Amazon.com
It's hard to imagine a book illuminating the texture of everyday life more brilliantly, or capturing the truth of human emotions more honestly, than Ford does in his account of an alienated scribe in the New Jersey suburbs. Frank Bascombe, Ford's protagonist, clings to his almost villainous despair in a way that Walker Percy's men don't, but the book is heavily influenced by Ford's fellow southerner nonetheless. Read this and you're ready for Ford's Pulitzer Prize-winning sequel, Independence Day.
Book Description
As a sportswriter, Frank Bascombe makes his living studying people--men, mostly--who live entirely within themselves. This is a condition that Frank himself aspires to. But at thirty-eight, he suffers from incurable dreaminess, occasional pounding of the heart, and the not-too-distant losses of a career, a son, and a marriage. In the course of the Easter week in which Ford's moving novel transpires, Bascombe will end up losing the remnants of his familiar life, though with his spirits soaring.
Customer Reviews:
Forced myself through it..........2007-10-01
After hearing about the book from a friend and reading the jacket, chock full of respected literary critics singing its praises (typical that the NYTimes swooned over it - I often run out and buy any book that Michiko Kakatuni zaps in one of her obnoxious and preening reviews), I was compelled to buy it. The book was awful. I won't knock Ford for a well-placed turn of phrase - his southern blood hasn't fully evaporated - and is dialogue is well-delivered. But he turns the mechanics of good storytelling on their head by presenting us with a protagonist who has suffered loss (his marriage, his son)and failure (a career) but seems stoic and imperturbed in the face of it. In fact, he is "dreamy" as a result of it, a state-of-mind he describes ad nauseum. I had to fight my way through the urge to put the book down every time that word is written. But I suppose I could make my way through this thicket of exhaustive (and often times contradictory) introspection if something actually happened in the story! Something that would put the protagonist in conflict with someone or something. Instead, he seems to approach the world in a childish way, never losing his temper or otherwise responding to the events in the world.
Finally, this book was written in 1986- perhaps I dat
sports for the mind.......2007-09-25
Last night I finished reading Richard Ford's The Sportswriter. I read it a couple years after reading Independence Day. Although I didn't love Independence Day, I was curious to get back to the main character of both books, Frank Bascombe, and see what he had done earlier in his life.
I think reviewers who don't like Frank Bascombe might have missed the point of the book. In my opinion, Ford does a tremendous job of detailing one (fictional) person's thoughts and feelings as he travels with him for a weekend and 375 pages. I found some of Frank's musings and take on life to be humorous, some profound, others confused or way off base even. In the end, though, Ford has created a consistent, engaging character whose adventures and interactions provide for many thought-provoking moments.
Excellently Written Book About Nothing at All.......2007-09-13
The Sportswriter is neither about sports nor writing. It is about one excruciatingly boring week in the mundane life of a mundane divorced man. There is no real story. There is no beginning, no end, and no real climax. We just follow the life of the guy as he moves through his life for a week.
The journey is genuine, and Richard Ford very accurately relates the dialog, feelings and experiences that such a man would have during such a week. The problem is that his life is just really, really boring.
The main character, Frank Bascombe, is reflective and introspective during this week and while his thoughts seem genuine, they are neither inciteful or interesting.
I enjoyed the writing style and it was done so well it might have been a real life journal. Just a very boring one.
I can only recommend this book to voracious readers who don't mind spending hours reading without expecting much entertainment value.
Lest we forget . . . .......2007-08-31
Every female person over the age of ten or so should read the first 50 or so pages of this book to find out what life was like for women before Title IX (1972) and the various Civil Rights Acts of that time.
On page 41, one reads: (these words are spoken in 1970) "Art Fox told me that if you're a man in this country you probably already know enough to be a good sportswriter." I know for a fact that sentiment was only too rampant at that time, as I would have been a better sportswriter than most of the men I've read--then or now. (I am doing it now, but on a smaller scale, so I know I'm right.)
Then, on page 37: "He encouraged me to keep writing, which I did, though without much enthusiasm. I had written all I was going to write, if the truth had been known, and there is nothing wrong with that. If more writers knew that, the world would be saved a lot of bad books, and more people--men and women alike--could go on to happier, more productive lives."
Well, having arrived at page 53 (after three days of trying to read this book) I gave up. It's supposed to be fiction, and indeed the author has won several awards for writing and/or literature, but I found it to be maundering, self-centered and dis-jointed----a loosely-contrived `pitiful me' sort of tale. I discovered that I just simply didn't care what became of Frank Bascombe or his Vicki or even X (his ex-wife, to whom he constantly refers in this manner.) I didn't see any reference to it being a parody, and kept tripping over the numerous (on each page, even!) sentences ending in prepositions. In today's lax atmosphere, one almost expects that, but not from so-called `literature' of the 80s.
