5 comments about The Book of Five Rings (Bushido--The Way of the Warrior).

1. I bought it for my boyfriend as a birthday gift. I ended up reading it too because he talk so great about it. I thought it was a great book and very well written. i enjoyed it very much and my boyfriend was very happy with it we plan on buying more books like this one.



2. Written in the 1600s by one of the great Samurais in history Musashi puts forth his ideas on sword fighting combat and life. I found this interesting. While the ideas are obviously geared toward sword fighting some with a slight alteration could apply to other martial arts/fighting sports. I'll leave the all the overly contemplative philosophical musings on this book to all the Zen Buddhists out there. There was also some good biographical stuff and artwork by him in this too.



3. I am a student of Zen for over 10 years now, recently getting interested and involved with Kendo. So, this was one of the first books I thought about reading that might combine the two interests. This is a very famous book from a very famous warrior/zen student/artist/eccentric. It is definitely worth a read, but I must say that it was short on both swordsmanship and Zen. It was too broad to be taken as a helpful guide for Kendo, although I'm sure it would be a great manual to supplement a student training with Miyamoto Musashi or one of his disciples. His thoughts on Zen are a little interesting and he seemed to have obviously been steeped in Zen and its teachings, but there are much better books on Buddhist/Zen thought. I am very interested in the seeming conflict in the Buddhist ideal of not killing and yet the practice of Zen was so attractive to many Samurai/warriors. In my humble opinion, The Life-Giving Sword: The Secret Teachings From the House of the Shogun by Yagyu Munenori, goes into that subject a little deeper and does make sense. I found the "Life-Giving Sword" much more interesting in terms of both swordsmanship guide and Zen thought and the combination of the two, although still not much help as a guide to Kendo without an instructor to help actually teach and guide a student through the material. I'm sure Miyamoto Musashi was an amazing person and would have been an impressive person to meet in real life, if we had time machines. ;) Still respectful of the man and his ideas, but too bad his book he left behind was more bones than flesh.



4. I've read three translations of this book thus far. One was terrible, one was excellent and this one is a good translation and a very good quality production.
   
   Unfortunately nearly every page is littered with pictures of flowers and sickles (and what appear at times to be snowflakes) behind the print. For me these images are very distracting.
   
   I give it four stars despite the images.



5. I have read this book at least 20 times and every time I read I get something new from it. I'm a business man and I read it primarily for the business value that it gives through the deep insights that Musashi accumulated through his life. Even the initial pages about how a carpenter should treat different kinds of wood for construction is simply mind blowing and outlook enhancing. I strongly recommend that you buy this translation (not Cleary's as his translation misses the nuances and tries to present the book in simple english - that can't be done) and read it and then reread it to enhance your understanding of the world and the strategy you should employ to stay ahead in business, career and life.

No comments about The Batboy.

5 comments about Racing Weight: How to Get Lean for Peak Performance.

1. This book is a wonderful resource for any endurance athlete trying to be the optimal weight for performance! The advice and suggestions are proven to be successful and have been great for me!



2. This well written book offers valuable insight into discovering and maintaining your ideal racing weight. Informative and easy to read.



3. This long overdue book with advice about reaching your ideal racing weight in various types of sport (running, cross-country skiing, cycling, rowing and swimming) is well-written and very informative. I would recommend it for (almost) everyone who wants to lose weight and lean up for peak performance. As a vegan, I have one very serious problem with the dietary advice though. Good (quality) food types are arbitrarily divided into fruit, lean protein, whole grain, low fat dairy and essential fats. Athletes are supposed to eat at least one and in some cases more than one serving of each of these categories, to maximize their nutrition. Fine and dandy. Problem is, one of the mainstays of vegan nutrition - and in many cases omnivore nutrition as well - is simply ignored. That is of course beans and legumes. You won't find a word of advice about eating healthy, carb- and protein-loaded (not to mention fiber & a host of other nutrients including calcium!) beans of a wide variety, and other legumes such as lentils. That is like writing a book about opera and leaving out Puccini or Verdi! A major error like this makes me question other assumptions and conclusions. Who edited this book? Anybody with at least a working knowledge of nutrition knows that beans and legumes play an invaluable role in a healthy diet.



