Sports Books

This book is a great read, and clearly sets forth what you won't hear in the news. He did not fail the drug test, and the USADA should be ashamed of themselves -- I can't believe my tax dollars supported the USADA garbage.

This is one of those books you can't put down at night. Floyd is a
down to earth guy who tells it like it is about many aspects as a
professional bike racer and everything that goes all with, both
good and bad. You learn the inside scoop on european backward
thinking as well as the policies of the usada-a pathetic organization
at the taxpayers expense.
This book just might enspire you to get out on
your bike more.

"Positively False: How I won the Tour de France, by Floyd Landis w/ Loren Mooney is a well written account of the Life of Floyd Landis leading up his unconventional victory at the Tour de France (TdF) in 2006. His victory was then followed immediately by his fall from grace by the accusations of drug doping from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). There is nothing sophisticated in Floyd's writing, it is conversational in tone and flows extremely well, I finished in a single travel day. His writing competence is no doubt a strong reflection of a Mennonite education with perhaps a helping hand from Loren Mooney. I felt that Floyd was on the other end of the pen talking directly to me.

His story is timeless and the antidotal evidence to support the injustices athletes may suffer at the hands of those with absolute power ring true. It was a witch-hunt for sure and there were many responsible for pushing the inquisitors forward. Unfortunately, with so many athletes actually guilty of the cheating of which they have been accused, it is almost impossible to save the few who are truly innocent. Unlike an actual witch-hunt when everybody is actually innocent. A better analogy would be capital punishment, where on the whole there is sufficient evidence to have a trial, but the outcome is so final that the judicial process has got to work correctly or an innocent person may be put to death. Although in Floyd's case the evidence was so thin there should not have been a trial to begin with and as Floyd's evidence suggests, the judicial process for athletes accused of doping is unbelievable broken. Unfortunately Floyd was practically put to death.

There is no doubt Floyd Landis is innocent. Anyone who followed the TdF and understood his tactics and training, along with a wide-open field, knew that what he did was spectacular, but not so miraculous as to be humanly impossible. Floyd bonked on stage 16 and the inexperienced pelaton blew it on stage 17. Period. I waited a long time to hear Floyd's side of the story, although I instinctively knew he was innocent, very few came forward to help, so I was left with the uncertainty caused by the media hype and continuous bad information. It is a shame he has had to fight so hard to defend himself and it outrageous that he has to continue to fight to clear his name.

My one criticism of the book would be that I would have liked a few more technical details on doping in general, why an athlete would take steroids, EPO, testosterone, or inject fresh blood, and under what circumstances. To me, Floyd's spectacular performance in stage 17 would suggest he injected fresh blood to recover. Not being an expert I am not at all certain how the test he supposedly failed could even contribute to his performance on stage 17, since overall, his testosterone level was actually lower than normal, and it was a ratio that was arguably out of whack. I think the answer is that Floyd probably doesn't know these technical details so it never occured to him to put them in his book - which further defines that he is postively innocence. Read this book and discover why Floyd Landis truly is the 2006 TdF Champion.

Before reading this book I was quite convinced that Landis was innocent.Before reading this book I was quite convinced that Landis was innocent. Having been an avid cyclist for the last 20 years and spent my childhood years in Bucks County PA I felt that the basic values imparted upon him growing up where he had would have served him better. But reading through this drivel was quote annoying and its mere publication did a great disservice not only to Landis but also cycling in general. It is written in a smug and insolent tone and countless anecdotes of Landis' attitude of "hey you schmucks, you just don't get it do you!". Just who does he think he is anyway? He thought he was someone who got get away with it; you know, just how he was spouting off lines of philosophy at fellows riders but only he "got it". His sob story of how his poor wife breaks down in tears because officials show-up unannounced (or announced) to perform a routine drug test is meaningless (not sure why he had to drag his otherwise seemingly nice wife into the mud as well). If he cannot handle such tests, which he has now aggravated through his own irresponsible actions, then get out of the sport, full stop. His endless (and expensive) efforts to try and exonerate himself have all failed miserably, who's the schmuck now?
Don't get me wrong, I empathetically believe that it's the professional riders who have been dragged through the mud and abused in these drug scandals. As has been seen, if drugs can improve performance in a sport an ambitious athlete will make use of them. Who can blame them? With the amount of money that is on the table for grabs the temptation and likelihood of rationalizing the use of drugs is simply overwhelming. It's the teams that should be held responsible and made to keep their riders on track and bear the financial costs (maybe through posting a bond) if one of their riders tests positive.

This is Floyd Landis, exhorting his legal defense team to let it all hang out on the Internet in what became known as the Wiki defense. Trash talking Mennonite listening to Metallica while plotting to destroy his opponents, Landis comes across as a conflicted and none too sympathetic character.

