Racing Reviews

I bought this book on the recommendations of Amazon customers and I must admit that I wasn't disapointed. Sometimes you don't know what you're going to get when everyone gives a book 5 stars. Sometimes it's hard to get an unbiased review.
I was pleased with the book and what others have said is true. I recommend this book to endurance athletes looking for reasons and explanations on why to train a certain way and what it will do for your body in the long run.
However, I am a competetive rower and there were few topics that took rowing into account. Most of the training is geared towards running/cycling/triathetes and not specific to rowing as much as I was hoping. Also, there is way too little emphasis on resistance training. Most of the book is about setting up a mathmatical training plan and says to devote time sparingly to strength training. I'm not an expert on other sports, but I do know that power through strength training is vital for a strong pull on those oars. I suggest devoting more time in the SERIOUS formula to weight training in the gym than the book suggests, especially in the early training weeks.

As for the rest of the book, it's great, but it takes a *LOT* of paperwork. Fortunately my wife is handy with MS Excel and plotted all the charts for me with forulas that makes it all easy. However, without her I know that I would be daunted and discouraged at the task of making all the charts and calculations by hand. In a future updated edition (I hope that they make one) the book should come with a CDROM loaded with all the charts and formulas, or at least a web site link for downloading them. In the 21st century it's good practice to have online content and I hope to see it with this great text book.

This is a good book for people who have never done a sport at a high level, because it will show you how to do a good training and give you ideas for exercises, it is also for people who plan to do some sport for a special event (for example, training for a 1 week and more mountain hike)

I would not really recommend this book to people who already do high level taining and who allready are in a training program, because they probably allready know most of the exercises and ideas of this book (or at least something equivalent)

After reading several other books on triathlons and trying to start some training programs, I was beginning to get discouraged. I couldn't find a program I liked, so I wouldn't stick with it. SERIOUS Training for Endurance Athletes proved to be the solution I needed. This book will let you form a training plan that gives you specific times and goals for each workout. Having those numbers in mind will help you make it through that last interval, last mile or last lap. Good luck and train hard!

Subtitled, "A Yukon Adventure," Ann Mariah Cook's fascinating 1998 memoir chronicles the time in 1992 that she, her husband George and three-year old daughter moved to Alaska to participate in the Yukon Quest, the toughest sled dog race in the world. It was George who ran the race; Ann was the one who drove the truck, carried the gear, took care of their daughter and gave him moral support through the long months of training, and eventually through the grueling event.

I've read other books about dog mushing, but this one had the unique point of view of a woman who, while not actually on the sled during the race, experienced her own Yukon Quest experience. She writes clearly and honestly, not shying away from the disagreement that she had with the young woman they brought with them to act as the official "handler" of the dogs. She writes about George's experience on the trail, his frostbite, fatigue, narrow escapes and indomitable spirit as he pitted himself against natural forces over which he had little control. She writes about the dogs, their personalities and backgrounds and about the tough choices she and George had to make when it came time to pick the actual team of 12 out of their much larger group. She writes about the people they meet along the way, her Alaskan neighbors, fisherman, storekeepers and the other mushers. And she writes about Alaska itself, making me yearn to experience its beauty and majesty.

There was one small line drawing of the Yukon Quest trail and I kept returning to it again and again as the book moved along and the tension mounted. There is also a photo of Ms. Cook and one of her dogs on the back cover. I wish there were more photos, but I didn't really need them because her descriptions were so clear. Recommended.

Running North is an excellent book for anyone interested in Alaska or mushing. Ann Mariah Cook captures the feel for Alaska and dog sledding perfectly. Even if you have no true interest in the subject you will find your self swept into the wonderful world of dog sledding. Cook clearly brings to life the people they met, friends they made, and the hazards that tried to stop them from running the Yukon Quest. One of the most grueling races in the world. I found I learned a great deal from this book without it ever becoming boring or slowing down. And most importantly she tells about the dogs, the wonderful creatures who work so willingly for us. Sometimes heartbreaking sometime funny, this book is an interesting, exciting read for anyone.

