The Mental Edge (Paperback)

by Kenneth Baum (Author) "A forty-one-year-old man plays golf twice a week, but his putting has stubbornly remained the worst part of his game..." (more)
Key Phrases: mental edge, mental training program, performance cues, Desire Statement, Power Talk, Success History Search (more...)

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Perigee Trade; 1 edition (March 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399524819
• ISBN-13: 978-0399524813
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #36,471 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

91 of 101 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not my cup of tea..., March 28, 2005

By	K. Mills (Jackson, WY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a hard book to rate-it really all depends on the reader. For me, it came off kind of as `Chicken Soup for the Athlete's Soul.' A little hokey for my tastes.

The entire thing can be summed up in two sentences: 1: Keep an unfailingly positive attitude, and 2: Spend a bunch of time visualizing success. The rest is mostly not-so-useful expansions on those (admittedly useful) ideas or inspiring anecdotes about little choo choos that could. If you're looking for concrete meditation or mind control techniques, you'll probably want to look somewhere else.

I'm not trying to be negative about the book. I think a lot of people would find it really inspirational and helpful. You just need to be aware of what it is and what it isn't before you buy...

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not the same old stuff, September 20, 1999

By A Customer

I am a magazine journalist and athlete, and write primarily about health and fitness--to the tune of about 40 articles a year. When I found this book I immediately decided to pitch a feature story on these techniques because they are DIFFERENT. There is so much out there on mental training that basically says, "Strive for excellence." Yawn! HOW? This book shows how. It covers a couple of basic concepts, visualization and positive self-talk, but delves into other techniques even I had not heard of. And I've interviewed many other trainers, coaches, etc. like Ken Baum. I think that's why such a top athlete like Karch Kiraly subscribed to these methods. The author's ideas called "Success History Search" and "Performance Cues" have been extremely helpful to me in the gym. When you write about fitness and work out all the time, it can get boring--but these ideas helped me break a plateau and move to an even better level of fitness.

39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An absolute must for reaching one's maximum potential!, October 24, 1999

By A Customer

The Mental Edge is the mind body connection! I am a girls' high school volleyball coach in CA and the team uses Mr. Baums techniques religously. These techniques never allow the mind to get in the way of the body. The athlete learns to bombard his/herself with positive thoughts of previous success! The book is a must for any serious athlete. I have had the pleasure to work personally with Mr. Kenneth Baum and I am a better person, coach, and athlete because of our association! Results come quickly!