But still, a valuable lesson can be garnered from those first 50 pages, if one is interested in history. We need to remember, so we don't forget it!
The Lay of the Land.......2007-08-15
My favorite thing about Richard Ford's trilogy is his love of the Eastern states, but chiefly his love of suburban New Jersey where this and his other novels are set. Next to Philip Roth there is no better fictional tribute to this wonderful place - although the Sopranos has done its part - especially to those magical hamlets which are known as suburban but are really rural in character. Unlike highway suburbs, Jersey has these quaint little hamlets or villages built around a single intersection. Ford loves to 'hang' in these spots, dwells in and on them, delineating their distinct features. Bascombe is always on the road, cruising through much of this territory, looking often for a phone (in the pre-cell days). He has an ear for class, how the hamlets represent the middle, lower-middle, upper-middle and beyond social classes and, indeed, this is an exciting celebration of the American character, one frequently ignored by our most astute writers, who ofter trade on generalizations. Here is all nuance, village to village, block for block, which is one reason, I'm sure, that Bascombe becomes a realtor in volume two of this masterful chronicle. This novel is light as a Corona and then gets rather heavy when poor Bascombe's 'best friend' decides to pack it in. Ford is a great chronicler of loneliness and missed opportunities. His talent lies is knowing how to narrate confrontations that never take place. One day this is all that will be left of New Jersey, just as Ancient Greece has been reduced to a couple of books by Homer. Ford captures the hotdog stand reality of the Garden State, which is in the end our greatest contribution to civilization.
Book Description
Every spring, millions of Americans prepare to take part in one of the oddest, most obsessive, and most engrossing rituals in the sports pantheon: Rotisserie baseball, a fantasy game where armchair fans match wits by building their own teams. In 2004, Sam Walker, a sports columnist for the Wall Street Journal, decided to explore this phenomenon by talking his way into Tout Wars, a league reserved for the nation's top experts. The result is one of the most sheerly entertaining sports books in years and a matchless look into the heart and soul of our national pastime.
Customer Reviews:
Riveting.......2007-09-19
Held my attention from page one to the end. Well written, fascinating and inspiring. I loved it.
My only complaint is that the book drags a tad in the middle. It's probably a little long and I sensed the author was padding a bit, which was completely unnecessary. But it was a fun summer read.
My other favorite summer read, although barely related, was Cat's Cradle. Cat's Cradle
Must read for fantasy sports fans.......2007-09-06
What a great ride to go on... side by side with Sam Walker in pursuit of the elusive, but validating, title of fantasy champion. As a fantasy sports enthusiast it was easy to identify with all the particpants, charatcers, methodologies and most importantly experiences. The ups and downs, the good nights and bad, are all accurately on display and this is an excellent representation of what it is to play fantasy baseball. I only wish their had been a sequel! Hats off to a touch of history, a smattering of shared experience, and a ton of inside jokes and laughs...
Humor and History.......2007-08-12
I picked up this book because it was in the $6.99 bargain bin and it related to one of my interests, fantasy sports. It was worth far more than th5 $6.99 I spent. Sam Walker provided an everyman angle to the story and recounted his experiences turning into a fantasy sports junkie, something many of us can relate to. Every fantasy sports concept is explaining without confusing jargon and he provides a mildly interesting history of rotisserie baseball. All in all a great book at a great price.
The REAL Stuff.......2007-06-26
Whant some "Dirt" on some of the biggest names in the game? This is the book for you. Funny and thought provoking. The writer takes the time to go into a world that he only slightly familiar with and the results are just amazing as to where Fantacy: sports have gone. Get it, read it!!
The Tout Wars.......2007-04-10
This hilarious romp into the world of fantasy league baseball will keep fans laughing. It's pure entertainment for all new roto junkies!
Book Description
The Old Course at St. Andrews is to golfers what St. Peter's is to Catholics or the Western Wall is to Jews: hallowed ground, the course every golfer longs to play -- and master. In 1983 George Peper was playing the Old Course when he hit a slice so hideous that he never found the ball. But in looking for it, he came across a For Sale sign on a stone town house alongside the famed eighteenth hole. Two months later he and his wife, Libby, became the proud owners of 9A Gibson Place.
In 2003 Peper retired after twenty-five years as the editor in chief of Golf magazine. With the younger of their two sons off to college, the Pepers decided to sell their house in the United States and relocate temporarily to the town house in St. Andrews. And so they left for the land of golf -- and single malt scotch, haggis, bagpipes, television licenses, and accents thicker than a North Sea fog. While Libby struggled with renovating an apartment that for years had been rented to students at the local university, George began his quest to break par on the Old Course.
