About
Reviewer and Voting Member of The National Book Critics Circle; Author: Darkening Danger, King Solomon's Journey, and Hidden Mountain. My professional background is in the social sciences. I read, and enjoy the study of world religions, ancient cultures, and social structures. I take pride in her eclectic views, believing in brotherhood and human compassion. These days, I spend time writing fiction, and adapting to an ever changing blueprint called life. I am a strong advocate for children, and have devoted a great deal of time to children caught within the social system.
Learning to Breathe Fire: The Rise of CrossFit and the Primal Future of Fitness
Description
<p><b>The absorbing, definitive account of CrossFit's origins, its explosive grassroots growth, and its emergence as a global phenomenon.</b><br /> <br />One of the most illuminating books ever on a sports subculture, <i>Learning to Breathe Fire </i>combines vivid sports writing with a thoughtful meditation on what it means to be human. In the book, veteran journalist J.C. Herz explains the science of maximum effort, why the modern gym fails an obese society, and the psychic rewards of ending up on the floor feeling as though you're about to die. <br /> <br />The story traces CrossFit’s rise, from a single underground gym in Santa Cruz to its adoption as the workout of choice for elite special forces, firefighters and cops, to its popularity as the go-to fitness routine for regular Joes and Janes. Especially riveting is Herz’s description of The CrossFit Games, which begin as an informal throw-down on a California ranch and evolve into a televised global proving ground for the fittest men and women on Earth, as well as hundreds of thousands of lesser mortals. <br /> <br />In her portrayal of the sport's star athletes, its passionate coaches and its “chief armorer,” Rogue Fitness, Herz powerfully evokes the uniqueness of a fitness culture that cultivates primal fierceness in average people. And in the shared ordeal of an all-consuming workout, she unearths the ritual intensity that's been with us since humans invented sports, showing us how, on a deep level, we're all tribal hunters and first responders, waiting for the signal to go all-out. </p>
Reviews
<strong style="font-family:verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:small;line-height:normal;">A MASTERPIECE PACKED WITH ADVENTURE, HISTORY, LEGEND, AND LOVE</strong><span style="font-family:verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:small;line-height:normal;">, </span>July 13, 2012 by Marta Moran-Bishop<br /><div><span>Sammy Sutton has another masterpiece in her sequel to King Solomon's Journey. The second book in the Dominguez Adventures, Hidden Mountain, is packed with enough adventure, history, factual, and mythical elements to delight any reader.</span><br /><br /><span>So deeply does she take us into the hearts and minds of her characters Antonio Dominguez and Amanda Messenger that you feel like they are dearly loved family and you want to protect and help them. The mixture of the legend of King Solomon, with the political events that we see happening in our world today, brings mysticism and reality together in a spell binding tale.</span><br /><br /><span>By sending a special envoy that will briefly inhabit a specific location on the other side of the world, in what would one day become America. King Solomon sets the stage for the tribes of Israel to unite in all the holy centers of the earth, thereby giving them a chance to save the world.</span><br /><br /><span>Antonio and Amanda take us on a breathtaking adventure through the political landscape of today, and the divine world of legend. It is so well researched and written, by Sammy Sutton, it totally captures you. Making it all of it not only possible, but probable by the time you are finished.</span><br /><br /><span>I held my breath waiting for this book after reading the first in the series, King Solomon's Journey. Hidden Mountain, like its predecessor, left me once again biting at the bit for the next book in the series.</span><br /><br /><span>Highly Recommended for all those who love, miracles, history, adventure, legend, and love stories.</span> <br /></div>
