Book Description

This book is about one man’s life as a football coach and much more. Forty-seven years of joyous celebrations after victories and crushing disappointments after defeats are encompassed in it, but it is about more than just touchdowns and interceptions. It is about how a person like Marv Levy, dedicated to his life’s work, can begin his career as the obscure assistant coach of a high school junior varsity team and then one day, decades later, lead his men out onto the field in football’s greatest spectacle—the Super Bowl. Readers are invited to come experience what it was like to be on the sidelines and be the winning coach in a game that has been designated as the greatest upset in collegiate football history and then be there again 25 years later when an injury-riddled team, losing 35-3 in the second half, rallies and then miraculously goes on to achieve the greatest comeback victory in the history of the National Football League. Fans will learn what it was like to wallow in the exhilaration that comes from leading a team to four consecutive Super Bowl appearances, only to follow it with the desolation that strikes when all four of those games end in defeat. But they will also learn about the character, persistence, and personalities of those incomparable Buffalo Bills of the 1990s who so resolutely pursued their impossible dream. There will be some laughs and there may be some tears. Readers will meet the people who shaped this coach’s life, and they will wind up feeling close to them. They will look forward to each adventure contained in these pages, and when each new one does come, they are likely to say, along with the author, "Where else would I rather be than right here—right now!" ... Read more

Amazon.com

Just about every other person in the world seems like an unfocused dilettante compared to long-distance swimming legend Lynne Cox. Soon At the age of 14, after several years of training hard in pools and the open sea, she was swimming the 26 mile stretch from Catalina Island to the coast of California. A year after that, she surpassed a lifelong goal by not only swimming the English Channel but setting a new men's and women's record in the process. Rather than be satisfied, Cox aimed still higher, conquering the Cook Strait in New Zealand, the Strait of Magellan and, the Cape of Good Hope, none of which had been swum before. Being the first to swim the Bering Sea from Alaska to what was then the Soviet Union is perhaps Cox's most impressive achievement, requiring a phenomenal amount of physical strength and endurance to withstand the chilly waters and diplomatic persistence to gain permission from Gorbachev during the Cold War. Swimming to Antarctica is Cox's remarkably detailed account of her major swims and all that went right and wrong with them. While there are plenty of highs, as one might expect in a memoir by so impressive an athlete, all is not sunshine and roses for Cox. She overcomes extreme physical hardship, predatory sharks, and a swim through a sewage-soaked Nile while suffering from dysentery. There is plenty in Swimming to Antarctica to encourage even non-swimmers to work hard to achieve the seemingly impossible, but Cox, a skilled and highly readable writer, sticks to the swimming, leading the reader by example. For thrills and inspiration, it's hard to find anyone better than Lynne Cox. --John Moe ... Read more

Reviews (27)

Inspiring Story
I was promted to read this book after hearing Lynne speak at a conference.Her determination is amazing!What really impressed me was that she is not at all what I expected of a long-distance swimmer.She is very down to earth and almost soft-spoken.She is not some ultra-buff althlete looking person.She looks like the average person on the street.Most of all, she is not at all intimidating.Swimming is truly a labor of love for her, as is bridging nations.Very inspiring!

Nice Book
Lynne Cox has done a very good job describing some harrowing situations.Her drive and determination is inspirational, and the book is well-composed.My hat goes off to her.

Focus on the accomplishment, not the pain
Lynne Cox is such an inspirational writer that the reader concentrates on her exceptional accomplishments, both physical and mental, rather than the extreme pain and struggle it took to accomplish them.From her early teens, Cox has eliminated almost everything else from her life to dedicate herself to open-water swims in treacherous and freezing waters, including crossing the Bering Straight between Alaska and the Soviet Union, and swimming a mile in the Antarctic Ocean.

What I really loved about this book is the way Cox struggled not only with the physical challenges of the swims but also struggled to make the swims mean something more to the world at large.For example, the Bering Straight swim took something lik 16 years of meetings and negotiations to arrange, hundreds of donors and volunteers.But in the end that swim stood as a testament and metaphor for the improving connections between nations.Everywhere she goes, Cox seems to have inspired anyone fortunate enough to witness her.That this has come with a great deal of personal sacrifice--money troubles, social limitations, significant nerve damage--is humbly underplayed in the book.She has a kind of determination and self-confidence that transcends a particular athletic endeavour.

That Cox does not *look* like anyone's idea of an endurance athlete just adds to the inspiration -- she's 45 and she's swimming to Antarctica...so what's MY excuse?

great story
This is one of those can't put down books. I read mostly non-fiction and this is one of the most exciting you could ask for. What this girl accomplishes is truly amazing and her writing ability is first class. When browsing for books I use Knopf as a guide in my selection process because I feel they have an excellent rep as a publisher and it worked again. Buy and enjoy!

Very Inspiring
I find Lynne Cox a very inspiring and determined woman.I loved this book although, I wish we got to learn a little more about Lynne outside of the water, she seems like a likeable, well rounded,intelligent person.Fascinating. ... Read more

Book Description

They say Bethany Hamilton has saltwater in her veins. How else could one explain the tremendous passion that drives her to surf?How else could one explain that nothing -- not even the loss of her arm in a horrific shark attack -- could come between her and the waves?

That Halloween morning in Kauai, Hawaii -- a glorious part of the world, where it's hard to deny the divine -- Bethany responded to the shark's stealth attack with the calm of a girl with God on her side. Pushing pain and panic aside, she immediately began to paddle with one arm, focusing on a single thought: "Get to the beach...." Rushed to the hospital, where her father, Tom Hamilton, was about to undergo knee surgery, Bethany found herself taking his spot in the O.R. It's the kind of coincidence that isn't mere coincidence to the Hamilton family, a clan whose motto could easily be "the family that surfs and prays together stays together." To them it was a sign someone had a greater plan than the one they'd been working on themselves -- which had been to scrape together whatever resources they could to help Bethany rise to the top of her sport. When the first thing Bethany wanted to know after surgery was "When can I surf again?" it became clear that her unfaltering spirit and determination were part of a greater story -- a tale of courage and faith that this modest and soft-spoken girl would come to share with the world.

Soul Surfer is a moving account of Bethany's life as a young surfer, her recovery in the wake of the shark attack, the adjustments she's made to her unique surfing style, her unprecedented bid for a top showing in the World Surfing Championships, and, most fundamentally, her belief in God. It is a story of girl power and spiritual grit that shows that the body is no more essential to surfing -- perhaps even less so -- than the soul. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

An Extraordinary Biography of a Complex Champion
Kudos to James Dodson, who enthralls readers with his account of the life of golfing legend Ben Hogan. From the suicide of Hogan's father, his newspaper hawking at crowded train stations to help his family make ends meet, and his dogged pursuit of caddying opportunities and, ultimately, his single-minded quest for success in the world of professional golf, Dodson portrays a great champion that was full of contradictions. Hogan craved solitude, yet occasionally basked in the adulation of his many fans. He could be short and rude with reporters, yet gracious and generous with so many others outside of the glare of cameras or the pens of reporters. Hogan suffered some epic tournament collapses as he struggled to master his game, yet he became one of the greatest fourth-round players in PGA history. Along the way, he fashioned one of the greatest comebacks in sports history, emerging from a potentially fatal and debilitating automobile accident to enjoy his greatest victories in tournament golf.

