The Worst Person in the World: And 202 Strong Contenders

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The stinkers, the rascals, the reprobates. . . and the just plain dumb.

(Yes, Bill, he's talking about you.)

Now, he brings all his bronze, silver, and gold medalists together in this wildly entertaining collection that reveals just how twisted people can be—and how much fun it is to call them out on it.

From tongue-in-cheek observations to truly horrific accounts, Olbermann skewers both the mighty and the meek, the well-known and the anonymous for their misdeeds, including:

Ann Coulter, for, among other things, calling Muslims "ragheads" in a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington

Barbara Bush, for making a generous donation to the Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund earmarked exclusively for the purchase of computer software . . . software sold by her son, Neil

The staff of Your World with Neil Cavuto, for the story about the murders of Iraqi civilians that was accompanied by the on-screen graphic: "All-out Civil War in Iraq: Could It Be a Good Thing?"

Olbermann also reports on some of the recent fallout from his awards, such as the controversy with John Gibson and the mysterious disappearance of remarks about Cindy Sheehan on Rush Limbaugh's Web site. Plus, he reveals the winner of the most coveted award of all: "Worst in Show."

Book Description

The stinkers, the rascals, the reprobates. . . and the just plain dumb.

(Yes, Bill, he's talking about you.)

Geraldo Rivera. The Coca-Cola Company. Victoria Gotti. Tom Cruise. Various members of the Bush administration. All have earned the dishonor of "Worst Person in the World," awarded by MSNBC's witty and controversial reporter Keith Olbermann on his nightly MSNBC show Countdown with Keith Olbermann. Now, he brings all his bronze, silver, and gold medalists together in this wildly entertaining collection that reveals just how twisted people can be—and how much fun it is to call them out on it.

From tongue-in-cheek observations to truly horrific accounts, Olbermann skewers both the mighty and the meek, the well-known and the anonymous for their misdeeds, including:

Ann Coulter, for, among other things, calling Muslims "ragheads" in a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington

Barbara Bush, for making a generous donation to the Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund earmarked exclusively for the purchase of computer software . . . software sold by her son, Neil

The staff of Your World with Neil Cavuto, for the story about the murders of Iraqi civilians that was accompanied by the on-screen graphic: "All-out Civil War in Iraq: Could It Be a Good Thing?"

Customer Reviews:

A moron - 'nuff said........2007-10-08

Olbermann is second-rate hack that can ONLY get a talk show on MSNBC. A network that is wildly out-rated by Telemundo and other much larger and more impactful networks.

Liberals wonder why they are so hated and it is because people like this guy focus on negativity 24 hours a day. All they do is hate. They don't know any other way.

Kind of sad in a way.

Don't Bother, unless you are small minded also.......2007-10-02

This is the ramblings of a very small minded man, that once could give sports commentary but not anything that resembles news. He uses his platform to lie and exercise his revenge on persons who don't agree with his political views. He has no low. He will go where ever he must, it is just shameful.This book and his program upset me because he must feel that his viewers are without a brain. That they would not check out his out right lying on persons. Don't we have enough hate out there? If you read this book, do yourself a favor, don't take his word for anything, do some research and you will be outraged!!!

Not Surprising At All.......2007-10-01

Keith Olbermann's attempt at writing a book is a joke. This piece isn't even worth the cost of the paper it took to make it. His show on MSNBC is pathetic, and he actually thinks someone would be interested in his thoughts on who is the "worst person in the world"! If this were his life story, it would make sense, but as it is, there is no sense here at all. The book is poorly written and one well worth skipping over for something else. If you want to read about the worst person in the world, read Ann Coulter's book, "High Crimes & Misdemeanors". At least then you will get your money's worth on the book.

Thought it was an auto-biography.......2007-09-29

You know out of all the real monsters that exist in our world Bill O' Reilly is not one of them. Perhaps Mr. Olbermann thinks so because his ratings are so pathetic compared to O'Reilly.

This was a painful book from a guy whose show is bankrupting MSNBC.

The spirit of Edward R. Murrow is alive & well.......2007-09-14

In a broadcast world full of talking heads who parrot Big Brother's doublespeak for fear of being branded unpatriotic, there is Keith Olbermann. A cutting wit wielding the sword of Truth, Olbermann slices through the fog that eminates from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Who'd have thought that America's best newsman would be a former sportscaster.

The Sixteenth Round: From Number 1 Contender To #45472

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Rubin Cartert, the true story - it's not enough to see the movie
A True Account
Brilliant and Touching
The rounds go on and on...
A touching story inspires child.