Their new neighbors were friendly, helpful, charmingly eccentric, and always serious about golf. In no time George was welcomed into the local golf crowd, joining the likes of Gordon Murray, the man who knows everyone; Sir Michael Bonallack, Britain's premier amateur golfer of the last century; and Wee Raymond Gatherum, a magnificent shotmaker whose diminutive stature belies his skills.
For anyone who has ever dreamed of playing the Old Course -- and what golfer hasn't? -- this book is the next best thing. And for those who have had that privilege, Two Years in St. Andrews will revive old memories and confirm Bobby Jones's tribute, "If I were to set down to play on one golf course for the remainder of my life, I should choose the Old Course at St. Andrews."
Customer Reviews:
If you love Golf you'll love this Book........2007-08-06
This has to be one of the "Gems" of Golf Travel books.
From start of finish I found this book well written, humorous, sophisticated and wonderfully self-effacing. I would like to meet George Peper; I'm sure we would get along very well. Maybe a game on the Old Course would do the trick.
This is a fabulously entertaining tale of George and his wife's move to St. Andrews from an important position in the U.S.A., namely editor of Golf Digest. The story begins with the acquisition of an apartment overlooking the hallowed turf of the 18th Green of the Old Course at St.Andrews, the home of Golf.
George has the extremely good fortune of being a member of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club and sets about using this privilege to good effect. Not only does he become a popular and successful member, he also achieves a long held ambition; playing a round on the Old Course in Par.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I have been inspired by his "two years of golf" and long to follow his example by playing the Old Course, at least once.
His fondness for the people of St. Andrews and Scotland in general comes through with a warmth and genuinely felt emotion.
I can not imagine anyone finding this book disappointing. To me it has been a wonderful windfall.
I felt as if I were there.......2007-07-29
Someday before I turn 50 (I just turned 40), I plan to visit Scotland and St. Andrew's. But I already feel as if I have been there once after reading Mr. Peper's book.
Mr. Peper really captures the spirit of the town. It's so much different from the hustle and bustle of American life and the digital age in general. He breaks the book into small mostly unrelated "chapters" which highlight part of the town, the course, family, etc.
Thanks, George! Your book was an enjoyable read cover-to-cover.
A good read if you have been to St Andrews.......2007-07-23
George Peper is no Herbert Warren Wind, but his book is an enjoyable read for those who have spent time in St Andrews.
Wonderfull writing of golf and life in its birthplace.......2007-07-19
I loved this book. It was the perfect combination of life and golf in golf's birthplace - St Andrews. The writer provided an excellent look into life in the golf club and the village of St Andrews; their people, the culture and the history. Mr Peper writes with an excellent dry witt and makes you feel as if you know him personally. I enjoy books the most when I feel like I can relate to the place and people being written about and the author was very good at doing this. While being a single digit handicap golfer and a past editor of Golf Magazine and traveling in a very select inside group of professional golfers, media personalities and celebrities, Mr. Peper never took himself too seriously as a golfer, a writer or as a person. The more I read this book, the harder it became to put down and the more I looked forward to reading it the next day. It was educational, enlightening and enjoyable.It is a book you can just lean back, put your feet up and enjoy while at any time of day or night. The only thing that bothered me about this book was wondering how the author pronounced his name, Pepper or Peeper so I contacted a writer who interviewed the author for a magazine and was told that it was Pepper and that he was as enjoyable and selfless in person as he seems in his books. I look forward to Mr Peper's next book.
Great, interesting, funny : you live un st. andrews.......2007-05-16
Thanks George Peper!!!!:
For one of the best golf books. Its as if I was actually there.
I can`t wait to go to the "OLD COURSE" and expirience the magic you narrated in your book.
The srtucture of the story (expirience)is wonderfull and adictive.
You read the first page and want to keep on reading till you can barely keep your eyes open.
If you love reading and golf this book is a must read.
Average customer rating:
- No Marxism Please
- the game designed to break your heart...
- The Boys Of Summer....The Game That Was.......And Is,No Longer.
- The Boys of Summer my review
- Review Of The Boys of Summer
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The Boys of Summer
Roger Kahn
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial Modern Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Contemporary
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ASIN: 0060883960
Release Date: 2006-05-09 |
Amazon.com
"At a point in life when one is through with boyhood, but has not yet discovered how to be a man, it was my fortune to travel with the most marvelously appealing of teams." Sentimental because it holds such promise, and bittersweet because that promise is past, the first sentence of this masterpiece of sporting literature, first published in the early '70s, sets its tone. What follows only gets better, deeper, more sentimental, and more bittersweet. The team, of course, is the mid-20th-century Brooklyn Dodgers, the team of Robinson and Snyder and Hodges and Reese, a team of great triumph and historical import composed of men whose fragile lives were filled with dignity and pathos. Roger Kahn, who covered that team for the New York Herald Tribune, makes understandable humans of his heroes as he chronicles the dreams and exploits of their young lives, beautifully intertwining them with his own, then recounts how so many of those sweet dreams curdled as the body of these once shining stars grew rusty with age and battered by experience. It is the rare sports book that cannot be contained by the limitations of its genre; it is equal parts journalism, memoir, social history, and poetry.