Dodson uses his unprecedented access to primary source materials and correspondance from Hogan's life to masterfully tell the complicated tale of this amazing champion. This book is a "must read" for any fan of golf, or anyone who cherishes stories of human triumph in the face of incredible adversity.

The Real Hogan
I am so grateful for this book. A previous, unauthorized biography based much on the author's conjecture, painted a less than flattering picture of arguably golf's greatest hero, the only man to win five U.S. Opens, and nearly several more. This authorized biography, resplendent with stories and comments from family, friends, fellow golfers, employees, etc., reveals the real man the public seldom saw and the reasons why. It rivals the best of Horatio Alger's rags to riches stories and it is true.

The rich description of life on the Tour before the days of television was particullarly interesting, telling the story of how the Tour was really built by the likes of Hogan, Snead, Nelson, Demaret, and the other champions of their era. Their efforts and perseverance created the wave that latter day stars rode to unbelievable popularity via the benefit of TV.

Congratulations and thanks to Dodson for a wonderful work.

Worth 10 stars
Finally a book that lets you see the golfer and the man more clearly than ever before. This is simply a great read about a complex and driven individual. Having been a Hogan "nut" for many years, this book is a close as we will ever get to him. It is also extremely well-written and I hated for the story to end. Not just for golf fanatics, this is a biography about an American who lived the dream.

A Specatular Biography
I have read other Biographies on Ben Hogan but none are even in the same league. A subject with this much substance needed a more detailed view and this book delivers in a big way. I would rank this in-depth look into what some believe to be the best golfer ever to be one of the best stories ever told. With apologies to Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, I now believe that Ben Hogan is the best golfer of all time...read the book, see what he went through, and decide for yourself.
Hogan was (and remains) one of the most enigmatic sports figures ever but the reader should come away with a different opinion of the man after reading the book. The level of detail is fabulous but the book is easily readable. I enjoyed this book more than I have enjoyed reading anything in years. I would never usually consider reading a book twice but this will probably change with this one. I would recommend this book to anyone, regardless of whether or not you are a golf fan but I know that any fan of golf will devour the book. This is a great American story...the epitome of what one can accomplish with an exhaustive work ethic and incredible perserverance...Hogan literally built an incredible career, became a permanent American icon, and ruled his sport like nobody had ever done...from scratch, out of the dirt. There are some great lessons in this book about the price to be paid to make it big. Read this book!

An Extraordinary Biography That Anyone Can Savor
During the 1977 U.S. Open at Southern Hills in Oklahoma, sportswriter Dave Anderson asked golfer Tommy Bolt to compare the careers of Jack Nicklaus and Ben Hogan, two golfers who dominated previous decades of professional golf. Bolt's response was immediate. "Well," he drawled, "I've seen Nicklaus watch Hogan practice. I've never seen Hogan watch Nicklaus practice. Thus is the mystique of golfing legend Ben Hogan. He was the golfer's golfer, the man who other golfers sought to emulate. To capture the essence of a great man's life is a difficult task. BEN HOGAN: An American Life by James Dodson accomplishes that task in superb fashion. The biography is a homage to a man who overcame incredible obstacles to become the greatest golfer of his generation. It captures the essence and spirit of the sphinx-like man known to many as the Garbo of golf. Like all great biographies it builds on the life of its subject by allowing the reader to live in the Hogan era; to experience his accomplishments and share the disappointments of his life.

Those with even the slightest knowledge of golf history are familiar with the defining event in the life of Ben Hogan. In 1949, after having achieved stardom on the professional golf circuit, Hogan was nearly killed in a head-on collision with a Greyhound bus on a foggy two-lane Texas highway. Doctors feared for Hogan's life and doubted that he would ever walk again if he survived. Hogan not only recovered, but in 1950 he won the U.S. Open at Merion, a grueling physical feat that required Hogan to walk and play 36 holes of golf on the final Saturday of the tournament. Hogan's triumphant comeback was a story that Hollywood producers would reject as one that audiences would never believe.

Hogan's physical recovery in 1950 was not the first time that he overcame travail to achieve success in the golfing world. Dobson recounts several events that affected the bantam Texas golfer as he sought to achieve his goal of professional achievement and acceptance. As a young boy Hogan suffered a dark and terrifying event when his father committed suicide before his eyes. In today's Oprah confession society, Hogan would probably share such an event with a national audience. But in the post-depression era Hogan stoically kept the details of the incident to himself. Even his wife Valerie was unaware of the true facts concerning the death of Hogan's father until they had been married for many years.

Hogan was also required to overcome professional doubt as he attempted to succeed on the fledgling professional golf tour. It was not until his third attempt that he began to win with any regularity. Even though he won many tournaments, the goal of a victory in a major championship still eluded him. Three times he came to the final hole of a major event needing only to make a birdie putt for victory. Each time, he three-putted the final green to snatch defeat from potential victory. Through it all, the grim but dogged Hogan silently plodded onward, determined to become the greatest golfer in America. That he finally reached his goal was a tribute to his unremitting work ethic and self-reliance.

Any great biography is more than a story of one person's life. It must also be the story of those who touched the subject's life and the times in which the subject lived. BEN HOGAN: An American Life has all of these elements, and more. It is the story of Hogan and his wife Valerie, a woman as determined as her husband and perhaps equally as shy. She would travel with her husband to each tournament but could not bear to watch him on the course. She was with him in his car on the day of the accident, and his movement to shield her from the collision probably saved his life. She was his life partner who shared in his success.

James Dodson has also captured the essence of the early era of professional golf. The legends of golf in the 1930s and '40s all appear. Sam Snead and Byron Nelson who, in the public's eye, were everything Hogan was not, are an integral part of the story. Hogan's major championship victories, from the Masters to the British Open at Carnoustie, are recounted in detail. The reader is with Hogan for every critical shot and, like bantam Ben, probably reaches for a cigarette at a tense moment.

There is so much more of the life of Ben Hogan to experience in this extraordinary biography. Hogan was a unique and enigmatic man. Dodson has captured the true Hogan in this epic work. BEN HOGAN: An American Life is a book that golfers and non-golfers can savor. It is a must addition to any golfer's library and an inspirational saga of an American icon.

--- Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman ... Read more

Book Description

"A vivid and compelling book." (Time magazine)

Erik Weihenmayer was born with retinoscheses, a degenerative eye disorder that would leave him blind by the age of thirteen. But Erik was determined to rise above this devastating disability and lead a fulfilling and exciting life.

In this poignant and inspiring memoir, he shares his struggle to push past the limits imposed on him by his visual impairment-and by a seeing world. He speaks movingly of the role his family played in his battle to break through the barriers of blindness: the mother who prayed for the miracle that would restore her son's sight and the father who encouraged him to strive for thatdistant mountaintop. And he tells the story of his dream to climb the world's Seven Summits, and how he is turning that dream into astonishing reality (something fewer than a hundred mountaineers have done).