The Sixteenth Round: From Number 1 Contender To #45472
Rubin Carter
Manufacturer: Penguin Global
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

African-American & Black | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0140149295

Book Description

On May 26, 1967, the spiraling career of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, then the top contender for the world middleweight boxing crown, came to a shuddering and tragic halt: he and a young fan were found guilty of murder of three white people in a New Jersey bar. The nightmare knew no bounds as Carter traded his superstar status for a prison number and the concrete walls of some of America's most horrific institutions. Originally published as an attempt by Carter to set the record straight and force a new trial, The Sixteenth Round is timeless. It is an eye-opening portrait of growing up black in America, a scathing indictment of the prison system Carter grew up in and out of, and a mesmerizing re-creation of his furious battles in the ring and in the courtroom set against the backdrop of the turbulent sixties. The liveliness of Carter's street language, its power and ironic humor, makes this an eloquent, soul-stirring account of a remarkable life not soon to be forgotten.

Customer Reviews:

Rubin Cartert, the true story - it's not enough to see the movie.......2005-12-20

If you have seen "The Hurricane" motion picture, starring Denzel Washington (an amazing peformance), surely you'd think that you know everything there is to know about Rubin Carter. Unfortunately, that's incorrect. Furthermore, it's not even close.
Don't get me wrong - the motion picture is fantastic and it surely includes all the important details, but regardless to what kind of movie it is - you should know, and I can tell you that for sure because I read this book, that there are A LOT of details that aren't mentioned in the movie.
If you want to know the whole story I must implore you to take a long look at that book. But I should also tell you that there's a downside: The book can make you read even five pages in a row without any important or interesting thing coming up; it can also make your patience burst if you're expecting something to happen but it takes long pages, sometimes not even discribed so interestingly.
Bottom line: if Rubin Carter and his amazing story interests you - I would suggest you read this book. It will make you see the big picture about this man.

A True Account.......2005-11-24

I bought this book my sophomore year of high school and that was over 7 years ago. It has literally been my bible to life. Rubin and his book have changed my life more than anything else I have ever encountered. Too often than not we find false heroes in this world. People like Paris Hilton who some look up to as a hero or a role model, but the true heroes in this life are often over looked or never seen at all. Rubin Carter is a true hero, I have never even heard of such a troubled life an to come out on top both a champion of his sport and one in life. A wise man told me once that it is now how we live this life but what we do during it. If your looking for a uplifting book of a true hero an a book that will give you strength when all doubt you, this is the one.

Brilliant and Touching.......2004-05-04

Obviously no one can write his story better than Rubin himself. This story is both and inspiring story of a man who has never stopped fighting and a terrifying reality check into the American judicial system. This book is filled with an anger that is only kept in check by the author's own love and compassion.

The reader whould of course keep in mind this is an autobiography and therefore is skewed to the writer's point of view and emotional state.

The rounds go on and on..........2003-04-28

I purchased this book, after viewing the much celebrated movie, "The Hurricane." The book is mediocre. I found it difficult to believe much of the writer's exaggerated boasting regarding his many talents. I had erroneously gathered from the movie, that this was a self-effacing, self-made man, not so. The reader is ever searching for the "real meat" of the story, however, the bulk of the story is about the author as a "ghetto-bad boy." The last few chapters of the book are short and quickly race you through the actual murder and trial. Overall it is not well written and disappointing.

A touching story inspires child........2002-12-13

This story reached out and touched the lives of many people. It also made people realize not to be racist. I know that I used to be racist and this turned my life around. The fact that rubin was in jail for a crime he didnt commit just because he wasnt white isnt at all fair. His story inspired me not to be racist and to get others not to hate the non-white. It has touched many lives and i like that. I am one of Rubin's biggest fans.

Average customer rating:

An Adult's Review
Great Book!!
THE CONTENDER - Number 1
The Contender
Brandon Frey, The Contender

The Contender
Robert Lipsyte
Manufacturer: HarperTeen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Classics | Literature & Fiction | Teens | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0064470393

Amazon.com

Alfred's life is going nowhere fast. He's a high-school dropout working at a grocery store. His best friend is drifting behind a haze of drugs and violence, and now some street punks are harassing him for something he didn't do. Feeling powerless and afraid, Alfred gathers up the courage to visit Donatelli's Gym, the neighborhood's boxing club. He wants to be a champion--on the streets and in his own life. Alfred doesn't quite understand when Mr. Donatelli tells him, "It's the climbing that makes the man. Getting to the top is an extra reward." In the end, he learns that a winner isn't necessarily the one standing when the fight is over. Teens and adults alike will be knocked out by this powerful story of how a frightened boy becomes a man.

Book Description

Before you can be a champion,
you have to be a contender.

