Sports Books

The eating of food has often had a prominent place in literature because it says so much about who's doing the eating. So it's not surprising that this assemblage of well-written academic essays on cuisines and the societies that produce them captures the reader's interest so readily. The diversity of cuisines covered both in geography and time provides a real feel for the diversity of human experience at the table (or at the Neolithic hearth). Professor Freedman's book works either as a coffee table browser or a straight read. I read it cover to cover and enjoyed it all. My own preferences are the chapters on prehistory, ancient Greece and Rome, and the development of the restaurant in the 18th century. The many pictures included are great fun.

I must say I was truly fortunate to receive a pre-publication copy of this exquisite volume. Editor Paul Freedman displays all the literary deftness of an M.F.K. Fisher or Calvin Trillin, without ignoring the analytic depth of gastronomic writing since Brillat-Savarin. An academic historian, Freedman treats the history of cuisine with a refreshing clarity and seriousness in his introduction. Connecting matters of food to class and taste throughout the history of the West and its influences, the editor provides ample fodder for "foodie," academic, and lay-reader alike with his lively and engaging overview of world cuisine that opens the volume and connects its essays.

Both the UC Press edition and the Thames & Hudson edition feature lavish illustrations and elegant typography. The essays are cutting-edge without ignoring the needs of the previously un-informed or merely curious, making this an ideal coffee-table volume or holiday gift as much as it could be serious reading. Ideally shelved near Harold McGee, "Food: The History of Taste" is likely to become a cross-market classic for the near future.

Replaying history in the context of food makes for a very engaging read. If you are really passionate about food this book offer tremendous insight into food trends world wide.

I don't typically purchase hardbacks - other than coffee table books, I'll wait for paperback, check out from a library, e-book, or just borrow from a friend. Reading about the quality illustrations and photos in this book prompted me to just go ahead and click "Buy."

It arrived about two hours ago, and I've skimmed through the whole book and finished reading the introductory chapter, so I admit this isn't a complete review. However, I have to say the photos and illustrations are really beautiful. The heft of this work make me recommend this purchase as a hardback and make this an example of what can't be the same with e-books or the Kindle (sorry, Amazon!). I'm looking forward to curling up with this book with some delicacies over this lousy weather weekend! Bon appetit!

Addendum: April 11, 2008 - Well, after several leisurely sit-downs, I finished this book and have to reiterate the joy I received from reading this book. Like Art History tells a story of cultures and civilizations (usually with the Elites perspective), food tells a story through time, and with greater representation across a society/culture. Loved it!

An entertaining and informative read, good for the novice or anyone that is just starting with chickens

Anyone keeping chickens, especially those new to the art, will welcome KEEPING CHICKENS: THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO ENJOYING AND GETTING THE BEST FROM CHICKENS. It offers an all-in-one guide to chickens, from understanding the specific attributes of over 40 breed types to choosing, buying, and keeping chickens healthy. If only one chicken-keeping guide were chosen for either a rural or urban library, it should be this: the easy tips and color throughout make it both practical and inviting.

I really enjoyed this 2007 British book. It is designed for the family considering keeping a few hens in the garden, and is full of information and things to think about. There are (very) brief descriptions of many breeds. A great strength of this book is it's lovely and varied photography (it even has some nice paintings!). It's very entertaining and a FUN read, even including crafts to do with the kids related to chickens! Overall there's a lot crammed in to 150 pages.

Just don't believe the reviewer who said this could be the one book you buy- definitely not true. This is a fun, clearly written book for "dreaming about chickens"-- you'll still need other resources for more indepth information in different areas if you decide to take the plunge. More comprehensive info can be found in "Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens" by Gail Damerow. I also really liked "Living with Chickens". "Choosing and Keeping Chickens" is a great guide to choosing the right breed for your family.

This book is loaded with great color photos and tons of good info about how to set-up and maintain a small flock of happy, healthy chickens. Perfect for someone just getting started or, like me, a city gal who just likes to dream about being a farm girl...

