A Sport and a Pastime: A Novel
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Eloquent and erotic.
  • Objectification as Art
  • A Thrill and a Seduction
  • Disappointed
  • Even better the second time around
A Sport and a Pastime: A Novel
James Salter
Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0374530505
Release Date: 2006-08-22

Book Description

“As nearly perfect as any American fiction I know,” is how Reynolds Price (The New York Times) described this classic that has been a favorite of readers, both here and in Europe, for almost forty years. Set in provincial France in the 1960s, it is the intensely carnal story—part shocking reality, part feverish dream —of a love affair between a footloose Yale dropout and a young French girl. There is the seen and the unseen—and pages that burn with a rare intensity.

Customer Reviews:

3 out of 5 stars Eloquent and erotic........2007-07-12

The writing is lovely. Salter strings together words in a refreshing and clean style. The story itself didn't grab me the way I had hoped it would after reading previous reviews. It's not so much a love story as it is a lust story and as such it never quite gets off the ground. Perhaps because it was written 40 years ago and nowadays we are so inundated with graphic sex scenes that those in the book failed to titillate as no doubt they were intended, although I still found them somewhat alluring.
The two lovers (Dean and Anne-Marie) characters are never fully realized so I didn't feel any emotional connection to them (and I'm unsure if they felt any emotional connection to each other).
I enjoyed the vagueness of the narrator. Everything is described by him, as though he were imagining what the young lovers were doing, so the line between reality and fantasy was so blurred that the reader is left unsure as to what actually transpired behind closed doors, which is perhaps the point.
Absolutely worth reading thanks to the languorous language.

3 out of 5 stars Objectification as Art.......2006-04-01

Salter has an incredible sensuous style, so I'm giving this three stars because I just like how he puts the words together on the page. But for me this books feels utterly dated. It was apparently written in the 1960's and it shows -- disaffected American (Dean) hangs out in France, has lots of erotic yet completely emotionally unfulfilling sex. No one communicates very deeply with anyone, nothing seems to have a point and of course it all ends badly. I suspect it seems much more meaningful if you are a certain sex (not mine) and beyond a certain age.

The sex (did I mention there's lots of it?) is vividly described yet weirdly depressing. Why? Maybe it's because I'm a woman and the woman in this story is treated as an absolute object. There is no real effort made to get into her head, and she appears to exist solely to be a docile receptacle for Dean's sperm. For all the emotional involvement our hero feels for her, he might as well have just bought an inflatable doll. So yeah, I find that kind of depressing.

5 out of 5 stars A Thrill and a Seduction.......2006-02-23

This book set me spinning in dilemna trying to decide whether to devour or to savor each of leaf of this luscious novel. It's so delicious it drove me crazy wondering if I should have taken it all at once or milked it nice and slow to last me forever. James Salter can do this to a girl. Seductive and poetic prose fills the lines with the most evocative imagery I've seen in a long, long time. Just be ready for that cold shower, if you know what I mean. It's subtly spicy from the start, with language so intriguing it's impossible not to fall in love -- unless you are totally out of touch with your own sensuality -- or unless you hate the French, which is of course a common sentiment in many political climates. But the novel is not about the French, only the language of love that the French so enjoy.

Keep an open mind and be delightfully thrilled and seduced by the world and the characters created here.

2 out of 5 stars Disappointed.......2006-02-20

I bought this book and also Last Night based upon the gushing reviews you see above. Who are they kidding? The main character is a cad. It is far from "a tour de force" in erotic anything. His short stories in Last Night are only marginally better. Your time is better spent with other authors.

5 out of 5 stars Even better the second time around.......2005-11-09

I first read this novel when it was new, in the late sixties, and I liked it because I, too, had been a student in France and had experienced some cross-cultural coupling during those years. I appreciated the evocation of small city life, smoky cafés, dumpy hotels, and all the rest -- and yes, the sex scenes were great.

