Product Description
The Compleat Dr. Rowing is a collection of the greatest hits from the popular Ask Dr. Rowing column in the Independent Rowing News.The Dr. answers questions pertaining to all things rowing, from "Did all of the members of that Japanese eight that rowed so high really die?" to "Why do oarsmen produce only daughters?"The Doctor's own particular brand of humor blends with factual and historical research. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Compleat indeed
I was lucky enough to hear Dr. Rowing speak, and afterwards was able to pick up a copy of this. His humor and style make this a joy to read, while taking a look at many sides of rowing.

There are stories and ancdotes from all over, which are entertaining and informational. There are also many letters that have been written to him, so, much of the book is in Q&A format. These questions range from myth-busting to speculations, to situations, and everything inbetween.

Here is the table of contents, so you can imagine what may be in them:
Preface
The Legends
Port vs. Starboard
Coaches
Coxswains
Gluckman's Theorem
Strange Boats
Strange Folks
Head of the Charles
Joe Burk
Short Pieces
Mysteries

I have read it from cover to cover, many times, and will probably do so again. It is an excellent and enjoyable book, I highly recommend it.

Judge a book by it's cover
Since Dr. Rowing is, of course, the quintessential expert on the subject, there is no better book to read. It is excellent.
I must comment on the cover illustration, however. It was obviously designed by someone with great talent and class. Could it have been designed by his sister, Sally Anderson? ... Read more

Product Description
Perfect for anyone who wishes to take up rowing, this book introduces essential techniques. A section explains body coordination with and without slide. Training and coaching for competitive rowing is also covered, including advanced techniques for both single sculling and rowing teams. For the noncompetitive rower, there is a section on recreational rowing and sea rowing. Step-by-step photographs demonstrate skills for the new rower. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Decent Introduction to Rowing
This is a decent, if basic, introduction. I've just become interested in rowing and was looking for a good beginner's overview. This book served that purpose, but feels a bit lightweight nonetheless. For one thing, it's a slim book, coming in at under 100 pages with just seven succinct chapters. There are also quite a few pictures, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. It's good because the pictures are often helpful in illustrating points in the text (as they should), but bad because sometimes it seems like the book lacks substance due to the high proportion of photos. Also, sometimes the pictures feel a bit like fluff, where they take up a lot of space without adding a great deal to the value of the text. However, having said that, a lot of these pictures are just plain pretty. In summary, the book has the overall feel of a library book, which is fine if that's what you're looking for. Below are details on its contents.

The seven chapters cover the key points to give the reader a decent overview. Chapter 1, The Lore of Rowing, gives a perfunctory history of the sport, also covering the "spirit and ethos of rowing". The history basically consists of a few pictures from the early days of rowing (which are pretty cool), an acknowledgment that people have been rowing for centuries, and recommendations for a couple books for more details. It then contrasts racing versus recreational rowing, and addresses some of the most famous aspects of rowing racing, Oxford-Cambridge and the Olympics. The chapter is wrapped up with a section called 'The need to row', where some of the motivations people have to row both as individuals and as part of a team.

Chapter 2, Know your Boats, covers the basics of rowing boats, including sweep versus scull shells. This chapter wouldn't be sufficient if you were wanting to find out enough to buy a new boat, but it does cover the parts of shells, materials, and maintenance. The sections on riggers/rigging and oars are both pretty good, going into a fair amount of depth. There are also some good tables and diagrams in this chapter that summarize the different types of shells and illustrate their composition and layout.

Chapter 3, Safety and Clothing, at first seems dull, but ends up having some decent information. Specifically, it describes how to get back in the boat after falling out, and how to right it if you flip it. There are a few points regarding safety, and some guidelines for appropriately dressing for rowing, weather considered.

The next three chapters deal more specifically with actual rowing, addressing technique. Chapter 4, The Basics, starts with a discussion of the ergometer, clearly advocating that getting some mastery over the stroke before even getting into a boat is a good idea. There are several photos used in this chapter to demonstrate the various stages of the stroke, and they are pretty good. The rest of the chapter covers getting the boat from the boathouse to the water and getting in and setting the boat up.

