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.

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

The Amazing Spider-Man (8/10)

by Tony Medley

Runtime 138 minutes.

OK for children.

Of all the superheroes, Spider-Man is arguably the least credible. I thought the previous films virtually unwatchable, silly stories. They were directed by Sam Raimi and starred Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst.

For this one, Columbia got a new director, Marc Webb, who whose only other directorial outing was (500) Days of Summer, one of the best romcoms of 2009. Here, Webb gets a new cast, Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker, and Emma Stone as his high school crush, Gwen Stacy. Since Stone is one of the most beautiful and best actresses extant, I went into the film with less trepidation than I would have had I been forced to sit through more of the same. Unlike Maguire, Garfield actually looks like someone who could really be in a fight. For one thing, Maguire barely tops 5-7 and looks like a little boy, while Garfield is almost 5-11 and has rugged looks. As to sex appeal, Dunst doesn't come close to Stone.

I was rewarded with a very entertaining movie that explains the origins of Spider-Man. The special effects are very good, but few enough that they don't overwhelm the story. The love story between Parker and Stacy is well done, mostly because Stone is such a talented actress that she conveys her infatuation and love for Parker through her incredibly expressive eyes.

I saw it in IMAX 3-D, which I found out is different from regular 3-D. There were two screenings and I got the glasses for the regular 3-D, even though I was in the IMAX theater. When the film started, there was no 3-D. One of the ushers got me the IMAX 3-D glasses and they worked. The 3-D is better than you usually see in 3-D movies and it doesn't mute the color.

Even though the story starts slowly as it explains how Spider-Man came to be and develops the relationship between Parker and Stacy, it's well enough done to hold interest. Although the villain doesn't appear until the last half of the film, Rhys Ifans gives a fine performance as the Dr. Jeckyl-Mr. Hyde oriented Dr. Connors. Also contributing good performances are Sally Field and Martin Sheen as Parker's aunt and uncle, and Dennis Leary as Stacy's NYPD father. Field is especially effective, unabashedly looking her age (56), wrinkles and all.

This is a superhero film that's actually worth seeing.