Essays Books

Sports Illustrated: The College Football Book

Editors of Sports Illustrated

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Continuing its series of spectacular coffee-table books for the holiday season, Sports Illustrated presents The College Football Book, the ultimate gift for America's most passionate fans.

SI launched this series in 2005 with The Football Book, devoted to the professional game. A New York Times best-seller that year, the book has taken root as a perennial, selling more than 200,000 copies to date. Now the editors of Sports Illustrated return to the gridiron, this time to serve the most avid football fans of all.

With the best words and pictures SI has to offer, The College Football Book, brings to life the game's unparalleled excitement and pageantry, its legendary players, historic teams and epic rivalries.

In 288 pages of the greatest photography and writing available anywhere, The College Football Book spans the sport's history, from its infancy in the 1800s right up to the postseason showdowns of 2008. The book is packed with stunning pictures, award-winning stories, original stats, decade-by-decade all-star teams and iconic artifacts photographed exclusively for this book at the College Football Hall of Fame--the same exciting mix of elements that makes each book in the SI series a must-have for sports fan.

Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why

Laurence Gonzales

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Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Psychology & Counseling -> General AAS
Subjects -> Outdoors & Nature -> Hiking & Camping -> Instructional

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 149 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

"Unique among survival books...stunning...enthralling. Deep Survival makes compelling, and chilling, reading."—Penelope Purdy, Denver Post

After her plane crashes, a seventeen-year-old girl spends eleven days walking through the Peruvian jungle. Against all odds, with no food, shelter, or equipment, she gets out. A better-equipped group of adult survivors of the same crash sits down and dies. What makes the difference?

Examining such stories of miraculous endurance and tragic death—how people get into trouble and how they get out again (or not)—Deep Survival takes us from the tops of snowy mountains and the depths of oceans to the workings of the brain that control our behavior. Through close analysis of case studies, Laurence Gonzales describes the "stages of survival" and reveals the essence of a survivor—truths that apply not only to surviving in the wild but also to surviving life-threatening illness, relationships, the death of a loved one, running a business during uncertain times, even war.

Fascinating for any reader, and absolutely essential for anyone who takes a hike in the woods, this book will change the way we understand ourselves and the great outdoors.

The Best American Sports Writing 2008 (The Best American Series)

Amazon Price: $10.78 List Price: $14.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Houghton Mifflin Amazon Marketplace: 47 new & used starting at $7.95

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Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In this exciting new collection, William Nack, veteran sportswriter and author of the classic Secretariat, honors the year's finest sports journalism and thus upholds the tradition that began seventeen years ago, with David Halberstam at the helm. In these pages, you will find the most provocative, compelling, tragic, and triumphant moments in sports from 2007, captured by the knights of the keyboard who make sports come alive for us day after day, week after week, year after year.

Here you'll find Paul Solotaroff's excellent and uncompromising take on the neglect that a growing number of crippled NFL players continually face from the NFL players' union. Jeanne Marie Laskas's "G-L-O-R-Y!" offers a rousing inside look at the pregame rituals of the Cincinnati Bengals cheerleaders. A riveting online diary by Wright Thompson reveals a bleak and merciless landscape in China, which that country's government would rather not have the world see during preparations for the Olympics.

Nack finds a place for the fascinating offbeat story as well as the sensational. Alongside Eli Saslow's captivating article about an obscure seventeenth-century sport, similar to a giant rugby scrum, carried out in the streets of Kirkwall, Scotland, stands Franz Lidz's "scoop of the year," a controversial and rare look into the life of George Steinbrenner, baseball's largest but recently most enigmatic figure.

This year's collection marks another wonderful addition to "one of the most consistently satisfying titles in the Best American series" (Booklist).
Contributors include Scott Price, Rick Bragg, Gary Smith, J.R. Moehringer, and others.

