Sports Books

I'm an experienced cyclist and I found this a fun read. It's a collection of articles that were published in Bicycling magazine back in the 90's on various aspects on road cycling. There are sections on skills, training and nutrition and I found useful information throughout the book. I feel that the articles were chosen to have a timeless slant as there aren't many examples on equipment, most of the articles are on technique.
Specifically I found the few articles on training that included examples to be helpful, like the suggested trainer routines, use of an heart rate monitor, and estimating calories burned.
This type of book is what I call a bathroom book, as the short articles are perfect reading when you want something to read for a few minutes.
The book is also a success in that it helps get you in the mood to go riding. There's not a lot new here, but it's fun to read someone elses opinion on something most of us already know how to do.

Some information in this book I find implausible, and some I /know/ to be false, which further reduces any confidence I may have in the rest of the information. For a subject like cycling, you need someone who understands the underlying physics as well as helpful subjective seat-of-the-pants techniques. Ed Pavelka seems to only have the latter skill, which gives his advice no firm foundation.

A case in point is the brief article on steering. His final conclusion is sound - that countersteering (see Wikipedia for an explanation) is how you steer effectively, but he prefaces it by asserting erroneously that there are 3 ways to steer. To paraphrase, he says you can steer simply by pointing the handlebars where you want to go, without leaning the bike at up to 15mph (defying the laws of physics), or you can steer just by leaning the way you want to go, or you can countersteer.

There is only one way to steer: countersteering. Most of us never realize that is what we're doing. Most of us learned to do it unconsciously on the day we first learned to ride, and from then on we muddle through with a unconscious "micro-countersteer" that starts the bike falling sideways, which we catch by turning the corner. The key to good steering is to use deliberate, active and controlled countersteering - a skill which becomes obviously essential on a motorcycle, where the increased weight makes it impossible to muddle through a turn on unconscious control.

He comes to the right conclusion - so what's the big deal? Well, to me, the big deal is he's made me read and try to understand false information which is of no use whatsoever, and /his/ understanding of the subject is flawed. How am I supposed to trust anything else he says, if it's nothing more than his assertions based on his own gut feeling?

Frequently, theory alone is insufficient, very occasionally practice trumps theory, but best of all is practice based on theory. _Sound_ theory.

I always look forward to my mail for this one, however the ads are a bit much.

Very good especially for the beginning rider excellentbook I learned ALOT!

this book has good info but nothing you couldnt find on the internet for free.

Pros: It's well written and fun to read. It's full of historic information and anecdotes. The illustrations represent a wide variety of interesting projects .

Cons: The book is very uneven. Some projects are explained in details with patterns and step-by-step diagrams. Some have little or no explanation. I also noticed that some knot-tying diagrams are inaccurate and near-impossible to follow.

I recommend the book as a fun and engaging overview of marlinspike seamanship, but if you want to learn the craft, this book alone is not sufficient.

Although this book is an interesting addition to my bookshelf, it seems to be more concerned with ornamental knots and rope work. I've wanted to get for years and I think anyone who buys it will be happy with it as an introduction to splices, etc. It's got a good feel. If you're determined to get into 18th century maritime sailorcraft, it won't be the last book you order. ARRRH!

I love it. Tons of quips and great information.

I purchased this book for my husband who has been looking for a easy explanation of splicing...He had the following to say: Have looked through several books on sailing knots and splicing and none have done a better job than The Marlinspike Sailor. The text shows a decent array of knots and does a great job on splicing which is what I purchased the text for. I have had no trouble following the simple directions to troublefree splices...a great item

With the exception of some pages that have been added in the back on braided rope this book is horribly outdated. The newer section is just reprints from Sampson rope splices which are available on the web. Unless you are restoring an old square masted sailing craft don't bother.

This is a great tool to keep preschoolers occupied. Actually cutting and taping the book was lots of fun for my granddaughter. I had fun too! The book encourages imagination and not just following directions. This is now our favorite thing to do when she comes over.

I bought this for my daughter for Christmas, and it was a hit. She can play with it anywhere in the house. It has everything she needs to create with tape. No mess!!

My almost 5 year old uses tape by the roll on just about everything so when I saw this book, I thought it would be perfect for him. He had a hard time tearing the tape initially but once he got the hang of it, he has had a great time taping the book. It seems like there is plenty of tape for the book and probably beyond - we've done this several times and there is still plenty of tape. I bought this as an activity for him to do on his own but so far, I have had to be there to supervise, as he gets frustrated when the tape won't tear or gets tangled up. In general, I think this was a worthwhile purchase.

This book kept both of my girls, ages 7 and 4, completely occupied during a long football game and for the next day. It is really fun. They had to use scissors but didn't mind at all. I would highly recommend this activity book!