Alfred Brooks is scared. He's a highschool dropout and his grocery store job is leading nowhere. His best friend is sinking further and further into drug addiction. Some street kids are after him for something he didn't even do. So Alfred begins going to Donatelli's Gym, a boxing club in Harlem that has trained champions. There he learns it's the effort, not the win, that makes the man -- that last desperate struggle to get back on your feet when you thought you were down for the count.

Customer Reviews:

An Adult's Review.......2007-05-18

Set in Harlem in the 1960s, The Contender is a moving story about a 16 year old named Alfred Brooks who lives with his aunt and cousins in a small, dingy apartment. His father has long since disappeared, his mother died of pneumonia, and Alfred, essentially a very good kid, has made some mistakes. He dropped out of high school and now works sweeping floors in a grocery store. His best friend James hangs out with thugs and drug users and is quickly becoming an addict himself. One evening when Alfred goes looking for James he finds him at the usual hangout of him and his thug buddies. While talking, Alfred lets it slip that the grocers he works for, the Epsteins, leave money in the cash register overnight on Fridays while they observe the Sabbath. The thugs, and Alfred's best friend James, decide to rob the grocery store. What Alfred forgot to tell them was about the new alarm system recently installed. So of course, after they are caught and arrested, and eventually bailed out, they come looking for Alfred. One night while they're chasing Alfred he runs into Donatelli's Gym, a boxing club where fighters train. And this begins Alfred's journey into fighting, not just boxing, but fighting to make something of himself when the odds are against him. Realistic and gritty, this novel is a wonderful book for young adults. I have read it many times with 7th and 8th grade language arts students and they love it, whether they are themselves from inner-city neighborhoods in Harlem or the Bronx, or from the suburbs. The consistent theme running through the story is the importance of striving to make something of yourself, to become a contributing member of society. It is extremely well written and a novel I enthusiastically recommend.

Great Book!!.......2007-04-22

This story is about a teenager named Alfred Brooks, and in the book he is simply trying to make a life for himself. He dropped out of High School, and he's working at a grocery store. To make things even worse, his friend is turning to drugs and he is getting harassed by a group of guys. Alfred decides to go to Donatelli's gym, because he wants to become a champion, a boxer.

My english class read this book, and I enjoyed it. I think you should read the book, and maybe it'll make you think about reaching the goals of becoming a champion.
[...]

THE CONTENDER - Number 1.......2006-12-23

Alfred Brooks, a teenager and a high-school dropout, knows that his life is going nowhere. He's had the same old job at a local grocery store, and there are no opportunities for advancement. He wants to be someone, someone special. When one of his best friends, James, starts hanging around with the wrong group of teens, and later is sent to prison for robbing Alfred's grocery store, Alfred knows that his friend's friends are not the kids to be with. To avoid being thrashed by James's possy, Major and Hollis, Alfred wants to defend himself. He doesn't want to be pushed around.

Alfred decides he wants to be a boxer, and begins his training at Donatelli's Gym, a gym that has turned out three champions. At first, Mr. Donatelli tried to dissuade Alfred from boxing, by telling him the many triffles he would have to go through to become a contender, but Alfred still wants to try. He runs in the morning, eats a select diet, and after work, he goes to the gym to work out.
For a long while, Alfred maintained his training. One night, however, Major and Hollis gang up on Alfred, and bring him to their clubroom. They keep Alfred there by telling him that James had just been let out of prison, and that he would stop by the club. While there, Alfred got drunk from vodka and got high from marijuanna, both of which he was unsuspectant of until James arrived. Before he blacked out, Alfred saw that James was fumbling with a bag of cocaine, and knew that his friend was sinking further and further in to drug addiction. Alfred was very spacey for the next few days.

Later, Alfred resumes his training, and then is fitted for a custom-mouthpiece. This is a sign that shows that Alfred is close to fighting. After three professional fights, Mr. Donatelli states that it is time for Alfred to stop. He has proved what he wanted, to be a fighter. Alfred then went back to night school to finish his education.

This novel is simply amazing! The book tells us that it is not the desire, but the effort to win that makes the man! This book is not just for sport lovers, but is for those who can comprehend the deep meaning of fighting and being a fighter!