A Few Seconds of Panic: A 5-Foot-8, 170-Pound, 43-Year-Old Sportswriter Plays in the NFL

Stefan Fatsis

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 20 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Drawing on rare access to an NFL team’s players, coaches and facilities, the author of The New York Times bestseller Word Freak trains to become a professional-caliber placekicker. As he sharpens his skills, he gains surprising insight into the daunting challenges—physical, psychological, and intellectual—that pro athletes must master

In Word Freak, Stefan Fatsis infiltrated the insular world of competitive Scrabble® players, ultimately achieving “expert” status (comparable to a grandmaster ranking in chess). Now he infiltrates a strikingly different subculture—pro football. After more than a year spent working out with a strength coach and polishing his craft with a gurulike kicking coach, Fatsis molded his fortyish body into one that could stand up—barely—to the rigors of NFL training. And over three months in 2006, he became a Denver Bronco. He trained with the team and lived with the players. He was given a locker and uniforms emblazoned with #9. He was expected to perform all the drills and regimens required of other kickers. He was unlike his teammates in some ways—most notably, his livelihood was not on the line as theirs was. But he became remarkably like them in many ways: He risked crippling injury just as they did, he endured the hazing that befalls all rookies, he gorged on 4,000 daily calories, he slogged through two-a-day practices in blistering heat. Not since George Plimpton’s stint as a Detroit Lion more than forty years ago has a writer tunneled so deeply into the NFL.

At first, the players tolerated Fatsis, or treated him like a mascot, but over time they began to think of him as one of them. And he began to think like one of them. Like the other Broncos—like all elite athletes—he learned to perfect a motion through thousands of repetitions, to play through pain, to silence the crowd’s roar, to banish self-doubt.

While Fatsis honed his mind and drove his body past exhaustion, he communed with every classic athletic type—the affable alpha male, the overpaid brat, the youthful phenom, the savvy veteran—and a welter of bracingly atypical players as well: a fullback who invokes Aristotle, a quarterback who embraces yoga, a tight end who takes creative writing classes in the off-season. Fatsis also witnessed the hidden machinery of a top-flight football franchise, from the God-is-in-the-details strategizing of legendary coach Mike Shanahan to the icy calculation with which the front office makes or breaks careers.

With wry candor and hard-won empathy, A Few Seconds of Panic unveils the mind of the modern pro athlete and the workings of a storied sports franchise as no book ever has before.

Bloody Confused!: A Clueless American Sportswriter Seeks Solace in English Soccer

Chuck Culpepper

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Chuck Culpepper was a veteran sports journalist edging toward burnout . . . then he went to London and discovered the high-octane, fanatical (and bloody confusing!) world of English soccer.

After covering the American sports scene for fifteen years, Chuck Culpepper suffered from a profound case of Common Sportswriter Malaise. He was fed up with self-righteous proclamations, steroid scandals, and the deluge of in-your-face PR that saturated the NFL, the NBA, and MLB. Then in 2006, he moved to London and discovered a new and baffling world—the renowned Premiership soccer league. Culpepper pledged his loyalty to Portsmouth, a gutsy, small-market team at the bottom of the standings. As he puts it, “It was like childhood, with beer.”

Writing in the vein of perennial bestsellers such as Fever Pitch and Among the Thugs, Chuck Culpepper brings penetrating insight to the vibrant landscape of English soccer—visiting such storied franchises as Manchester United, Chelsea, and Liverpool . . . and an equally celebrated assortment of pubs. Bloody Confused! will put a smile on the face of any sports fan who has ever questioned what makes us love sports in the first place.

Sports Illustrated: Almanac 2009 (Sports Illustrated Sports Almanac)

Editors of Sports Illustrated

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An Incomplete and Inaccurate History of Sport: . . . and Other Random Thoughts from Childhood to Fatherhood

Kenny Mayne

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Painstakingly faithful to its title, Kenny Mayne’s book is neither complete nor is it particularly accurate. Ostensibly an A-to-Z encyclopedia of all known sports, many sports are never mentioned. There’s not a word about rugby, volleyball, Roller Derby, swimming, or (shockingly) Basque pelota or shinty. There is a chapter about sliding, but none about skiing. Competitive eating and rhythmic gymnastics will have to wait for another book. However, there are roughly eight chapters about tackle football–“the greatest sport in the world, and everyone knows it”–and a good four or five about horse racing, so quit complaining before you’ve even read the book. There will be plenty of time for complaining after you’ve finished it (about an hour from now–tops).