4. Not an amazing book but I found that i was able to get a handful of good ideas from it. I already did all the calorie counting and so I am beyond that so I sort of skipped over a lot of that detail and just focused on the main messages that were given. It has a section that shows you what the pros eat which was fun. The one chapter has some great recipes too. Bottom line is that there is no magic to becoming lean so there is no magic in this book either. But there are some good solid principles to follow.



5. I purchased this book in my quest to loose weight while training for an upcoming 1/2 marathon. I am not a very skilled athlete in the sport of running but I do enjoy exercising daily and love to run. As many runners know, the key to improving your racing times is to be at your best performance weight. Although we know this, it is often difficult to acheive for many reasons. This book outlines many different sports (cycling, swimming, skiing, running, ect..)and how each sport requires a different body type, strength, and endurance. It talks about how genetics play a role in our body type and how using food to fuel our bodies will help us acheive our optimal performance weight. I am looking forward to putting some of this information to the test in my next training cycle. He offers inexpensive and practical ways to keep track of body fat, weight, and other numbers that any athlete is sure to love. I think this book has something to offer serious endurance athletes as well as recreational athletes looking to improve in their sport by fueling their bodies for their personal best results.

5 comments about The Blind Side (Movie Tie-in Edition) (Movie Tie-in Editions).

1. I saw the movie way before i read the book, but i can assure you, if you like the movie you'll love the book, it has and air of remembering the game, and taking you to the moments that really change the game of football.



2. 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. Like most of Michael Lewis' books, this one read easily and agreeably. Michael Oher's story is genuinely fascinating and inspiring. I skipped through some of the football history parts, as I found these too lengthy and lacking my interest in the story.
   
   The Tuohy family is to be admired for its altruism, dedication, affection, and determination in creating purpose and opportunity for this kid from the projects.
   
   As the book moves along, my appreciation of (mother) Leigh Anne Tuohy personality gradually diminishes, as her seeming almost snobby fixation of- and incessant reference to the (lavish) standards of belonging to the Tuohy family became nauseating.
   
   On the other side (father) Sean Tuohy's role in Michael Oher's life gains in stature as the book moves along. Sean Tuohy's determination to find loopholes in order for Michael Oher to reach the necessary GPA and be permitted to attend college, I appreciate as a father. The existing loopholes and the murky ways to reach a set GPA, as described in the book, I find highly debatable, if not unacceptable. It partially negates the purpose of an academic life and demonstrates a different set of rules with regard to gifted athletes.
   
   Regardless Michael Oher is a remarkable individual, who crossed an immense number of obstacles, through character strength and resolve, undoubtedly aided by an exceptionally selfless family.



4. I loved the movie. The book? Not so much.
   
   As an avid HS and college football fan, I appreciate the emphasis on the evolving game.
   
   As a long-time teacher, I appreciate the efforts to bring a struggling child up to his potential.
   
   As a football mom, well... Let me just say that we don't have bazillions of dollars and a myriad of contacts at our respective alma maters (and beautiful window treatments and $2000 kitchen tables). Nor were we willing to flaunt the rules or have our son declared LD and then sign him up for "personal development" classes from an online school so that he could circumvent the NCAA rules. He's playing DII ball on his own merits, and we're happy about that.
   
   I'm 3/4 of the way through this book, and while I am not one to give up on a book, I am just tired of reading this.
   
   The Tuohys have lots of money. Money talks. Ho-hum.



5. The Blind Side has great information. I teach students like Michael and I found the story very inspirational. The football information was very interesting. However, if you are not into football, you can skip those chapters and still get all of Michael's story. The most valuable information for me was the facts about differences in the children from different economic classes which are apparent as early as kindergarten.

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

5 comments about Open: An Autobiography.

1. This is an amazing book that brings you into a journey of one of the greatest tennis player that ever played. This is something people can really relate to and understand how tough and lonely it can be as an athlete and famous celebrity. A very interesting book that you can't stop reading. Highly recommended and nothing beats amazon.



