I've had the honor of getting to know both of those guys and I can tell you that both Ron & Alan both high class guys with a passion that makes them the best at what they do.
As for being nuts, Alan is an absolute trip to talk to! Imagine Kramer being a baseball genius ;-)
All of my guys are required to read their stuff if they are training with me. Well educated ballplayers makes it easier to make them better ballplayers, right?