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What: “You Go Girl! Winning the Woman’s Way”

Authors: Kim Doren and Charlie Jones

Publisher: Andrews McMeel

Price: $22.95

This 344-page book is about women’s sports and their growth since Title IX began in 1972. That act prohibited gender discrimination in federally funded schools and other institutions.

The book doesn’t preach, scold or lecture. It tells the story and provides lessons learned through the words of more than 100 persons directly involved--women athletes, coaches, executives, administrators and broadcasters.

Says soccer’s Kristine Lilly in the book’s foreword: “This gathering of some of the top women athletes in the world, sharing lessons they have learned from their personal experiences, is in fact a complete blueprint for success--success in sports and in life. Kim and Charlie are the perfect pair to pull all this together. They get the conversations going, and then they get out of the way.”

Kim Doren was the 1977 San Diego prep athlete of the year, who went on to star in softball at Stanford and become the No. 1 player on the badminton team. She has been director of advertising and marketing for Cobra Golf, has worked on outback cattle ranches in Australia and taught English. Charlie Jones has been a sports broadcaster for nearly four decades, much of that time on a network level.

The book opens with a chapter titled “Find Your Passion.” This from U.S. women’s soccer team co-captain Julie Foudy: “My advice to girls is simple: Do something you love. It’s got to be your passion. The reason we’ve been successful on the U.S. national team is we love to play, and as a result we get out there and practice and train a lot.”

There are emotional stories, such as one about former tennis prodigy Andrea Jaeger and her Kids Stuff Foundation and Silver Lining Ranch in Aspen, Colo. The ranch was created as a getaway destination for children with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.

Interesting, provocative and useful quotes--some of them quite contrasting--are interspersed throughout the book. For example:

Tennis star Lindsay Davenport: “No one ever said I would be any good or get to a Grand Slam final. In my teens, I wasn’t expected to do anything. I’ve proved a lot of people wrong. I’ve tried so hard to do the best I can.”

Tennis star Serena Williams: “I always believe I can beat the best, achieve the best. I always see myself in the top position.”