I've just (autumn 2005) reread the novel again, almost forty years down the line, and I discover a profundity and philosophical depth that escaped me the first time around. I hardly know of a book that better describes the mystery of sexuality, and its connection with the deepest questions of existence. And o yes, the descriptions of smoky cafés and the joys of screwing are still there -- it's just that there's a lot more to Salter's work, which merits the highest praise. The author has attempted to create a transcendent legend from the encounter of two ordinary and even shallow people, and he has succeeded. The influences of Hemingway and Miller are evident, but the true model is classical mythology. Five stars, or ten maybe.
Sports Illustrated: Exposure (Sports Illustrated)
Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • Some interesting artistic photography interspersed with too-obvious cover-ups
  • Gorgeous Book
Sports Illustrated: Exposure (Sports Illustrated)
Editors of Sports Illustrated
Manufacturer: Sports Illustrated
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1933405856

Book Description

The SI Swimsuit Issue is the #1 selling Sports Illustrated Issue each year with over 60 million readers and over 1,000,000 copies sold on the newsstand. Eight supermodels, 10 days, one world-class fashion photographerit was a Sports Illustrated swimsuit photo shoot almost too perfect to imagine. But it happened last summer, at Harbour Island in the Bahamasa reunion of SI Swimsuit Issue covergirls Rachel Hunter, Rebeca Romijn, Daniela Pestova, Ell MacPherson, Yamila Diaz-Rahi, Elsa Benitez, Veronica Varekova and Carolyn Murphy. Presented here for the first time, in a lavish coffee-table volume, are hundreds of images from that spectacular trip to the beacha set of photos so revealing that you will never see them anywhere else.

Customer Reviews:

3 out of 5 stars Some interesting artistic photography interspersed with too-obvious cover-ups.......2007-02-24

"Exposure" presents an expanded compilation of what Sports Illustrated called the "All-Star SI Cover Model Beach Party" in its 2006 Swimsuit Issue. The photo shoot by Raphael Mazzucco took place in the Bahamas, and featured eight past SI swimsuit cover models, the most famous being Elle MacPherson, Rachel Hunter, Rebecca Romijn and Daniela Pestova. Overall it's good photographic work, and every collector of these swimsuit issues will no doubt have favorites among the eight models.

There are over 100 photos, color and b&w, that range from cleverly artistic to "eh, whatever." Many of the photos are taken right from the Swimsuit Issue, but are enlarged to fit the book's not-quite-double the magazine's size. The girls look great and are dressed in various forms of white bikinis (fashion credits listed in the back of the book).

The one glaring problem I found with this compilation (hence the 3 stars) is that what was supposed to look like a fun-filled frolic (au naturel, sort of) on the beach too many times comes across as a bunch of really self-conscious models unsubtly covering themselves up. Perhaps the girls had a contractual agreement not to be photographed bare-chested, or maybe it was SI's unwillingness to be Playboy-ish, but I think there are better ways to limit such exposure without being so pronounced. I could almost hear the photographer: "Okay everybody, hands over your breasts please!" To me, the artistic direction made these photos restrained at best, and just plain goofy at worst. Believe it or not, I would have rated this book a star or two higher had these pictures been left out(!) since the swimsuits are made to bring out the best in a model's figure (right?). Fortunately, many of the remaining images are awesome in terms of the artistry of capturing beauty(ies) and the beach. It's a good book, just not a great one.

4 out of 5 stars Gorgeous Book.......2007-01-12

A gift for my GF - she loved it. Some of her fav models - like Marissa Miller arent here, but the photos are stunning.
Sex At the Sports Club: Wicked Words
Average customer rating: Not rated
    Sex At the Sports Club: Wicked Words

    Manufacturer: Virgin Black Lace
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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    ASIN: 0352339918

    Book Description

    Explore the sexual tensions that go on at sports clubs: Whether in the showers after a football match, or proving his all on the tennis court, there's something about a man working his body to the limit that really gets a girl going. The competitive spirit kindles the fires of sexual arousal, and this fun, naughty anthology is guaranteed to fan those flames!
    Men for All Seasons: Stories of Sports and Sex
    Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
    • A well written (and hot) book of erotica
    • Stereotypical porn
    • Hot Jock Sex
    Men for All Seasons: Stories of Sports and Sex

    Manufacturer: Alyson Publications
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