This isn't to say, however, that the book isn't a good read. For anybody who follows cycling it's a page turner regardless of how you feel about the author and his self righteous efforts to vindicate himself.

There are three main parts to the narrative - Landis' childhood and early mountain bike racing years, his career as a professional road racer culminating with the 2006 Tour de France win, and his battle with authorities in the aftermath of being accused of doping. These parts flow together and complement one another as a convincing portrait of the champion (?) emerges.

Along the way Landis provides a compelling explanation for his remarkable performance in Stage 17 of the 2006 Tour. It's about tactics, teamwork, training, and single minded focus on the readings of a PowerTap meter. Putting it all together it makes sense, and you find yourself thinking, "He just might have done it".

There are also interesting perspectives on teammate Lance Armstrong, the group dynamics of the peleton, and the pageantry and flawed grandeur of the Tour de France.

Cycling aficionados will want to read this book, in spite of its self serving PR perspective.

I strongly suggest purchasing this book. It is full of information to help you become a better rider. As a Road Captain in The Christian Motorcyclist Association it helps me keep our Chapter members informed on safe riding practices. The writer has excellent knowledge of motorcycling and uses many real life situations to illustrate his point. He is very witty in his writing which makes the book fun to read. I would also reccomend the first book Proficient Motorcycling

If you want to ride a motorcycle safely then you must buy and read this book. I re-read it each year in the winter to refresh my riding skills in preparation for the upcoming riding season. The best book on motorcycle safety skills development.

This book is an excellent place to gain more knowledge of motorcycling or to review old information on motorcycling. Will probably reread book every year before motorcycling season begins.

I read this book and keep refering to it for years till I handed to my Dad (a new rider at 55) to help him understand motorcycle riding a bit more.

If you're too stupid to take the MSF course or equivalent, this is the next best thing. If you've already taken the course, this book fills in a lot of the cracks. Easy to read, and it willl save your life!

I enjoyed the stories about Palmer and Nicklaus, especially the account of their first meeting at Athens Country Club in 1958. Unfortunately, the writing is surprisingly poor. O'Connor uses every cliche and trite phrase to describe the players, almost ruining the otherwise interesting stories. I would not expect this from an experienced sportswriter.

In order to tell his story, the author goes out of his way to draw a contrast between Palmer and Nicklaus; Jack was calculating, Arnie was daring; Jack wasn't aware of galleries, Arnie played to them; Jack was tubby and not photogenic, Arnie was built like a middleweight prize fighter and charismatic; Arnie played a low draw, Jack a high fade; Arnie was blue collar, Jack was pampered, and on and on. In short, Arnie wanted what Jack had (the best golfing talent) and Jack wanted what Arnie had (fan's adoration.) It's ok to hear this a few times in the early part to set the stage, but the author seems to repeat and rephrase this every few pages. He also makes too much of the Nicklaus/Palmer rivalry, to the near exclusion of any other players entering into the picture.

But the stylistic flaw and over stated case don't overwhelm what is otherwise an extremely well researched book with many heretofore unknown revelations. For example, did you know that:

- Palmer 1st played with Nicklaus in an exhibition when Nicklaus was an amateur. Even at that early age Nicklaus easily won their impromptu long drive competition;
- Nicklaus was relentlessly harassed by Palmer's galleries, no more so than the US Open at Oakmont where he beat Palmer in a playoff;
- Nicklaus hated being paired with Palmer at the Masters in the late 90's, because he never wanted to play a ceremonial role in competition and he was distracted by Arnie's playing to the galleries;
- Their rivalry extended off the course in the arena of product endorsements, golf course design contracts and their own tournaments at Muirfield and Bay Hill.

These are just a few of literally hundreds of "gee, I didn't know that" revelations.

Perhaps some of the most interesting parts come towards the end when the book focuses on the race and gender aspects of golf. Neither Jack nor Arnie were proactive in helping to eliminate the PGA Tour's former caucasian-only policy and they were silent during Augusta's men-only stand-off with Martha Burke. Whereas Gary Player differentiated himself from both with a very vocal opposition to Augusta's policy and support for black golfers Lee Elder and Charlie Sifford.

All in all a very worthwhile golf read, despite its flaws. As Gary Koch might say "better than most, better than most!"

If you want the long and short of this book, it's easy to summarize: Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus loved nothing better than to one-up each other; Arnold wanted to win more on the golf course, and Jack wanted to be more popular with the fans; their wives kept the rivalry from getting out of hand; and they are more at peace with one another now than before.

If you want to read about the various times they played each other, the off-course competition, slights to one another, and what bugged each one about the other, then you'll want to read every page of this detailed dual biography. If you would rather read just about one or the other . . . and their whole career in perspective, another book will undoubtedly be more pleasing.

