This book is of a true hero, David Kopay. What a story of courage and inspiration. If you want to be inspired, read this book. One of the best!!

This is David Kopay's account of growing up gay back when there were very few books or support groups to turn to, which makes it stand even taller. He describes his experience as a college and professional football player as well as being in a fraternity. I find him candid, readable and likeable. He never asked for any special favours, just the right to live his life his way and do what he knew how to do.

I'm proud that David is a fellow Husky; his name adds honour to the reputation of the University of Washington, both as a hard-nosed athlete who hit like a freight train and as a man of courage. Just about anyone could benefit from reading his book.

Before Dan Woog's "Jocks," before "The Front Runner," before the whole genre, David Kopay rocked the homophobic world of sports by coming out and telling his story. An amazing personal journey and a great historic account, this is a must-have for your gay library. Not as sexy as you'd think, instead it's a harrowing and touching tale of the first pro football player - the first jock of the 20th century - to come out big time. We all owe this man a lot, but beyond that, this is a compelling story.

I couldn't put this book down. For a few successive nights, it brought me back to the time I shared with a beloved sister as caregivers, faithful visitors, and advocates for my Dad over the course of the year it took for him to die of stomach cancer. The author hits all the right notes when he writes of caregiver behavior and coping strategies, even humor. The theme of placating and seeking favors from every functionary along the way in Malady rings ever so true. No scheme or pretense is too low when the well-being of a loved one is at stake. I recommend it for anyone about to ride shotgun on the journey through Malady.

After hearing Lipsyte on NPR and as a recent emigrant into the country of Malady myself, I couldn't not read and now recommend this book. I laughed and cried with Mr. Lipsyte as he talked about his travels to Malady (the land of sickness)because I was able to identify with most of his experiences. Like his ex-wife, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Regardless of the prognosis, I truly believe that it is impossible to remain unscathed by the diagnosis of cancer or any other chronic or terminal condition. Like all of us travelers, Mr. Lipsyte has his own souveniers of his journey and he shares them with humor and sorrow, the two sides of the coin of malady. I laughed with him as he shared stories from the tumor ward and I cried with him as breast cancer consumed Margie. This book is important for anyone who is experiencing a longterm or chronic disease him/herself but it is equally important for the caregivers to appreciate fully their role in the disease paradigm.

I couldn't put this down. He made his time, and his ex-wife's times with cancer so vivid -- the doctors, the feelings, his relations with his family, the wild dark humor. He sounded like a really compassionate man to me -- clear-eyed and telling things straight, not pretending. I went through cancer treatment recently -- chemo, surgery, radiation -- so maybe that's partly why it was so fascinating for me. But I really could have used this book when I was going through all that -- and now, 3 years later, I could really get into his story and especially that crazy, dark tumor humor, the stuff that gets you through those chemo sessions.

This was a great biograpy. It was a great book about a sports ledgen. Jim thorpe is an Native American sports ledgen. He playde football, baseball, and ran track. He was a great all around athlete. In this book you will learn about his parents, family, friends, and his school days. This book was fasinating to me and it told me about how Jim Thorpe lived his life.

I've read all of Bobby Marks adventures and this is his hour of humanity. Bobby's 18 now and finds work at the local laundry service where he thinks his summer will be full of girl's and bar fights. He's hired by Sinclair, the new owner who he believes to be a great guy. Joanie returns from Europe as her family has gotten richer from invetments. Bobby goes to a party at her house and sees Sinclair with a woman who's not his wife. Bobby's summer gets harder when his father begins to grow sicker after an operation. As he's dealing with this, Joanie has him lie for her as to where she is to her parents. As Bobby goes on route with one of the other workers, he sees Sinclair with a girl and kiss her. As the girl turns, Bobby sees that it's Joanie. A week later, Joanie tells him she's pregnant. A day before, Bobby learned that his father is getting worse and the workers of the laundry keep getting hurt by faulty equiptment. Now Bobby has to decide what to do to save his friend and how to lead the local workers.
This book delt with darker elements then the previous two such as adultry and abortion in the 50's but Bobby rises to all the challenges thrown his way showing he has matured from "The Crisco Kid" to "The Summerboy."

this was a good book but not as good as it's precessor, the contender. This book is about an indian boy who is a boxer and goes to NYC and gets caught up in drugs and a beautiful girl and tries to box with it all.

