Sports Books

Reviewed by Brianne Plach (age 10) for Reader Views (7/08)

Welcome to the world of the National Football League! "Tiger" Lewis is predicted to be a top draft choice. His future looks bright and he should be rolling in fame and fortune very soon. He is all excited about the upcoming draft. He wants his younger brother Ty to join him for the "big draft weekend."

Ty would love to spend more time with his older brother but he has major obstacles in his way. Ty is a pretty good football player as well. Only thing is he can't even compete for his school's team. Uncle Gus and Aunt Victoria are Ty's legal guardians now that Ty and Tiger's parents have been killed in a car accident. Uncle Gus demands that Ty work in his cleaning business. What kind of life can this be for a young boy who has high hopes for a future like his older brother? Gus is obsessed with gambling! He can't seem to ever pass up a good or a not so good bet.

Ty Tiger is drafted by the Jets. Ty is excited for his brother. "Football Hero" tells the story of a draft choice in his rookie season in the National Football League. The author Tim Green uses his own experiences as being a draft choice and NFL rookie to bring insight to the story.

Middle schoolers will love this story. Aspiring athletes will see the turmoil that goes into their beloved game and the hard work that it takes. There is a touch of mystery in the story as you wonder if Uncle Gus can ever be cured of his addiction without drastic trouble or destruction. Even if you want to read just one book about the NFL, football or young adults this summer, you will want to snag this one. "Football Hero" by Tim Green is a sure-fire touchdown for young readers!

This book is just as good if not better than Football Genius. Tim Green really know the sport and some of the shady dealings that go along with it. In this story Ty, whose parents passed away get shipped to live with his aunt and uncle. Ty's older brother Thane is a college football star is destined to be one of the top picks in the upcoming NFL draft. Ty really wants to play middle school football but his uncle has other plans as he gets him a work permit for his 12th birthday and expects Ty to help out in his cleaning business. When Thane gets drafted Ty gets talked into helping out his uncle, who is gambling with the mafia, in exchange for being allowed to play football. What happens next is a whirlwind story that keeps you reading and wanting more. This is the second youth football story released by Tim Green and I cant wait for more releases.

Ty Lewis' parents have died in an accident, so he has gone to live with his dad's sister, Aunt Virginia, and Uncle Gus. Ty's older brother is Thane (aka Tiger) Lewis, a hopeful NFL first-round draft pick from Syracuse University. Thane and Ty are close, but because Thane is finishing up his college degree, Ty is forced to remain with his aunt and uncle.

Living with his aunt and uncle is horrible. Ty remembers the loving home he came from, and misses his parents terribly. His relatives make him sleep on a stained mattress on the floor in the laundry room. His uncle has scavenged an old Porta Potti that he forces Ty to use instead of the indoor plumbing. And now it's his twelfth birthday. Ty doesn't expect anything exciting, and it's even worse than he thought possible. His uncle presents him with a work permit allowing Ty to work for the family cleaning business. So while Ty and his cousin, Charlotte, spend their evenings after school scrubbing toilets and floors, his uncle sits back and drinks beer and socializes.

Ty has two shining spots in his life: his brother, Thane, and the chance to play on his middle school football team. Ty is fast and has sure hands. Coach V has great plans for Ty for the upcoming season. But his Uncle Gus does everything he can to keep Ty from playing football and away from his brother.

Then, Thane gets his draft pick and is worth millions. Uncle Gus enters into illegal gambling with the mafia, and Ty and Thane are the unwitting pawns. With the intervention of the FBI, Ty may come out better or worse than he started. But you have to read the story to see how the plot twists and turns.

I admit that I have never heard of Mr. Green before reading this story. Mostly because I will be honest and say I am not a fan of football. I go out of my way to avoid any game that may be on TV. But Mr. Green's story sounded exciting and thrilling. The story moved fast and had plots outside of football to interest those beyond the sports fans. This book will easily have appeal to boys ages 10 to 100. The reader will be satisfied to see that the underdog does come out on top in the end!

Reviewed by: Jaglvr

The Sports Illustrated Brett Farve Retirement Tribute 2008 is a winner, just like Brett himself. This issue was very comprehensive of Brett's football career, and as a great family and community man. This issue should be a collectors item down the road.

