by Bob Rotella ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 5, 2015
A solid motivational text for the sports-minded and those interested in the bridging of athletics and exceptionalism.
The author of a series of mindful golfing guides further explores how to think like a champion.
Having counseled such sports stars as LeBron James and PGA great Hal Sutton, sports psychologist Rotella (The Unstoppable Golfer, 2012, etc.) extends his sportscentric guidance to those seeking to enhance their everyday acumen through the power of focused positive thinking. The author believes the driving idea behind the titlist attitude—both in the sports arena and society at large—lies in an optimistic thought process, and he credits his father with instilling in him the power of positivity at a young age (“I didn’t have to learn optimism. It was given to me”). Referencing his mental empowerment work (most notably with professional golfers), Rotella spotlights interlocking methodologies in visualization and the building and reinforcement of confidence, self-respect, and exemplary self-imagery. Pages of practical tips assist those plagued by a defeatist inner voice or chronic nervousness, and the author doesn’t mince words when it comes to getting married while striving for excellence: “You must make a happy marriage and a happy family part of your definition of success rather than seeing the marriage and the family as an obligation or encumbrance.” Some sections are repetitive, while others, such as a chapter on the demands and lessons to be gleaned from competing on the PGA Tour, are resonant and demonstrate the competitive and demandingly focused mindset of the true sports professional. Rotella’s liberal use of sports anecdotes and an effective piece on a coach’s perspective (Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari) further underscore the importance of the core set of philosophies and behaviors he promotes, although his frequent and distractive allusions to faith and religion as one of the linchpins to an athlete’s or a team’s success may not appeal to more secular readers.
A solid motivational text for the sports-minded and those interested in the bridging of athletics and exceptionalism.Pub Date: May 5, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4767-8862-3
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 28, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2015
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by Cheryl Strayed ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 2015
These platitudes need perspective; better to buy the books they came from.
A lightweight collection of self-help snippets from the bestselling author.
What makes a quote a quote? Does it have to be quoted by someone other than the original author? Apparently not, if we take Strayed’s collection of truisms as an example. The well-known memoirist (Wild), novelist (Torch), and radio-show host (“Dear Sugar”) pulls lines from her previous pages and delivers them one at a time in this small, gift-sized book. No excerpt exceeds one page in length, and some are only one line long. Strayed doesn’t reference the books she’s drawing from, so the quotes stand without context and are strung together without apparent attention to structure or narrative flow. Thus, we move back and forth from first-person tales from the Pacific Crest Trail to conversational tidbits to meditations on grief. Some are astoundingly simple, such as Strayed’s declaration that “Love is the feeling we have for those we care deeply about and hold in high regard.” Others call on the author’s unique observations—people who regret what they haven’t done, she writes, end up “mingy, addled, shrink-wrapped versions” of themselves—and offer a reward for wading through obvious advice like “Trust your gut.” Other quotes sound familiar—not necessarily because you’ve read Strayed’s other work, but likely due to the influence of other authors on her writing. When she writes about blooming into your own authenticity, for instance, one is immediately reminded of Anaïs Nin: "And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” Strayed’s true blossoming happens in her longer works; while this collection might brighten someone’s day—and is sure to sell plenty of copies during the holidays—it’s no substitute for the real thing.
These platitudes need perspective; better to buy the books they came from.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-101-946909
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2015
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by Bonnie Tsui ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 14, 2020
An absorbing, wide-ranging story of humans’ relationship with the water.
A study of swimming as sport, survival method, basis for community, and route to physical and mental well-being.
For Bay Area writer Tsui (American Chinatown: A People's History of Five Neighborhoods, 2009), swimming is in her blood. As she recounts, her parents met in a Hong Kong swimming pool, and she often visited the beach as a child and competed on a swim team in high school. Midway through the engaging narrative, the author explains how she rejoined the team at age 40, just as her 6-year-old was signing up for the first time. Chronicling her interviews with scientists and swimmers alike, Tsui notes the many health benefits of swimming, some of which are mental. Swimmers often achieve the “flow” state and get their best ideas while in the water. Her travels took her from the California coast, where she dove for abalone and swam from Alcatraz back to San Francisco, to Tokyo, where she heard about the “samurai swimming” martial arts tradition. In Iceland, she met Guðlaugur Friðþórsson, a local celebrity who, in 1984, survived six hours in a winter sea after his fishing vessel capsized, earning him the nickname “the human seal.” Although humans are generally adapted to life on land, the author discovered that some have extra advantages in the water. The Bajau people of Indonesia, for instance, can do 10-minute free dives while hunting because their spleens are 50% larger than average. For most, though, it’s simply a matter of practice. Tsui discussed swimming with Dara Torres, who became the oldest Olympic swimmer at age 41, and swam with Kim Chambers, one of the few people to complete the daunting Oceans Seven marathon swim challenge. Drawing on personal experience, history, biology, and social science, the author conveys the appeal of “an unflinching giving-over to an element” and makes a convincing case for broader access to swimming education (372,000 people still drown annually).
An absorbing, wide-ranging story of humans’ relationship with the water.Pub Date: April 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-61620-786-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Algonquin
Review Posted Online: Jan. 4, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020
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