Sports Books

The men in my life LOVE the Bathroom Reader. I buy them for my husband who gives it to my Dad, then Dad gives it to my Brother, then my Brother gives it to our Brother-in-Law, and Lord only knows who he gives it too. I have never felt I've wasted money on Uncle John's Bathroom Readers. They are always interesting, perfectly suitable for a 30 minute sit-on. Highly recommended.

The BRI (Bathroom Reader's Institute) has been around for a long time with dozens of fun filled trivia subjects in the general series, and now "Uncle John" has been specializing the last couple of years in specific subjects, all great fun to read. The latest, "Plunges Into Music", is a delightful plunge (pun intended) into the world of music and will not disappoint, whether you're a rock fan, opera or country. Even non-musicians will dig this volume.
We get more trivia than we can remember, plus interesting bios on composers, instruments, and album history. It's carefully researched, as all BRI volumes are, but I did spot one boo-boo in the footnotes that run along the bottom of the pages, which makes it fun to point out.
The claim is that a Marty Robbins tune in 1961 was the first to have distorted guitar. I have a CD from jazz guitarist maestro Django Reinhardt that contains a song from the year of his death, 1953, called "Night and Day" that has undeniable and easily heard distortion. Some claim Link Wray's "Rumble", the instrumental hit from the late '50's also had distortion. It certainly has a gnarly tone, fer sure. But that's a very small bone to pick. Like the other volumes, this is a great read from front to back or hit and miss. I also recommend, if you can find it, Dave Marsh's "Rock Book Of Lists", both volumes.

What a great book! I bought it as a gift for my musician boyfriend and he was blown away. He absolutely loves it.

With the publication of PLUNGES INTO MUSIC, Uncle John & Co. must have about a baker's dozen of these interesting volumes to their credit. As with the other volumes, MUSIC focuses in on one subject and serves up its usual, crowd-pleasing combination of history, trivia, lists, rankings, quotes and extended articles that so many of us enjoy. If you are interested in the world of music, you'll want to own a copy of this book.

PLUNGES INTO MUSIC is a hefty volume, weighing in at 513 pages. It features, in no particular order, a mixture of isolated facts, short 'quick read' blurbs, 2-3 page articles, extended pieces and very extended articles. An example of this last category would be the three-part Story of Music. Extended articles include Musical Presidents, Stradivarius Violins and Famous Music Producers. Under Quick Reads you'll find MTV Facts, Musical Firsts, Perfect Pitch, Musical Word Origins and Frank Sinatra's 'lucky break.' And Short Articles include Cover Versions, Silly Songs that were hits, Rock 'n Roller Obits, Ancient Instruments, Opera History and the Weird, Weird World of Music.

By this late date, Uncle John has the PLUNGES concept down to a winning formula. PLUNGES INTO MUSIC features something for everyone interested in the subject and trivia buffs in general. You can read this book straight through or, as I did, jump in at any page. Whatever approach you take, you'll find yourself being introduced to some absolutely fascinating material.

Recommended.

Book arrived on time in the condition as described the seller. Excellent book!! Great reading like Peter Jacobsen said in his book.

I made it through the first half of the book, which is a narrative of the golfing adventure of the author with Shivas Irons, a pro at the Burningbush golf course in Scotland. Even this part of the book is a fairly strange read, dealing with the ultimate meaning of life as it realtes to golf, but involving way too much mysticism.

The second half, which is supposed to be the author's notes about the golfing philosophy of Shivas Irons, was just not readable to me. I just had way too many other books on my reading list to spend any more time trying to fight my way through this stuff!

This is a great book-- gotta have it
This is wonderful but I also loved A Golfers DreamA Golfer's Dream

This was Out There. I'm not sure if it is for burnout golfers or just burnouts. I don't think I would classify this as a sports book, more like bad philosophy. I couldn't even believe in the main character, Shivas, I was too aware of his being a mouthpiece for Murphy's attempts to revolutionize one's conceptualization of golf...or life...or something like that...I still don't know. What the heck was his point??

