Author: Roger Bakken
Publisher: Sportsrite Publishing Company Limited
ISBN: 9780930097004
Category : Baseball
Languages : en
Pages : 72
Book Description
The Coach's Pocket Planner
Author: Roger Bakken
Publisher: Sportsrite Publishing Company Limited
ISBN: 9780930097004
Category : Baseball
Languages : en
Pages : 72
Book Description
Publisher: Sportsrite Publishing Company Limited
ISBN: 9780930097004
Category : Baseball
Languages : en
Pages : 72
Book Description
Successful Coaching
Author: Rainer Martens
Publisher: Human Kinetics
ISBN: 1492598178
Category : School sports
Languages : en
Pages : 409
Book Description
Successful Coaching has helped more than a million coaches--aspiring, new, and seasoned coaches alike--develop and expand their knowledge of coaching to provide the best, most fulfilling sport experience for their athletes. In the revised fifth edition, author and sport psychologist Rainer Martens is joined by coauthor Robin Vealey, longtime professor of sport psychology at Miami University (Ohio). Together they bring to the text their knowledge and proficiency, gleaned from decades of personal experiences as coaches, athletes, and educators. Successful Coaching will help you think critically about your approach to coaching and develop the skills and wisdom to fulfill your many responsibilities as coach: Identify your coaching philosophy and coaching objectives Build relationships with players and staff and promote teamwork Nurture positive decision making and sportsmanship to develop more mature individuals Coach athletes of diverse backgrounds, characteristics, interests, and abilities Teach and practice sport skills and strategies using the games approach Train, condition, and fuel athletes using sound principles and methods Organize and guide your team and sport program Manage relationships with administrators, officials, parents, and media Minimize risk and meet your legal duties as a coach The fifth edition of Successful Coaching has been carefully revised in accordance with recommendations of the National Standards for Sport Coaches. Updates and additions include the latest scientific research in physical training and nutrition, plus best practices, guidelines, and insights from successful coaches addressing today's foremost topics of concern: Mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, and disordered eating Race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation in youth sport Sexual harassment and abuse Motivation, corrective discipline, and burnout Alcohol consumption, drug use, and vaping Chapters are punctuated with supplemental content to underscore key concepts. Current insights, innovations, and quotes from recognized coaches demonstrate how to overcome common and challenging coaching situations. Coaching Yourself sidebars and end-of-chapter Questions for Reflection challenge you to think critically about your own coaching style and how to apply key principles in real coaching situations. Sample coaching forms that can be modified for personal use are provided online. Written by coaches for coaches, Successful Coaching is a practical, readable, and useful resource that you'll refer to throughout the season and cherish more than your playbook. Successful Coaching is the text for Human Kinetics' Coaching Principles course. Coaching Principles is recognized by numerous state high school and athletic directors' associations, school districts, national governing bodies, and other sport organizations as meeting coaching education and certification requirements. In addition, hundreds of colleges and universities have adopted Coaching Principles for graduate and undergraduate coaching programs. Note: A code for accessing HKPropel is included with all print books.