This is a nice tribute to Brett Favre and all that he has given to the game of football, the Packers and the fans.

Thank you for sending me the Sports Illustrated Tribute 2008 on Brett Favre. I got it for my fiance who grew up in the Green Bay area and we both love the Packers and Brett. It was very hard to get our hands on an issue down here in FL so Thanks a million!

Loved the special printing about my favorite quarterback of all time. Pictures are awesome. A must have for Packer fans. Thanks, Mary

Although this is a great addtion to any Brett Farve or Packers fan's collectables it was not put together as well as you would expect. The stories were interesting but it feels like they just slapped this together in a hurry. Buy it for its collectability not for the content.

This is the grandaddy of southern cookbooks. I have many but this is what I have been looking for.

every recipe tells a story and they all remind me of my mother inlaw.
i recieved this as a gift and sent it as a gift. what a wonderful book

This is a really fun cookbook. The food is southern, but most of it has a wonderful twist or two. The recipes are well written and easy to follow. Be sure and try the Buttermilk-Sweet Potato Pie!

This is one of the best cookbooks I've ever owned. Regional food cookbooks tend to appeal to minority that grew up with that food. I'd be surprised if that's the case with the Lee Bros Cookbook. Their style is easy, chatty and filled with information and background stories. They've made Southern cooking their personal life stories and the book draws the reader into their culinary history, failures (boiled peanuts in NYC!) and triumphs. Everyone buys a cookbook for the recipes and this one doesn't disappoint. But the stories about the two transplanted New Yorkers and the food culture of the southeastern US will make this book a classic for years to come.

Bill in Houston, TX

As a southern cook myself, I found this book an excellent and beautiful additon to my collection of cookbooks. I consider myself a serious foodie and I am particularly interested in my own regional cuisine. I would recommend this as an excellent resource both for serious cooks and beginners alike. All of the recipes I have tried so far have been excellent. In particular the fried apples with bourbon are excellent and everyone who has tried them has raved.

Loved this book...offered inspiration and some practical advice. I'd highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to begin running!

"Whether we accept it or not, the bodies we have are the products of what we have required them to be." (pg. 45)

I really enjoyed reading The Courage to Start. I can relate to many aspects of life John talks about in the book. Every day, I am amazed by how running has changed my body in the last four months. I've lost 35 pounds and I feel better than ever!

I was moved by how John mentioned that running helped his relationship with his wife. I've experienced this in my own relationship and I'm so thankful for it.

A must-read for people thinking about giving running a shot!

This book is excellent! I used to run back in the '80s and '90s but had 3 different knee surgeries- I gave it up but never gave up the love of the sport. I turned 50 last year and got the idea to try to run one more time BUT, I wanted to do it the "right way" and remain injury free.
The Penguin is my coach! I started a walk/ run program in September and I'm still at it in February. My long run today was 7.0 miles! I run pain free and no longer have any guilt associated with missing a workout- I NEVER run two days in a row which is totally opposite of my old training regimen! I was fit from weight training and cardio workouts but NOTHING beats the satisfaction of completing a run! This is a great first book to read if you want to start running then continue on with John's other books.

Great way to get started on a new fitness project for an old body. Very motivating. Written in a way that is sooooo easy to read. I bought another book by this writer: No Need for Speed. It has good information in it.

I looked forward to reading this, because I too feel like a penguin. The book is very encouraging and enthusiastic, but tends to get repetitive very quickly. If you've read the first 3 chapters or so, you might as well stop, because there isn't much new after that. Having said that, I did enjoy it.

This is a great coffee table book. I purchased this for my husband's birthday and he really enjoys it. I am not a sports fan but the beautiful high quality artistic photos are very appealing to me.

Great basketball book. Excellent if you'd like to get an appreciation of the 60's and 70's of NBA basketball (as well as current information).

Highly recommended !

I bought the SI Basketball book because I had already bought the baseball and football books, and was very pleased with them.. I expected the basketball book to be of the same quality of writing and photos of the other two. I was not diapointed. The book is full of great articles by quality writers, and with many photos by the famed photo staff at SI. If you want a good quaility book, and are a basketball fan, this book is worth the more then fair asking price. The origins of the game to the present day game is covered as well as profiles on the superstars of each decade, is excellent. This is an exceptional book, buy it, it is worth it.

