Sports Books

I read this book back in 2002 and 2003 while I was training for my first marathon. I just pulled it out and started reading it again recently and it is such a great book. Full of information and motivation to help with marathon training. I wish I would have gone to a college that offered a marathon class!

This book has good information on training for marathons.
I am looking forward to mine in Dec.

I liked the book: it is well-written and has a lot of useful information on how to start running in general and how to train for marathon in particular.

I am a physical therapist who also enjoys (???) running. This past Fall, I finished my 2nd marathon in Appleton, WI. My first was Grandma's in Duluth, MN in 2002 (before children). This second marathon I used the same program but had to add the walk to run progarm in also as I had a one year old and a two year old at home now! I was not quite in the same shape I had been for the previous marathon. The program is wonderfully flexible with only 4 days of training a week. I printed the small schedule in the front chapter up and used to mark off my runs. Reading the chapters a second time still was important to train the mental endurance. As a therapist, I really love the stressing of completion and not speed. Reading each chapter a week helps to mentally prepare for the runs and stay focused on the weekly runs and the marathon itself. It is such an accomplishment to complete the race that setting time goals should only be broad- I'll finish in under 7 hours. I would be very interested in reading the women's book but would love them to write another book for 'subsequent' marathoners. The issues of mental endurance, life balance, and aging bodies would be good additional chapters to write about.
I have used the walk to run program for many of my patients who want to return to their prior level of running after injury with very good results. If you are even thinking of just getting into running this book is a great book and you may just decide 'why not try the marathon'.

Bought this book to start training for the Chicago Marathon. I am 50 years old and have never run a marathon. It is a week-by-week training guide that essentially guarantees that you will be able to finish the marathon if you follow their plan. The book is very easy reading. The chapters are written to read for each week of training. Works with your physical and psychological potential obstacles for completion of the marathon. So far, so good. I'll let you know whether it delivers after October 12, 2008!

I have been a student of the Inner Game of Tennis for over 30 years now and Tim Gallwey's book is still the best book ever written describing how the mind and body work so that we can play at our very best. Tim has completely changed not only my playing but my entire tennis life and as a result, I have written my own book called Tennis: Play the Mental Game which will teach you the practical applications to playing the inner game. I recommend to all my book owners and students that they read Tim's book. There are many other so called sports psychologists out there that try to say the same things Tim is saying but they just don't succeed. Tim's book is and will be a classic for as long as people play tennis. David Ranney, www.maxtennis.com.

This is a very helpful guide that allows you to 1. recognize when the mind and your inner thoughts are conspiring against you and 2. help control the negative thoughts, so that your game can improve. Tennis is very much a 'mind game' and this book gives great insight into that inner game.

While this book has tennis undertones, the implications range well beyond the tennis court. The lessons are useful for all athletes that are "in their own way" of performing at their best. The mental training suggested is simple, yet effective. As a coach, the simpler the better for my players. I've used the ideas with my players already.

I read this book after reading an article about Pete Carroll. The ideas behind the book seemed right on and I can completely understand why it is seen as such an insightful book. That being said the premise is play with out thinking, react, and play on your sense. In the first two chapters this strategies is laid out in front of you then the rest of the book is dedicated to try to make sure you don't think. That's a lot of reading about not over thinking. I found it to be funny that you were reading so much about trying not to think it actually made it harder not to think. But it is well written and has some valuable tools for coaches to use when teaching young athletes.

Does it matter how and what we think about while we are playing tennis ? Yes, it matters so much that it affects our tennis performance significantly and could even affect our mental well being. W. Timothy Gallwey obviously understands both tennis and psychology very well and has written an excellent book that very clearly explains why it matters how we think about our tennis performance. As a long time tennis player I enjoyed reading the book and learned very much from it. I am eager to start applying Gallwey's advice as soon as possible. If you often scold yourself everytime you make a " mistake " and / or you are trying too hard but not quite achieving the performance you aim in tennis then you can not afford to not read this book. I read it twice and I recommend that everybody read it again and again every few months.