I had never read anything about the backgrounds of either golfer so I learned a lot. As soon as the book got into the years where I was well aware of both men, the book didn't add very much to what I knew already. In fact, Mr. O'Connor left out material that I would have included.

Because the two men are ten years apart in age, they aren't the kind of playing rivals that some of the earlier champions were who competed against each other in their prime years. In the process, the astonishing rise of golf as a spectator sport isn't given as much attention as it should.

But if you want to get an overview of both men, magnified by their feelings about one another, this book will serve you all right. But don't expect the book to be compelling reading. It's more like those long-winded stories you hear at the country club in the bar that are shared by the oldest member after quite a few libations.

When your husband has EVERYTHING golf...a new and interesting golf book a must ! Thank you for quick delivery,book in excellent condition.

Good book, great book on two of golf's greatest names, greatest players and greatest guys...This book is "a keeper," giving a dynamic inside look at the personalities and competitive instincts of both men. The reader comes to a new and deeper appreciation and understanding of the two golfing giants of our time.

Ian O'Connor takes the easy way out in some of the writing at times, but the story (and stories) he tells far overcome the few and slight wordsmsithing that could be made by the most critical of readers.

This book is an eagle, a sure eagle, for those who remember Arnie and Jack and for those who want to learn about them.

Tiger Woods is Tiger Woods, the best of all time. It's a shame he doesn't have a competitive adversary such as Jack and Arnie had in each other. Then we could see just how good Tiger could be.

Edwin Pope may have best described this book: "A classic work...the most riveting personal moments..the best I've read in a long while..."

This was a well written book regarding soccer in the global community. I would encourage anyone who enjoys the game to read this interesting perspective on how soccer is influenced by religion and race and vice versa.

Franklin Foer is definitely onto something. Indeed soccer might ultimately explain the world. Unfortunately the National Best Seller he has written, "How Soccer Explains the World", does not. Yet Foer is a good writer. His chapters are nice introductory essays on the culture of soccer in it's many forms throughout the world. He stops well short of linking the many disparate aspects of multi-cultural supporter rivalry, prejudice, and greed into why the beautiful game is, in fact, such a phenomenon throughout the world. Soccer fans will enjoy this book for the insight into leagues they do not follow and for some historical trivia. Others might enjoy it just so that can laugh at the absolute freaks who show up to support their passion and sadly for the crimes against humanity committed in its name. But he does not explain, to the uninitiated, why soccer is the world wide beautiful game. Those of us who play or follow the sport, might think we know how soccer explains the world because we live it, it's a part of our lives, we feel it everyday. But the same is true for any other passionate human endeavor. If you are passionate about it, it is the undisputed answer to the world and holds the key to the meaning of life -- serious stuff. So a book claiming to actually know why, not just locally but globally, must stand up to it's title. There's a lot of competition out there and Foer fails to bring anything else to the table for a comparison -- but he could. Further, he does not link the fundamental building blocks of society into the game -- he touches on them, but does not link them into society -- I guess that's because he is an economist and not a sociologist or a theologist. However as an economist he really misses the big business that is soccer. Without a chapter devoted to the business of soccer he has ignored a very important link. If soccer explains the world than FIFA must be running the world, for example. There is no chapter on FIFA. And if soccer is akin to religion, while he did write a chapter about the King, he failed to mention God. Where is Diego Maradona? And if soccer is a social building block -- while he does mention yuppies in America, where soccer is the least stringent of societal glue, he does not mention the societies where soccer is one of the very few but incredibly binding influences. So to recap -- no elements of the beautiful game itself, no comparisons to other global influences, and no expansion into other phenomenon directly attributable to a functioning society. Foer wrote some nice essays after taking the opportunity to travel the world. I am envious to say the least. But he failed miserably to live up to the title of the book. Perhaps he should write a sequel and call it -- "How Soccer Really Explains the World". For now we must continue to wait for the explanation of what we already know.

Overall a pretty interesting look at the world. The author looks at how different countries treat soccer, and what that says about their culture. Due to the fact that soccer is a pretty much universal sport, it does act as an interesting way to compare cultures. In fact one could make the argument that he actually leaves a lot of material on the table in examining cultures and economies through sport.

My biggest complaint is that it often becomes way too travel essay like. I am glad he likes the game and all, but frankly his enjoyment of the sport isn't interesting enough, I had never even heard of the author previously. Stick to the game.

I could write another BOOK as to why this tome should NEVER have been written. For all those who understand the title of the review,no more needs to say. For the USian uninitiated to world football, you can look up the concept of relegation on internet, no problem.