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    ASIN: 1555835627

    Amazon.com

    Joining the recent flowering of specialized erotica collections is this hardcore, testosterone-drenched volume for sports aficionados and those who love them. No sub-fetish of the jock genre is neglected here, and potent socks, jockstraps, damp towels, and shorts all make memorable appearances. Sweat and body hair are practically recurring characters in these stories, in which the physical action spills over from the playing field to the locker room, the showers, and the equipment room. Most of the major American sports are represented, some played in private and with provocative new rules. Highlights include Grant Foster's "Getting to First Base," in which a fashion writer for a newspaper gets sent to Yuma, Arizona, to cover spring training; Derek Adams's "Soccer Team Stud," in which a friendly massage gets out of hand; and M. Christian's brilliantly raunchy spoof of "Casey at the Bat." Score one for the home team. --Regina Marler

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars A well written (and hot) book of erotica.......2001-10-22

    I ordered this as a lark to see if could do any better than some of other erotica I've collected over the years. I have to say that this collection really impressed me. The writing is descriptive, sharp and to the point. The collection is also varied with an assortment of different sports and feels while still keeping in the overall sports theme. Finally,I have to give the publisher a good thumbs up for actually turning out a book of erotica that's not a rehash of older books I've read.

    1 out of 5 stars Stereotypical porn.......2000-08-26

    So, Alyson books says they break down stereotypes of gay athletes with their "true stories" of jocks and track coaches, then pays the rent with cheesy porn about sex-addicted homos turning locker rooms into bath houses.

    This kind of writing only furthers the biases against us in the sports world. Like their other porn books, Alyson thinks they can have it both ways. How pathetic. The writing is okay, no better than the stuff in any porn mag, but the idea behind this is deluded and misguided.

    I got a free copy of this book, and it was worth every cent.

    5 out of 5 stars Hot Jock Sex.......2000-08-11

    This is the hottest collection of gay erotica I've ever read. I'm a big sports fan, and all of the stories rang true. This book is highly recommended.
    Full Body Contact: Sexy, Sweaty Men of Sport
    Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
    • Much Better than the Usual Sports-Erotica Compilation
    • Gotta' Love those Jocks
    • WOW
    Full Body Contact: Sexy, Sweaty Men of Sport

    Manufacturer: Alyson Books
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

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    ASIN: 1555837255

    Book Description

    Football, wrestling, hockey, rugby...the hot bodies in these stories slam into each other on and off the field.

    Greg Herren is a journalist and writer living in New Orleans. He is the author of Murder in the Rue Dauphine, and the former editor of the Lambda Book Report. He has a serious wrestling fetish, and plans to do nothing about it.

    Customer Reviews:

    4 out of 5 stars Much Better than the Usual Sports-Erotica Compilation.......2006-08-09

    At first I was thinking to myself, "yeah, yeah, this is going to be just another sports-erotica compilation". Imagine my surprise when I sat down to read this book and discovered that no, it is much better than the usual sports-erotica compilation! I especially like the wrestling stuff.

    Greg Herren is a true man of letters.

    5 out of 5 stars Gotta' Love those Jocks.......2004-10-27

    INCREDIBLY HOT!!...This collection of locker room/gym related short stories will take you to a "world" of lust and anticipation. Simply stated, these locker room fantasies will have you "dripping" with passion, sweat, and you know what else. The stories are "crammed full" of rough and rugged man to man encounters. FULL BODY CONTACT will provide you with several hours of seething waking fantasies (the one handed variety), and will stimulate many nights of blissfully nasty and erotic dreams. It may also give you inspiration to live out one or more of these fantasies. If you are a Jock, love a Jock, want to be a Jock, or wear a Jock, you MUST read this collection.

    5 out of 5 stars WOW.......2002-12-29

    "The sweaty funk of the locker room wafts from every page of this pumped-up collection of stories from some of your favorite writers of gay erotica. Contributors include Simon Sheppard, David May, Mel Smith, Aaron Travis, and M. Christian, along with a host of hot newcomers. Baseball buddies get down and dirty in the dugout. An eager-to-please farm boy receives a titillating lesson in self-control from the hunky captain of the wrestling team. Ripped abs and monster pecs aren't the only muscles getting a workout in an after-hours gym. Whether they're cocky first-stringers or benchwarmers starved for attention, the guys you'll meet in these pages all have one thing on their minds --- and it's not (just) hitting the showers." - quoted from Openbookltd.com
    Between Trash and Tramp
    Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    • Good Story but Too Short
    Between Trash and Tramp
    Byrd Roberts
    Manufacturer: Glb
    ProductGroup: Book
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    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars Good Story but Too Short.......2006-10-07