Chapter 5, On the Water, takes the reader from the "just in the boat and set up" point at the end of Chapter 4. Issues relating to what to do with your hands, how to maintain balance in the boat, stopping, turning, reversing and steering the boat are all addressed. Then it goes into starting off rowing one stroke at a time, and then moving into multiple strokes. It concludes with information about how to dock and get out of the boat.

Chapter 6, Essential Techniques, is the longest chapter and is the heart of the book. It explains all the basics of the rowing stroke (blade placement, leg drive, arms, recovery, controlling the seat, and catch), including pictures for each. Then it includes some exercises for working on specific techniques. These are decent and standard, and should especially help the learner who has little chance for instruction from a coach (but of course could help anyone). Finally, it discusses the role of the coxswain.

Chapter 7, Training for Rowing, gives a very basic overview of training plans, including aerobic, flexibility and weight training. The focus is towards younger rowers. The basics of anatomy and physiology as they pertain to rowing are also covered. This chapter would really be insufficient for anyone trying to come up with a training plan, as it just glosses over the best activities, but it does give a good idea of what such a plan would be like.

At the end of the book, a 2-page glossary of rowing-related terms is included, along with a list of national rowing organizations for many countries. There also is an index. ... Read more

Product Description
Rowing was the former East Germany's bible of rowing. East Germany dominated international rowing at virtually every level of competition from 1966-1990. Subjects discussed include rowing and sculling techniques, rigging, training and preparation for competition, development of beginners, tactics, and equipment. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Technical, Historical Gem
A concise yet complete text on the sport of rowing (as of 1983 or so), yet many of the technical princples hold today. Rowing/Rudern provides an interesting historical perspective on the socialist slant of the former East Germany towards the sport. Good for a chuckle if nothing more.

East German Hacksquat Animals reveal their secrets and doses
This book is a must read for any elite or would be elite rower.

If you follow the principles in this book of being a good GDR boy or girl...you're bound to improve your rowing immeasurably.

It covers pretty much everything from physiology, to boat construction, to history, to trainingdiary ideas and even Socialist principles of the elite German Socialistrower...

The only thing this doesn't include is a 'how to' guide toimplement the East German doping technique which they all pretty much usedthrough the 70s and 80s! ;-)

Otherwise, a great read...not for thebeginner or recreational rower though, unless you're very keen.

An excellent manual, touching upon all aspects of rowing.
This is the East German (remember them?) rowing bible from the 1970s.The training and technique instructional material is useful even today, and the book is filled with other information you never even knew you didn't know, like the proper minimum dimensions for boathouses, boat storage racks, and the like.Translated from German, and as a result not an especially exciting piece of literature, but entertaining nonetheless.The brief comments on why the coxswain must be an avid Party person (and they aren't referring to Saturday night; this is political) are a real hoot. David Lynch ... Read more

Product Description
In the early 1950s fisherfolk and other villagers around Minamata Bay on the western coast of Kyushu, Japan, began to suffer from mysterious and often fatal symptoms of what came to be known as Minamata disease. It was not until 1968 that the government acknowledged its cause-organic mercury poisoning from effluent released by Chisso Corporation, a chemical manufacturer and the largest employer in the Japanese city for which the disease was named. For decades the company denied responsibility and was joined by the Japanese government in its attempt to cover up the problem despite lawsuits and political protests. In this compelling oral history, Ogata Masato, fisherman and Minamata disease sufferer, tells of the devastation of methyl mercury poisoning. Spanning fifty years, his story describes the impact of industrial pollution on his own life, on his extended family, and on the fishing culture of the Shiranui Sea. A one-time leader of Minamata disease patients seeking certification and compensation, Masato breaks away to follow his personal path to redemption. Masato's story begins with the vibrant village of his childhood and culminates with the possibility of return, if not to one's birthplace, then to a spiritual community, to a consciousness that we owe our existence to the web of interrelationships that constitute life. When we turn full circle, explains Masato, we find ourselves again at the water's edge, a place where all life gathers. This is the launching point for "Tokoyo," boat of the Eternal World-a world defined at once by the past, present and future; a state of mind in which we are responsible not only for our own actions but for those of our society and our species. Masato's story, larger than any one man or one incident, raises questions we must all consider as beneficiaries of modern industry and technology. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (4)