1st , a side note, if you really want an educated and informed story of the HISTORY of futebol (fútbol, calcio, fussball....PLEASE no call it 'soccer', hahahahaha!), read the englishman David Goldblatt's remarkable book "the Ball is Round" (or as we say , "A bola é redonda"!).

Em Breve, Mr Foer is a newcomer to the beautiful game, and has NO historical background for it.

Mr Foer writing a book on futebol can only be equalled as supremo absurdo , if , por ex. Madonna (the singer) wrote a book on Cabala (Jewish numerical mysticisms).

Or Michael jackson writing a primer on how to romance a woman would be another humorous(?) way to view this ???

Either way, Mr Foer has not the background , even with the research he did (and I commend him for that), he has no "muscle memory" regarding great moments of futebol both distant and recent past.


How can he describe how ,ex.~ in 1982 , Rossi's THREE gols destroyed one of the best seleção brasil even had on the pitch, what it meant to Rossi prsonally,italia and brasil em geral...


He can research it, but can he feel this in his bones , not only as an italian or brasilian can, but almost ANY longtime football fanzaço do/did?? NO, because he is from USA where futebol is STILL out of favour, even if milliards and milliards of immigrants and children of soccer moms play futebol daily at their neighborhood pitch!

To be as brief as possible one can be , Mr Foer is editor of a right wing journal in USA. I had hoped this would have NO influence on his "new love for the game" when he writes this book (which for reason unknown, is found in the POLITICAL SCIENCE section of local book stores!!!???) ,THat this book is in the Poli Science section is to denegrate political science discourse, as Mr Foer's book is a "lightweight>

but basically, Mr Foer's futebol "worldview" , that of a partisan right winger (pun intended, obvious I mean his political preference) premeates this book. He cannot help himeself, much in the manner that ridiculouse USian announcer say last Copa Mundial , that Iran did not belong their due to the ______________(political right wing terrorista blablabla),a sad moment in one of the saddest english language coverage of futebol I ever hear, but I digress......

The first chapter, he rehash what he as READ from other futebol books written in Engleesh,after this "lesson" about futebol, he is to make right wing politics out of each passing chapter, including a chapter where he berates "soccer moms" as being "left wing"! (??)

Personally, I imagine that most USian "mamis" become very CONSERVATIVE after having children, and would guess more than a few these women voted BUSH as for the "opposition", no?? (I think there is even a study that "liberal" people become more conservative in USA once with child/children, no??) If I remember, and I believe it so as it got me quite angry at time I read this book, Mr.Foer also attacks liberal parents in the book,I not impressed by that at all.

Sad sad, as I see it.

Again, Mr Goldblatt's book is poesia (or romantic prosa), a loving and THOROUGH history of the beautiful game as well as very non partisan overview of the world as applies to each country he "visits".

Mr Foer's book, sacanagem puro!

He cannot possible show how "soccer explains the world", futebol does NOT "explain" the world, but is an integral part of it (as , again, Mr Goldblatt's wonderful book indicates). The absurdo is contained in the very TITLE of the book,as I see it.

To sum, Mt Foer has an axe to grind, I have seen some of his political writing, and it is even worse than what is contained in this book.

In Italian football terms, this book is barely "C-2" division as a football book, as a political book, it not worth to use the pages to wrap fishbones..


To be charitable for Mr Foer's entusiasms for the world game,and a passable first chapter for all USian football "new boots", I allow the one star to be kind for a ZERO stars offering

o mundo gira é a bola rola

PS in the spriti of full disclosure, Eduardo Galeano's delightful football book is translated inglés, "Football in Sun and shadow" , and takes a delightful PROGRESSIVE worldview, and of course, Sinhô Galeano is an 'aplicado discipulo' of the world game since a boy in uruguai. A MUCH better choice also than this book, a "classic" of futebol literature.

_How Soccer Explains the World_ is an unfortunately misleading title; rather than explain the world, Foer uses soccer as a metaphor for globalization and the various reactions of parts of the world to it. He is only partially successful in this.

Evidentially the opposite of globalism isn't nationalism, but what Foer referrs to as "tribalism", as demonstrated by English (and Serbian) "soccer hooligans." How this has developed and been used by the likes of Slobodan Milosevic was an interesting premise, if a bit of a stretch. The global recruitment of soccer players - Nigerians playing for Ukraine, Brazilians playing for anybody, Dutch coaches working in the Near East - are cited as evidence of how soccer has become a "global marketplace" - with mixed results. The metaphor fits on one level (yes, it IS global - how 'bout that?) but fails horribly on another. (How can one make generalizations about the way a "nation" plays soccer?)

Foer also goes into great detail about the politics of the sport - I think he was on to something here, but the idea was only one of several that he persued, to its detriment. (In addition to the "national styles" of coaching and playing, Foer also discussed the sociology of the sport and its appeal - or lack of - in the United States, and its role as a social safety valve in Spain and Iran.) His would have been a stronger case had he pursued only one idea, rather than several.