This book is awesome! I am the kind of person who hates to read. I usually stop reading books whenever I can, but I couldn't put this book down. I am almost tempted to go check out the book and read it again just for the heck of it. The title is not very catchy THE BRAVE. I mean come on who wants to read a book with that kind of a title, but dont let that discourage you. This book is about a boxer named Sonny Bear who lives on a reservation near Sparta.

Sonny somehow winds up in the middle of a big crack war in New York City. Then Sonny meets Brooks and Spoon which are his key to the heavyweight title. So if you want to see if Sonny becomes the heavyweight champ you will have to go read the book for yourself.

Sonny Bear is a 17-year-old boxer who boxes in "smoke houses". A smoke house is a house where people bet on boxers that are "professional." His uncle, Jake, is a moscondaha Indian just like Sonny. As Sonny boxes, a farmer boy with blond hair is the first one to beat him. He the hitch-hikes to the The Deuce in New York to see his mother. When he gets there, he is met by an escaped convict from prison named stick and a 17-year-old hottie named Doll. While they are walking up and down The Deuce, an octet of cops attack Sonny and Stick then grabs his wallet and runs off with it. While Sonny is in jail, he is confronted by Sergeant Brooks, a former Harlem boxer that decided to be a cop. While Brooks is asking him questions, he finds out that Sonnt is a boxer and decides to train him to be #1 champion he possibly could be. Brooks tells him about Donatelli's Gym and the story about when he was boxing. Next, he starts training to win the Golden Gloves Award. AS he proceeds in the tournament, he is next to face Brooks' arch rival's son

The book I read was awsome. I would reccomend this book to anybody boxing and boxers. This book tells you all about his life. To when he was a kid to a boxer.

I strongly believe that this book is a wonderful description of the life of one of the greatest boxers of all time. Starting with his early childhood, Robert Lipsyte describes Muhammad Ali's life in complete detail. He describes the events that Muhammad had to go through and the obstacles he had to overcome on his way to achieving the title "The World's Greatest!" After reading this book, you will understand the life and times of the man who could float like a butterfly and sting like a bee.

Nothing beats recipes that have been passed down (and refined) for generations. The recipes are diverse, easy to follow, and accompanied by (heartwarming) stories of their origin or significance. The range of cultures and recipes---from Tabbouleh to Pasta y Fagioli to Bahia-Style Shrimp---is astounding. And I love that there are two, differently inspired recipes for empanadas! P.S. This book is absolutely gorgeous---beautifully designed! I gave this book to a friend as a holiday gift, but I'll be buying more copies after the holidays.

If you, like me, are always curious about a recipe¹s significance, you will thoroughly enjoy La Cocina de la Familia. Every recipe has a story--and what a range. From comical anecdotes of lessons learned from grandma, to notes about the origins of certain foods, I enjoyed reading this book even away from my kitchen. Add to this the fact that many of the recipes are quite interesting--and also delicious!! I especially love the Salted Codfish Salad, although I did have to go on a search to find some of the ingredients. Several Lower East Side restaurants have also contributed wonderful recipes, including Minted Sweet Pea Soup from Indiana Market and Catering and Apple Cobbler from Mama's Food Shop. The range of contributors is quite a feat, with Al Gore's recipe next to recipes from local restaurants and neighborhood residents. And the Lower East Side/Alphabet City restaurant listing in the back is an added bonus. I plan to make this one of my more popular stocking stuffers! Happily, all the proceeds go to benefit a neighborhood drug crisis center, so I get a good gift and a good deed.

They could include more dishes. I liked the fact that it is a TRULY bilingual edition. I mean the translation is clean. It's a great book to have.

this was a good book. i read it during my afro american unit in english class and i am very glad this was my pick. it is a story of a black man persuing his dreams of being a comedian, how he starts out being very very poor and he later becomes quite well off. it intrigued me and i couldnt put it down..

This book was a great biography that was well writtten by an african american. This piece was very interesting and gave me a chance to seee through the eyes of a person close to the same race. The book Nigger by Dick Gregory was a way for me to see the opposing point of view felt and how the acted towards prejudism. I would recommend this book to someone who really wants to see through the eyes of another person. In this book things are said that normally aren't said because of the lack of respect it would show people and the explict lyrics.

The book was both ugly and beautiful. You step into the life of a young black boy and journey with him into manhood. Just wonderful!

This book is about a boy named Bobby who is very much overweight. He always gets made fun of. He hates the summmer because that's when people wear the least amount of close and he is very self conscious about his body. He hates the fact that he can't cover himself up in sweaters and jackets because the weather is too warm. He gets a summer job at a man named Dr. Khan's house. He has to do lawn work all summer and is constantly afraid that he is going to be beat up by a boy who has problems and thinks the only way to feel better is to try to beat up Bobby. I found this book very interesting and I found that it was very hard to put down because I couldn't wait to see what happened next! I would recommend this book to anyone because I feel that anyone could enjoy this book no matter what their interests in books are.

