No comments about Baseball America 2010 Prospect Handbook: The Comprehensive Guide to Rising Stars from the Definitive Source on Prospects (Baseball America Prospect Handbook).

5 comments about Strength Training Anatomy - 2nd Edition.

1. I was referred to this book because it is used by many physiology/exercise/health students at my university. Am glad I bought it. The muscle graphics are excellently done. It is very clear which muscles are being worked by the various exercises. What I like most about the book is it presents a few exercises for each muscle group versus some books that present 50 exercises for each muscle group. Having so many excercises can be overwhelming to those new to working out. This is an well written and presented book for body building.



2. I bought this at Costco on a whim, because I weight train and it is really fantastic.
   
   Explanations of what an excercise will do and what muscle groups are an excellent source of information, but I am a visiual learner and this product really shows you what each excercise does in the gym, so you can focus on a particular area more easily. It is not and encyclopedia but a great resource of information.
   
   It has the info with the pictures to help and considering it is translated it is still fairly easy to understand.
   
   For weight trainers this is a great resource!



3. Strength Training Anatomy has proven to be an excellent resource.
   
   I volunteer in the fitness center at a catastrophic hospital. When working with clients on resistance exercises, the book provides easy-to-understand graphics of how the exercises should be performed and which muscles, muscle groups, and bones are involved in each exercise. The result is a better understanding of why certain exercises are being recommended and how exercises, when done properly, complement one another in meeting specific fitness goals.



4. I have not done a lot of strength training, but decided that if I wanted to begin lifting weights, I wanted to know exactly what to expect. This book is my first reference when deciding which muscles to work for every session. The pictures are incredible and show exactly which muscles are targeted. It gives me the ability to choose multiple exercises to ensure that I am getting the most out of the workout. Highly recommended.



5. I bought this for a class but I even use it for my own workouts for a little change in my routine because it has so many different exercises.

5 comments about Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman.

1. Like many people, I didn't know that much about Pat Tillman past the much rehashed fact that he walked away from a multi-million dollar NFL contract to join the Army. In Where Men Win Glory, Krakauer delves deep into the life and upbringing of Pat Tillman, and his decision to join the Army. It was refreshing, and also surprising, that Tillman was not very fond of the majority of the Army. His journal, which the Tillman family has graciously allowed Krakauer access to, paints a picture of a man trying to do the right thing, but conflicted with his personal opinions of the government from which he takes orders. Although he is strong in his conviction of fighting for America, he is less than enthused about the politics and procedures in the Army.
   
   The closest to the truth about the tragedy of Pat Tillman is found in this book. The government had lied over and over again about the events that transpired that led to Pat's untimely death. In this book, Krakauer does excellent research to get accounts of the people who were there, reports as to what really happened, and lays out all the miscommunications and bad decisions that led to that fateful day.
   
   Although this book is titled `Where Men Win Glory-the Odyssey of Pat Tillman', it is so much more than that; readers are given a thorough history of the conflict in the Middle East. At times I felt bogged and overwhelmed in minute detail. The war in Afghanistan is long and complex, and the author spends a significant part of the book describing events and ideology. Krakauer makes no attempt to hide his distaste and lack of respect for the Bush administration, and while it is easy to understand his point of view, I think he came on a little too thick, and it ended up more along the lines of angry tirades rather than thoughtful criticism.
   
   Ultimately, though, the disservice that the US government bestowed upon Pat Tillman and his family, and the lessons that can be learned from this tragedy make this book worth reading. One man trying to do what he thought was right ended up being war propaganda, and the circumstances of his death led to a vast cover-up. Krakauer does a thorough job not only describing the events, but the man who was in the center of it all.



2. Where economically challenged newspapers and magazines fail to cover the complexities of their stories, "Where Men Win Glory" brandishes the power of great journalism. Yes, with a little time and patience a writer like Krakauer can get to the heart of a beautifully unique human event.
   
   This book kept me gripped in the enigma that was Pat Tillman while setting in place a collision course with the historical episodes that have shaped Afghanistan over the last three decades. A must read for those that have enjoyed Krakauers previous works. He has returned my faith in investigative reporting.



3. A pretty good read. There are huge chunks of important time and events that appear to be not covered or edited out. There also appears to be a bias at many points in the book. The truth is guilt lies with many people and they will have to live with it. The loss of Pat Tillman, or any soldier in these circumstances is unforgiveable. My heart aches for all of us soldiers that serve our country as brothers - sisters in arms and share a common understanding of the war(s). We know what it takes to achieve victory, but are thwarted by senior leaders in search of rank and personal recognition.



