Blades of Glory: The True Story of a Young Team Bred to Win
by John Rosengren
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Hardcover (01 November, 2003)
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Reviews (8)

Humor, History, and Controversy
Humor, history and controversy: Blades of Glory has it all. More important, Rosengren taps into truth from a variety of perspectives, including those of parents, players, coaches-and scouts whose livelihoods depend upon not just upon a prospect's potential but also his circumstances.

But these aren't the reasons I selected the book in the first place. No, I picked up Blades of Glory because I'm a hockey fan (of all levels) and a hockey player; I selected the book because I have lived in Minnesota and have coached hockey (and other sports). I didn't know I'd learn so much about things I thought I knew about, and I didn't realize I'd get more than just a fleeting glimpse of the big hockey picture.

There is a wide variety of hockey books sitting on the virtual shelves at Amazon.ca: NHL autobiographies, training manuals and minor league misadventures. I have read many of these books. I'll continue to read them-and will enjoy them for what they are. But these other books won't likely be laced with the same doses of humanity and history as Blades of Glory.

Great story-telling
I have to admit I'm not impartial. My two sons graduated from Jefferson and I am a long-time hockey fan. I finished the book in two days--I found it to be as much a page-turner as a John Grisham book. The author captures the personalities of the players and Sats, and he brings each game to life. I attended the heart-breaking loss to Eastview and felt the shock and sadness first-hand. His description almost brought me to tears, again.

The book is funny, suspenseful, sad, and entertaining. He is a gifted author.

Blades of Glory bare Sharp Edges!
I've been taken somewhere I've never been, and shown something we all need to see.Rosengren starts this story where others leave us hanging.

If nothing operates in a vacuum, why does the desire to win suck us in?What is lost in winning?Rosengren puts you in a front row seat and let's you decide.

For me, the answer is painful.

What a read. ... Read more

Isbn: 1402200463
Sales Rank: 174008
Subjects:  1. Bloomington    2. Bloomington (Minn.)    3. Hockey    4. Hockey - General    5. Minnesota    6. School sports    7. Sports    8. Sports & Recreation   

Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game
by Michael Lewis
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (10 May, 2003)
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Editorial Review

Billy Beane, general manager of MLB's Oakland A's and protagonist of Michael Lewis's Moneyball, had a problem: how to win in the Major Leagues with a budget that's smaller than that of nearly every other team. Conventional wisdom long held that big name, highly athletic hitters and young pitchers with rocket arms were the ticket to success. But Beane and his staff, buoyed by massive amounts of carefully interpreted statistical data, believed that wins could be had by more affordable methods such as hitters with high on-base percentage and pitchers who get lots of ground outs. Given this information and a tight budget, Beane defied tradition and his own scouting department to build winning teams of young affordable players and inexpensive castoff veterans.

Lewis was in the room with the A's top management as they spent the summer of 2002 adding and subtracting players and he provides outstanding play-by-play. In the June player draft, Beane acquired nearly every prospect he coveted (few of whom were coveted by other teams) and at the July trading deadline he engaged in a tense battle of nerves to acquire a lefty reliever. Besides being one of the most insider accounts ever written about baseball, Moneyball is populated with fascinating characters. We meet Jeremy Brown, an overweight college catcher who most teams project to be a 15th round draft pick (Beane takes him in the first). Sidearm pitcher Chad Bradford is plucked from the White Sox triple-A club to be a key set-up man and catcher Scott Hatteberg is rebuilt as a first baseman. But the most interesting character is Beane himself. A speedy athletic can't-miss prospect who somehow missed, Beane reinvents himself as a front-office guru, relying on players completely unlike, say, Billy Beane. Lewis, one of the top nonfiction writers of his era (Liar's Poker, The New New Thing), offers highly accessible explanations of baseball stats and his roadmap of Beane's economic approach makes Moneyball an appealing reading experience for business people and sports fans alike. --John Moe ... Read more

Reviews (247)

Book Provides an "Aha" Experience
I never understood nor really liked baseball.I bought the book mostly to read about the inspired use of statistics, and the creative thinking that went into looking for the real keys to victory.I can safely say that while I may not have fallen in love with baseball, I will never find it boring again.If you have someone you want to turn into a fan, this book a superb gift option.The amount of detail in this book--for example, just the description of the strike zone and what different pitches and batters do to narrow the zone, what can be known about specific individual propensities and vulnerabilities associated with that little box, are truly inspirational.

This is a really excellent book.If we managed the national security budget the way Billy Bean managed the Oakland A's, we'd have faster better cheaper military hardware, and a lot more plowshares.I was also impressed by the way in which Billy Bean built a team, in which players who might not have been individual stars excelled at setting up others in a true team effort where the group as a whole is stronger than the sum of the parts.Others have written better reviews from a baseball fans point of view--as a non-baseball fan, I can attest to this book's being an "aha" experience.

