50 More Hikes in Ohio (50 Hikes Series)

Book Description

This new companion volume to 50 Hikes in Ohio showcases even more hiking opportunities in the Buckeye State. This all-new guide ranges the length and breadth of Ohio to describe hikes in dozens of state parks, nature preserves, wildlife areas, forests, and national recreation areas. The author has chosen many of his favorite hikes, including:

• The Ledges trail in Cuyahoga Valley National Park

• Slate Run Metro Park in central Ohio

• The Nature Conservancy's Edge of Appalachia Preserve in Adams County

• Sandusky State Scenic River trail in north central Ohio

• The Vermillion River trail in the August-Anne Olsen State Nature Preserve

• A streamside walk in Sycamore State Park in western Ohio

An overview chart provides information on the 50 hikes at a glance, making it easy to choose a hike. Each hike is accompanied by a topographical map, information on difficulty, mileage, and rise, as well as entertaining asides on the natural and human history you'll encounter along the way. 40 black and white photographs, 50 maps, index.

Customer Reviews:

Ramey hits another home run.......2003-11-22

As the title suggests, this book is a sequel to Ramey's first work, "50 Hikes in Ohio," which in my opinion is the finest guide to Ohio hiking availible. First, I will give an evaluation of this work on its own merits and then compare the sequel to the original.

This book describes 50 hikes in the Buckeye state. The hikes are scattered throughout the state, but there is a noticably higher concentration near Columbus and Cleveland than Cincinnati. Since I live near Cincinnati and I know there is plenty of quality hiking near Cincinnati that has not been covered in any of Ramey's works, that leaves me scratching my head a little. Putting that aside, hikes range in length from 1 to 6.5 miles, with the average at around 2.5-3. Most of the trails described here are hikable by everyone in decent condition, with only a few that pose much of a challenge. Each hike contains an excellent map (usually copied from an USGS topo map), and an extensive background on the trail and area. Ramey points out many details along the trail that most hikers would overlook. Therefore, hiking a trail with this book in hand is like walking a trail with a professional naturalist.

Given the popularity of Ramey's original 50 hikes book, I now move to a comparison of these two works. The strengths of the original 50 hikes book, in my opinion, are the author's friendly writing style, the quantity and quality of information presented (I would include the maps in this area), and the creation of interest in hiking (i.e. making you want to hike the trail yourself). In these areas, this work is every bit the match of the original. Ramey does his homework on the phone and in the library before sitting down in front of the word processor.

The main difference between the two works is the length of the trails described. You will not find any long backpack trails or any Wayne National Forest trails in this second work. Rather, most of these hikes are short nature trails. Also, this work features more hikes from state parks and state nature preserves than the original, which featured a wider variety of lands. The trails you will find in this work are not the longest and most famous trails in Ohio, but rather smaller areas ideal for quiet and solitude. I'm not saying the trails in this book are inferior to those in the original, just that they are different, and a purchaser should be aware of these differences.

In summary, Ramey is one of my favorite trail authors, and he has come through with another excellent work. If I had to choose just one of his works, it would probably be the original 50 hikes book, but why anyone would choose just one I don't know. This is a fine addition to the literature on Ohio hiking and makes a nice compliment to the original 50 hikes work. If you are interested in Ohio hiking, this book should be in your library.

Book Description

Soccer is the world's favorite pastime, a passion for billions around the globe. In the United States, however, the sport is a distant also-ran behind football, baseball, basketball, and hockey. Why is America an exception? And why, despite America's leading role in popular culture, does most of the world ignore American sports in return? Offside is the first book to explain these peculiarities, taking us on a thoughtful and engaging tour of America's sports culture and connecting it with other fundamental American exceptionalisms. In so doing, it offers a comparative analysis of sports cultures in the industrial societies of North America and Europe.

The authors argue that when sports culture developed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, nativism and nationalism were shaping a distinctly American self-image that clashed with the non-American sport of soccer. Baseball and football crowded out the game. Then poor leadership, among other factors, prevented soccer from competing with basketball and hockey as they grew. By the 1920s, the United States was contentedly isolated from what was fast becoming an international obsession.