Many tennis instructors do not know the psychological aspect of the game that is so well explained in the book. Their ignorance is obvious from the incessant verbal instructions they give their students.

The harmful and correct ways of thinking explained in the book are not limited to tennis ; they can be applied to our self talk about anything and to any interaction between humans such as parenting, marriage, social, work and other relationships.

The types of scolding comments and even positive instructions and praise we make to ourselves either silently or aloud when we are playing tennis are self defeating ; they re- enforce the performance that we label unsatisfactory. Then the negative comments we make to ourselves about our tennis performance become self fulfilling prophecies.Timothy Gallwey demonstrates that it is no use to replace negative self talk with positive self talk neither. Because positive thinking is actually negative thinking in disguise ; it communicates the demand for good performance and is therefore manipulative. Thus positive self talk and manipulative self praise also have an unfavorable effect on our tennis performance although not as much as negative self talk. Any instructions we give ourselves such as : " tilt the face of the racket a little more " or " I hit it very well this time " also interfere with the natural method of learning which is much more effective. We have the potential to learn naturally which is possible only when we let go, that is when we shut up and stop criticizing or praising our performance, stop giving instructions to ourselves and stop trying too hard to correct our mistakes.

So what is the correct and effective method of improvement in tennis ? It is visualization in our mind of the desired strokes and consistent practice on the court. This practice must be without interference from the disruptive way of thinking and self talk. Gallwey does not propose that we do not pay attention to our tennis strokes. On the contrary, he says we must feel and be aware of our strokes without judgement i.e. without labelling our strokes as bad or good. If you think you are making mistakes eg : the ball keeps on getting caught in the net when you hit it, instead of saying to yourself things such as : " You loser ! you couldn't hit even one ball over the net ! " just observe how you play non - judgementally and visualize in your mind's eye the ball clearing the net and landing inside your opponent's court and continue to play. Do this consistently without giving yourself verbal instructions about how to hit the ball ( aloud or silent ), be patient and observe the eventual correction in your strokes.

He says that each human being has two selves ; Self 1 who continually makes judgements about the performance of Self 2 and scolds or praises it. In the meantime Self 2 is trying to play tennis under nagging and much less often praising from Self 1.Self 2 has the natural ability to learn and improve, like a toddler learns to walk naturally without any lessons nor comments from parents about how to walk. But Self 2 can not learn naturally nor effectively as long as Self 1 judges and comments negatively or positively about Self 2's tennis performance and rolls out instructions to it. What we need to do is to silence Self 1 , visualize in our mind the desired strokes, continue practicing on the court and trust our body and mind's natural ability to learn. The power of visualization in the mind with open or closed eyes ( with open eyes when you are playing of course ) of the desired performance to improve it in sports and other aspects of life is mentioned in many other psychology books too. As I mentioned above this principle is valid whatever we are learning and in our communication with other humans not just in tennis. In fact Gallwey says that Self 1 could be a critical parent and self 2 his / her child.

Achieving these will involve unlearning the bad habit of self judgement whether it is negative or positive. Gallwey says that if we fight the bad habit it will get stronger. Instead of fighting the existing bad habit, develop the new habit to replace it. In fact don't even see the bad habit as a habit. Like a toddler who promotes from crawling to walking does not see crawling as a bad habit to get rid of but rather as a stage in development.

I observe that in many cases in addition to the disruption from their Self 1s many children taking tennis lessons also have to cope with additional negative comments sometimes even insults, yelling and unproductive praises from their tennis teachers, in front of their parents who bring them to the tennis lessons. The parents think that the tennis teachers are doing the right thing when they scold and yell at their children everytime they make a mistake. The result ; the mistakes get worse instead of being corrected. I have observed the same destructive attitude in swimming, basketball, gymnastics and classrom teachers at schools. It is a pity that most parents, teachers and bosses at the workplace do not know the psychology in this book titled " The inner game of tennis ". Certainly there are tennis and other sports teachers, parents, bosses who are effective communicators but unfortunately they constitute the minority ; most teachers, parents and bosses are of the Self 1 type even if they have no bad intentions. Some of them are aware of the inefficacy of their methods and wish they could replace them with better methods but they can not help it. These teachers, parents bosses their students, children and employees would benefit greatly if the teachers, parents and bosses read and applied this book.