A minor league good idea
I prefer fiction, but when given this book that revolves around my love of baseball and youth's rooting interest, the Oakland A's, I had to take it in.It's a fascinating read.I am particularly appreciative of the A's attitude to 'think outside the box.'I came away with a new positive outlook about a few people, player Scott Hatteberg high on that list, and not much respect for others.Billy Beane's approach works, but I surely wouldn't want to work for such a volatile human being.It will be interesting to see how Beane's disciples do in Toronto and Los Angeles.The latter is new, but the former has been going without success for several years.Many of the young players discussed in the books have just begun making it to the major leagues at this writing (spring, 2005) so that is another aspect to watch, how well everyone's plans and drafts work out.The tension between innovation - divergent thinking, and conventional wisdom managed to strike a bothersome chord in me.Philosophically, both are equally appealing to me.In some places, my profession most prominently, I find that innovation by outsiders tends to be counterproductive, if anything.In baseball, there's clearly room for it, but I think only to a limited degree.If Beane's way became the norm, and more than a dozen teams were trying it, the dilution of Moneyball-appealing talent would be damaging to the teams and games, and those teams thinking outside Beane's box would get the productive, more conventional players, probably for less than they could now.Beane's hit upon a divergent way that works on its small scale, but I suspect only there.I'm glad I read it.It was unsettling to my mind in some ways, something I appreciate.Great, it's not.

Davvero brillante, per gli "affari" (e gli sportivi).
Il mio inglese è sporco e sgrammaticato. Ma peró con il mio inglese mi spiego abbastanza bene e capisco quasi tutto. Mi costa fatica usarlo, ma quando certi contenuti arrivano in Italia tardi (o mai), allora faccio uno sforzo e li accolgo in inglese.
Con Michael Lewis e il suo Moneyball, ho trovato una lettura piacevole e veloce, almeno per me, che sono appassionato di sport. Di baseball non so praticamente niente. Peró il libro non è incentrato sul baseball, ma piuttosto sull'innovazione e le dinamiche sociali che fanno da contorno all'innovazione. Se siete "in affari", qualunque sia il vostro settore, con questo libro imparerete l'importanza di cercare la veritá oltre le apparenze... ... Read more

Isbn: 0393057658
Subjects:  1. Baseball    2. Baseball - General    3. Baseball players    4. Economic aspects    5. Salaries, etc.    6. Scouting    7. Sports    8. Sports & Recreation    9. Sports And Games    10. Sports Economics    11. United States   

Who's Your Caddy? : Looping for the Great, Near Great, and Reprobates of Golf
by RICK REILLY
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (06 May, 2003)
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Editorial Review

To really know someone, as the saying goes, you must walk a mile in their shoes. But to really understand a golfer, you've got to work as their caddy. Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly managed to get some very intriguing golfers to let him lug their bag and write what he learned both about the game and the folks who play it. Going hole to hole with them let Reilly know a different side of veterans such as John Daly, David Duval, Tom Lehman, and Jack Nicklaus. But Reilly also went beyond the pros to caddy for Deepak Chopra, Donald Trump, professional gambler Dewey Tomko, and Bob Newhart. In some cases, the portraits that emerge fall directly in line with the popular image but at other times it's just the opposite. Daly is sober but has shifted his addiction to massive amounts of Diet Coke, candy, and marriages; Duval is intensely driven during rounds but surprisingly laid back and friendly off the course; Chopra's inner peace is locked in a mortal battle with the inherent frustrations of golf; and Trump manages to be both an egomaniac and a pretty nice fellow. And although he's on assignment to profile his temporary employers, Reilly emerges as an entertaining figure in his own right as he commits numerous faux pas, breaks taboos, infuriates multiple golfers and caddies, accidentally dumps all of Nicklaus's clubs onto the turf in the middle of a round, and discovers that caddying is tougher than it looks. Reilly walks a nice line with the tone of Who's Your Caddy?: it's reverent to the game without becoming a misty-eyed poetic ode, and it's laugh-out-loud funny without being nasty or low brow. And while golf fans will certainly appreciate it, Who's Your Caddy? is an impressive book for fans of biography in general. --John Moe ... Read more

Reviews (48)

Revolting
The chapter on John Daly and in other parts makes this the kind of book that is dis-tasteful. As the Amazon people know I read a winde range of books and books are my hobby and I will spend 600+ in a year and I will recommend books if I like them - this is the first book in a long while I was disapointed with. Says it is suposed to be humour - they mean TOILET houmor. Swearing and situations like John Daly.

