This is one of those books I picked up from a book fair long, long ago. I remember being obsessed with the martial arts craze at the time, and especially The Karate Kid.

Looking back on this book now, the writing style is very simplistic, and I mean a little over simplistic for the target audience, but maybe that's just me. One thing I did notice though, is that the authors seem to be writing most of these chapters in the style of a press release or a column in a teen magazine (especially the segment on Ralph Macchio).

The order of the book is strange as well, starting with Chuck Norris. I understand he was a big deal at the time, but it still seems to me like the book would work better arranged chronologically. There is mention of the classic Hong Kong "Chopsockie" films (which touches on the at the time still rising star Jackie Chan very briefly), as well as a chapter devoted to Bruce Lee, which definitely could have been longer.

One surprise was the chapter on The Last Dragon. The fact that this particular movie got a mention in this book was unexpected, even though the timing is right.

Of course, there is plenty of information on The Karate Kid and The Karate Kid II. So much that it seems the book is more a tie-in to the release of the second film, which is entirely possible.

Overall an interesting little distraction with both movie recommendations and a few books mentioned for further reading included throughout the text. ( )