As a soccer fan, I enjoyed his detailing the stadiums, the chants between rival teams, and (especially) his thoughts on soccer in America. Given his thesis, though, it only warrants 3 stars. An interesting book and there is much to like here - but the central idea, sadly, is very thin.

boring book to read...... not interesting at all. I read a few chpters and then bought the lean & hard book.

Well I have some experience with working out and seeing that this book is aimed at beginners , it does not do justice in many ways.
Cons :
1.It does not explain clearly what exercise trains what muscle group
clearly.
2. There is no information on Exhale/Inhale(Very important for exercise).
3. It take for granted that people will know certain postures etc and does not explain in detail as to what Barbells to use.(Ez,Straight,etc)
Pros:
1. Lot of exercises.
2. Good routine to follow.
3. Decent information for beginners.
Well this book has its flaws but it is a lot better than many books out there.

This book is a great resourse. It has so many exercise and four different types of resistance each in its own section: no equipment, dumbbells, barbells, and crossover. It also list exercises based on experience, in the catogory of beginner, intermediate, and expert. My biggest complaint about this book is that it doesn't specifically tell what muscles are being worked for each exercise. The exercises are put into catogies and are not narrowed down any further than "knee dominant" or "hip dominant". Which is fine I guess, but how are you going to know which exercise works which specific muscles? There are some sample routines in the book which are okay, but if you don't have the equipment there aren't alternatives sugguested. Which leads back to complaint number one. Tell what muscles are worked and I can find an alternative exercise with what I have to work with. All and all a great book! It is a great companion book to The Body You Want in the Time You Have by Matt Murphy which is 2/3 of the 350+ pages are rountines based on the how many days and how much time. That book does tell you exactly which muscles you working, but only includes 48 exercises and not all the great alternatives and of the Homework Bible.

This book is really the Bible of workouts. After applying the exercise with my dumbbells and bench at home, I decided I did not need to pay all that money to the Gym anymore. The text is very descriptive on all exercises. Highly recommend.

This book has a lot of technical expertise in it for sure. However, the format of the book and they way it delivers the routines can be kind of confusing for someone who is just starting out. Otherwise, a great read and definitely helped me make some gains.

This is the perfect gift for the man or woman you know who has enjoyed baseball all of their lives. Whether reading about the famous players or actually having lived during their times, it brings it all vividly home to the reader. There are wonderful anecdotes and stories and scenes painted for those legends that grow only stronger over time.

If you believe the line out of the great western, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend", then you might have some problems with this book. Rob Neyer obviously spent ALOT of hours checking on the validation of several player stories from past books and articles. He proves that either some players have faulty memories, or some players like to appear to have faulty memories to make themselves look more heroic in stories. Either way, the book is still a very good read, and whether a story is validated, somewhat validated, or plain shot to heck, the stories can still be enjoyable.

This is certainly an enjoyable book--but take it in small doses! It does a fine job--anecdotally--of addressing the problems of memory and embellishment and "improving" on stories. There are about 60 chapters, each of which presents a story--usually a recollection from a book about how player X did this-and-that. Neyer then tries to check out the validity--the internet and other resources are a great help. So, for example, Tris Speaker says that the Indians were leading the Yankees by 1 run in the 9th inning, the Yankees had the tying run on second base, and George Uhle issued an intentional walk to Mark Koenig in order to pitch to Babe Ruth. Neyer is able to use the internet and other resources to check the story out. There was a game--with Speaker getting an intentional walk, and with the score 3-1 (in Cleveland's favor) in the 8th inning, Combs singled, Koenig walked, and Ruth flied out. So memory here is partially correct, but also partially quite faulty.

In addition to the 60-so chapters, most chapters have margin stories that may relate to the story in the chapter. So the total number of tales looked at is probably about 150 to 200. Many of these are fascinating, but some are not so memorable. There are a few errors--there's a "Last Note of Humility" about Chance and Harper, which belongs with an earlier chapter, for example. The most troubling tale (which I had never heard before) is "Lou Gehrig & The Imposter" about how Gehrig's consecutive-game streak had been broken, with Danny Kaye wearing Gehrig's uniform. Neyer tracks down the story to a men's magazine and finds a piece by Scribbly Tate describing the events. Scribbly Tate--an obvious pseudonym--is Rob Neyer himself, using his favorite alter-ego: he received $[...] for the story in 1951. "a tale whose origin lies in the most deceitful corner of my own forgetful mind" is how he describes it. I wondered whether Neyer was pulling our legs here--but a Google search reveals that Scribbly Tate is indeed Neyer's favorite pseudonym. I would have liked to have seen some additional analysis--what other tales did Scribbly Tate spin? Overall, though, what you get is a good and enjoyable addition to your baseball library, even if it does pop a few of your favorite misconceptions.