I Didn't Need To Learn So Much About Rick Reilly.
I read Rick Reilly's column in Sports Illustrated that excerpted part of his book.I loved it.It made me laugh.It was informative.Sadly, Reilly took the best parts of his book for his column.The rest of the book is just okay.

The book purports to be about what it's like to be a caddy.It's more about what it's like to be Rick Reilly carrying a golf bag.You don't learn much about caddying.When Reilly misrakes a trap at Augusta, he doesn't explain what went wrong.He doesn't tell you what's the right way to rake a trap.He just confesses his embarrassment about the situation.I would have been embarrassed to.But it would have been nice if he could have taught the rest of us what we've been doing wrong this whole time.

Caddying is a grand profession.Like all professionals, those who do it well make it seem effortless.I would have enjoyed learning more about how a caddy does things differently (better) than the average Joe and less about how Reilly felt about lugging various people's bags around.

If you like Reilly's SI columns, this is the book for you
Rick Reilly makes you laugh, think, and occassionally shed a tear while taking a different view of the sports world in his weekly Sports Illustrated column.With Who's Your Caddy, Reilly takes the sometimes too serious golf community and turns it on its head.I found myself laughing out loud at least a couple of times per chapter and often had to share a passage with my wife (who doesn't even golf).

The title perfectly describes the range of golfers that Reilly chronicles in this book.While caddying for golfers ranging from pros to celebrities and scratch golfers to hacks, Reilly reveals the reasons so many of us play and love the game.You don't have to be a golfer to enjoy this book, but if you do golf, you'll be able to relate to many of the situations that Reilly describes.His offbeat sense of self-deprecating humor and his commentary on rounds with the non-professionals such as Donald Trump and professional gambler Dewey Tomko are especially enjoyable.Reilly's empathy for golf's more enigmatic characters such as John Daly, David Duval, and Casey Martin offer a different perspective from the mainstream sports reports.

This is a great book to unwind with after a long day and you'll find yourself wanting to read one more chapter before putting it down. ... Read more

Isbn: 0385488858
Subjects:  1. Caddying    2. Golf    3. Golf - General    4. Golfers    5. Humor    6. Reilly, Rick    7. Sports    8. Sports & Recreation    9. Sports And Games    10. Sports & Recreation / Golf   

The Teammates
by David Halberstam
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (14 May, 2003)
list price: $22.95 -- our price: $15.61
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Editorial Review

As baseball legend Ted Williams lay dying in Florida, his old Boston Red Sox teammates Johnny Pesky and Dom DiMaggio piled into a car and drove 1,300 miles to see their friend. Another member of the close-knit group, Bobby Doerr, remained in Oregon to tend to his wife who had suffered a stroke. Besides providing a poignant travelogue of the elderly Pesky and DiMaggio's trip, David Halberstam's The Teammates goes back in time to profile the men as young ballplayers. Although it is enlightening to learn about Doerr, Pesky, and DiMaggio, the leader of the group and star of the book is Williams. Halberstam portrays the notoriously moody and difficult Williams as a complex man: driven by a rough childhood and a fiercely competitive nature to become perhaps the greatest pure hitter of all time while also being a magnetic personality and loving friend. While there is nothing exceptionally unusual about old men who have stayed friends (plenty of people stay friends, after all), baseball gives this particular relationship a unique makeup. Unlike most friendships, that of Williams, Doerr, Pesky, and DiMaggio was viewed all summer long by hooting, hollering Red Sox fans. As such, their bond is forged both of individual accomplishment, win-loss records, numerous road trips, and, since they played for the Red Sox, annual doses of disappointment. Halberstam, author of Summer of '49 and October 1964 is the ideal writer to tell two equally intriguing stories, both rich in America's pastime. Although he occasionally drops himself into the narrative, one expects that of Halberstam and gladly accepts it in exchange for the highly readable exposition infused with poetic majesty that has become his trademark. --John Moe ... Read more

Reviews (60)

Wonderfull Read
This should be a movie- what a great, great, story! If you love baseball, friendship, and a good read- this is a must own. Its a very quick read, and it leaves you with great feelings. Awesome Book!

A story more powerful than baseball itself...
It's easy to look at baseball today and grimace. Steroid scandals, multi-million dollar contracts, free agency, etc. have watered down the true National past time that we all hold so dear. Of course, reading this book, the Teammates, will take you back to a time and place that no longer exists. A time when baseball really mattered.

But more than that, this is a book about the power of friendship. The book chronicles the life-long friendship of four Boston greats - Williams, Pesky, DiMaggio and Doerr.

Shortly before the death of the Spelndid Splinter, Pesky and DiMaggio head south (Doerr was too ill to make the trip) and begin a journey - not just to Florida to be by their teammate's side one last time, but also a journey back in time - the golden era of baseball. The reader then becomes privy to a world of stories about the four friends. Halberstam is our vehicle through a joyous and memorable ride through history. They say the Boston Red Sox are more than a baseball team. They say the Sox help link us to our past, and in some way I think they do - this book does just that.