Chris Crutcher's books run along similar lines - the male protagonist, their problem, and a strong female as well, all surrounding some athletic dispute of sorts. This is a very good and strong characteristic for these books, as it will likely encourage many young male readers who feel that most teen books are geared for girls only.

"Ironman" is one such book that most likely appeals far more to boys than it does to girls. The sports/athletic theme runs very strong through here, and is pivotal to the plot. However, this is not a sports novel. It's about Bo, his anger-management problem (though he doesn't believe there is one), his problems with his father, and his need to race.

"Ironman" is psychologically stimulating. Readers will be drawn into these uncomfortable worlds, and will watch Bo's troubled friends begin to talk and explain about themselves. It's very interesting, enjoyable, and on the whole a really great read.

A few flaws, though. Bo's dad seems a little TOO evil. And the bad guys are just bad - there are few gray shades here. Similarly, most of the side characters are pretty bland. The book doesn't delve much into specifics regarding many characters. Also, alternating voices makes it somewhat annoying/difficult to follow.

On the whole, though, a good book, especially for teenage boys. Not Crutcher's best, but recommended nonetheless.

This novel has very powerful characters that will stay with you. There are many different themes, like abuse, friendship, and family, that bring you into the backgrounds of people. They make you think about why people might act the way they do. I just finished teaching this novel to a 10th grade class and they also enjoyed it. There are so many different things you can do with it!! - videos on youtube.com, research papers, etc.

Chris Crutcher, award-winning Young Adult fiction author, whose newest book, Deadline, is set to be released any day now, graciously allowed me to integrate elements of his novel, Ironman, into my novel, Courage in Patience, which is currently on submission to several publishing houses.

The headline, "Chris Crutcher rocks!" is bellowed by one of my characters, Kevin Cooper, who, prior to reading Ironman in his summer school class with the main character, Ashley, had never read a book in its entirety before.
"This book has FOOTBALL, man!" Kevin says.
As a public school teacher, I am keenly aware of the necessity of "hooking" young adult readers, by writing stories that they will relate to. I have Chris Crutcher to thank for that, because it was reading Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes and Ironman that made me realize that there was a market for the stories inside of me. I could write truthful, authentic stories that would be embraced by young people and adults. I could reach them where they are.
Ironman is used in Courage in Patience as a way of drawing the characters into an exploration of their own truths. Beverly Asher, the main character's stepmother and the teacher of the English II summer school class, calls her class a "Quest for Truth."
I will be eternally grateful to Chris Crutcher for allowing me to use his wonderful book within my own.
In addition, I pay homage to Chris's style of alternating first-and-third person points-of-view-- which he used so skillfully in Ironman, to draw the reader more deeply into the story.
I can't wait to receive my copy of Chris's newest novel, Deadline!
SOMETIMES THE ONLY WAY TO SURVIVE LIFE IS TO FIND THE COURAGE TO FINALLY LIVE.

Courage in Patience

Ashley Nicole Asher's life changes forever on the night her mother, Cheryl, meets Charlie Baker. Within a year of her mother's marriage to Charlie, typical eight-year-old Ashley's life becomes a nightmare of sexual abuse and emotional neglect. Bundling her body in blankets and sleeping in her closet to try to avoid Charlie's nighttime assaults, she is driven by rage at age 14 to to tell her mother, in spite of the threats Charlie has used to keep Ashley silent. Believing that telling will make Charlie go away, instead it reveals to Ashley where she lies on her mother's list of priorities.

"We're just going to move on now," Cheryl tells Ashley. "Go to your room." Ashley's psyche splinters into shards of glass, and she desperately tries to figure a way out, while at the same time battling numbness and an inability to remember what happened when she blacked out after Charlie tackled her. She knew that when she awoke her clothes were disheveled and the lower-half of her body was covered in bright red blood-- but she has only a blank spot in the "video" of her memory.

When Ashley's friend, Lisa, sees a note from Cheryl telling Ashley that Charlie would never "do those things to her," and insisting that she apologize for accusing him of molesting her, Lisa forces dazed Ashley to make an outcry to her teacher, Mrs. Chapman.

