The Sales Advantage: How to Get It, Keep It and Sell More Than Ever Pocket Books ( 18 August, 2003 ) Book Our Price : £ 7.69 List Price : £ 10.99 You save £3.3 (30% off) Prices subject to change. usually dispatched within 24 hours.

For Raider & non-Raider fans alike...!

Rob Huizengas account of his time as medical intern for the Los Angeles Raiders provides a provocative behind-the-scenes look at the reality of NFL football that is by turns hysterically funny and deeply disturbing. He conveys both the perverse attraction of being part of a team "camped out at the edge of reality", and also the shocked disbelief at the suspect and highly dangerous extremes that football players will go to in order to play while injured and so preserve their job. As team intern from 1983 to 1990, Huizenga faced a unique dilemma: his concern as a responsible doctor for his patients, the players, continually conflicted with their own desire to play through potentially crippling injuries. His frequent confrontations as well with team owner Al Davis over the treatment of players clearly illustrates why Daviss obsessive "win at all costs" attitude has made he and his team NFL pariahs. More generally, Huizenga pointedly shows how the intense pressure upon players from team, fans and the league itself, to consistently perform at the highest possible level drives individuals to abuse themselves and their bodies with a myriad of chemical substances. For Raider and non-Raider fans alike, Huizengas book makes for compulsive reading. His experiences highlight the extreme "otherness" of NFL football, in which lies its principle attraction - the oddball characters who play it, the unorthodox means they endure to keep playing, and the high mental and physical cost that they pay for success in such a ferocious game.

A Question

As a football fan, I enjoyed this book. As an athlete, I was more than a little disturbed, if what Dr. Huizenga says is true. But I have one question: Why did he wait so long to write this book? It seems a little odd to me that he waited until after he had a thriving practice, and a nasty split from the team to do the right thing. I think for the players at least, this book should have been written much earlier. Dr. Huizenga has brought much needed attention to the abuse of trust one person places in another. He also shows that its okay to stick your neck out. Well, not too far out. At least until your student loans are paid.

Absolutly eye opening.

I have read a lot of books but never something that has given me a new appreciation for a sport. I highly recommed everyone who likes football, and even if you dont, to read this book; and if your asperation is to play in the NFL then this is required reading. It gives new insight into the demands of the NFL, the pain that players will play with just to win. I am a die hard Raider fan, always have been always will be, but this book touches on new aspects of the game, even if you do not like the Raiders it is an excellent read and it should be read to understand what is expected of players today in the NFL. I just hope that someone new has taken up Dr. Huizengas cause to clean up the NFL.