Sports Books

This is a fun book, filled with colorful pictures. My kids just love to read it over and over again. Another good one by Syd Hoff.

This is the third and last book about Danny and the dinosaur. In this book Danny takes the dinosaur with him to summer camp. Of course they have unusual adventures. This book tells about their first day at camp.

The story flows much better than either of the previous two Danny and the dinosaur books, but the story still lacks a certain charm and the plot still feels rather strained. Illustration wise both Danny and the dinosaur look a lot more like they did in the first book. All of the pictures are cute and I find it amazing how expressive a dinosaur's face can be. I do find however, that the way they chose to color in the pictures makes them look rather harsh.

The reason I give this book four stars and not five is that it is still missing some charm that I know this author can provide, because he did so with Sammy the Seal.

Loggie-log-log-log

Danny's big Jurassaic age pal is back for another adventure. Danny returns to the museum and takes his friend the dinosaur to summer camp where they experience a typical day in the life of a camper. Mr. Hoff's has hit his mark again. Danny and the dinosaur go to camp offers a clear and simple presentation of the kinds of values we should all strive for. The dinosaur potentially a creature of fear, is gentle, noble and considerate. Values such as acceptance of those unlike ourselves, sharing, participation and friendship are expressed with simple eloquence in both word and illustration. While meant for early readers, the story is engaging for all ages.

This book may also help allay the fear of detachment experienced by many children prior to attending their first summer in camp.

Yesterday I received "Moments", and I must say that it is a great book!!!

I guess the first thing you notice is that it's a big book with all the pages printed on high quality glossy paper, and it's full of fantastic photos.

Ronaldo himself has said that he is too young yet to write a real autobiography, and therefore "Moments" is not just the usual write-up of dates, facts and numbers that many footballers sell as books these days. Instead, he decided to share some of the events that happened in his life so far by writing short stories and adding numerous pictures.

From his early years playing for Sporting Lissabon to winning the Premier Leage with Manchester United, from childhood dreams to his father's death, from being named captain of the Portuguese National Team to everyday routine ... this book provides a very nice glimpse into the life and mind of one of the best footballers in the world today. He certainly seems to have his head (and heart) in the right place!

All of Cristianos fans will also love this book for the countless great (and previously unpublished) photos!!!

This book is full of great information. Even though this book was written along time ago. The info can still be related to today. I would definitly recommend this book to anyone interested in not only revolvers, but handgun shooting in general.

If you are buying this book to learn about revolver shooting, you will be disappointed. The book is 478 pages, but the actual meat and potatoes of the book could have been done in less than 200 pages. The writing kind of reminds me of the way Casey Stangle spoke to the reporters, he would talk for 2 or 3 minutes non stop and you couldn't understand what he said. If you are interested in the historical aspect of revolver shooting then this is a good book, but if you want to learn something about revolver shooting then you should buy the dvd Advanced revolver shooting by Jerry Miculek.

Ed McGivern has really created a great book on shooting here. Whether you are a new gunslinger, or experienced marksman, there is something for everybody in here. He is historically one of the best known shooters, and gives an entertaining glimpse into all of his experimentations in shooting.

This is a reprint of a book which was originally published in 1938. The author, Ed McGivern, is well known to shooters even in 2007. He was the best handgunner the world has ever seen and he did his shooting with factory revolvers, not highly customized "race guns" like competitors tend to use today.

McGivern set records because of his shooting abilities, not because of his equipment. FAST AND FANCY is his book and it's well worth having if you're interested in shooting, law enforcement, or history.

McGivern could break six clay pigeons thrown up simultaneously before they hit the ground. And, he did this with a revolver, not a shotgun.He could shoot a dime on the fly and drive a tack or nail into a piece of wood.

Although he was primarily an exhibition shooter, McGivern was a civic minded individual and often worked closely with law enforcement to improve their training and shooting skills. On p.76 of this edition, for example, McGivern demonstrates how it is possible for a handcuffed individual to grab a gun out of a peace officer's holster and use it against him. He also stressed shooting with the weak hand, in case the strong hand was injured, use of cover, and firing from prone positions.