ALSO RECOMMENDED - THE BRAVE - THE CHEIF - Both books in this order follow after The Contender

The Contender .......2006-12-05

This Contender is about an 18-year-old boy named Alfred, who is a high-school drop out and is growing up on the streets of Harlem, NY. While all his friends are out getting into trouble, Alfred wants to learn how to box because he wants to stick up for himself after he got beaten up by this huge guy named Major. When Alfred steps into the gym the trainer doesn't think he should box because he doesn't look like he's in good enough shape to be a boxer. Mr. Donatteli starts to train Alfred but he knows its going to take a very long time until Alfred will actually even be a Contender. In the next couple of months Alfred works out and trains really hard. Mr. Donatteli sees how bad Alfred wants to become a contender and a Champion. Alfred wins two matches and then he has to fight one of the best fighters, Elston Hubbard. They both fought their hearts out and both players did really good, but lost at the end from a unanimous decision. After this fight Alfred decides to stop boxing and help the inspired contenders train so that they can become good boxers too.

I enjoyed this book a lot. I would probably read this book again in the future. I would recommend this book to people who like to box or even just watch boxing. Most guys would probably like this book more than women.

Brandon Frey, The Contender.......2006-12-05

I chose this book because the title of it sounded interesting and I heard it was about boxing. I like sports and I thought it would be good to read about them. It was one of the only books that I actually enjoyed reading.

Alfred was a high school dropout that worked at a grocery store sweeping the floors and stocking the shelves. He grew up in Harlem with his aunt and two cousins because his parents died. He is best friends with James and friends with this ally gang with some older kids. Major wanted to rob the grocery store that Alfred worked at because he thought that he could get in easily if Alfred worked there. They all went but Alfred stayed behind. When they were about to break in, Alfred remembered that there is a silent alarm in the building and they would be caught. He tried to run over there to save them but it was too late. Cop cars came and James was caught but the others escaped. Major and his friends beat up Alfred in an ally. Alfred then stumbled into a dark basement and it turned out to be a boxing place owned by Mr. Donatelli. He trained James to be a contender. He worked everyday. He ran and worked out almost everyday and also went to the boxing place everyday to spar and punch the bags. He won his first three matches he boxed in. He was turning into a contender. He then had to face the champion. Mr. Donatelli told him he should retire now because he was going to get beat up really bad in this fight. He didn't listen and they boxed. Alfred fought well but he lost to the champ. James got into trouble by a gang and got hurt. Alfred helped him out and they became friends again after the whole thing was over. Alfred quit boxing after the fight he lost.

I recommend this book to anyone that likes sport books. It was a mix of a lot of things. I don't usually like reading but this book was entertaining and I wanted to read it more.

Dealing: The Cleveland Indians' New Ballgame: Inside the Front Office and the Process of Rebuilding a Contender

Average customer rating:

good insight
The thinking behind the scenes.
a peek inside the front office --
Take a look into the real moneyball

Dealing: The Cleveland Indians' New Ballgame: Inside the Front Office and the Process of Rebuilding a Contender
Terry Pluto
Manufacturer: Gray & Co., Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1598510223

Product Description

Go behind closed doors in the Cleveland Indians' front office as award-winning sportswriter Terry Pluto analyzes the team's controversial recent moves to scrap a roster of popular stars and rebuild a new kind of contender.
Granted unprecedented access to the team's top management and financial data, Pluto delivers an up-close account of how decisions were made to radically reshape the franchise.
Indians fans grew accustomed to winning in the mid-1990s. They had an owner with deep pockets, a brand-new ballpark, and a team of high-priced all stars who delivered a division championship nearly every year.
But that glorious ride ended with a jolt of reality after savvy owner Richard Jacobs sold the franchise at the top of the market in 2000. New owners Larry and Paul Dolan and new general manager Mark Shapiro faced a challenge: an aging team, a mounting payroll, and a shrinking budget. First they made mistakes. Then they made bold changes. Stars such as Manny Ramirez, Roberto Alomar, and Jim Thome were gone, replaced with roster of unproven youngsters and veteran rehab projects. Fans were alarmed and dismayed. Then, in 2002, Shapiro boldly predicted that the Indians would return to contend for the playoffs after just three years of rebuilding. Critics scoffed.
Yet at the end of the 2005 season, the Indians were indeed back in contention, one tantalizing game away from a return to the playoffs. The core of an exciting young team was beginning to take shape, and Shapiro was voted American League Executive of the Year as his team won an impressive 93 games despite a payroll ranked in baseball's bottom five.
How was it done? In his familiar clear writing style, Pluto carefully explains the many risky moves made by management and tells which ones have paid off, which ones haven't, and why.
This rare behind-the-scenes look at a modern front office will intrigue fantasy leaguers and fans fascinated by baseball dealmaking. It will be an eye-opener for Indians fans who may still be wondering, What happened to my team?

Customer Reviews:

good insight.......2007-04-03

a great look at how mark shapiro learned on the job and, with a pittance of a budget as compared to the likes of the red sox and the yankees, has created a truly competitive team for years to come.