4. Jon Krakauer has a gift for telling stories of extraordinary achievements by remarkable individuals in such a way that those heroes become accessible to the reader and appear as fully-realized human beings. This was the case for me when I read "Into Thin Air" and "Into the Wild." He continues his string of soul-stirring stories with "Where Men Win Glory."
   
   I first learned of the death - the sacrifice - of Pat Tillman in the Sports Illustrated article that told of his decision to leave his job in the NFL to enlist in the Army and fight in Iraq and Afghanistan. I was so moved that I hung a picture from that copy of SI in my office as a reminder of all those who make similar sacrifices to serve our nation. Little did I know how much more there was to this story. Krakauer's book brings to light the rest of the story of his death by "friendly fire" that has been teased out over the active resistance and obstruction by many in the upper echelons of the Army, Department of Defense and White House. As told by Krakauer, this is a story that makes one proud of Tillman and other heroes who have covered themselves sacrificially in glory. The story also makes one cringe at the ineptitude and mendacity of those who acted less than heroically - on the battlefield and in the comfortable offices back in the Pentagon and in the White House.
   
   The blurb on the back of the book gives an apt overview of this book:
   
   "Pat Tillman walked away from a million-dollar NFL contract to join the Army and became an icon of port-9/11 patriotism. when he was killed in Afghanistan two years later, he became a tool for white House propaganda. Thus a legend was born. But the real Pat Tillman was much more remarkable, and considerably more complicated, than the fiction sold to the public."
   
   
   If you are anything like I am, reading this book will make you weep and gnash your teeth. Our sons and daughters who step up to go abroad and fight our wars deserve better treatment than that which was given to Pat Tillman, his brother Kevin and others in his unit. The families of those who fall deserve better treatment than that accorded to Tillman's wife and family.
   
   At the end of the day, I reflect on what I want to think and feel as a result of the multiple-layered tragedy that was the death of Pat Tillman and the subsequent cover-up. As I reflect, I am reminded of Abraham Lincoln's parting words as he stood by the gravesite of the thousands who had fallen at Gettysburg as a result of the large-scale fratricide that was our inglorious Civil War:
   
   "But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate--we cannot consecrate--we cannot hallow--this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us--that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion--that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain--that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom-- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
   
   Amen!
   
   Al



5. Outstanding and important book that entertains and educates at the same time. Every American should read this book.

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

1. I wouldn't know if this is a good product or not because it was never shipped to me. I ordered it six weeks ago and have heard nothing from either amazon or the seller.



2. One of the most heartwarming, true stories I have read in ages. A "must read" or a "must see' (movie).
   
   Although they are entirely different in subject matter, I would put the book on a par with Mitch Albom's "Have a Little Faith."



3. The movie was awesome and so was the book! What an amazing story! Two thumbs up! Michael Oher is an inspiration!



4. Michael Lewis does his homework
   Well-written, original and hard to put down
   Enjoyed the whole book



5. My favorite reading is a book that tells the story of real people, and The Blind Side relates an incredible, uplifting story of professional football player Michael Oher, who, through the help of a wealthy Memphis family and his unbelievable size and athletic ability, found a life he couldn't have imagined from his vantage point as a child in the Memphis ghetto. I bought the book and read it after I saw the movie and a television interview with the real-life Touhys. Then, I bought a second copy as a gift (I'm not giving mine up). Michael Lewis has used his considerable sportswriting background to tell the story in an easy narrative style. It's true that the reader sees only glimpses of the back stories of the characters. However, by focusing on events, Lewis has created a fast read as he quickly moves the story along. I found the movie characters to be more richly developed than those in the book. (Sandra Bullock is a deadringer for Leigh Anne Touhy and deserves the Oscar nomination she received. Even Tim McGraw is developing as a passable actor.) I will add that for someone (moi!) who does not know football strategy, that (short) part of the book was over my head though that problem was no fault of Michael Lewis's. I will forever recognize the name Lawrence Taylor, however.
   
   One mark of a good book is that it leaves the reader wanting more, and this one may be ripening for a sequel. What has happened to the Touhys? Did Leigh Anne get her wish for a building and a school for other promising athletes who can't cut it in public school? What is Michael Oher doing with his millions? What has happened to his mamma? His 13 siblings? I want to be on the waiting list for that sequel when Lewis thinks it's ready to be written. I am already on the waiting list for the DVD of the movie!