Generations later, this would be called "Officer Safety," but Ed McGivern was teaching it in the late 1920s and 30s. Although there are no statistics on this point, I would be willing to bet that more than one peace officer survived a deadly confrontation because of McGivern's advice and training.

McGivern's style is typical for his period. It strikes modern readers and florid and affected, but nobody ever claimed that Ed McGivern was going to replace Shakespeare.

I think a good introduction explaining Ed McGivern and his significance to shooters would enhance this book's appeal to readers who aren't already acquainted with him. It's a great book by the best handgunner who ever lived. I gave it five stars.

This is an amazing compilation of a lifetime spent asking...what would happen if...

McGivern spent a lifetime training, experimenting and demonstrating the possibilities with a sidearm. He was an extraordinary exhibition shooter but much of this book focuses on training law enforcement officers.

The writing style is typical of the period - very descriptive. Reminds me of epic poetry (i.e. Virgil's Aeneid).

Not just a book for revolver shooters. McGivern covers a wide range of topics and most are not related to the type of firearm - i.e. gun control laws, law enforcement training, sight picture, trigger control, modifying firearms, carry positions, etc...

There are "pearls of wisdom" in every chapter, if not every few pages. Some of sections, gun control laws for example, are very relevant today and give you the sense that not much has changed in the last 70 years.

My granddaughter needed books on Wilma Rudolph for a 5th grade school project. This ended up being her favorite. The text was just right for her understanding and she really liked the illustrations. As she was reading it she clutched it to her chest and exclaimed to me, "Grandma, I love this book!" It prompted a conversation about overcoming doubts, believing in yourself and what things inspire us... a conversation I don't think we would have had otherwise.

This is a true and exciting story that will make you never want to give up on your dreams. I really liked this book and recommend that you read it.

i am a reading specialist in Washington, DC and chose this book b/c i love David Diaz and because, like wilma, my children have many obstacles in their lives. i simply can not finish this book without nearly crying in front of my class. i've read it so many times, but the suspenseful writing and triumphant ending never get tiring. it is a truly wonderful story and wonderfully told and illustrated by this duo.

I have used Wilman Unlimited in my classroom for the past few years. It is a fantastic book to use any time during the year, but good for Black History Month also. I use it with fourth graders to teach sequencing and analyzing character. I highly recommend this book.

Inspirational stories fill hundreds of picture books every year. Most are simply awful. They either tell tales that are loose plots barely supported by facts or they paste together a slapdash concoction of truth and fiction with as little thought as possible. The truly beautiful bio-picture books out there are as rare as hummingbirds in autumn. So it was with great joy that I located "Wilma Unlimited" and found it to be not only inspirational but also a darned good read. Written by Kathleen Krull (the woman who could make long dead musicians fascinating in "Lives of the Musicians" and bring Cesar Chavez to life in the recent "Harvesting Hope") and illustrated by David Diaz the book is the best possible way to introduce kids to one of the world's greatest athletes.

Born in 1940 to a family of twenty-one people (nineteen siblings, no less), Wilma Rudolph was initially a sickly child. Though she was energetic enough, she often caught every disease imaginable. At the age of five, Wilma's left leg twisted inward and it was clear that she'd come down with polio. Still, Wilma was a determined child and she consistently exercised her unruly leg to get stronger. After continual practice, she was finally able to walk free of the leg brace that had weighed her down. At twelve the brace was put away for good and Wilma started participating in sports. She led her high school basketball team to the finals, catching the eye of a college coach. Before you knew it, Wilma was recruited into the Tennessee State University's track-and-field team on a full ride scholarship. In 1960 she competed in the Olympic Games in Rome. The book sets this part up beautifully. Wilma arrived with a twisted ankle into a place filled with television cameras (the first time they ever filmed the Olympics), the place "shimmering heat", and her competition consisting of runners who had run faster races than she ever had. Then Wilma proceeds to win one... two... three gold medals! The last medal is especially dramatic, hinging on the moment when Wilma drops her baton and STILL beats the other runners in the 400-meter relay. The last double page spread in this book shows Wilma standing, "tall and still, like a queen", earning the last of her three medals. It's a truly proud moment for all who have the privilege to experience it once again in picture book form.