The thinking behind the scenes........2007-01-18

Terry Pluto has a wealth of inside information about the professional sports scene in the Cleveland area. In this book he shows us what goes on in the front office and what goes into some of the decisions about players. If your are even a casual follower of the Indians, or MLB in general, you will be interested in reading this book. You'll get a whole new look at why a team has some of the players it does, and why it doesn't have some of the players it or you may have wanted.
A very, interesting read.

a peek inside the front office -- .......2006-07-17

This new century's baseball team has different players than those in the good old days:
Moneyball
Fantasy
Reality
Business
Agents
Cable
Free Agency
Arbitration
Revenue Sharing
and of course, that good ol' reliable utility player

Hindsight

You can shuffle your lineup any way you want to, but at the end of the day, the deck is still stacked against the owner(s). Cleveland fans feel so deprived as none of their professional sports teams have won a championship for so many years, most people can't remember the last time it happened! And they're not the only ones.

In the last few years, the rules have changed--drastically. It's hardly fair to blame the new owners (the Dolan family) for not being the previous one--Dick Jacobs. After all, Jacobs did just what he'd done all his lifetime--bought low, sold high. Sold extra-high, actually. That doesn't mean that Jacobs should be blamed for having bought the baseball team in the first place--or selling it twelve years later. Had he not bought it when he did in 1987, the Cleveland Indians might well be some other city's team. Even so, it took the Jacobs family several years to get to the high-flying mid-90s, when the playoffs were the standard by which all other accomplishments were measured. Back then, the Browns were a bunch of nobodies, and so were the Cavs. Things are vastly different now--at least for the Cavs.

Terry Pluto uses his extensive knowledge and the openness of the Dolan family, along with Mark Shapiro, to explain the last few years of baseball in Cleveland. Actually, Paul Dolan, president of the team, should almost qualify for co-author status, he appears so often and so openly, explaining the actions of himself and his family. The Dolans appear to be out-going, straight-forward owners, explaining matters to the fans. (Sometimes they explain too much, to be sure.)

Reading this book, you'll feel like part of the team in this plain-speaking look at the inner workings of a Major League baseball team's front office, and how the entire team--front office and the one on the field--combine to make things happen.

Perhaps the Dolans biggest mistake was that, although they had been shrewd businessmen for many years, they approached the purchase of the team as fans rather than owners. For no other reason, perhaps, you have to like these guys. They play with their hearts--with tons of dollars thrown in for good measure. Seems to me they should be given a bit more time to make good on their intentions. After all, the world--and Northeast Ohio--changed drastically in the four years since they overpaid for the team.

There was the aftermath of 9/11, which will continue for a good many more years. The economic scene in Cleveland has gone through major changes in the last four years. Loss of jobs equates to many less dollars available for this not-so-inexpensive-anymore entertainment. Baseball, itself, has experienced the same sort of trauma, with new, long-term very pricey free-agent contracts. (Also, it's not only the Indians who sometimes have to pay another team to take a player they can't support any longer.) Then, too, the very novelty of the shiny new Jacobs Field began to wear off a bit. And don't forget the players. It takes much more time for a player to reach his prime than it does for him to pass on by it. Aging athletes can't always keep up, and it's a wise manager who realizes that fact, while still working around it. Not to mention, it's all too easy to ruin a player who's too young to handle the constant every day stress of competitive sports.

Pluto goes into great detail about how--knowing they weren't baseball strategists--the Dolans wisely found a solid core of young, knowledgeable men with varying skills and put them in charge of the team. General Manager Mark Shapiro (MLB's Executive of the Year for 2005); his assistants: Chris Antonetti, (the wizard of the computer); Neal Huntington, director of player development; scounting director John Mirabelli, and minor league director John Farrell. Between them, they selected Eric Wedge as manager of the team. (Locals complain about Wedge, but his peers have chosen him as one of the coaches for the 2006 All-Star game!) There's a lot to be said for putting someone in charge and letting them have the actual means and power to do their best without fear of the axe falling. That's not to say they can take forever, but it takes time to find the best young prospects and nurture them to major league capability.

Next time you want to complain about the penny-pinching Dolans, stop and think about this for a moment. In 2000, they purchased the Indians for 320 million dollars. The entire team, the front office, the farm teams, the whole magilla. Then, (from page175) "Along with having the three highest payrolls in team history (2000-2002), the Dolans also paid $40 million during all of their ownership in revenue sharing, mostly because of the success of the Jacobs era." Today, even though they've cut back some, they've also greatly increased the scounting program in an effort to re-build the team.