2. I wanted to like this book very much. His story is interesting, his unappreciation of his mega career is not. Yes, I get it, he HATES most everything about his career. From his youth, he hated school, hated junior tournaments, hated his life, hated practice. As he gets older, he hates fame, continues to hate tennis. He conveniently leaves out mention of the wealth, power and fame tennis bestowes upon him. How is that? Yep, he hates being married to Brooke Shields, poor guy. He hates how tennis ruins his body. Whoa is the life of fame, popularity, and riches. If I had a dollar for everytime the word hate is used in this biography, I'd have a good bit toward retirement. Don't believe me? Count the times he uses "I hate" or "I hated" while you read this book. I do understand Andre has been unhappy, but a little perspective and a bit more appreciation for his money, fame, power and avid fans would have been appreciated.



3. Although I grew up watching Agassi's match regularly on TV, I never paid much attention & didn't know or care much about his personal life. I'm not a fan of autobiography neither, as I find them tend to be one-dimensional & read like history textbook. 'Open' is such a nice surprise, & way beyond my expectation. It's well written, sincere, captivating & absolutely candid. I never want to put down the book once I start reading, and I haven't felt that way about a book for a while now. Now that I've finished it, I not merely learn more about Agassi as a person, but I also learn more about myself and has gained a more lucid perspective about life. Thank you Agassi for openly reveal your feelings with us...



4. "Open" is perhaps the most open, honest, and engaging autobiography I have ever read. Most so-called autobiographies seem to have an axe to grind, an image to shape, or are an attempt to re-package history.
   
   With the help of ghostwriter, J.R. Moehringer, Mr. Agassi has crafted a book that appears to be brutally honest, showing Mr. Agassi with all his faults and insecurities.
   
   Much of the early part of the book shows how the young Agassi revolted against his controlling father and all authority figures. The only thing preventing me from calling this a solid 5-star book is that Mr. Agassi's tone seems a little whiney after awhile when describing these situations. It wore me down after awhile (as it obviously wore him down when he had to live through it).
   
   "Open" is a great ride that provides the reader with glimpses behind the scenes of the ATP and gives the reader a better idea of the real Andre Agassi rather than the image concocted by the American marketing machine.



5. Very possible the most readable biography I have ever read. Certainly of the few I read cover to cover in one sitting.

5 comments about Baseball Prospectus 2010.

1. Baseball Prospectus has had some personnel changes and the current roster is stronger in mathematicians than writers. This edition is dull. The imagination is all in the statistics, whereas the team sections tend to be boring recaps of the 2009 season that could have been written by anyone; there's no insight here. I usually look forward to this annual and tear through it greedily, but this year it keeps putting me to sleep.



2. every year baseball prospectus just gets better and better it is one of a few must have annuals i MUST HAVE. i lug this big book everywhere i go in the month leading up to my fantasy draft. you cant beat the individual commentary and i love the player comparisons for each player which is unique to prospectus. last year i won my league and i couldn't have done it without this book.



3. Baseball Prospectus puts-out a great book each season. Great insight and statistical analysis for players and teams. Very helpful for those in fantasy baseball leagues too.



4. This book is outstanding! The service thru Amazon was terrific! The offer of 2 day delivery was good for me. Good stuff!



5. If you're a fan of the game and don't read BP, you might be misinformed, if not ill informed, about baseball. Great stuff, as usual. Highly recommended and thankfully there's an index this year.

1 comments about Player's Handbook 3: A 4th Edition D&D Core Rulebook.

1. The Player's Handbook 3 is Wizards of the Coast's latest Dungeons and Dragons player supplement. Like the Player's Handbook 2, it introduces the player to new classes, races, feats, items, and character generation rules. While these rules are well-implemented and generally thoughtful in concept, a few oversights decrease the book's overall quality.
   
   The PH3 adds the long-awaited Psionic power source to the player's arsenal, and this new resource is very different from the past 4e power sources. Every role is filled, and the overall game mechanics are changed notably by three of these classes in order to provide a unique play experience. Instead of gaining encounter powers, Ardents, Battleminds, and Psions gain power points, a per-encounter resource that can be used to augment many of their daily powers, replaceable at-will powers, and even item powers. These augments might change the range, damage, or control effects of a given power. While it may take a while to fully understand the balance implications of these revisions, at first glance this mechanic appears fresh and useful.
   