The book compares soccer's American history to that of the major sports that did catch on. It covers recent developments, including the hoopla surrounding the 1994 soccer World Cup in America, the creation of yet another professional soccer league, and American women's global preeminence in the sport. It concludes by considering the impact of soccer's growing popularity as a recreation, and what the future of sports culture in the country might say about U.S. exceptionalism in general.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting, though not captivating, reading.......2007-05-10

In addition to being a fan of most pro sports, I also happen to volunteer in my local youth soccer league. I have seen the sport grow and, in a way, start to decline. I say decline because the recreational youth leagues that promote fun over winning are seeing a decrease in registration while the "select" or "club" leagues that focus on individual performance and dreams of college scholarships are gaining in popularity. No matter the level, soccer still remains a game for children to play more than an adult game to watch. And that is the point of this book-Why is soccer still not a marquee sport in the United States? What keeps people from embracing and devoting themselves to soccer the way they do the "big three and a half," as baseball, football, basketball and hockey (the 1/2) are referred to by the author?

"Offside" reads like a history textbook. First, the authors outline the history of baseball, football, basketball, and hockey. They point out how nationalism, marketing, and competent, though controversial, management all contributed to the flourishing of those sports in the United States. I will say it is more interesting reading than exciting reading since only sports "junkies" may enjoy knowing how the MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL came to be what they are today. Then we get a history of soccer and learn all the factors working for and against its growth in the United States. Finally, we are brought up to modern day when the U.S. hosted the 1994 World Cup and soccer took center stage here. The authors review both the good and bad ideas that had the sport on the brink of rising to perhaps number four. Alas, we also get an analysis of how that momentum was lost when the American team did not do so well at the 1998 World Cup. The success of the women's game is mentioned but the women's professional league folded shortly after the book was written.

I enjoyed this book kind of like a magazine in a doctor's office; it is a nice time-filler and you may learn something you didn't know before. If you are involved with soccer at any level and enjoy sports history or biographies, you may like this book. Otherwise, think twice before "kicking" back with this one.

Its less boring to read about it than to watch it .......2005-05-11

This is a sociological study aimed to explain why ' soccer'(
To the rest of the world 'football') has not become one of the major American sports. The authors speak about American exceptionalism what differentiates its culture from Europe. Among the elements are America's freedom from a feudal heritage, freedom from concentration on class war, emphasis thanks to cheap land and great space on individual economic development. The more crowded Europeans look to collective entitlements while the Americans rely on the individual to achieve his own wealth and happiness.
This American exceptionalism helps explain why baseball, football and basketball are the sports of what they call ' cultural hegemony' in America. More people may fish and play billiards but the big three are the ones talked about, written about , endlessly pre-gamed and post- gamed, the ones at the heart of the common culture.
In the course of telling why ' soccer' is left out in America the authors present a serious analysis of ' sports' in industrial nations. This alone would make the book highly worthwhile.

The Issue and the Explanation.......2005-03-13

I learned a lot about sports (not just soccer) and how culture works in general from this excellent and enjoyable book. Even though certain parts (especially the first chapter) are written in an academic style with that sort of jargon, it is not a difficult book to read, nor are the concepts overly complicated.

Even psuedo-intellectual anti-American "multi-culturalists" like the so-called "International Sportsman" (posted on this page) could learn something from this book and enjoy it. Too bad our "Sportsman" couldn't be bothered to attain some knowledge.

A Must Read.......2005-03-09

This work sheds new light on a very fascinating question. In fact, this book is the basis for some of my own research within the field. I highly reccommend this book from both an academic and sports fan's viewpoint!