This book is one to hold on to and pass down.

a wonderfulread
Thank you to Brian for his review. I read the book all the way through on 10/29/04. One of the many things I said, shouted, and hollered on 10/27/04 was "Omigosh, all my Red Sox books are out of date." And it's true, but how wonderful to know that 3 of these 4 men got to see this World Series, at least on this plane. This is a wonderful book and certainly still relevant. I hope this book will finally put to rest the criticism of Johnny Pesky. I'm convinced. ... Read more

Isbn: 140130057X
Subjects:  1. 1918-    2. Baseball - History    3. Baseball players    4. Biography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. DiMaggio, Dom    7. Doerr, Bobby,    8. Male friendship    9. Pesky, Johnny,    10. Sports    11. Sports & Recreation    12. Sports - Baseball    13. United States    14. Williams, Ted,    15. Sports & Recreation / Baseball / History   

The Mad Dog 100 : The Greatest Sports Arguments of All Time
by Christopher Russo, Allen St. John
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (13 May, 2003)
list price: $22.95 -- our price: $15.61
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Reviews (30)

A bummer....I really thought it would be compelling.
As an avid listener of the mad dog's radio program, I really wanted to read his book.After all, he plugged it at every possible moment on air for three months.It must be good, right?Not really.

This book is not for the hard core sports fan.At the same time, I can't imagine a casual sports fan picking it up either.At every turn of the page there was one big problem - no depth.There was no subject that grabbed a hold of me and consequently, I found the book boring.

Too much SF Giants and NY Yankees.He had no thoughts that made me even remotelyinterested.How would mad dog change the NHL?Everyone knows the dog doesn't even watch the NHL!Not even in the playoffs.Get rid of the blue line!Why didn't I think of that?I was really looking for the fire that makes his radio show special.Maybe all of those years being bored having to listen to Mike have finally taken their toll.About the only chapter I found interesting was the one where he recommends his favorite sports books.I plan on reading the ones on his list that I missed. I doubt this book will make anyone's list.

Sorry Doggie.

A must for sports fans.
This is a great beach or airplane book for fans of sport, whether your bag is the NCAA Final Four, the Super Bowl, the Stanley Cup or the Series.All those, plus horseracing, boxing, tennis and all manner of both major and minor sports are here.

Do you prefer Willie, Mickey or the Duke?Think that the rivalry between North Carolina and Duke is greater that the Sox vs. Yankees or Giants vs. Dodgers?Russo has the arguments on all of these and three hundred pages more.He is pretty well balanced also, which I think makes for great analysis (the essence of arguing the imponderable).

Chris Russo does sports talk on WFAN in New York.I suppose (having left The Apple before the advent of talk radio) that these and many many more are the stuff that makes sports talk radio so interesting and compelling.I agree with another reviewer who notes that (like most of us) the greatest concentration (although certainly not all) of Russo's entries includes those players and teams whom he has witnessed personally - another reason to always be the old man at the bar in this argument (so we can tell the whippersnappers that "if you had only seem Jackie Robinson play like I did, you'd feel differently".)It is what good dialogue should be: a handful of stats (acknowledging that some may view slugging percentage above on base percentage) and lots of argument (without shouting, invective or other unpleasantries).

This book reads easy, in short chapters of several pages as well as short (four or five paragraph) lists.It makes it easy to compare DiMaggio to Williams, and the case for Mays over Mantle.There are as many arguments as there are categories of sport:Which was the greater achievement, Ted Williams' .406 season or Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak? Does Ali beat Louis?Among my favorites is the question of the five greatest athletes of the century (I agree with Russo that ESPN shamelessly pandered to Jordan by putting him ahead of The Greatest of All Time and The Babe.)

The reader who won't want to stop reading after several pages and argue a point with another fan is not a true aficionado of Sport! For all sports fans, it is a great gift.

Toilet Tome
I have loaned this book out to three friends who all listen to Mad Dog's radio show, and we agree.This book stinks!The writing is juvenile, the ideas insipid, and the style awful. The best thing I can say about the book is that it's short.It didn't take me long to flip through the pages (most of them have lots of empty space on them) and reach the end. The arguments are short because Russo has no facts to back them up, only opinions.Russo's opinions stand alone about as well as a flamingo in a hurricane.

This is the perfect gift for a sports-nut who doesn't read, or for people who need kindling for their fireplace. ... Read more

Isbn: 0385508980
Sales Rank: 111580
Subjects:  1. General    2. History    3. Miscellanea    4. Sports    5. Sports & Recreation    6. Sports And Games    7. United States    8. Sports & Recreation / General