    A good story that showed the good in a hustler and his family and friends.Roberts should have expanded on some of his ideas, places and events. It was a qick read only for this reason. In many instances the events jumped from one sentence to another and he seemed to be rushing through the story. However, I loved the story of Kirby and his beautiful body. Unexpected ending that the author seemed to take his time on developing. Love it!
    Body Check: Erotic Lesbian Sports Stories
    Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    • Shockingly Readable
    • Get this book and Get Sweaty!
    Body Check: Erotic Lesbian Sports Stories

    Manufacturer: Alyson
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

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    ASIN: 1555837387

    Book Description

    Taking you deep inside your favorite fantasy, editor Nicole Foster brings together the best of the best in an explosion of sexy, sweaty, erotic action between women basketball players, hockey players, soccer players, swimmers, boxers, runners, horseback riders, and more. You dreamed it, and here it is!

    ??

    Nicole Foster is the editor of Awakening the Virgin, Electric, and Skin Deep. She lives in Los Angeles and plays tennis on Wednesdays. If you're nice, we might tell you where.

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars Shockingly Readable.......2004-07-15

    It's hard enough to come by erotica that's well-written enough to be (...); try finding lesbian erotica that fits both of those categories! Overall, this book is excellent. I didn't like every story in it, but it has fairly broad appeal across the board. That said, there really isn't much "niche" (...)in here-- genderplay, s/m, anything remotely fetish-y. Which, in fact, is why I'm a fan. It isn't that none of that is appealing, just that most of these collections I've found that address any of those, attempt to address all of them, and do it miserably. Forget the "sports" part; that's a general theme throughout, but these should appeal to just about anyone, athletic or not.

    5 out of 5 stars Get this book and Get Sweaty!.......2002-09-01

    You don't have to be a jock to enjoy this book. Nicole Foster, who has edited several collections for Alyson, has filled a team roster of 20 erotic lesbian sports stories with a range of sporting women and lots of intense, sweaty moments. There are Olympic hopefuls in the bittersweet "The Art of Running" by Rosalind C. Lloyd; while M. Christian provides a mesmerizing view of an up-and-coming swimmer's relationship with water in "Naiad." Unsurprisingly, those popular lesbian team sports are represented. Volleyballs are "Spiked" by Laurel Hayworth, in a story about healing old wounds and looking for greener courts. "Legend of Teddi Jo" by Gina Ranalli has a few things to say about softball and doing what and whom one loves.

    Lest one think this anthology is mostly for the fiercely athletic, there are several amusing entries that feature women who, well, never really passed the President's Council on Physical Fitness Awards in school. Like the delightfully Walter Mitty-esque, adolescent "butch in training" starring in "Black Belt Theater" by Catherine Lundoff, and finding herself along the way. There's the strangely sweet encounter with rock climbing in "Going Up" by Anne Seale as a woman frees herself from a dead-end relationship and finds her own strength. Trixi's "Mulligan on the Green" is the charming story of golf and a young fan on her 18th birthday.

    Perhaps this reader's favorite -- for the narrator's sharp wit and cynical view of aerobics -- is Dawn Dougherty's "Sports Dyke." The unnamed, less fit narrator decides to take a class after chatting with a woman in the locker room. After all she muses, "I've done worse things than yoga to get a girl horizontal." (p196). The class and the evening hold a few surprises and the woman discovers a "gym that satisfies all [her] needs." (p205)

    The stories in Body Check include a wide range of sports, athletic skill, dynamics, humor, characters, and settings. This anthology should be part of every lesbian's sports gear. As Foster urges in her introduction, readers will be inspired to get sweaty tonight.
    The Erotic in Sports
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      The Erotic in Sports
      Allen Guttmann
      Manufacturer: Columbia University Press
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Hardcover

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      ASIN: 0231105568

      Amazon.com

      The good news: Amherst professor Allen Guttman's The Erotic in Sports takes a look at a subject that lurks behind the sports industry but is seldom talked about--the eroticism inherent in athletics, both for spectators and among the participants. The bad news: Guttman is first and foremost an academic, and his approach to the topic is largely clinical and dispassionate, depriving the work of the passion that the subject cries out for. Still, he does manage to work himself into a bit of a lather in writing about the incomparable Soviet gymnast Ludmilla Tourischeva: "a bewitched anthropologist and an enthralled historian both described [Tourischeva] as a woman endowed with a disturbing sexual attractiveness . . . For me, as well, she remains an unsually vivid personification of Eros and sports."