Earleir this year I read a book called One Fat Summer by Robert Lipsyte. I thaught this was a pretty good book to read. It had alot of action in it. The main charector in the book is an extremely overweight boy who is always getting made fun of. There was always one kid that made fun of him and tried to beat him up. One time he got his revenge on the kid that made fun of him. I recomed this book for you to read.

In this book young Bobby Marks is an overweight kid. Since he is overweight he is always teased and picked on. He is called names like crisco because he is fat in a can. The person in this book that gives him the hardest time is Willie Rumson. Willie picks on him and also threatens his life. He threatens his life all because Bob got a lawn mowing job and he didn't.
This book expresses that you shouldn't make fun of people because they are overweight or have disabilities. On a scale of 1-10 I give it a ten. I reccomend this book to anyone who wants a good laugh. Its probobaly the best book I ever read.

This story takes place in Harlem ,New York in the slums of the
projects. A young black male named Alfred Brooks faces peer
pressure, trust, and the desire to win. Alfred dropped out of high
school and start to work at the Epstiens. The Epstiens store is a
family business of a white, Jewish, and rich family. Alfred has
been best friends with James who is starting to hang around with
the wrong crowd. James is into drugs and alcohol. Alfred Brooks
has an aunt who took him in after his father left and his mother
died. He calls her Aunt Pearl. His friend Henry told him about a
gym called Donatelli's Gym. Alfred decided to see what he could
do to become a boxer. Once in the gym, Alfred meets Mr.
Donatelli who is the owner of the gym. Mr. Donatelli is a white
and experienced trainer in boxing. Mr. Donatelli helped Alfred to
discover his goal in life. Alfred will have to get up and run each
morning and eat healthy meals. Even though he knew it would be
tough he was up for the sacrifice and hard work. Alfred didn't
explain to Aunt Pearl his decision to become a boxer. Each
morning when she asked where he was going he just said 'I'm
going running.' Even after she found out that he was boxing she
didn't get mad because she remembered when her parents wouldn't
allow her to follow her dream. Major on the other hand bullied
Alfred and others around. Major has two sidekicks named Sonny
and Hollis. In the middle of the book Sonny and Hollis, along with
Major, jumped and beat Alfred. Major talked Sonny, Hollis, and
James into robbing the Epstiens store. The police came but only
one of them got caught in the robbery. Later on in the book the
suspense ends and we find out that James is the one that got
caught. Major haunts Alfred for the rest of the book. After three
ametuer fights in the ring Donatelli suggested that Alfred stop
boxing. Alfred took his advice and contemplated on what to do.
After talking to his cousin Jeff, Alfred decided to quit boxing and
go back to school and work with the children in the community.

The Contender, even though it didn't seem like a book meant for a girl, caught my attention. The style of Robert Lipsytes Writing makes you feel like you are actually there in the story and interacting with the characters. You can visualize the Robbery at the Epsteins' store. You can smell the musty air in Donatelli's gym. I would reccomend this book to teenagers. I don't think that adults would enjoy it as much, because I don't think that it would be as easy for them to relate to what the main character, Alfred Brooks, is feeling. Under the age of 11 or 12 probally wouldn't understand the meaning of the book, or maybe they would but wouldn't be able to get the full experience of the reading because they can't feel what Robert Lipsyte was expressing. Overall, The Contender was full of fun suprises, and dreary times. I suggest you read this book!

Do you like books with action? Gangsters? How about a book where good people go bad? A book packed with crime and temptation? Well, then this is the book for you. This book is about a kid who quits school, parents die, and his best friend joins a gang. When he is asked to help break into a store that he works for, he realizes that his friend and his gang are not for him. So the main character, Alfred tries to find a purpose to his life. He hears that his best friend James used to box. Alfred decides to give it a shot, and meets the manager. And Alfred finds that there's something special about this person, this Donatelli (Donatelli is the manager of the gym). He tells Alfred to become a contender, and leaves Alfred to figure out what that means. On Alfred's journey, he encounters James' gang, as well as temptation of popcorn, fries, and soda. When Alfred finally becomes a contender, he finds a purpose to his life, and helps James become good again. To find out the details and what a contender is, read Robert Lipsyte's book, The Contender. Six stars out of five! Two thumbs and one finger up!