Ann Mariah Cook opens up more than one would expect as she leads you from their home in New Hampshire to the rougher world of Two Rivers, Alaska. They're a principled couple, their dogs are Siberian Huskies and they have certain dog-loving standards. They know they're at a disadvantage speedwise to the other teams entered in the Yukon Quest, many with hound-huskie mix packs. They adapt and yet prevail. I am interested in how they differ from the other racers, and wish Ann would have told more about how she and George saw things after the race. Also her vignettes about some of the individual dogs made me want to know more about the dogs.

Ann is understandably wrapped up in the mom thing with 3 year old daughter Katherine. At the same time Ann adapts to Alaskan musher culture, cares for her dogs, and preps husband George's provisions, all the while trying to puzzle out handler, cousin Sandy's behavior changes. There is so much sled dog lore that barely gets touched on. The book is a page turner once the race actually gets on. Ann could have made the book twice as long, because she does such a good job with what she chooses to write about. She needed to tie up loose ends. The only thing that drags is her apparent cluelessness about Sandy.

I checked the Yukon Quest website, and the Cooks didn't make the "most helpful" or the "best dog treater" for the year that George and their pack raced. But it verifies that they were in the race and certain things did happen.

Maryann Myers's "Favored to Win" finishes out of the money: both story and storytelling compel comparison with some small screen cinesoap whose tracking may merit a herky-jerky heed, but poorly repays any heavier attentive ante. If Ms. Myers's relentlessly redundant rendering of persons, places, and proceedings effectively evokes the ambience of backside quotidiana, the races she thus recounts induce a sense of déjà vu reminiscent not of real life railside thrills, but of pages recently-read. Worse, her iconic characters plod plethoric pages of birds-eye narration toward revelations whose very triteness out-telegraphs even her ham-handed hinting, leaving little to surprise even the most bird-brained of readers, and less to lure a wittier one to the wire.

For my money, "Favored To Win" is both absolutely and by comparison a low-dollar claimer that fulfills exactly its long shot destiny against such stakesworthy runners as, say, Laura Hillenbrand's pacesetting page-turner of horseracing history, "Seabiscuit: An American Legend," or "Horse Heaven," Jane Smiley's teasey tale of the horses and the hippophiles, the hopeful and the hopeless and the hangers-on, from hoity-toity to hoi-polloi, who collectively compose the Thoroughbred racing industry.

Oh well ... better luck next time. :-)

I was very anxious to read FAVORED TO WIN after meeting MaryAnn Myers at a book signing in Parkersburg, WV. Not being familiar with horses, I might have been reluctant to purchase the book had I not met Ms. Myers. She is as personable as the characters she creates in this book. Not only did I learn about horses and what goes on behind the scenes, but the book was about believable characters with very exciting, interesting storylines. If you are a horse lover or just love a "great read", you'll love this book! Am adding MaryAnn Myers to my list of favorite authors. :)

I read MaryAnn Myers first two books: "Call Me Lydia" and "Mapledale" which I thoroughly enjoyed, so I waited with anticipation for the next. "Favored to Win" is wonderful. It holds your attention from the first page to the final line. The author has a real feel for horses and the world of horse racing. Her characters are real---you feel like you know them personally. The story has love, humor and intrigue. I highly recommend it and can't wait to read her next book.

It's much more fun to follow NASCAR now that I know the stories behind the racers and the events,and the history of the sport. This book is a fast, fun read! I've given this book as gifts with good results.

Wide Open offers great insight into the lives of three of Nascar's not-as-big stars. It gives fans a look behind the scenes in the good times and bad, and shows what these guys go through to put on a show for the fans for 34 races a year. The best part in my opinion, is who the stories are about. Anyone can write about the hotshot racers in the series but to show what Dave Marcis and Brett Bodine do on and off the track to make the show in my opinion, is far more interesting.

Amazing! A true page turner! I never imaged what a nascar driver goes through in a typical season. The book truely captures the essence of nascar. I will recommend this book to all my friends.

Very good book,hard to put down once you start reading it,even though there are a few mistakes through it. A must read for any racing fan.

An excellant book! After being a Davey Allison fan then Ernie Irvan fan.... a multitude of questions plagued the fans.....they are answered here....

While being very emotional there were some very humorous lighthearted moments!

Once you begin to read you won't want to stop!

Ernie explained everything that I had ever wanted to know in this book. I always knew that there was so much more to the Texaco story. It's an inside look at his life. I watched him in his career and always wanted to know more. This is more.