I have been keeping laying hens for fifteen years, and this is the best book that I have ever read on the subject of keeping chickens. It is written with the small flock owner in mind. A caring, humane attitude toward these wonderful creatures comes through both the written content and illustrations in the book. The book covers the usual topics, such as the various breeds, housing and cleaning, feeding, breeding, and health care. It also has chapters on the prospective chicken owner's rationale for having chickens, crafts with eggs and feathers, and yummy egg (not chicken meat!) recipes. The color photos and illustrations are spectacular, and the writing is clear and full of useful information.
Whether you are new to chicken keeping or are an experienced flock tender, I highly recommend this book.

I bought this book for my boyfriend who wants to tour all the baseball stadiums. This book is a must for anyone traveling to an away game!!

I wanted to find a book that would help me plan a vacation to ball parks up east this summer. This book will do the job nicely. I have my trip planned out now, but find myself scanning through the parks I have already attended wanting to know more about what I missed. I even find myself reading up on the history of each team. The only thing I found missing this year (2008) was that the Nationals Ball Park is not included. Well, I hope they update this soon.

I got this book for Christmas and it helped me through the long cold offseason! Josh and Kevin painstakingly researched all the stadiums including great seating suggestions, history of team and stadium, trivia and just great in-depth information.

The book is as much about the area around the park in the city and a great love of baseball and humorous anecdotes.

Very enjoyable for those that love baseball and ballparks. I am excited to get to some new parks and compare my opinions this season!

After skimming through this book and finding out a lot of interested information, the most suprising was the trashing of the famous Dodger Dog hot dog these guys made.

Folks, if you're heading to Dodger stadium (and I am by no means a Dodger fan), I reccommend 3 dodger dogs, or 2 foot longs if you're feeling sassy.

The Fenway Frank and the DD are probably the two most talked about dogs in the MLB, and I've had both - the Dodger Dog blows the Fenway Frank right out of the water.

I love how they put comedy in with the facts of the stadiums. They do a good job of reviewing area restaraunts and stadium foods. How much could you guys watch the game when you were testing out all the foods in the stadium! The MLB should have given them the rights to put the Seating Charts in the book. You Need to buy This Book!

This is a great tool for coaches looking to add variety to their practices. This book has helpful illustrations to facilitate each drill. Also the nice thing about this book is the detailed explanation of what each drill is looking to achieve, and gives variations of most drills to make them more challenging.

I coach HS Freshman baseball and use many of these drills to teach the foundation of the high school game. I would recommend this book to coaches of all levels.

Very prompt and seamless transaction. Fast mail delivery. Would recommend this seller to anyone

Kids are playing baseball at a much higher skill level these days, and are playing less sandlot baseball like I did when I was a kid. As a result, Little League practices need to be more than just BP and infield practice for the players to develop to their full potential.

This book has drills that range from fundamentals, to more complex workouts for the entire team. There are some drills appropriate for kids as young as T-Ball (and I have used them with players as young as 5) - but all of the drills are good for players as old as High School/Big League age.

This book would be particularly useful for Coaches returing to the game. The developments in the study of body mechanics have changed the way that a lot of basic skills are taught now, and this book includes up-to-date drills to reflect these changes.

For example, batters are taught a much more compact and quick swing than I learned when I was a kid.

This book is a good investment for the beginning OR experienced coach, or the parent who wants to see their kids excel in baseball - America's National Passtime.

I bought this hoping for practice and drill ideas for my 7-year-old baseball nut son. While I'm sure it will be great in future years (high school), it has very little of use for younger players such as Little Leaguers. That's not a flaw with the book exactly, just a shortcoming of the marketing info at the time of sale.

we only had 3 days to hike and we did 4 of the hike from this book - great choices, very clear and exact details. A MUST

Having just moved here, I needed a book that would take me to out-of-the-way, non-touristy hikes. This one does it. The only drawback is that the directions to the trailheads are not as detailed as I would like.

Barbara McMartin is one of those few resident Adirondackers that has supplied the world with great information, anecdotes and history about lesser known trails in the Adirondacks. Keeping to the less over-run trails, the reader is treated to beautiful trails to remote mountaintops, caves, fire-towers, unique wetlands and historic sites.

This newer edition is only slightly different (three more hikes), but it includes great topo maps, directions, trail and destination descriptions and just a ton of interesting local folklore to keep you going. A great find.

