Coach: Lessons on the Game of Life by Michael Lewis
|
List Price: Our Price: $6.17 You Save: $5.78 (48%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $4.53 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Coach: Lessons on the Game of Life
Book Review: An Essay, Not A Book
Summary: 2 Stars
As has been noted, this "book" is basically a New York Times Magazine article. Though the story of a coach now having to deal with spoiled players is interesting, don't bother with this one if you are looking for a long read. The claimed 93 pages is for a 7" by 5" book that's double spaced and includes 25 pages of pictures leaving 68 pages of text.
The story was interesting, but ended without any real conclusion or resolution. I enjoyed Moneyball, but in the end thought Coach should have been a web posting rather than a book.
Book Review: Don't bother
Summary: 1 Stars
Save your money. This book(?)is a random collection of thoughts and recollections of a youth that no longer exists. Someone should have told the author that sometimes the world changes and not always for the better.Book Review: I want my money back
Summary: 1 Stars
What a disappointment. Lewis, the author of several memorable books, has aapparently succummed to the temptation to make a few bucks off his name. This extremely short book ( I didn't pay enough attention to the details in the Amazon listing )
is also extremely shallow, about his high school coach and the effect that coach had on his life. The book may have been a passable magazine article somewhere ( Oh, now I read some of the other Customer Reviews, and I see it was a NY Times Mag article ), but it certainly falls way short in the "book" category. Interestingly, Lewis writes this rip off book about his coach who constantly preached about not taking the shortcuts, and that the guys would not be rewarded by doing such. Clearly, Lewis' process of wrting is "shortcut" book is out of step with the content of the book. Save your money.
Book Review: Every Parent need to read this.
Summary: 5 Stars
GREAT!!! This book focuses on not just about playing a sport. But, alot about real life. Every coach should have his parents and kids read this book. Book Review: Profound lesson with an economy of words
Summary: 5 Stars
Lewis makes a remarkable statement: a person is not born with selfrespect, but earns it. A struggle to overcome fear and failure is necessary. There are those that try to instill these beliefs on children, even though the lesson is not appreciated immediately in their youth and the profoundly positive impact is not understood until later in life. This is what the book is about.
Lewis' high school coach drives them hard. The kids don't understand why initially. Over time, they learn that through hard work they can achieve their goals--not just in athletics.
Casual readers, based on earlier reviews, seem to think that the coach is obsessed with winning; they miss the point (just as Lewis did when he was in 7th grade). Lewis talks about a season when the team was 1-12: The coaches frustration is not with the win-loss record, but that they kids possess the drive to improve and compete. He is not preparing them to win baseball games, but obtain their goals for years to come in life.
The book is a criticism of a growing opinion among parents that kids are born with respect, instead of needing to develop it. Achievement builds selfrespect, not conception. Parents should be exposing their children to fear and failure to allow them to overcome these obstacles instead of protecting them from it.
The touching element is that a successful author living comfortably in the Bay area champions someone that people no longer believe in, because this person championed him when nobody, including Lewis, believed in himself. It is the ultimate strength of character that Lewis' coach successfully cultivated in Lewis and others.
As a subscriber to the New York Times, I get the magazine. Unfortunately I did not see this article when it was published. To say a book that is a reprint of an article does not have merit is to foolishly presume that everyone gets the Times and has the time every Sunday to devour it. A reprint of an article takes a concept from a select few to the masses. Shame on those who do not appreciate this.