Excusing greed and commercialism.......2005-02-26

Perhaps this book is simply the self-indulgence of the authors, but in reality it shouldn't take more than half a page to explain the two reasons why soccer is a failure in this country:-
1) Money. Soccer is a game, not a collection of commercials with some chest-beating in between - a pure sport, an actual contest.
2) Americans become fanatical during play-off season for all of the purely American "sports". After the finals, the victors are constantly referred to by public and media alike as "World Champions", well I guess a couple of sports may offer the outside chance of a Canadian team emerging victorious. If one were to follow soccer, there is the chance that the victor would not be an American team, and that is simply not acceptable.

So instead of reading a book searching for palatable excuses for the failure of Soccer to rise to its deserved popularity in the U.S., simply accept the truth - greed and flag waving are more important facets of democracy than peoples choice ever will be.

By the way - it's not soccer - it's FOOTBALL

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A Novel As Charming As Its Author
Heroine's eye-view of All-American sport: college football

Offsides: A Novel
Kerry Madden-Lunsford
Manufacturer: William Morrow & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Domestic Life | Women's Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0688149359

Book Description

The daughter of a college football coach, Kerry Madden-Lunsford grew up in a series of hometowns, transplanted from one place to the next with the changing of the football season, uprooted from childhood friends with almost no warning. It is this hectic, whirlwind lifestyle which Madden-Lunsford draws upon in writing her first novel, Offsides.

Adored by Diane Keaton, who praised it as "a tremendously funny and touching book," Offsides captures the bittersweet humor behind a girl's coming-of-age under unusual circumstances, in a world where last season's clothes are traded in for new ones in the latest team colors, where the "coacheswives" plan fashion shows to boost team spirit, and where the coaches--fathers and husbands--make only irregular appearances.

Bristling with sharp humor and keen, detailed perception, Offsides is more than the story of an intelligent, thoughtful girl; it is about challenge of growing up and the yearning for a life outside the one we are born into. It is a novel which strongly evokes the spirit of the football world, where life centers around winning the big game, and where people find unusual ways to deal with the intricacies of growing up.

Customer Reviews:

A Novel As Charming As Its Author.......1997-07-16

I only began reading this novel because I was at a Writers' Conference where Kerry was an instructor, but I found that I couldn't put it down. I was staying up 'till 2 or 3 in the morning reading this book. The story of Liz and her moves is heartbreaking, yet she manages to survive in a way most people neer could. She is wonderfully funny and incredibly strong. Madden-Lunsford's characters are lovable, yet serious. But the novel's real appeal is the way in which we can all see elements of ourselves in Liz. Don't miss this book!

Heroine's eye-view of All-American sport: college football.......1997-03-04

Hilarious, touching, insightful. An impressive and wonderful first novel in the best traditions of American coming-of-age novels like "Catcher in the Rye." "Offsides" adds to the genre with its uniquely appealing protagonist who speaks with the insight and voice of an outsider who both longs for and is repulsed by what it means to be an insider. Liz Donegal is a complete and complex character, the subject of her own universe, aware that hers overlaps somewhat with that of her own family, yet she experiences the world almost wholly apart from their comprehension-from the very thin line which exists right at the the ever-shifting edges. Liz is a vulnerable yet scrappily perspicacious, intellectual yet hopeful, precocious but not yet cynical, girl-stretching-yearning-and-sometimes-stumbling-toward-independent-woman in the context (and epitome) of America's "boys will be boys" heartland-the world of college football. Even so, the voices of the other characters are distinct and memorable, particularly the enduring and often difficult to endure father of the clan, Coach Donegal whose recurring line is a snarlish "Get your ass in the car." You don't have to be female or a football fan to crack up in hysterics (often) or feel a few sniffles coming on while enjoying this jewel of a book.

Average customer rating:

Ending
Richie's Picks: OFFSIDES

Offsides
Erik E. Esckilsen
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin/Walter Lorraine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Literature & Fiction | Teens | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0618462848

Book Description

To Coach Dempsey, the Warriors teams and their Indian mascot symbolize the honor and glory of the Southwind High School athletic tradition. But soccer star Tom Gray sees little more than a denigrating cultural stereotype in the team's mascot and the stern, war-painted Indian-head profile. As a Mohawk, Tom knows only too well the hardships Native Americans face in their struggle for respect. So when his father's tragic death forces him and his mother to move to Southwind, Tom must make the decision of a lifetime: betray his family and heritage, or boycott Dempsey's team and abandon the sport he loves. Exciting play-by-plays pepper this tale, vividly capturing soccer strategy and action in a novel exploring the nature of honor and the courage required to stand up for your beliefs.

