List Price: $18.00 Details

Save: $4.70 (26%)

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime & FREE Returns

FREE delivery Wednesday, March 9 if you spend $25 on items shipped by Amazon

Or fastest delivery Monday, March 7. Order within 7 hrs 49 mins

In Stock.

As an alternative, the Kindle eBook is available now and can be read on any device with the free Kindle app. Want to listen? Try Audible.

[{"displayPrice":"$13.30","priceAmount":13.30,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"13","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"30","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"7W8TiOVX%2FaSmhLeOhXIa3BiMZlii4pjP8dbrraw%2Ff28PywQ7tXDetMcLexkL8GzWmLEQG2F6wWIzC0gOp7XRDEnIpNQ5KxhfsMGDjI38eqHvHLQfw8FlzSKabv9uYgefwKPerEFx6cuswPAcG5xlhA%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW"},{"displayPrice":"$9.22","priceAmount":9.22,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"9","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"22","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"7W8TiOVX%2FaSmhLeOhXIa3BiMZlii4pjP1PyPJlsaRG9tKCMxondQrYxPXSXdBbiRzsGMkTwZStLnrjgWkSzGv5kghm2SUhq8kmA7REAkf9diOHkEuHIGxjuI6Zv0pg2%2B5D%2BVS90IE1pecNmZTmt%2FpDe0gwc5UnaPH8x0m%2BMJncoppc4U90GpXZ7VqiPIjKSd","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED"}]

$$13.30 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Secure transaction

Ships from

Amazon.com

Sold by

Amazon.com

Details

Ships from

Amazon.com

Sold by

Amazon.com

Return policy: Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement

Add a gift receipt for easy returns

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime

FREE delivery Wednesday, March 9 if you spend $25 on items shipped by Amazon. Order within 7 hrs 49 mins

Used: Good | Details

Sold by Casa Verde Sellers

Fulfilled by Amazon

Share <Embed>

Other Sellers on Amazon

Added

Not added

$13.23
FREE Shipping on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon.

Sold by: Banas Books

Added

Not added

$13.28
FREE Shipping on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon.

Sold by: CE_BOOKHOUSE

Added

Not added

$13.73
+ $3.99 shipping

Sold by: ZiFiti

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See this image

Follow the Author

Wright Thompson

Books similar toThe Cost of These Dreams: Sports Stories and Other Serious Business

The Cost of These Dreams: Sports Stories and Other Serious Business Paperback – April 2, 2019

by Wright Thompson (Author)

377 ratings

See all formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$4.99

—

Audible Audiobook, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$0.00

Free with your Audible trial

Paperback

"Please retry"

$13.30

$12.27

$2.46

Spiral-bound

"Please retry"

$23.95

—

Audio CD

"Please retry"

$29.24

—

Great on Kindle

Great Experience. Great Value.

Enjoy a great reading experience when you buy the Kindle edition of this book. Learn more about Great on Kindle, available in select categories.

View Kindle Edition

Enhance your purchase

The instant New York Times bestseller!

From one of America's most beloved sportswriters and the bestselling author of Pappyland, a collection of true stories about the dream of greatness and its cost in the world of sports.

"Wright Thompson's stories are so full of rich characters, bad actors, heroes, drama, suffering, courage, conflict, and vivid detail that I sometimes thinks he's working my side of the street - the world of fiction." - John Grisham

There is only one Wright Thompson. He is, as they say, famous if you know who he is: his work includes the most read articles in the history of ESPN (and it's not even close) and has been anthologized in the Best American Sports Writing series ten times, and he counts John Grisham and Richard Ford among his ardent admirers (see back of book). But to say his pieces are about sports, while true as far as it goes, is like saying Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove is a book about a cattle drive. Wright Thompson figures people out. He jimmies the lock to the furnaces inside the people he profiles and does an analysis of the fuel that fires their ambition. Whether it be Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods or Pat Riley or Urban Meyer, he strips the away the self-serving myths and fantasies to reveal his characters in full. There are fascinating common denominators: it may not be the case that every single great performer or coach had a complex relationship with his father, but it can sure seem that way. And there is much marvelous local knowledge: about specific sports, and times and places, and people. Ludicrously entertaining and often powerfully moving, The Cost of These Dreams is an ode to the reporter's art, and a celebration of true greatness and the high price that it exacts.

