Everything They Had: Sports Writing from David Halberstam [Paperback]

David Halberstam (Author), Glenn Stout (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 12, 2009

"Everything They Had shows that Halberstam understood that games can be vehicles for social change and diversions from the weightier matters of life. This collection is a bittersweet reminder of how thoroughly he mastered his craft."
--Sports Illustrated

"Everything They Had is a book to savor and return to frequently."
--Mary Foster, Associated Press

"To Halberstam, sports always meant something beyond the arena, beyond the balls and strikes . . . Big picture perspective defined Halberstam's sportswriting."
--Los Angeles Times

David Halberstam was a celebrated journalist and historian of American politics. He was also a sports writer. Everything They Had brings together for the first time many of his articles--on subjects ranging from Michael Jordan to fly-fishing--that were selected from Halberstam's five decades as one of America's most distinguished journalists. These are dazzling portraits of some of the most compelling figures of our era--the superstars of popular sports and the amateur athletes who play for the love of the game. No matter the sport, no matter the player, Halberstam's passion for honorable competition and his admiration for each gifted athlete is evident in every word.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David Halberstam was one of America's most distinguished journalists and historians. His many books on politics and power in America include The Best and the Brightest, War in a Time of Peace, and The Coldest Winter. He was the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for his early reporting in Vietnam. Of his many bestsellers, The Amateurs, The Breaks of the Game, Summer of '49, and The Education of a Coach are counted among the best sports books of our time. He was killed in a car accident on April 23, 2007, while on his way to an interview for what was to be his next book.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion; 1 edition (May 12, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401309909
• ISBN-13: 978-1401309909
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,419,218 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Solid Collection, May 21, 2008

By 

Nicholas Franklin (Aust, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Everything They Had: Sports Writing from David Halberstam (Hardcover)

This is a very solid collection, and a reminder of what a talented writer Mr. Halberstam was. The themes he would turn into books can be found throughout the essays. He was, it seems, most interested in the combination of race, the media, fame, and friendship. There is a certain weight toward his more recent writings (much of it available online through espn.com and other sites). Certainly worth reading, and for those of us who found Halberstam to be the most gifted writer who happened to write about sports, it is a must have book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Worthwhile, September 2, 2008

By 

CJA "CJA" (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Everything They Had: Sports Writing from David Halberstam (Hardcover)

Halberstam was an even more prolific writer than I had thought, as demonstrated by this collection of his short sports pieces published in various magazines over the years. The collection demonstrates his keen eye for the cultural changes mirrored in sport and his appreciation for character. As for the latter, the portrayals of Ted Williams, Joe Torre, Reggie Smith, Muhammad Ali, and Pat Riley are excellent.

Two pieces on basketball are exceptionally strong -- a 1985 article about Indiana high school basketball (with some Bobby Knight mixed in) that captures the State's passion for basketball and the changes in society and sport since the 1950s. Another excellent piece concerns Halberstam's friendship with a little known basketball player who was part of the North Carolina team that beat Wilt Chamberlain and Kansas in the 1950s and who had a brief stint in the NBA.

Many of the pieces explore male friendships and bonding in the context of sports. Halberstam does not delve much into the darker side of sport, perhaps getting his fill of that in his political writing.

Some of the pieces in the collection are a bit superficial and lack the depth of reasearch and passion that gave so much life to Halberstam's longer works. They smack of taking a break and making a quick buck.

On the whole, a worthwhile collection.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Like Talking Sports With an Old Friend, January 13, 2009

By 

Greality Test (Greeley,CO) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Everything They Had: Sports Writing from David Halberstam (Hardcover)

This collection of essays from various magazines spans more than two decades. It reflects on fathers and young sons going to their first pro baseball game together. It covers how youngsters become involved as sports fans and fanatics. It explains how a boy can be a Yankees fan, or a Sox fan or even both, and why. It discusses how baseball is suited well to radio, and football to television. Women's ice hockey is given a good analysis. I haven't started the fishing section. Halberstam is very much an observer of people and personalities, many from more than fifty years ago. An excellent purchase.