This is the third of Neyer's "Big Books" and, I think, the best. (His Big Book of Baseball Lineups and Big Book of Baseball Blunders are also quite good - as is his lesser known Feeding the Green Monster; The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers is his one clinker.) In this book, he takes a large number of baseball "legends" and discusses whether or not they are true. I put legends in quotation marks because, although he includes an account of whether Babe Ruth really called that home run during the 1932 World Series and a few other famous incidents, most of the entries are really more stories than legends. Many are from autobiographies, newspaper or magazine stories, or sometimes just casual remarks made by television or radio play-by-play announcers. I really like Neyer's approach. Rather than just tell us what someone claims Bob Feller or Willie McCovey or Bob Gibson said or did, and then give us a quick summary of the results of his research - which would have resulted in a pretty short book - he takes several pages to relate what information is available to check the story, the blind alleys he went up, and the different approaches he took to confirm or refute the story. This more leisurely approach gives the reader a good feel for the variety of sources that exist for doing research on the history of baseball and also provides more context for each story - most of which are really not about earthshaking events. As it turns out, most of the stories he checks were at least roughly true, with only a relatively few apparently having been made up out of whole cloth.

One caveat: like many books of this sort, this one is best read a few entries at a time spread out over a couple of weeks, rather than in one sitting. Finally, I found his discussion of Lawrence Ritter's oral history of early twentieth century baseball, The Glory of Their Times, to be particularly interesting. Although Ritter claimed that his book reproduced his interviews with baseball's early stars with very little editing, in fact, after comparing the book to CDs of the interviews Neyer finds that Ritter did substantial rewriting. Although Neyer argues that on balance Ritter's improving the old players' reminiscences was acceptable, I think it raises some interesting questions about the distinctions between a "good story" and a "true story" - which, I suppose, is the distinction that lies at the heart of Neyer's book.

This is the book I used when I got started reloading about 10 years ago, and this book gave me just what I needed. When I first got the itch to load my own ammunition, I was overwhelmed by the amount of information and terminology involved in this fascinating field/hobby. It was very difficult to take all the individual pieces of information that I had and form it into an understandable process. I was snowed in under a blizzard of data that I was piecing together through chat rooms and web sites. Everyone was very helpful - basically shooters are the most helpful people I know - but still I was just getting fragments without a solid, complete overview. Phrases like "roll crimp", "seating and sizer dies," and "headspace" came at me in a blizzard. I could look up each phrase, understand each one as a piece, but still the whole picture was fuzzy. In essence, that is what this book will do for you: turn it all into a coherent, linear whole. The writing is very solid and clear, the illustrations are well done and helpful, and the information is very complete. After reading this book, the entire process made sense to me, and more importantly, I was fully warned about the does and don'ts of the reloading world. The coverage is very complete. Primers, powders, bullets and cases are explained with regard to nomenclature and history. All necessary tools and accessories are discussed and explained. This is just a great book. It won't make you an expert (only actual reloading for years will do that), but it will put you on the right road if you wish to become one. --Mykal Banta

This book came highly recommended by members of a forum on reloading. I was not disappointed. I will recommend it myself. The book covers the bases and is easy to read. You will need to add other books to your library, ( such as load data for specific calibers ) but this is a very good place to start.

Bill Buford offers an engaging narrative about violent British soccer fans, yet one does begin to suspect some exaggeration and ornamentation. Saying that these fans behave the way they do because they lack a solid home base is reductionist and not helpful at all. Many millions around the world live in conditions that leave a great deal to be desired--indeed far worse than the living conditions of a violent soccer fan--yet they don't engage in what the British call "antisocial behavior."

There is no excuse for hooliganism and bad behavior. To find "causes" for lawbreaking, be it soccer violence in Europe or drug dealing in America, is a step toward tolerating and even forgiving it.

Generations of black Americans have been raised under the impression that racism is an insurmountable problem and that they have to go outside the law to survive. This perception is so strong that Barack Obama's presidential bid was dismissed early on by some of the most seasoned political analysts as well as civil rights leaders in this country. They thought that America was simply too racist to even consider a black president. Obana was jumping the gun, they said, damaging his own chances in a distant future. When those whose words make public opinion are so out of touch with the American reality, what can one expect of a black teenager who is attending an under-funded school? Getting away from the subject? Not really. The world knows American black youth culture largely through hip-hop music and all the fashion, DVDs, games and other paraphernalia it generates. Many teenagers all around the world, in their angst and search for identity, claim victimhood and try to emulate a thug life with various degrees of conviction. The British "antisocilas" are themselves informed by such imported gangsterism. Few understand that for every gangsta or gagsta wannabe there are thousands of black Americans who go to college, fill professional echelons or start legitimate businesses.