Book Description
This is a book about young men who learned to play baseball during the 1930s and 1940s, and then went on to play for one of the most exciting major-league ball clubs ever fielded, the team that broke the color barrier with Jackie Robinson. It is a book by and about a sportswriter who grew up near Ebbets Field, and who had the good fortune in the 1950s to cover the Dodgers for the Herald Tribune. This is a book about what happened to Jackie, Carl Erskine, Pee Wee Reese, and the others when their glory days were behind them. In short, it is a book about America, about fathers and sons, prejudice and courage, triumph and disaster, and told with warmth, humor, wit, candor, and love.
Customer Reviews:
No Marxism Please.......2007-09-05
I had heard about this book for years, and finally got around to reading it recently. I was immediately turned off when Kahn was describing the influences in his household in New York--most notably Karl Marx. What is it with these people and their love for Marxism? Marxist governments have been responsible for over 100 million deaths worldwide, and yet to this day there are those who gush about how wonderful it is. These people are more than idealists, they are dangerous morons. Since I am not a political neophyte, the mention of Marx disgusted me and detracted from an otherwise good book. Isn't it ironic that if Kahn was living in his Utopian Marxist society, he wouldn't have made the fortune on this book that he made under capitalism?
the game designed to break your heart..........2007-05-25
I read this book many years ago but every summer come baseball season I find myself thinking about it. That's the impression that it left with me. Perhaps not only the best baseball book I ever read but the best book. We relive Roger Kahn's passion of the Brooklyn Dodgers and the names are legendary Robinson, Reese, Erskine, Snider, Campanella, Furillo, Hodges, Branca, Podres, Preacher Roe and of course, Ebbets Field. It covers the 1952 & 1953 seasons of the Brooklyn Dodgers, 5 years before the infamous move to Los Angeles when a city not only lost a baseball team but as Roger Kahn describes to us, a piece of it's soul. Baseball is game designed to break our hearts, ask any Cub fan or red Sox fan or Phillies fan(I still get upset when I think of Mitch Williams vs Joe Carter in the '93 World Series). The Brooklyn Dodgers had 2 seasons for the ages in 1952 & 1953 before succumbing to the hated Yankees in the World Series. A book for the ages.
The Boys Of Summer....The Game That Was.......And Is,No Longer........2007-03-20
I still have my original paperback copy of this. A superb book. What I wouldn't have given to be able to watch played at Ebbets Field. Jack Roosevelt Robinson was the most courageous ballplayer that ever was.The abuse that he took was tolerated, for the most part.The fact that he silently took it,and never retaliated.Being sold to the Giants at the end of 1956,was probably initiated by Alston,whom he never really got along with,anyway.For all of the revelations that ballplayers then drank,cheated on their wives,dirty-played---that hasn't changed.They were paid badly,are badly overpaid today,the wiping out of the Reserve Clause has caused a downward spiral of dilution of talent,the overall greediness of both players and owners-one could not pay me to sit through a game today.People today tend to forget that it wasn't cheap to go to a game in 1963.The average workingman could afford maybe a game or two, during the season.So,to spend well over $100.00 just to attend one night game?? Nope...The strike in 1994 did me in,for good.
The Boys of Summer my review.......2007-02-20
From 1941`1956 The Brooklyn Dodgers were the best team in the National league. The 1952 season is the main season which is good since the 1952 seris was the best. The history part is interesting the way things change between Roger Khans first trip to Ebbets feild and the last game there. Roger Khan is a good story teller his retelling of games and the part where he goes to see the players years later is the best ive read it says a lot about us all.
Review Of The Boys of Summer.......2006-03-12
This book is quite enjoyable. There is a bit too much on personal information about the Brooklyn Dodgers. The historical parts are better.
Average customer rating:
- The Perfect Bedside Companion
- If Scott Fitzgerald Had Worked At The New Yorker
- Good Book
- A Pleasure to Read
- Humor, Sadness, Excellent Little Stories
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Let Me Finish
Roger Angell
Manufacturer: Harcourt
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ASIN: 0151013500 |
Book Description
Here, at home inside a Jane Austen novel, I passed my college weekends, carving Sunday roasts and getting the station wagon serviced, explaining the double finesse in bridge, lacing up ice skates, sharing by radio the fall of Paris and the night bombings of London . . . having fallen not just in love but into a family. -from LET ME FINISH
Roger Angell has developed a broad and devoted following through his writings in the New Yorker and as the leading baseball writer of our time. Turning to more personal matters, he has produced a fresh form of auto-biography in this unsentimental look at his early days as a boy growing up in Prohibition-era New York with a remarkable father; a mother, Katherine White, who was a founding editor of the New Yorker; and a famous stepfather, the writer E. B. White. Intimate, funny, and moving portraits form the book's centerpiece as Angell remembers his eccentric relatives, his childhood love of baseball in the time of Ruth and Gehrig and DiMaggio, and his vivid colleagues during his long career as a New Yorker writer and editor. Infused with both pleasure and sadness, Angell's disarming memoir also evokes a sensuous attachment to life's better moments.