Krull has a way with words. I'm not saying that Wilma Rudolph's life is dull. Far from it. But in the hands of a lesser author this story could easily have been bogged down in all the wrong moments. This author knows which moments should be given full glory. The moment when Wilma removes her brace and walks proudly into church will banish from your mind that similar pseudo-inspirational moment in "Forrest Gump". Wilma's struggle at the Olympics through pain and skepticism puts the reader through the same strains. You yearn for this woman to beat them and beat 'em she does. Then, best of all, come the illustrations of David Diaz. This is my first Diaz experience, though I suspect that I'll read many more of his books as the days go on. Diaz has accompanied his illustrations in this tale with sepia toned photographs. The book's endpapers display the outlines of footprints in the dirt. The title page is an evocative view of ivy climbing a raw wooden fence. Behind his colorful illustrations, each background photograph refers to the corresponding scene obliquely. When Wilma and her mother take the bus to the hospital, the photograph is a close-up of a wheel. When she packs away her leg brace, it's shredded packing paper. A great relief it is indeed that the colored illustrations are worthy of their sepia compatriots. Though these pictures may appear blunt at first, they are filled with the most delicate of designs. I loved watching the character of Wilma as she aged. As she grows in confidence, her posture improves and back stiffens until, by the last shot, she is standing taller than all the women around her. Than all the women in the world.

"Wilma Unlimited" should be known to everyone living in American today. This is inspirational without being either annoying or faux-patriotic. It's an actual honest-to-goodness amazing story. The book is beautiful and its story is worthy of its packaging. I challenge you to read it and not shake your head at least once in amazement. It's just that good.

It's really a good book.It was a fast dealivery I will buy more items from Amazon since it was the first time for me.++++++++++++

This is a very old book as far as fiberglass boats go.Must later prcedures,and products not included. There is some usefull info in the book

Of the many boatbuilding and repair manuals I have seen, I would consider this to be the best reference for fiberglass boat repair. The pictures on the dust-jacket alone indicate that a serious treatise is contained within. It would appear that no matter how bad it looks, there is no problem beyond the scope of the competent fiberglass repairman. (Caution - some of the color photos of repairs-in-progress between pages 118 and 119 are not for the faint-hearted!)

Mr. Vaitses has been at this for a long time and with experience in the world of wooden boats (all boats have wood in them somewhere) as well as having been a player in the fiberglass revolution, is able to offer a well-rounded perspective. His honest, no-nonsense approach to problem-solving is refreshing.

Besides the obvious background info and how-to descriptions, this book can be an invaluable asset when examining a used boat. Mr. Vaitses is currently working as a marine surveyor (a person who inspects and evaluates the condition of boats for prospective buyers). All used boats need some kind of work and the challenge then becomes evaluating the nature and scope of needed repairs, e.g. distinguishing structural and safety issues from cosmetics and determining whether one can affect the repairs oneself vs. how much it will cost to have someone else do it.

Studying this book allows one to communicate more effectively with the surveyor and to describe problems more accurately to repair facilities in order to estimate projected costs. We recently completed the evaluation and purchase of a 1974 36-foot fiberglass cruiser. I can honestly say that the knowledge and confidence I gained from this book made the entire process a good bit less nerve-racking than it might have been!

This is a good book. It is complete, to be sure. For the expert fiberglass repair person, I cannot speak, but it is certainly difficult to read for an amateur. Generally, a bit much to swallow. I think that other books have similar information more elegantly stated. The fault is not with the content, but the presentation.