From the snow-capped summit of McKinley to the towering peaks of Aconcagua and Kilimanjaro to the ultimate challenge, Mount Everest, this is a story about daring to dream in the face of impossible odds. It is about finding the courage to reach for that ultimate summit, and transforming your life into something truly miraculous.

"I admire you immensely. You are an inspiration to other blind people and plenty of folks who can see just fine." (Jon Krakauer, author of Into Thin Air) ... Read more

Reviews (19)

Just Terrific
This is just a terrific book, filled with humor, wisdom, pathos and adventure. The author poignantly describes his childhood descent into blindness, his efforts to ignore it, his initial rebelliousness, and his gradual coming to terms with his handicap. Before long, the reader, like Erik, no longer sees blindness as a handicap, but as one of many hurdles life tosses in our way. It is certainly less of a burden to him than was the sudden, tragic death of his mother, which he movingly addresses and comes to terms with. He finds purpose to his life, he finds love, and he finds friendship and adventure on the mountains that he climbs. Buy this book and give it to any friend who has an inclination toward self-pity, and it may change their life. Read it and be inspired by the resiliency and strength of the human spirit.

Touch the Top of the World
This is a fabulous book. One minute you are laughing out loud and the next, tears are pouring down your face. The tears are not of sadness but of joy for all the wonderful experiences Erik has had; his relationships with friends and family, his adventures among the cracks and crevices. With great wit, Erik expresses his triumphs along with his challenges. My son has been blind for two years. He lost his sight to genetics, but we had no cue that the family had the gene until his sight started going three weeks before his nineteenth birthday, it only took those three weeks. He just turned 21 on August 2. Unlike Erik, Larry does have the talent of music and travels with his band, Jepetto, around the East Coast. He even has gone back to taking Classical piano lessons. Like Erik he found no encouragement in what his abilities would do for him. TOUCH THE TOP OF THE WORLD really helps you understand the the feeling of blindness, not of the limitations the world puts on you, but of the heights to which you can arise. Please read it, you will not be sorry you did, only sorry if you hadn't read it. I am donating a copy to each of my son's schools.

A Triumphant Life
This is an ease read but surprisingly soul-awakening book for me. There are statements on life lessons strung together like jewels hidden everywhere in this book, from the start to finish, mostly on self-assumed constraints that are common to everyone, sighted or not. I found vicariously the family love, friendship, and community support invigorating. I sensed the humor, strength, commitment, and perseverance Erik W carries with him daily, not just to the mountain top, which makes this book an absolute page-turner. Thanks Erik W for writing this book and share intimately with the readers the details of your journeys and the poeple in your life, we all have a lot to learn and draw from your experiences touched by the top of the world.

This man is an ass
I've heard this idiot speak about his experiences, and right away, I'd perceived he was an arrogant jerk who was writing a book for recognition, not to neccesarily inspire other climbers. I was at a conference where his book was touted all over the place, and that's when I knew it wasn't worth buying. Please, people, look beyond the fact that he's blind and that he climbed some of the most difficult mountains in the world, and have a look at his personal life. As one other reviewer said, this guy is a jerk, through and through. I'm not even going to read the book, that's how sure I am that it isn't worth my time.

The Character named chris at the beginning makes the book
It was a flavorful read. I believe the character chris seems to tie everything together. He is a dashing young buck so to speak. I could read about him for hours. I kept wanting to know what Chris was doing when the minor character Erik was climbing Mt. Everest. My only suggestion for improvement would be to have more of Chris in the book. Otherwise it was a dandy of a book. ... Read more

Book Description

In the spirit of Field of Dreams, a remarkable book about baseball and the meaning of life from the author of Living Prayer.

A game between the Iowa Cubs and the Nashville Sounds at an AAA park in Nashville, Tennessee, provides a lens through which Robert Benson explores the game of baseball and the meaning of life in The Game. It is "an ordinary week night game in the early part of the season between two teams that will finish far out of first place in the Pacific League." But Benson shows us how in this average game of baseball, just as in our everyday lives, the routine plays-the seemingly minor yet vital moves, empty of bravado-eventually win the game.

In beautifully measured prose, Benson links events in his life to the innings in this baseball game. Married to a woman who can quote baseball stats with the best of them and with two children who share his love for the game (his teenage daughter made the decision early on that she would be the first woman to play for the Yankees), Benson explores the ways in which baseball has always somehow shaped and defined his life. The Game is an extraordinary testament to the everlasting wonder and magic of the great American pastime. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

awesome...
the human drama plays on, even with the world's greatest baseball player and his friends....

While we're at it...
Let's point out a couple other factual errors about Mr. Benson's book. First of all he claims Harry Caray's signature home run call is, "It could be, it might be, it is!"
Actually, Harry used to say, "It might be, it could be, it is!"
I'm sure this is pretty trivial, but I've heard Harry call it this way hundreds of times and I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to point this out. Benson makes this mistake a few times in this book, and it's annoying.
Benson also claims to be at Wrigley Field one day in May to see a young phenom by the name of Kerry Wood face the author's favorite team the Braves. At that game, Benson and his wife and the rest of the crowd are led in a rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" by none other than Harry Caray.
Well, Harry died in February of 1998, and Kerry Wood didn't make his major league debut until 4/12/1998 (Easter Sunday) against the Expos.
The reason why I bring this up is because I often wondered what Harry would have said had he been alive during Wood's 20 strikeout performance against the Astros and the remarkable 1998 season that we all enjoyed as Cubs fans.
These are just a couple of annoying factual errors that I encounter in Benson's book. Other than that, I love the book and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys baseball and doesn't view it as just a sport, but as a way of life.
Despite the errors mentioned above, Mr. Benson, I would love to play catch or have you hit fungoes to me anytime.

Thoughtful book marred by factual errors
Although I enjoyed this book's leisurely stroll through one man's relationship with baseball, I was disturbed by some serious screwups.

First, Benson gets wrong the year Roger Maris' single season record for home runs was broken. Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa pursued and passed Maris in 1998, not 1999. This is an almost unbelievable error. Only three seasons after the fact, a baseball author making this mistake is like an American historian writing about the original twelve colonies.

Six pages later we read about the famous home run hit by
"a light hitting infielder named Bobby Thomson" in 1951. Thomson was an outfielder and finished tied for fourth (with Stan Musial) in the National League in home runs that year with 32.

Since Benson's book is built on his lifelong love of the game, mistakes like this diminish our trust even if they don't make us doubt the depth of his feeling. His sincerity seems very real, and his writing is smooth, personal and appealing.

Mistakes aside, it's nice to read a baseball book by a fan who is a writer first.

One of the best baseball books
This is one of the best baseball books out there, for my money better than books by the likes of Bob Costas and George Will. Why? Because this is a book about the actual pleasures of the game: playing it, teaching it to children, watching and keeping score of live games, and so forth. Most books about baseball become treatises on the metaphysics of the game. This one is about the sport itself, as it is actually played on sandlots and in professional stadiums. Robert Benson writes about just a few ordinary games and a several extraordinary memories and thus avoids the tedious abstractions that infect the prose of many writers on the sport (excluding the likes of Gammons and Boswell, and a few others). There is no other American sports book quite like this one. The closest book I can compare it to would be Nick Hornby's FEVER PITCH, which is a classic exploration of what life is like for a sports fan (in this case, an English soccer fan). Benson's book does the same thing, in my opinion, for baseball, which is the highest praise I can give it.