Instead of trying to "understand" thugs, of whatever color or stripe, let's concentrate on those who really understand and avoid thug life under any guise for the boring, graceless, destructive existence it is without ever being sullied by it.

There's a lot to hope for in this book, but it fails badly. The author never comes across as even remotely credible. His writing reflects his snobbish background and beliefs. He went to college at Berkeley, then elite Cambridge, and he clearly feels that he is above the subjects of the book in every way. The jacket says he edits a literary magazine, and now he thinks he can ingratiate himself with football thugs? Please. He may be American, but he's apparently been infected with that classic British class thing. His book is full of comments on how stupid and ugly the people he is interviewing are. He talks at length about how he tries to get the "animals" at various pitches to let him interview them. Too bad he was posing the whole time, trying to be "cool" but really manipulating his subjects for his own use. In fact one gets the impression that this was Mr. Well Educated/Snobby Lit Magazine Guy doing his bit of slumming. I'm sure he's drunk many a glass of wine, chuckling with his tweed-wearing Eton buddies, self congratulating on how he survived many nights in those nasty pubs, coaches and terraces with the "idiotic" football supporters. Minor but telling points: he can't even get Bill Gardner's name right (West Ham's top man with the ICF) and lastly, that cover photo is not even of a football thug, it's called "The Smoker" by some random photographer. Can't get Bill Gardner's name right and he's doing a book on football violence? Good Lord, there's an entire book about Bill: "Good Afternoon Gentlemen, The Name's Bill Gardner." There's his name, pal. And we're supposed to believe your book is the real deal? Sorry man--go back to where you belong--editing James Joyce or something--and don't pretend to be what are not. This book is from a poser and not worth a purchase.

This is a great book, albiet the first one I have read on football hooligans. This is not limited to one single firm though, as some of the many ICF books are. Buford runs with the Man. United firm, has a run in with the National Front, and has the grand finale with English hooligans during the world cup. This is really an eye opener into a section of history and life I never knew about in England, and Buford does an excellent job sharing it. There were a few points where he starts to ramble about unrelated crowd violence elsewhere, but these nuances are insignificant by the close of the book. At just over 300 pages I finished this book in 5 days, it's an engrossing book, funny, disturbing, and horrific at times. An excellent read. I would thouroughly reccomend this to any football fan, fan of Green Street Hooligans, or just about anyone else.

Fantastic book and a page turner. Opened my eyes to hooliganism in the sport of football. This was probably common knowledge to most people outside the U.S. Great story from an unbiased source.

This is a fantastic book, and what's more, it has served as a model and inspiration for the many (many, many) football hooligan books that followed.

I won't really comment on the absolute cliched tripe served up by one reviewer who gave this book one star, but I would point out that he might want to take some time out from an all-knowing banality spouting, error decrying, schedule, and consult a calendar.

Among The Thugs - 1993. Most of the others? 1999 and later, including the 2005(!) Gardner tome. This book, almost alone, spawned a veritable minor industry of Football Hooligan memoirs and reportage. Don't believe me? Head over to amazon.co.uk and check it out all the related items with this book over there.

By the way, I think it was sort of the point of the experiment that an editor of a (very popular in the right circles) literary magazine like Granta went and did what he did, and reported what he saw. And in the Granta tradition, he expounds a bit on What It All Means. That gets a little dull at times, but by no means lessens the overall interest of the book.

Among the Thugs is not meant to be a piece of documentary journalism, oral history, or a PhD thesis. It's a subjective and personal account, and the author makes no bones about that. The author did, objectively, get beaten to a pulp by Italian cops, so there's some credibility right there.

Awesome purchase. This book's a keeper. It goes straight to the point and tells you what you need to know and do, if ever caught in a survival situation.

One downside of the book, in my opinion, is that it does not go into a lot of detail regarding survival situations in environments other than hot deserts and cold temperate areas. The survival kit components that are featured in the book attest to that fact.

But overall I love the book because it gives you knowledge you can begin to use immediately.

This book I would highly recommend for beginners. The title refers to the bodies core temperature and thus the book delves deep into the science of how to regulate your body temperature. Regulate that and prepare a survival kit and your in good shape to face most situations. The authors knowledge on these subjects is extensive and while you will forget 90% of the statistics you are given you will retain the overall gist of how your body works and what tools to use when in survival mode.

I looked at some of the negative reviews and the main complaint seems to be that the book is too simplistic (It doesn't teach you how to build bows or shelters or any of the other cool, fun stuff). It's true the book sticks to its basic subject matter rigidly but the information contained is simply the most vital a person can have. Add to that the interesting manner in which the book is presented and you have a quick read. I didn't want to put it down.