In the book the author also gives a detailed action plan about how you can become more aware of your various tennis strokes without thinking about them in the wrong way. Just observe various parts of your strokes non - judgementally, become aware of them, by feeling and hearing them as they are without labelling them as good or bad. If you decide there is a need for improvement visualize your desired correct strokes as you may have observed from competent players. Avoid Self 1 from giving instructions to Self 2 and let it happen. He also gives examples of how dogmas regarding the correct way of hitting various types of strokes have changed overtime ; tennis teachers were scolding their students about some " mistakes " until tennis pros challenged the dogmas and started playing like the long time believed mistakes. Only then did the non - traditional strokes become generally accepted.

Another very important issue the author talks about is the wrong and correct reasons for playing tennis ; if you play tennis because you like the game, want to be healthy and fit, want to make friends and at the same time you want to win from time to time etc. you are on the right track. But if the only reason you play tennis is to win, beat everyone else, prove to yourself and to everybody how great you are then you are playing tennis for the wrong reasons. Tennis is a very good stress reliever when played for the correct reasons. But it becomes a source of stress if played with such selfish motives. There is nothing wrong with wanting to win but if you are playing tennis only to prove your supremacy over other tennis players it is very likely that your motive is to compensate for low self esteem even if you are unaware of this.You may have low self esteem regarding your failures in other aspects of your life ; your social, work, marriage, parenting relationships or other feelings of inferiority. I know tennis players who play very well, but are very unpopular and annoying because they always brag about their tennis and are unhappy about other aspects of their lives. It is OK to want to win and improve in tennis provided that our self esteem does not depend solely on our tennis performance and we do not belittle other tennis players. If currently, knowingly or unknowingly we are relying only on tennis to bail us out of our low self esteem due to other problems in our lives, it makes sense to deal with our low self esteem by reading and applying a good self help book on the subject such as " The six pillars of self - esteem " written by a psychologist named Nathaniel Branden. If reading and applying that book is not sufficient to improve our self esteem we should seek professional help. Let's play tennis for the correct reasons, not to liberate us from our low self esteem.

Like any tennis player I am also pleased with myself when I win after a good game of tennis but I personally do not have the negative, the positive self talk nor the " I must be the greatest in tennis otherwise I am no good " attitude to the extent described in the book. Still, I found some mental and attitude corrections I need to make about my own tennis. I also realized that I am frocing my 10 year old son too much in tennis. I will ease the pressure on him. It would be nice if he won in the tournaments but not at the expense of his happiness.

To summarize I highly recommend that you read " The Inner Game of Tennis " by W. Timothy Gallwey.

A well written approach to the game that has the greatest effect in lowering your score.

"Dave Pelz's Short Game Bible" is most likely the best book I've read on golf. In the beginning of the book, Pelz demonstrates, through the use of his extensive data on both tour players and amateurs, just how important it is to be proficient from 100 yards and in. Many golfers think they can just read a book, then go on the course and be successful. This is never true.
If you want to become a better short game player, you are going to need to hit thousands of practice shots, and you are going to have to learn how to hone your distance control with your wedges and the various length of your swing.. (7:30 swing, 9:00 swing, and 10:30 swing)

All in all, I highly recommend this book.

If you're the type that can learn from a book and want to know all the technical aspects of the short game - this is the book for you. Very detailed and very technical but you will learn a lot from it. This is a "must have" book, along with 'Dave Pelz's Putting Bible' and Leadbetter's 'The Swing'.

