Sports and Fitness Recent Picks

April 2009

The underlined title links will take you directly to our catalogue.
Some featured items are linked via a book cover to enable you to read more reviews.

10 Count Trivia: Events and Championship, by Dean Miller.
"Will you be counted out? Can you pin down the answer before that fateful 10 count sounds? Or will you be left out? There is only one way to discover just who is the champ, who really knows sports entertainment. Ten little questions to prove if you really know everything about the events and championships that have raised the rafters in arenas across the globe and carved a place in the history of WWE for the Superstars who dared to step into the ring. We dare you to step up. Take the challenge. It might not be a Texas Death match, but you never know." (Book Jacket)

More Than Just a Game: Football v Apartheid, by Chuck Korr & Marvin Close.
"This is the astonishing story of how a unique group of political prisoners and freedom fighters found a sense of dignity in one of the ugliest hellholes on Earth: Robben Island. Despite all odds and regular torture, beatings and daily backbreaking hard labour, these extraordinary men turned soccer into an active force in the struggle for freedom. For nearly 20 years, the political prisoners on Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was infamously incarcerated, somehow found the energy, spirit and resolve to organise a 1400 prisoner-strong, eight club football league which was played with strict adherence to FIFA rules. The prisoners themselves represented a broad array of political beliefs and backgrounds, yet football became an impassioned and unified symbol of resistance against apartheid." (Amazon)

Improve Your Chess in 7 Days, by Gary Lane.
"In the chess world, there are the few—the dedicated, competitive experts—and the many, the millions of social players who are totally unaware of chess theory. Now there’s a quick and easy way to bridge the gap. In just one week, the unschooled player will gain access to the principles that guide the masters: On the first day, the basic concepts of strategy and tactics are introduced. On the second, the reader learns some of the more popular openings and the ideas behind them. And so on, until, by the seventh day, the rapidly advancing student will be able to pull off sophisticated swindles! Illustrated with sidesplitting cartoons, it’s a quick, entertaining, and extraordinarily direct road to chess mastery." (Amazon)

Backgammon to Win: Play Like a Pro Both Online and Off, by Chris Bray.
"Backgammon to Win: Play Like A Pro Both Online And Off" introduces beginners and those who haven't played for years to the strategies and tips needed to play the game well, whether you want to make serious money in tournaments or play just for fun at a board with friends. With clear, precise text and illustrations providing step-by-step directions, "Backgammon to Win" has everything you need to be one step ahead of the game." (Amazon)

Run Your First Marathon: Everything You Need to Know to Reach the Finish Line, by Greta Waitz & Gloria Averbuch.
"What runner doesn’t hope to compete in, and complete, a marathon? This 16-week program developed by nine-time New York City Marathon winner Grete Waitz—and used by her to train both amateurs and professionals for the biggest races—can make that dream come true. Written in an efficient and useful style, and featuring more than 50 photos, it discusses base fitness, stretching, proper posture, and staying healthy through it all, as well as how personality and motivation affect training. Waitz also covers the most current and cutting-edge trends in long distance running, including cross training with yoga, Pilates, and deep water running. There’s also a special 30-minute beginner’s program as well as advice specifically tailored to first-time marathoners over 40 years old." (Amazon)

Black Belt Karate, by Chris Thompson.
"Once a student of karate obtains his or her black belt, what’s next? For too many students, the black belt marks the end of serious training. In Black Belt Karate, noted karate instructor and 8th-dan black belt Chris Thompson explains that real yudansha (black belt level) is not just about physical prowess but about self-improvement, and that because of this, further study is vital for all students. The rank should not be the goal, Thompson says—everyone has something more they can learn. Neither a beginner’s guide nor a manual of advanced techniques, Black Belt Karate is both inspirational and informative for students of all levels." (Amazon)

The Poker Mindset, by Ian Taylor & Matthew Hilger.
"In this groundbreaking book, Taylor and Hilger lay bare the secrets of the Poker Mindset: seven core attitudes and concepts that ensure you have the optimal emotional, psychological, and behavioral framework for playing superior poker." (Amazon)

Boxing : A Cultural History, by Kasia Boddy.
"Kasia Boddy pursues a lively, wide-ranging critical survey of boxing in literature, film, and other media, a compendious engagement with a fantastically rich tradition. She attends to both the aesthetic and the signifying potential of boxing, which has attracted artists for three millennia not only because it inspires and challenges their creative impulses but because, as Boddy amply demonstrates, the ring has proven to be a lastingly useful venue for staging all manner of ideas about class, violence, history, gender, work, leisure, ideology, politics, race, and nation, among other topics." (Amazon)

Bad Blood: The Secret Life of the Tour De France, by Jeremy Whittle.
"Jeremy Whittle’s journey from unquestioning fan to Tour de France insider and confirmed skeptic is the story of how a sport has been corrupted by commercialism, scandal and drugs. In effect, Whittle claims, the sport is destroying itself from within." (Amazon)

Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge Guide, by Amy Taylor.
"The essential guide for the ride of your life. A bike ride that began with 26 friends in 1977 is today New Zealand's premier cycling event. Covering a scenic course on 160 kilometres of sealed road around beautiful Lake Taupo, it caters for riders of all abilities, and attracts around 12,000 riders, with numbers increasing every year. In 2007 it was named one of the best rides in the world by the International Cycling Union, and became part of the prestigious international UCI Golden Bike series. The most popular challenge is the solo ride around the lake, but there are also 2-, 3-, 4- and 5-person relays, a 5-kilometre ride for children, and 2- and 4-lap endurance rides. Elite riders compete in the Avanti Classic. Whether you're riding for fun or competitively, this book contains all the information you'll need to prepare for the event and have a great ride on the day - including details of the course, suggestions as to gear, and training programmes for all levels." (Amazon)

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