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

1. Fitzgerald is a great training resource, and I was very excited to get this book as weight is not addressed enough in the sport of running and how it can affect performance.
   
   Unfortunately, he does fall back into some of the party-line statements about diet and calorie consumption that have been outdated or completely disproved.
   
   For instance, he touts the discredited theory that muscle burns 40-50kcal per pound whereas fat only burns 3-5kcal. This factors heavily into his argument for being lean rather than just light, but it IS NOT TRUE. Muscle does burn more calories, but the two numbers are more like 4-6kcal/lb for muscle and 3-5kcal/lb for fat. It is a small difference overall.
   
   And he also touches on nutrient timing for performance, which is GOOD. But he too easily slips into saying that you can also change up the times of the day that you eat in order to lose more weight. Also, not so much.
   
   So... not a bad book and it addresses an underrepresented topic, but check sources and make sure that you really trust what he is saying before committing 100% to his statements.



2. This book was perfect for me. Practical, easy and fun to read with tons of good science and applied training experience. I have read all the other "diet" books in the last 10 years, this one blows them all away. Fitzgerald not only utilizes his experience in training and coaching, but masterfully uses the most up-to-date scientific data and studies to give us encouragement in a successful plan and debunks some of the other "science-based" diets. Being a real athlete, and having been heavier than my racing weight, this book has worked for me and inspired me to achieve my goals.



3. I bought this book for a research project I am doing at college for the women's rowing team. I received the book on Friday and finished it by Saturday! It is packed full of practical information and backed up with all sorts of references. I love that this book not only talks about the way different foods affect your metabolism, but also the power of sitting down to enjoy your meals. The short section on supplements was also a great and concise chapter that covered some of the supplements I get the most questions about, such as creatine and whey. I have been a collegiate rower for four years now and watched many of my teammates struggle with how to lose weight while maintaining such a demanding training schedule. The answer comes down to making small, subtle changes that really add up and Matt addresses these changes really well. The section that includes sample diets of professional endurance athletes was also super helpful! Crash diets and cutting out carbohydrates does not work for training endurance athletes and I think the girls on my team will benefit greatly from the information that I will be citing from this book in my research paper. Thanks Matt for an awesome read and my new nutrition bible!



4. According to the rest of the world, I'm already underweight. My upper body looks like it was locked in a room and made to wither away. My face is almost getting that sunken in cheek thing, and my body fat percentage is well under what is necessary to be considered "healthy". As a mildly competitive cyclist, however, I'm considerably overweight. I've been wishing for a book that would give me the tools I need to lose my kind of weight, but without losing that all important metric of "power" and this is exactly what I needed.
   
   I found this book very helpful in creating a diet plan for weight loss, while keeping my fitness at the level I need it to be. The author cites lots of real studies, and gives not only the results, but also some of the more pertinent details of how the studies were performed. His diet plan is simple, it makes sense given the studies cited, and it's realistic to follow. I'm recommending this book to any of my serious cycling friends who are interested in doing more than just training on the bike in order to gain fitness.
   
   I don't really have any criticism, but I do wish it was longer and went into more depth about cycling specific requirements, stage racing, what to eat during rest days, etc. It's obvious that the author is a runner, but he includes many (although there are never enough) cycling specific points. More detailed recipes would be nice also, but as a whole, I really enjoyed the information provided, and will utilize it from here on out.



5. An excellent, well-written book based on the best, most recent evidence--not diet fads and internet rumors. It's the most informative book on the topic, and its fun to read.

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

1. The movie was so incredible we had to read the book. Surprising to see how closely the movie adhered to it, but with more than the movie was able to include.
   Wonderful story - the kind of real people good news we could use more of.
   Very hard to take a break from this story.



2. Loved "Money Ball" and "Blind Side" is just as good. Michael Lewis is one of the few authors that gets me laughing out loud (Lawrence Taylor describing his goals and techniques for quarterback sacks was hilarious).
   
   In both Money Ball and Blind Side, Lewis is attempting to understand some of the economics underlying the game (baseball in Money Ball and football in Blind Side). This is not strictly the movie story. The movie story is a big part of the book, but the focus of the book is on how free-agency changed the economics of the left tackle position. Michael Oher and his story are used to exhibit this ... and add some emotional depth to the book. The Oher story is truly heartwarming.
   