Bought this book in 2000 just after it came out and immediately read the first 100 pages (it's 400 pages long). Just understanding the concepts of the physics behind his instruction was eye-opening for me (I loved the statistics and explanations). He applies the numbers to real-life results (ie: the pros with the best short game earn the most money consistently year after year). Once I understood the basic concept that distance control was the key and then read about the basic techniques, my index tumbled from a 12.4 to 8.1 in just two months and as low as 4.6 by the end of summer! This in spite of hitting an average of only 5-6 greens in regulation per round.
One nice thing about this book is you don't have to read or understand all the statistics or physics in order for it to make a profound impact on your game. You can use it as a reference for a lot of specialty shots once you get the basic finesse swing down. (I use the technique with most of my irons all the way up to my 5-iron thus extending my distance control game out to about 150 yards).
Definitely a must read if you are serious about improving your golf game.

I am the author of Striking It Rich: Golf in the Kingdom with Generals, Patients and Pros

If this book was the 5-star standard, there wouldn't be too many other 5-star books. In other words, its in a class by itself. Production quality, instruction, information, etc is as good as it gets. A tremendous value for your golfing expenditures. Pelz has contributed significantly to our game with the publication of this book.
With that said, allow me to point out a few things that couldn't be right...
1. Pros having a pei of 18% on their wedges and 8% on their full shots. That implies that they get a 200 yard shot closer than a 100 yard one.
2. Also getting your short game handicap by the method near the end of the book is inconsistant (ie self contradictory). (and contradictory to a pei of 18% for these wedge shots as well)

I also don't agree with the method of guaging distances in the book but that is not necessarily an error- just my opinion.

But all things considered, the best book of its kind by far.

The book describes a new approach to train long-distance running.
The key idea is to cut down to three days of intense running per week augmented by two days of cross training.
The authors provide complete instruction to execute their training approach along with scientific evidence that their approach actually works.

The approach sounds appealing as it can save busy people interested in running a lot of valuable time. The evidence presented sounds solid but I was not yet able to complete 16 weeks worth of training since buying the book.

The downside of the book is that it is a compilation of a series of articles that previously appeared in a magazine. Hence, it is full of repetitions and contains lots of testimonials from people that tried this approach. These testimonials are initially fun to read, but then they get boring.

Summary: the approach sounds cool and worth trying out (I will), but the book could be improved by compressing the essential information in about 40 pages and putting the rest on a website.

A month ago I finished training for a marathon using the FIRST program from the internet (the one with a goal "to finish"). While I didn't finish in my desired pace (5:30), I did feel great while training and was ready to start training again sooner than I ever have been before (1 previous marathon, 10 half marathons). Now I'd like to train for a 2:30 half marathon, and I bought this book hoping it would illuminate the paces (such as ST, MT, and LT - short, mid and long tempo) that are not spelled out in the online half marathon training program.

Instead, I found the slowest marathon time included in the pace tables is 4:51:56 (2:19:03 half). And formulas to derive the paces are not included. The rest of the book has some explanation of why the key runs are set up the way they are (which I read on Runner's World), and TONS of success story letters (which I could have done without).

While I highly recommend the FIRST training program, just get the information from Runner's World or off the FIRST website, set your tempo paces at 5K pace - 15s (ST), -30s (MT), and -45s (LT), and save yourself the cost of the book.

Note: On second thought, I wish I had only given one star, but it doesn't look possible to change it.

I am enjoying this program so far. In a nutshell you run 3X a week. One run is a Long run, one a Tempo, and one Interval. This covers the three areas you want to improve on. My goals are to improve my personal bests this year in the 5 & 10K. I also plan on doing my first mini Triathlon. I like the idea of running 3X a week and having more time to train in other areas. Most other running programs have you logging a lot more miles. The proof will be in the pudding in a few months when I go for my PR's.

I've trained and ran 4 marathons. The program I followed was a basic 'run the miles' program. After reading this book, it gives me a new idea into a different training method. This book isn't a mileage book. It's a quality run book. There's information on different areas of running such as recovery, weight training, nutrition, etc. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a different, quality training program. It's worth a shot. And, the methods don't apply to marathons. The book shows you ideas for a better 5-K, 10-K, or Half-marathon.

