Painstakingly faithful to its title, Kenny Mayne's book is neither complete nor is it particularly accurate. Ostensibly an A-to-Z encyclopedia of all known sports, many sports are never mentioned. There's not a word about rugby, volleyball, roller derby, swimming, or (shockingly) Basque pelota or shinty. There is a chapter about sliding, but none about skiing. Competitive eating and rhythmic gymnastics will have to wait for another book. However, there are roughly eight chapters about tackle football-"the greatest sport in the world, and everyone knows it"-and a good four or five about horse racing, so quit complaining before you've even heard the book. There will be plenty of time for complaining after you've finished it.Those sports that are covered in the book are examined with exhaustive inattention to unretained detail. Many chapters have nothing to do with sports. For instance, the chapter on hunting is about hunting for a hassle-free, triple-tall Americano, light on the water.So, then, what exactly is An Incomplete and Inaccurate History of Sport? Part nostalgic memoir (like the summer Mark Sansaver hit 843 home runs in backyard Wiffle ball), part Dave Barry-esque riffs (like explaining bocce to non-Italians), part scholarly tract (it includes the origins of tackle football), and part metafiction (see "Time-outs"), it is what Kenny calls his anti-coffee-table book.
An Incomplete and Inaccurate History of Sport
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle.
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Mayne, known for his sarcasm on ESPN's SportsCenter, submits in his debut a tongue-in-cheek sports encyclopedia, featuring such entries as rock throwing and Wiffle ball, along with facts mixed with dubious statements. For example, dodgeball ends when the PE teacher gets back from hitting on one of the substitutes and tackle football is the greatest sport in the world and everyone knows it. Stories from Mayne's life as a sports-loving kid in Washington State, a quarterback and father to two little girls round out the book. On TV, Mayne might be entertaining; as an author, he is overbearing, often trying to get more play out of a single joke than it can bear. Other comedic observations, such as security lines at airports and the perils of getting the right order at Starbucks, read like stale standup routines. The book's best parts feature Mayne straying from his funnyman persona to reflect on his personal life. Glimpses of the man behind the mockery are far too infrequent within Mayne's relentless, tiresome attempts at generating laughs. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
About the Author
Kenny Mayne is the little man that seems to live inside your TV. From his decades of hosting ESPN's SportsCenter, his announcing major events like the Kentucky Derby, his weekly irreverent (bordering on surreal) pregame “Mayne Event” segments for ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown, his reality TV life on Dancing with the Stars and Fast Cars & Superstars, and his appearances on The Martha Stewart Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live! to his ubiquitous commercials for companies such as Top Flite and GMC, you practically can't go a day without seeing Kenny on your screen. An Incomplete and Inaccurate History of Sport is the first book in his impending oeuvre. David Drummond has made his living as an actor for over twenty-five years, appearing on stages large and small throughout the country and in Seattle, Washington, his hometown. He has narrated over thirty audiobooks for Tantor, in genres ranging from current political commentary to historical nonfiction, from fantasy to military, and from thrillers to humor. He received an AudioFile Earphones Award for his first audiobook, Love 'Em or Lose 'Em: Getting Good People to Stay. When not narrating, David keeps busy writing plays and stories for children.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fabulous Sports Book,
By
This review is from: An Incomplete and Inaccurate History of Sport: . . . and Other Random Thoughts from Childhood to Fatherhood (Hardcover)
This book was a great read. With Kenny Mayne's quirky sense of humor, splashes of childhood stories, drawing by his daughters, and touching moments through his life, I couldn't put the thing down. Seriously it took me like 3 or 4 days to finish the book. The chapter about his Dancing with the Stars appearance was one of my favorites.
if you are a fan of his Mayne Event segments on ESPN you will love this book
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Amusing, but got a little tired by the end,
By Kid at Heart (Clovis, CA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: An Incomplete and Inaccurate History of Sport: . . . and Other Random Thoughts from Childhood to Fatherhood (Hardcover)
Overall, Kenny Mayne cracks me up. I love his Dance Center segments on ABC's Dancing With The Stars. I've long enjoyed him on SportsCenter as well.
I expected more of the same stuff in this book, and that's exactly what I got. Even though it's supposed to be an incomplete and inaccurate history of sport, I honestly expected a little more about the sports themselves. Instead Kenny seems to segue a lot into childhood memories. While I wanted more of his quirky take on sports, I found myself really enjoying the look back to childhood. His talking about wiffle ball, and it being the second greatest sport of all time really made me laugh because it sparked memories of my own. While I can't claim to have hit 843 home runs in a single summer, I laughed and reminisced about my own childhood while reading through his. There were chapters in there that seemed a little like filler and nothing more, and frankly, I wouldn't have minded more about the relation to sports growing up. Overall though, it was a quick, fun read. I was done with it in a day. If you like Kenny Mayne's sense of humor, you'll enjoy the book.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Your loss if you don't read it,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: An Incomplete and Inaccurate History of Sport: . . . and Other Random Thoughts from Childhood to Fatherhood (Hardcover)
If you're a fan of Kenny Mayne and or sports this is a MUST read.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Inside This Book
(learn more)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
|
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