   To complement the new classes, WotC included four races for player use. The Githzerai, Minotaur, Shardmind, and Wilden are all in this source book, and are given PH2 style racial paragon paths. These races fit the new classes well, and as usual grant the player a +2 to two ability scores. The twist is that, in all cases, the player is given a choice between two ability scores to increase. For example, the Shardmind always receives a +2 to Intelligence, but the player can choose between Wisdom and Charisma as a second ability score bonus. This flexibility increases the player's control over the character and provides more possible variety in the race roster.
   
   In terms of feats, items, and skills, it appears that the PH3 has the usual fare, with one notable exception. Skill powers allow players to swap utility powers for new powers that correspond to trained skills. This new option is flavorful and makes your character's skills more useful both in and out of combat. As usual, expect to find interesting new items and feats that work well with the new classes and races.
   
   Perhaps the most far-reaching development in the PH3 is the addition of Hybrid class rules. These rules allow an effective combination of character classes starting from level one, and result in more of a 50/50 split between the 2 classes than the PH1's multiclass rules. Every class is given a hybrid write up (features only, so you still need another source for powers), and the player is given rules for picking two of these write ups and combining them into one class. Many notable class features are lost, but some can be regained through the Hybrid Talent feat and more powers and features can be gained by forgoing a Paragon Path (much like Paragon Multiclassing). Hybrid rules do not stop a player from multiclassing into a third class, and this feature could result in some truly interesting three-class characters. Indeed, these rules will strongly affect every player supplement released in this edition of D&D, as every new class and class feature will need a hybrid version printed to be compatible with this rule.
   
   Finally, I have a few critiques to note. First, as I read, I ran into many powers and class features that are not well-edited. The Battlemind in particular may have real problems if the DM does not allow for some slight rule flexibility to make his features work as the rules clearly intend (if you are curious about a lot of these issues, I encourage you to check out the D&D forums). Second, a major inconsistency really bothered me. The Monk, a psionic striker in this edition, does not follow the power point rules that every other psionic class follows. While the Monk has its own interesting mechanics, it could have easily fallen under the martial source given its nature, and it's very disappointing to me that no striker exists that uses power points. Third, and probably most important, the Runepriest and the Seeker feel like filler classes. While they may be robust and interesting in terms of gameplay, they do not fit the psionic mold of the book, and unlike the PH2, the PH3 only adds six classes. These strange new divine and primal additions simply feel out of place, and I think the PH2's approach of adding four classes from one source and two from two others made it a better read.
   
   The PH3 is a buy for players who enjoy D&D and want psionic options, or even for those who just care about hybrid rules. The new player options are plentiful and are sufficiently different from past material that a simple reflavoring of other power sources will not do psionics or hybrid rules justice. A few implementation problems keep these great ideas from perfection, but I certainly hope WotC continues in this general direction for future supplements.

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

1. I had extremely high expectations for this book. They were met. Let me explain.
   
   My late dad was a NY Giants fan who told me myth like stories of watching the great Willie Mays at the Polo Grounds. Later he and I watched Willie Mays when was with the NY Mets and nearing the end of his career. People have complained about Willie's diminished skills back then, but his coming to the NY Mets gave me and my dad a chance to bond at Shea Stadium, while rooting for our team, in a way that can only happen in baseball.
   
   This book is not just any book. It is a book that my dad and I would have shared and talked about if he were still alive. Willie Mays and baseball are two things that brought my dad and I closer. My dad would have approved of this book.
   
   I read this book in three nights. Even though I knew a lot about Willie Mays this book gave me insights into the man I had not picked up in other books.
   
   Even though this was authorized by Willie Mays, the author brings in a host of outside sources including fellow ball players, reporters, baseball officials and sponsors who knew Willie Mays. While the overall portrait of Willie Mays is good the author does bring up instances which are critical of Mays. While the book is kind to Willie it is also fair and does not hesitate to show when Willie Mays was not the mythical hero my dad talked about but a man with flaws.
   
   I especially enjoyed the sections on Willie's early days in the Polo Grounds and when he was traded to the Mets in 1972 and 1973. My dad told me stories about Willie when he first came up to the Giants and I learned a lot about that time in this book. I remember when Willie came to the Mets and the book gave me a lot of information about that time period as well.
   
