01.21.09
Blood in the Cage
Title: Blood in the Cage: Mixed Martial Arts, Pat Miletich, and the Furious Rise of the UFC
Author: L. Jon Wertheim
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, January 2009
Summary: Ten years ago it was decried as ‘human cockfighting’ and banned in many states across the country. Today, mixed martial arts (or MMA) is perhaps the fastest growing sport on the planet. L. Jon Wertheim explores the phenomenon that is MMA, and in particular the dominant brand, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), through the rise of Pat Miletich, a former champion and world-renowned trainer.
Miletich was among the first fighters to combine multiple fighting styles into one complete attack, and through his meteoric rise from poverty in the Midwest to international stardom, we see the evolution of MMA from it’s no-holds-barred origins to today’s slick promotional machine, with monthly pay-per-views and a massively popular reality show. Love it or hate it, MMA is an economic powerhouse that outdraws boxing and professional wrestling. You probably know someone who watches it. Give this book to them!
Who will like this book: This book is indispensable for MMA fans, but it is also a great read for sports generalists or fans of other combat sports such as boxing or traditional martial arts.
If you like this, try this: A great read about the hows and whys of fighting, A Fighter’s Heart by Sam Sheridan. A biography of an iconic UFC champion, Iceman by Chuck Liddell. Another (slightly irreverent) look at a booming sport, NASCAR, in Sunday Money by Jeff MacGregor.
Recommended by: Nicole, Teen Librarian
11.01.08
American Shaolin
Title: American Shaolin: Flying Kicks, Buddhist Monks and the Legend of Iron Crotch: An Odyssey in the New China
Author: Matthew Polley
Publisher: Gotham, December 2007
Summary: This is not your typical travelogue or coming-of-age story, but this Alex Award winner will be as entertaining as any book you’ll read this year. In 1992, Matthew Polley dropped out of Princeton and went to China to learn kungfu from the legendary monks of the Shaolin temple in China. He lived there for two years at the temple, studying kickboxing and becoming the first American to be accepted as a Shaolin disciple.
This book chronicles not only Matthew’s story, but also the rapid changes occurring in rural China during the ’90s, where cultural traditions and social mores truly began to collide with the modernizing influences of the West. Written in an almost irreverent tone with several laugh-out-loud, cringe inducing moments (the noted Iron Crotch technique being among them), American Shaolin is really about the relationships between Matthew, his fellow trainees and monks, and the other laowai (foreigners) who come to Shaolin to study and to profit. The monks of Shaolin, young and old, provide the heart and soul of this terrific book.
Who will like this book?: People looking for a book about the changes in China that isn’t overly political or preachy. Readers who like stories about other cultures. Anyone who harbors fantasies about secretly being the toughest guy in the room…and being able to prove it.
If you like this, try this: A Fighter’s Heart by Sam Sheridan. Iron and Silk by Mark Salzman. Shenzen by Guy Delisle.
Recommended by: Nicole, Teen Librarian
12.26.07
The Kid Who Climbed Everest
Title: The Kid Who Climbed Everest
Author: Bear Grylls
Summary: The author of this book, is the subject of the wildly popular Discovery Channel Series entitled “Man vs Wild.” Each week Bear is dropped off by helicopter to a horrifying part of the planet from where he must escape by using his impressive survival skills. Bear spent three years in the British Special Air Service and his latest triumph in May 2007 involved him flying a motorized paraglider over Mount Everest. I find the series really educational and thrilling and somehow satisfying as I watch from my comfortable armchair. Bear is articulate and shares his impressive knowledge of survival skills with the audience in an engaging way.
This book describes Bear’s climb of Mount Everest at the tender age of 23. (Most climbers wait until their thirties to attempt such a feat when they are fully mature in terms of attitude and physiology. ) On May 16, 1998 he became the youngest man and one of only thirty British climbers to summit. He informs the reader about the preparation for such a climb. Bear shares his challenges in funding such an adventure, his extensive training, and the requisite education about the tough environmental and climatological elements as well as the physiological needs of the human body to carry out such a feat.
After reading this book I felt I had a far better understanding of many facets of attempting and succeeding at such a climb. This information did not take away from the mounting excitement as Bear prepares for the ultimate climb. He shares his fears, his awe of the mountain, and his respect for his predecessors and team mates. Altogether an exciting and informative read.
If you like this, try this: Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air and Outside Magazine articles about individuals who push their limits.
Recommended by: Karen, Deputy Town Librarian
11.21.07
Sunday Money
Title: Sunday Money: Speed, Lust, Madness, Death: A Hot Lap Around America with NASCAR
Author: Jeff MacGregor
Summary: If you are a sports fan, especially if you are a sports-business fan, you will enjoy this book. Author MacGregor and his wife follow the NASCAR circuit during a time of transistion – the year after Dale Earnhardt’s death at the Daytona 500 – and while they spend some time reporting the on-track action, most of the book is spent describing the culture and business of NASCAR, currently the second-most popular sport in the country (and for you doubters, MacGregor will explain why drivers are indeed athletes.)
If there was such a thing as Gonzo Sports Journalism, this would be it – the tone is irreverent and the author’s outlook is definately not sentimental. This book provides a unique insight into NASCAR – even if you don’t get it, you’ll walk away from this book understanding why some people – particularly CEOs and marketers - do.
Who will like this book? NASCAR fans, marketing people
If you like this, try: Moneyball by Michael Lewis, National Pastime by Steven Szymanski, Amped by David Browne
Recommended by: Nicole, Teen Librarian