   Terrific read and you learn something along the way.



3. I saw the movie first. then read the book,it gave a more detailed look and insight of the athelete. good movie but for me the book had to much info on football.



4. I haven't seen the movie but I know the lead character ends up being drafted by the Baltimore Ravens. Why does the book take its time getting Michael involved only to rush the ending and leave you basically after his freshman year at Ole Miss? I mean does nothing else happen? We know it does. No instead we have same lame epilogue chapter that is supposed to suffice for the fact that the book is not finished.



5. This book was really good. I learned, I laughed, I cried and most of all I enjoyed. Gave it to a friend to read and he is on chapter 4 and said that it was the best book he has ever read....

5 comments about The Book of Basketball: The NBA According to The Sports Guy.

1. Well written, researched, and funny. Players from other eras come alive in the Sports Guy's inimitable style.



2. There's no way you'll agree with everything Simmons says in this book regarding the top 96 players of all time, but there's also no way you'll regret having purchased this tome of hoops. Simmons takes us through the evolution of the game and attempts to make sense of how rules changes, and the influx of non-caucasians, throughout the years have altered the way the game is played. Simmons uses his irreverent humor to good affect here, and in spite of his 'homer' tendencies to the Boston Celtics manages to present fairly unbiased views of the players he talks about. I'll be returning to this book many times in the upcoming years, and would eagerly read a follow-up ten years down the line when LeBron, Wade, and Carmelo have reached the end of their careers.



3. I bought this gift for my boyfriend this past Christmas and he loved it! At one point he was laughing to hard he started to cry and have tears in his eyes, I've never seen him laugh so hard.
   If you're guy loves sports especially basketball this is a good gift!



4. Bill Simmons takes you on a long--make that VERY long--voyage to the land of NBA Enlightenment. Yes, it's over-the-top, and yes, he's a Boston Homer, but isn't rooting for the Home Team part of the joy of being a fan?
   
   It's chock full of stats, anecdotes, and the requisite Simmons cultural references (with all the snide asides intact). It's informative all the time, amusing most of the time, and laugh-out-loud funny some of the time. In the end, it's a 702-page love letter to the game he truly loves and is passionate about, and the journey is more than worth it...



5. following his articles/book tours he always made a joke about how long this was (it stopped a bullet with 200 pages to spare). on an amazon sale i picked it up figuring i'd read it in between some others, take a few months to read it all. then i started reading and couldn't stop. i had to know what was coming up next. the footnotes seem tedius but they really add a lot to break up the monotony of reading so much about sports. it gives great insight into the early years of the nba, the things that aren't really mainstream (rampant drug use, gambling, sex) and a lot of other items that were important at one time but have since been forgotten. i only knew bill walton as an annoying clippers announcer and dreaded when he was on the nbc telecasts.. i have a new appreciation for him as a player and how modest he is that's kept the casual fan remembering as one of the greatest ever.
   
   my only complaints (and he admitted it on the site) that the last 200 pages were rushed, so a lot of errors that were just confusing. and a lot of his comments on the kobe and the current celtics trio has since changed dramatically in just a few months. not really his fault, that's sports. but for something that has just been released its out of date.

No comments about Baseball Prospectus 2010.

5 comments about Open: An Autobiography.

1. Even though Andre Agassi has had a shortened education he says that enjoyed English. This book is apparently very much in his own words and pulls no punches about the sport of tennis or his own life. It's fascinating reading whether the reader is a tennis fan/player or not.



2. This is a well written book; almost like an expose but better. Once you start reading it, you can't put it down. Andre invites you to take a journey of his "heart and soul". You will read about ups and down. I found this book to be very uplifting and entertaining. Well written biography. Enjoy!



3. As an avid tennis fan (and player when I was growing up) Andre has given us a truly moving, open and honest account of his life as a tennis player. I could not put it down. As we could not get this copy in English here, I especially ordered it from Amazon and was not disappointed. Thanks Andre, you (and Stephanie) are true stars. May your school go from strength to strength. Tel Aviv.