I met Michael Murphy in the late 1960's. The charismatic leader of the human potential movement captured my attention and admiration immediately. Mr. Murphy was one of those characters who sparkle with mystical magic. His life reads like a calendar of magical events. At every turn he seems to either run into or encounter the most provocative people one can imagine: Steinbeck, Spiegelberg, Brodie, Price, Aurobindo, Thompson, Maslow, and many, many more.
With the publication of Golf in the Kingdom (His first book), he managed to create a new movement, which came to be known as The Sport and Yoga Movement. The book is a delightful integration of sport, mysticism, and yoga, with a whole lot of magic sprinkled between the lines. I am amazed at its dissenters and critics. It is not "junk" as some need to say. For those of you who say it is "not for golfers", I think I can safely assume that you are regularly shooting twenty to thirty over par. There are some that say that this is just another worn-out philosophical rag, trying to integrate what's common, and I would think for them mundane, with the paranormal and mystical energies that hover all around us. To them, I would say that there is a shread of truth to their thoughts. I would like to ask those people to provide me with any literary references, expousing this thesis, that pre-date Mr. Murphy's book. For those that claim that this is just another clever contrivance for making a quick buck, I would say you are about as far off the mark as those that dismiss the book as "junk". Mr. Murphy was born wealthy. At some point in his life he inherited a large sum of money, most of which he either donated or spent in efforts to enhance the human condition. When I met the man, I believe that it was in 1969, he was driving an aged 1962, six cylinder, stick shift Cheverolet. He had bought the car new, and at that time felt that he could get at least another ten years out of it.
Bravo, Michael. Bravo for Golf in the Kingdom, and bravo for a life well lived.

Ronald James

You need this for a good price list that is current with todays market on Firearms. 2007 book has about the same prices but a few dollars difference, both books are very good in pricing your weapons.

I have the 2000 and 2002 editions of this guide and was very impressed, but the the 2008 is a disappointment. The picture quality is very poor and the newspaper type paper and print are very displeasing.

About every 2 year i get a new one of these books. i am and avid gun collector and this helps to find the value of the fire arms for buying or selling. it is one of the best books out.

It is very easy explained of how to determine if you are going to purchase a firearm old and new because it is an investment.

SCF is a very useful reference book. One thing really going for is the great pix of thousands of different weapons (not all photo's are correct though). However the values are outdated and have not been changed for at least 2 years and I think even more. The industry standard is The Blue Book of Gun Values by S.P. Fjestad; but Blue Book does not have photo's. If you are interested in firearms I recommend that you get Standard Catalog of Firearms once every 5 years and Fjestad's Blue Book every year. The 2 work well together.

Zed Child

Even though I'm not a Suns fans and for that matter, not much of a basketball or a sports fan anymore, this was a pretty good book - it's mainly about the Suns' 2006 playoff run, with some "flashbacks" to some regular season games that season, with some insight into most of the players and an NBA season's roller coaster ride, and some insight into the coaching staff too. Individual players are discussed, as is the coaching staff, and it's nice to read that kind of info too.

Expected a lot more to be honest. There are better books by beat writers, such as "If They Don't Win It's A Shame" by Dave Rosenberg.

If you love basketball, you're going to love this book. McCallum writes about a season with the Phoenix Suns, and takes us through their playoff run. He mixes in flashbacks to key points during the season, and manages to entertain.

Two problems are that the book is shallow and doesn't go into enough depth on most topics, and there is absolutely no criticism of anything the Suns did.

Enjoyable, but light. NBA fans are going to devour this.

A great, well-written and funny book exploring what goes on behind closed doors on an NBA team.

If you're looking for a book that delves into players affinity for clubs, booze and girls, then you'll have to look elsewhere. The Suns are a pretty clean club, and I'm sure they've done some stuff that isn't included in the book. What is included is an insiders look into the thought processes of coaches and players and discusses how the relationships within a professional organization can affect the win-loss column. There are some solid perspectives on team chemistry, ownership, the role coaches play in the success (or failure) of a ball club, the pressures of the playoffs, the psyche of the pro athlete (who knew someone making $20m a year could be so sensitive), how marketing efforts can affect a player's attitude and much more. I kind of wish the Suns would've won it all in 2006 so that this book could've been longer. Also, you don't have to be a Suns fan to appreciate this book. I'm a die-hard Pistons fan, and found this read very enjoyable.

On thing to point out: there's some swearing in this book (a few F bombs and the like), so if you're a parent thinking of picking this book up for a young Suns fan you may want to browse the pages beforehand. Otherwise, there really isn't anything worse than that, though.

I'm an SI subscriber, so I've been reading Jack for years in the magazine. I was looking forward to this book ever since I put it on my wishlist, and I wasn't disappointed. They gave him really great access, and the coaches seemed to relax around him and give him good quotes. He has a smooth and engaging writing style, which works great for wriiting about sports.

And he did not treat the players like Gods, and that was very key. He made Shawn Marion look like he was, your typical insecure semi-superstar, and allowed Amare Stoudemire to appear as the clueless, under-educated athlete that he is. Reserve guard Eddie House wound up being the star of the book, player category, he's very entertaining without coming off like a jerk.

