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58 of 63 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Coach, June 17, 2005
Despite the fact that I am always fascinated by whatever Michael Lewis writes about, I had not planned to read Coach. In the bookstore, it looked like one of those "inspirational" books they stock at the checkout counter, next to the gift books about angels and cats.
But then I heard an interview with Lewis on NPR radio. The book was originally a magazine article in the New York Times Magazine. He summarized the story in a few minutes. A coach he had at his prep school (I didn't even catch what sport Lewis was playing) had changed his life by treating him, in a critical moment in a must-win game, as if he was the clutch player Lewis and every other kid dreams of being. Lewis rose to the occasion and the confidence he gained from the experience radiated to his academic work and beyond. But now, twenty-some years later, the parents at the private school are pressuring the headmaster to oust the coach. They say his heavy-handed ways are hurting their kids' self-esteem. Lewis ended his radio summary by revealing that publicity from the New York Times article had resulted in the coach keeping his job, although the school was now looking for a new headmaster.
What a great story. It was short and had conflict as well as a satisfying ending. But then I read the book, which is simply the article, unchanged.
In it, the coach has a temper that seems uncontrolled and frightening, even to the adult Lewis. Coach takes a second-place trophy his team won and smashes it on the locker room floor, indicating his disgust at not winning first. He refuses to drive home when the team has lost, obsessively walking miles through New Orleans at night (yikes) to punish himself for being a loser. When the team doesn't hustle enough, he makes them practice sliding headfirst on concrete-hard dirt until they are bloody and bruised.
Lewis's interviews with former students of the coach sound like Stockholm Syndrome sufferers, people who've been kidnapped and held hostage but come to sympathize with their captors. The former players speak with admiration as they describe how Coach intimidated them. Lewis tells of being on the mound in another clutch situation as Coach shouts ridicule at him from the dugout, distracting him enough so that he misses a grounder that hits him in the face, causing him to black out. But when Lewis regains consciousness, he loves Coach, just as Winston loved Big Brother.
Lewis mentions that when he was a young pitcher, the coach had him put Ben Gay on the bill of his cap, to use for spitballs when his fastball wasn't doing the trick. I'm not familiar with prep league play, but isn't throwing a spitball against the rules? The more I read, the less I admired the coach.
As usual, Lewis's writing is compelling, and once you start Coach, you won't be able to put it down. You just may not find it as inspiring as Lewis meant it to be.
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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Profound lesson with an economy of words, June 26, 2005
Lewis makes a remarkable statement: a person is not born with selfrespect, but earns it. A struggle to overcome fear and failure is necessary. There are those that try to instill these beliefs on children, even though the lesson is not appreciated immediately in their youth and the profoundly positive impact is not understood until later in life. This is what the book is about.
Lewis' high school coach drives them hard. The kids don't understand why initially. Over time, they learn that through hard work they can achieve their goals--not just in athletics.
Casual readers, based on earlier reviews, seem to think that the coach is obsessed with winning; they miss the point (just as Lewis did when he was in 7th grade). Lewis talks about a season when the team was 1-12: The coaches frustration is not with the win-loss record, but that they kids possess the drive to improve and compete. He is not preparing them to win baseball games, but obtain their goals for years to come in life.
The book is a criticism of a growing opinion among parents that kids are born with respect, instead of needing to develop it. Achievement builds selfrespect, not conception. Parents should be exposing their children to fear and failure to allow them to overcome these obstacles instead of protecting them from it.
The touching element is that a successful author living comfortably in the Bay area champions someone that people no longer believe in, because this person championed him when nobody, including Lewis, believed in himself. It is the ultimate strength of character that Lewis' coach successfully cultivated in Lewis and others.
As a subscriber to the New York Times, I get the magazine. Unfortunately I did not see this article when it was published. To say a book that is a reprint of an article does not have merit is to foolishly presume that everyone gets the Times and has the time every Sunday to devour it. A reprint of an article takes a concept from a select few to the masses. Shame on those who do not appreciate this.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Target Audience Young Adults, September 16, 2005
I differ with previous reviews lamenting the brevity of the book. Obviously, adults reading the book were thinking in terms of adults. I read the book thinking about my 12-year old grandson and felt it was a perfect book to send him at this stage in his life.
This is exactly the type of book you would want to send your grandchildren or have your own children read.
It sends a powerful message and being written by someone having been coached by this person at the age of 13 makes it even more valid.
It may be short, but that's the beauty of it. It keeps your interest, gets the point across and leaves you wishing for more or better yet, offers the opportunity for discussion with young adults.
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