   I am impressed with the extensive notes section in the book and the extensive bibliography and index. The notes and the bibliography sections are much more detailed than I would expect to find in sports biography. A good index is critical in a book like this because fans will want to go directly to aspects of Willie's life that interest them. While I don't have the index in my advanced copy of this book I did look at it on Amazon's book preview above and it is thorough.
   
   My only complaint is the career stats page or to be more precise the lack of a real career stats section or real career stats. The career stats section is one page and it does not list his playoff stats. The book could also have included states from the Minor Leagues and Willie's time with the Black Barons in the Negro League. Baseball is about stats. More should have been included.



2. This is an amazing story about the life of baseball legend Willie Mays. It was interesting and easy to read and gave you a deeper look into this man's life. It was an excellent biography.



3. Much has been written about Willie Mays, this is among the best. Extremely detailed, this book seeks to put Mays' life in a historical context. It is particularly good at addressing questions about why Mays wasn't as far in the forefront of the struggle for equality as was Jackie Robinson
   
   Perhaps the one thing I took away from the book was a reminder of the joy of playing the game that Mays exibited when he took the field. This book is one of the great sports biographies, taking it's place alongside Recent bios of Clemente and Gehrig. Essential sports biography



4. Almost three decades after they retired from baseball and after a black man has been elected president of the United States, it is sometimes difficult to remember what players such as Willie Mays and Hank Aaron went through. They started playing in the segregated Negro Leagues and were pioneers in the integration of baseball and American society. Through their careers, they saw opportunities open up for black players as coaches, managers and executives. Yet, as late at the middle 1980's baseball executive Al Campanis stated on national television that blacks "lacked the necessities" to be effective executives.
   As Aaron states in his book, "I Had a Hammer" and is restated in this book, some of the significant and unsung heroes of the integration of baseball were some of the teammates of the trailblazing blacks. Aaron mentions his white teammate that with bat in hand; escorted the white players when they walked in a southern town. In this book, an incident with Mays is described where on his first night in a strange town when he was segregated from his white teammates, some of them snuck up the fire escape and spent the night in his room so he wouldn't be lonely. Given Willie's innate shyness, he had no better first manager than Leo Durocher, a man that seemed to know exactly what to say to Willie.
   I also commend Hirsch for including incidents of racism against Willie and other black players over a decade after integration. One of the most incredible incidents in this despicable bag is when a white Giants player was heard saying after a disappointing year, "The problem with this team is that there are too many Negroes." Given that four of the players on the team were Juan Marichal, Willie McCovey, Orlando Cepeda and Willie Mays and all of them are in the baseball hall of fame, this has to rank as one of the dumbest comments about a baseball team ever recorded. It would be clear to anyone that the dead weight on that team was white and Hirsch was very kind not to quote the player by name.
   In my opinion, Mays is the best all-around baseball player of all time, no one has ever played the field better than he did. One of the most amazing items in this book is that Mays and some of those who watched him all argue that his famous catch against Vic Wertz was not the best fielding play he ever made. It is unfortunate that there is no footage, because it is hard to imagine how anything could have been better than that. I personally would have to see it to believe it. His statistics at the plate are also excellent, they would have been even better had he done what other great hitters did, take a day off on a regular basis. There is also little doubt that if Mays had played in a home park more favorable to right-handed hitters and if he had not been drafted, his career home run total would have been near or over 800. Hirsch also does not neglect stories about Willie's talents running the bases, not just stolen bases but doing things like slowing down to draw a throw so that a teammate behind him can take an extra base.
   This is one of the best biographies of a sports legend that I have ever read, Hirsch is kind to Willie, but not overly so. What he does is point out how generous Willie was and also how naive he was at times. This trait was the source of many of Willie's difficulties off the field, including in his personal life and relationship with the Giants ownership. After you read some biographies of sports legends your opinion of them is diminished, not so in this case. I watched Willie play on television several times and have seen many of his highlights. He is a great man and this book will rightly add to his already considerable legend.



