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Join with David Quammen on kayaking New Zealand's Toaroha River, Jeffery Resner onMountain Golf, Ira Berkow on the New York-to-San Diego ultra-marathon, and many more.

For those who would consider an "extreme game" to be bowling after the refreshment stand has run out of beer, an anthology on extreme sports should elicit oohs and aahs. And there is oohing and aahing as we read about scaling frozen waterfalls, jumping from radio towers, and biking down icy mountain trails (though most terrifying might be the account of a bodybuilding champion's battle with the results of years of steroid abuse). However, the editor has difficulty staying on track, including articles about extreme performances in nonextreme sports an odd 200-word paean to Bruce Lee's grace, an account of Secretariat's 31-length victory in the 1973 Belmont Stakes, a Dream Team game of H-O-R-S-E (think Bird-Jordan McDonald's commercials for an idea of the shot selection), and a fictional piece, albeit truly extreme, on hunting. All of these are quite readable, but the resulting tome is not recommended for libraries seeking a compilation devoted solely to extreme sports. Jim Burns, Ottumwa P.L., IA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

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This book may suffer because of its diversity. While the individual articles are generally well written and appealing, many focus on sports not usually considered extreme. The best piece, about a man who gets trapped on an island with a human-hunting Cossack, is the fictional "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell. Though the story is suspenseful, gripping and well plotted, its inclusion in an anthology of sports writing is questionable. Paul Solotaroff's haunting "Bodybuilding: Steve Michalik," which traces Michalik's addiction to steroids and his eventual recovery, stands out. But again, the subject of this great piece of sports writing might not be considered "extreme" by hardcore X-games junkies. A single article on skateboarding appears, and none on skating, while there are articles on basketball, horse racing and the XFL, a league whose only true claim to extremity lies in its name. When the book does focus on extreme sports, it tends toward the adventure side. Many climbing and mountaineering articles, as well as articles on extreme skiing, BASE jumping and ice cycling, are included. Rick Ridgeway's firsthand account of the American assent of K2 stands out, as does "Ice Cycling," a personal narrative by Michael Finkel. While the writing is high caliber, this book may suffer for being billed inaccurately; fans of extreme sports are likely to be disappointed with much of the subject matter. (Aug.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.