      Book Description

      -- Kirkus Reviews

      For Love of the Game
      Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
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      • Short, surprisingly moving tale
      • THE MOVIE IS BETTER WAY BETTER
      • Killer Curveballs. God, Generals, and Strikeouts.
      For Love of the Game
      Shaara
      Manufacturer: Carroll & Graf
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      ASIN: 0786701145

      Amazon.com

      Serious sports novels often fall through the literary cracks simply because of the arena they play in. Michael Shaara earned his battle stripes--and a Pulitzer Prize--for The Killer Angels, a fictional resurrection of the Battle of Gettysburg, as serious a subject as a writer can confront. Yet, it's no more profound, in the end, than the personal dilemmas protagonist Billy Chapel faces in this, Shaara's final novel, found stashed in a desk after his death and published posthumously.

      A certain Hall of Famer, Chapel is a major-league anomaly, a contemporary throwback to another sporting era. He's pitched 17 stellar seasons for the same club, and his love of the game has remained paramount; neither money nor fame has been his motivation. But on the single day this story takes place, he finds himself in crisis. At the crossroads of his life, his career, and his future, he must make the hard choices that will define the direction of the rest of his life. It's the end of the season, his team's out of contention, there's a rumor he may have been traded, and the woman he can't fully acknowledge that he loves announces she's leaving him. It is, as he tells himself, "Time to grow up, Daydreamer." Still, he dreams, but he also acts. As Billy takes the mound for his final start of the year--and maybe forever--we enter his stream of consciousness, and rush with him over the sometimes treacherous rapids of what has preceded this moment, and what may come. Amazingly, though his mind seems to wander through time, his concentration is fierce. Pitch by pitch, inning by inning, he remains focused, honoring his job and his legacy as he pitches a masterpiece of mythic proportion, ultimately leaving the field more a man than when he took it. Using baseball to sound the depths of human experience, Shaara delivers a masterpiece, as well. --Jeff Silverman

      Book Description

      Billy Chapel is a baseball legend, a man who has devoted his life to the game he loves and plays so well. But because of his unsurpassed skill and innocent faith, he has been betrayed. Now it's the final game of the season, and Billy's got one last chance to prove who he is and what he can do, a chance to prove what really matters in this life. A taut, compelling story of one man's coming of age, FOR LOVE OF THE GAME is Michael Shaara's final novel, the classic finish to a brilliantly distinguished literary career.

      Customer Reviews:

      4 out of 5 stars Classic Baseball Novel.......2006-11-07

      A simple, predictable, yet powerful story of an old-school pitcher, Shaara's novel is a classic baseball tale. Billy Chapel, a future Hall-of-Famer who has just learned of his trade after 17 years with the same club, decides to hang up his cleats rather than leave the team he loves. He is not interested in money (yes, this is an obvious work of fiction), and pitches primarily for his "love of the game."

      Shaara provides a unique formula for story-telling, as he interweaves flashbacks of Billy's life into his final game on the mound. In it, Shaara shows the total concentration and focused mind of an all-time great pitcher as he progresses through his last effort as a ballplayer. Through flashbacks, we learn of Billy's past relationships with his parents and his girl, Carol. And during the game, Shaara provides simple, direct descriptions of the events, in an nearly non-emotional, detached tone. Indeed, Shaara allows us to delve into the mind of a pitcher as he pitches a perfect game (although he doesn't even realize this until the 8th inning). And, yet, the primary focus is not baseball, but his retrospect on his life and his place in the world.