5. I am a big baseball fan, and admittedly not a Giants fan, but knew Willie Mays was one of the greatest ballplayers in the history of the game. I chose to read this book to further my education of baseball history, as I look forward to Spring every year, waiting for baseball to begin.
   
   I did get something else besides learning about baseball with this book. I received an education in the lives of Black Americans in the early 20th century. Of course I knew of the Civil Rights movement, and the major flash points of it, but never before have I read in great detail on how poorly these Americans were treated, right here on American soil. Wow, were my eyes opened. I did shed some tears reading about some of these accounts. I also had a few tears reading about how some of Willie's White teammates didn't let color separate them, and climbed in the window and spent the night with him in his Black hotel room, on the floor on his first night up to the Giants' farm team.
   
   The book accounts all of Willie's life, his complicated but supportive family circle, and his friendships and relationships throughout his baseball career. I don't feel it is necessary to list all of the topics covered in this book, because if you are a baseball fan, you will want to read it. Baseball fans have heard about "the catch" and "the shot heard round the world", yes it's all here. The story of the early days of Major League Baseball, and of the rivalry and passion that it was about is illustrated in this book. If you are interested in learning more about the early days of the Civil Rights movement, I definitely encourage it. I think it is important to know, so history does not repeat itself upon any group of people.

5 comments about Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen.

1. I learned about 'Born To Run' from a local store here in NC that is selling the vibram fivefingers. I honestly wasn't sure what to expect when I bought this book. Once I began reading it, I couldn't put it down!
   
   Prior to reading this book, I ran three miles, three days per week, pushing myself to run five miles, an additional day per week. After reading this book, I began running five miles just about everyday and seven miles one of those days. Like other reviews said, my calves did kill me the first 2 weeks of implementing the new running style. Prior to reading the book, I was beginning to have pains in my left heel. I was worried I would eventually have to stop running in order for my heel to heal. Once I started running the new running style, my heal got better and quite hurting all together. I agree with the author. If I feel a pain while running, I go through my check list of what I may be doing wrong, make the necessary corrections and notice the pain goes away.
   
   I've been told, vibram is coming out with an additional style of the fivefingers in August. I'm planning on purchasing the shoe at that time.
   
   This book is a MUST read!



2. My Mother-In-Law recommended this in audiobook format for me to listen to on the plane trip from Florida to Iraq. I'm in the Air Force and needed something to kill the time on my loooong trip to my deployment. I slept very little on the trip and listened to this entire book. I was so pumped up by this great story and so tired of being cramped up in an airplane for almost 24 hours that when I reached Qatar I immediately went and ran 2 miles in my combat boots! The story telling is done in such a way that by the end of the book you're totally on the edge of your seat waiting to hear the outcome of the big showdown between the ultrarunners. I also liked all of the theories interspersed throughout on running shoes, diet, and how humans are evolved to be distance runners. Just days before leaving my wife talked me into purchasing these goofy new shoes called Vibrams. They make me look like I have big animal paws! After listening to this book, I can't wait to get to Baghdad and fish my Vibrams out of my luggage so I can go for a long run. Thanks, Judy, for the recommendation! Thanks, Pookie Bear, for talking me into the Vibrams! And thanks Oso for inspiring me run like a real human was meant to run!



3. This book tracks a remote mexican tribe that call themselves "the running people". Noted for their long distance running (100 miles +), the author works to become accepted and to set up a race between the best of the tribe and some US ultraruning champions. It's well written and held my attention throughout the book. A sub theme is the fact the tribe runs in flat sandals and delves into barefoot and minimalist footwear running. I read it for more insight into barefoot running but thought it was a great read also. If you're into running highly recommended, even if you're not, it's a great read.



4. A very inspiring book with lots of terrific hints into running, and more importantly for me, life. A great read for anyone, not just an athlete. Full of interesting people, it paints a vidid picture of a very remote part of Mexico and the people who live there. It also shares the world of Ultra Marathon runners...amazing!



5. I enjoyed this book so much. I've been running regularly for 17 years, and this book re-kindled the joy of it for me. Even if you're not a runner, there is much to enjoy here. It also showed me how I've bought in to the running shoe myth, and now I'm running more naturally in some old, barely-padded sneakers, and feeling better than ever. Highly recommended.