This is a really great idea with one main problem, the tape does not rip off easily for a 4 year old. I have no problem doing it, but it is really hard for him. I have to end up tearing the tape off for him.

If you are going to do The White Mountains, here's your book. Useful, hold that, extremely useful trail maps... If you want to do the 48 4000 footers in NH, this is a great tool to plan your travels!

"THe White Mountain Guide" is the Appalachian Mountain Club's 28th and Centennial edition of its popular and indispensible hiking guide to New England's top outdoor recreational area. The guide itself, once past a few introductory chapters on safety and geography, has descriptions of each of the established trails in the region. Each description tells how to get to the appropriate trailhead, a narrative of the trail itself, and a breakdown by distance and elevation change of the major segments of the trail. These trail descriptions, updated for each edition of the guide, are invaluable in planning anything from a day hike to a multi-day trip in the beautiful White Mountains.

The guide comes in a small cardboard box with three double-sided color maps that provide coverage of all the trail routes. The maps are detailed, easy to read, and at a usable scale for the White Mountains. Inexplicably, the maps included with the guide are paper and unlikely to stand up to repeated field use in the conditions often found in New Hampshire. Dedicated hikers are recommended to invest in the waterproof and tear-resistant versions of these maps, also published by the Appalachian Mountain Club.

This guide is very highly recommended to hikers and walkers planning an outing in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

This is a great set of maps and trail descriptions, though its not much for planning or suggesting anything in the white mountains. The trail maps are very well detailed, complete, and having the mileage on them directly is a nice addition. The book is a hard to use for planning, though it works for simply looking up a particular hike and reading some about the difficulty and anything you need to know to not get lost.

This is the first edition of the WMG that I have owned, but owners of previous editions have pointed out that the maps in this edition are superior to theirs because the new maps include mileage on every single trail in the White Mountains. It is too bad that they are paper and not Tyvek or some other waterproof material, because they are already falling apart. If you are an avid hiker in the Whites, I suggest getting the Tyvek ones sold seperately.

The guidebook itself is exhaustive and lists every detail of every trail, which is useful if you already have a route picked out but not if you are trying to find a good hike and aren't sure where to go. For that, I recommend Michael Lanza's New England Hiking or New Hampshire Hiking from Foghorn Outdoors.

This 100th anniversary edition of WMG comes in a box that came unglued fairly quickly and then again after I reglued it. I would get rid of the box altogether except that the book doesn't have a pocket in the back for the maps like other AMC guidebooks do and I don't want to lose them. I hope that future editions of this guide will do away with the box and go back to the pocket.

If you do not have your own copy of WMG and are looking to purchase one, this is definitely the product to buy. If, however, you already have an older edition of this book, I would suggest buying the Tyvek maps seperately and wait for a few more editions to be published before replacing your book.

Just what I was looking for, a guide with all kind of details about the routes of the beautiful white mountains. This is a very complete guide and it is well complemented with the maps that come with it. Some visuals could be a good add to the book but the excellent descriptions are enough and clear.

Good buy for those seeking adventure at the whites.

As an outdoor fitness instructor, I have been able to use several of the exercises. Great suggestion from my Chiropractor!

This book is not written that well. It could be organized better. It reminds me of a term paper thrown together from bits and pieces of other reports.

I find the exercise drawings hard to follow. Photo sequences would have been better.

Make sure you examine this one at the bookstore before you order it.

This book explains, with easy to understand illustrations, various exercises for power, speed and agility (to enhance athletic performance). All exercises have little pictures of all sports which especially benefit from these exercises, like baseball, basketball or power lifting...even more `exotic' sports such as fencing, skiing or horseback riding.
The exercises suggested in this book can be used for specific athletic training or to add some fun and variety to your own workouts :-)

this book is a top recommended reading from all leading authors in strength and conditioning. However, you should also buy the companion dvd in order to help facilitate the exercises in the book.

This book does an excellent job introducing the topic of plyometrics to the reader. It discusses the different types and categories of jumps as well as the varying intensities. It even gives sport specific plyos as well as sample programs. However, this is not the definitive book on plyometrics. I think of it as more as a good reference tool. I would really recommend "High-Powered Plyometrics" for even more in depth info on this wonderful method of training.

The running tidbits are an integral part in this story about a young man and his life in college. It's an entertaining read for runners and non-runners alike.

I just finished this book; could hardly put it down. It really captures the experience of hard training and hard racing and the effect it can have on your life. I can see why other reviewers say it inspires them to train harder - it would have done the same for me if I had read it back when I was a serious runner. It is truely an inspirational book. I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel.

This book captures the essence of distance running... A must read for anyone who runs.

I am an avid runner and this book defines what it is to be a runner. It is a cult classic and i've read it 10 times and always lend it out for other people who are just starting to get into running. The major motion picture based on the book is set to be released on July 22 by Universal Pictures. The sequel to this book "Again to Carthage" is also set to be due in July 2007 as well.