Those sports that are covered in the book are examined with exhaustive inattention to unretained detail. Many chapters have nothing to do with sport. For instance, the chapter on hunting is about hunting for a hassle-free triple tall Americano light on the water.

So, then, what exactly is this book-like thing you hold in your hands? Part nostalgic memoir (like the summer Mark Sansaver hit 843 home runs in backyard Wiffle ball), part Dave Barry—esque riffs (like explaining bocce to non-Italians), part scholarly tract (includes the origins of tackle football), and part metafiction (see “Time-outs”). . . all with illustrations drawn by Kenny’s daughters, it is what Kenny calls his anti coffee-table book, or Coaster. The publisher calls it $24.95. Reviewers like Michiko Kakutani may call it “insipid,” but because Kenny has included a revolutionary “backwords” following the book’s foreword, she’ll have to call it an “insipid breakthrough” of a book.

So what is this book-like thing? Like the great mysteries in life, you’ll have to decide for yourself.


*That would include a thought I just had. This thought had something to do with Wiffle ball. What a great chapter. But that’s not to say the chapter on hunting is terrible even though it’s mostly about coffee. Plus I wrote stuff about my children. There’s even a chapter on jai alai. This book has both still photographs and still illustrations. It doesn’t have any moving pictures. That would have required the inclusion of a projector and a big white screen in the book, and I’m trying to take a stand on energy conservation. Strangely enough, Ken Griffey Jr. asked me if the book would have video. This will make sense when you read the chapter on him.

I wish I'd written about the Seattle Pilots. I used to go to their games when I was nine. My favorite player was Tommy Harper.  But this isn't just a sports book. It covers all sorts of things. I hope they place it in the Miscellaneous section. That should draw a lot of attention.  I was told that the presence of a sub-title would sell more books. How am I doing with you? Make sure to tell people about this alluring and informative sub-title. This sub-title is longer than some of my chapters.

The Greatest Hockey Stories Ever Told: The Finest Writers on Ice (Greatest)

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Wide variety of stories 5 out of 5 stars.
13 of 13 people found this review helpful.

This mini-anthology has a wide range of hockey stories from one written by the American, Pulitzer-winning author William Faulkner (this story was junk, though well written if you like Faulkner) to life on the road as a minor league player hoping to be called up (poignantly and rawly written like the life itself), to a homily to Toe Blake, to a portrait of The Great One (Gretzky) by Peter Gzowski, to how to make your own backyard rink.

The quality of writing is generally very good and virtually every story offers an interesting perspective on the game. Stories are short so you can read one on the subway or before you go to bed at night. All in all, a decent hard cover to have on your bookshelf.

Any true hockey fan will relish this special book 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

Reviewed by Beverly Pechin for Reader Views (2/07)

Being an avid hockey fan I wasn't too expectant upon reading "short stories" about the great moments in hockey and being surprised by what they had to say. Imagine my delight when I found not only interesting and completely out of the ordinary tales of some of the most memorable moments in hockey, right before my eyes, but stories told that I knew with inside looks that make them seem completely different than any other I've read.

"The Greatest Hockey Stories Ever Told" is a wonderful compilation of stories regarding the greatest game on ice, hockey. With everything from "The Miracle Team" from a perspective you probably have never heard before to "A Portrait of The Great One," Wayne Gretzky, you will find each story with its own form and style, told like no other. With so many authors contributing to the book, there is an infinite amount of perspectives that you probably have never seen before on the game. Hockey greats like Toe Blake, Wayne Gretzky, and the infamous Montreal Canadiens and their years of reign are all topics of conversation in this great book of hockey stories and memories.

