| Bestsellers | | • | Kaplan GRE Exam 2009 Premier Program (w/ CD-ROM) (Kaplan Gre Exam (Book & CD-Rom)) | | • | Kaplan GMAT Premier Program, 2009 (Book & CD-ROM) | | • | An Introduction to Language | | • | A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing) | | • | Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges | | • | What Color Is Your Parachute? 2008: A Practical Manual for Job-hunters and Career-Changers | | • | How To Get Into the Top MBA Programs, 4th Edition (How to Get Into the Top Mba Programs) | | • | McKeachie's Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research, and Theory for College and University Teachers (College Teaching) | | • | Kaplan GRE Math Workbook, Sixth Edition | | • | Helping Skills: Facilitating Exploration, Insight, and Action |
|
|
|
|
A Season on the Mat: Dan Gable and the Pursuit of Perfection | 
 enlarge | Author: Nolan Zavoral
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
Buy New: $2.88
You Save: $11.12 (79%)
New (24) Used (15) from $2.76
Avg. Customer Rating:  22 reviews
Sales Rank: 450701
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.9
ISBN: 1416535535
Dewey Decimal Number: 796
EAN: 9781416535539
ASIN: 1416535535
Publication Date: January 9, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: GREAT Bargain Book Deal - like new, some may have small remainder mark - Ships out by NEXT Business Day - Over ONE MILLION Amazon orders filled - 100% Satisfaction Guarantee!
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Had Dan Gable played baseball or basketball instead of wrestled, not only would ad campaigns have been built around him, but also a wing in the hall of fame. Gable, a true athletic icon, dominated his sport--a virtually obscure one by American standards--as no one has before or since. An Olympic champion, Gable was virtually unbeatable. As a coach, he's been dauntingly invincible. His Iowa Hawkeyes have won 10 straight national championships--15 altogether--and every Big 10 title in the sport since Gable took over the program in the mid-1970s. A Season on the Mat is the engrossing narrative of Iowa's 1996-97 Cinderella season, Gable's finale as coach, and the intriguing hold wrestling has on its participants. Still, Gable is the clear star here. With drama and pathos, author Nolan Zavoral profiles him as a fiercely driven and competitive man, wracked by physical and emotional pain as he grapples with the life-altering decisions that he knows it's time to make.
Product Description
For twenty-one years, Dan Gable's Iowa Hawkeyes dominated wrestling to an extent rarely seen in any sport: twenty-one consecutive Big 10 titles and fifteen national championships. In A Season on the Mat, award-winning reporter Nolan Zavoral explores Iowa's storied wrestling program and Gable's record of excellence in an unprecedented, intimate look at the man and his methods during his final season as a head coach.A Season on the Mat chronicles the dramatic 1996-97 season, in which Gable led his team -- far from his most talented -- to a record-breaking performance at the national championship, at which it scored the most points in collegiate wrestling history. Zavoral takes the reader behind the scenes into the stifling heat of the wrestling room, where young men from places like Rock Falls, Illinois, or Philip, South Dakota, sacrifice everything they have just to be a part of the Hawkeye program. From his difficult upbringing, interrupted by the tragedy of his sister's brutal murder, through the single defeat that haunts him to this day, to the ups and downs of his phenomenal coaching career, Gable has come to symbolize to many all that is special about this demanding, elemental sport. Part biography, part chronicle, part portrait of this unique subculture, A Season on the Mat is the best and most thorough look at one of the most important and most overlooked figures in American athletics.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 17 more reviews...
 Understanding the making of a wreslting legend November 19, 2007
Gable was not the biggest, strongest or most athletic wrestler. But he took advantage of the tools he had and maximized them to their fullest. His drive for success pushed him & his teams to unbelievable heights. A must read for any wrestling fan or sports enthusiast.
Great Book!!! May 15, 2007
This is an excellent review of many of the details that only a coach and his wrestlers see and feel everyday. I definately think anyone who is a fan, parent, coach or participant of wrestling, and especially college wrestling should read this great book.
Not a wrestler, barely a fan... March 16, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
...but you can't help but be taken in by the story of Dan Gable. The lessons that he preaches, and embodies, go way beyond the mat--perserverance, hard work, dedication, and perhaps most importantly, leading by example.
For that reason, I enjoyed the book, and got through it pretty quickly. I would have no reservations about recommending this book based on that alone.
But, I'll admit, it gets bogged down quite a bit as it becomes a point-by-point recap of the season. Starts to feel like the same things over and over again. I'll agree with other posters who say that it may have lacked some of the intensity and emotion that it could have had. For that, I would recommend "Four days to Glory." An awesome book on high-school wrestling that seems to be to do a better job of making you feel the drama of what wrestlers go through and why they do what they do.
I'd say buy both of these books for a pretty complete picture of Iowa wrestling "from cradle to grave." The afterword in the paperback version of "A season on the mat" does a good job of bringing closure to both books (hard to explain, but you'll see what I mean).
"Simply the best" May 9, 2002
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
"A Season on the Mat" is simply the best book about the greatest wrestler and coach ever to grace the the mat. You will lose yourself as you read about Gable's struggles in pursuing yet another NCAA title. Read about how Gable sucked up the pain for one final season and set an example for the 1996 Hawks. Buying this book is the best way a fan can remember DG's final year on the sidelines.
 Good, not great November 8, 2001
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
As an ex-wrestler turned journalist (and someone who has interviewed Dan Gable), Zavoral's book is a decent look into Gable and the Iowa program. However, the writer at times tries to be bigger than his subject(s) using silly similies(describing Lincoln McIlravy's wrestling style as a man probing an ear or corn) and far flung analogies. The book also lacks logic in some areas, but does a good job of explaining the nuances of amateur wrestling to the uninitiated -- which is no easy task. Typos are also pretty prevalent, but that's the editor's job to catch it.
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