A couple of quibbles:

Jack really does not like Mark Cuban, and takes as many shots at him as he coould. Makes a person wonder if he tried to float this book idea by the Mavericks and was turned down.

The other, far bigger gripe, is that the book was too short. It seemed that he rushed it to get it out quickly, and thus the focus so much on the playoffs, with the preseason and regular season not touched on much. I know that this is paritially a compliment, wanting the book to be much bigger, and I mean it that way. It just seems rushed.

All in all a great buy, well worth the money I paid, and I got it right here at Amazon.

I bought my Complete Triathlon Book ( Matt fitzgerald) in 2007. I compete in many Duathlons and a few Triathlons.I also run competively 1 or 2 times per week. In general im pretty competitive, like to be near the front, so was looking for lots of new tips etc . I would rate the book as ok. The cover looks great. To get my higher rating I would hope to see many more pictures ' preferably in color' to illustrate various beneficial tri techniques, equipment and ways to save those vital seconds.
I'm still looking for the perfect Tri Book.
To date I have found my best advice in seperate swim , bike and run books.
Gerry K

A decent book. I wish they would have left out a lot of the mind mumbo jumbo stuff. Was looking for a basic training/equipment quide.

This book is full of information about training for any kind of a triathlon, from sprint to ironman. Very informative

I found this book very good. I first got it from the Library and then decided it was a book I wanted on my shelf. It covers all the bases for learning about, training for and performing in Triathlons. It is very up to date and very practical in it's approach. I am a novice and this book has made me feel quite competent in how to approach, prepare for and perform in triathlons. It is chock full of information and I highly recommend it if you're at all serious about improving your performance.

This book is by far the best scientific guide to the science of fitness and nutrition associated with triathlon. I have always had unanswered questions about carb consumption and storage, oxygen usage, aerobic, and anerobic thresholds. This book gave me more answers than any other I have ever read.

I have been on a kick for the last several months. I read books about guns, about ammo, and mostly, about tactics. Reading all of Massad Ayoob's books was a great experience and I wish he had more. Eventually, I had to explore other authors. This is when I found Andy Stanford. His style is great. No bull; to the point writing makes this subject very enjoyable and easy to read. He takes you through the basics, but also explores more in depth tactical information. This is a must-read for anyone who is integrating into their life self protection for their family.

THIS IS AN EXCELLENT BOOK ON THE SUBJECT OF SPEED SHOOTING. THE PRINCIPLES TAUGHT HEREIN ARE ACCURATE AND EASY TO ASSIMILATE. EACH SECTION IS BROKEN DOWN AND THE READER CAN ACTUALLY DEMONSTRATE TO HIMSELF/HERSELF THE LESSON BEING TAUGHT. THIS IS THE BEST BOOK ON ACCURATE SPEED SHOOTING I HAVE SEEN. THE ONLY NEGATIVE WOULD BE THAT MR. STAFFORD SPENDS WAY TOO MUCH TIME DEFENDING THE ISOSCELES STANCE OVER THE WEAVER STANCE.
MR STAFFORD MAKES THIS NOT ONLY A TEXTBOOK, BUT A LABORATORY MANUAL ALSO. EACH PRINCIPLE CAN BE WORKED ON AT THE RANGE AS WELL AS ONLY READ.

Stanford's book is solid: well-written, clear, and oriented for both right- and left-handed shooters. Much of it dwells on the natural superiority of the isosceles stance over the Weaver, but there is a great deal more here as well. It would be nice if there were a further reading list, more resources for shooters, and more material in general. Still, if you carry or if you are just interested in fast, precise shooting, this book is a great read.

The author explains in great detail grip, trigger control, stance, etc. I also like that he provides the reasoning behind what he recommends.

This book is a "must read" for anyone interested in accomplishing just what the title suggests - surgical speed shooting. This would include those who shoot IDPA and IPSC but I find the book geared more for self-defense. I find myself reading the book several times a year and have worn out three of them since first purchasing the book several years ago.

The book is (in a word) concise. It's obviously written by someone with a very keen, discerning and analytical mind; and if you've ever met Andy you immediately are aware that you're in the presence of someone with "a lot going on" behind his eyes.

I've taken four classes with Andy and I've learned something new with each course. His understanding of the progression of the "Isocoles" vs "Weaver" argument and his depth of understanding others' material without the associated ego makes him a fantastic author, shooter and instructor.

If I could have only one (1) book on shooting a pistol this book would be it.

