The Best American Sports Writing 2009 [Paperback]

Leigh Montville (Editor), Glenn Stout (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 8, 2009 | Series: Best American

Well established as the premier sports anthology, The Best American Sports Writing brings together the year's finest writing on sports. Chosen from more than 350 national, regional and specialty publications, the twenty five pieces here embrace the world of sports in all its drama, humanity, and excitement.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

GLENN STOUT is the author of Young Woman and the Sea, Red Sox Century, Yankees Century, The Dodgers, and The Cubs. He has been the editor of The Best American Sports Writing since its inception.  His next book, Fenway 1912, is an account of Fenway Park's first season.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books; Original edition (October 8, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0547069715
• ISBN-13: 978-0547069715
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #551,717 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid as always, May 14, 2010

By 

Avid Reader (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Best American Sports Writing 2009 (Paperback)

I look forward to this compilation every year, and I read it on business travel every spring. When I began the 2009 edition, however, I wasn't impressed. The guest editor is Leigh Montville, a venerated Boston writer, and his intro is atrocious. It's badly written, and its stupidly sentimental. It feels like something Montville wrote in about six minutes.

Then, I got to the stories. The first story is great -- a heroic survival tale. But the second story is terrible, and it's more than 20 pages. It just runs through a writer's impressions of the 2008 sporting year, following basically the big events and providing some "insider" commentary.

Meanwhile, Montville was contributing little comments in italics at the end of each story. None of his comments add anything to our knowledge or sensibility. Here are examples of Montville's observations: "He should do it every year." "He is the best at what he does." "No, I don't want to read a story about the medicine ball." "These kids break your heart."

Pulitzer-worthy stuff, for sure. So at that point, I put the book down, assuming that either I've tired of the series or this year was just a stinker.

But I picked it up again, and I was charmed. There's great stuff about immigrant kids in the U.S. and down-and-out youth in NYC, plus an interesting profile of the very intense Jack Nicklaus, and several deeply personal tales. In short, buy the book, and ignore the editor.

5.0 out of 5 stars Best American Sports Writing, February 18, 2010

By 

pattyj (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Best American Sports Writing 2009 (Paperback)

As my son is a sports fan and writer, this is a perfect book for him. We purchase the new version for him every year. Thanks for quick delivery and a pristine copy of the book. It saved me a trip to the bookstore to purchase it.

5.0 out of 5 stars Long Time Subscriber, February 16, 2010

By 

Stanly W. Conner (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Best American Sports Writing 2009 (Paperback)

I have almost every edition since 1991. The series editor maintains a very high standard. I am puzzled occasionally by the inclusion of stories that seem to have little relevance to sport (The Source of All Things: Royal Flushed). I am never sure whether this is due to changing times or the whims of particular guest editors. Nevertheless, the total package is excellent and I look forward to this publication each year with undiminished interest. It helps to be a fan of sports in general.