My mother was 5'2". My lunch was a stir-fry. I quite like snow.

Do you know those books, invariably by tabloid reporters, that seem to come out within days of a massacre or arrest of a serial killer? The ones I've seen are mostly padding, full of irrelevant information that is useful only to up the word count. This book is similar to them in that respect, and it's maddening to read.<br /><br />We learn the nickname of a climber's mother. We learn that another once lived in the States for a bit. We learn that the Serbian team made doughnuts with strawberry jam not plums and we learn that they were delicious anyway. We learn what DVD's some of the people watched in base camp. We learn Nepalese for 'I'm coming' and Irish for a hurling implement (but those who don't know won't learn what a hurley is). We learn who's lanky, who wears blue, who has a wonderful smile.<br /><br />We don't learn enough about how much and what sort of climbing experience these people had. We don't learn why team leaders failed to call a halt to the climbs of those who were in poor health or too slow. We don't learn why the fixed ropes were in a queer position. We don't learn whether enough oxygen tanks were carried out of Camp IV, nor whether porters left in the camp important gear. We don't even learn for a certainty that the calving of a serac was the only non-man-made problem thrown at the climbers.<br /><br />I read the book for the story, but the writing made me so grumpy that I don't know whether a good few of the climbers were the idiots they seemed, or had judgement impaired from the start by hypoxia, or whether my ill-temper made me feel uncharitable to them. But many of them did go for the summit when unwell or when it was far too late in the day and, when they summitted as night neared, stayed in place making satellite phone calls, videotaping each other making satellite phone calls, or waiting for other climbers in order to have a, ugh, 'group hug'. And, in a different area, what can you say about the climber who rang his wife on the other side of the world simmply to tell her that he was blind and lost on the mountain? that you hope she divorced him for putting her through that? (The same climber actually sold a copy of his book about the experience to Bowley during an interview.)<br /><br />Near the end is something that makes me very uneasy. A bereaved fiancee who apparently didn't understand the mental effects of hypoxia decided with no evidence that an Italian climber had lied about her intended's last hours. I'm not sure, given the lack of evidence, that this should have been mentioned at all; I feel fairly sure that, in light of that accusation, it was just plain wrong of Bowley to strongly imply that the Italian came across as shifty and evasive when interviewed. (edit: Looking back, it makes me uneasier still that Bowley offers the imagined thoughts of a real person near death; I reckon that's so presumptuous as to be crossing over into the downright distasteful.)<br /><br />End of rant, except to say that I've read other books on climbing, some of them by climbers for whom writing a book must have been an enourmous challenge, and they were all better than this one written, incredibly, by a reporter for the New York Times. <br /><br />

Poor Accuracy

The concept of this book is fantastic: a trove of information containing almost every conceivable statistic from the 2009-10 season. Unfortunately, this is marred by one monumental failing - its accuracy. On page 134, for example, it states that Chelsea were runners up in Premier League in the 2009-2010 season. If the authors cannot get even this correct, it makes you wonder just how many other misprints there are among its 1056 pages. Without confidence in the statistics given in this book, it isn't much good to me at all.

No really, it IS all about the bike!

I purchased this after having watched the TV documentary of the same name and i was not let down!<br />I had some initial reservations about watching the programme, city guy moves to wales to rediscover himself and finds cycling in the process, it has british movie industry written all over it! The lifelong passion for the bike that was revealed however left me once again chiding my own preconceptions, and yet another inward promise to be more open minded and less reactionary!<br />Obviously the book fleshes out the broad strokes painted on the tv, but the passion and almost reverence that comes across is a joy to read. Clever writing prevents the book going the way of a sentimental eulogy to craftsmen passed, and instead reveals a soaring demand for the bespoke bike, albeit for a very different user. As a cyclist myself i was particularly gratified to learn that the principal aim of the author attaining his dream bike was to ride it all the time, celebrating it through use, and not just having it as another expensive accessory, (penn himself compares the skill and artistry of a framebuilder to that of a watchmaker or tailor)thus needing it to be absolutely perfect in every detail. Any jealousy at the author having the time and money to be able to trek globally in order to acquire the components for his dream bike are soon forgotten thanks to the total passion that is revealed for every detail of the bike through very skilled writing. It's always gratifying to connect with a fellow bikie, even if through the pages of book, and i was very pleased to see that i already own most of his selected reading!<br />If you like cycling, buy this book.<br />If you like travel, buy this book.<br />If you want a dollop of inspiration to get you back on your own bike, buy this book.<br /><br /><br />

waterlog - a great book - not just for us waterlovers

so far i havent been able to put it down ... wonderful descriptions making me want to just get out there now .... a really wonderful book telling of wonderful times messing about in water x