Pleasurable Reading
I eagerly awaited this new release from Robert Benson, having savored his two previous non-fiction books and the prayer book he had published. At first, though, I was disappointed: I was waiting for some of his customary spiritual autobiography based on baseball themes, but did not get any. Instead, Benson charts the understanding of his life through the plot of a nine inning baseball game that he sat through at Greer Stadium in Nashville. Each chapter reports what Benson saw at the game, and proceeds to record his ruminations about his life, sparked by the events of the game. Also thrown in are several quotations from Bartlett Giamatti, the esteemed former commissioner of baseball. A word of caution: If you are seeking to buy this book for spiritual insight, you might stick with a rereading of Living Prayer or Between the Dreaming and the Coming True. But if you want to read a book for the pure pleasure of Benson's masterful prose, then you cannot go wrong with this selection; his prose gets better and better the more he publishes. After getting over my initial frustration (which was my fault; not Benson's), I read the book in one night and was very satisfied. I strongly recommend this book to all baseball fans and to fans of Robert Benson. I gave the book four stars instead of five only because I felt that when Benson applied his insights to life he became too moralistic and determinative, instead of the usual open-ended application I have come to expect from him. ... Read more

Book Description

"Woooooo!"

With that triumphant yell, "Nature Boy" Ric Flair surpassed his predecessors and his peers to become one of the greatest professional wrestlers in history.

Throughout the years, there may have been equally charismatic performers, comparable athletes, and even better interviews, but none were blessed with the same combination of talents to manage to stay on top for over three decades.

To wrestling fans, the Nature Boy is a platinum-blond deity, a sixteen-time world champion who accurately boasted that he could have a five-star match with a broom. No matter how limited the opponent, Flair had the skill and determination to bounce all over the mat, transforming his rival into a star. When the camera light went on, "Slick Ric" could convince viewers that, if they missed an upcoming match, a momentous life experience would pass them by. Flair's opponents were challenged with this simple taunt: "To be the man, you have to beat the man."

Away from the arena, Richard Morgan Fliehr spent years struggling with his own concept of what it meant to be a man. He suffered periods of crushing self-doubt, marital strife and -- in a profession where there was room for only one Ric Flair -- broken friendships.

Ric Flair: To Be the Man, cowritten with Keith Elliot Greenberg, chronicles the anguish and exhilaration of Flair's life and career -- in painfully honest detail.

From the moment he was born, Flair was enmeshed in controversy. Like many of the other children adopted through the Tennessee Children's Home Society, he was apparently stolen from his birth parents and placed on the adoption black market. Raised just outside Minneapolis by a gynecologist and a theater writer, Ric was a distracted student, brilliant athlete, and wild party boy. Through a chance meeting with weightlifter Ken Patera, Flair was directed to the place where his athletic proficiency and personality quirks were highly valued: the pro-wrestling circuit.

After beginning his pro-wrestling career in the Minnesota area, Flair relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1974, and never left, igniting the Mid-Atlantic Wrestling promotion. He was almost forced to retire a year later when his back was broken in a plane crash. Flair recuperated, winning his first National Wrestling Alliance championship in 1981. As the most traveled champion ever, he journeyed from one regional "territory" to another, once wrestling eighteen hour-long cards during a fourteen-day stretch.

On television, Flair portrayed himself as the consummate ladies' man, a role he also felt compelled to play in his private life, holding all-night parties. Few fans realized there was also a traditional side to Flair, who battled to reconcile his nocturnal antics with his love for his family.

Before Ted Turner purchased World Championship Wrestling in 1988, Flair was given assurance that the Nature Boy would come with the package. But his clashes with WCW management would drive Flair into World Wrestling Entertainment, where he'd win the group's championship in a dramatic match at the Royal Rumble 1992. Flair later returned to WCW, where he collided in and out of the ring with Hulk Hogan, and -- as the company disintegrated over the next few years -- began losing all shreds of his self-esteem.

Arriving back at the WWE in 2001, Flair was a broken man, unsure if he still fit into the business; what he didn't know was that wrestlers who'd grown up idolizing him now inhabited the WWE locker room. With their support, he was finally able to claim his legacy and receive the credit he so richly deserved.

In addition to his own words, Flair's story is enriched by anecdotes from ring greats like Superstar Billy Graham, Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, Harley Race, Sgt. Slaughter, David Crockett, Arn Anderson, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, "Mean" Gene Okerlund, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Undertaker and Brock Lesnar.

To Be the Man traces the rise of one of wrestling's most enduring superstars to the pinnacle of the sports entertainment universe, and is a must-read for every wrestling fan. ... Read more

Reviews (36)

You can never imagine how this book touched me...
I've been a wrestling fan for almost 14 years now. Still my priorities were with WWF/E. Ric Flair was not an unknown to me, but I just didn't know his greatness. Untill a couple of years ago ,I became a big fan of the "Nature Boy". I loved his charisma and work ethic. Yet, I still didn't see the stuff of greatness. I bought his DVD and was mesmorised. The guy was divine. He instantly became my favorite wrestler because of the fact that I haven't seen this kind of quality in wrestling matches. So eventually I bought this book . Now, I read a lot of wrestling books including the critically acclaimed Foley books. I still hold his first in high esteem, but this definately topped it. Foley's book was very well written and funny enough to let me ROTFL! But I never, ever expected a book to generate this much emotion from me. During the last chapters of the book, I admittedly wept my tears off my face. The book was so honest that I really felt Flair's depression. Here was a guy, strutting on TV, chanting "WOOOOO!", and being a limousine ridin son of a gun. Yet he was struggling with self doubt. I'm a tough guy. I hold a tough man reputation. Putting me into tears is a nearly impossible thing to do, yet this book did.But how will I recommend it the crowd ? If you like wrestling, you will absolutely love the stories told in this book . They will make you laugh . Flair was so honest about his divorce, blaming himself and wondering how could flair's first wife live with him. The book also includes comments from various superstars like HHH, Shawn Michaels, Ricky Steamboat, Harley Race,Chris Jericho,etc... I couldn't recommend this enough. If you've just heard of Ric Flair, nothing more, then buy this . Read it again and again . Ric has once again proved why he's the measuring stick . "To Be The Man" is a wonderfull journey full of laughter, pride, sorrow , and depression. A "real world" fairy tale with a prince charming that wore custom made suits ,diamond rings, corvette cars, limousines, jets, 16 World Championship reigns, and most importantly a family to love. Ric , you proved to me that you are the MAN! WOOOOO!

Woooooooooooooooooo!
The best wrestling book put out, period. No surprise given that Ric Flair's name was attached to it, it had to be the best. My only gripe was that it was too short--I wanted more.

