Feel No Fear: The Power, Passion, and Politics of a Life in Gymnastics

by Bela Karolyi

Book Overview

The charismatic coach of gymnastic stars including Nadia Comanec and Mary Lou Retton chronicles his life and career, from troubles with Romanian secret police, through his decision to defect, to his fight for better gymnastics in the United States.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 078686012X
• ISBN13: 9780786860128
• Release Date: May 1994
• Publisher: Hyperion Books
• Length: 239 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.4" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

What a waste of money

I was really enjoying this book. I got up to page 216 and the next page was 51! It went back to page 52, and then continued with about 25 more pages from that point. I never had the last few chapters of the book. You should really check your material more carefully.

A Powerful Book

This book was written by Bela Karolyi, the Romanian coach who has coached such gymnastics legends as Nadia Cominici, Mary Lou Retton, Kim Zmeskal, Dominique Moceanu and Kerri Strug. This book tells you about his life in Romania, training Nadia, defecting to America, and all the way to the 1992 Olympics. Before I didn't know much about Bela or about the girls he had trained. But after reading this book, I now know much more about him and his wife, Marta. If you want to know more about this memorable coach, be sure to read this book!

Bela is the BEST!

Bela Karolyi is such a inspirational man to take what little he had and make winners. I had the advantage of meeting this man this summer. He seems like a father figure with strong discipline and a positive effort. I always loved it when he 'You can Do it! " Which is all so true when you use your body in a positive way in the sport of gymnastics or any other sport.

This is one of the GREATEST gymnastics books EVER written!

It tells the entire story of Bela Karolyi's life and it tells the stories of the many famous gymnasts he has coached. The book makes you appreciate this man more than anything else could! I read it before I met him at Karolyi's camp and it made it THAT MUCH better!!

A true inspiration

I have read this book a while back. However, I often refer to it for the inspiration, and sometimes quote it to my students (I am a figure skating coach). Bela is a legendary coach, and it was interesting to find out about his coaching, and life philosophies. I hope I could be like him one day. The part of the book that especially moved me is when Bela found out that more than half of his students became p.e. teachers.