Customer Reviews:
The Perfect Bedside Companion.......2007-06-03
I keep this book ever at my bedside table and I give it five stars because of the incalculable help it's been to me nightly. At the first hint of insomnia's midnight itch, I simply reach for this unfailing bromide and "Poof," am whisked so gently and perfectly into the nether realms of unconscious bliss that I awaken wonderfully refreshed with scarce a moment's recall of the night in question. I highly recommend it. Try it, gentle insomniac, and you too can have flights of Angells sing thee to thy rest.
If Scott Fitzgerald Had Worked At The New Yorker.......2006-11-18
Don't be fooled by Roger Angell's encyclopedic knowledge of major-league baseball into thinking he isn't in the same league as F.Scott Fitzgerald and John O'Hara. Because he is....Roger Angell was keeping score of the American Scene all the while he was watching the "greats" of mid-20th century American literature make their indubitable marks. Now, his chronicler's eye catches some very poignant truths--"hard lines"--in these tranquil reflections about times and places when engaging people wanted to be counted as both cosmopolitan and caring human beings--before "caring" had become, somehow, passe. Roger Angell cared to get it right--and his assemblage of pieces from his New Yorker's reminiscences, titled "Let Me Finish," will stand the test of time for a very long time, indeed. His wistfulness is poet's testament to the "grand illusions" of this fleeting life which he has so masterfully caught in his own "forever amber."
Good Book.......2006-10-29
This book won't change your life or give you insight but I don't hink that was the intention of the author.
It is a very comfortable book.
Mr. Angell vividly describes his life as a writer and his life in general.
I didn't give it four stars because "To Kill a Mockingbird" is the apex. All else pales.
A Pleasure to Read.......2006-09-01
I look forward to reading this again and again to enjoy Angell's flowing and immaculate use of language and to visit again and again with his friends and family.
Humor, Sadness, Excellent Little Stories.......2006-06-29
This biography of a sort is really a series of stories that reflect important parts of his life. Being a supurb writer his little vignettes are a mixture of humor, history, personal views, and whatever he wants to say. I think I liked the story of his Army Air Corp life during World War II the best. The idea of the Army losing his paperwork so that effectively he didn't exist sort of told me that the Army hadn't changed when I went in a generation later.
Angell is best known as a baseball writer and there's some baseball here, but there's a lot more. As he says, he didn't intend to write a biography, he just wrote a few stories about things in his past. Later on he looked at them and here was a book.
It's delightful reading. Not too serious, and he's not going to tell you 'I was born...' Born to well off, if not rich parents, he sums up his life: 'I've had a life sheltered by privilege, and engrossing work, and shot through with good luck.' That almost sums up the book as well.
Average customer rating:
- Totally fine
- This Book Sucks
- I can't believe we carried it back too!
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The Sportswriter
Richard Ford
Manufacturer: Vintage Books
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0394743253
Release Date: 1986-02-12 |
Customer Reviews:
Totally fine.......2007-01-01
This book was a joy to read - and to begin the journey of Frank Bascombe as Ford travels through his life here and in the other two Frank Bascombe novels I will read next. Ford is an extraordinary author, because as he tell of the lives of his characters, he's also telling our own in a way that makes us understand ourselves better. Who can't use more of that?
This Book Sucks.......2004-06-18
This book sucks. It's an overgrown weedpatch of gratuitous description. Ford has a formidable talent for using a lot of words to say little. I would have liked, at least, to learn a little bit about the world of sportswriting, and even in that I was disappointed.
I can't believe we carried it back too!.......1998-06-29
My wife and I agree... this book, how can we say it... has great and continuous vaccuum. We purchased it to take with us and read on a 16 hour flight to Australia. It was my turn first. To say the least, I'm certainly glad our pilot was not also reading it. Pointless, self indulgent, and boring. I made it 60 pages before I went back for a second read of the Airline's flight magazine. It is extremely rare that I don't finish a book, but in this case I can't imagine anything more torturous.
My wife took it as more of a challenge. A challenge to make it through the book... and that she did... reading it because "Surely, it must get better". It apparently never did. She WAS going to read Independence Day... not anymore.
What exactly *do* you do to get a Pulitzer anyway. He couldn't possibly have upgraded his style that much could he??