Cleveland is a small market, with three major-league teams. (New York City has more teams, of course, but even with all the dollars spent there, NY teams don't win every game, all the time.) Even though the New York Yankees spend 200 million dollars PER YEAR on their team payroll! Anyone here have that kind of money to spend? Didn't think so. Folks here want the Dolans to sell. Not so easily done. No one says the Dolans want to sell, but just suppose they did. Who'd buy? Until that happens, maybe we ought to cut them some slack, and give the Dolans a chance to finish what they started.

Take a look into the real moneyball.......2006-06-01

Terry Pluto is as close to a homegrown sports reporter as a region can have. Living in the Cleveland (OH) area, Pluto has aced major sports writing posts for The Plain Dealer and Akron Beacon Journal, along with writing numerous books on sports and other issues.

While he has returned to his roots as it were for recent books on the financial sheets of the new Cleveland Browns and Cleveland Indians, Pluto may be best known for an outstanding oral history on the ABA, Loose Balls.

When you mention the Dolan family to sports fans in NE Ohio, you may be greeted with words that drove Howard Stern to satellite radio. In the late 1990s the Dolan family purchased the then thriving Cleveland Indians from Richard Jacobs, and have been considered cheap, incompetent and having little clue in long-term planning to bring the club back into a contender's slot for the World Series.

Pluto does an excellent job in describing how that myth does not equal the reality of new franchise owners who admittedly got in over their heads in trying to be like cash-cow franchise like the Red Sox and Yankees & have poised the team to make solid division runs in 2006 and beyond with a nucleus of players who will be with the franchise for several years.

As I write this review, though, the Tribe is mired behind the Tigers and White Sox in the AL Central & has been victim to some disturbingly erratic play. With the Cavs recent playoff run and the Browns ready to start soon, the interest level in baseball remains tepid at best. These issues may lead to a new dynamic in the club blueprint outlined in the book.

Where Pluto has had utter disdain with the way the NFL and Al Lerner brought football back to Cleveland - which severely hampered the writing in that book - he has a more objective pen in attempting to present facts through team financial documents, scouting analysis and interviews.

I strongly feel Pluto learned a valuable lesson from his Browns book to limit quoting himself from ABJ colmuns. He limits his writings, which is a major plus. Recent interviews with past participants in the glory run along with material culled from past media reports is a nice mix.

The book may not be for a reader who has little background in the history of the team over the past decade or so. For as popular the club has been in the sales of hats and jerseys nationally, fandom remains regional. That could be why it was published by a NE Ohio-based company.

I hope Pluto considers writing a book on the rebirth of the Cavaliers through the eyes of management. In my view he's batting .500 in his exploration of the financial side of pro sports in Cleveland and has his own emerging blueprint to make a basketball book a real winner.

The Prizefighters: An Intimate Look at Champions and Contenders

Average customer rating:

boxing investigation

The Prizefighters: An Intimate Look at Champions and Contenders
Arlene Schulman
Manufacturer: Lyons and Burford Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Boxing | Individual Sports | Sports | Subjects | Books

General | Sports | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1558213090

Customer Reviews:

boxing investigation.......2003-03-09

an investigation into the life of boxing--from its draw to young people, its draw to fans, what keeps an aging fighter going, what some fighters were left with. excellent photos shot as beautiful portraits. this is an excellent book for the coffee table

Contenders for the faith: A handbook for young men

Average customer rating:

Contenders for the faith: A handbook for young men
Jeffrey A Zakula
Manufacturer: Keepers of the Faith
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

ASIN: B0006RJDIM

Thompson/Center Contender Pistol: How To Tune, Time, Load, And Shoot For Accuracy

Average customer rating:

Great Service
disapointmeant
Why didn't I read the reviews for this book?
What a waste of paper!!
15 minutes of reading material

Thompson/Center Contender Pistol: How To Tune, Time, Load, And Shoot For Accuracy
Charles Stephens
Manufacturer: Paladin Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Hunting | Hunting & Fishing | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Shooting | Hunting & Fishing | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

General | Sports | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0873648854

Book Description

The Contender fills a specific need in the firearms industry: it is inexpensive, simple, versatile and very accurate. This easy-to-follow guide contains precise instructions for tuning, timing, loading and shooting, as well as ordering information for parts and accessories.

Customer Reviews:

Great Service.......2007-07-08

I am very happy with the order even though it was shipped twice, and I was charged twice, but that is ok I gave a copy to a friend.

disapointmeant.......2007-01-27

I fealt this book was very lacking,in info. It only talks about shooting for competing, not hunting or just for fun. No tips to help improve my type of shooting. No tips on how to work up loads to crate a good gun load combo. Only load data on a few select calibers. His faverit. Data you can get in any loading book. This book to me was a wast of money.