      Although this book may have been more polished if Shaara hadn't died suddenly, this is still a superb book and a classic "old-school" baseball tale. For baseball purists and baseball lovers alike, this should be on the short-list of any reading list. And even for non-baseball fans, this is still a compelling story.

      2 out of 5 stars Nothing special here.......2006-08-26

      I read this short novel because I greatly admired Shaara's Pulitzer Prize winning "Killer Angels," and because I'm a baseball fan. The novel feels more like an outline or first draft than a completed work about an aging pitcher. It's a bit shallow and predictable in its plot. The characters are what one expects in all too many sports novels and short stories. The feel or atmosphere just isn't quite there.

      Any baseball fan will see flaws in the book right away, flaws that distract and damage the work. Shaara sets most of the novel in Yankee Stadium with the Hawks playing the Yankees. Why the author chose to have one real team against a fictional team is unclear. The Hawks apparently are from Atlanta, but an Atlanta team, Braves or Hawks, whichever, would not be playing the Yankees interleague on the next to last day of the season. Finally, when a visiting pitcher goes out to warm up before the game, he does so in the semi-hidden bull pen down the left field line in Yankee Stadium--not on the mound on the field.

      This book was published posthumously and Mr. Shaara perhaps never had a chance to polish his prose--prose that was excellent in "Killer Angels." It's unfortunate.

      There are glimmers of interest in the book, but not enough to recommend it to baseball fans or fans of the author's other book.

      5 out of 5 stars Short, surprisingly moving tale.......2005-10-06

      Heard FOR LOVE OF THE GAME by Michael Sahara,
      a posthumously published baseball novel by the Pulitzer Prize
      winning author of THE KILLING ANGELS . . . you might have
      to dig some to find it, but your search will be worth the
      effort.

      This is a short, surprisingly moving tale of an aging baseball
      superstar who is pitching the last game of the season . . . through
      a series of flashbacks, you learn about his career and the
      one woman he loves (but who is leaving him).

      The writing is compelling, and it makes you feel that you
      really get to know the guy . . . plus, it has you rooting for
      his every pitch and caring about what happens to him.

      There's a great ending, too.

      1 out of 5 stars THE MOVIE IS BETTER WAY BETTER.......2005-10-06

      IAM THE SAME KID THAT REVIEWED GODS AND GENERALS I SAW THE MOVIES GETTYSBURG AND GODS AND GENERALS SO I EXPECTED THIS BOOK TO BE EXCITING NOT A PIECE OF TRASH I EXPECTED IT TO PROFILE COMMON SOLIDERS LIKE IN THE MOVIES GETTYSBURG,GODS AND GENERALS,AND IN THE BOOKS THE MOVIES ARE BASED ON FOCUS ATTENION ON ORDINARY SOLIDERS THIS JUST FOCUSES ON THE KEY PLAYERS I NOT SAYING THE ENTIRE BOOK SHOULD HAVE BEEN DETICATED TO THE COMMON SOLIDERS LORD KNOWS WE HAVE ENOUGH BOOKS LIKE THAT I`M JUST SAYING IT WOULD BE NICE IF A LITTLE ATTENION WAS GIVEN TO THEM YOU KNOW. THIS BOOK SHOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN WRITTEN IN THE FIRST PLACE

      3 out of 5 stars Killer Curveballs. God, Generals, and Strikeouts........2005-09-18

      Michael Shaara worked on this book before he died. It is obvious that he never quite finished it, because it is little more than a short story, and it lacks a second act. It is a clever literary mechanism, constructing, evaluating, and analyzing one's life within a baseball game, but I am sure Michael would have liked to work on it some more. Eventually it was found by son Jeff, who has at this point has surpassed his father's literary output. Jeff had the manuscript published, apparently without any modifications, and it later served as the basis for the Kevin Costner-Kelly Preston film of the same name.

      No one is a bigger fan of the Shaaras' work than I, but this is not the best of the lot. The ending of the book is a bit hokey and not too well-explained. The screenwriters for the film understood this and changed the ending, and added many characters and plot lines. Actually it is not a bad film, despite the uneven performance of Miss Preston, and Kevin Costner being way too old, even for an aging ball player, and not athletic or fit enough.