Simply stated, this book is out of print for a reason, it didn't sell well because it's not a very good book. I've read countless books on running over the years and I'm an avid runner and racer but this book is silly and unbelievable in many parts, shallow and inconsistent in others; not well written sums it up pretty well. Don't let the high asking price fool you into believing it's worth your time or money... it's not. Read the Lore of Running, Ultramarathon Man, The Cutting Edge Runner, just about anything by George Sheehan (and his writing is not perfect either but better than this drivel), A shining Season, A Cold Clear Day... you get my point.

The seller described the book accurately except for the smell. Someone at some point in time had marked out something on the inside cover with one of those industrial-strength black permanent markers (the ones that are one step above a Sharpie). It stank to high heaven. I had to get a razor blade and cut a rectangle of the paperback cover out because the smell was so bad. But otherwise the book was in fine condition.

A friend at work recommended this book and I have already learned so much from it. It is just a terrific resource from a novice to a more advanced runner. highly recommended, an easy read.

I was very disappointed with this book. The information was outdated and the section on women's running was inaccurate.

Great stuff - a workable, practical guide that will suit beginners and seasoned runners alike. A really worthwhile purchase and I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to improve their running experience and remain injury-free.

Love Jeff Galloway's approach to training injury free. This book is great for all levels of running. I refer to it often.

I only wish I had this as a girl. Can't wait to get the other volume for my daughter.

These are the responses of my 12-year-old granddaughter during a hurried trip to catch a plane. Julia is very smart and social. She went through the book but has not read it fully.

She finds good things in it, especially in the Things to Do selections, but on the whole thinks it more suitable for younger girls, such as her 10-year old cousin (also bright but much less mature). It wouldn't do for her and her group; they would find it below their standard. Also, she found it old-fashioned (we mentioned the style may be deliberate). In sum, a great book for younger girls. On that basis she would give it four stars

I've been interested in Roger Federer since Wimbledon 2007. So I missed a lot of his career. This book just made my interest even bigger. It's a detailed written book about everything that roger has been through.

And you not only learn things about Roger, also about a lot of other tennisplayers he's playing against.

Wonderfull book!

More of a comprehensive collection of past interviews and accomplishments, as opposed to unique insights or details many Federer fans may look for. The book is well written, but as far as sports biographies are concerned, I found James Blake's bio as well as Lance Armstrong's more interesting.

The Roger Federer Story: Quest for Perfection is the real thing. Written by a real journalist about a real achiever. The author, Rene Stauffer, is a recognized figure in sports writing in Europe, and he is not at all embarassed to be smitten with Roger, as we all have been. But the biography is not gushy and it's not celebrity worship. Stauffer has done his own legwork and reveals the person behind the statistics and the worldwide recognition. Readers will not be surprised to learn that solid rearing by sensible parents and hard work on the court are the dominant factors in Federer's life. And of course now he must be a businessman, and we learn about that, too. This is a superior sports biography, at its core, good writing about a good person. You will read straight through and be glad you did.

The jury seems already to be in; this guy plays the game of tennis better than anyone! He has all the tools, plus the ingenuity to use them creatively and instinctly. Plus, he's a good guy.

Although at times this read was, as other reviewers have noted, to be just a sequence of scores of matches one after another. However, the author worked in the personal interest stuff and what was going on in the guy's life.

What was there from the outset was amazing potential, but his immaturity and temper preventing him from exposing his greatness too early. This was the revelatory part for me, that Roger was not always the dominant player he is now, but struggled.

I appreciate so much his temparement and his kindness. The last few chapters on such were well done and contributed much.

What a waste of a tree. This book is little more than a narrative of Roger Federer's travel movements and his match scores. Most of it could have been written using the ATP fixtures and match results. The rest could have been gathered from internet news searches.

Despite describing himself as "one of the world's leading tennis journalists", René Stauffer offers little personal insight into Roger Federer, man or tennis player. Nor has there been any substantial research into the views of people who know him well enough to provide such insight.

Federer has stable personal life and he is not a party animal, so there is no expectation by the reader of great revelations in this area. But there are some things the reader of a tennis biography would like to know, such as:

* Why did Federer use a single-handed backhand when most players of his generation use a double-handed back-hand?

* How did he develop that balletic and devastating forehand?

* Did he naturally have great footwork or did he (or someone else) decide to develop it?

* Who taught him to serve that way?

* How has he changed or developed his groundstrokes over the years?

* When does he try to hit a winner?

* What tactics does he use against different opponents?

And so on.

And what was he trying to do in those big matches? What makes Federer tick? This is the essence of biography.

Obviously Federer himself will not reveal his thinking and tactics, but one would expect one of the "world's leading tennis journalists" to provide some analysis - or to get it from others.