Keep on running

Christopher McDougall's compelling book embraces running tribes, ultra-marathon runners, the science of running, running shoe manufacturers, human evolution, transcendence, the joy of being alive, and more. As someone contemplating their first marathon at age 48, I am thoroughly inspired. Like all great genre books, whilst ostensibly only about one subject - running in this case - it manages to say something profound about the human condition. I heartily recommend it.

The Afghan Hound of football!

Fairplay to Sav, this book turned out to be a very good read.<br />Anyone who has heard of him knows how much he loves himself so the stories in the book come as no suprise.<br />Hopefully with all the sales he could get a haircut and nose job.<br />A well timed release in conjunction with his latest job on 5 live (which i have to say is excellent!)<br />Nice one Sav keep up the good (if slightly annoying at times) work.<br /><br />

Andre Agassi Autobiography

The book was purchased for my wife, who has always been a fan of Agassi. Once she started reading it, she was spell bound and could not put it down. He has written a lot about his father and the way he was treated as a boy. Surprisingly he reveals that he hated playing tennis and only did because of pressure from his father.<br /><br />She rates it as a great read, even if you are not a fan.

Don't Stop The Car

I bought this after reading the comments of the one-star reviewer (someone who can't spell claiming something is poorly written tells you all you need to know sometimes). A big thankyou.<br /><br />David Lloyd has made me laugh endlessly as a television commentator and now he has me guffawing in print.<br /><br />As previous reviewers have said, this book is rather like him chatting to you down the pub. Actually, it's like the best all-dayer you've ever had. He is exactly the kind of bloke you'd like a session with. And his mates the Regiment would be welcome too.<br /><br />His crackpot enthusiasm spills off every page and although his pen-portraits of his Sky colleagues at the start of the book are outstanding, Start the Car's greatness is in the latter half of the book. Here, we find out everything that has shaped the man thousands of us dearly love (his childhood, his cricket club, Accrington Stanley, love of a pint, a passion for comedy).<br /><br />Above all, this book promotes our Bumble as a natural storyteller. The young Flintoff dressing room escapade is priceless and how could anyone other than Bumble get away with trying to locate the whereabouts of a confiscated blow-up doll while in charge of an international team? Legend.

Toughest Hills !

A great little book for any cyclist fascinated by hills (And who is'nt)<br />We could all argue about local favorites that are not included,but I feel the book is well researched by an obvious enthusiast with good photographs and statistics for each climb.<br />A source of inspiration to anyone who enjoys a challenge.

Something for everyone

David McCandless is the"son" of E. Tufte! This book has 2 dimensions. Firstly, it is a very good text book of how to depict data in an interesting and informative manner. This is an excellent example of the ergonomics of data representation. A lot of academics could learn from this. Secondly, it depicts some very interesting data. McCandles has an focus in Environmental issues and wider ranging philosophical issues. For example, the plot of world religions vs"stuff people do". The only down side is that some of the sources are bit limp (e.g."Google") and some of his terms are a little less precise than they should (e.g. Taste buds - misallocation of foods to groups), but this should not eclipse the brilliance of the book.

Mountaineers will love it.