Print length

400 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Penguin Books
Publication date

April 2, 2019
ISBN-10

014313387X
ISBN-13

978-0143133872
See all details

Frequently bought together

+
+

Total price:

To see our price, add these items to your cart.

Some of these items ship sooner than the others.

Show details Hide details

Choose items to buy together.

by Wright Thompson Paperback
$13.28
Only 3 left in stock - order soon.
Sold by CE_BOOKHOUSE and ships from Amazon Fulfillment.
FREE Shipping on orders over $25.00.
by Wright Thompson Hardcover
$13.50
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by *Smart Student*.
FREE Shipping
by Wright Thompson Paperback
$16.43
Only 6 left in stock - order soon.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
FREE Shipping on orders over $25.00.

Wright Thompson
2,874
Hardcover
112 offers from $4.99
John Schulian
52
Hardcover
53 offers from $3.53
H.G. Bissinger
603
Paperback
171 offers from $2.19
Wright Thompson
35
Paperback
13 offers from $9.17
Seth Wickersham
1,204
Hardcover
in Sociology of Sports
53 offers from $10.85
David Halberstam
91
Paperback
129 offers from $2.99

Editorial Reviews

Review

""Thompson has written some of the most important pieces of contemporary sports journalism . . . demonstrating unparalleled insight into the lives of the most compelling figures in sport. . . . This volume elevates reporting and writing that was already operating above the rim.” —The New York Times

"Knockout sportswriting from Wright Thompson . . . Mr. Thompson is an investigator of men’s souls, though his writing is as much about the search for clues as it is about what he finds. . . . None of these pieces are strictly sports stories, but all exemplify the high purpose to which so much sports writing aspires today." —Wall Street Journal

"Wright is a supremely gifted writer who cuts through the mythology with a scalpel.” —The National Book Review

“[Thompson] demonstrates his storytelling talents by probing the personalities of some of the biggest names in sports, both past and present, including Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Ted Williams, and Bear Bryant.” —Christian Science Monitor

“Mississippi native Wright Thompson is not only the best active sportswriter in America but also one of the best writers, period. This collection compiles his greatest pieces.” —Men’s Journal

“Thompson demonstrates his talent, deftly portraying a diverse cast of athletes and coaches. . . . [He] also brilliantly reprises the riots and other events surrounding James Meredith’s enrollment at Ole Miss in 1962 and the school’s outstanding football team during that tumultuous year.” —Booklist

“Thompson’s abundant strengths as a long-form journalist are evident on nearly every page…. Richly researched and textured writing that reveals the humanity of the author’s subjects.” —Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Wright Thompson is a senior writer for ESPN and the bestselling author of Pappyland. He lives in Oxford, Mississippi with his family.

Start reading The Cost of These Dreams on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books (April 2, 2019)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 400 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 014313387X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0143133872
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.2 ounces

Best Sellers Rank: #33,704 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #5 in Sports Journalism
- #6 in Boxer Biographies
- #11 in Sports Essays (Books)

Customer Reviews:
377 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Wright Thompson

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

5 star		74%
4 star		16%
3 star		7%
2 star		3%
1 star		2%

How are ratings calculated?

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Rick Shaq GoldsteinTop Contributor: Baseball

SHAQ GOLDSTEIN : THE SOUND TRACK FOR THIS BOOK WOULD BE *THE-HARD-ROUGH-GUT-PUNCH-OF-A-BLUES-RIFF!

Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2019

Verified Purchase

I have read sports books… sports sections… sports magazines… literally non-stop for sixty-years… and I had never heard of this writer. I… of course stopped reading ESPN the Magazine a decade and a half ago. So why did I buy this book? Because I saw a brief part of an interview with him on ESPN… and in the part I saw… he spoke passionately about his Father and other Fathers. Being that I’m a Father and a Son… and miss my Dad every single day he’s been gone for the last thirty-nine years… I am enticed by the opportunity to share other’s feelings… when they talk or write from the heart about this hallowed subject.

