of Murakami's personal makeup and understand a bit how Murakami's different and somewhat difficult nature has made him bit of an outsider within Japan's literary establishment.
   
   The memoir itself consists of nine chapters which Murakami wrote in various locations including Kauai Hawaii, Cambridge Massachusetts, Tokyo, Japan, and Sapporo. The writing style, like Murakami's fiction and other nonfiction, is very conversational and gives the reader the feeling of listening to an old friend talk about exercise and aging, and how said exercise helps sustain his professional work. The essays might be a bit loose for some readers because Murakami constantly jumps from topic to topic is each chapter such as from running to novel writing and then, quite unexpectedly, to something like record collecting. However, this gives the memoir more of a friendly, personal edge and makes each chapter full of small vignettes of knowledge about Murakami.
   
   Although its focus on running, and its recent appearance in Sports Illustrated might put off some potential readers, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running is a fine memoir which gives the English reading fan of Murakami so more info on the reclusive author.



5. I am enthralled with Haruki. This is the first work of his that I have read. What a delight! I will be reading more of his work.

5 comments about The Art of Racing in the Rain.

1. My wonder dog, Belle, is 14 years old. I've been worried - "When will the time come?" or worse, "How will I KNOW the time has come?" Garth Stein wrote this wonderful book for me. As much as my husband and I remember Belle's life and times and the funny stories, she may remember,too! She knows who she was and who she now is. And when her time comes, she'll be ready. What a relief to me. I love her so and realize through this story that she will indeed be with me always. Call me corney, silly, crazy- I don't care! This book touched me and helped me prepare for one of the toughest things I know I will face. And I thank Garth Stein for that.



2. The opening chapter of this book tells us that this is going to be an unusual story - one told in the voice of the dog, Enzo. And Enzo is dying. However, the book is much more than that. Garth Stein, the author, has Enzo remember his puppyhood as well as most of the details of his life with Denny, a race car driver. In the process he offers a philosophy for each of their approaches to life - the fear of a driver for racing in the rain and the way he can overcome fears and go on is a major theme in the book. Because it is the life story of a dog, pet lovers, especially dog lovers, are sure to be touched, but others will surely love it too.



3. I bought this book from Starbucks, because I loved Marley & Me and apparently, I'm a sucker for a dog on a book. I bought it without reading the excerpt, and was happy to discover the book is narrated by the main character, Enzo. Enzo describes his life with the family, the funny stuff, the happy times and the extreme difficulties Denny (Enzo's master) faces later on, with such intelligence and insight only a dog could provide.
   
   I will warn you- crying... the sobbing type of crying... will occur. It's a happy/sad ending that will make you remember why you love your own dog so much.



4. A week after finishing this book, I feel compelled to counter much of the effusive praise with an unpopular critique based on the merits of the plot. While Enzo is a noble and wise soul whose observations and musings confirmed much of what I believe goes on in my dog's mind, I found the story itself as saccharine and implausible as a Lifetime made-for-TV movie. Characters too flatly drawn as either too virtuous or completely vile, and a resolution as ridiculous as the last-minute confessions by the 'true killer' on an old episode of Perry Mason. I get it, the art of racing in the rain is learning to maneuver smartly with whatever life throws at you. But Denny seemed totally incapable of applying that skill to his own life beyond the race track, and thus unworthy of the fortune that ultimately befalls him.



5. "The Art of Racing in the Rain" is not perfect, too many flaws in the story and the writing for get 5 stars, but well worth reading.
   
   The dog's eye view of the world (Enzo) makes the story, even with the human (Denny) being so darn dumb off the track. As a bonus, much of the racing stuff rings true so a superb read for a sports car racing fan (cars that can turn left AND right) or dog lovers and a great read for most everyone else.
   
   If you have never had a dog or a pet you loved, then maybe you might not "get it"?

5 comments about Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned Alaska's Political Establishment Upside Down.