Touching the Void is the first hand account of a mountaineer who survived a near fatal experience on an Andean mountain in Peru. Originally published in 1988, this book tells the story of Joe Simpson and Simon Yates' disastrous ventures on the Siula Grande. The 2008 Vintage Classics edition has some updated retrospective comments in the afterword.<br />This book was brought to me by a friend who had just finished it and was really enthusiastic about it, and about how it showed the resourcefulness of mankind, and what a person could achieve if they had the will.<br />I must admit that mountaineering is not my cup of tea. This book was on the back foot with me from the off. I was, however, determined to read it and provide my comments to my enthusiastic friend.<br />Personal prejudices aside, let me start with the things that did not work for me, and finish on the more positive aspects of Touching the Void.<br />The book told me about two friends who, on their own admission in the book, tackled a dangerous climb without being properly prepared or provisioned.<br />This dangerous climb, for which they were ill prepared, was in a region of the world where there was no hope of help or support if anything went wrong.<br />The weather conditions they experienced were different from anything they had experienced before and they found themselves attempting to second-guess what the weather was going to do, and what the local climatic conditions were likely to be.<br />On the positive side, reading the book did give me a great sense of being on the mountain, or in the crevasse, or crawling over the rocky moraine. It was very graphic and I could imagine myself in the predicaments described.<br />Each of the climbers had to make hard decisions about life or death. I think the book conveyed the thoughts, feelings and moral dilemmas of each climber in a sensitive, effective and realistic fashion. It also put across the permanent effects their experiences have had on them, and the issues they have to deal with for the rest of their lives.<br />Anyone interested in mountaineering will, in my opinion, love this book. I would suggest there would be some of us who would be just as well off by not reading it. I would add that this book in no way altered my opinion of mountaineering.<br /><br />

Excellent Reading now planning a visit

This book is fantastic trying to figure out which swim to do first <br />Throughly recommend <br />excellent Pictures <br />Would have no hesitation to buy :-)

Champion

This is a very thought-provoking book, useful for any looking to improve their sporting skills and as a guide to parents of sporting kids.

Sea Fishing

Just the book I was looking for Good price and fast delivery, juswt the job.<br />Bob. IOW.

Superb!

A field guide with no pictures sounds bizarre, but this is an amazing book for getting to grips with trickier IDs. It's not for absolute beginners - you'll have to have narrowed you bird ID down to a few similar species first - but all the plumage details in one place, displayed in simple bullet-point form, is an act of simple genius. You can only imagine the tireless hours that went in to compiling it.<br /><br />I'd recommend every birder grabs a copy of this, it's a superb piece of work.

Awesome

What can you say.<br />It has already been said. <br />Awesome athlete and book.

Implausible

I am shocked to see so many five star ratings for this book. I thought it is an average book at best, some of the 5 star reviews seem to suggest that the Country has found another Shakespeare/Pinter/Plater/Bennett.<br /><br />The problems I have the book is the implausibility of it all. I can accept a couple of `disasters' happening to the family over the years but on every holiday? If the book had been marketed as comedy fiction I could have accepted the events as funny, but after a while I just started to question whether they actually happened as described - if they did the author and her family must have broken many mirrors over the years.<br /><br />I have two other issues. The first is how the conversations are remembered word perfect - 30 plus years later. No one has that great a memory. You can argue that it is the writer's method of telling the story but it doesn't sit right - and neither does the way she calls her parents by their first names, rather than Mum and Dad. Again, it just doesn't gel for me.

An extraordinary book...

Into Thin Air is a remarkable book... written in a fluid and captivating style it presents the story of the 1996 Everest Tragedy in a way that is not just readable but also impossible to put down. Krakauer's style is lucid and is weaving of the account has the rare attribute of being both fast moving and detailed. Despite the fact that, as a mountaineer, I strongly disagree with his apportioning of blame and the undoubted wrong he has done to one of the great heros of mountaineering, Anatoli Boukreev, it is a book that will captivate non-climbers and climbers alike. Enjoy the story but ignore the conclusions!

A little piece of Wordsworth

This is a lovely book and is produced with a handwritten effect rather than typeface which makes you feel as if you have Wordsworth s own note book in your hand. It is beautifully illustrated with pencil sketches and is very precise and informative. It's a hard backed book and although I thought it was slightly small it is the perfect size to fit in your pocket or rucksack. A lovely book to have even if you never intend to do the coast to coast walk your self - through Wordsworth you can do this walk from the comfort of your arm chair.

Fignons story

This was a book I had looked forward to reading as he was racing when I first started watching the Tour. I really enjoy most books on cycle racing and had hoped for a greater insight into racing during this golden era. Fignon however disappoints with a story of a very bitter rider who never found 'peace' despite an amazing palmares including classic wins, two tours and the Giro.<br /><br />There are better books out there but as with most things you need to be the judge!