Out of print for more than 30 years, now available for the first time as an eBook, this is the controversial story of John Wooden's first 25 years and first 8 NCAA Championships as UCLA Head Basketball Coach. This is the only book that gives a true picture of the character of John Wooden and the influence of his assistant, Jerry Norman, whose contributions Wooden  ignored and tried to bury.

Compiled with more than 40 hours of interviews with Coach Wooden, learn about the man behind the coach. The players tell their their stories in their own words. This is the book that UCLA Athletic Director J.D. Morgan tried to ban.

Click the book to read the first chapter and for ordering information. Also available on Kindle.

Act of Valor (4/10)

by Tony Medley

Runtime 101 minutes

OK for Children

The most noteworthy aspect of this disappointing film is that all the action scenes, which comprise more than 75% of the movie, were shot with 15 handheld DSLR Canon 5D cameras. Exacerbating the less than thin story (which avoids apparently silly things like plot and planning), the acting by real Navy Seals detracts from the film. The reason actors like Bruce Willis (who played a Navy Seal in 2003's Tears of the Sun) get the big bucks is that they can make one believe they are what they portray.

This doesn't really do much for the reputation of the Seals. The scenes are so poorly edited that the film jumps from one action scene to another. It starts out with the Seals trying to rescue a woman kidnapped in Central America. After that snatch, it jumps to another attack. If you believe this film the Seals just go from one problem to another with absolutely no planning. A good war movie shows the planning of attacks. Filmmakers knew this Over 65 years ago in A Walk in the Sun (1945, originally Salerno Beachhead) in which director Lewis Milestone had Dana Andrews, Richard Conte, John Ireland and a bunch of other GIs walk to a farmhouse in Italy where the Germans were ensconced. Dana spread out the map and they all figured out what they were going to do and then they executed it. This film was remade by Steven Spielberg as Saving Private Ryan (1998).

Unlike A Walk in the Sun, there is no planning here. The Seals are called in and they go for it. They plan a little for the first attack, but when they go after a guy on a ship, it seems as if it's every man for himself.

The filmmakers say they wanted the story of the Seals told. But, why? This is a clandestine military group; what's the point of publicity that seems inappropriate. But if you're going to make a movie to cast plaudits on the Seals, why not make it with established stars? Would Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) have been better with a real marine instead of John Wayne? Let's face it, without the Duke or someone of that stature, Sands of Iwo Jima wouldn't have become the classic it is. This is nothing more than a low budget action film with lots of noise and lots of bullets. The Seals deserve better.