Customer Reviews:

Ending.......2007-10-03

I thought the book was terrific--carefully researched and written. One of my students was disappointed in the ending and thought he would have give the book 4 stars with a different ending.

Richie's Picks: OFFSIDES.......2004-10-12

Soccer coach Frank "Chief" Fallace was one crazy mother. Small, fit, stone-jawed, and wiry haired, he was my Spanish teacher when I was a freshman in high school, and I can still recall the day he turned beet red while doing an awfully convincing imitation of strangling this stoner in class who'd told him to go "f" himself. I learned quickly that you definitely didn't mess with The Chief.

Thanks to the long reach of Google, I can also tell you that "The Chief" coached the boys' varsity soccer team at Commack High School North for 21 seasons, that his teams won a total of 238 league games, and that he was County Coach of the Year in 1978. I expect that he was a pretty good player himself, during his boyhood back in Italy.

Sportswise, it is a long, long way from early-1970s Long Island to twenty-first century California. The strength of today's youth soccer leagues in my neck of the woods easily meets or exceeds the extraordinary popularity of Little League during my childhood. Back then I never learned to play soccer, nor watched any of the games, despite having many friends on Coach Fallace's teams.

Thus, I learned an embarrassing lot about the rules, positions, and basic strategy of playing soccer through reading OFFSIDES by Erik E. Esckilsen. The author does a great job of keeping our interest by providing solid slices of action without drowning us in either waves of technical jargon or endless play-by-play. I was consistently engaged by the battles on the field.

"Hi, boys and girls. I'm Jimmy Carl Black and I'm the Indian of the group."
--from Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, "We're Only in it for the Money"

In OFFSIDES, the soccer pitch sets the stage for the tribulations of Tom Gray, a young man who has been forced through economic circumstances to move with his mother to Southwind after the death of his father. An extraordinary soccer player whose "Shot of the Year" sent his former Tin River Union High team to last year's finals, Tom will now attend the school that is home to the squad that ultimately derailed the Tin River Union Ravens despite Tom's heroics.

To add insult to injury, Tom's strong pride in his Mohawk heritage is set up for a head-on collision with both the Indian caricature that serves as the mascot of the Southwind Warriors, and the coach who wants Tom to join the team, but who has absolutely no intention of altering the team name or mascot. Coach Dempsey was a student at Southwind when the high school opened, and he knows all about not letting political correctness get in the way of tomahawks, tradition, and team spirit.

What could easily have become a story descending into a didactic diatribe about the team mascot issue, instead employs some fancy footwork to entertain us with a cross between the Bad News Bears and Crutcher's band of misfits in WHALE TALK.

" 'Allard Angel-Agitator launch log, August twenty-three,' [Preston] says in his 'This is your captain speaking' voice. 'Model three. Model three launch--successful. Altitude--new altitude record established at twelve hundred, thirty-seven feet by measurement of base altimeter, recorded and stored in altimeter chip. Recovery and landing apparatus--total malfunction. Repeat, landing apparatus--total malfunction. Salvage effort to commence immediately' "

To achieve this plot twist, the author employs an amusing ensemble of home-schooled self-described science geeks, a mysterious homeless kid, and a foreign-born paraplegic shopkeeper-turned-coach, accompanied by his hot Russian-born blonde granddaughter, to assist Tom in eventually "bringing it on" to Coach Dempsey and the Southwind players.

The subtleties and complexities in Coach Dempsey's personality and background bring a strong realism to his character. The underlying story concerning Tom's younger years on "the res", the difficulties that he and his mother are facing because of institutional prejudice toward Native Americans (particularly involving his Dad's death and the insurance company), and the snippets of background alluding to the Mohawks' dangerous real-life role--in constructing the iron framework on some of our nation's most heralded superstructures--add a real depth to the story.