This was an enjoyable book. It explores one of the most thought of and talked about baseball historical events of all time. George Herman Ruth called his shot to center field on the third inning of the third game in the 1932 World Series against the Chicago Cubs. He stuck his left hand in the air and pointed to the center field bleachers and called his shot. I like how the author of this book Dan Gutman challenges the called shot it makes you feel like you are at that game it gives you a perspective the no film footage or pictures could ever give you. Reading this book made me have a stronger perspective of his called shot it shows how you can take a little known opinion and turn it into one of the most exciting cliff hanging books ever and if you've only known about the called shot for a little bit like me I suggest this book to anyone who doesn't know about the called shot or still want to know more about it. Dan Gutman gives a look at what it would be like to be one of George Herman Ruth's friend what it would be like to hold his bat be in his house and be a thought in his mind. I give credit to Dan Gutman for writing this book I enjoyed the first person look at George Ruth's life and the way he played ball. If you liked this book I also suggest the rest of the books in this series including ones that have not yet been published.

My son was a reluctant beginning reader until his first grade teacher pulled out a copy of Babe and Me to read to his class. We went out and got it the next day, read it together, and he spent the next summer working his way through it by himself, slowly reading it aloud.
Since then, he has read this book and the others in the series several times. This novel is multi-layered, with storylines about a boy's relationship with his father (his parents are divorced), all told in the historical context of the Great Depression and during the rise of Hitler. Every time we read this together (and there have been countless times), my son finds something else to discuss. The mystery of the book---did Babe really call the shot?---almost doesn't matter when you consider the book as a whole.
Overall, I credit this book as jump-starting my son's love of reading and of baseball. I can't recommend this enough for anyone looking for an entertaining and interesting read, and parents will love reading it aloud with younger readers, as well.

This book is about a kid named Joe Stoshack who travels back in time to 1932 to see if Babe Ruth called his shot or not. Read this book to find out if he did or not.

This book was great! I really liked the book because I play baseball just like Babe.

If you like baseball you will really like this book too!

This book was great! I learned a lot more about baseball and Babe Ruth. In the book you found out that Babe was a really fun loving and caring guy who loved goofing off. The book is about a boy named Joe who is trying to help out his dad with his money debt. With his old saved baseball cards of Babe Ruth they are able to travel back in time to the year 1932. 1932 was the year that the Yankees played the Cubs in the World Series. When Joe and his dad travel back Joe begins to learn so much about the year, depression, and everything that went on then. He found to like the amount of money people paid also. Being pretty poor in our day was like being a millionaire in their time. Well overall I really enjoyed the book and thought it was fun to learn everything. I would recommend this to people that enjoy baseball or would like to learn some more about baseball.

I purchased the book as a gift for my children. They love the series and have all of them. I highly recommend the series. It engages the minds of the readers in a fictional, imaginative way for those avid baseball lovers.

Just finished the book and I must say it is an engaging read. Okay - so it's not "To The Hilt", but it is a good Francis book. I was so pleased that Dick Francis began writing again after his long hiatus. However, I do agree with the people who recognize a change in his writing. The first book released after his return - "Under Orders" was missing something. This collaboration with his son has D. Francis closer to the 'old voice'. As always - the research behind the book is excellent. However - I think what is still missing is the character insight/development/perspecitive that perhaps came from Francis' wife.

Loved this book. Max is a great hero, the world of find cuisine provides a perfect backdrop to the crime, and the bad guy truly bad. I hope Dick Francis writes many more books, and the addition of Felix Francis to the mix only makes the books better. Bravo!

Dead Heat is a really enjoyable read - nearly equal to the best of Dick Francis' mysteries. Like others here, I've read and enjoyed them all. Yes, this book contains classic Francis aspects - and why shouldn't it? The various plots and intrigues are woven well and lead to a perfect ending.

A typical Francis page-turner, this book is unique in the fact that we never spend even a moment with an actual horse. Horses play their part in the book, though, and for someone like me who is around horses all of the time, that was enough.

Hopefully Team Francis has more to come our way.

Max Morton is sick. He thinks it's food poisoning and he's not the only one affected, so he's worried, because last night he was the chef at a black tie dinner event. He's the youngest chef to receive the "Michelin Star" which is a true chefly honor. He not only owns a popular restaurant in New Market, but he also operates his own catering business. So when an environmental health office shows up to investigate the poisoning, he's got cause for concern. The inspector does too, so she shuts down his restaurant, despite the fact that the food had not been prepared at his restaurant and that all of the leftovers are gone.

Fortunately Max still has his catering business. He's catering a function held in the viewing box at the 2000 Guineas horse race when a bomb goes off. Several people are killed, but luckily for Max, he suffers only minor injuries, however the woman who put on the event is badly injured and one of Max's staff does not survive the blast.

