Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner Buy Now

I think without going into too much detail, it would be best to divide the book into two sections: Pt 1 - the Author's Background and First Exposure to the sport of Ultramarathons; & Pt 2 - Subsequent life for the Author since then.

Part I is what basically hooked me. Often (as a runner) it is quite hard to explain to others why I do what I do sometimes (running in the rain, ultra races, trudging through snow to complete my 5miles for the day, etc). And I believe in this book the author does a great job at capturing his personal reasons for picking up the sport. As he states off hand several times, everyone has their own reasons for running and perhaps that is what captivated me: reading one person's story and experiences; all the ups and downs. What I best loved about this section was the attention to details (somewhat) in what it is like to run extreme distances. The pain, the discomfort, the bodily functions, the joy, the walls, and the myriad of emotions in between. As much as I would like to say it is as easy as putting one foot in front of the other, the author here does a great job at showing it is that but also soo much more. The time required, the early and late night runs to maintain levels, the diets, the cramps, and the strong desire at time to just say 'screw this' and walk away. His description up through his first 100mile race is worth checking this book out.

Pt II however...this is where I agree with other reviews, it becomes apparent he is trying to market himself and promote this, how I would describe it, sense of superficial humility. He is not the first to do all of what he has done, nor is he the last. The dialogues he has with friends and family often come across as completely fabricated (in his defense it keeps the 'story' flowing) and I would have done without them. It is here that I had to force myself to finish the book. He blazes through the rest of his races without much detail other than self promotion for his belief of following his 'heart'. What he does not describe is the reality of the situations as he captured so well in the first half. The author must be financially secure and then some for very few of the ultra runners I know can even afford to do what he does. Trips across the country in a RV, entry fees, transpo, all the while keeping his family in tow are costly and he makes it sound as though us 'mere' normal runners do not do the runs he does because we are lazy. WHen in fact the simple truth is, one can not afford it. Everything has its price and he glosses over this fact while rubbing in the readers faces that not only does he have a Mercedes, a lucrative job with liberal leave, but also an RV to bring his team along. I am not trying to discredit the man (he IS very good at what he does and he IS inspirational) I was just disappointed because I thought the first half did an OUTSTANDING job at encouraging people and non active folks to get up and at least try.

All in all, I gave this a 4 star review. It is a pretty quick read and if you're not tempted to run at the end, you read it too fast. I would recommend this book for the first half alone, and say if you want to read the rest great, but the first half is what I believe will capture and inspire the mundane person into challenging themselves for something great; a pursuit of pleasure through a course of pain.

Shoot, inspired me to do my 50mile race in June 2010.Get more detail about Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner.

Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War Buy Now

This book is so well-researched and -written, and so interesting, that I can't give it less than five stars. However, I enjoyed it somewhat less than I did Nate Philbrick's two masterpieces, In the Heart of the Sea, and Sea of Glory. I think this is in part because Philbrick's especially talented at relating maritime stories, and Mayflower is one of those for only about one-sixth of its length. It's also in part because the rest of the book--no matter how bracing Philbrick's words may be--is supremely depressing, recounting as it does the run-up to Philip's War and the conflagration itself.

In short, I recommend Mayflower highly to anyone wanting to learn more about the first British colonizers of New England, and the natives they displaced. But if it's a seaborne tale you seek, or dismay you seek to avoid, you may want to look elsewhere.Get more detail about Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War.

Where To Buy Islands of the Damned: A Marine at War in the Pacific

read like an extended oral history (....JAPS this, JAPS that.....if Burgin had fought in the ETO, it'll be KRAUTS this, HEINNIES that). Bill Marvel's task, besides setting up and turning on the tape recorder...appear mainly to have had been to transcribe this epic oral re-telling of a 1st MAR DIV motarman's pacific war experience into print. Additionally I wonder if Marvel was culpable for the campy hokey title, ISLANDS OF THE DAMNED? which sounds very much like a feature article (MARCH OR DIE!, THE DAMNED DIE HARD! I WAS A TEENAGE GESTAPO SEX SLAVE!) in one of those pulpy circa 1960's hyper-masculine MEN's magazines like ARGOSY, SAGA, TRUE, MALE, REAL, SWANK, et al. Virtually lacking any introspective depth of thought/feeling/emotion it reduces what potentially could have been a great WW2 memoir into a non-reflective exercise of memory. double-spaced text, and with 90% of the photographs being generic National Archive images that have been previous published, re-published, re-re-published....they are commonly seen pics found in most works dealing with the WW2 PACIFIC Campaign subject, this effort strikes one as a belated attempt to ride on the successful coattails of the classic WITH THE OLD BREED memoir (written by his subordinate no less). do yourself a favor and stick with the classic WW2 USMC memoirs, i.e., WITH THE OLD BREED, W'm Manchester's GOODBYE DARKNESS, Dean Ladd's FAITHFUL WARRIORS, etc.Get more detail about Islands of the Damned: A Marine at War in the Pacific.

The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life Right now

I just finished reading "The Snowball" and I have to say that after 800+ pages I did not want the story to end! Alice Schroeder does an amazing job of creating both a compelling narrative and intimate portrait of Warren Buffett.
I really was not that familiar with Buffett before picking up Schroeder's book, but I had heard many times about his intelligence and integrity. I worked for a few years in a job related to the insurance industry and he was quoted often by insurance types that I ran into. That made me curious enough to pick up the book and I did not regret it after I got started.
I highly recommend "The Snowball" to anyone who is interested in business, the stock market or just a fascinating life story.Get more detail about The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life.

Where To Buy The Real Thomas Jefferson (American Classic Series)

Read my review on Washington. What I said about Washington and the book on him, also applies to this book.

Jefferson is considered behind the times, outdated by many, including President Barack Hussein Obama, who said the Constitution is not good because it limits what the government can do, instead of enabling the government to do what it wants. He turned Jefferson and the other Founders on their heads, because they wanted to LIMIT government to protect the people from tyranny. They knew human nature and european history. Indeed Jefferson expected tyranny to periodically raise its demonic head. He wanted the government structure and checks and balances to prevent such an outcome the best it could; but even then the people would have to take up arms to fight the tyrants periodically when the Consitution failed to prevent dictators from taking over and staying in power.Get more detail about The Real Thomas Jefferson (American Classic Series).

Lives Of The Signers Of The Declaration Of Independence Get it now!

This is a book that every American needs to have in their home and read. It is time to really see who our nations founders really were. They would be rolling over in their graves if they knew what we were doing to this great country that they gave their all to establish.Get more detail about Lives Of The Signers Of The Declaration Of Independence.