And then there is the underlying name and mascot issue which, to some of us, is personal and real. Our own middle school--where Shari teaches--employs both the name "Warriors" as well as an Indian caricature as the mascot, just like in the book. Our School Board turned a deaf ear to my advocacy for change the past two years. Hopefully the winds of change are finally arriving.

But in any case, readers are sure to get a kick out of OFFSIDES. (Whoops! Yellow penalty card given for really bad pun.)

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HIGH, DRY, AND OFFSIDE Manti, Utah

ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HW2HVQ

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The Man Offside
A. W. Gray
Manufacturer: Dutton Adult
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0525933107

Average customer rating:

absolutely incredible
Sweet Book
A Book About Hockey -- Finally!

Offside
Cathy Beveridge
Manufacturer: Thistledown Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

General | Sports & Activities | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Fiction | School & Sports | Teens | Subjects | Books

Sports | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
ASIN: 1894345258
Release Date: 2001-06-01

Book Description

Offside is a novel for young adults that deftly blends Canada’s love affair with hockey and the gritty realities of teen addiction. Based on real events that took place in Calgary, Offside is the fictional story of a fifteen-year-old boy who inadvertently creates a dependency amongst his teammates on a cold remedy which they think is a performance enhancer.

Customer Reviews:

absolutely incredible.......2005-01-12

this book was amzaing with all of the hockey games and about the hockey team using performance enhancers which really was a twist..i am on chapter 11 right now so im not completey done it yet.. right now this is the best book i have ever read and i hope u can make a part to or something similar. My favourite part is/....THE WHOLE THING! because i can't make up my mind there all awesome...i hope the rest of the book is as good as it has been so far... u are the best writer/author in the whole world and i read alot of books! well got to go... make more books please

Sweet Book.......2004-07-26

Hockey is the GREATEST sport alive. I've read many books about hockey and they have all been really awesome. This book is for sure added to that list. Not only is it about the greatest sport alive - but I can relate to it. Peer pressure, drugs, romance, athletics. It's all there. There were also parts where I busted out laughing because they were so hilarious. And there were other parts where I grabbed onto things because of the tension that was happening. A very awesome book and a very easy read. I couldn't put it down! It was sweet!

A Book About Hockey -- Finally!.......2003-12-17

I liked this book because I like watching hockey. The book kept me interested because it had many funny parts. The funniest part was when the girls were playing hockey and the boys were syncronized skating. My teacher laughed really hard during those parts. I would read another book by Cathy Beveridge if it was about soccer.

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Offside
Gisela Elsner
Manufacturer: Virago Press Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

German | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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Offside (Sports Humour Series)

Manufacturer: Generation Publications Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Soccer | Sports | Subjects | Books

General | Sports | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1903009006

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Offside In Ecuatina (Freestyle)
Rennie, Cliff
Manufacturer: Christian Focus
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Book Description

This second book in the Panorama series covers the life of Jesus from the Nativity through to St Paul the Apostles and their missionary journeys. This title is also ideal for all Christian families Homeschooling and Sunday School.

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Offside Racism: Playing the White Man
Colin King
Manufacturer: Berg Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Discrimination & Racism | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Football (American) | Sports | Subjects | Books

General | Soccer | Sports | Subjects | Books

General | Sports | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1859737293
Release Date: 2004-09-23

Book Description

It is a fact that disproportionately few black football players have ever been employed as managers or coaches, despite their prominent presence on the field. How big a role does racism play in contributing to this depressing statistic? 'Play the White Man' is the metaphor King uses to explain how race, racism and inequality operate. He looks at the pressures placed on black players to adopt a culture dominated by white men in sport - in other words, 'to act white' in order to be accepted. He focuses on how racism functions when black players make the transition from the playing field to coaching, management and administration, and are forced to perform within the standards and systems set by white men who have historically held these positions. King provides provocative insights into the world of white-dominated British sport and raises controversial questions that are important for anyone interested in the game.

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