Publisher: Human Kinetics
ISBN: 1492598178
Category : School sports
Languages : en
Pages : 409
Book Description
Successful Coaching has helped more than a million coaches--aspiring, new, and seasoned coaches alike--develop and expand their knowledge of coaching to provide the best, most fulfilling sport experience for their athletes. In the revised fifth edition, author and sport psychologist Rainer Martens is joined by coauthor Robin Vealey, longtime professor of sport psychology at Miami University (Ohio). Together they bring to the text their knowledge and proficiency, gleaned from decades of personal experiences as coaches, athletes, and educators. Successful Coaching will help you think critically about your approach to coaching and develop the skills and wisdom to fulfill your many responsibilities as coach: Identify your coaching philosophy and coaching objectives Build relationships with players and staff and promote teamwork Nurture positive decision making and sportsmanship to develop more mature individuals Coach athletes of diverse backgrounds, characteristics, interests, and abilities Teach and practice sport skills and strategies using the games approach Train, condition, and fuel athletes using sound principles and methods Organize and guide your team and sport program Manage relationships with administrators, officials, parents, and media Minimize risk and meet your legal duties as a coach The fifth edition of Successful Coaching has been carefully revised in accordance with recommendations of the National Standards for Sport Coaches. Updates and additions include the latest scientific research in physical training and nutrition, plus best practices, guidelines, and insights from successful coaches addressing today's foremost topics of concern: Mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, and disordered eating Race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation in youth sport Sexual harassment and abuse Motivation, corrective discipline, and burnout Alcohol consumption, drug use, and vaping Chapters are punctuated with supplemental content to underscore key concepts. Current insights, innovations, and quotes from recognized coaches demonstrate how to overcome common and challenging coaching situations. Coaching Yourself sidebars and end-of-chapter Questions for Reflection challenge you to think critically about your own coaching style and how to apply key principles in real coaching situations. Sample coaching forms that can be modified for personal use are provided online. Written by coaches for coaches, Successful Coaching is a practical, readable, and useful resource that you'll refer to throughout the season and cherish more than your playbook. Successful Coaching is the text for Human Kinetics' Coaching Principles course. Coaching Principles is recognized by numerous state high school and athletic directors' associations, school districts, national governing bodies, and other sport organizations as meeting coaching education and certification requirements. In addition, hundreds of colleges and universities have adopted Coaching Principles for graduate and undergraduate coaching programs. Note: A code for accessing HKPropel is included with all print books.
Athletic Development
Author: Vern Gambetta
Publisher: New World Library
ISBN: 9780736051002
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 322
Book Description
Athletic Development offers a rare opportunity to learn and apply a career full of knowledge from the best. World-renowned strength and conditioning coach Vern Gambetta condenses the wisdom he's gained through more than 40 years of experience of working with athletes across sports, age groups, and levels of competition, including members of the Chicago White Sox, New York Mets, and U.S. men's 1998 World Cup soccer team. The result is an information-packed, myth-busting explanation of the most effective methods and prescriptions in each facet of an athlete's physical preparation. Gambetta includes never-before-published and ready-to-use training approaches in - sport-specific demands analysis, - work capacity enhancements, - movement skills development, - long- and short-term training program progressions, and - rest and regeneration techniques. Athletic Development explains what works, what doesn't, and why. Gambetta's no-nonsense approach emphasizes results that pay off in the competitive season and reflect his work at the highest echelons of sport. Merging principles of anatomy, biomechanics, and exercise physiology with sports conditioning applications and four decades of professional practice, this is the definitive guide to performance-enhancing training.
Publisher: New World Library
ISBN: 9780736051002
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 322
Book Description
Athletic Development offers a rare opportunity to learn and apply a career full of knowledge from the best. World-renowned strength and conditioning coach Vern Gambetta condenses the wisdom he's gained through more than 40 years of experience of working with athletes across sports, age groups, and levels of competition, including members of the Chicago White Sox, New York Mets, and U.S. men's 1998 World Cup soccer team. The result is an information-packed, myth-busting explanation of the most effective methods and prescriptions in each facet of an athlete's physical preparation. Gambetta includes never-before-published and ready-to-use training approaches in - sport-specific demands analysis, - work capacity enhancements, - movement skills development, - long- and short-term training program progressions, and - rest and regeneration techniques. Athletic Development explains what works, what doesn't, and why. Gambetta's no-nonsense approach emphasizes results that pay off in the competitive season and reflect his work at the highest echelons of sport. Merging principles of anatomy, biomechanics, and exercise physiology with sports conditioning applications and four decades of professional practice, this is the definitive guide to performance-enhancing training.
The Routledge Handbook of Coach Development in Sport
Author: Steven B. Rynne
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1040011748
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 449
Book Description
The Routledge Handbook of Coach Development in Sport is a comprehensive text that underscores the importance of learning and context for those who sculpt the environment in which people of all ages develop in and through sport. Coaches and those responsible for the development of coaches are best positioned as both learners and facilitators of learning. As sport becomes more globalised, the concomitant professionalisation of coaches necessitates ongoing learning and development to embrace new knowledge and understanding. Moreover, contemporary coach development presents as a wicked problem, in that it continues to evolve, it is contextually bound, and there is no single or obvious way to approach it. Problematically, there is often limited assistance available to support coaches and coach developers in their ongoing development. As such, this book provides a truly international reference point that brings together leading scholars and practitioners from across the globe to provide an overview of the theories and practices of coaches and coach developers that are impacting the quality of sporting environments. Therefore, this book is an important reference for researchers, scholars, and practitioners alike in the fields of Sport Coaching, Coach Development, Sport Development, Sport for Development, Physical Education and related disciplines.