Book Description
They are memoirs like you've never read before. As broadcaster and pitchman, John Madden has been inside the locker rooms, broadcasts booths, and in front of the camera doing what he does best--being himself. He's seen an awful lot and he wrote a book to prove it. Hey, wait a minute, you'll love it!
Customer Reviews:
Hey, wait a minute, I wrote a book.......2005-12-14
This book was about John Madden life when he was a coach. It talks about how after ten years of coach the Oakland Raiders. The book also talks about when he was playing football in high school and college and also when he got darfted to the NFL but during summer camp he tore his ACL and could not play football. It talks about how he started broadcasting for CBS. So throuhgout the book it talks his live and the thing he went through to get to where he was and where he is today.
Heýs Madden as hell and heýs not going to take it anymore.......2003-10-16
not to be confused with the book '"Hey, Wait a Minute!": Dealing With Feelings and Weight Control" John Madden's first published work deals with all sorts of issue from feelings to weight control. but instead of dealing with those issues on a psychiatrist's couch, it deals with them where they belong -- on the savage gridiron of the football field. if you're looking for some game where little virtual men run all over your t.v. screen, then look elsewhere, because while Madden has become synonymous with his namesake video football, before that he was eponymous with actual football and the playing and coaching thereof. madden's gee-whiz enthusiasm makes the world of football (playing, coaching, the superbowl, broadcasting, beer commercials, groin pulls) shimmer with the scintillating shine of the frill on a cheerleader's hotpants. madden even expresses astonishment at the fact that he wrote a book, even though one `dave anderson' appears somehow to have been involved. but make no mistake (or throw the red flag if you do), madden's outsized personality (not to mention figure!) comes through on every page, and if you can't help crack a smile at his endless logical positivism and ebullience, then you're probably a twisted, horrible person who enjoys baseball. hey wait a minute! I wrote a review!
It sux.......2002-02-05
This book sucks, HARD. After a few chapters i burned it. Can you find a crapier title. There is only one good thing about this book is it burns nice and toasty.
TOUCHDOWN.......2001-09-02
JOHN MADDEN SCORES BIG WITH THIS BOOK. IT IS VERY HUMOROUS, INTERESTING, AND TO THE POINT. I ENJOYED THE REHASHING OF HIS DAYS WITH THE RAIDERS. ALSO HIS EXPERIENCE WITH THE LITE BEER COMMERCIALS IS VERY FUNNY. HIS INSIGHT AND EXPERIENCE IN THE BROADCASTING WORLD MAKE THIS BOOK A VERY ENJOYABLE EXPERIENCE. A MUST READ FOR ANY FAN OF FOOTBALL AND THE RAIDERS. TOUCHDOWN JOHN MADDEN!
John Madden writes just like he talks!!!.......1999-05-27
He even sounds excited in print! Madden clearly loves the game of football, and his exuberance is evident throughout this book. His stories and anecdotes from both his coaching and broadcasting days are both hilarious and insightful. My own favorite part of this book were his reminisces of his days with the Raiders, when he coached that team to their first Superbowl victory. He really makes you feel like you were there!
Customer Reviews:
Tales of Dempsey, Jones, Rockne, Ruth.......2007-03-13
In the early 1970s, Jerome Holtzman interviewed 44 fellow sportswriters from the previous generation. He asked each to talk about his experiences covering sports. 18 of those reminiscences were published as NCITPB in 1973. Holtzman published a new edition, with 6 additional interviews, in 1995. The interviews were oral (ala Lawrence Ritter's The Glory of Their Times); reading them is akin to sitting in on the conversations. Like Ritter's book, we hope the original tapes become an audio version.
Dan Daniel remembers covering the Dodgers in 1909. Marshall Hunt shares some Babe Ruth anecdotes. Al Laney speaks about Bernard Darwin, his primary influence as a writer. Shirley Povich relates how he was named sports editor of The Washington Post at 21; he still worked there at age 90.
Some of these writers concentrated on sports for their entire careers (Fred Lieb, Red Smith); others branched out. John Kieran studied and wrote about the natural world. Paul Gallico left sports to write fiction, and made Hemingway jealous. Povich and Jimmy Cannon served as war correspondents during WWII.
Holtzman does not intrude. He elicits observations and stories that are informative, humorous, and fascinating. In our instant access Internet age, Holtzman reminds us of the not-so-distant past when most news was delivered via newspapers or radio. His book is a wonderful look back at a bygone era with some of its primary recorders. This title is out of print but well worth finding, especially for fans of sports journalism.
Not about what I expect it to be........2001-11-14
I did not think that the book would have famed writers talking about their experiences in the world of sports.
Book Description
The first book to chronicle the life and ideas of “the serious baseball fan’s high priest” (New York Times), the impact of his brilliant and entertaining writings, and how someone who never pitched a ball, held a bat, or managed a team fundamentally changed the way baseball is interpreted, analyzed, and even played.
