Product Description
The world of sport generates perennial debates that can drive a grown man to distraction or create rifts between the firmest of friends. Fear not. "Who would win a Fight between Muhammad Ali and Bruce Lee?" is here to save them.Nicholas Hobbes tackles the sports-related questions that thousands of people have debated in front of the TV and in the pub, but for which they have never found a definitive answer. These include: Why do female tennis players grunt? Are English footballers really thicker than foreign players? Why do cyclists shave their legs? Can one swimming pool be 'faster' than another? And who would win a fight between Muhammad Ali and Bruce Lee? Drawing on studies by statisticians and scientists, doctors and philosophers, Nicholas Hobbes explains the whys, whats and hows, so you don't have to. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Warning this is about British "sports"!

The title is misleading and may catch the attention of North American sports fans, but is not a book for them. Of the fifty short chapters nineteen are about soccer, rugby, cricket and Darts. You can also count on any of the general discussions (home field advantage, best uniform colors, etc) to use soccer as the basis for discussion. The rest of the book is about track and field, horse racing, tennis, and swimming. So if you are a fan of the NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL there is nothing here for you.
Not only does the book focus on British sports there is a very nationalistic slant to many of the chapters. For Example: English fans are treated unfairly by the rest of the world, Argentina is the biggest cheater in the world cup, English players have too much integrity to take a dive, etc.
The best part of the book is it pulls no punches and says the obvious, yet politically unpopular truth. Guess what? Black guys are faster than white guys, Women don't have a prayer in sports against men, Kenyans are genetically gifted to run the marathon. This integrity is enough to make this book worth the guinnies or pounds or schillings or kippers or whatever the hell they are charging for it. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A good introduction to Karate and other martial art forms.
This is a good introduction to martial arts and a primer on Karate; a hand-and-foot fighting method developed in Okinawa from Chinese Kung Fu. The beginning of martial arts, as we know it today, is generally acknowledged to have come to China from India and Tibet 2000 years before Christ was born.Initially, these forms were exercises used by monks to keep their body fit and as protection against bandits.This early form of martial arts practiced and perfected by the monks at the Shaolin monastery is known as Kung Fu.

Kung fu soon expanded into a method of self-defense that would protect the monks from bandits when they traveled.Stories soon got out how various monks would soundly defeat multiple opponents and when the Emperor heard the stories, he asked the Shaolin monks to come protect him in his court and help him fight his enemies.

Karate is ONE form of marital arts but, in this book the authors fail to clearly express this.No evaluation or comparisons between the different martial art forms are made.This would have been very helpful.Since Karate was derived out of Kung Fu the authors do a reasonable job covering its history.Other martial art forms: Akido, Jijitsu, Tae Kwon Do, also get a page or two.

This is a simple introduction that helps you understand how Karate evolved and how it has found its place in our modern world.It has very good photos and a wonderful section on Bruce Lee andChuck Norris.If you are a young person wanting to get a better understanding of this martial art form then this would be a good book to begin with.Recommended.

A good all-round introduction to Karate for new students
This book will especially appeal to both the younger reader and to any student beginning Karate. It does not over elaborate which is a common failing of many martial arts publications. Instead, a good all-round history from origins to present day are covered in a way which keeps thereader interested. This book is probably not as relevant to the moreadvanced Karate student, but nevertheless is still entertaining. A greatgift for any budding Bruce Lee you might know!

Buddhism & Bruce Lee have nothing to do with Karate.
Buddhism & Bruce Lee have nothing to do with Karate.No more need be said on this book.There are a lot of other, good books on the subject of karate available through Amazon.com. ... Read more

Product Description
Every martial artist would like to know how and what made Bruce Lee such a devastating fighter. Even though a lot of people associated with Bruce Lee or many claimed to have trained him or trained with him, I can safely say that not many of them were privileged to his secret training method.