This is a very good inspirational book about an underdog inner city basketball team rising up to be the best, coached by Bob Hurley--best high school coach in small, broken down parochial school. Kids all had problems and he taught character and perseverance as well as basketball. It's tells how the coach motivated and taught his players. Parts moved a bit slow but it's definitely worth your time reading this one!

Coaching (and teaching) tips I got out of it included the following:

*Always keep the bar high and require respect.
*Never let anyone slide--keep on them all the time.
*Coach all the players, not just the best.
*Make kids earn your respect and ignore them until they do.
*Give everyone a role--even those on the bench.
*Use drastic measures (wrestling practice) to punish sloppy playing.
*Use the drastic measure practice for motivating in the future.
*Let the players experience the glory, keep low profile as coach.
*Help players make good decisions concerning their futures.

Karen Arlettaz Zemek, author of "My Funny Dad, Harry"

What a great, inspirational book. On top of that, it was only $5 when I purchased it, so you can't go wrong there. If you enjoy basketball, I strongly suggest you read this book!

I read this a few years back and I really enjoyed it. I have always found books about geniuses within their little realm fascinating. Bob Hurley's success is not attributed to a new revolutionary school of coaching thought, but rather basic hard work, discipline and commitment.

Despite its small enrollment, St. Anthony's teams have been pretty stacked over the years. That is why I always thought the St. Anthony's mystique (i.e. Poor little Catholic school in Jersey City) was overblown a bit. Give anyone an MacDonald all-american and a couple of All-NYC type players and you'll have success at the HS level. But this particular season, the players at St. Anthony's were something a bit less. Good players, certainly, but not the highly recruited types that usually populate the top HS Programs in the country. Hurley guiding this ragtag bunch of ballers to the heights of success says alot about the guys ability to coach and motivate. Its a great story that would have been something less if it chronicled one of the other St. Anthony's seasons.

Indeed, Hurley is a tough coach that borders on verbally absuive. But in this day and age of coddled athletes, he's refreshing. He's unambigious about what his expectations are and kids respond to his style. He's not a mean, cruel guy he just wants to get the most out of his players.

It would be a good read for coaches of youngsters through teenagers.

If you're a coach this is for you. If you're a sports fan this is for you. I loved it so much I bought a book for my entire coaching staff. And we are a hockey team! There are a lot lessons and values that Coach Hurley teaches. More importantly it's about life. He never let up on these kids and pushed them to success. Challenged them to succeed. At that age level they need guidance, they need someone to sponsor them. Then its up to them to follow the path Coach Hurley gives them. It's amazing how a time tested path still can't lead some kids. It's a struggle between the kids backgrounds and the future they can have
Wow what a great book. What I liked is that these kids are now in college so we can follow their careers.
The one player that sticks out to me is Sean McCready. Great talent, bad guidance (family). Now he is sitting out the 2008 season because he transferred. Coach Hurley was right!

I also loved the fact that he sweeps the floor. That's his time, and we all need our own time. But coach is dedicated to a school that is struggling. There is no way a school like this should be on the verge of bankruptcy. Coach could leave and make millions, but he doesn't. Because if he does the school will close.
BUY THE BOOK

Adrian Wojnarowski's "The Miracle of St. Anthony: A Season with Coach Bob Hurley and Basketball's Most Improbable Dynasty" is one of the best sports and leadership books I have read this past year.

St. Anthony's is a private Catholic High School in Jersey City, NJ, with 230 students (120 boys). Students come from an area where 16% pass the HS proficiency test and where the local drug-infested, back-sliding culture has a hold on the kids. Despite its size and location, St. Anthony's basketball teams have gone undefeated four times, have won two USA Today national titles, and 24 New Jersey Parochial state championships. The basketball program has developed 200 college players, including 5 who went on to the National Basketball Association.

St. Anthony's is a special and safe place under Srs. Felicia and Alan and legendary Coach, Bob Hurley - the streets stop here. Their focus in athletics and academics has been to help kids get to the finish line. They share a collective value that there is no shortcut to success.