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1040011748
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 449
Book Description
The Routledge Handbook of Coach Development in Sport is a comprehensive text that underscores the importance of learning and context for those who sculpt the environment in which people of all ages develop in and through sport. Coaches and those responsible for the development of coaches are best positioned as both learners and facilitators of learning. As sport becomes more globalised, the concomitant professionalisation of coaches necessitates ongoing learning and development to embrace new knowledge and understanding. Moreover, contemporary coach development presents as a wicked problem, in that it continues to evolve, it is contextually bound, and there is no single or obvious way to approach it. Problematically, there is often limited assistance available to support coaches and coach developers in their ongoing development. As such, this book provides a truly international reference point that brings together leading scholars and practitioners from across the globe to provide an overview of the theories and practices of coaches and coach developers that are impacting the quality of sporting environments. Therefore, this book is an important reference for researchers, scholars, and practitioners alike in the fields of Sport Coaching, Coach Development, Sport Development, Sport for Development, Physical Education and related disciplines.
National Standards for Sport Coaches: Quality Coaches, Quality Sports
Author: Lori Gano-Overway
Publisher: Jones & Bartlett Learning
ISBN: 1284228193
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 83
Book Description
The third edition of the National Standards for Sport Coaches outlines the standards for quality sport coaching based on the latest research and practical work in coaching science and the varied fields of exercise science. This useful resource outlines the standards which highlights the core responsibilities coaches should possess along with supporting competencies that provide insight into the knowledge and skills needed to support a quality amateur sport experience for athletes. Coaches, sport administrators, and coach educators and developers who are informed about core coaching responsibilities and competencies can improve the preparation, training, and evaluation of sport coaching. Ultimately the National Standards for Sport Coaches should assist in improving the sport experiences for all athletes and will elevate the profession of coaching.
Publisher: Jones & Bartlett Learning
ISBN: 1284228193
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 83
Book Description
The third edition of the National Standards for Sport Coaches outlines the standards for quality sport coaching based on the latest research and practical work in coaching science and the varied fields of exercise science. This useful resource outlines the standards which highlights the core responsibilities coaches should possess along with supporting competencies that provide insight into the knowledge and skills needed to support a quality amateur sport experience for athletes. Coaches, sport administrators, and coach educators and developers who are informed about core coaching responsibilities and competencies can improve the preparation, training, and evaluation of sport coaching. Ultimately the National Standards for Sport Coaches should assist in improving the sport experiences for all athletes and will elevate the profession of coaching.
Triphasic Training
Author: Cal Dietz
Publisher: Bye Dietz Sports Enterprise
ISBN: 9780985174316
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 376
Book Description
What is Triphasic Training? It is the pinnacle of sports performance training. Created by world renown coach, Cal Dietz, Triphasic Training breaks down dynamic, athletic movements into their three components (eccentric, isometric, and concentric), and maximizes performance gains by applying stress to the athlete in a way that allows for the continuous development of strength, speed, and power. Who uses Triphasic Training: Everyone! From elite level athletes to absolute beginners, the triphasic method of training allows for maximal performance gains in minimal time. For that reason professional athletes from all backgrounds seek out Coach Dietz each off-season to train with his triphasic system. Coach Dietz has worked with hundreds of athletes from the NFL, NHL, and MLB, as well as several dozen Olympic athletes in track and field, swimming, and hockey. What the book is about: Triphasic Training was originally a digital book with over 3,000 hyperlinks and 6 hours of video lectures, showing the reader exactly how to perform every exercise and apply the training methods. To ensure that you do not miss out on this valuable component, inside your book you will find a web link to a downloadable PDF that contains all of the hyperlinks and videos from the original digital book. The PDF is laid out to allow you to easily follow along as you read the book. Simply scroll in the PDF to the page that you are reading in the book and it will have every hyperlink and video that is on that page. The book contains over 350 pages, divided clearly into 2 parts: the “why” and the “what”. The first three sections go through the physiological basis for the Triphasic method, undulated block periodization, and general biological applications of stress. The authors will explain how to incorporate the Triphasic methods into existing programs, with complete descriptions on adapting it to virtually any scenario. Sections 4 through 7 are devoted entirely to programming, with over 3,000 exercises and 52 weeks of programs for numerous different sports. Included in the programming section are: Over 3,000 exercises, each hyperlinked to a video tutorial that shows you exactly how to perform the exercise. 5 separate 24-week training programs built for either 6 day, 5 day, 4 day, 3 day, or 2 day models. Over 6 hours of video lectures by Coach Dietz further explaining the Triphasic Training method. These lectures go even deeper into the physiology and application of what he does with his elite athletes. Over two dozen tables showing exactly when and how to modify exercises to ensure continuous improvement in your athletes. Peaking programs for football lineman or skill players, baseball, swimming, volleyball, and hockey players (among others). A complete 52 week training program for football.
