The Best American Sports Writing 2002 (The Best American Series) [Paperback]

Rick Reilly (Author), Glenn Stout (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 2002

Since its inception in 1915, the Best American series has become the premier annual showcase for the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction. For each volume, a series editor reads pieces from hundreds of periodicals, then selects between fifty and a hundred outstanding works. That selection is pared down to the twenty or so very best pieces by a guest editor who is widely recognized as a leading writer in his or her field. This unique system has helped make the Best American series the most respected -- and most popular -- of its kind.
Each year, The Best American Sports Writing, well established as the premier sports anthology, offers a winning combination of fascinating topics and top-notch writers. This year, Sports Illustrated's Rick Reilly assembles an all-star lineup sure to captivate fans of sports and great writing. From baseball to bullfighting, from horse racing to school-bus racing, this collection has something for everyone. Reilly has chosen columnists and feature writers, household names and talented unknowns, and most importantly, pieces that delve behind the statistics, examining the people and emotions that make the game.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Reilly (Life of Reilly) gathers 28 cracking pieces on sport-and not just the usual suspects. The stunning "Near Death in the Afternoon," by Elizabeth Gilbert is the story of El Juli, a young and arrogant bull fighter who is gored in Madrid. Equally fringe and more disturbing is Bob Norman's "Backyard Bloodbath," which documents EFW ("Extreme Fuckin' Wrestling"), particularly two brothers who put on shows with tacks on the mat, barbed-wire-wrapped baseball bats, garbage cans and staple guns. It's bloody, raw, dangerous, utterly engrossing and revolting. Sports columnist Bill Plaschke's "Her Blue Heaven" is a moving story about being at odds with one of his critics, a 30-year-old-woman with cerebral palsy who lives in a shack in Texas and maintains her own Dodgers Web site. Equally poignant is Mark Kram Jr.'s "Joe's Gift," about Kansas City Chiefs running back Joe Delaney, who lost his life when he pulled a drowning boy from a pond. The book can be bleak, but Steve Ruskin's "Cold Comfort," a meditation on childhood, snow and sport, is a welcome relief from this motif-one that's sure to stir childhood memories in all readers. Peter Richmond's "Flesh and Blood" covers the mysteries and trial of Rae Carruth and the women who loved him, even though he set out to have them killed. Richmond goes on to blame this on the violent nature of sport, particularly football. At their best, these essays go beyond sport and into social commentary; these aren't pleas to change the world but acknowledgment of what draws one to sport in the first place: passion. (Oct. 15)
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Many fans believe that great sports writing--think Red Smith or Shirley Povich--has gone the way of afternoon newspapers and $3 bleacher seats. They are wrong, as this wonderful annual collection has been proving every year since 1991. The selections are culled from thousands of stories originally published in such disparate sources as Texas Monthly, ESPN.com, and GQ. The topics are also varied, though sadly, many of this year's batch deal with death in one form or another. Gene Wojciechowski contributes a moving eulogy for former basketball coach and bon vivant Al McGuire; Skip Hollandsworth's compelling article from Texas Monthly examines the murder of racehorse Alydar in 1990; and Peter Richmond offers trenchant commentary on the murder trial of football star Rae Carruth. Another highlight is Steve Friedman's disturbing account of the Hardrock Hundred Endurance Run in which participants must traverse 100 wilderness miles in 48 hours. Most don't finish. Among the other notable contributors are Rick Telander, Mike Lupica, and Frank Deford. A great tradition continues with another outstanding collection. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books; 2002 edition (October 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618086285
• ISBN-13: 978-0618086283
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #221,519 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #47 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Miscellaneous > Journalism

More About the Author

Glenn Stout is the author, editor or ghostwriter of nearly eighty books, including the groundbreaking Boston Globe bestseller Fenway 1912: The Birth of a Ballpark, a Championship Season, and Fenway's Remarkable First Year, bestsellers Red Sox Century and Yankees Century, and the critically acclaimed Nine Months at Ground Zero, The Best American Sports Writing, and Young Woman and The Sea: How Trudy Ederle Conquered the English Channel and Inspired the Worldand his own award winning juvenile sports biography series - "Good Sports." Glenn is available to make author visits to schools, deliver lectures on the history of Fenway Park and make other speaking engagements.

Born in Ohio and a graduate of Bard College, Glenn is dual citizen of the United States and Canada and lives in Vermont with his family, two cats, one dog and one rabbit on Lake Champlain. Before becoming a writer Glenn did construction work, served as a security guard, a painter, and worked in libraries. Glenn invites his readers to his blog, to join his facebook page for The Best American Sports Writing, or to visit his website, glennstout.net. Educators interested in arranging an "author visit" to their school can find information on Glenn's Good Sports website www.goodsportsbyglennstout or query Glenn directly at [e-mail].

Thanks for reading!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Last Year in Sports, January 13, 2003

By 

Z. Blume (St. Louis, MO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Best American Sports Writing 2002 (The Best American Series) (Paperback)

As is always true with these annual "Best of ..." books, there are several notable omissions that deserved to be included, but there is enough good material to make it well worth its price. More than anything it is a nice reminder of all that went on in sports in 2001, with several well written profiles of athletes, events, and sports that may not have received much coverage but are still fascinating and interesting to learn about. If you like sports or sports writing, this is the best anthology available every year so I would recommend it.

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars a couple interesting pieces and then SI cronyism, October 18, 2002

By 

tompetty (san francisco) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Best American Sports Writing 2002 (The Best American Series) (Paperback)

Tom Scocca's story is worth the price of the paperback, but otherwise Mr. Reilly's logrolling of mediocre pieces by his colleagues drags down the overall quality of the book. There are some notable exclusions--check out the honorable mention pages-- that were sacrificed for some howlers from the SI crowd.

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A real disappointment, September 5, 2003

By 

Joe Smith "Joe Smith" (Denver,Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Best American Sports Writing 2002 (The Best American Series) (Paperback)

There are a few good stories in this edition,but Reilly really dropped the ball more often than not. To many lengthy stories that just aren;t that interesting(Rae Carruth,moronic backyard wrestling)and far too many stories associated with death. Can we actually focus on the sports a little more? There are also too many articles on obscure topics.