By the end of the day, Ashley's father, David, who has not seen Ashley since she was three months old, is standing in the offices of Child and Family Services. He brings her home to the small East Texas town of Patience, where he lives with his wife, Beverly, their son, Ben, and works with his brother, Frank. Its neighboring town, Six Shooter City, is so quirky, it's practically on the cusp of an alternate universe; a trip to the Wal-Mart reveals to visitors that "there's either something in the water..or family trees around here don't fork."

Through the summer school English class/ Quest for Truth taught by Beverly, an "outside-the-box" high school English teacher whose passion for teaching comes second only to her insistence upon authenticity, Ashley comes to know Roxanne Blake, a girl scarred outwardly by a horrific auto crash and inwardly by the belief that she is "Dr. Frankenstein's little experiment";

Wilbur "Dub" White, a fast-talking smart mouth whose stepfather is a white supremacist who nearly kills a man while Dub watches from the shadows, forcing Dub to realize that he cannot live with the person that he is, any longer;

Zaquoiah "Z.Z." Freeman, one of the few African-Americans in Patience, whose targeted-for-extinction family inherited the estate of one of Patience's founding families and has been given the charge to "turn this godforsaken town on its head";

Hector "Junior" Alvarez, a father at sixteen whose own father was killed in prison, who works two jobs and is fueled by the determination to "do it right" for his son, "3", and his girlfriend, Moreyma;

T.W. Griffin, whose football-coach father expects him to be Number One at everything, and whose mother naively believes that he is too young to think about sex; and

Kevin Cooper, a not-so-bright football player with a heart of gold, whose mother, Trini, a reporter for the local paper, is instrumental in exposing the ugliness that is censorship.

Every person in the class is confronted with a challenge that they must face head-on. The choices they make will not be easy--but they will be life-altering. With the exception of her mother and step-father, Ashley is surrounded by people who overcome their fear to embrace authenticity and truth-- the only way to freedom. But will Ashley have the inner-fortitude to survive the journey to recovery and the effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder? Will Ashley find her voice, speak up for herself, and break the bondage of her abusive past?

Realizing "she's gonna need a lot more than we have," David and Bev enlist the help of Scott "Dr. Matt" Matthews, an experienced, slightly unconventional therapist who insists that Ashley can and must come out of hiding in the closet in her mind.

The Chris Crutcher novel, Ironman, is taught by Beverly Asher in the summer school class. When T.W.'s overbearing parents read the book, they decide that the book should be censored, and they involve the pastor of Patience's largest, most conservative church to lead the fight through the Purify Patience organization. Its mission is to cleanse Patience of Profanity, Promiscuity, and Parent-Bashing Pedagogy--all complaints the group has about the novel, Ironman. Its hidden agenda, however, is to return Patience to a time when "Patience was 100% white", "women knew their place","everyone had plenty of money", and "Christian values were taught in school."

The censoring, pseudo-Christian, white-supremacist, misogynist organization is exposed for what it is in a courageous move by one of its own (well..his mother threatens to twist his ear off if he doesn't speak up), isolating the pastor and causing most of his "flock" to deny they ever knew him. National and world press attention shine speculation on the dirty little secrets hidden in Patience, and its inhabitants are forced to examine their own values and beliefs.

Alone in the dark, Ashley must face her worst fears in a pivotal scene between her, Charlie, and her mother. Will she find the strength to advocate for her own right to exist in a world that is free of fear and abuse? Can she, like her friends, find Courage in Patience?

Beauregard Brewster, nicknamed Bo, is a 17-year-old, angry, trouble-maker. Bo was forced to choose between either having an in-home tutor or attending an anger management class, taught by Mr. Nakatani. In the class Bo met and fell in love with Shelly, a tough young woman training to be an American Gladiator. Bo's self-training to become an ironman, for the Yukon Jack challenge, was a major part of the book. Mr. Lionel Serbousek, one of Bo's teachers, allowed Bo to be on the college swim team he coached. Chris Crutcher tackles serious social issues such as anger management and relationships effectively through his use of format. Ironman is written through narration and letters, which Bo wrote to Larry King, a talk show icon. Crutcher gives an outsider's view of what is happening in the story as well as letting the reader hear Bo's thoughts. These letters reveal the honest struggle of Bo frustrated by his anger, his father, teachers, threats by Ian and thoughts, both nonsexual and sexual, of Shelly. As all of these are thoughts and issues which teenagers face, Crutcher uses language that is used by teenagers which adds to the book's authenticity. Consequently, an accurate description of a teenager's life is depicted.

great book for young adults. Lots of themes and examples that can relate to adolescent lives.