1. This book is a good overview of the inspiring story of a lady, mom, wife and political leader. It is a sought after biography due to the extreme disservice the press has shown Sara Palin. With all of the trivial misinformation dumped on the American public by the politically controlled press and Washington machine it is good to read this account of relevant facts and actions. Even if you don't agree with her political policies you should order this book and gather some information. A must have and inspiring book for any mother, daughter or American voter.



2. I quickly realized, by the third chapter, that all of the spin by the GOP and Dems and media is so far out of context as to completely miss the point of who this woman really is. The usual talking heads are comparing her to the status quo, looking at her through the lenses of the political parties, and therefore are missing the real story entirely.
   
   In a nutshell, this is the story of a genuine reformer who hungers for taking on the political establishment, corruption and waste, without allegiance to party. When you read this book, your political loyalties take a back seat. She has been the underestimated, anti-establishment candidate many times and has blindsided everyone who didn't think she had what it takes. In essence, she is everything Obama supporters crave, but with proven results.
   
   My guess is that if there is enough time between now and the election for Americans to learn this story, she will carry McCain to the White House. If not, she will be the lasting legacy of the McCain 2008 campaign. Even if he loses, he has unleashed a new generation of leadership that will demand government work for the people.



3. I've been following Ms. Palin's story for months before she was considered and found her to be the best pick for the ticket, but never thought it would happen. Boy was I wrong. This book illustrates all that Ms. Palin has to offer. She's no pushover and has a great future in changing the "good ol boy" culture of American politics. On a side note, I just heard this book was mentioned on the news networks and I suppose by this time tomorrow, the liberal "free-speech wrecking crew" will do their usual hack job on anyone who would dare write about a conservative in a positive light. That's unfortunate and it speaks to the sad state of political discourse in this country. The constant mud slinging by the press against Ms. Palin for ridiculous sexist reasons will backfire and America will rally around her. It's one thing to criticize her on policy, but it's another thing to say things such as "she's incapable of holding a position in office because she's a mother with 5 children". That kind of nonsense is cheap and it will, again, backfire. Read this biography and ignore the comments. Accept for mine, of course. :)



4. Love McCain. We need more patriots like him. And was happy about the Palin VP pick. Good to see a strong, conservative woman in office.
   
   Picked up a copy of this book to learn more, then started to do my own research on her. What's in this book isn't what I found on my own, or even what the media (including conservative sources like FOX) in reporting now. Makes me question the info we're getting about her. Seems like she has a lot of skeletons.
   
   This is a feel good book, which makes her out to look great, but it's not accurate...unfortunately. Yes, i know she is good looking. Yes, i know she has solid conservative values. All that is great, but the dirt on Palin is is sinking the Republican ship!!
   
   It was good while it lasted!



5. Right now Sarah, the book, is out of stock, but you can find excerpts or citations to it in the news media (liberal or otherswise). It's helpful as a starting point for those of us in the Lower 48 States in getting to know Governor Palin, our latest, exciting political celebrity--but there's no balance or thoughtful perspective. Despite the "search and destroy" approach of the media when it comes to politics, much of the coverage to date has been superficial, much like canonization, and too many reviews of the book buy into the hagiography (Look up the definition if necessary, it's apt). For the record, I'm an independent, I voted for Senator McCain, and honor Navy tradition and his heroism as a POW. But the book and the governor shouldn't be embraced on partisan grounds. It's important to read between the lines and seek balance before making judgments. Don't stop by reading one book. One that I do recommend: Robert Timberg's A Nightengale's Song (1996), which positively describes McCain's coming of age, POW experience, and sense of mission. It also describes the parallel political careers of four other Navy/Marine officers during the Reagan era, including Colonel Oliver North of Iran-Contra fame. In some respects, Governor Palin is the Oliver North of 2008, and Sarah, the book, is not unlike the blast of Ollie-mania that occurred when he testified before Congress 20 years ago--which initially hid an overblown, exaggerated sense of self and recklessness. (For the record again, I voted for GOP incumbent John Warner over Ollie when he ran against him for the Senate). Eventually, we'll know whether Governor Palin is the right balance for Senator McCain and the country. But this book is no more thsn 20% helpful in making a judgment.