While Sister Felicia and Sister Alan play prominent roles in the success of St. Anthony's, "The Miracle of St. Anthony" is mostly about Bob Hurley and the class of 2004 - the most athletically and socially underachieving team in St. Anthony's history. Yet, under Hurley's coaching leadership, the team went undefeated, winning the NJ State Championship and was named by USA Today as the top high school team of the year.

Hurley struggles with the problems of the inner city and sees the potential in these kids that they do not see in themselves. He has always been a disciple of John Wooden... fundamentals, well-conditioned, team play, and defense...and he has always been a no-nonsense driver.

He creates an expectation of performance and accountability that the kids will not find anywhere else in their lives, and helps them out the door to life with values and a voice to become the best they can. And despite his daunting ways, the kids respect Hurley and when returning after graduation, they always come home to the warm embrace of family. The relationship changes from tough task master to a friend.

"St. Anthony's" covers the entire basketball year from pre-season preparations to the championship game. Wojnarowski provides the ups and downs of the season - injuries, players leaving the team, tough wins, and all the key relationships that makes St. Anthony's the special place it is.

This is a great read for anyone interested in coaching, leadership, and basketball.

An absolutely stunning book, detailing the history of this awe-inspiring race from its inception to date.

Clear production and well journalised personal stories provide a book you can pick up and browse through again and again

Greg Lemond famously said about cycling:" It doesn't get any easier. You just get faster." And for a sport that values the ability to suffer, the least easy of all races is Paris-Roubaix, variously feted as "the Queen of the Classics" and cursed as "the Hell of the North." In 2006, L'Équipe published a gorgeous history of the race and it is this book, in an excellent idiomatic English translation by cycling historian David Herlihy, that has now been published by VeloPress. Compared to the vast tide of books about the Tour de France, this one appears to be the only substantial work in English about Paris-Roubaix, in spite of the race's legendary status. This in itself merits its inclusion on a cyclist's bookshelf, but the book has intrinsic qualities that make it a must-have.

Paris-Roubaix is a throwback to another age. When it began in 1896, the velodrome ruled the land and road races were the exception: difficult to organize and with only a few racers, unable to compete for the rich prizes of the tracks, available to participate. To enliven proceedings, some velodrome owners promoted road races to end at their tracks. This was the case of Paris-Roubaix, and at the first race was so novel and popular that part of the grandstand collapsed under the weight of spectators. The winner, the German strongman Josef Fischer, completed the race at an average of over 30 km/h. So this race had everything: an international field, a challenging route and an enthusiastic audience. It has gone from strength to strength as the other classics from that year (Paris-Mons? Paris-Royan? Bordeaux-Paris?) are long gone, along with most of the velodromes. This book covers the race from its beginnings, a time when cobblestones were commonplace and men and bikes seemed to have been made of iron, to today's carbon-fiber age but the race has always been brutally hard, a merciless test of men and equipment.

The authors have approached the race in a clever and unusual fashion. Rather than following a chronology, the majority of the eleven chapters of "Paris-Roubaix: A Journey Through Hell" are divided into different aspects of the race These include: the cobblestones themselves; the impact of the weather; messed-up finishes; unexpected winners; the Roubaix velodrome; and a brilliant chapter devoted to the effects of getting a flat tire. There is a gallery of the most celebrated winners and the whole book is stuffed with marvellous photos taken from the archives of L'Équipe. There appear to have been photographers present at every dramatic crash, or else there are always so many crashes that you just have to stand around and wait.

The race has attracted cycling's greatest figures, who seem to have always had a love-hate relationship. Bernard Hinault felt that Paris-Roubaix was a ridiculous race, a lottery where chance ruled but he knew that posterity demanded that he win Paris-Roubaix. He did it in convincing fashion in 1981, wearing the rainbow jersey of the World Champion, and crushing five opponents (four of them previous P-R winners!) in the final sprint at the velodrome. Although the race counts several other Tour de France victors among its winners, including Garin, Lapize Coppi and Merckx, it is more notable for its special "hard men," who have specialized in beating the cobbles, such as four-time winner Roger de Vlaeminck, three-time champion Francesco Moser and the indomitable Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle, who participated in the race seventeen times, finally winning on the 14th attempt and repeating the following year. Their stories are all told in loving detail in this book.