Bill James has been called “baseball’s shrewdest analyst” (Slate) and “part of baseball legend” (The New Yorker), and his Baseball Abstract has been acclaimed as the “holy book of baseball” (Chicago Tribune). Thirty years ago, James introduced a new approach to evaluating players and strategies, and now his theories have become indispensable tools for agents, statistics analysts, maverick general managers, and anyone who is serious about understanding the game.
James began writing about baseball while working at a factory in his native Kansas. In lively, often acerbic prose, he used statistics to challenge entrenched beliefs and uncover surprising truths about the game. His annual Baseball Abstract captured the attention of fans and front offices and went on to become a bestselling staple of the baseball book category. In 2002, the Boston Red Sox hired James as an advisor. Two years later they achieved their long-awaited World Series triumph.
The Mind of Bill James tells the story of how a gifted outsider inspired a new understanding of baseball. It delves deeply into James’s essential wisdom–including his surprising beliefs about pitch counts and the importance of batting-order, thoughts on professionalism and psychology, and why teams tend to develop the characteristics that are least favored by their home parks. It also brings together his best writing, much of it long out of print, as well as insights from new interviews. Written with James’ full cooperation, it is at once an eye-opening portrait of baseball’s virtuoso analyst and a treasury of his idiosyncratic genius.
Customer Reviews:
Just read Bill James himself..........2006-12-28
This book could have been titled "The Best of Bill James" instead of "The Mind of Bill James." About 70% of the book is just excerpts from old publications of James', often inserted without any real context or additional insight. Gray, when he appears, is a decent writer but not a great one, and I agree with an earlier reviewer who said that his writing style often seems derivative of James himself.
Fun in parts, but poorly edited, disorganized, and ultimately a very sparse book.
Book does not live up to its catchy subtitle.......2006-09-08
"The Mind of Bill James: How a Complete Outside Changed Baseball" delivers better on the first part of the title.
The book serves as a narrative biography of James, who is best known for popularizing a term he coined, "Sabrmetrics" or the use of statistics to analyze all facets of baseball decisionmaking, from which minor league pitchers would have solid major league careers to the value of stolen bases. While it summarizes James's most important ideas, it really doesn't explore how they've impacted the Major Leagues at all, even though James is now a paid consultant to the Red Sox and his ideas clearly play a role.
Gray's sources seem to be limited to James's writings (which are mostly out of date) and interviews with James. He really doesn't seem to have talked at all with other baseball executives to get their views on James's methods, and therefore its really difficult to know how seriously those truly "in power" take them. For instance, Billy Beane of the A's is known to use Jamesian methods and done quite well with them (see Michael Lewis's "Moneyball"). Gray doesn't seem to have talked with him or other GMs though.
Another disappointment is the cursory coverage Gray gives some of James's most important ideas, such as the concept of "Win Shares" that allows players to be evaluated over different periods of time, i.e. did Yogi Berra or Jackie Robinson contribute more to their teams' success? Calling the concept too complicated to really break down, Gray doesn't even get to it until about 2/3 of the way through the book.
One of the reasons for this is a real weakness of the book - its use of a narrative format instead of a topical one. Because the book takes James from childhood to the presdent and discusses his ideas as he wrote them, there's no sense of hierarchy, i.e., which of them are most important in terms of their contribution to baseball, which is the book's ostensible purpose.
Finally, the book doesn't really take a comprehensive look at the world of baseball analysis to get a sense of how much ground James really broke. The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) preceeded James's appearance onto the scene. To what extent did James popularize work being done already (James can write clearly and make the mundane fascinating) and to what extent did he plow new ground? Again, while the book acknowledges that there was this universe of research and analysis before James, he doesn't even begin to explore this.
None of this is to criticize James at all, who best exemplifies someone who writes about the game with intelligence and passion. His ideas are important (whether you agree with him or not), and deserve a better explication than this volume.
In short, a good concept poorly executed in my view.
fusion.......2006-08-24
One sign of a great, compelling biography, I think, is a kind of merging of the two voices - that of the subject of the biography and that of the biographer himself. When a kind of seamless interaction between them occurs on the page the result can be beautifully illuminating. Scott Gray's The Mind of Bill James: How a Complete Outsider Changes Baseball accomplishes exactly this and does so by focusing on the essence of James' contribution to the game rather than devoting too much time to more personal details of his subjects' history. That said, the book is, in it's way, intensely personal - again, from the both the standpoint of the individual as well as the author, for both make a deeply felt, strong case for the beauty of real, meaningful information over appearances, not only in baseball, but in ostensibly disparate subjects such as politics and crime stories as well. Essentially Gray's book supports James' method and approach to deciphering the actual and real strengths of a baseball team and of individual players by citing him extensively. But what makes the book such a great read is that Gray provides an enlightening and, at times, poetic, context in which sabermetrics takes on the broader scope of things. His particular form of prose is not ethereal or flowery at all however, on the contrary, it is rather calculated, surefooted, and certain, and possesses edges as sharp as the James analyses cited throughout the book. This book represents what I consider a perfect fusion, a great meeting of the minds. I think the thought that most struck me from reading it is that I'm sure James would have been an incredibly interesting voice in any pursuit - and Gray's book conveys that in a comparably staightforward and precise way and with undeniable enthusiasm and depth.