Publisher: Bye Dietz Sports Enterprise
ISBN: 9780985174316
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 376
Book Description
What is Triphasic Training? It is the pinnacle of sports performance training. Created by world renown coach, Cal Dietz, Triphasic Training breaks down dynamic, athletic movements into their three components (eccentric, isometric, and concentric), and maximizes performance gains by applying stress to the athlete in a way that allows for the continuous development of strength, speed, and power. Who uses Triphasic Training: Everyone! From elite level athletes to absolute beginners, the triphasic method of training allows for maximal performance gains in minimal time. For that reason professional athletes from all backgrounds seek out Coach Dietz each off-season to train with his triphasic system. Coach Dietz has worked with hundreds of athletes from the NFL, NHL, and MLB, as well as several dozen Olympic athletes in track and field, swimming, and hockey. What the book is about: Triphasic Training was originally a digital book with over 3,000 hyperlinks and 6 hours of video lectures, showing the reader exactly how to perform every exercise and apply the training methods. To ensure that you do not miss out on this valuable component, inside your book you will find a web link to a downloadable PDF that contains all of the hyperlinks and videos from the original digital book. The PDF is laid out to allow you to easily follow along as you read the book. Simply scroll in the PDF to the page that you are reading in the book and it will have every hyperlink and video that is on that page. The book contains over 350 pages, divided clearly into 2 parts: the “why” and the “what”. The first three sections go through the physiological basis for the Triphasic method, undulated block periodization, and general biological applications of stress. The authors will explain how to incorporate the Triphasic methods into existing programs, with complete descriptions on adapting it to virtually any scenario. Sections 4 through 7 are devoted entirely to programming, with over 3,000 exercises and 52 weeks of programs for numerous different sports. Included in the programming section are: Over 3,000 exercises, each hyperlinked to a video tutorial that shows you exactly how to perform the exercise. 5 separate 24-week training programs built for either 6 day, 5 day, 4 day, 3 day, or 2 day models. Over 6 hours of video lectures by Coach Dietz further explaining the Triphasic Training method. These lectures go even deeper into the physiology and application of what he does with his elite athletes. Over two dozen tables showing exactly when and how to modify exercises to ensure continuous improvement in your athletes. Peaking programs for football lineman or skill players, baseball, swimming, volleyball, and hockey players (among others). A complete 52 week training program for football.