A Beautiful Book
This is a beautiful book, beautifully written and very moving. Rush out and buy it immediately

Stream of consciousness doesn't work for everyone
Although the other (two) reviewers here loved this book, I cannot agree as I found the stream of consciousness style irritating, choppy and, frankly, hard to follow. [Not everyone is James Joyce!] I gave it a good try for a few chapters and then gave up.

The brilliance of remembrance
Anne Landsman shares so much in this brilliant novel. As an ex-South African of the same age, the remembrance of family - conflicted, beloved, dangerous and loving - reached deep into my soul. Landsman has the capacity to evoke pain and pleasure in just a few words. Her words paint a vivid picture of an experience that many of us will endure - the loss of a parent, strained love between siblings, a return to a world of pain in the midst of great beauty. Bravo.

Flows like a river
Anne Landsman's The Rowing Lesson is the story of Manhattan-based Betsy Klein, who returns to South Africa to be at the bedside of her dying father.While Dr Harold Klein, or "Doktor God", lies in a coma and his family awaits his death, pregnant Betsy imagines her father's life.

Like the river that is central to the story, Betsy's narrative flows lyrically, weaving deftly through past and present, painting an impressionistic picture of her irascible father's life.From his childhood days with Jewish immigrant parents in George and Wilderness, to his medical studies at Groote Schuur hospital and beyond, Landsman evokes the period in which the story is set and captures the political mood of the country with her keen eye and poetical turn of phrase.

I felt a little disappointed initially as I realized the book was written in present tense, second person, but my opinion changed when I got past the first few pages, and I gladly allowed myself to be swept along with the tide of Dr Klein's colourful life.In the end I realized this book could not have been written any other way.

This book is more than a story about father and daughter or about life and death.It is about black and white, jealousy and desire, beginnings and endings, about what it means to be Jewish in South Africa, and so much more.Anne Landsman's The Rowing Lesson is a beautifully-written portrait of a man with all his faults and fears, told in her unique and flowing style.I was swept away.
... Read more

Product Description
This volume in the Handbook of Sports Medicine and Science series delivers up-to-date scientific knowledge alongside practical applications in rowing, making it an invaluable resource for researchers, coaches and rowers of all abilities.

Published under the auspices of the International Olympic Committee, in collaboration with the International Rowing Federation (FISA), Rowing:

• Provides key knowledge of the historical, nutritional and psychological aspects of rowing


• Offers ground-breaking physiological insights which can help shape future training methodologies


• Features a rowing periodization plan to help trainers and athletes create comprehensive and effective training programs, racing plans and tactics.

Rowing brings together internationally renowned experts with experience in competitive rowing and sports medicine, making this the complete handbook of medicine, science and practice in rowing. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Ernestine Brayer
As a masters rower who began late in life to learn this amazing sport, I was unaware of how relatively young women's rowing is.The passion and grit that drove Ernestine Brayer and those around her to prevail in a men's rowing world and to establish the foundation of what women's rowing is today should be inspiring to rowers and non rowers alike.A good quick clean biography written with a journalist's eye and ear for the heart of the matter. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (2)

Sir Steven Redgrave - what better instructor
This book is very easy to read.A good introduction to the history of rowing (British bias), how to rig a boat and rowing technique.Perhaps the best chapter is devoted to faults, possible causes and how to correct them.This has been really helpful.

It's such a good book, I lent it to my coach and haven't been able to prize it away from him.I hope he buys his own copy soon.

Thoroughly recommended for everyone who has pushed down on a stretcher.

Peter

Gods Gift to Rowing
Mr Redgrave had won three consecutive Olympic Gold medals in rowing when he wrote this book, and he has just made that five in Sydney. This highlights the depth of his abilities and knowledge on the subject of rowing.