Details indeed. For example, there is a section recounting how Jean Stablinski, a former World Champion, suggested a particular section of cobbles to the race organizers and the famous Wallers-Arenberg stretch, a positively medieval piece of road, was added in 1968. The modernization of France meant the removal or paving over the cobbles that are such a characteristic (and feared) part of the race and by 1968 the race against time was on as the countryside was scoured to find more cobbled roads. At its lowest point in 1965, the Queen of the North had only some 22 kms of cobblestones in its 294 km route. Today efforts have been made to protect and preserve the famous roads and the pros can look forward to more than 50 kms of pavé in twenty-six sections. And the mud and the dust are with us always.

And the people who protect and preserve the roads are the subject of the last chapter, "The Angels of Hell." Described as the "guardians of the temple," these include journalists, fans and even the artist, who painted 12 kilometers of cobbles (using 18 tons of paint) as a work of art and a tribute in 1986. This is the kind of insight so lovingly presented in "Paris-Roubaix: A Journey through Hell". There is no reference to the amateur version of the ride, held in September rather than in the third week of April as is the pro race, but the Everyman participants in that ride are given a piece of pavé when they reach the velodrome in Roubaix as a memento, echoing pro cycling's most cherished trophy, the single cobblestone mounted on a plaque, that goes to Cycling's Strongest Man every Spring. A beautiful book about a not-so-beautiful race.

If you're looking for a book that covers the emotional, technical and psychological aspect of the Paris-Roubaix, then this is the one. The photographs are phenomenal, the written text entertaining and the book overall is highly recommended. A must-have for all cyling enthusiasts!

This is the ultimate telling of the Paris-Roubaix story. L'enfer du Nord as it is know in France, is one of the most grueling and notorious one-day races held every spring for last 100+ years. Most famous is the stretch of cobblestone pave that makes for the toughest section of the race. If it is too dry, dust occludes everything, and if it is wet the cobbles are dangerously slippery and muddy. In either case it is a bone jarring ride and no sane place to have a bike race.

The book is excellently laid out with a history of the race, profiles on the key winners and special sections on some of the features that make this race unique. For example there is a chapter dedicated to describing the feel and the mood of the showers in the velodrome at the end of the race. Unlike any locker room in any other sport, these showers are a unique character of the race in their own right. It is where the warriors relive, consul, try to forget, and most importantly remove the caked on mud from the day.

The best feature is the 100 years of photographs that capture the pain, glory, and muddy mess that makes up this unique event.

This is a must own for any cycling fan.

This is a cute book filled with great ideas. This book is for those camping in a city campground though, and not for backpacking in the woods. It's also not a very good choice for the picky eater.

All this is all over the internet. Nothing new and exciting here if you camp with groups like girl scouts or boy scouts. Get it from the library or search the internet for ideas

This book gave me a lot of good ideas when I took my daycare kids camping this summer. They liked most of the recipes, but we tailored some of them to their liking. It was a great book.

I got this book at the library, but then came now online to purchase it. The ideas presented were fun and easy. I hadn't used tin foil on the campfire before, and the author gave some good ideas for that as well as items to be cooked on a stick. For example, I loved the idea about melting chocolate and bananas in the banana peel wrapped in tin foil. One reviewer commented about the use of perishables in the recipes. That wasn't a concern for us because of the refrigerator in our trailer. I suppose one could put the food items in an ice chest as long as one could drive to his/her campsite.

I highly recommend this book. It's fun and easy food for families while camping.

A good beginner book to give basic recipes and ideas for cooking on the campfire. The book does what I imagine it set out to do, giving starting point for people doing outdoor cooking with younger children such as parents, scout leaders, or teachers.