Beyond the Mountain
Author: Steve House
Publisher: Patagonia
ISBN: 1938340051
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 312
Book Description
What does it take to be one of the world's best high-altitude mountain climbers? A lot of fundraising; traveling in some of the world's most dangerous countries; enduring cold bivouacs, searing lungs, and a cloudy mind when you can least afford one. It means learning the hard lessons the mountains teach. Steve House built his reputation on ascents throughout the Alps, Canada, Alaska, the Karakoram and the Himalaya that have expanded possibilities of style, speed, and difficulty. In 2005 Steve and alpinist Vince Anderson pioneered a direct new route on the Rupal Face of 26,600-foot Nanga Parbat, which had never before been climbed in alpine style. It was the third ascent of the face and the achievement earned Steveand Vince the first Piolet d"or (Golden Ice Axe) awarded to North Americans. Steve is an accomplished and spellbinding storyteller in the tradition of Maurice Herzog and Lionel Terray. Beyond the Mountain is a gripping read destined to be a mountain classic. And it
Publisher: Patagonia
ISBN: 1938340051
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 312
Book Description
What does it take to be one of the world's best high-altitude mountain climbers? A lot of fundraising; traveling in some of the world's most dangerous countries; enduring cold bivouacs, searing lungs, and a cloudy mind when you can least afford one. It means learning the hard lessons the mountains teach. Steve House built his reputation on ascents throughout the Alps, Canada, Alaska, the Karakoram and the Himalaya that have expanded possibilities of style, speed, and difficulty. In 2005 Steve and alpinist Vince Anderson pioneered a direct new route on the Rupal Face of 26,600-foot Nanga Parbat, which had never before been climbed in alpine style. It was the third ascent of the face and the achievement earned Steveand Vince the first Piolet d"or (Golden Ice Axe) awarded to North Americans. Steve is an accomplished and spellbinding storyteller in the tradition of Maurice Herzog and Lionel Terray. Beyond the Mountain is a gripping read destined to be a mountain classic. And it
Training for Sports Speed and Agility
Author: Paul Gamble
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136630945
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 217
Book Description
Speed and agility are central to success in a wide range of sports. Training for Sports Speed and Agility is the first evidence-based study of all those aspects of athletic preparation that contribute to the expression of speed and agility during competition. Drawing on the very latest scientific research in the fields of strength and conditioning, applied physiology, biomechanics, sports psychology, and sports medicine, the book critically examines approaches to training for speed and agility. This book further explores the scientific rationale for all aspects of effective training to develop sports speed and agility, comprising a diverse range of topics that include: assessment strength training for speed and agility development speed-strength development and plyometric training metabolic conditioning mobility and flexibility acceleration straight-line speed development developing change of direction capabilities developing expression of agility during competition periodization. Every chapter includes a review of current research as well as offering clear, practical guidelines for improving training and performance, including photographs illustrating different training modes and techniques. No other book offers a comparable blend of theory and practice. Training for Sports Speed and Agility is therefore crucial reading for all students, coaches and athletes looking to improve their understanding of this key component of sports performance.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136630945
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 217
Book Description
Speed and agility are central to success in a wide range of sports. Training for Sports Speed and Agility is the first evidence-based study of all those aspects of athletic preparation that contribute to the expression of speed and agility during competition. Drawing on the very latest scientific research in the fields of strength and conditioning, applied physiology, biomechanics, sports psychology, and sports medicine, the book critically examines approaches to training for speed and agility. This book further explores the scientific rationale for all aspects of effective training to develop sports speed and agility, comprising a diverse range of topics that include: assessment strength training for speed and agility development speed-strength development and plyometric training metabolic conditioning mobility and flexibility acceleration straight-line speed development developing change of direction capabilities developing expression of agility during competition periodization. Every chapter includes a review of current research as well as offering clear, practical guidelines for improving training and performance, including photographs illustrating different training modes and techniques. No other book offers a comparable blend of theory and practice. Training for Sports Speed and Agility is therefore crucial reading for all students, coaches and athletes looking to improve their understanding of this key component of sports performance.
Changing the Game
Author: John O'Sullivan
Publisher: Morgan James Publishing
ISBN: 1614486468
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 224
Book Description
The modern day youth sports environment has taken the enjoyment out of athletics for our children. Currently, 70% of kids drop out of organized sports by the age of 13, which has given rise to a generation of overweight, unhealthy young adults. There is a solution. John O’Sullivan shares the secrets of the coaches and parents who have not only raised elite athletes, but have done so by creating an environment that promotes positive core values and teaches life lessons instead of focusing on wins and losses, scholarships, and professional aspirations. Changing the Game gives adults a new paradigm and a game plan for raising happy, high performing children, and provides a national call to action to return youth sports to our kids.
Publisher: Morgan James Publishing
ISBN: 1614486468
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 224
Book Description
The modern day youth sports environment has taken the enjoyment out of athletics for our children. Currently, 70% of kids drop out of organized sports by the age of 13, which has given rise to a generation of overweight, unhealthy young adults. There is a solution. John O’Sullivan shares the secrets of the coaches and parents who have not only raised elite athletes, but have done so by creating an environment that promotes positive core values and teaches life lessons instead of focusing on wins and losses, scholarships, and professional aspirations. Changing the Game gives adults a new paradigm and a game plan for raising happy, high performing children, and provides a national call to action to return youth sports to our kids.