If you are interested in a broad sweep of Ferrari racing history, this is the book. If you are interested in Ferrari road cars, buy "Ferrari" by Hartmut Lehbrink instead. This is an excellent book, large and heavy with great color pictures and cut-aways. It does gloss over the road cars and has great summary color thumbnails of all Ferrari's (racing and road)in the back. A worthy addition to any Ferrari library.

If you are interested in a broad sweep of Ferrari racing history, this is the book. If you are interested in Ferrari road cars, buy "Ferrari" by Hartmut Lehbrink instead. This is an excellent book, large and heavy with great color pictures and cut-aways. It does gloss over the road cars and has great summary color thumbnails of all Ferrari's (racing and road)in the back. A worthy addition to any Ferrari library.

Antonio Ghini's book contains whatever lies below the "Prancing Horse" badge, for models produced in the 50 years period; moreover, it helps to understand and find answers of today's automotive & motorsports technologies' innovational questions which are solved decades before. The online version of the book is available at CuoreSPORTIVO ICEO Web Site with pictures.

Faulkner's novel The Reivers is in my opinion his best work. Unlike many of Faulkner's stories The Reiver's comedic and lighthearted and at the same time it tackles and touches on many of the dark and not so comedic sectors of human nature. The novel is viewed through the lens of a young man named Lucius priest. Lucius accompanies his on an unsanctioned trip to Memphis with two of his fathers employees Boon Hoggenbeck and Ned McCaslin. Putting it lightly Lucius' traveling companions are, "men of the world" that is they protray a great deal of flaws and weaknesses that permiate humanity. They drink, smoke, gamble, steal, and womanize..... As Faulkner puts it they are, "practitioners of non-virtue". As the trip progresses Lucius soon realizes that he too has began down the path of non-virtue. As I said earlier Lucius and party are travelling to Memphis, but in The Reivers it is not the destination that is important to the story it is how they get their. Every leg of the journey find the characters with a new problem to tackle and a new display of what non-virtue is. As with many of his novels Faulkner takes the base human instincts good and bad and portrays them in a believable and poignant manner. The language used in the novels suits its characters and time perfectly and adds to the humor in some instances. The question you should ponder is does Lucius succumb to the non-virtue he is surrounded by in his travels? Read it and find out.

Have you ever read a novel or a short story and felt an urgency to finish it but also an urgency to never finish? That's how I felt while reading Faulkner's The Reivers. This Pulitzer prize novel concerns one eleven-year-old white boy named Lucius Priest. Through the mediation of his father's underlings--Boon Hoggenbeck and Ned McCaslin--Lucius comes of age in the art of non-virtue. While Lucius's grandfather is away, the three of them "borrow" the old man's automobile and embark on a bumpy journey to Memphis. On the trip, Lucius sees it all--whoredom, lust, theft, profanity, gambling--and struggles with these things in the context of a southern religious tradition. Though he has every opportunity to turn back and forgo the trip, he presses on and convinces himself that it's all too late. Non-virtue has already embraced him. On the other hand, Boon and Ned have no doubts of their lack of virtue, and when they see Lucius drinking from evil's muddy waters, they just nod their heads (don't think that the story is grim, for it's down right funny at times). The story is addictive, even though the language is rocky and convoluted at times. Faulker was no Raymond Carver or Ernest Hemingway; conversely, he was the ultimate practitioner of the compound-complex sentence. The dialogue was so real, especially with Ned and other black folks. I felt as though I were standing around the campfire chewing tobacco and thumbing my suspenders and talking about horse racing. No wonder this novel hooked the Pulitzer. It's quality stuff.

I want to say to Anthony Alred and Wayne Davis that if they wish to review such a grand literary novel they should at least edit what they write. For they owe William Faulkner at least that much respect. Their poor English precludes me from giving their review any importance.---Joe from Ohio

Once Ron finds a dirt bike at the bottom of a lake he can't believe his eyes. So, the next day he goes scuba diving to find it. But the bike will need some fixing. Ron is certain that his motorcross dream will come true. I think that Matt Christopher's style of writing is spectacular. I feel that his writing is very descriptive and detailed. When he writes he doesn't tell, he shows. So when he writes that the back wheel is spinning, he says, "It is spitting up dirt and rubble!" When Matt Christopher writes a beginning of a story he doesn't start with a dull beginning he starts with action usually destruction. In my book, he starts with a windstorm that blows some belongings away into the lake. I think that is how good writers write.

