'The Complete Book of Football' by Chris Hunt

The Complete Book of Football

“The Complete Book of Football” is a Chris Hunt book dedicated, as its name suggests, to the football game.

It is part of a series of works wrote by the author about this sport.

All the series’ books: The Complete Book of Football – 2003, The Complete Book of Soccer – 2006, World Cup Stories – The History of the World Cup -2006, World Cup Stories: The History of the FIFA World Cup – 2006, World Cup of Soccer – 2010, The Compact Book of the World Cup – 2010, offer a comprehensive view on the history of this sport.

Due to his occupation, magazine editor and journalist, the writer traveled all around the world to see football competitions and write article about them.

As managing editor for 8 years at the best sold English football magazine - Match, he gathered a huge quantity of valuable information that latter presented in his books. His journalist experience is not limited to football; he was also a constant editorialist for FourFourTo and publisher of special editions under the brands Q, Mojo, Uncut and NME, covering a large variety of topics from U2, The Beatles, Kurt Cobain, to fashion or punk-rock.

Published for the first time in 2003 and for other two editions in 2006 and 2011, “The Complete Book of Football”, was translated in five foreign languages: Czech, German, Hungarian, Romaine and Russian.

The book is a real encyclopedia offering valuable and encompassing information regarding the most popular sport in the world.

Reading the book you can find about the evolution of this sport in different countries starting with the football clubs evolutions to each national team performance in the Football World Cup. Visit Visit Epyxa for your desire and learn attractive details about this year’s World Cup 2014.

Step by step we learn more about famous football players, legendary coaches or historical matches.

Page after page we see the football evolution at global, living the emotions of every world cup final tournament, finding about European Championship and major international clubs’ competitions.

When we finish the book, maybe we will do not know all about football, but certainly we will know much more before the lecture.

Review of 'Two Degrees From Zero' by M.J. Stewart

Two Degrees From Zero

by M.J. Stewart

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thirteen-year-old Derek’s cool snowboard adventure does a dangerous rewind, because his Burton Hero board holds the key to an unsolved crime.

Two Degrees From Zero is a story that opens up the world of snowboarding and surviving hazardous winter conditions in Keystone, Colorado.

Derek, his mom, and teen friend Janae (The Clan) are invited on a snowboarding vacation by his mom’s new romance Thomas. A blizzard hits during a sleigh ride and dinner at an isolated yurt miles from Keystone. The Clan accepts an offer from two arrogant snowmobilers for a way home. But to The Clan's dismay instead of going home, they are abandoned in a creepy backwoods cabin.

Derek and Janae sneak out of the old cabin and make a dangerous trek across a white wilderness to find help while the snowmobilers are on the loose. Just as the teens find temporary shelter in an old car, another blizzard rages all night, leaving them hopelessly stranded. And their adventure has only begun.

Derek and Janae must escape the frozen ravages of the blizzard. Derek’s determination to save The Clan while outwitting the thieves is unstoppable. And the thieves are just as determined to find Derek’s snowboard because of the valuable information hidden on the board.

Read an excerpt:

Shelter for the evening appeared in the form of an abandoned car hunkered in the deep snow.

“What the heck?” As he got a better look, the form reminded him of his family’s old car—the Pontiac his dad owned as a young man. And the same metallic blue gleamed in the setting sun.

Derek did an awkward happy dance on one foot. “Looky-look. Maybe our luck is changing. The miracle we needed.” Shelter from the biting wind, relief for his swollen ankle, and a place to rest his aching muscles.

Janae burst out in shrill laughter. “If we can get the doors open, we can drive home.”

But the more Derek checked out the car, the more his heart sank. I can’t do this, I can’t. Suddenly, his feeling of relief turned to anger, and emotions overtook his tired, weak mind. He stepped backward and turned from the car.

“What’s wrong now?” Janae asked.

“I can’t do this.”

“Can’t do what?” Janae asked.

“That car. It’s just like my dad’s old car. I can’t get in,” Derek said. He froze in his tracks like a marble statue a few feet away.

“I don’t understand. What is your problem. We’re kinda desperate, and we don’t have a choice. We’ll be in trouble tonight if we don’t have shelter,” Janae reminded him.

“You can sleep inside, but I’m not. I’ll have nightmares about him again. I can’t,” Derek said.

**My thoughts**

I found the beginning of the book a little confusing, as Derek first started to interact with the thieves and the Clan was taken to the abandoned cabin in the remote woods. I had a hard time believing that Derek's mom would allow for the kids to ride off with strangers, no matter how much they wanted to get back to their hotel. Once Derek and Janae took off to try to find help, I was able to get into the story.

Derek is an absolute mess, because he has never been able to forgive himself for the part he feels he played in his father's death. He is still angry and takes it out on everyone around him. When he and Janae take off in the wee hours to try to find help, he is seeking vindication and trying to make up for his past. You want to smack the kids for being stupid and taking off without telling the adults, but are glad that they have each other. Janae really is a good friend to Derek. 

It is also interesting to read about how they try to survive out in the wilderness. It's a good springboard for conversations about what you should and shouldn't do if you ever get stranded out in the snow. 

If you're looking for a story that is about the sport of snowboarding, this is not going to be the right book for you, despite the subtitle. A snowboarding adventure does set this story into motion, but is not the main focus of the book.

Available on Amazon

US \ UK \ CAN

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

M.J. Stewart is a Colorado author and lives in Colorado Springs. Her love for the outdoors has provided many exciting adventures and include downhill skiing, biking, hiking, camping, and nature photography.

I'm on Facebook at: martha.lancaster@facebook.com

I'm on Twitter at: @hike4ski

The author will be awarding a $25 Amazon Gift Card to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Follow the tour for more chances to win!

Review of 'Hoop Genius: How a Desperate Teacher and a Rowdy Gym Class Invented Basketball'

Description

Taking over a rowdy gym class right before winter vacation is not something James Naismith wants to do at all. The last two teachers of this class quit in frustration. The students—a bunch of energetic young men—are bored with all the regular games and activities. Naismith needs something new, exciting, and fast to keep the class happy—or someone's going to get hurt. Saving this class is going to take a genius. Discover the true story of how Naismith invented basketball in 1891 at a school in Springfield, Massachusetts.




**My thoughts**

I enjoyed reading this book, because I never really knew the history behind the game of basketball. I knew it had originally been played with peach baskets and was invented by a teacher. I was amused at how this book shows the innovation of a teacher who is desperate to corral a bunch of rowdy students, especially because I am a teacher. I also liked how it demonstrated the trial and error involved in creating the game. I think it is important for kids to realize that great things don't necessarily happen without a lot of experimentation and perseverance until you get it right.

The illustrations amused me, as they are reminiscent of an older style of drawing. I got a kick out of how the players become increasingly injured as the story goes on, as Naismith kept trying out new ideas. The history buff in me loves seeing the original typewritten rules, as well. While it mentions how basketball evolved to the sport that it is today, it doesn't dwell on the current game. Some may think of this as a downfall. I like that it stays true to its title. Interested children may be inspired to research more about it.

I think this book will appeal to kids in kindergarten or lower elementary and up.

I received a review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions.

Buy links: Amazon \ Barnes & Noble \ Lerner Publishing

Visit author John Coy's website.

Visit illustrator Joe Morse's website.