by Chris Sajnog Chris Sajnog ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 31, 2015
A worthy read for the gun lover or for someone looking to better understand military life.
A comprehensive introduction to the art of precision shooting.
Sajnog (How to Shoot Like a Navy SEAL, 2013, etc.) is a retired Navy SEAL who spent the bulk of his adult life as an elite firearms instructor; he helped develop the program currently used for training Navy SEAL snipers. The author covers everything one could imagine as relevant, including training methods, tactics, and equipment with helpful images explaining proper form. The rigor and comprehensiveness of these sections is commendable, though to be expected given Sajnog’s background. What the reader might not expect is an extended discussion of a shooter’s proper “mindset,” which demands focus, commitment, even a sense of principled purpose. A key concept is “virtuosity,” or the disciplined mastery of a particular skill through constant practice. While obviously an instructional manual, the book also gives a welcome aperture into the military mindset. While the counsel regarding “How To Live Like a Warrior” can be maddeningly macho—“Grow a set of NUTs (nonnegotiable, unalterable terms) and live by them”)—a life devoted to honor, courage, and sacrifice is richly articulated nonetheless. Also, amidst the sometimes–heavy-handed bravado, are reminders that soldiers live in perilously close contact with their mortality: “You need to be able to shoot effectively first or that cool new light is only going to help your teammates find your corpse.” The book’s range is surprising and includes a fascinating discussion of the neuroscience behind muscle memory, furnishing insight into the way the human brain learns through repetition. Sajnog strays beyond his field of expertise, dispensing nutritional advice—carbs are the enemy—that is both tangential and dubious. Also, we see far too many close-up photographs of the author donning sunglasses and holding a big gun. This book is primarily useful to people who use guns for a living and obsessive gun aficionados. Very few people need to use weapons as proficiently as a Navy SEAL, and this book won’t magically transform anyone into a top soldier. However, it still offers a gripping illustration of military life from someone who has lived in the rarified air of its upper ranks.
A worthy read for the gun lover or for someone looking to better understand military life.Pub Date: Aug. 31, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-943787-00-5
Page Count: 386
Publisher: Center Mass Group, LLC
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Share your opinion of this book
by Larry Bird & Earvin “Magic” Johnson Jr. with Jackie MacMullan ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 4, 2009
Doesn’t dig as deep as it could, but offers a captivating look at the NBA’s greatest era.
NBA legends Bird and Johnson, fierce rivals during their playing days, team up on a mutual career retrospective.
With megastars LeBron James and Kobe Bryant and international superstars like China’s Yao Ming pushing it to ever-greater heights of popularity today, it’s difficult to imagine the NBA in 1979, when financial problems, drug scandals and racial issues threatened to destroy the fledgling league. Fortunately, that year marked the coming of two young saviors—one a flashy, charismatic African-American and the other a cocky, blond, self-described “hick.” Arriving fresh off a showdown in the NCAA championship game in which Johnson’s Michigan State Spartans defeated Bird’s Indiana State Sycamores—still the highest-rated college basketball game ever—the duo changed the course of history not just for the league, but the sport itself. While the pair’s on-court accomplishments have been exhaustively chronicled, the narrative hook here is unprecedented insight and commentary from the stars themselves on their unique relationship, a compelling mixture of bitter rivalry and mutual admiration. This snapshot of their respective careers delves with varying degrees of depth into the lives of each man and their on- and off-court achievements, including the historic championship games between Johnson’s Lakers and Bird’s Celtics, their trailblazing endorsement deals and Johnson’s stunning announcement in 1991 that he had tested positive for HIV. Ironically, this nostalgic chronicle about the two men who, along with Michael Jordan, turned more fans onto NBA basketball than any other players, will likely appeal primarily to a narrow cross-section of readers: Bird/Magic fans and hardcore hoop-heads.
Doesn’t dig as deep as it could, but offers a captivating look at the NBA’s greatest era.Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-547-22547-0
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2009
Share your opinion of this book
More by Larry Bird
BOOK REVIEW
by Bill Walton ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 8, 2016
One of the NBA’s 50 greatest players scores another basket—a deeply personal one.
A basketball legend reflects on his life in the game and a life lived in the “nightmare of endlessly repetitive and constant pain, agony, and guilt.”
Walton (Nothing but Net, 1994, etc.) begins this memoir on the floor—literally: “I have been living on the floor for most of the last two and a half years, unable to move.” In 2008, he suffered a catastrophic spinal collapse. “My spine will no longer hold me,” he writes. Thirty-seven orthopedic injuries, stemming from the fact that he had malformed feet, led to an endless string of stress fractures. As he notes, Walton is “the most injured athlete in the history of sports.” Over the years, he had ground his lower extremities “down to dust.” Walton’s memoir is two interwoven stories. The first is about his lifelong love of basketball, the second, his lifelong battle with injuries and pain. He had his first operation when he was 14, for a knee hurt in a basketball game. As he chronicles his distinguished career in the game, from high school to college to the NBA, he punctuates that story with a parallel one that chronicles at each juncture the injuries he suffered and overcame until he could no longer play, eventually turning to a successful broadcasting career (which helped his stuttering problem). Thanks to successful experimental spinal fusion surgery, he’s now pain-free. And then there’s the music he loves, especially the Grateful Dead’s; it accompanies both stories like a soundtrack playing off in the distance. Walton tends to get long-winded at times, but that won’t be news to anyone who watches his broadcasts, and those who have been afflicted with lifelong injuries will find the book uplifting and inspirational. Basketball fans will relish Walton’s acumen and insights into the game as well as his stories about players, coaches (especially John Wooden), and games, all told in Walton’s fervent, witty style.
One of the NBA’s 50 greatest players scores another basket—a deeply personal one.Pub Date: March 8, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4767-1686-2
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Dec. 18, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
Share your opinion of this book
More by Bill Walton
BOOK REVIEW
by Bill Walton with Gene Wojciechowski
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.