I have been on the program three weeks and I am a huge fan. The way the book is structured makes the program a no brainer to try and as you go you can feel your legs "building" rather than just being sore from running too much. Three guys with large brains who have been running for twenty something years and studying fitness for a living for just as long offer up a nice "short cut" on working smarter not harder.

Mr. Grisham has surprised me with this delightful, light little novel about an American NFL player who somehow loses a game so badly that he becomes almost a joke, a really hated player. He gets the opportunity to play football in Italy where, of course, he redeems himself. But all of that is just the basic outline of a story that is really about a bunch of wonderful characters who play for the love of it. Mr. Grisham makes the reader genuinely admire these players, and I must say, I felt very fond of Parma when I finished. I read this book in just a few hours. It is short (262 pages). But if you want to have a genuinely pleasant afternoon, then you should consider reading this book.

And no offense to Ms. Cartland. This book starts off well. The first 10 pages are a delight. From there, it's all downhill. The story reads almost like a travelogue, starting with the importance of wearing the proper clothes in Italy, meeting a girl who wants to travel a lot - and giving details on all of the what-and-where sites they visit, detailed descriptions of many Italian dinners, implied casual sex throughout yet never any involvement, attending an opera and actually explaining the plot of the opera scene-by-scene, far too much play-by-lay dialogue and activity, an easily predictable outcome for their football season and very thin personalities. If you don't really want to read a book, yet feel a compulsion to say you read one this summer, then this might be the ideal reading companion. Never enough substance to make you think, letting you idly flip the pages.

Okay, I didn't like the book. However, I do like John Grisham's writings and have enjoyed his legal books and especially "The Painted House", which was impressive. This book just read as though he wrote the whole thing while flying back from Italy to kill time. His other writings are so superior and have real characters and real emotion - but not here. Despite my comments, I'm always looking forward to his next work.

We obtained this on CD and listened through 4 discs with increasing bewilderment before we tossed in the towel.

There doesn't seem to be anything going on.

For Grisham this is astonishing.

Not typical Grisham -- but you may already know that. This is a great beach/airplane read as it is simple and fun. Rather predicatble, but that's ok. Basic story about a man at the end of his career rope and he manages to hang on for little while longer and find a rich cultural nook in a place he had not expected (or wanted) to be. I enjoyed the Italian characters, including the city of Parma. Grisham's writing syle is simplistic and straightforward, which fits the main character's personality. Don't expect any major plot twists or surprises!

As one who has been a big John Grisham fan, I found myself to be disappointed with this book.

It is a fictionalized account of a third string pro quarterback who finds himself playing in the Italian version of the NFL. It is interesting in spots, but bland overall. It is not remotely on a par with a typical Grisham novel.

Although he has written a couple of other books that were not great (A Painted House, Bleachers), Grisham's books are normally fast paced and keep the reader's attention. Not so with this one. Even as a fan of both the author and pro football, I would not recommend 'Playing For Pizza'. For the hardcore fan who thinks he/she must read everything Grisham, it would be best to get this one in a used bookstore, or better yet, at a library.

This book gives the thinking and philosphy behind Bruce Lee's fighting method of Jeet Kung Do. I enjoyed it a lot and it would be a good collection for any marital arts books or philosphy in general.

It is a must have if you participate in any martial arts! This book not only helps with improving as a martial artist but also brings awareness in understanding oneself better.

I love Bruce Lee, but I couldnt get into this book! I cant honestly tell you to read it or not, because I havent! I bought it here at Amazon and gave it away a month later! Watch "Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story", thats a classic!

I came into this world many years later since Lee had closed his eyes upon it. I can only imagine the loss it must have been to the world to Martial Arts. But, he never left in spirit. An essence of his philosophy and his approach to martial arts still lives through his followers and this book. I learnt Aikido for 5 years, but found it not very handy when it came to tackling an opponent in the street. That's when someone recommended Lee to me. JKD is much faster and more practical (make no mistake, I still worship Aikido from bottom of my heart...JKD is only a natural next step in the route I took for my education in Martial Arts) when it comes to handling a situation in the street. But this book is not a step-by-step guide to beat someone black and blue. It's Lee's philosophy, his approach to martial arts (which is called Jeet Kun Do) - a way of life, from Lee's perspective.

