Full Description
Most of us will never know what it's like to parachute out of a Cessna, tend goal for the Boston Bruins, burn rubber on a NASCAR track, scale Everest, or quarterback the Detroit Lions. So it's our good fortune when dauntless literary journalists actually play the sports they cover—returning with firsthand tales from "inside the ropes." Here, in the tradition popularized by George Plimpton, is participatory sportswriting at its finest and most far-out. Editor Zachary Michael Jack fields a dream team of today's best sports journalists, hotshots, and rising stars in search of the game behind the game.
More than three dozen decorated writers take the field. Heirs apparent such as Tom Verducci, Jack McCallum, Melissa King, and Sam Walker join veterans Paul Gallico, George Plimpton, Davis Miller, Donald Katz, Tim Cahill, Grace Butcher, and James McManus in swinging for the journalistic fence. Together these thrill-seeking men and women capture the mojo of returning John McEnroe's serve, taking a punch from Ali, paddling Jack London's Alaskan river route, coaching the Phoenix Suns' Steve Nash, umping Manny Ramirez. Forty eye-popping accounts offer the straight scoop as never before—not just in the field but on it.
Contents
Editor's PrefaceIntroduction: Full-Court JournalismPAUL GALLICO, FOUNTAINHEADPaul Gallico - "The Feel"WINTERDonald Katz - "The Hans Brinker Complex"David Mamet - "The Deer Hunter"Bill McKibben - "Across the Disappearing Finish Line"Jack McCallum - "The Backstory"Leslie Heywood - "Bench Press, or Becoming a Girl Again"Dana White - "Flight of Fancy"Nick Paumgarten - "A Ski Mountaineer and a History of Tragedy"George Plimpton - "Hockey"SPRINGTom Verducci - "My Trip to the Show (Part II)"Robert Twigger - "Foaming at the Mouth"Sam Walker - "Get Somebody Loose!"Jeff MacGregor - "Bad, Brutal Fun"Dan Washburn - "Dragon Boat Racing: Unleast the Dragon . . . Boats"Greg Bishop - "It Isn't a Snap"Helga Hengge - "Reaching Her Peak"Mark Jenkins - "Pickles"T. Edward Nickens - "Fishing with the Shad King"SUMMERMichael Finkel - "Running Like Hell"Don Kardong - "Marine for a Day"Corey Levitan - "Now on Deck: Ruffians in the Diamond"Randy Wayne White - "And in This Corner, the Ghost of Ernest Hemingway"Melissa King - "It's All in the Game"Tim Cahill - "The First Fear Fandango"Donald Katz - "The Master Grappler"
Billy Anderson - "The Running of the Bulls: He Who Hesitates Is Lunch"James McManus - "Fortune's Smile"Grace Butcher - "Q: Why Do You Want to Race? A: Because My Name Comes Apart"Betsy Crowfoot - "Turning It Up"John Hildebrand - "Reading the River"Rob Story - "Climb Every Molehill"FALLGeorge Plimpton - "Football"Steve Friedman - "La Tour D'Amour"Bob Shacochis - "Here the Bear and the Mafia Room"James Kaplan - "Words Fail Me"Barbara Beckwith - "Tournament-tough"Ron C. Judd - "Race a Memorable First for 17th Man"Zachary Michael Jack - "Cry Me a River"Rodney Rothman - "Shuffleboard and the Future of Sport"Davis Lee - "First Person"The Dream Team, aka the ContributorsAcknowledgmentsAbout the Editor
