Sports Fact and Book Rec of the Day 7/10/2007

During a trip to Fenway Park, Derek Jeter contrasted its intimate confines with the wide expanse of the outfield at Yankee Stadium: "The Wall's so close, it's like Arena Baseball here."

Birthdays:
Jake LaMotta b. 1921
Arthur Ashe b. 1943
Virginia Wade b. 1945
Chico Resch b. 1948
Andre Dawson b. 1954

INVESTIGATIVE NONFICTION

No journalist has ever been given the level of access to Navy SEAL training schools as Dick Couch has. In The Warrior Elite (Three Rivers Press, 2003) he revealed who makes the cut and who doesn’t. In The Finishing School he spends six months in the final training camps explaining how one of the most elite military forces masters skills like shooting, diving, and parachuting as well as how they bond to create the teamwork essential for success. Easy reading on grueling discipline.

THE FINISHING SCHOOL: EARNING THE NAVY SEAL TRIDENT, by Dick Couch (Three Rivers Press, 2005)

Dick Couch is a former SEAL himself, who raided POW camps during the Vietnam War.