      Billy Chapel is an old school ballplayer, 17 years pitching for the same team (never identified in the book, the Detroit Tigers in the film). He is a superstar, heading for the Hall of Fame, when he finds out very late in the season, that he is to be traded. He is to pitch that day against the hated Yankees, and even though his team has been long eliminated from contention, Chapel plans to give his best performance on what could be his last day.

      Complicating all this baseball business is his strange relationship with Jane, an aspiring editor, who told him that morning they are through, since he does not really need her, in her view. Chapel's relationship with this woman has lasted for years, but been very non-committal and unstructured.

      Of course, Chapel pitches well on this day at Yankee Stadium, he is clearly in the zone. Inning by inning, we learn the backstory, how his father taught him the game, the early deaths of his parents, how the business end of baseball changed in nearly two decades, and his relationship with the former team owner. His relationship with Jane is explained from the first meeting, including their rules of engagement.

      After the game, Chapel has another discussion with Jane. That is about it for the book. The movie is considerably fleshed out with additional characters like Vince Scully (he is nearly a co-star as he broadcasts the game for Fox), Steve "Psycho" Lyons (who is as forgettable as an announcer as he was as a player), Jane's daughter and her father, the team trainer, the old and new owners, and a rookie Yankee player who is the son of a former Chapel teammate. To make it even more interesting the film adds a sub-plot with Chapel suffering an injury, Jane playing a key role in preventing it from becoming life-threatening, Chapel treating her badly, and Chapel eventually returning to form.

      The book has some issues that will bother baseball fans, like Chapel batting in an AL park where the DH would be in effect, and a line-up with an inconsistent order. None of that really matters, and is all throughly fixed in the film. Actual MLB umpires appear as do former players, though not of any note.

      Just for fun, the film includes a Jose Canseco-type player, who fields fly balls off his head. Fortunately there is no appearance by steroids or Madonna (speaking of aging stars from Detroit).
      Majestika: The Art of Monte Moore
      Average customer rating: Not rated
        Majestika: The Art of Monte Moore
        Monte Moore
        Manufacturer: Paper Tiger
        ProductGroup: Book
        Binding: Paperback

        Schools, Periods & StylesSchools, Periods & Styles | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books | Abstract Expressionism | Ancient & Classical | Art Deco | Art Nouveau | Baroque | Byzantine | Constructivism | Contemporary Art | Cubism | Dadaism | Expressionism | Fauvism | Folk Art | Futurism | German Expressionism | Gothic | Impressionism | Mannerism | Medieval | Modern | Neoclassical | Pop | Post-Impressionism | Pre-Raphaelite | Prehistoric & Primitive | Realism | Renaissance | Rococo | Romanesque | Romantic | Surrealism
        GeneralGeneral | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
        DrawingDrawing | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
        IllustrationIllustration | Commercial | Graphic Design | Design & Decorative Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
        GeneralGeneral | Drawing | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
        GeneralGeneral | Artists, A-Z | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
        GeneralGeneral | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
        EroticErotic | Other Media | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
        ASIN: 1843403242

        Book Description

        A superb collection of the best works by award-winning fantasy artist Monte Moore, Majestika focuses mainly on his celebrated erotic paintings but goes beyond these to show the full scope of his talent. Moore was one of four artists chosen to create a limited edition pin-up print for Playboy’s Uniquely Playmates line of collectibles. The images of lusciously proportioned, sensual women showcased here reveal exactly why: in the best fantasy tradition, they pose provocatively and appear in the guise of angels, mermaids, and warrior maidens. But other, different paintings present monsters, magical creatures, and an illustrated story titled “Bloodlines.” Moore himself writes the introduction.

        Books:

        1. American Holocaust: The Conquest of the New World
        2. Annals of the World: James Ussher's Classic Survey of World History
        3. Annals of the World: James Ussher's Classic Survey of World History
        4. Atlas Of Shipwrecks & Treasure
        5. Carved in Sand: When Attention Fails and Memory Fades in Midlife
        6. Chinese Coal Industry - An Economic History (Routledgecurzon Studies on the Chinese Economy, 2)
        7. Culture and Development: A Critical Introduction
        8. Darkly Dreaming Dexter
        9. Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
        10. Economic Sociology: State, Market, and Society in Modern Capitalism

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