Why didn't I read the reviews for this book?.......2007-01-05

As stated this is worthless. It is not a book but a pamphlet. I skimmed it in a minute before concluding I was taken. I don't know what the author was trying to accomplish. You can learn more from a 5 minute internet search.

What a waste of paper!!.......2004-02-08

The useful information in this pamphlet could be reproduced on one sheet of typing paper, double spaced. Make that triple spaced. What drivel. He talks about "timing" a single shot pistol by assuring that you pull the trigger guard all the way open every time. It's almost impossible NOT to!!

The author talks about his minimal experience as if it's the grandest thing on earth. His repetion of drivel to fill pages should have been embarassing to him. He's apparently beyond embarassment. A high school kid stretching a paper this far would get a D for a grade. This is a minimal D.

Definitly recommend against this piece of crap.

15 minutes of reading material.......1999-11-27

This is not a book, it's a pamphlet, and uses every high school student's tricks of word wandering to to fill up empty pages. The title has virtually nothing to do with the contents. 99% of the lists and illustrations are in your possession if you own a T/C and have the booklet that comes with it, or can be retrieved at no cost by requesting a shooters manual from T/C, or visiting the T/C web site.

The Contender: Richard Nixon: The Congress Years, 1946 to 1952

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Epitome of historical research
Prepare to be challenged
Penetrating look at the young Nixon
Labels galore
A Welcome Change

The Contender: Richard Nixon: The Congress Years, 1946 to 1952
Irwin Gellman
Manufacturer: Free Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0684850648

Book Description

At long last the true Richard Nixon can be revealed. The man known as "Tricky Dick," who is seen today as the greatest villain in the history of American politics, actually began his amazing career as a principled campaigner and a scrupulously honest member of Congress.

Sadly, the first real reassessment of Richard Nixon's early career -- his Congress years -- had to wait until after his death in 1994. Only then was Pulitzer Prize-nominee Irwin F. Gellman able to get the documentary access of which previous Nixon biographers could only dream. Gellman became the first historian to have complete and unfettered access to (among other sources) the 1946, 1948, and 1950 campaign files in the National Archives; papers from the executive sessions of HUAC; and every document dated through July 1952 in the Nixon Library & Birthplace. All told, Gellman scoured millions of pages in dozens of collections, the vast majority of which have never before been used.

Gellman's research revealed that much of the work done on Nixon was not only based on incomplete information but was wrong. The legend of "Tricky Dick" was little more than a series of myths. For example: The "Committee of 100" did not buy Nixon his 1946 upset of Jerry Voorhis. Nixon did not unfairly smear Helen Gahagan Douglas. There was no secret funding of his Senate race in 1950. Nixon did not out-McCarthy McCarthy on HUAC. And finally, Nixon was true to Earl Warren at the 1952 convention -- there was no secret deal made for the vice presidency. As Gellman irrefutably shows, each of these myths has been built on guesswork or faulty sources.

Who then was the real Richard Nixon? Other historians have given us ominous hints and vague charges of financial and moral misconduct. Gellman shows otherwise, and the proof is in the details. In 1946 Nixon used his own meager savings in a shoestring campaign. In 1950, operating with a budget in the low six-figures -- high for the time, but many times lower than other estimates -- he reaped the benefits of his opponent's bruising primary. And the Red bashing? On HUAC Nixon was a moderate who won universal praise for his even-handedness. Behind the scenes he cautioned McCarthy against his excesses.

Even during the incredible success of Nixon's Congress years there are occasional lapses of judgment. But, as Gellman shows, it was innocence and energy -- not deceit -- that made a fresh-faced Richard Nixon the victor against great odds in contest after contest. Here are the triumphs of the early years of a young man that we can unabashedly admire. Here is the rise of Richard Nixon, from nobody to vice president, that makes all previous biographies obsolete. Here is the Nixon that history will now remember.

Customer Reviews:

Epitome of historical research.......2004-05-13

The Contender is by far the most objective, well-researched, and best historical work on Richard Nixon. Instead of focusing on the slurs and character assasinations that make up most of the present works on Nixon, Dr. Irwin Gellman has restored some integrity to the discipline of history by producing history based on facts (what a concept, hey?). Instead of writing a politically motivated book, Dr. Gellman's goal was to produce a history of Nixon's early campaigns. The chapters on Jerry Voorhis and Helen Gahagan Douglas are extremely sensible and its surprising that it has taken academia this long to figure out the truth about the two campaigns. Instead of the "sinister" Tricky Dick using smoke and mirrors to win seats in Congress and the senate, we have a hardworking, sometimes naive, idealistic, and dedicated young man who wants to make a diference by entering politics. After reading The Contender, there should be no doubt in anyone's mind that Voorhis and Douglas lost because they were out of touch with their constituents, their own party abandoned them, and Nixon was a part of a new political movement that wanted to discontinue the excesses of the new deal but keep its practical programs. The left-wing myths created to discredit and smear Nixon will never hold weight again.