Bruce and I grew up together. We were friends since we were young boys. It was I who introduced Bruce Lee to Wing Chun School in the summer of 1954. In the old days, the master would never teach the new students. It was up to the senior students to pass on the Wing Chun lessons to Bruce. As I was his Kung Fu Senior of many years, I was instructed by Grandmaster Yip man to train him. By 1995, one year into his Wing Chun training, Bruce progressed very fast, and already became a threat to most of the Wing Chun seniors as the majority of them were armchair martial artists. They discovered that Bruce was not a full blooded Chinese because his mother was half German and half Chinese. The seniors got together and put pressure on Professor Yip Man and tried to get Bruce kicked out of the Wing Chun School. Because racismwas widely practised in Martial Arts School in Hong Kong, the art was not allowed to be taught to foreigners. Professor Yip Man had no other choice but to bow to their pressure, but he told Bruce that he
could train with me and Sihing Wong Shun Leung. But most of the time we trained together. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Outstanding!!!
This is the second in the series which chronicals Bruce Lee's lifeduring the making of "Way of the Dragon"... Loaded w/ great photos and stories.. Extremely well done.. as was Volume 1 and I can't wait for Vol 3 to come out!

Terrible book in my opinion
The pictures are nearly all blurry and of low quality. Looks like most of them came from old magazines. Not worth the money.

Rare stories and rare photos
Excellent two-part books on a behind-the-scene of Mr. Bruce Lee's directrial debut "The Way of the Dragon (aka Return of the Dragon)".An arthur claims that he is an avid Bruce Lee fan, and he surely proves it on this book. Part 1 covers from the development of the film and the location shooting in Italy.(I haven't read Part 2.)The book is filled with never-before-seen rare pictures of Mr. Lee during the production of the film.Great reading as well.One thing I am not happy about the book is 'printing'.Especially photographs.Majority of them are not treated with justice.The book contains some well-known photos of Mr. Lee, and even those familiar ones are badly printed.It's something to do with a quality of work done by its bookmaker, I imagine.Hopefully a revised version will be published via another bookmaker in the future because this book is too important for all Bruce Lee fans. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

bruce lee over coming adversity
I like the book there are better ones called king dragon the world of bruce lee by norman borine very good book 5 stars cs out ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
Edited, with a New Preface, by Grady McWhiney, With a New Introduction by Joseph T. Glatthaar.

During the Civil War centennial, four eminent scholars of the conflict--Bruce Catton, Charles P. Roland, David Donald, and T. Harry Williams--gathered at a Northwestern University symposium to debate and commemorate this transforming event in American history. Originally published in 1964, GRANT, LEE, LINCOLN, AND THE RADICALS assembles their conference papers into one small volume that has become a giant in Civil War studies.

Catton provides a brief but brilliant summary and assessment of Ulysses S. Grant's Civil War career and Roland does the same for Robert E. Lee's. The essays by Donald and Williams continue the historians' running debate on the relationship between Abraham Lincoln and the Radical Republicans. With an informative new introduction by Joseph T. Glatthaar and a new preface by Grady McWhiney, GRANT, LEE, LINCOLN, AND THE RADICALS continues to shape and illuminate the scholarship on these central Civil War figures. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Interesting Glimpses at some key Civil War Issues
This is a slim volume of four essays that turn their attention to three issues of the Civil War: the significance of Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee in their conduct of war for the Northern and Southern sides, and the relationship of President Lincoln with the Radical Republicans during the War. These essays probably assume readers already well versed in the history of the times, although they are not too obscure for the general reader.

Author Bruce Catton establishes immediately that the Civil War was not the classic "war of professionals, with set rules, established values, and recognized limits." The Civil War was all-out warfare fought by soldier-citizens for whom the only acceptable outcome was total victory. It was Grant, after a series of failed generals, who finally dealt with the exigencies and peculiarities of the war and devised a strategy leading to victory. Grant was aggressive in his pursuit of the war and understood the need to destroy the other's army and not simply gain strategic points through maneuver, all done with untrained, yet willing, troops. It is clear that the North had an immense advantage in resources, but it was left to Grant to devise a multi-pronged, total war effort and use this advantage in resources by continually pressing the enemy.