4. From the moment I finished reading the first chapter, I knew Open was special. I never knew anything about Andre Agassi before I read this book, I like watching Tennis when I can. Agassi claims he's one of those tennis players who bring the best out of not-so-worthy opponents. His best matches are often matches when he was 2 sets down only to come back with a different attitude in the deciding sets. What really won the book for me was Agassi's absolutely mortifying description of how much he hated tennis and his childhood. I will give Open full marks for irony and Agassi doesn't hold anything back with respect to what he really thinks of tennis players or the media or England or France. His relationship with his brother and best friend is heartening to read about.
   
   On the back of this book there is this photo of Agassi as a 8 year old tennis player and I feel that book says it all. I started reading this book during the beginning of the year and I finished it early Feb. Maybe I wanted to read one chapter a day so as to absorb the most of the book.
   
   I don't necessarily think of Open as a self-help book. I think of it is a beautiful piece of art worth celebrating and commemorating. Open is a lovely autobiography of a tennis players life. Of how after two hours of a tennis match, there are only two tennis players and everything else is inconsequential. Agassi the rebel, Agassi the punk, Agassi the star, Agassi the cool kid, Agassi the aggressor, Agassi the quiet, Agassi the hustler, Alle Agassi.
   
   I'm going to make everyone who's influenced my life remotely read this. I don't even feel like sharing this book yet with many people. It's an absolutely harrowing read. There are many things we might have disliked about Agassi if we knew him but the journey this man had before reaching his best deserves an award.
   
   
   The book is flawless, readers.



5. Agassi has always had something special. A magnetism that made him a global superstar. I'm sure millions of non tennis fan's started watching the game because he was playing, as I did.
   This book is the complete opposite to the usual drivel that sport's star's often dish out. I am inspired and heartened by his honesty and lack of bravado.
   He is not afraid to divulge secret's that most people would only tell there closest friend's. Due to this, the reader get's a real insight into what make's this man tick.

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

1. There's a lot to say about this book and no shortage of press tackling the cultural and sporting aspects; so I'm gearing my review to people who looking for a good read rather than a book about running.
   
   Born to Run ties together a story of a Mexican Indian tribe, the perils of running shoes, emerging anthropological theories, the lifestyles of American ultra-marathon runners, and even squeaks in some nutritional information in one slender book. To McDougall's credit, the topics transition smoothly from an impending race to the author's own running history.
   
   During a stint as a sports literature editor I was amazed daily at the sheer awfulness of some of the stories - and even the good stories were rarely told with a thought to form. My first happy surprise with McDougall's book was that he knows how to write! He writes with humor, a good eye for detail, and an ability to weave in facts and context to provide a full, wonderfully human, picture.
   
   As I mentioned, he ties together chapters on, say, the history of an Indian tribe with his quest to find an American vagabond, a few pages on studies of running shoes and their detrimental effect on runners with a few more pages on ultra-marathon culture in America, then circles back to the Indian tribe and continues the story from there. I like to picture McDougall looking at his unfinished chapters wondering if he should try to form some type of cohesive narrative and push out a book that no one will probably read, or publish a series of six or seven tight articles. Glad he went with the book.
   
   There two criticisms worth mentioning. First, while McDougall paces his words with the care an Ultra-marathoner paces a race, he adds jarring cliff hangers at the end of chapters. One chapter ends with "Little did I know we'd be running for our lives.' These cliff hangers are annoying and the calamity they foreshadow never occurs. But, compared with enjoyment of the rest of the book, easily forgivable.
   
   The second criticism stems from the book's press. Readers often expect facts and figures about running and some sort of deep cultural history and social commentary on the Tarahumara tribe, No. Not in this book. If this book did try to offer a deep and meaningful understanding of anything, it would have to loose the cursory information of its other topics - which is exactly why this book is so fun to read. The book treads lightly on all of its subjects; each area gets enough light to reveal outlines and cast a few shadows. For any parts of particular interest to you - the internet is at your disposal.



2. About a third of the way through the book I stopped and ordered one fedexed to my favorite client.
   
   When he was a third of the way through he called me and asked if it was fiction or non-fiction.
   
   In a meeting last week he mentioned the book to his staff in glowing terms.
   
   The concepts in the book have come up in conversations on airplanes, at neighbor's houses and with family.
   
   And we're not even runners.
   
   Buy this book and read it.



3. Great story. Book arrived in excellent condition, and very timely. If there is anything that could make me take up running, it's this book.



4. A very entertaining book with interesting characters and useful information. A must-read for runners.



5. A true adventure story and a real page-turner full of fascinating people and ideas.
   Every ten pages or so you'll want to tell someone "Listen to this...".