by Lindsay on May 15th, 2012
Verdict: Ryan Bubear gives it a carrot and Peter Taylor walks the fence
When the 13-chapter SuperVan & I landed on my desk with a reassuringly solid thud, I casually opened it to a random page and began scanning. The words “utter crap”, “ball of shit”, “pielkop”, “moer”, and “p*es” (this last one appeared twice, without the asterisk, for good measure) stood out. All on one page.
Lacking in colour, SuperVan & I most certainly is not.
In his acknowledgements in Supervan and I, a book that is modestly subtitled “The memoir of South Africa’s greatest driver and his alter ego”, Sarel van der Merwe says: “I suppose I should apologise to all the people who might be insulted, threatened, hurt, defamed or just generally pissed off by this book. Not that I give a s** t, but it just seems like the right thing to do.”
This is Van der Merwe to a T.
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by Lindsay on May 4th, 2012
Verdict: carrot
Tim Noakes is too well known to need introduction as a sports scientist.
This book is partly autobiographical, partly scientific and partly a good, easy read for those wanting to understand specific aspects of sports science which will affect their own performance.
It’s not always an easy blend, as the Jack Horner attitude intrudes when the reader simply wants the outcomes.
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by Luso on May 2nd, 2012
Verdict: carrot
When the men’s Olympic marathon is run in London in four months’ time, chances are the winner will be a Kenyan. The holder of the title is Kenyan; the world record holder is Kenyan; last year, 66 of the world’s 100 fastest marathons were run by Kenyans. “Few things from Africa,” a coach observes in this heartfelt, fish-out-of-water story, “generate such genuine awe, fear and unreserved respect, as a Kenyan runner on the start line of a marathon.”
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by Luso on Apr 18th, 2012
In his Daily Maverick column, Jacques Rousseau questions the science behind Tim Noakes’ latest commentary on the diet of athletes.
Noakes, the author of the recently updated book Challenging Beliefs: Memoirs of a Career, usually gets a lot of attention, especially when making pronouncements about dietary matters. After many years of endorsing carbo-loading, Noakes finally made an about-turn and said it may not be the healthiest choice, as carbohydrates are “addictive”. Rousseau takes his ideas to task:
Tim Noakes has moved from advocating carbo-loading to suggesting that carbohydrates are an addiction posing severe health risks. But while his revised recommendations are couched in the language of science, does the science support them?
In one of my first columns on Daily Maverick, Michael Pollan and his food rules (“the whiter the bread, the sooner you will be dead”) were used to illustrate the modern obsession with eating “healthy” food, or orthorexia. Pollan is an example of a celebrity nutritionist, who – while not necessarily offering harmful advice – could be accused of simplifying things to such an extent that what starts as sound advice mostly ends up being accepted on faith or as dogma.
Recently, South Africa’s sports-science guru Tim Noakes has been receiving plenty of media coverage following his apparent about-turn on matters dietary. Many of you will recall Noakes as an advocate of carbo-loading, especially for athletes. But even those of us who aspired to complete a 10km shuffle had little to fear from the carbohydrate. Until now, where for many of us our fondness for carbohydrates “is an addiction that is at least as powerful as those associated with cigarette consumption and some recreational drugs like heroin.
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by Carolyn on Apr 5th, 2012
Uitspraak: wortel
Elke dan en wan – een keer per dekade, per halfeeu? – skop die geskiedenis ’n persoon uit wat soos Tafelberg agter die Kasteel bo sy tydgenote uittroon.
In die politiek was daar baie – Hendrik die Seevaarder, Napoleon, Alexander die Grote.
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by Carolyn on Mar 23rd, 2012
Uitspraak: wortels!
Jacques Marais is top-fiks, ’n goeie fotograaf en altyd bruisend op pad na sy volgende avontuur.
’n Mens sal moeilik iemand meer geskik vind om ’n boek te skryf soos Die Avontuur Gids van Suid-Afrika (Lapa-uitgewers, 2012, sagteband, 380 bladsye, R275), wat pas verskyn het.
…
Gert Erasmus van George was lank ’n veldwagter in die Krugerwildtuin. Daar het hy ’n besonderse belangstelling in bome ontwikkel.
Ná sy aftrede het hy gaan sit en skryf. Sy boek Witgat het hy self gepubliseer. Dié boomboek is ’n waardevolle bron wat net iemand met baie ervaring kon opdis.
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by Sophy on Mar 19th, 2012
Verdict: carrot
I stumbled on his column “Against the Grains” in Discovery magazine last year. The theme is that carbohydrates are toxic, leading to weight gain and diabetes. He says we should shun them and eat more proteins and fats.
You may have picked up snatches of the debate. Hungry for more, I bought and devoured his latest book, Challenging Beliefs, only to find nothing on the hot topic.
Good news. The biography has been republished with 35 pages devoted to the low-carb diet controversy, plus a section on why the Springboks lost the Rugby World Cup.
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by Carolyn on Mar 6th, 2012
Uitspraak: wortel
’n Perd met seer pote – hoekom ’n boek oor hom skryf?
Omdat Pocket Power in sy wedrenleeftyd meer as R10 miljoen losgenael het nadat hy vir ’n skamele R190 000 gekoop is.
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by wombatsamwilson on Mar 2nd, 2012
Verdict: Mostly carrot
A World Cup winner, multiple Currie Cup and Super Rugby champion with the Bulls, a man who formed a partnership of steel with Bakkies Botha for the Bokke, committed family man and Pretoria icon … there’s few who would argue that Victor Matfield doesn’t deserve his own book.
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by Carolyn on Feb 29th, 2012
Uitspraak: wortel
Daai ou met die stywe arm.
Dis wêreldwyd straks die eerste konnotasie met die noem van Butch James se naam, iets wat soos die einste liggaamsdeel altyd aan hom sal bly vaskleef.
Sy lewensverhaal sou onvolledig gewees het as dié netelige onderwerp nie daarin opgeduik het nie.
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Apr
