Customer Reviews

The Franchise: A History of Sports Illustrated Magazine

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

If only the author had spent as much time thinking up an interesting narrative structure as interviewing witnesses! This is perhaps the dullest "history" that I have ever read. And it's pretty much shorn of insight - the book just takes the opinions of a few of Mr. MacCambridge's "heroes" and runs with them. I've been better entertained. Much better.

The negative reviews of this book seem unwarranted to me (and, would it be fair to assume, largely from one particularly bitter reader?). MacCambridge can write, he's done his homework, and he has in fact made a number of interesting observations. Even though I disagree with many of them (e.g., his inordinate fuss over Dan Jenkins), I find it hard to discount anyone who recognizes SI for the "wildly profitable, mass-market magazine best known for its swimsuit issue" it's become. If your reaction is "yeah, so what's wrong with that?" don't bother with the book. If, on the other hand, you'd be interested to learn how a magazine which used to commission such engaging prose on everything from elk hunting to college wrestling matches to major league baseball became the narrowly-focused, crass exercise in corporate branding it's today, and how it's coped with ominous developments like the Warner merger, ESPN and the baffling rise of Rick Reilly - don't let the pithy criticism put you off.

Granted, the book does drag in spots, and would almost have benefited from some more energetic editing (and a few more photos of the cast of characters), but it's a welcome change from the obsequious, mass-market stuff which typifies sports-related journalism today.

I would have increased my rating by another star had the publisher bothered to produce a more imaginative (and sympathetic) cover.

For a "historian", the author has exceedingly narrow, parochial tastes. He has no edge, which is something this book desperately needs. If he were half as good a writer as some of those he disses, this might be an interesting read. As it is, it's a real trial.

To say this is a slow read is to say the Titanic was a sinking ship. In other words, it's stating the obvious. By the time I got to page 50, I was looking for a liferaft. Maybe something actually happens later on, but the publisher would have to pay ME to get there. I'd rather just buy the magazine - which at least is a good read.

With SI opening up its back issues online in March 2008, MacCambridge's "The Franchise" is worth another look at the creation and evolution of the magazine. The sections on Dan Jenkins and Andre Laguerre are great reads and would fit well in the traditional "bonus" piece section of SI that Laguerre created as editor and Jenkins often filled.

The major misconception seems to be that this book is about sports. It is about sport journalism. If you know that going in, you should be pleasantly surprised. SI was widely recognized as the best written journal of its kind, actually the prototype of the "New Journalism." The writers in the 1960s and early 70s were kings. But, after Laguerre's sacking, eventually the power turned to the managing editor, particularly the mentally unstable Gilbert Rogin and the talent-challenged Mark Mulvoy. Pictures replaced words, image replaced talent, and SI seized being a must read. Fascinating, fascinating stuff.

This alleged "history" of SI is ill-conceived and poorly executed. The author's reportage is extremely sloppy - he gets names wrong, dates wrong, even quotes wrong - and his analysis borders on the dim-witted. This is really The Gospel According to Dan Jenkins, without Jenkins' wit or style. What a bore!

This is an engrossing book for readers who want to understand the interplay between the writers, editors, and publishers of SI - in other words the people who created (and in some cases are still creating) SI.

It is NOT for people seeking out behind-the-scenes tidbits concerning the subjects covered in and on the magazine, including the swimsuit models.

Michael McCambridge has provided me the inspiration to check my local library, find all the back issues of SI, and read them cover to cover. The author proves what every die-hard sports fan and SI reader has known for years; that SI is the best magazine on the stand. He provides an exhaustive recount of the terrific writers that SI has employed over its lifetime, such as Jenkins, Deford, Blount Jr., Plimpton, and even Kurt Vonnegut. McCambridge fully details SI's transition from the 1950's to the 1990's and presents the magazine's alleged departure from literary quality during this decade. Not only is this book an evenhanded and accurate review, it is an easy read. Any lover of sports and good writing will want more of SI. A great job!

The history of Highlights would be more interesting than this collection of boring anecdotes. Just about everyone this guy admires is about 120 years old. Their jokes seem like they come from the Civil War. B-O-R-I-N-G!

I bought this hoping to get some dish on the SI swimsuit issue and the ongoing war with ESPN Magazine. But all I got was a few swimsuit facts I could have picked up from the publishers notes page, and just about zip on ESPN. The rest is all inter-office politics. Like, who cares? At this price, I could get 10 issues of the magazine.