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.

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by Tony Medley

Lone Survivor (10/10): Capturing the tension and finality of real battle, this true story reaches a level not dreamed of by past war films. Special mention must be made of four-time Emmy winner Gregory Nicotero and Oscar®-winner Howard Berger, who were responsible for the amazing makeup that showed all the severe wounds the SEALs suffered during the battle, ably buttressing exceptional acting by Mark Wahlberg and the cast and award quality writing and directing by Peter Berg.

American Hustle (8/10): In a story loosely based on the 1970’s ABSCAM scandal but emphasizing comedy and lightness, there should be Oscar® nominations galore here, with Jennifer Lawrence at the top of the list. She grabs the juiciest part, a manic personality, and plays it with gusto. The music is terrific, highlighted by Tom Jones’ Delilah and Paul McCartney’s Live and Let Die, two of the most popular songs of the era. Amy Adams in virtually every scene comes as close to appearing topless as humanly possible without actually doing it.

Saving Mr. Banks (8/10): It is something of an ordeal to sit through this film about such a disputatious character as P.L. Travers, the author of “Mary Poppins.” But after so many flashbacks it all comes together if you stay until after the end credits (don’t leave early!). With Tom Hanks sparkling as Walt Disney, this movie has a superb ending, validating Emma Thompson’s performance as an extremely irritating woman.

Inside Llewyn Davis (8/10): While fictional, all of the characters are based on real, mostly esoteric, people of the 1970’s folk music scene. No voice overs or lip syncing to pre-recorded tracks; Oscar Isaac (Llewyn) sings the songs himself beautifully (as do others like Justin Timberlake and Carey Mulligan) and the music was recorded live. In a testament to purism and financial folly, these singers were arrogant and unsympathetic to the new people who realized that pure folk wouldn’t sell. Even though Llewyn’s life is pretty depressing, the music is good and the recreation of the era and the lifestyle is right on.

Swerve (8/10): When David Lyons comes across a fatal automobile accident in the Australian desert he becomes involved with the gorgeous, sexy driver, Emma Booth, and her husband, shady sheriff Jason Clarke, and some drug money from the dead driver of the other car. What ensues is a brilliant noir that would have felt right at home in ‘40s Hollywood.

The Wolf of Wall Street (6/10): Martin Scorsese’s story of real life stock market criminal Jordan Belfort is so full of nudity, drugs, and soft core simulated sex that it seems like a remake of Gore Vidal’s notorious 1980 R-rated porno “Caligula.” Even though it’s apparently factually accurate, and while it justifiably indicts the dishonesty and hypocrisy pervasive in the stock broker profession, to sit through three hours of all this debauchery is just too much.

Out of the Furnace (5/10): …and into the fire for an unsuspecting person who wanders into a theater not knowing what to expect. This is unremittingly depressing and graphically violent. At times I thought I had died and gone to a Terrence Malick movie, so slow is the first hour. It does contain fine performances by Willem Dafoe and Casey Affleck, and Woody Harrelson creates one of the creepiest villains since Richard Widmark’s debut as psychopathic killer Tommy Udo in Kiss of Death (1947).

Her (1/10): Writer-director Spike Jonze channels Craig Gillespie’s “Lars and the Real Girl (2007),” resulting in a just as silly, not credible meander down a road to nowhere. Scarlett Johansson, the unseen computer voice, is so good that one might understand how Joaquin Phoenix could get hooked, although you have to be pretty stupid to fall in love with a voice you know for a fact is just something that is computer-generated.