The book is basically an idiots guide on how to row.Within it he details not just how to row, and a large number of useful exercises, but provides chapters on diet, training (both physical and mental), and race plans.One of the most useful elements of the book is a chapter dedicated to common faults, how to recognise them and how to correct them.

I was impressed by the thoroughness of the book as it also provides information on how to rig a boat and recommendations for different sized crews in both number and weight.

The book is extremelly easy to read and understand and anyone who rows or coaches would find the book a valuable addition to their reference material. I purchased the book when it was first released as I was coaching schoolboy rowing in Australia. Although I had considered myself relatively experienced as a coach, the book was able to fine tune my knowledge and in some cases allowed me to introduce completely new aspects into my coaching regime. Due in no small part to the book the next few seasons were extremally succesful.

I very strongly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in rowing. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

i wish some of you would write a review of this book.
i wish some of you would write a review of this book.

i have the compilation {Pete Culler's Boats: The Complete Design Catalog} book by John G. Burke, buteventualy id like to have them all.the 2 seperate books that make up "The Complete Design Catalog" just for the library,,,maybe one of you have a junk edition to scan n put online.NOT one being currently published, but one that is out of publication. what could that harm?
then we wouldnt have to worry about wrecking our rare and good copys.

is this book any different than the compilation booksold for 200 to 500$ ?

thanx.
roy
i haveto say it, i bought the expensive one,in perfect condition,i dont think the guy ever opened it,it still crackles when i slightly open a page. it must have been bought and stacked on the book shelf.
i bought 5 books from a woman on ebay, well 4 then i noticed this one she also had,so i quickliy with fingers crossed,went to see if she still had it,she did. i bid i think 50$ and got it,shipped for under 20$.

well they say you can get good deals on ebay, thats the best one i ever got
so,they are still out there guys,, keep looking,,unless you have the cash and just want one of the 400$ jobs today..?

i have it in a bag,laying flat on the shelf, and almost never open it.

its a shame as id like to flip through and read the entire thing, but im nervous to..lol ill prob rip nearly every top right corner turning pages... :-( ... Read more

Product Description
The story of two non-rowers who took on the challenge of rowing a tiny boat in the tans-Atlantic race. ... Read more

Product Description
Ulla -Carin Lindquist was happily married, with four adoring children and a successful career as a newscaster. All of that changed when her fiftieth birthday drew near, and she was diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. In the face of this incurable, degenerative disease, Ulla kept a journal chronicling the last years of her life, not only for her children’s sake but also to help her cope with her impending death. As powerful and moving as books such as The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and Tuesdays with Morrie, Ulla’s unflinching account is an unforgettable reminder of how precious life really is. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Small, simple, spare
Small book, small pages, largish clean font, spare writing style. It occurs to me that the smallness of the book reflects how little time passed between the author's diagnosis of ALS and her death.

On the other hand, Ms. Lindquist, the author who died after writing the book, learned from her son "every second is a life." The author made a goal to live as completely as possible in the present she had left.

Through Ms. Lindquist's eyes, we see how inexorably life goes on around us even when we are, individually, in thrall to our own mortal endings. Reminds me of a documentary where you see a lion at the throat of a still-standing antelope culled from the herd. The kill is in slo-mo, and while you watch the dramatic - and futile - throes of the dying antelope, other members of the herd may continue to graze, saunter or trot a bit further way.

Ms. Lindquist's experience also gives a good glimpse into the Swedish health care system, to wit: It is no less a victim to bureaucracy than the American system. On the other hand, Ms. Lindquist, once she does wade through it, reaps the benefit of pretty wondrous care as she goes through the process of dying.

This is a grim story of one person's dying. ALS is not an easy death.

I'm glad I read it, and do recommend the book.

A very moving memoir
This memoir just took me a little over a weekend to read. It may be a small book but it is a very powerful one. I was very moved when I read it. It certainly gave me great insight to what someone with A.L.S. lives with on a daily basis. What a brave woman she was!