This guide has easy trails and hard trails all in one for a pretty low price

I've used this book for about 10 hikes over the last few years. It has been a helpful resource in planning day hikes. I rated it so low for two reasons.

First, as one of the other Amazon raters pointed out already, the "How To Get There" section which directs readers to the trailheads is indeed very vague and has caused me much frustration. The author does provide a map of the actual trail itself -- very helpful -- but never a street map for how to arrive at the trailhead.

Two, if you're a right-brained person then the book's lengthy trail descriptions might work for you, but I am not and I instead want to see facts, maps, etc. instead of reading pages of the author's reactions as she walks the trail. No offense, but I find myself skimming through her history lessons thinking, "Get to the point! I just want to know where to turn!"

Maybe I should have at least given this book a 3, but trying to find a trailhead based on the book's description has been so aggrevating at times I'm being vengeful.

My daughter really loves these books. She especially likes it when my wife or I read it to her.

The whole Geronimo Stilton series, and there are a lot of books, is fun for elementary school kids. This was the first of the series I bought for my eight year old, and it introduced him to the concepts of sports training, odd weather patterns, and made us fans of the whole series.

The story was sooo funny that I almost broke my funnybone! It all starts when Champ signs up Geronimo Stilton for the marathon and wakes him up every morning to practice. He even dumped a vase of cold water on him! Geronimo also got hit in the ball at soccer 25 times! During the marathon, Geronimo ran the marathon, nabbed a theif, got chased by flies and mosquitos, saved a rodent from an earthquake, helped find a rodent's watch, saved a drowning rodent, and win the marathon all in one day! At the end of the story, Champ signs up Geronimo for another marathon at the Rattytrap Jungle! The book also have some excersise tips to become a sportsmouse.

One of the best books I have ever read. Buy it, read it & understand. But thats up to you. Walk on......

This is a must own. I have never read anything on Bruce Lee but this book has changed my thinking. It describes his life and what he has learned from Gung fu. His signposts are most important part of this book. In the words of the master himself "Be like water my friend".

This book as far as it being a good read is kind of boring. Aside from the boredom it gives you a lesson in comparative studies, "the west sucks and the east has a natural flow of things". However, having said that, don't think that this book do not have any revelance. According to John Little, Bruce Lee's whole philosophy revolves around martial arts and that is the basis for all of his metaphors. I do not have a problem with that (as I liked martial arts and as a child I took karate for a whole day)! Bruce said, "all knowledge is self knowledge". As simple as that may be that is a profound statement. I have never thought of it like that before, but, I suppose he is right. Such things like that make the book worth the read. Is it a self help book per se? No, but, it can help you become someone spiritual, especially for those who are into martial arts, or, maybe you just like to read and develop metaphors like myself.

Warning: If you are a devout christian then you may be offended that Bruce did not believe in GOD.

At the end of the day, I reccommend the book simply because Bruce encourages anyone to follow their own way.


"I am the greatest teacher and I am also the greatest student, so, therefore I will not fail in any obstacles". -ME

Hey that is what works for me. You must find what works for you.

I would like to thank the authors for presenting such useful information. A few things that really impacted me were: 1. Bruce Lee felt that to strike back to people who are aggressive shows weakness. 2. He really worked his stomach. I have worked out for years and once I read about his stomach work I felt the affects immediately. 3. I love his thoughts on stress managemnt. I always kind of knew when I ate junk food that it was somehow related to stress. Now that I practice stress reducing excercises, I eat less junk food and I have no desire to eat it. 4. I appreciate his philosophy on total health. Like I said, what I read has totally changed my ideas on a lot of things. Thank you for an awesome book!

Bruce Lee was always some one that I always Looked up to. He truly had a strong Vibe about Himself&the way he worded things&Put things into Perspective is still very Uplifiting to Me.He was a Very Intelligent Man&a strong Philosopher. this Book truly is Great for self-Esteem&Finding Inner Peace. a Must read.