The Revenge of Geography
Author: Robert D. Kaplan
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ISBN: 0812982223
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 450
Book Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In this “ambitious and challenging” (The New York Review of Books) work, the bestselling author of Monsoon and Balkan Ghosts offers a revelatory prism through which to view global upheavals and to understand what lies ahead for continents and countries around the world. In The Revenge of Geography, Robert D. Kaplan builds on the insights, discoveries, and theories of great geographers and geopolitical thinkers of the near and distant past to look back at critical pivots in history and then to look forward at the evolving global scene. Kaplan traces the history of the world’s hot spots by examining their climates, topographies, and proximities to other embattled lands. The Russian steppe’s pitiless climate and limited vegetation bred hard and cruel men bent on destruction, for example, while Nazi geopoliticians distorted geopolitics entirely, calculating that space on the globe used by the British Empire and the Soviet Union could be swallowed by a greater German homeland. Kaplan then applies the lessons learned to the present crises in Europe, Russia, China, the Indian subcontinent, Turkey, Iran, and the Arab Middle East. The result is a holistic interpretation of the next cycle of conflict throughout Eurasia. Remarkably, the future can be understood in the context of temperature, land allotment, and other physical certainties: China, able to feed only 23 percent of its people from land that is only 7 percent arable, has sought energy, minerals, and metals from such brutal regimes as Burma, Iran, and Zimbabwe, putting it in moral conflict with the United States. Afghanistan’s porous borders will keep it the principal invasion route into India, and a vital rear base for Pakistan, India’s main enemy. Iran will exploit the advantage of being the only country that straddles both energy-producing areas of the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea. Finally, Kaplan posits that the United States might rue engaging in far-flung conflicts with Iraq and Afghanistan rather than tending to its direct neighbor Mexico, which is on the verge of becoming a semifailed state due to drug cartel carnage. A brilliant rebuttal to thinkers who suggest that globalism will trump geography, this indispensable work shows how timeless truths and natural facts can help prevent this century’s looming cataclysms.
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ISBN: 0812982223
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 450
Book Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In this “ambitious and challenging” (The New York Review of Books) work, the bestselling author of Monsoon and Balkan Ghosts offers a revelatory prism through which to view global upheavals and to understand what lies ahead for continents and countries around the world. In The Revenge of Geography, Robert D. Kaplan builds on the insights, discoveries, and theories of great geographers and geopolitical thinkers of the near and distant past to look back at critical pivots in history and then to look forward at the evolving global scene. Kaplan traces the history of the world’s hot spots by examining their climates, topographies, and proximities to other embattled lands. The Russian steppe’s pitiless climate and limited vegetation bred hard and cruel men bent on destruction, for example, while Nazi geopoliticians distorted geopolitics entirely, calculating that space on the globe used by the British Empire and the Soviet Union could be swallowed by a greater German homeland. Kaplan then applies the lessons learned to the present crises in Europe, Russia, China, the Indian subcontinent, Turkey, Iran, and the Arab Middle East. The result is a holistic interpretation of the next cycle of conflict throughout Eurasia. Remarkably, the future can be understood in the context of temperature, land allotment, and other physical certainties: China, able to feed only 23 percent of its people from land that is only 7 percent arable, has sought energy, minerals, and metals from such brutal regimes as Burma, Iran, and Zimbabwe, putting it in moral conflict with the United States. Afghanistan’s porous borders will keep it the principal invasion route into India, and a vital rear base for Pakistan, India’s main enemy. Iran will exploit the advantage of being the only country that straddles both energy-producing areas of the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea. Finally, Kaplan posits that the United States might rue engaging in far-flung conflicts with Iraq and Afghanistan rather than tending to its direct neighbor Mexico, which is on the verge of becoming a semifailed state due to drug cartel carnage. A brilliant rebuttal to thinkers who suggest that globalism will trump geography, this indispensable work shows how timeless truths and natural facts can help prevent this century’s looming cataclysms.