Assault on Lake Casitas, by Brad Alan Lewis, is an absolute must-read book for Rowers, but it is also an amazing book for anyone who has ever fought to be the best then can be. As the story of one man's battle for olympic gold, Assault has a powerful momentum and a good story intertwined with Lewis's ideas about excellence, strength, and determination. It is written in a tight, powerful style that pushes the reader forward and makes your pulse pound. My coxswain used to read the second-to-last chapter to my boat as psych before every race, and it is the most inspirational thing i've ever heard.

Brad Lewis' "Assault on Lake Casitas" is bar none the finest book ever written, not just on the sport of rowing, but on the unflaging pursuit of excellence. A powerfully gripping read from cover to cover, Lewis's description of the training, trials, heats and finals of his 1984 olympic campaign captures the essence of competitive rowing. Like many of the other reviewers, I too read Lewis' heart stopping description of his Grand Final race before races-no other book captures with such power the emotions which crew illicits. A triumph of determination and perseverence, Lewis' story is a great, great read.

I read this book in one sitting, and was completely intrigued by the world of rowing which I knew nothing about before. These guys are insane, training hard with no big bucks down the line, and Brad Lewis had to not only fight against pain but against the "old-boy" silver jockstrap preppy rowing establishment, which stood in his way. Well, the good news is that he went for his dream, and realized it. The dude copped the gold!! The book is gripping, the prose is clean, the emotions very honest, and there is no drippy sentiment to muddle the read. What I don't understand is why the squeeky little pre-pubescent tumblers get all the headlines, when these giant brutes of rowers compete in a sport which is ancient -- from Polynesia to the galley slaves, these crew guys are throwbacks. This is fascinating stuff. I'm glad I stumbled on this book and I recommend it to anyone interested in America or American sports. Ultimately it is ! ! about one man's assault on the limits, personal, political and mental. Check this book out.

There is nothing like the tale of a man who bares his soul out of a desperate, pathetic need to lessen his guilt. Even though the "hero" is tragically flawed and yes, pathetic, the insights reaped from this story are incredibly enlightening. One gets the feeling we are reading nothing but the bare bones truth of someone's ghosts that have just come out of the closet - and how refreshing it is. Basic but ingenious writing a la Camus and Hemmingway. This is a flat out great book.

This book was really excellent; good story, amazing characters; I only wish it was longer. This lewis-guy, whoever the hell he is, can write amazingly well

I can't remember the last time (if ever) that I wanted to start reading a book again as soon as I'd finished it... but, as a rower, coach (back in Blighty) and Zen acolyte, this book contains so many gems that I feel I need to go back and mop up any I might have missed.

When I first met the character Brad Lewis in The Amateurs, 'likeable' is not a word I would immediately associate with a predatory shark with sustained obsession... but, after this volume, I kinda like the guy...

The only downside is that this is a work of FICTION - how can this be?? Anyway, great stuff!

Brad Lewis takes you into his rowing world through the eyes of a men's collegiate club team coach. Rather comical, but may escape the humor of a non-rower. Very easy to read and hard to put down.

I can tell that whoever wrote the scripts did not write the book. Actually I have read Assault on Lake Casitas by Brad Alan Lewis. Rescued from Prime Time definitely exhibits his intelligent writing style. What is he doing associating himself with Baywatch? I guess this is one way to bring a little class to this old, cliched TV series. By the way, the Baywatch book is pretty interesting.

A friend of mine gave me this book. (He knows I'm a big fan of Alexandra Paul - she was a Baywatch star - in my opinion she's much sexier than Pamela Anderson.) Anyway, I figured this would just be a fluff piece - a few paragraphs to fill in the space between all the pictures (which are excellent, by the way). To my surprise, I found the book to be quite interesting. Basically it's one guy's story - how he thought up the idea for Baywatch - how he spent years trying to get someone interested - how he fought to get the show back on the air after it was canceled by NBC. I found the story to be downright exciting. Overall, I think you don't need to be a Baywatch fan to enjoy the book - it's a good read.

Baywatch isn't Shakespear but then again neither is 99.99% of the stuff on TV. Nonetheless, my kids and I enjoy watching the show, and I really enjoyed reading the book. The author - the same guy who created the show - takes the reader through the process of getting Baywatch on the air - first at NBC and then on syndicated TV. I was truly impressed by the sheer amount of work this guy did to make it a success. Clearly he has a work ethic that most of us mere mortals can only envy. And if anyone is interested in a how-to for creating their own TV series, you could get a lot of good ideas from this book.