Lots of good inside stuff from the 70's and 80's, and the tragic sufferings of a man who was literally beaten down by one of the biggest clowns in wrestling, Eric Bischoff. Flair doesn't really pull any punches here, and it is intriguing to watch his relationships with Dusty and Hogan develop from one of idolization to a certain animosity (Dusty Rhodes), to a mutual respect to a portrayed hatred (Hulk Hogan).

Flair clearly has his favorites: Harley Race, Wahoo, Steamboat, Windham, Sting and Arn--no surprise. He also identifies some folks who should not never have even bothered wrestling, Ultimate Warrior, Brutus Beefcake, to a lesser extent, Mick Foley. Gotta love the take on Shane Douglas as well. How's your book Shane? heh heh.

What's great is Flair's respect for the guys who came before him, and the hard work that had to be put in for Flair to be the best. How many people today could live through Verne Gagne's training camps? If Flair hadn't partied so hard, we might be already looking at the next sports politician. Great story, but I just wish it was longer- Flair's stories are so good that you really wish the book would keep going. Fantastic read, you have to pick this up.

Well Worth It
This is the story of Ric Flair, written towards the end of his career. Flair's book has an advantage over other wrestling books. Since he wrote it now, as opposed to ten years ago, it is pretty comprehensive, whereas when people like Rock and Foley wrote their's, they were unable to cover everything since their careers still had plenty of more time. The main advantages Flair has though are his life experiences, stories, and accomplisments. Put another way, he has a lot better material to work with than other wrestlers because he has been around a long time and practically 'done it all.'

So what is in the book? A few chapters about his early childhood, years in high school and college, and then the story of how he broke into wrestling. From there, he tells of the people he first met, and how he was in awe of many of them, as he had followed their careers. We learn that Flair was an avid wrestling magazine collector, who idolized many wrestlers. Flair talks a lot about people like Wahoo McDaniel and Dusty Rhodes.

From there he talks about his early successes. Among them are some title wins (tag titles, tv title) and his early feud with Ricky Steamboat. A lot of the book is devoted to his first few reigns as NWA champion. Less is devoted to his first stint in WWF, his return to WCW, and then his take on different time periods in WCW, mainly when Hogan first came in, when the NWO was hot, and then when Russo came in.
Do not worry though, he spends enough time talking about his backstage battles and concerns with Hogan, Bischoff, and Russo that the reader should be satisfied.

Throughout the book, he gives his take on several wrestlers like: Savage, Sid, Bret, Sting, Lugar, Triple H, Jarett, Foley, Michaels, Undertaker, Hogan, the list goes on. While I do not agree with everything Flair had to say about these guys (I especially disagree with him on Bret and Savage), he is Ric Flair and I believe he has the right to be heard. Basically, Flair tries to distinguish between a "good" wrestler and a "great" wrestler. To him, Bret and Savage are just good, whereas people like him, Steamboat, and Michaels are great.

This is far from a perfect book, but I'd still give it 5 stars. If you ever wanted to know what kind of person Flair is, and what he thinks, you will get a lot out of this book. You will not get everything you want, but probably more than enough to satisfy.

The editor is listed on the cover!
I loved this book but when you're going to list the name of the book's editor on the cover, you'd better not have a sloppy book inside. This book is FULL of typos and bizarre sentence fragments and non-sequitors. The editor can't tell the difference between the Caribbean islands of St. Maarten and St. Martin, and doesn't know that the the North Korean dictator is Kim Jong Il, not Kim Jong II!

The Man Has Spoken
Ric Flair is an entertainer and a gentleman. I went to book signing for this book in Charlotte NC and was amazed at the humility and respect for the average fan that he exudes. I read the book from cover to cover last night and found it insightful, interesting, and entertaining.

Very few entertainers are as honest about their personal demons as Flair is in this book. He has made a lot of mistakes throughout his life and has paid the price for his fame. This aspect alone is worth the purchase price.

This is an excellent book and well worth reading. The reason I gave it only four stars is that it is too short and cannot even come close to summarizing his amazing career. I hear rumblings of a 900 page Bret Hart book -- if this is true, then Flair may well have over 10,00 pages af further anecdotes that he needs to share with us in a sequel. ... Read more

Book Description

Joe Simpson and his climbing partner, Simon Yates, had just reached the top of a 21,000-foot peak in the Andes when disaster struck. Simpson plunged off the vertical face of an ice ledge, breaking his leg. In the hours that followed, darkness fell and a blizzard raged as Yates tried to lower his friend to safety. Finally, Yates was forced to cut the rope, moments before he would have been pulled to his own death.

The next three days were an impossibly grueling ordeal for both men. Yates, certain that Simpson was dead, returned to base camp consumed with grief and guilt over abandoning him. Miraculously, Simpson had survived the fall, but crippled, starving, and severely frostbitten was trapped in a deep crevasse. Summoning vast reserves of physical and spiritual strength, Simpson crawled over the cliffs and canyons of the Andes, reaching base camp hours before Yates had planned to leave.

How both men overcame the torments of those harrowing days is an epic tale of fear, suffering, and survival, and a poignant testament to unshakable courage and friendship.

Reviews (109)

EXTREME ADVENTURE IN THE PERUVIAN ANDES
An amazing tale of courage, fortitude, and a desire to live, despite dire circumstances. The author, Joe Simpson and his climbing partner, Simon Yates, ascend a perilous section of the Peruvian Andes. Near the summit, tragedy strikes when Joe, up over 19,000 feet, falls and hits a slope at the base of a cliff, breaking his right leg, rupturing his right knee, and shattering his right heel. Beneath him is a seemingly endless fall to the bottom. Simon reaches him but knows that the chances for Joe to get off the mountain are virtually non-existent. Yet, they fashion a daring plan to to do just that.

For the next few hours, through a snow storm, they work in tandem, and manage a risky, yet effective way of trying to lower Joe down the mountain. About three thousand feet down, Joe who is still roped to Simon, drops off an edge, and finds himself now free hanging in space six feet away from an ice wall, unable to reach it with his axe. The edge is over hung about fifteen feet above him. The dark outline of a crevasse lies about a hundred feet directly below him.

Joe couln't get up, and Simon couldn't get down. In fact, Joe's weight began to pull Simon off the mountain. So, Simon was finally forced to do the only thing he could do under the circumstances. He cut the rope, believing that he was consigning his friend to certain death. Therein lies the tale.

What happens next is sure to make one believe in miracles.

Riveting
Joe Simpson's narrative of his infamous climb in the Peruvian Andes is a fantastic story. If you've read other accounts of harrowing climbs you understand people that climb the great peaks of the world have a different psyche than the rest of us. Simpson is no exception, and it is that very drive that takes him to the top that enables him to survive the unthinkable. But this book is more than just a climb up, a crawl down, whew he's going to live to see another day. It explores some deeper parts of the human experience such as friendship, devotion, suffering, inner strength, and fear. His description of the terrain and the climb make you wonder why on earth anybody would do what he's doing. You almost suffer the cold, wind, and frostbite and you can feel the ice slipping beneath your feet. Knowing disaster looms makes you cringe while reading. Although you know he will survive, that takes nothing away from the experience the second half of the book provides. He pulls you in and you crawl down that icy mountain alongside him, feeling the cold, pain, and sadness along the way. Included are passages written by Simon Yates, his climbing partner. Allowing us to experience his point of view adds depth to the story.
Simpson wrote this book to exonerate Yates, who was ostracized in the British climbing community for his actions during the climb. Simpson vehemently disagreed with anyone who believed Yates did anything short of saving his life. His initial goal was to record the truth, but he discovered he has a gift for writing, and for this we can be grateful. A compelling story, highly recommended.