The introduction states; "We've wanted to do one of these for years" and already another is planned, this "swing" at Baseball offers a fantastic journey through the life, times and rules of the game that without the reader knowing it, paints a glorious historical narrative that can be absorbed at a truly comfortable pace.

A wonderful purchase or gift for the everyday fan with a plethora of minutiae even for the hardiest die hard.

A very well-earned mention too, for one of the sturdiest soft covers found. Yes! Definitely created with the bathroom in mind but something every Baseball library should comprise amidst the ranks of other facts and figures tomes.

This title is just one fun read. At the same time written with a highly respectful tone in honor of all those who have come to make up this great game, be they the worst error makers to the greatest stars seen.

The satirical beckon of the cover art to take America's Pastime into the hallowed environs of the bathroom (where we know, all serious reading occurs) grabbed me. The well-written narrative and spectrum of content won me over.

A hard to pass up purchase at a great price. If you've ever asked: How'd it? Where'd it? Why'd it?... with regard to Baseball, it's practically all there. Taking a resplendent stroll with no particular direction in mind, is exactly what this book aims for.

I purchased this book from Amazon because I had known Randy's father back in the 70's. Dana Morgenson set a standard for excellence in Yosemite with his "camera walks" and slide shows that has never been equalled. It is both sad and ironic that both he and his son, Randy, suffered untimely deaths in National Parks - the places they both loved the most.

Eric Blehm's account of Randy's disappearance and the resulting SAR is fascinating reading. It's hard to put the book down because it's written like a mystery novel. Blehm knows the Sierra quite well and he seems to have developed rapport with all the major characters; getting all the significant facts in order to document the case in minute detail.

In fact, the amount of detail may put off some readers. And it, perhaps, lends a bit of voyeurism in that we learn so much about Randy's personal troubles in the years before he disappeared. Randy was a private person. I found a lot of similarities between Randy and myself and I would not want to have many of the details of my personal life written about in a book.

With that one caveat expressed, I recommend "The Last Season" as a fascinating look at the life of a Backcountry Ranger in the Sierra Nevada as well as a detailed description of how a Search and Rescue Mission is carried out in the National Parks.

I picked this book off the shelf as a birthday gift for a friend who loves backcountry adventures and turned me on to Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild, which I read in hardback some years ago. I like the central character in this book better than I liked Krakauer's all-too-young Alaska adventurer. Anyway, my friend read this one, loved it, and gave it back to me to read. The evolving story did indeed keep me up nights working through to the end. I didn't let myself read the resolution in advance --- actually I looked for it and it was difficult to find. Which was good. I am sorry to see at least one reviewer gave it away. It's true that some of the detail gets in the way of a quick read, and for that reason I'm giving the book a four. But I always found myself going back to make sure I didn't miss anything. The book is a fascinating study of a real person and I'd recommend it to anyone who likes a true life mystery, whether they love the backcountry or not.

I found this book to be tedious and depressing and yet I managed to read the entire thing, wanting to find out what finally happened. Randy Morgenson grew up in an idyllic setting (Yosemite Valley), was raised by caring parents, yet managed to make a mess of his life due to what seems to have been an obsession for living alone in the beauty of the Sierra. He married, but was away from home at least half the time, and never had children. Although a legendary and exemplary ranger, he was unfaithful to his long-suffering wife in a three-year affair, became ultimately disillusioned with his obsession, and finally died alone apparently having drowned after falling through a snow bridge into an alpine pond while on patrol. Tragic and depressing.

A winner! Eric Blehm captures the head and heart of Ranger Randy Morgenson, who devoted his entire adult worklife to backcountry rangering. It's as much in the telling of the tale as the tale itself that makes this a great read. Blehm gets into Morgenson's head in a way that perhaps, Morgenson could not get into his own head.

"The Last Season" is the saga of the often humdrum duties of a backcountry ranger, combined with a psychological study of Ranger Morgenson that makes this a compelling, memorable read.