I was extremely pleased with this book. It is geared toward hikers of every level of fitness and ability. I found the NPS website confusing in its description of hikes, but this book did a very good job breaking down the various hikes by location, length, difficulty, and change of elevation, as well as providing a good description of what to expect. I took several hikes while at Mt. Rainier and found the book to be very accurate. It also has a number of practical tips which I found useful since I had never hiked at altitude before. I encountered other hikers who lacked guides and they were clueless and missed out on a lot. If you are going to take the time to get to the park, you should spend a few bucks on a book to guide you the rest of the way.

We purchased two books on Mount Rainier hiking. This is by far the best. In fact we didn't even need to buy the other book. Ron does a surperb job of descriping each trail in detail. The ratings from easy to extremely difficult are very accurate. He gives elevation gain and rates each trail as far as beauty. The ratings of each trail is from 1 to 5 backpackers instead of stars and we found them to be completely true. We are backpackers as well as day hikers, but we wanted only to day hike these trails, so this book is just what we needed. My advise is to buy this book, it is really all you will need if you only want to day hike. Happy hiking!!!! I hope you enjoy Mount Rainier as much as we did.

I really enjoy reading Ron C. Judd's books. He has a terrific sense of humor and is not afraid to call them the way he sees them.
You can tell by the descriptions in this hiking guide that he's been out on every one of these trails. The book is organized so you can tell which hikes are best for beginners and which will be a long walk for any veteran hiker.
This is one of a series of three guides that is specifically written for day hikers, but it would be just as useful for anyone planning a backpack. Most of the hikes have a section on extending the hike, so just about anyone who shoulders a pack would benefit by this book
If you compare it to the other trail guides about Rainier, I think you'll find that this one is the most up-to-date and accurate book of all. Better than that, this one was produced by a real writer.

I've spent a fair amount of days at The Mountain without any trail guide book, but decided I needed one to get full enjoyment out of the park. The book has all the information you need to choose a hike based on highlights, season, difficulty, and solitude.

It is arranged by park region and even includes a few hikes from outside the park that have good views of Rainier. Directions on how to reach the hikes are clear, as are directions while on the trail. Maps are cropped USGS-style and show elevation gain well, along with adjacent elevation gain charts.

I appreciated the inclusion of autumn in some hikes' "best seasons to hike". Far too many books base this designation on wildflower seasons, but leaf color change and mushrooms can provide just as much interest in season. The author's sense of humor is pretty good, although forced at times. Regardless, it does not detract from the discussion f each hike.

All in all, I'd definitely recommend this book if you are only interested in day hikes.

After buying both this book and "Hiking Mt. Rainier National Park" by Schneider, I would say this book definitely takes second place. The nice features are the detailed elevations and the topographic maps. He also gives anecdotal descriptions, like if there are mosquitos or not. However there are a couple of detractors. A few of the hikes are not really even in the park. He also intersperses some snide comments that I do not find humorous, though I guess that is what he was meant by them. A good book if you ONLY intend to day hike and not explore the park in depth, but for a really complete guide Schneider's book is a lot better, as well as being more professional and emphasizing the care that we need to observe to preserve this beautiful national park. However, I do recommend buying both of them for an even more complete hiking guide. They really do not overlap too much and the writing styles are so different you benefit from the information found in both of them about the same hike.

This is a great book with a great mix of hikes throughout the state. There is good balance of short and long as well as easy and more challenging hikes. It does not try to be exhaustive in its coverage, but gives you enough ideas to occupy your time in any area of the state. It should be useful to either a once in a lifetime tourists or a resident who has an opportunity to hike the different regions of the state.

This was a great book in its first edition, this second edition takes a good design and makes it near perfect. The hike maps are superb, most hikes have elevation profiles, great reviews as well as all the important info you could need - distances, fees, maps, difficulty ratings...

I've read a lot of Alaska hiking books and this one stands out as a state-wide guide for finding hikes to take. It is not the strongest guide to equipment or technique. But if you want a book to give you great suggestions for hikes, pick this one up.

My boyfriend and I purchased this book before our trip to Alaska and it was great. It provided very specific directions to various hikes and accurate descriptions as to the conditions of each trail and their overall difficulty. We only did 3 hikes in this book, but plan on using it when we return to Alaska...hopefully in the next year! The waterproof cover is an added bonus.

Note: The book does NOT cover Denali, other than the few trails around the national park entrance.