I am only qualified to speak so much, but definitely recommend this book for everyone who wishes to understand Lee's apparoach to Martial Arts and, in turn, benifit from it to develop his or her own perspective.

this item was excellent, a good buy. it was exactly what i was looking for.

The book Heat by Mike Lupica is about baseball. Michael is a kid and a star pitcher for his little league team. When his brother gets arrested for trying to break into Yankee Stadium and his dad dies in Florida, his family, his friends, and his baseball falls apart.

This book is really good because it gets into the details of baseball. It is also about problems like his friend Ellie losing his friendship with Michael because he was frustrated with everything that his mouth let out things that he didn't mean. Anybody who likes baseball, no matter how old, will like this book. Those who don't like baseball will still like the conflict in this book.

Heat is about a boy named Michael Arroyo he is a 12 year old boy who is living in america illegally; he left his birth certificate and he doesnt have any citizen ship papers.Michael lives in a working class neighborhood his family is very poor. He plays for the clippers in a local baseball team he is the best team he can pitch 60 mph the fastest in the league. Michaels dream was to play in the little league world series. Michaels father promised to be there to watch michael play in the game unfortuntely he dies before anything happened. Michal has a friend named cole who plays with him on the team they alwys practice at mcombs dam park a ark that is in really bad condition in a bad neghborhood. Michael is hiding from the league that he is not a citize and if the social serivices ever found out he' woill bge deported.

How do you lie about your dad's death? Michael and Carlos did. Michael is 12 while his brother Carlos is 17. With their dad dead Carlos has to try to make a living for both of them. Michael loves baseball like his friend Manny. Late in the baseball season a hot shot boy call Michael out and says he is 14 because of how tall and how fast he throws a baseball. Later he needs to get a birth certificate so he can play, but his birth certificate is back in Hispana were he used to live. Another trouble his family is facing is a child services guy wants to meet their father. Manny hires his uncle Timo to pretend he is their father (Timo is an actor). Will they fool him? I gave the book a ten out of ten for the amazing originality of the problems. This is a sports book for sports fans from the ages 11-15. The book shows how lying goes deeper and deeper until someone is bound to find out. There is but one controversial part in the book. Will Carlos and Michael get caught?

I loved "Heat" because of all the great things it had inside of it. Heat is about a 12 year old baseball player named Michael Arroyo who lives in New York City. He is a very good pitcher in the city league. The main theme of the story is that he is too good for his league. The coaches in his league wonder if he is older than the rest of the league. Once this problem comes upon Michael, he has is asked to show the league his birth certificate so they can make sure he is the same age as everyone else. But problems fall like rain on Michael and he cannot give them the certificate because he has lost both of his parents and only has his brother for his family. Michael has to get all the help he can to get past the coaches who are so curious. Michael cannot live without baseball so he will try anything and everything to get it back.

Heat is a book for ages 10 and up. Heat is a fun book that all sports fans will adore. Heat has thrills!

--Kyle Dickson

Heat is one of the most enjoyable, interesting books I've ever read. Michael, a typical boy with a great right arm is the main character. He lives with his brother Carlos. His dad is supposedly caring for a sick relitive in Florida. Michael faces hardships and problems, but keeps himself going with friends and Carlos.
Baseball helps Michael with his life problems as well. It makes him feel ike all of his problems can disappear. But things in Michael's life aren't always so picture-perfect.
One boy in Michaels baseball league thinks Michael is too old for little league baseball. He is jealous of Michael because is right arm is so powerful. He and his father(the coach of his son's little league team) demand a birth certificate for Michael's ability to play. Michael was born in Cuba so he has a very hard time trying to find his birth certificate.
Michael has a best friend named Manny. I think he is te perfect so called "side-kick" for Michael. He is funny and keeps Michael's spirit up through out the book. Over all I give Heat five stars!
Gretchen - Grade 5

If you've ever met Hatsumi Sensei face to face, and even just exchanged a few short words, you can just feel something amazing about the man. This book is a must for anyone's martial arts library.