A compelling read about a fascinating man. .......2006-08-07
Gray takes the bio genre into uncharted waters--a perfect match for his iconoclastic, quirky subject. Full of unique insights and strange-and-beautiful humor, Gray's book takes us on a remarkable journey as we discover how this maverick came to be so loved and so hated and so influential in the baseball world.
An unusual and worthwhile read.......2006-08-04
As baseball books go, this one is unusual. Instead of mimicking the tried-and-true journalistic voice of authority, the author lets his subject do most of the talking, about baseball in general and the Red Sox in particular, as well as on things that have little to do with sport but are nonetheless interesting, such as the Ramsey murder, life in the Army during the Vietnam era, race, and psychology. In one lengthy passage, the author uses old and new James analysis to make a case for Lou Whitaker being severly underrated and having had more value to his teams than Ernie Banks or Lou Brock to theirs. Whether you agree or disagree, or you like Bill James or don't, this book is pretty fascinating. Some reviewers have complained about the structure, but I found it a fun and easy read. If you're a Red Sox fan, you'll dig the "Pedro Martinez / London pub" story.
Book Description
The definitive collection from the late Ralph Wiley-pioneering journalist, acclaimed author of Why Black People Tend to Shout, and a towering voice in the world of sportswriting hen Ralph Wiley, a columnist for ESPN.com and a former writer for Sports Illustrated, passed away on June 13, 2004, he left behind a rich legacy of written work. This volume brings together Wiley's best feature stories from Sports Illustrated, columns from ESPN.com, his 'Parting Shots' from the ESPN television show The Sports Reporters, and excerpts from his books and screenplays.
Customer Reviews:
Must Read.......2006-03-21
A lifetime of Punchers Players Punks and Prophets is undoubtedly a great collection of essays written by one of the most insightful and prophetic sports writers of our time. Ralph Wiley did a great service to sports enthusiasts publishing this collection. I'm glad to have read this book and advise others to do the same. God bless you Ralph.
Great Book.......2005-10-12
Wiley, Ralph. Classic Wiley. Hyperion: USA, 2005
Heart
Home Library
Collection of work
A collection of the best work from the late Ralph Wiley, this is not just a collection of his best work but also a look into the life and mind of one of the most influential African-American sports journalist. We see how Ralph Wiley responds to certain historical sports moments/ issues, such as minority owner ship, Mike Tyson and September 11.
Although this book is a collection of Wiley's greatest work it is much more than that. This book illustrates the unique writing style of Ralph Wiley. Wiley exemplifies a style that is brash and to the point yet not arrogant. He writes in a way that you respect his stand on issues even though you may not agree with it. One of Ralph Wiley's favorite sports to cover was boxing he was made famous by his articles in the Oakland Tribune about Roberto Duran's famous "No mas" and his depiction of fights like Leonard vs. Hearns II. Theses pieces are what sprang Wiley's name into the infamous Sports Illustrated which he was a writer for since the late 80's. After SI he continued to have success as a columnist for ESPN.com. The columns he wrote there were extremely personal. Columns such as WWJD (What Would Jackie Robinson Do), His response to the lack of African American ownership in the new millennium expressed his built up anger of major sports. Also his article Why We Need Sports Now sent a message to American people following the terrorist attack of 9/11.The book is excellent and a great book for any aspiring journalist.
Books:
- The Terror: A Novel
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar board book
- The Work of Wolves
- The Year of Magical Thinking
- This Time, This Place: My Life in War, the White House, and Hollywood
- Truth, Lies and Advertising : The Art of Account Planning
- Ultimate X-Men Vol. 15: Magical
- Waking the Dead: The Glory of a Heart Fully Alive
- Ways with Words: Language, Life and Work in Communities and Classrooms (Cambridge Paperback Library)
- What Stories Does my son need?: A Guide to Books and Movies that Build Character in Boys
Books Index
Books Home
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- Cities of the Dead
- Designing a 401K Plan: The Hands-On Guide to Creating the Best Plan for Your Company-Complete With C
- Work Engendered: Toward a New History of American Labor
- Saratoga Trunk
A Multitude of Sins
The Emperor's Children (Vintage)
Special Topics in Calamity Physics
