If you have children in junior high school or high school that will be going to college, then do NOT skip reading this book.

"If asked, 'Want to read a book about the college application process for athletes in the Ivy League?' I am pretty sure that most of the time I would have said "Thanks but no thanks." However if you are a parent with kids that are just like mine -- not likely to play a varsity sport at college -- then check out this book. The book should almost be required reading for the parents of student athletes, and the students as well.

One of the interesting themes this book carries is the value and need for a "hook" to get the attention of admissions offices when applying to college. My kids are all great students. They do not have the athletic "hook" that is going to get them lots of attention from college coaches and athletic directors or land them big scholarships. But they will be competing for those admission slots with the kids that do.

Mr. Lincoln's book is surprisingly interesting, an easy read, and well written.

-equal parts jock, reporter, ethicist and diplomat--has written a book that can be read with profit from several perspectives. For a young athlete, Playing the Game might be used as a guide to unmarked gates at Harvard, Yale and Princeton. For anyone considering a career as an Ivy recruiter, Playing the Game is a hair-raising foretaste of the stresses to come.

Or, if you've ever sought insight into the upper echelons of Wall Street and Washington, where so many Ivy Leaguers flock, try reading this book about squash and lacrosse. Ethical relativity starts early.

This remarkably well researched and engaging book reveals the surprising importance of athletics to gain admission to the Ivy League. Chris Lincoln is a talented writer who has chosen as his first effort to tell the story of athletic recruitment practices at places where one might think that it's 'grades first, sports second' . This morsel of commonly held wisdom is thoroughly debunked.

The story is told through the eyes of the coaches and players themselves, as well as a sprinkling of the opinions of the folks from admissions departments and administrators(including a few college presidents) that are so frank they have an 'off the record' feel. Bottom line: athletics count, and can count big time no matter what anyone tells you.

The complicated and lengthy process of how players are recruited is unveiled, and from this base the author draws an easy to follow path for any athlete wanting to scale the Ivy mountain. If I were a coach or a young athlete with aspirations in that direction, I could hope to find no better resource than this.

And I read it in one sitting. The guy can write.