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The Meaning Of Sports Paperback – May 10, 2005

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Michael Mandelbaum (Author)
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4.4 out of 5 stars 17 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 384 pages
  • Publisher: PublicAffairs (May 10, 2005)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1586483307
  • ISBN-13: 978-1586483302
  • Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.8 x 8.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #826,265 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 starsMore valuable for it's historical v. social analysis.
By David J. Gannon on June 9, 2004
Format: Hardcover
Michael Mandelbaum is not a sports writer. He's part of the Washington foreign policy establishment and a professor of International studies at Johns Hopkins University. So, while he is an academic he's neither an anthropologist nor a social historian. He is, obviously, an ardent sports fan. Knowing these facts helps to understand both why this book works and why it fails.
The book works superbly as an historical analysis. Even dedicated sports fans of the Big Three (football, baseball and basketball) will learn quite a bit about the development of their favorite sports as well as about the titans of the games that whose accomplishments fueled their growth. He also provides some interesting and unique insights as to turning points in the history of each sport and how the vortex of those turning points was so similar. For example, Ruth in baseball, Rockne in football and Hank Lusetti in basketball all provided an elevation point for their respective sports both by providing dramatic, interesting, charismatic personalities but also through feats that made the ball easy to see in dramatic fashion (Ruth with the towering home run, Rockne by popularizing the forward pass, Lusetti in inventing the jump shot).
The book is far less successful as a vehicle of social analysis. Mandelbaum uses allusion a lot as a means for evoking the social meaning of sport. I'm not aware that allusion is a key too of either social science in general or anthropology in particular. A comparative analysis that juxtaposes baseball with agrarian values, football with industrial and martial values and basketball with spectacularly ill defined "post industrial" values may have some illustrative value but fails as an analytical tool.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsa terrific read--and not just for sports fans
By A Customer on June 30, 2004
Format: Hardcover
Michael Mandelbaum, who happens to be one of the country's leading experts on international politics, offers here a beautiful written, engaging account of the history of America's three major sports: baseball, football, and basketball. Sports enthusiasts will love this book, but so will those--like me--who have only a passing interest in sports, or none at all, for Mandelbaum not only tells us about the colorful personalities and defining moments of American sports; he shows us how sports shaped who we are as a people. There is an abundance of wit, wisdom, and insight in this book, and the prose is so elegant and effortless that the pages turn (all too) rapidly. Buy this book. You'll be swept away. Great for summer reading and likely to become a classic.
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5.0 out of 5 starsOutstanding - A great book for Sports Fans & Thinkers Alike
By A Customer on July 10, 2004
Format: Hardcover
What a wonderful and unique addition to the world of sports publishing. Not only are there facts galore that educate even a highly knowledgeable sports fan, the insights and analysis are unparrelled. I could not put it down.
This amazing book by Professore Mandelbaum can be read on many levels (far more than I can probably grasp) and yet it appears approachable by anyone; be they sports fan, someone who questions why sports are important in our society, and even those looking for lessons on how to lead people or manage a business.
The contrasting of baseball, football and basketball provides a fascinating window on why we Americans are who we are today and how we got here. The interlacing of history with observations about how people operate in our society and within organizations is really amazing.
We love our football in Texas and Mandelbaum is right on in his analysis about football in every sense. He hits the mark on baseball and basketball as well. This book really makes you think, but gives so much in return that you come away feeling as though you just had a wonderful meal for your mind. I now enjoy watching sports more than I did before reading The Meaning of Sports.
I am going to read it again.
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5.0 out of 5 starsA wonderful read---pure pleasure and fascination
By A Customer on June 30, 2004
Format: Hardcover
I loved this book for its beautiful writing, the clarity of the author's thinking, and the way it showed me why people love sports. I've given it to my father, a big time sports fan, who adored it, and my grandmother, who has lived with a sports fan for more than 60 years, and she loved it, too. Whether you love sports or don't understand what the big deal is, this is a great read, pure pleasure. You'll learn a lot whether you started at zero or were very knowledgable to begin with. A great book by a great writer.
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5.0 out of 5 starsSuperb! A great mind applied to a great subject
By A Customer on July 15, 2004
Format: Hardcover
This is a brilliant book. I recommend it wholeheartedly to any sports fan, as well as to anyone who isn't a fan. It is a pleasure to read and you'll learn a lot about the culture of the United States, about human nature and about why people love sports. Beautifully written, as well. A great mind applied to a great topic.
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3.0 out of 5 starsIs This What Sports Means?
By Michael Griswold VINE VOICE on February 21, 2015
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
Michael Mandelbaum has produced a very interesting and entertaining read in the Meaning of Sports: Why Americans Watch Baseball, Football, and Basketball and what they see when they do. 301 pages seemed to fly by in the blink of an eye thanks to a very fast paced and free writing style. I truly enjoyed learning about the evolution of the three sports and I thought that his idea of baseball being a remembrance of some previous era in America history, football as the Industrial Age, and basketball as signifying the new economy was a thought provoking way of looking at sports.

However, the Why we watch sports is an open question because I don’t know many people among the masses who watch sports because it reminds us of war or a past forgotten. I would’ve liked to have heard more on this, instead of this information being buried by page after page of information about the evolution of our sports. I am a sports fan, so I may be more willing than other reviewers to let such things go. Still, I can’t help but believe that readers looking for this book that answers the mysterious appeal of sports will be disappointed.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Great read. Very fascinating

Published 11 months ago by Kevin Pearl
4.0 out of 5 starsInteresting for a non-sports guys

I was assigned to read this book for a graduate American Cultural History class. I did not realize there was this much meaning of sports for society.

Published on February 7, 2014 by Kenneth L. Anthony
4.0 out of 5 starsHelps the non-sports fan to understand the mania

Political scientist Mandelbaum turns his attention to sports in this highly readable, insightful, and entertaining study of why we watch and play (and become rabid fans) of... Read more

Published on December 17, 2013 by Carolyn Kost
5.0 out of 5 starsFun Books

Was once married to a sports family and never understood why sports was so important to their lives. Read more

Published on October 31, 2013 by Judith Sabo
2.0 out of 5 starsMeaning of Sports ??

I really felt this was waste of money. As I recall, I purchased it in response to a Bob Edwards interview. Read more

Published on September 21, 2011 by Nancy Talbot Doty
5.0 out of 5 starsDeepens both understanding and appreciation for the sports we enjoy

My favorite books might be the ones that give me some insight to the world or, as in this case, some part of it. Read more

Published on August 28, 2009 by Steve Kohn
5.0 out of 5 starsAN EXTRAORDINARY BOOK: FUN TO READ AND PROFOUND, AS WELL

Of all the books on sports that I've read---well over 100 during the last 25 years---this is far and away the best. Read more

Published on June 21, 2006 by Pat Winters
5.0 out of 5 starsFULL OF INSIGHT AND WIDSOM: VERY READABLE & ENJOYABLE

Having read and enjoyed Michael Mandelbaum's THE CASE FOR GOLIATH, now that summer is here, I decided to give myself a treat and read his book on sports. Read more

Published on June 4, 2006 by Alexander Wong
5.0 out of 5 starsPERFECT GIF FOR FATHERS' DAY OR ANY DAY

This is a great book, clearly written, with extraordinary insight into why sports fans are sports fans. Read more

Published on May 21, 2006 by Morris Anderson
5.0 out of 5 starsMandelbaum's work teaches us all.

Mandelbaum's work teaches us all.

Michael Mandelbaum's The Meaning of Sports lived up to all of the expectations I had for it. Read more

Published on April 8, 2005 by Blaine

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