A Bit Hard To Read, But Fascinating Nonetheless
It's hard to believe that Touching The Void is a true story. The level of physical exertion that is depicted in the book seems beyond anything a human could produce. But, the searing emotions that accompany that exertion are described so movingly that a reader has no choice but to accept that this story is painfully true.

The only drawback to this fascinating tale is the mountaineering minutia littering the text. I realize that this information was presented to provide some context to the difficulty of the climb and the descent. However, instead of informing me, this information actually bored me with its technicality. It also added a clumsy quality to the writing that ended up disrupting the flow of the story.

Like The Climb by Anatoli Boukreev, Simpson makes up for his sometimes clumsy writing style by dramatically portraying the emotions he felt during this ordeal. As a result, Simpson's story is a testament to the power of ingenuity and faith. After reading Touching The Void, it will be impossible not to have a greater appreciation for the inherent strength of the human character.

Wow. Incredible
This is a book that gets you thinking. 1. Would I even try climbing an expert level mountain? 2. Would I cut a lifeline sending my partner to certain death if I knew not cutting would kill us both? 3. Would I have the will to endure crushing pain and desperation when it all could be ended easily by just giving up?

I think the third question was easiest for me. The will to live is just too great in most of us to give up. However, as we read of Joe Simpson's incredible climb out of an icy hell -- on a severely broken leg, each step one of excruciating pain, we can understand when he asks himself the same question.

On the first, no. I get all the tough mountain climbing thrills I need vicariously through Jon Krakauer's books or one's like this. I understand that some are driven to assault the globe's most difficult peaks, but I just don't see the point. Almost all of the wonderful mountaineering books of the last decade involve death and mayhem among people who knowingly chose to place themselves in positions where those outcomes were a high probability.

The second question is the most difficult and the one the reader will ask himself over and over during this very well written book.

Joe Simpson and Simon Yates climbed a forbidding peak in South America alone, with their only support a neophyte camped a few miles from the starting point in a camp itself a day's mule ride away from civilization. The climb up went well enough, but on the way down the snow encrusted and storm tossed mount, Simpson broke his leg horribly in a fall. Improvising a plan for Yates to lower Simpson down a crevice riddled glacier one painful rope length at a time, the pair started their self-rescue at night. The first few hours went painfully slow, then Simpson reeled over a cliff into nothingness. Unable to see what had befallen Simpson, Yates hung on above -- the rope slowly but surely pulling Yates himself toward the abyss. Knowing (in both their minds at that time according to the book) that to hold on would kill them both, Yates made the supremely difficult decision to cut the rope -- condemning Simpson to a long fall and probable death -- to save himself.

The next morning after climbing down, Yates could only see a snow covered crevice which he assumed his friend had plummeted into from high above. Unknown to Yates, Simpson had miraculously landed on a snow ledge below the lip of the crevice -- mangled leg and all. The weak ice roof of the crevice had slowed his fall enough to permit survival. Yates went off to camp heavy with the knowledge he had killed his friend and sure the world would neither understand nor forgive.

Simpson, meanwhile, endured a 48 hour plus ordeal to drag his wrecked body 50 or so feet out of the crevice and then over miles over rough ground to camp. As you might imagine, the reuniting of Simpson and Yates was quite a scene.

This book is taught and well written. Although Simpson's book, Yates is given space to describe in his own words the story from his perspective from the point he thought his fateful decision had separated their paths.

This is a great survival story and leaves the reader asking: "Would I, could I, have cut the rope?"

Unforgettable!
Once I started this book I could not put it down. The story is fascinating, and the writing is very intelligent and intense. The details of the climb and descent are gripping. After what he went through, it's amazing he still chooses to go climbing. Highly recommended! ... Read more

Reviews (6)

A Fantastic Read!
There are so many wonderful moments in this book that I don't know where to begin:the naive and persistent phone calls that led to the job, the letter McGough's father wrote him on his first day of work (read it and see if you don't shed a tear), the part where McGough loses his meal money to fellow players playing blackjack on the team plane, and a relief pitcher gives him a $100 bill, the road trip to Fenway Park, where the players set him up on his first date...the list goes on, but even more poignant are the personal experiences McGough had with heroes Don Mattingly and Jim Abbott, who are portrayed as both noble and funny.Talk about meeting your heroes and having them exceed your expectations.

This is a beautiful book written with great sensitivity and insight.

A Touching and Insighftul Memoir
McGough really nailed it with this memoir. He takes us back to an era when the Yankees weren't ferociously competitive every year, but instead more closely resembled perrenial losers. The narration is seamless, and McGough very effectively incorporates numerous aspects of clubhouse life into his book. As an avid Yankee fan, this book rings a certain bell with me, but in no way do you have to be a Yankee -- or even basbeball -- fan to enjoy this book. It is a book that begs its pages to be read, and it is often hard to resist the temptation. Bat Boy is well-written and demonstrates the power of sheer determination and persistence.

A perfect summer read
For a transplanted New Yorker who did not grow up a Yankee fan, Bat Boy tells a story that is relatable to everyone.It is a quintessential summer read, full of funny anecdotes while delivering a message that hard work and perseverance pay off.

Not just for baseball fans
Bat Boy is a compelling and entertaining book, even for someone who isn't necessarily a baseball fan.It is a story about the dreams of youth, when everything is still new and possible because we haven't yet been made timid by caution and restraint.Bat Boy is about deciding what you want, going for it, and miraculously getting it.And what is perhaps even more rare, finding that achieving and living a dream can be as good or better than the fantasy.

Hate the Yankees, love the book!
It's a tribute to the author that I, an ardent Mets fan and Yankee-hater, really enjoyed the book. Maybe that's because, for all the funny baseball anecdotes and fascinating insider scoops, this isn't just a baseball book--it's a memoir, and the coming-of-age thrust of the narrative is quite effective. McGough manages to convey both the arrogance and insecurity that a 17-year-old boy in an infinitely enviable position--hanging out with his heroes, traveling with them, getting paid (among other perks)--must have felt.

The story is touching without being overly sentimental, and it rings true. Best of all, this isn't one of those corny "Baseball=life" stories; McGough skillfully interweaves the two main elements of his story with humor and a light touch. I actually laughed out loud in some parts, and was genuinely moved in others.

While baseball fans will surely enjoy this book on another level than their non-baseball-loving peers, any reader with an appreciation for clever writing and hilarious tales of hubris and naivete should read this book. ... Read more

Book Description

Best Damn Garage in Town: My life and Adventures was originally published as a 3 volume boxed set of 1,100 pages with over 400 photographs. This version of the book combines all the stories and most of the photographs into a single volume with smaller type and photographs in a bookstore package, as opposed to a coffee table package.