The style and content are so unique to any other hockey book I've ever read that I am somewhat speechless as to how to compare it to anything else. Loaded with stories, insider's views, coaches' memories, team moments and so much more, any true hockey fan will relish this special book and all its content. The ability to read a story and put it down to come back to later makes it a great book to simply keep around to get your "hockey fix," especially out of season! So after the Cup Craze is over, pull up a seat and enjoy an inside look at the real life stories of hockey and all of its glorious moments. Even the most well-versed and trivia filled amongst us will find an inside look at this great life on and off the ice in "The Greatest Hockey Stories Ever Told."

Editorial Review:

Finally, hockey's rabid fans have an anthology of their own, a showcase of writing as dynamic and diverse as the fastest sport itself.

Harvey Penick's Little Red Book: Lessons and Teachings from a Lifetime in Golf

Harvey Penick

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 59 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Somewhat disappointing read 3 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

If I could compare this book to a golf swing, I would say the set-up and approach looked good, but the writing fell apart through the impact zone and follow through.

There is a lot of praise out there for Harvey Penick, and based upon the numerous comments in the book's forward by the well-known golfers he mentored, I have no doubts that the praise is well warranted. Unfortunately, while Penick himself in the book's introduction sets up his "Little Red Book" as a lifetime's masterful compilation of golf wisdom and best kept secrets finally made public, the book fails to live up to the author's own advertising and is a bit disappointing.

A fair amount of down-to-earth tips, techniques, and golfing philosophy that Harvey had applied to his students are shared in the book. And if just one of those tips can improve one's golf game, then I would say the book is worth the price. But too often, the "Little Red Book" comes off as an exercise in name-dropping and rambling golf anecdotes, many of which are not all that interesting nor amusing. It pains me to say that, knowing what a revered figure Harvey Penick has been to some in the golfing community, but that is just my honest assessment.

What also disappointed me about this book was that although Harvey Penick gives a couple of concessions to the virtue of humility, there appears to be a somewhat bragadocious quality to the narrative. That would be more excusable if the "Little Red Book" was in fact packed from cover to cover with the invaluable tips Penick promises in this introductory chapter, but that is not the case. Here is a short example of what I am talking about:

In the chapter titled "First Things First," Harvey writes about a man who came to his country club seeking out "this famous teacher, this Penick fellow." The man says if Harvey is "such a great teacher" perhaps he can give some advice on how to get out of sand traps. Harvey 's response - which abruptly ends the brief chapter - is something to the effect that it is better not to get into sand traps to begin with...a response that is not only rather obvious but neither practically helpful nor particularly clever.

That exemplifies too much of the tone of this book, which is unfortunate, because there are some good down-to-earth visualization techniques and other bits of instruction, which, if solely focused upon, would have made this a far better and more useful read.

Editorial Review:

Harvey Penick's Little Red Golf BookEvery time he found something about the swing stance or the mental approach that proved to be consistently successful Harvey Penick made notes in his notebook. He gathered notes for 60 years and let no one read them except his son Tinsley until the publishing of this bookAuthor: Harvey Penick

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit: The Complete Portfolio

Editors of Sports Illustrated

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Editorial Review:

With "Sports Illustrated Swimsuit: The Complete Portfolio", the editors of the magazine revisit the destinations of their recent travels to bring together a lavish, large-format collection in what is sure to be the first in a series of annual swimsuit yearbooks. Get an all-access pass to the beaches of Israel and the Cayman Islands with hometown girls Bar Refaeli and Selita Ebanks. Discover the lush gardens of Maui alongside Tori Praver and Jessica White. Witness the old world palatial feel of St Petersburg with Anne V. Wade to the clear waters of Caneel Bay in St John with Marisa Miller. It's a full-scale travelogue of 10 handpicked hot spots through the eyes of 19 exquisite hosts.With a gallery of model self-portraits and dozens of previously unpublished on-location shots taken by some of the best-known fashion photographers on the planet, "The Complete Portfolio" rounds out the SI swimsuit experience.