I recommend this book to anyone that likes sports and has a tough time reading. They will really enjoy this book. This book is a good book because the words are descriptive and it's easy to comprehend, and the details that the author has given us in the book make us feel that we're the character. "The bike bucked and bounced, and a couple of times it skidded to the side to much that I almost lost my balance and fell. But I managed to keep it upright, using my feet to balance it when I felt it leaning over too far." Another great thing about this book is how there are a couple of pictures and that makes me visualize where the character is in the book. One of the pictures shows Ron on his dirt bike and he's in the air after jumping the ramp, Ron said " You're not going to stop me, no matter what you do!" If you like sports and you have a tough time reading, this is the book for you.

If you like to read, you will love this book! The book is fascinating because this book is about dirt bikes. Two boys find a dirt bike in a lake that was lost off of a house boat in a windstorm. The two boys get the bike out of the water and hope to win races with it. The boys meet a bully who tries to keep them from winning. I like the book because I think dirt bikes are awesome and I have always had a passion about riding them. Ages 9-adult should read this book.

This is the first Dale Earnhardt book I have found that was NOT a coffee table book filled only with captioned photos.

This book covers Dale's life from the beginning, discussing his friends and family. It tells the story of his struggle to become so successful.

Dale was always a very private person, and until now, it was difficult to find anything about his personal life away from the racetrack. The book even mentions that Dale advised Dale Jr. that he would regret living his "Club E" image in the public eye.

I been a huge Nascar fan for over 20 years, and admired Dale since he finally cast the monkey off his back by winning the Daytona 500.

All in all a very good read, leaving me the desire to find out even more about Dale.

I love books about NASCAR. As a female fan of the sport, I love to learn about not only the history of NASCAR but about the men who make NASCAR so popular. This book is not only for Dale Earnhardt fans but I would recommend it for those people who didn't like him. I think they will be surprised at how different Dale Earnhardt was off the track. "The Intimidator" only describes his on-track persona.

What makes this book a great read is that with each story you can almost hear the sadness in the voices of those folks who have lost a very special friend. Some of the tales told are humorous and with each recollection you learn more about Dale Earnhardt the man, husband, father, and friend.

Leigh Montville has put together what I can honestly say is the best tribute to a man who is missed by so many of us. He made me realize NASCAR will never ever be the same without that Goodwrench Black Number 3 Monte Carlo of Dale Earnhardt.

Dale, Rest in Peace!

I just finished this book, and I absolutely loved it. It had me laughing, crying, and everything in between. I'm an avid NASCAR fan, and Dale Earnhardt is and will always be my favorite driver. I am following the path of his son, and I have also read Driver #8. Both books are fantastic, and a lot of fun to read. Very hard for me to put down!

I think this book had a great write-up of racehorses. Man o War is definitley the horses of the century. The only thing I didn't like was the lack of information. I wish they included more info on the top 20 horses. Otherwise a great book.

This book was a joy to read! As for as coming up with Man O' War as the Greatest was an excellent choice. A lot of people now days really only remember Secretariat, and he was a surly one of the Greatest. Its not really fair for Man O' War,the people who don't think he should be No.1, because he raced so many years ago. But if Man O' War and Secretariat where to race there's one thing for sure Man O' War would break out in front and it would be up to Secratariat to catch him,and with Man O' War's 28 ft. stride I don't think if would ever happen.

As a Thoroughbred enthusiast who loves to read page after page of small-print pedigrees, I enjoyed this book. For one thing, I agreed with most of the ratings in it, and I appreciated the formula used by the authors; for each horse, they discuss his breeding, if it is of interest, his race career, trials and tribulations he may have faced, the people surrounding him, and finally his genetic legacy. The articles get shorter as one nears the end of the book (Man o'War, #1 horse of the century, gets several pages of text and photos, while the horses from #20 to #50 are dealt one page each), and one could ask for a little more information on some of the ones near the end. Overall, this book is terrific and covers almost all of the great American racehorses (and some who also happened to be great sires). I particularly liked that the horses from the early part of the century, like Colin and Old Rosebud, were given equal stature with the TV heros of our day.