Smokey got the idea for writing a history of stock car racing after giving a talk to explain racing to a group of kids at Lowe's Motorspeedway, around 1995. He realized that all the people who were a part of the early days were dying and most of the ones who were still alive were too involved with racing to be able to tell the real stories. He started writing this book as a history of stock car racing and ended up with look at American history of the past 60 years through a very unique set of eyes.

The first volume, Walkin' Under a Snake's Belly, covers Smokey's life outside racing, beginning with growing up in Neshaminy, Pennsylvania on a farm, dropping out of high school to take care of the family and going off to World War II as a B-17 pilot. The war stories are told through the eyes of a young man who believed all that the Army Air Corps taught him, but he had a mind of his own and was also hell-bent on having fun at all costs. (If that meant irritating a few generals, then that was just par for the course.)

After the racing years, Smokey ended spending most of his time working on his inventions and working in the oil and gold fields of Ecuador. Along the way, Smokey had a knack for finding fun and adventure everywhere he went. Alcohol, women and speed were his main addictions - he eventually gave up alcohol, but never did give up the other two.

The second volume, All Right You Sons-a-Bitches, Let's Have a Race, chronicles the stock car racing years in living color. The warning on these books, that they are not to be read by those under 18 unless they are with a grandparent who can translate the social and moral implications of the stories, is not to be taken lightly. (Smokey even includes his own dictionary to explain the terms that racers used in the early days to the uninformed.) Smokey and his band of merry compatriots were racers and there were only two things on their mind when the sun went down Ð women and booze. Smokey had his share of both during 15 years of racing, when racers were looked down on as the dregs of society. Nothing could stop his dream of being the fastest at the sport he loved, no matter what happened along the way Ð the sign of a true racer.

During his years in stock car racing, Smokey fell in love with a mistress that he would visit every May for over 20 years Ð The Indianapolis 500. The first half of the third volume, Li'l Skinny Rule Book, covers his love of this famed event and the wonderful stories of the days before the big corporate sponsors; when it was just men and their machines, sleeping on the floor in the garage and most times coming home with nothing. As the title implies, Smokey loved Indy because the rules were so simple. His inventive mind and knack for thinking way outside the box were at their best when Indy was involved.

The fourth section of the book covers his years of inventing inside and outside of racing. SmokeyÕs 10 patents don't begin to cover the breadth and depth of his inventing. His work with the car companies and on the racetrack led to a host of developments that have improved surface transportation for everyone. The value of some of his ideas and inventions, like his famous hot vapor engine, were never fully realized.

Many books have been written about the last 50 years of American history, but few are this entertaining, revealing and introspective all at the same time. Real stories from World War II, stock cars, the automotive industry and the Mexican Road Race are just a few of the elements in Smokey's autobiography. They combine to make Best Damn Garage in TownÉThe World According to Smokey one of the most interesting books in a long time. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

A Must for Anyone Working in Gerontology
This book is a must for anyone who works with older adults. It is a photographic essay of some very special people....people who embrace the robustness of life, and who are disciplined to maintain their capabilities as long as possible. Our world is steeped in ageism, that is, believing that older people are only capable of doing things that are "appropriate" for their age. This book shatters those beliefs and provides living examples of people who continue doing what they love to do physically. I wish that Etta Clark would revise this book with a new set of photos every year! I have seen some of these photos over and over again in lectures that people give about aging. It is a book to be owned, not borrowed.

So inspiring, I think I'll run a marathon!
Just one look at the photos and all your excuses for being a couch potato go out the door. This book is filled with inspirational photos of senior athletes. Helen Zechmeister, age 91, works out 3 days a week, deadlifts 200 pounds and can do the full splits. A competitive swimmer, Marie Wilcox-Little at 73 has a much better figure than I could ever hope to have (I'm merely 30). My favorite: Ivor Welch,(Volume 1)was never active until 83 when his wife his wife passed away. To mourn her death he started walking, then running, then running marathons. By the age of 90 he ran five marathons and 2 half marathons! If Ivor can do it, by golly, so can I! A must have for anyone who wants to enjoy life to its fullest!

Growing Old Is Not For Sissies II
I bought this book for my parents (72 and 75 years young) and my mother loved it!!! She started taking Yoga this year and feels like "a new woman." She said to me "I don't just get out of my car now, I BOUNCE out of my car!" She thought it was as inspirational as I did. Can't seem to find version I of this, though. Can someone help???

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Every single one of these athletes is an inspiration.
I've bought the first book for so many friends as they've reached landmark birthdays, (50's) I decided to get book II for our friend's 75th! Both books are great reminder of just how much ability we have at all stages of life. It's about how much you can do, no matter what your age, instead of viewing age as a limitation.

This book is inspireing and the photographs are incredible!
Growing old is not for Sissies is a wonderful book of black and white photographs of older athletes. I particularly enjoyed the comments which many of the active athletes write. A great gift for all ages!! Etta Clark is truely an incredible photographer. ... Read more

Book Description

"After a number of up-the-track finishes by authors trying to emulate the success of Laura Hillenbrand's bestselling Seabiscuit: An American Legend, a worthy successor has at last broken out of the pack . . .Winkfield's story is so incredible you'll find yourself wondering why you've never heard it before."
--MSNBC

"In the entire sweep of American sports, from the days of a roistering John L. Sullivan in the 19th Century through the Tiger Woods phenomenon of the 21st, no figure made a bolder and more original odyssey of his life than Jimmy Winkfield, the poor son of former slaves whose brilliance as a jockey bore him from the winner's circle at the Kentucky Derby to the royal courts of Czarist Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire and from Kaiser Wilhelm's Germany to the salons of Paris. In Wink, author Ed Hotaling skilfully reports and chronicles Winkfield's battles against racism in the New World--his courage and daring in escaping that most implacable of foes--and his success and rise to glory as a rider and then a trainer in the Old World. The tale of Wink is an illuminating and inspiring read."—William Nack, author of Secretariat: The Making of a Champion, and My Turf: Horses, Boxers, Blood Money and the Sporting Life

"It is phenomenal enough that Jimmy Winkfield became a dominant force in American horse racing half a century before Jackie Robinson took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers. But this two-time Kentucky Derby–winner's adventures after leaving to race overseas make his story all the more compelling. Ed Hotaling has a marvelous tale to tell. This is the stuff of great nonfiction."—Douglas Brinkley, author of Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War

"In this fine book, Ed Hotaling adds the texture of a rich individual life to what his previous work has already told us about the great black jockeys of a century ago."—Henry Louis Gates, Jr., bestselling author, Chair of the Department of African and African American Studies and Director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research at Harvard University ... Read more

Book Description

Beyond Golf's polished surface, there lies a world not often seen by the average fan. The caddy sees everything- the ambition, the strategy, the rivalries, the jealousies-that occurs behind the scenes. And now for the first time, along with America's favorite sportswriter, one of golf's legendary caddies will reveal the secrets behind one of our most popular sports. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

APPRECIATE EDWARDS' AND FEINSTEIN'S PASSION FOR GOLF
Bruce Edwards's parents expected their son to attend college and to enter the medical field in a worthy career. After working as a caddy, Edwards took them by surprise with the news that he would seek a career as a caddy. Author John Feinstein tells us how Edwards eventually became the caddy for golf champion Tom Watson. Together, Watson and Edwards brought home many prestigious awards and titles.

