I know what you are thinking. Is Kevin now a paid publicist for DK? I mean how many of these books is he going to post about?
But it really isn’t my fault. DK emailed me about China: People Place Culture History and I was intrigued because not only did I major in history in both undergrad and graduate school but my parents recently spent a couple of years in China teaching English. Their stories and pictures piqued my interest in this remarkable country. After reviewing the book, I was blown away by the photographs and information it contained. My entire family has spent hours reading it.
So then they said, if you like history you should check out History: An Illustrated Guide to the Ideas, Events and People that Shaped the Human Story and I was again impressed with both the illustrations and text.
So when they recommended The Sports Book I had to check it out. After all, I spend large chunks of my weekend watching or playing sports so it seemed like another great fit. Plus, how can you not be fascinated by a book that has artificial turf on its cover?
For my take on this unique book see below.
Not surprisingly, I found the book to be yet another fascinating collection of information. Here is a description from the publisher to give you an idea of how much is packed into this book:
Featuring the largest and most diverse range of sports of any comparable book–more than 200 in all–from basketball to bobsledding, karate to korfball, synchronized swimming to ski-jumping, this up-to-date and authoritative guide presents information sourced from leading experts and sports governing bodies around the world to give you the most comprehensive book on sports to ever hit the market.
- Explains rules, tactics, and techniques in a way that is clear, engaging, and effective
- Includes a section on the Olympic Games, explaining all 35 Olympic sports
- Clear diagrams define fields of play and identify specific zones and player positions
- Outlines each sport’s geographical range, history, major competitions, and successful competitors
- Examines equipment and clothing, teams and players, and common terms of each sport
Some friends came over last weekend to watch some football. When the game got out of hand and we lost interest, I was showing them the book. We flipped through it and were immediately fascinated by how many sports there were in the world that we didn’t know about. Ball based sports, racket sports, boating sports, more than you could practically imagine. It was quite entertaining.
It would also come in quite handy to anyone who lacks a solid grasp on sports and wants to learn the basics. Like cricket. How many Americans understand cricket? Pick up the Sports Book and you can learn the basics.
Or what about hockey? Say your significant other loves the sport and you have no idea what is going on. Get out the Sports Book and figure it out with graphics like this:
Pretty cool, no?
With more than 200 sports included it is hard to imagine a sport you had a question about that isn’t detailed in these pages.
Heck, this volume would be handy just for the Olympic section alone.
This would make a great gift for the sports fanatic. And it makes a great coffee table book and conversation starter.
So if you love sports of every sort imaginable, or you are completely uninformed and you need to bone up so you can converse with your sports addicted friends, you might want to check out The Sports Book.
My copy will share a place of pride on the coffee table no matter what the season or sport I happen to be watching.