Lee was dealt a difficult hand to play in the Civil War. He was outmanned two or three to one; his advantage of internal rail lines did not prove to be that beneficial; Southern localism detracted from a united front; and the defense of the Southern agricultural system dependent on slavery required that troops be dispersed much too widely. The author, Charles Roland, points out that Lee was not given command of all of the Southern army until the war was essentially over, though his advice to Jefferson Davis was valued. As commander of the Northern Virginia army, Lee had an uncanny ability to predict Northern strategy and troop movements. His strategy to penetrate into Northern territory to strike fear into the civilian population, aid Northern peace advocates, and perhaps end the war was a bold initiative. But the Southern army was routed at Gettysburg in July of 1863, partially due to poor strategy and execution; it was not Lee's finest moment. The author suggests that Lee did not, at times, control his subordinate officers sufficiently well to prevent uncoordinated or ineffective battlefield actions. After Gettysburg the Southern war effort was doomed, but Lee prolonged the Confederacy for a year (1864-65) by resisting the final push of Grant towards Richmond with a series of excellent counter moves and stands. The author calls that effort "one of the most prodigious military efforts of the modern age."

The essays by David Donald and T. Harry Williams are brief, but in depth, looks at the Radical Republicans and their influence on President Lincoln. While the essays are interesting and informative, they are actually a continuation of an insider dispute among academic historians as to the significance of the Radicals during the War. Donald claims that all Republicans generally shared the same beliefs and that it is virtually impossible to identify a group of Republicans or a set of policies that can be definitively labeled "Radical." He holds that differences among members of a party are normal. However, he does not disagree that there was widespread disagreement, even disapproval, with Lincoln by many Republicans. Williams, on the other hand, finds that a group of Republicans were doctrinaire about their beliefs concerning the eradication of slavery, opposed to the more pragmatic approach of Conservative Republicans. These Radicals even made attempts to usurp executive authority and privilege in the conduct of the war and in the choice of Cabinet members. Lincoln was largely able to deflect such pressures. The post-Civil War period is not covered in these essays, but it would seem that what influence the Radicals may have had was fleeting given the return to dominance of the white elite in the South.

All of these essays are mere glimpses into the Civil War era. Perhaps they would be clarifying for some or stimulate more investigation by others. ... Read more

Product Description
This 'Collector's Exclusive' is loaded to the gills with rare stills (color & b/w) of the 'Master' in action, combined with precise & penetrating descriptive captions. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

One of the First, and Still the Best, Bio on Bruce Lee
This Bio on Bruce Lee by Felix Dennis and Don Atyeo is still the standard by which I measure the other biographies on this martial arts legend.This book takes the generally accepted chronilogical format in detailing Bruce's life and death.It provides enough information on his life and death without resorting to too many rumors.Although it sticks to the facts, it is not boring.

It tells the story of his martial learnings and romance with Linda Lee without becoming vouyeristic.It strikes the right amount of balance of what a "fan" should know.This may be due to the time it was written, so shortly after his death that many things were not yet known or for the simple fact that these writers had some integrity and avoided endless silly sketches on his life.

The book is also an easy read(I have had this book since 9).The photos are now old, but are mixed well in the book and a few I have not seen in other materials.This is a classic text, and a must for Bruce Lee fans. ... Read more

Product Description
Legends of Health & Fitness are non-fictionalized storiesthat present the lives of contemporary, health and fitness role modelsfor young adults. These are the stories of real men and women who,despite busy lives, find time each day to ensure their health. Eachbook in the series begins with a chapter that gives a history andbackground of the sport or career and ties the sport to health andfitness.

Legends of Health & Fitness are apropriate for all middleschool and high school students who want to lead a healthy and fitlifestyle.

The book, Fitness Stars of the Martial Arts profiles BruceLee, Chuck Norris, Cynthia Rothrock, and Carlos Machado. Notsuprisingly, their lives have all crossed because of their love of themartial arts and their dedication to fitness. All have used theirtalents in the martial arts to further a career in film. ... Read more