The Best American Sports Writing of the Century

Years ago I read a piece included in this book, called 'Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu' by John Updike. I was reading a lot of Updike at that time, and found it strangely to be the most moving, the best thing he had written. I will venture to say it is one of the best things in this book. Other sports - writing I loved a lot came not from the daily papers or columns or magazines but from longer often fictional works. For my money Zane Grey's 'The Shortstop' and Charles Einstein's 'The Only Game in Town' are two of the greatest pieces of sportswriting. I would also say that Hemingway in his writing about fishing and boxing and bullfighting- and Lardner ( who is included here but in a small selection) were at the highest level of the game. And Sherwood Anderson too for a story he has about horses and a young person's love of the track. Bernard Malamud in 'The Natural' also wrote about baseball and its dreams and disappointments in a way a real fan could take to heart. I would also add a selection Laura Hillebrand's great book on 'Seabiscuit'. And of course another masterpiece of writing Frederick Exley's 'A Fan's Notes'. That said I believe this present collection a rich one.The opening piece on Joe D. by Guy Talese has about it something of the class and hidden mystery of the Yankee Clipper himself. The last selection of Norman Mailer on Muhammed Ali is as big as the egos of both of these two master- self- promoters. But there is also much here for those on the other side, the losers as in Murry Kempton's column on Sal Maglie who lost after pitching outstanding ball in the game Don Larsen was perfect in- in the 1956 World Series. For some reason Baseball and Boxing are the sports most written about. Baseball is a world in itself, with its own special character. I would have liked to see a selection from Philip Roth in which he describes I believe it is in 'American Pastoral' the feeling of playing center- field. Boxing has the drama of the man- against- man combat. Perhaps a piece by Joyce Carol Oates on Mike Tyson might have been included here. When I was a child one of my heroes was Grantland Rice. And I am happy to see a selection from his columns here. Again there is a great deal of wonderful stuff here but I am not sure it has most of the great sports- writing of the century in it. I think of some of the sports-biographies which have been written and are truly outstanding. Tom Meany's old books on Joe D. and the Babe are I believe even out- of-print but they told the story of their heroes in a way a young person could be inspired by and identify with. What I am saying I guess is that this very good selection is still only a small part of what there is out there. The game is long , and the life too short to read.

This book is a fascinating look into the personalities of some of America's most cherished sports icons. It does what sports journalism should aspire to do - delve beneath the surface layer of statistics, and show us the heart and soul of the athletes that compete in the American limelight. The dissections of DiMaggio, Ted Williams and Ali are especially insightful, while the coverage of many individual sporting events is gripping, making you feel as if you are actually attending the event. Because this book covers almost every conceivable American sport, it affords the reader the luxury of picking and choosing the stories that may pertain to one's favorite sports.

My girlfriend first brought the Best American Sports Writing series to my attention in 1992 by giving me that year's edition as a Chrismas present. I showed my gratitude by burying my head in its covers and ignoring the outside world (her included) until I had finished.Since that time I have been a keen follower of the series. Because I live in Australia I have little prior background to many of the stories, but this perhaps gives me an objectivity which enhances my enjoyment.The "Best American Sports Writing of the Century" is a seriously thick compilation of some fantastic pieces. Although falling short of the editors' lofty aims of being a portrait of American life over the past 100 years, it nevertheless manages to identify many of the people and defining moments that have become integral to (admittedly, my perception) of modern American history.My favourite story - perhaps George Plimpton's `Medora Goes to the Game', a wonderfully uplifting tale of a father's sneaky attempts to convince his 9 year old daughter to aspire to his alma mater, set against the backdrop of the 1980 Harvard-Yale game. Second place to `Into Thin Air', Jon Krakauer's harrowing personal tale of tragedy on Everest. There are many other classics, too numerous to mention here - one that particularly fascinated me was Paul Solotaroff's shocking portrayal of steroid abuse in the body building world.Brickbats to Murray Kempton's play-by-play account of a baseball game, which failed to inspire me (to be fair, possibly because I am not familiar with the game's intricacies). Also, thumbs down to the editors for selecting no fewer than 6 pieces on Muhummad Ali (a trap which the UK-based Picador sports writing anthology also falls into) Davis Miller's excellent piece notwithstanding.But perhaps the most fascinating insight the book gave me was the fragile mental state of some of America's most famous boys of summer - Ty Cobb, Ted Williams and Joe Di Maggio. All three appeared to me to have, as we say in Australian vernacular, `a `roo loose in the top paddock', surely begging the question - does an athlete need to be ill at ease with the world to achieve greatness, or does America's adoration and constant media attention lead to a wariness and deluded view of self-importance that cannot be extinguished ?

Great writers. Great subjects. Very insightful and revealing. A must, if you're a sports fan. Joe Dimaggio, Ted Williams & Joe Louis, to name a very few of the fascinating articles...written by people who were there...a must read!

Consistently great, always interesting and occasionally just plain fantastic sports writing, although I don't think you need to be a jock to enjoy this book - writing by Mailer, Talese, Wolfe and Hunter S. Thompson speak to everyone regardless of the subject. This is a book to read and savor over a long period of time, to return to often, and share among friends. Halberstam's picks give the book a surprising and provocative historical edge. While the omission of A.J. Leibling and a few others are surprising, it's more than made up for by the inclusion of some superb surprises. Take this book on vacation - or take a vacation by reading this book.