Prepare to be challenged.......2001-05-25

When you read this book, you should be prepare to be challenged on what you have heard about Nixon before. This book undoes--or purports to--all of the early Nixon myths. It appears to be exhaustingly researched, and Nixon haters can take comfort in the notion that Nixon became the Nixon they hated after the 1960 Presidential Election.

Still, Gellman does sugarcoat some things Nixon does, and appears to draw some charitable conclusions without any backup. It is an interesting read, and a portrayal of what by any accounts is a remarkable journey from unknown to Vice President.

Penetrating look at the young Nixon.......2001-02-14

Though there were shades of the later Nixon in the young man, he was not nearly as visceral, vulgar or mean-spirited as he was to become as President. There were tinges of guilt in his make-up when he stepped over the line of decency, and such signs were utterly absent in President Nixon. Gellman is a fluid writer who is painstaking in being fair to Nixon and presenting him as a fairly likeable, though monstrously aggressive Congressman. He maintains that the young Nixon was a good father and attentive husband, thought he evidence for this is grossly lacking. He was the quintessential absentee father who spent almost no time with his daughters. Gellman conveniently ignores this.

More troubling is that Gellman almost seeks to exonerate Nixon from two of the most mudslinging and tawdry campaigns of all time: his 1946 run for Congress against the hapless, though decent Jerry Voorhis, and his inhumane hatchet job against Helen Gahagan Douglas in 1950. Nixon's brutal character assassination of Douglas in conveniently skirted, or excuses are made for RN. Because Gellman frequently falls into the habit of glossing over Nixon's destructive impulses, the book never reaches any grandiose literary heights.

Nixon has been the subject of much nonsense, particularly of the psycho-babble genre. Gellman thankfully doesn't attempt any of this and the book is a better product for it. Ultimately, this is a readable, balanced (overly balanced!) portrait of a young man driven by demons and a lust for power. For anyone wishing to understand Nixon in his 30's, this is an essential study.

Labels galore.......2000-12-18

The book is well-written, it is effective in presenting details of Nixon's early career, and it bends over backward to be fair toward him. It does not bend over backward to be fair to everyone else: Gellman finds it too easy to lump New Deal liberals with Socialists and Communists - making it seem the only difference that he sees between them is shades of pink. That makes it hard to accept his arguments about red-baiting - arguments that are important to Gellman's treatment of Nixon as an honorable, ethical lawmaker ... Still, this is a stimulating work and one that taught me a lot about one of America's most fascinating political characters.

A Welcome Change.......2000-09-08

I have never been very knowledgable about Richard Nixon. When I picked up this book, I was pleasantly surprised by what I learned. This book is an honest and factual portrayal of a man who served his country, and not the poobah of Watergate scandals.It is so refreshing to learn about the man and not just read criticism after criticism. Nixon's great character and accomplishments are in this book, and I recommend it to any student of political science or just fans of the genre.

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YF???

The ATF Contenders: YF-22 & YF-23
Andy Sun
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 9623610203

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YF???.......2000-12-10

This book is an excellent description of what and which plane is moer qualified to protect our country

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The Contender (Cliffs Notes)
Stanley P. Baldwin
Manufacturer: Cliffs Notes
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0764585533

Book Description

The original CliffsNotes study guides offer a look into critical elements and ideas within classic works of literature.

In CliffsNotes on The Contender, you look into a moral tale that emphasizes the importance of the fight over the prize, the quality of the struggle over the outcome.

Following the development of the novel's protagonist, this study guide's in-depth character analysis covers the coming-of-age of a high school dropout who literally fights young boxers and figuratively braves the inner battles of peer pressure. Other features that help you figure out this important work include

Life and background of the author, Robert Lipsyte
Introduction to the book with a synopsis, character list, and character map
Summaries, critical commentaries, and glossaries for each chapter
Critical essays focusing on setting, major themes, and the author's writing style
A review section that tests your knowledge and suggests essay topics
A Resource Center full of books, publications, films, and Internet resources

Classic literature or modern-day treasure — you'll understand it all with expert information and insight from CliffsNotes study guides.

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A multicultural perennial favorite by Robert Lipsyte, The Contender is a moral tale that emphasizes the importance of the fight rather than the prize, the quality of the struggle over the outcome.

Hence, becoming a contender is what Alfred Brooks learns to do as he literally fights young boxers and figuratively braves the inner struggle of peer pressure.

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