Despite this tragic event, Max still has to try and save his restaurant. He discovers kidney beans caused the poisoning. However there were no kidney beans on the menu, nor were they used in anything served that night, so how could they have been in the food? Now Max has to wonder if he'd been set up. He also begins to wonder if the bombing was somehow connected to the food poisoning. Was the food poisoning an attempt to keep someone away from the bombing, if so who? And who was the bomb intended for? These are just a few of the questions you'll be asking yourself as you page through this satisfying mystery.

I've long been a fan of Dick Francis and missed him dearly when he stopped writing. Then when he came back after so long off with Under Orders, I bought it straightaway. Now a year later we have this story. It's good to have Dick Francis back and I hope he and Felix have many more mystery thrillers in them.

Ken Douglas, author of Dead Ringer, Desperation Moon & Running Scared.

Dead Heat is about Max Moreton, proprietor of a Newmarket restaurant and a rising regional chef - until a catered dinner poisons most of the guests and leaves Max retching in agony, wondering what has gone wrong.

Several aspects mark this fine mystery as vintage Dick Francis:
1) the connection to British horse racing
2) since the hero is not a jockey, the occupation of the protagonist has been carefully researched
3) the hero/protagonist triumphs over adversity by determination and persistence
4) like a well-handled racehorse, the plot breaks out of the starting gate, maintains consistent racing speed and surges to a strong finish for another winning performance.

However, the character of Max Moreton is not the usual stoic tough guy of previous novels. After the first shock, I enjoyed the sensitive portrait of a man who likes to create fine food who, despite the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, takes arms against his sea of troubles. Additionally, Francis surprised me with the character of Caroline Aston. Normally the female characters in Francis's novels are either cardboard characters or lamer than a three-legged mule. Caroline begins by suing Max for poisoning her and winds up being wooed by him. She's a professional musician, a classical viola player and her devotion to her music is vividly expressed. Max and Caroline represent a new turn in the writing career of an acclaimed mystery stylist. I'm not talking about overcooked meat when I exclaim: Well done!

These workouts are very much like what you would see a swim team doing day in and day out. The book is for swimmers looking to push themselves to a higher level in terms of endurance and speed and does not address strokes. It presumes that you already swim about a mile a day, so there is no plan for building up except maybe by segmenting the workouts. There is some ramp up time to learn the coding associated with each workout, but everything is explained in the intro section. The title says it all.

I like this book for the sheer reason that when I swim longer workouts, I tend to forget how many yards/meters I have done after I get out of the pool. By having this poolside, I can do the various workouts and then know the total distance covered. The variety of workouts is practically endless and the book is holding up fine. It sure beats just swimming lap after lap at the same pace. I tried a lap counter that you wear on your finger and that is okay for grinding out 1500 meter swims, but if you are doing a mix of speed and endurance, the binder works better for me.

This book is a great addition to my training library. Not only does it have great workouts, the waterproof pages are awesome. You can take it to the pool and not worry about it being ruined by water. You can just throw it on the side of the pool and go. The workouts are easy to use and are very challenging. Probably the only complaint about the book is if the pages get wet and you don't dry them off completely before throwing it into your workout bag, they stay wet. But overall, great purchase!

This book has saved me from the monotony of swimming laps. Having "something to do" while at the pool has given me extra motivation and feelings of success. The workouts are just the right length (I can choose the shorter versions if I need to finish in under an hour). I swim in the pool to train for open water triathlons and this book does more than prepare me to get me there. I use it 2-3 times a week. It is WELL worth having!

The workouts in this book are very helpful (especially if you have any other books by Gale, these workouts fit right into her training plans). I especially love how waterproof the book is and that it easily props up by itself. This makes it very convenient to prop it up and the end of the lane, and just go!

This is an excellent book. Both very informative and very well written. It is a must for any one thinking about carrying a concealed handgun. Even after much training, I learned many new things from this book. This book is very thought provoking and if you don't have a CHL yet, you will want one after you read this book. This is a book I will not loan out, but will buy extra copies for all the gals in my shooting club.

I found this book very informative. I read this just before taking a concealed hand gun class & it helped me understand the informaion presented in class. I would recommend it for anyone interested in self defense.

The content is okay, but the quality of the book is terrible. The pages are falling out because the glue is not holding them. I take good care of my books, but this one is very poor quality.

This guy tells it like it is and backs up everything with research and documentation. I consider this book the perfect resource for everyone that carries or wants to carry a concealed weapon. Well done! Thank you!

Good if you are about to or have recently bought a handgun. Chapter on holsters is boring but only because I knew I wouldn't need one (I keep mine in my shoulder bag). I bought a holster and used fabric glue to secure it to the inside of the bag.