I loved this book. Two things a person needs in order to survive anything, anywhere are: resilience (toughness--which can never be faked) and a sense of humor. Cody Lundin possesses both, along with a sound understanding of what it takes for the human animal to survive in a currently existing environment outside our normal, civilized comfort zone.

The book's theme is all about keeping a proper perspective...about yourself and about the situation, meaning, one must be armed with accurate, reliable, valid and CURRENT information, first and foremost, which one actually is proficient in applying under duress of an immediate, survival need. (Note: The book is about modern survival--not learning primitive life-style skills.)

98.6 DEGRESS is all about K.I.S.S.A.S. Keep it simple, silly...and survive (for real).

This book needs to be right next to the Family First Aid Manual in any properly prepared household. Like the First Aid Manual: possess it, read it, study it and know how to apply the lessons in everyday life.

We live in a very modern world and most of us have very busy lives. We get caught up in the regular grind of daily life. I have been slowly getting back into the outdoors and I have been looking for just a book such as this. In fact I found it by accident while looking at books at REI. This book is a godsend.

This book is designed to give you the information to be able to PREPARE for and handle a short term "oh crap" situation. It reads very well and it contains very good and practical advice. I am a former boyscout and in some senses considered myself "outdoors savvy". I am a busy person and I tend to be in a rush. So if you are like me, you are also a prime candidate for being up a creek without a paddle. At least I was until going through this book.

This is the stuff that should be taught in schools. Chance favors the prepared hand. So it is up to you. :-) I will be reading his next book soon and I will give a review of that too.

If you are hesitant about buying the book. You could be next on the "natural selection" list, anyway I am not going to be the one looking for you because you were not paying attention or writing your obituary.

Michael Miller - Atlanta, Georgia
KI4RDP

Not detailed or specific. Not very informative for the size of the book.
With this book and a lighter you can stay warm. To show how off track the book is look at the title....All that to tell you this book is about survival. Save your money on this one.

Touching the Void is one of the best books I've ever read. Wow. I am still kind of stunned. I started it way too late at night and couldn't put it down. I went to work the next morning with only four hours of sleep.

It's not even that the writing's good, per se. It is - it's VERY good. But the story itself and the way he wrote it is just amazing.

I've read a lot about the high altitude hallucinations people have (conversations with your feet at 27000 ft or people sitting on your ice ledge telling you they have tea set up just around the corner) but his experience was not at all like that. He had what he calls a voice inside that was insistent about keeping to a timetable and doing certain things, especially as he dragged himself off the glacier. It was deeply fascinating and the only thing that made the suspense at all bearable was that I knew he must have lived, since, hello, holding his book in my hands. I could not put it down.

I was also really impressed with the sections written by his climbing partner, Simon Yates. OUCH. Painful and honest but not self-exculpatory or irrational.

Augh. This is the worst review ever. But, jeez. Read it! See for yourself!

If you liked "Into Thin Air," then you will love this book, which is just as brilliant and perhaps even more incredible. If you've been to Peru, even better. Great writing, great story, and an unforgettable tale. Again, a rare book that once begun, is almost impossible to put down. Simpson has written some others, but none as good as his first. Read it. And try his "This Game of Ghosts" if you want more.

What an experience. Miraculous is the correct word. Other reviewers have discribed the situation for you. I will just concure that this is a must read.

Much better than Jon Krakauers - Into Thin Air because it's more intimate imo. Into Thin air is about a big expedition up Mount Everest. Touching the Void is about two men.

Two men together, Simon Yates attemping to save Joe Simpsons life by slowly lowering him down the Mt. 300 ft. at a time.
You can just feel the agonising Simon Yates went thru. I mean he stayed and hung on to Simpson for as long as was humanly possible. I really felt for him.

Than it was one extremely determined soul fighting to live.

Some nice pictures too.

Highly recommended

What an experience. Miraculous is the correct word. Other reviewers have discribed the situation for you. I will just concure that this is a must read.

Much better than Jon Krakauers - Into Thin Air because it's more intimate imo. Into Thin air is about a big expedition up Mount Everest. Touching the Void is about two men.

Two men together, Simon Yates attemping to save Joe Simpsons life by slowly lowering him down the Mt. 300 ft. at a time.
You can just feel the agonising Simon Yates went thru. I mean he stayed and hung on to Simpson for as long as was humanly possible. I really felt for him.

Than it was one extremely determined soul fighting to live.

Some nice pictures too.

Highly recommended

Even though I obviously knew he would live through the experience, I found myself on the edge of my seat hoping he would make it. A good story-teller telling an incredible story.