The anticipation on the various forums for this book has been enormous. A common theme for this anticipation has been the book's capacity as a 'reference manual' for the Bujinkan. Suffice as to say, there is only one reference manual in the Bujinkan and that is Hatsumi-sensei himself.

Everything that Hatsumi-sensei says in his books, DVDs and in person goes against the commonly perceived notion of 'reference manuals'. This art, in Hatsumi-sensei's own words, can only be learnt by the heart, directly with a person who has the feeling of Budo. In the Bujinkan, this person is Hatsumi-sensei.

In terms of the book itself, despite the efforts of the translators, I feel that large swathes of the English translation fail to capture the beauty of the original Japanese text. The Japanese text included in the book is a work of art and it seems to me that it would take another artist to be able to bring out the sense of Hatsumi-sensei's art. A lot of the text refers to the nature of the individual learning this art and the relationship of such an individual with a master of the art.

The photos included in the book, in my opinion, do more to help the reader understand Hatsumi-sensei's teachings than any text ever could. There are some lovely shots of Soke and his teacher Takamatsu-sensei. In terms of budo and art, the spaces inherent in these photos are stunning.

On the back cover of this book, there is a quote, "You should not just read the records of Budo and think you have understood it. Budo only has substance in a world of great dignity."

If the reader bears this warning in mind, the true value of the book will become evident.

In my opinion this book is set up like an instructor's reference manual, an advanced version of the Ten Chi Jin Ryaku No Maki, the original shidoshi scrolls. Overall a beautifully mastered book with many great photo's and detailed descriptions of the taijutsu waza from 6 of the 9 schools of Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu. The book also contains details on ukemi, taihenjutsu, San Shin No Kata and the Kihon Happo. This book will be a prized gem to anyone's Budo Taijutsu reference library.

If you are new to Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu this book may be a little confusing, it is really designed for someone that has a very solid foundation of the terminology and taijutsu techniques utilized in the kobudo schools of the Bujinkan. With-out the guidance of a trained instructor the descriptions of the waza may seem useless, especially because there are not any step by step photos. Combine this book with the guidance of a licensed instructor of the Bujinkan.

Soke Hatsumi's secrets are still masterfully hidden with-in the written word.

This book is a classic golf instruction text -- without a doubt the best such book. I read this book at least once per year just to fine tune my golf swing -- or anytime the golf demons try to attack my swing. I have owned this book for many years, and in a recent move my old copy got lost, hence, the need to buy a new one. If you are a really serious golfer, this book should be a permanant part of your golf instruction library; if you're a beginner, it is a must for developing a sound golf swing. Tiger may be the best to ever play the game, but Hogan had the swing that amateurs should try to emulate.

If you are new to golf or have golfed for years - this is the bible. It may not be the modern golf swing used by Tiger - but if you want to create a grooved repeatable swing this is the book for you.

this is an amazing book. there are 5 sections with great pictures to show what you need to do to have a superb swing. the reading also has a mental approach which helps to have a mind set. after reading the first chapter on grip, i began hitting the ball straight. i can't wait to finish reading the rest of the book to see how much better i will golf. i highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to golf better.

I have recently returned to golf after a several year absence. I decided to read several golf books as I re-entered the sport, and have found that Ben Hogan's books have been both informative and enlightening. By applying the suggestions he has outlined, my chipping game was immediately improved. Close work on my grip has allowed my drives to be straight and with improved length. While my intermediate game is still quite poor, I'm sure the tips outlined in Fundementals will be helpful as well. Hogan's "Power Golf" is also an excellent guide, though it needs a few more reads to be fully digested. Those wishing to improve their golf would be highly encouraged to read Hogan's books, especially if they would like to try golf before committing to lessons.

Great book for learning or re-learning the fundamentals of the full golf swing. Helpful for the novice and the experienced golfer. This 20-year old classic has become the foundation for modern-day golf instruction. I've bought a few copies as gifts for my golfing buddies.