Rating: 
Summary: You can almost smell the sweaty socks
Review: "The Shell Game" is a nice companion to "Mind Over Water" and "The Amateurs." Where "Mind Over Water" deals with single sculling, "The Shell Game" recounts Stephen Kiesling's personal history of rowing in eights, focusing especially on the Yale-Harvard race, the Henley Royal Regatta, and the preparations and selection camp for the national team for the ill-fated 1980 Olympic Games. Along with "The Amateurs," "The Shell Game" and "Mind Over Water" seem to make up a perfect trio of personal odysseys in the sport of rowing. Of the three, "The Amateurs" is certainly the best written (after all, David Halberstam, need one say more?), but "The Shell Game" and "Mind Over Water" let you peek directly into the minds and hearts of devotees of this weirdly fanatical sport.
Focused on three specific events as it is, "The Shell Game" provides a look into a rarefied world of rowing races, from the hidebound tradition of Henley to the grueling trials at the U.S. Olympic selection camp, from the etiquette of international racing to the mechanics of testing athletes to determine not only their racing abilities but even their rate of oxygen exchange.
As with any memoir, there are those who will find the more personal passages a tad cloying, but overall it's a delightful book. Kiesling provides a particularly nice chapter ("The Set") on the tragic dichotomy of the physical and the intellectual that began in ancient Greece and still haunts us today. If ever there were an argument for their reunification, this would surely be one of the best. Definitely a keeper for future re-reading.
Rating: 
Summary: There's something in this book for everyone
Review: A friend told me about this book. I wasn't sure what to expect. It turned out to be a great story, and I found that I couldn't put it down once I started reading it! It reads really well, like a good story should, but it also inspires. Yeah, sure, I row, but even if I didn't I am quite sure that this story would captivate me. Kiesling tells his story well, and explains in a way that makes occasional technical references interesting to non-rowers and rowers alike. It's like an old friend is telling you a story. You won't be disappointed. You'll surely be uplifted, too.
Rating:
Summary: reflections from the Yale Boathouse
Review: Having tested my own limits several years ago as a rower, and now as a triathlete, this book has become a staple food for my mind, when my body wants to quit. When the going gets rough, I get reading The Shell Game. It is both emotionally charging and intellectually provoking. While rowing is traditionally considered a collegiate sport, this book touches on both the regal culture behind the Harvard/Yale rivalry, and the primal challenge felt by every athlete that has ever been on a competitve team.
Rating:
Summary: A motivational account of a rower's push beyond limits
Review: Having tested my own limits several years ago as a rower, and now as a triathlete, this book has become a staple food for my mind, when my body wants to quit. When the going gets rough, I get reading The Shell Game. It is both emotionally charging and intellectually provoking. While rowing is traditionally considered a collegiate sport, this book touches on both the regal culture behind the Harvard/Yale rivalry, and the primal challenge felt by every athlete that has ever been on a competitve team.
Rating: 
Summary: not a rower you pull for
Review: i am only surprised that keisling's rowing career wasn't shortened by injury, since he must have nearly broken his arm patting himself on the back. I did not find keisling a likeable character at all, and because he was so insecure about his place amongst the other good oarsmen at yale, he made them seem boorish as well. for a guy who never was on a boat that beat harvard (and is widely thought to have "bagged") towards the end of his final race, he sure thinks a lot of himself. there are a ton of rowers who came to yale with little or no rowing background and went on to great careers. there are also many others who are more sympathetic than keisling. i never rooted for him or his boats to due well in the races because he seemed like such a jerk. and he writes like one too!
Rating:
Summary: Effectively portrays the ups and downs of rowing
Review: I reccomend this book for anyone who has ever rowed, or has ever wondered what it would be like to row. He makes the reader feel the drastic ups and downs which go along with this addicting sport. I received my copy as a gift from another rower, and I have continually passed my copy on to my teammates and coaches. A must-have for any oarsman.
Rating:
Summary: Great book for all
Review: I'm a rower in high school, and I've read this book. I must admit it is a great book. Stephen's story about rowing at Yale against all other teams including their arch rival, Harvard. It reminds my of my school. La Salle HS and St. Jose Prep are huge rivals and it shows at all the games. I recommend this book to all who have been involved in the sport, and even those who never have seen a race. Its a great book!
Rating:
Summary: Great book for all
Review: I'm a rower in high school, and I've read this book. I must admit it is a great book. Stephen's story about rowing at Yale against all other teams including their arch rival, Harvard. It reminds my of my school. La Salle HS and St. Jose Prep are huge rivals and it shows at all the games. I recommend this book to all who have been involved in the sport, and even those who never have seen a race. Its a great book!
Rating:
Summary: There's something in this book for everyone
Review: Kiesling describes his first days of rowing nearly exactly as every collegiate rower experienced them. He then guides the reader through success and failure while rowing at one of the greatest rowing powerhouses of all time, Yale. The feelings of animosity in a low-profile sport were clear yet the pride in being part of such a great sport was more than evident.
This is a great place to start for every young rower or someone just curious about the world of rowing.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic account of high level collegiate rowing
Review: Kiesling describes his first days of rowing nearly exactly as every collegiate rower experienced them. He then guides the reader through success and failure while rowing at one of the greatest rowing powerhouses of all time, Yale. The feelings of animosity in a low-profile sport were clear yet the pride in being part of such a great sport was more than evident.
This is a great place to start for every young rower or someone just curious about the world of rowing.
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