Having taken a break from sports reading for a short period, this was a very good choice to get back into sports - great book on the UCLA basketball dynasty.   Title/Author:“Kingdom on Fire: Kareem, Wooden, Walton and the Turbulent Days of the UCLA Basketball Dynasty” by Scott Howard-Cooper Rating:  5 of 5 stars (Excellent) Review:  One of most storied sports dynasties took place in the 1960’s and 1970’s when the UCLA Bruins won 10 of 12 NCAA men’s basketball titles.  While there were many players and other people who helped make this dynasty, there were three people ..read more

When I saw the title of this book, I thought it was about the long-time coach of USC, Rod Dedeaux.  When I saw it was about Miami coach Ron Fraser instead, I thought that's fine, I'm still interested.  Glad I picked it up.  Here is my review of "The Wizard of College Baseball."  Title/Author:“The Wizard of College Baseball: How Ron Fraser Elevated Miami and an Entire Sport to National Prominence” by David Brauer  Rating:  4 of 5 stars (Very good) Review:   College baseball, now a staple on sports networks like ESPN, has not always been a popular option for ..read more

Sometimes a book on a famous player will allow the reader to learn much more about that player than what they learned in the media or through fandom.  That was the case for me with this book about Roberto Alomar.  Here is my review.   Title/Author: “Roberto Alomar: The Complicated Life and Legacy of a Baseball Hall of Famer” by David Ostrowsky Rating:  4 of 5 stars (Very good) Review:  The subtitle of this book by David Ostrowsky is very accurate when discussing the baseball legacy of Roberto Alomar, a Hall of Fame second baseman who played for seven different major ..read more

While NASCAR is my favorite motorsport, I do like to watch an occasional Formula 1 race and I LOVE to read anything I can on it.  This book is one reason why F1 books are so good - this one deals mostly with the business side and it's fantastic.  Here is my review of "The Formula." Title/Author: “The Formula: How Rogues, Geniuses and Speed Freaks Reengineered F1 Into the World’s Fastest-Growing Sport” by Joshua Robinson and Jonathan Clegg Rating:  5 of 5 stars (Excellent) Review:  Formula 1 racing has long been a staple of the sports environment in Europe for several deca ..read more

This is an upcoming book by a well-known MSNBC reporter about the cultural influence of the Boston Red Sox and even though I knew that the Red Sox were beloved by many, I didn't realize just how many connections in non-baseball areas the team had.  I learned a lot and enjoyed the book as well.    Title/Author: “The Fenway Effect: A Cultural History of the Boston Red Sox” by David Krell Rating:  4 ½ of 5 stars (Very Good) Review:  The Boston Red Sox have a special place in the hearts of many New Englanders.  Even those who don’t follow baseball closely seem to ha ..read more

Sometimes it's hard to find a book that is fair and complete when it is about a controversial person or event, but this book on Pete Rose fits that perfectly.  Here is my review of "Charlie Hustle."  Title/Author: “Charlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose and the Last Glory Days of Baseball” by Keith O’Brien Rating:  5 of 5 stars (excellent) Review:  Pete Rose is one of the most polarizing figures in baseball history.  Even people who have never followed the game but know about him through the news about his gambling, conviction on tax evasion and his banishment ..read more

Train rides are always the best time for me to catch up on reading and on my recent travels to Washington, DC via train, that gave me that opportunity.  One of the older books on my TBR pile was this one on a tennis player whom I never heard of, but had a story that should be told - and it was by her granddaughter.  Title/Author: “The Tennis Champion Who Escaped the Nazis” by Felice Hardy Rating:  4 of 5 stars (very good) Review:  The story of Liesl Herbst, as told by her granddaughter Felice Hardy in this family memoir, is one that is at times compelling, at times inspiri ..read more

The timing for reading this book was very good as it was a fictional story based on the accounts of a previously reviewed book here on the Gas and Flame men in World War I.  While this is fiction and does not refute any of the information from the non-fiction book, but the story does make one wonder.  Here is my review of "This Never Happened." Title/Author: “This Never Happened: The Mystery Behind the Death of Christy Mathewson” by J. D. Manheim Rating:  5 of 5 stars (excellent) Review:  It is well known that one of the original members of the Baseball Hall of Fame, pitc ..read more

 This was a different type of book on mountain climbing.  While it did have an expedition on one of the summits I often read about, Mt. Everest, this was very different from other climbing books I have read.  Here is my review of "The Color of Everything."  Title/Author: “The Color of Everything: A Journey to Quiet the Chaos Within” by Cory Richards   Rating:  4 of 5 stars (very good) Review:   Cory Richards is known by some as an award-winning photographer for National Geographic.  Others know him for being the first American to climb an 8000 meter mo ..read more

While I have read other great books on Olympic athletes, on Black athletes during the era of blatant racial discrimination and other books on running and track, this is probably the best one that combines all three of these topics into one great read.  Here is my review of "The Tigerbelles".   Title/Author: “The Tigerbelles: Olympic Legends from Tennessee State” by Aime Alley Card Rating:  5 of 5 stars (excellent) Review:   While there have been many books released on the struggles of Black athletes from previous eras the last few years, there hasn’t been one tha ..read more