A Memoir on Living and Dying
Ulla-Carin Lindquist's poignant personal journey with ALS is a well written account containing many end of life issues - end of life as one knows it, end of dreams for the future, the beginning of a different way of framing events of the past, and the slow deterioration of health and abilities once taken for granted.Relationships are explored while emotions are uncovered or discovered.This book is filled with real thoughts from an intelligent woman undergoing tremondous hardship, yet done with beauty and hope.

Ulla-Carin was a popular newscaster on Swedish Television.

Three parts of the book stayed with me (might be a spoiler if you're planning on reading the book - I'm not sure).One, when her now grown daughter describes that all she ever wanted when her mom was a busy career newswoman was to have a full day to spend with her, and she never could (ouch!)but now that Ulla-Carin is sick she has all of the time each day to spend as she wishes within her limitations - another, when her boys play communication games (very touching and some just for FUN!) and a thought her young son introduces into her life, and which she introduces earlier but then she ends the book.
... Read more

Product Description
More than twenty years ago, a group of amazing women rowed their way to international success and glory, battling sexual prejudice, bureaucracy, and male domination in one of the most grueling and competitive sports. This gripping story of bravery, determination, and indomitable spirit captures a compelling moment in the history of sports. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (21)

Wonderful True Story of Female Athletes Making History
This book is great read.I am a rower and former coach but this book is written for rowers and non-rowers alike to enjoy.The author pulls you into another time when femle rowers (as many other female athletes of the time) were fighting to compete at an elite, international level in a male-dominated sport. The true story is told as a part of both college athletics' and Olympic history. The challenges both on and off of the water that these women and their coaches faced are shared so clearly that you feel you are actually watching it unfold. While I knew a lot about many of the key players from other books, and rowing connections, I learned even more about these inspiring individuals that laid the foundation for so many rowers and athletes to train and compete at the highest levels since.

Excellent women rowing story
Very inspiring tale of women of various ages battling male chauvinism and their own physical abilities in rowing.

Women, guts, glory, and a story
I am the proud parent of a stroke rower. This story, of very different women, from widely geographic and psychological backgrounds, all coming together to do something no one had done before, is mesmorizing and grabs at every heartstring I have.The forward is equally compelling.I have met one of the Yale rowers in this story, and believe me, if she did half the stuff she is credited doing, I have even more admiration for her.This book taught me a bit about rowing, some equipment nuances, and training techniques.It gave me several nights of wonderful pleasure, some laughs, some tears.Now that this sport, like most others, is so scientific, so over studied (I guess we have the east germans to thank for that), it largely selects the athletes by performance.But the 'Red Rose Crew' had that intangible:spirit and guts. That doesn't always show up on ERG scores, or height charts.I am so glad I read this, and was able to share it with my daughter. The writing is clear, concise, and both narrative and dialogue where appropriate.Great work.

An inspirational, albeit brief, history of women's rowing
I purchased the Red Rose Crew both as a rowing coach and coxswain. I had heard of the book before but never read it. While it was a relatively quick read, it did provide some good insight into how women's rowing has evolved since the 1970s. It gave some wonderful descriptions of the various struggles the women went through, as well as the individuals who helped them along their way.

It would be really nice to see a sequel, or something similar, that documents what women's rowing has become in the past twenty or so years. There is a decent follow-up of the individuals from the team at the end of the book, but I feel like I could have easily stomached another 100+ pages of what has happened since then.

All in all, a good read and a good book to have if you know anything about rowing, and specifically women's rowing at the collegiate level and beyond.

So much more than just a rowing story .....
If you love rowing, if you love sports, if you're interested in historical moments .... this book is wonderful.I have read it and re-read it.I have lent it and gifted it.This is the true story of several remarkable women athletes.It is extremely well written and takes you through the story with grace and passion.I think I'll go read it again! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Oars for fixed seat boats. Useful & Current.
Very helpful information for fixed seat row boat construction and operation. Info about feet placement, oar lock set-up, and especially lots of information on oar choice made this book a very good selection for me. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Excellent Book
My daughter gave me "Tiggie" which was also written By Sandy Macfarlane. Both of these books are a must read for people who enjoy fishing and/or shellfishing. Author makes the reading easy and it is difficult to put the book down. I have visited the Cape Cod area a few times and could picture the places she was describing. We have had similar problems in RI with the shell fish in our ponds and bay. Was also fascinated with the aquaculture she described in China.