This book would be great to read on a ten-day backpacking trip.

As a backpacker, I have often wondered just what sort of lives are lead by those unique individuals called "rangers." This book gives a good glimpse into the life of one of those lonely dedicated people. The chapters devoted to the search efforts are riveting. The chapters that describe Morgenson's life are necessarily slower and more pedestrian, but they serve to give texture to the overall story. I actually found the descriptions of Morgenson's colleagues to be more interesting than those of Morgenson himself, perhaps because I got the feeling that, even though Randy Morgenson was certainly a highly respected naturalist and a devoted idealist, his fellow rangers (e.g., Durkee, Nash) were by far the finer people. This is a tragic story, with the silver lining being that the book does a good job of communicating the high standards and code of conduct to which backcountry rangers hold themselves.

I HAVE HEARD YOGI'S "WORDS OF WISDOM" HERE AND THERE FOR WHAT SEEMS LIKE FOREVER. IT'S AWESOME TO FIND THEM ALL GATHERED IN ONE PLACE AND TO LEARN THE CIRCUMSTANCES AND BACKGROUND STORY ON ALL OF THEM. FOR ANYONE THAT HAS EVER WONDERED WHY HE SAID WHAT HE SAID, THIS BOOK IS FANTASTIC!

Yogisms are a special kind of aphorism which usually involve a certain surface absurdity , and perhaps grammatical error- a cliche mispoken- but which add up somehow to something funny and wise at the same time.
Hearing that the mayor of Dublin Robert Briscoe was Jewish , Yogi said, "Only in America".
When Mantle and Maris hit back- to - back home runs in their famous duel to hit sixty homers, Yogi said "It's Deja- Vu again"
I somehow thought it was Casey Stengel another aphorist of note, but this book says it's Yogi who said ," It ain't over till it's over".
"If you come to a fork in the road, take it."
"You should always go to other peoples' funerals , otherwise they won't go to yours."
About Yogi himself it might be said " They broke the mold when they made him" Or with a word of apology to Leo the Lip " Nice guys are funny first."

It is a very short book, with classic Yogi Berra saying and descriptions of the events that surrounded these funny phrases being uttered.

This is a must have for Yogi Berra fans or just anybody who appreciates baseball in an older, more pure era. This book contains not only his most famous quotes, but many from his personal life at home as well. The book is short (30 minute read). It is definately well worth reading or at least scanning through.

This small book contains many of Yogi Berra's humorous, and sometimes thought-provoking, statements. I added over 30 to my quotes collection. He explains how many originated and that he did not say some of the sayings attributed to him (p. 9: I really didn't say everything I said). Quite a few of them have been quoted so often as to have become part of our culture:

p. 30: It's dèja vu all over again!
p. 95: You can learn a lot by watching.
p. 118: The future ain't what it used to be.

But some were new to me:

p. 64: It gets late early out here.
p. 73: Always go to other people's funerals, otherwise they won't go to yours.
p. 93: Never answer an anonymous letter.

Finally, Yogi's family contributed some of their own:

p. 125: Tim-I knew exactly where it was, I just couldn't find it.
p. 125: Betsy-Sometimes you have to get lost to find yourself.
p. 125: Mario-I've double checked it six times.

I went to a golf school with Bob one full week(imagine !!!) some years ago(1988),he was geat then and I think he is even better now, just like good wines.
I dont think I can afford that now, so I recomend you read the book instead ,its probably more reasonable.

This is a great book. Lots of fresh new thoughts about getting your mind in the best possible place to play good golf. You will like this book and will learn from it. I did!

This was a typical Rotella book. Really, it is a compilation of statements made in his other books..."Golf is Not a Game of Perfect",
"Putting Out of Your Mind", Golf is a Game of Confidence", and "The Golf of Your Dreams." Now, I have six of his books (including Life is Not a Game of Perfect"; and, although enlightening, he's pretty much said it all a couple of times.

Very good, but too repetitive. I also read Fearless Golf by Gio Valiante which is a much better read with more meat in my opinion.

Since Golf is, in my opinion, a "mental" game, this book really helped me over the hurdles of negative thoughts. Took Dr. Rotella's "therapy" with me on the course......Truly, helped to improve my game I highly recommend it.