After hearing Feinstein's audio book, listeners will discover it wasn't the material things that deemed caddying worthwhile for Bruce Edwards; rather, it was his personal, as well as his professional life in the golf world. Feinstein relays Edwards' relationships, especially with Watson, to show why Edwards was held in high regard by his friends.

The abridged edition goes behind the scenes of professional golf, but not in as much as the book version. Reading the book or listening to the audio, golf fans will appreciate Bruce Edwards's passion for golf, as well as Feinstein's dedication to writing about it, especially when it gets personal.

A Life Well Lived - It's Story Well Told
In the days where professional golf seems to be so much about the money, it is refreshing to read a story about another aspect of golf that is not often told. The personal side of the relationship between a player and his caddy. Not just any player - Tom Watson. Not just any caddy - Bruce Edwards. They met by chance and Watson said they would try it for a week and see how it goes. It went for 30 years and ended only because Edwards contracted ALS. This is a charming and well told story that will bring a smile to your face and a tear to your eye. It isn't all fairways and greens. It also involves a heart and a soul.

For the love of the game.
Bruce Edwards was passionate about golf, and he realized at a young age that the itinerant life of a caddy was ideal for him. He worked mostly with one man, the great Tom Watson, who also became his lifelong friend. If Edwards had not been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease when he was in his late forties, this book would not have been written. However, in 2003, a doctor at the Mayo Clinic told Edwards that he had only a short time to live. "Caddy for Life," by John Feinstein, is the poignant, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting story of this courageous man.

Feinstein writes knowledgeably not just about Bruce Edwards, but also about the game of golf. When Edwards started out as a caddy, he worked for peanuts, and his living accommodations were spartan. It was only in later years that Edwards and other caddies gleaned substantial financial rewards for their efforts. People like Edwards completely changed the nature of caddying. Edwards studied each golf course thoroughly and took meticulous notes about every bump and ridge on each green. In many ways, a sharp and experienced caddy can raise a golfer's game to a higher level, and Edwards was one of the best caddies in the game.

"Caddy for Life" is, most of all, an emotional paean to the close friendship that developed between Tom Watson and Bruce Edwards. Since they went through so much during their almost thirty years together on various golf courses, Watson and Edwards knew and loved each other like brothers. Watson cried often in the days and months after Edwards told him the grim news about his fatal illness. Since then, Watson has done his best to raise awareness as well as funds for research that may someday lead to a cure for this horrendous disease.

Edwards's illness devastated his loved ones, including his parents and three siblings. What a cruel fate that a short time after Edwards proposed to the love of life, Marsha, he was diagnosed with ALS. However, he refused to shut himself in his room and brood about his misfortune. Edwards spent the rest of his life caddying with Watson to the best of his ability, and fighting the disease that was robbing him of his speech and his strength.

"Caddy for Life" is not only about the sadness of a man cut down in his prime. It is also an entertaining and often amusing account of how various golfers have struggled to tackle some of the most challenging courses in the world. Feinstein illustrates time and again that golf is as much a mental as a physical game, and few golfers have the psychological makeup to handle the pressure. "Caddy for Life" is an engrossing, moving, and informative look at the world of golf and at one particular individual who has left an indelible mark on the game he loved so much.

Take it from a non-golfer... this book is a MUST!!!
I am not a golfer. I don't play golf, watch golf or even play an impressive round of putt putt. This is the third Feinstein golf book I've read and probably the best. I was amazed not only by the power of the story but once again at Feinstein's writing power. I first experienced it when I happened upon my ex-husbands "A Good Walk Spoiled" and thought I'd read a few chapters until I got to the library to pick up something I wanted to read... 544 pages later I was fired up and completely engaged in the world of golf. Since then I have suggested that book to everyone I know who even has a mild interest in golf and many who don't. I was sitting in a hotel room in California when I saw on the news that Bruce Edwards had died. I immediately ordered "Caddy for Life". Feinstein had me hooked after the first page of the introduction. He has helped share the legacy of Bruce Edwards with a non-golfer like me. He treated Edward's life with dignity and compassion while giving the special gift of letting the reader meet the remarkable man which Bruce Edwards embodied. He will be missed not only on the golf green but also on this planet. Read this book... may we all be able to live a life as intentional and giving as Bruce Edwards.

walked past this book in every airport but finally.....
I like Feinstein's writing (especially his book about the US Open) but I didn't see a whole book on this subject. Finally stuck in an Omaha airport, I broke down. And it has been an enjoyable read. You really come to care for Edwards and appreciate his love of the game, his profession, the Tour atmosphere and Watson. It is a book that is hard to put down and one that is hard to leave behind once you are done. ... Read more

Book Description

This beautiful, limited-edition volume is hand-numbered and autographed by boxing legends Archie Moore and Jake "Raging Bull" LaMotta. Certificate of Authenticity included, only 125 copies printed!

There was only one man who fought both Rocky Marciano and Muhammad Ali. There was only one man who recorded 141 professional Knock-Outs. There was only one man who trained both a young Ali and heavyweight champion George Forman. There was only one Archie Moore.

With a seven-decade boxing career, including 27 years as a prize fighter, Moore's vast career and exploits are finally chronicled in The Ageless Warrior. Author Mike Fitzgerald spent months with Moore before the boxer's death in an effort to capture the full life story of one of the 20th Century's most colorful and accomplished athletes.

And what a story it was. Moore's opponent list reads like a "who's who" of boxing; he fought nine world champions and seven Hall-of-Famers. Starting his career in the middleweight division, Moore moved up in weigh class in 1945 and ultimately dominated the light-heavy weight division, winning his first world title in 1952 (at age 39) and successfully defending title for nearly a decade. The versatile Moore often fought at heavyweight in the 1950s, twice challenging for the heavyweight crown, including an epic battle with Marciano in 1955.

Following the 1960 Olympics, Moore took over training duties for Ali (then known as Cassius Clay). Moore and Ali eventually parted ways before their fight in 1962. Retiring from the ring in 1963, Moore remained active in boxing for the rest of his life, helping guide George Foreman to the heavyweight title in 1973 and overseeing his legendary comeback in 1987. Moore was inducted to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990.

Moore's life wasn't just boxing, though. The Ageless Warrior also spotlights Moore's Hollywood career in the 1960s, his five marriages, and his beloved "Any Boy Can" youth organization, which reached underprivileged youth.

Jake LaMotta provides his fond memories of Moore in the book's foreword, and Bert Randolph Sugar adds his thoughts in the book's preface. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Definitive biography on The Old Mongoose
"Ageless Warrior" is a definitive account on the life of boxing legend Archie Moore. Author Mike Fitz