Book was purchased used from Amazon.com and was in like new condition. Shipping took a little longer than expected.

Essential Cape Cod Reading
Sandy Macfarlane's book is a great read that gives insight into the unique features of life on the lower end of Cape Cod. The microcosm of the Pleasant Bay area has many lessons for other environmentally sensistive places as well. See her book on Tiggie as well.

Pleasurable Knowledge
This book was a pleasure to read!It presented a lot of information
and knowledge, but was never tedious or overbearing.Done almost in
the style of having the author speaking to you, I was amazed at how
much I learned and how much I enjoyed it.Would recommend to anyone
who cares about the sea, the beach, shell fish or Cape Cod.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Suffocating anguish and bursts of joy

Anne Sexton's final battles with her personal demons are documented here and it does not make for easy reading. The book opens with the poem Rowing and ends with The Rowing Endeth. In between are extraordinarily powerful poems about life, death, despair, the suicidal impulsive and mercifully about love too.

Referring to herself as Ms Dog, the author very honestly examines her psyche in poems like The Civil War, The Room Of My Life and The Witch's Life, a poem that continues a theme established by Her Kind in the first volume To Bedlam and Part Way Back and continued through The Black Art in All My Pretty Ones.

A poem like Courage overflows with hurt but has a transcendent quality too and the same duality or conflict becomes very clear in the poem After Auschwitz, where she declares: "Man ... / .../ is not a temple/but an outhouse", proceeding to curse mankind, before concluding with: "I say these things aloud./ I beg the Lord not to hear."

The Poet Of Ignorance is painful to read as the arresting image of an indestructible crab gripping the poet's heart becomes a metaphor for mental pain. This oppressive image is reiterated in The Dead Heart, where the tongue did the killing, a theme more delicately investigated in the next poem, Words.

The following one, The Sickness Unto Death, must be one of the bleakest poems in the English language in its seemingly casual wrestling with evil and utter despair. The line "My body became a side of mutton/and despair roamed the slaughterhouse" perhaps best encapsulates the unrelenting torment.

Mercifully, poems like Welcome Morning - a description of a burst of domestic joy - and The Big Heart - where the "fury of love" for friends and family rushes into her heart, show the other side of Sexton's intensity of feeling. The Awful Rowing Toward God was the last book to be arranged by the author herself and is not recommended for the fragile reader.

It chronicles a particularly agonizing search for meaning. But perhaps because of the intensity, some of the musical rhythm of her work from especially the two aforementioned books is missing here. There is still the conversational style, but it would appear that the large crab gripping Sexton's heart was squeezing very hard here, suffocating all but the most unquenchable outbursts of joy like Welcome Morning.

Suffocating anguish and bursts of joy
Anne Sexton's final battles with her personal demons are documented here and it does not make for easy reading. The book opens with the poem Rowing and ends with The Rowing Endeth and inbetween are extraordinarily powerful poems about life, death, despair, the suicidal impulsive and mercifully about love too. Referring to herself as Ms Dog, the author very honestly examines her psyche in poems like The Civil War, The Room Of My Life and The Witch's Life, a poem that continues a theme established by Her Kind in the first volume To Bedlam And Part Way Back and continued through The Black Art in All My Pretty Ones. A poem like Courage overflows with hurt but has a transcendent quality too and the same duality or conflict becomes very clear in the poem After Auschwitz, where she declares: "Man ... / .../ is not a temple/but an outhouse", proceeding to curse mankind, before concluding with: "I say these things aloud./ I beg the Lord not to hear." The Poet Of Ignorance is painful to read as the arresting image of an indestructible crab gripping the poet's heart becomes a metaphor for mental pain. This oppressive image is reiterated in The Dead Heart, where the tongue did the killing, a theme more delicately investigated in the next poem, Words. The following one, The Sickness Unto Death, must be one of the bleakest poems in the English language in its seemingly casual wrestling with evil and utter despair. The line "My body became a side of mutton/and despair roamed the slaughterhouse" perhaps best encapsulates the unrelenting torment. Mercifully, poems like Welcome Morning - a description of a burst of domestic joy - and The Big Heart - where the "fury of love" for friends and family rushes into her heart, show the other side of Sexton's intensity of feeling. The Awful Rowing Toward God was the last book to be arranged by the author herself and is not recommended for the fragile reader. It reflects the agonizing search for meaning that is so universal to the individual consciousness. But perhaps because of the intensity, some of the musical rhythm of her work from especially the two aforementioned books is missing here. There is still the conversational style, but it would appear that the large crab gripping Sexton's heart was squeezing very hard here, suffocating all but the most unquenchable outbursts of joy like Welcome Morning.

painful, but of great value
What to make of this sorid little book of verse? Its like watching someone disembowel themselves, draw up a schematic of what they should "really" look like, and then try, like Humpty Dumpty, to put themselves back together again.

Yet, somewhere here Anne Sexton reaches for something a little further from (and at the same time closer to) herself...namely, God. And that is what these poems are: Sexton wrestling with her God. A brief taste of what this text is like (from "The Sickness Unto Death" which is one of my favorite poems contained in the book)--

"I who was a house full of bowel movement,
I who was a defaced altar,
I who wanted to crawl toward God
could not move nor eat bread.

So I ate myself,
bite by bite,
and the tears washed me,
wave after cowardly wave,
swallowing canker after canker
and Jesus stood over me looking down
and He laughed to find me gone,
and put His mouth to mine
and gave me His air."

There is much to meditate on within the pages of "The Awful Rowing Toward God."When it comes to matters such as spiritual suffering, seeking, and pain, Mrs. Sexton seems to have had some experience. No doubt, this will not be everyone's cup of tea. Nevertheless, there is much of value here.

That is why I recommend this book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Upper Bow river drifting made easy
this boat is an easy read and very practical:helpful to a seasoned fly fisherman and novice drifter on the Upper Bow River

Excellent "How To" overview for drifters
Neale Streeks and Rod Walinchus have crafted an excellent book with clear and concise descriptions of water types and the required strategies to successfully negotiate that type of water.I found the overview of methodsto maximize fishing opportunies while drifting to be helpful as well. I didnot have much use for the sections relating to rafting but I did find thevast majority of the book very interesting and insightful.

Good balance of rowing and fishing skills for the newcomer
We know a bit about fly fishing but not much about rowing a driftboat.This book provides clear text and diagrams for reading the water and safely manuevering through difficult situations.It also gives good info on howto select a boat, which seems like a moot point if you are buying thisbook, but is interesting nonetheless.The trip checklist at the end of thebook is very useful.Highly Recommended ... Read more

Product Description
At one time, indoor rowing machines were used mainly by seasoned outdoor rowers for winter training, but since the 1990s indoor rowing has expanded enormously and has grown into an individual sport in its own right. Every year international competitions take place, the most important being the World Championships, the European Championships and the British Championships, the latter being held in Birmingham. ... Read more

Product Description
In INDOOR ROWING: Perfection In Exercise, Jay Nithus details indoor rowing as one of the most overlooked and beneficial exercises for body-fat reduction.Central to the theme, rowing's unique compound movement, and non-weight bearing design are given strong analysis due to their impact on injury prevention, start-up ease, and sustainability. Covered topics include rowing's superiority as a cardiovascular exercise, the role of strength endurance in exercise, the economics of indoor rowing, machine reviews, fitness regimens, competition strategies, adaptive strategies, societal aspects, heart rate monitors, VO2 Max, plus an unabridged questions n' answers chapter.Nithus even goes so far as to allow the reader a look into his own personal experiences not only with indoor rowing, but also on the water.A unique, unprecedented and oftentimes punchy look at Perfection In Exercise.--"A book dedicated to everyone who has ever been lied to as to how safe, effective, and sustainable fat loss can occur." --Jay Nithus ... Read more