Am I happy that I bought this book? Yes I am. There was a writer whose true glory days were before my time… but who was always quoted with his feathery yet powerful prose in almost every sports book of historical consequence that I read growing up. Then about six years ago a five-hundred-page “Very Best Of” book… was published with his writings. I read it and was blown away! His sports writing was like a velvet trip down a highway of polished steel. That sportswriter’s name… was Red Smith. The author of “The Cost of These Dreams”… Wright Thompson… just got done taking me on a similar journey.

All stories in this book are not about Fathers and Sons… but each story is written almost like a slack-jawed wonder… of how someone turned out the way they did… or what they’re trying to turn into… or how they’re floundering… or at least yearning to… turn into something they’re not… or something that they used to be. There are no sure shot discoveries or pronouncements… in some stories the author becomes a determined investigator…. How does one of the men that fought Muhammad Ali seem to defy the bounds of earth and simply disappear? How does one of the greatest soccer players in the world almost leave no touchstone by his original hometown fans… how a former college basketball standout… winds up dead while trying to escape his paranoia in a Brazilian jungle?

The answers… and the demonizing… non-answers… are majestically described and shared… with the ever so wonderful… symphonic orchestration of words… and feelings by the author. Some of our most idolized world sports stars are extremely unhappy… and many don’t even know what they’re truly searching for… and probably wouldn’t realize whether it was what they really needed if they were able to corral it in their grasp. The author comes to some conclusions that are not sugar coated cotton candy days at the beach. Sometimes… the things that made someone great in their sport… makes it impossible to be happy in life.

The author himself… is at times… searching for his own possible balance … of his life… where he came from… and the “true” makeup of his for-bearers… in the absolutely tremendous story “GHOSTS OF MISSISSIPPI”. Tied together in one sad… gripping… historically enlightening… segment… about the 1962 integrating of Ole Miss… by James Meredith. The ugliness of America’s south… the author’s hometown Mississippi… the politicians… local and national… the sheriffs… the police… the National Guard… the only undefeated team in Ole Miss history… and the moments when Wright Thompson… has to look directly into his families mirror… not ethically being able to turn away… and really peer inside his family’s history… and see what they were really made of… as human beings.

And in the end… aaahhh yes! The touching story of the author… unable to live out a final dream with his beloved Father… walking together on the grass of Augusta National during the Masters. But the loving son… wearing his **DAD’S” shoes… and carrying other tightly held artifacts… both animate… and inanimate takes his life’s… most important… touching… and yet… at times empty… walk… with the memory of his Father. With the author’s heavenly blessed ability to magically put together words… that can make countless others think… AND… feel… sends his aching happiness… and yes regrets… to his Father in heaven… just as I have constantly tried to do to **MY DAD" for the last thirty-nine years!

9 people found this helpful

Helpful

Norcalsurf

Some great, some repetitive, some okay

Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2019

Verified Purchase

I am a sucker for sports anthologies such as the Best American Sports Writing series. I love the story behind the story, which is why I was so excited for this release of Wright Thompson's work. Some of his stories did not disappoint, such as his portrait of a highly competitive, middle-aged Michael Jordan or the historical perspective of the integration of the Ole Miss football program in 1962. His preface to the book was also very reflective. I found some of the stories to be unnecessarily long, such as the story of the New Orleans Saints' role in the re-development of the city after Hurricane Katrina. Some of the stories contained repetitive themes, such as the difficulty of a coach to find balance between and professional and personal life (stories of Urban Meyer, Dan Gable, and Pat Riley). I also found the book to be overly male-centric, which would have been fine if the subtitle of the book somehow warranted such a theme, but the only real mention of women were the wives of the male athletes and coaches portrayed throughout the book. Overall, this could have been much, much better, I believe, if Wright Thompson himself had selected the stories that would end up in it.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Tom W

Brilliantly written.

Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2019

Verified Purchase

Wright Thompson is writer with a voice. He is up there with the other Mississippi greats, writing plainly, poetically, and shifting between the two without a hitch or hesitation. This is by far one of the best books on sports--even though it is really about the lives of athletes outside the lines. He can write about Ole Miss during the ugly time of de-segregation without being politically correct or tone deaf--I'm sure it would make a millineal squirm, but for those of us who lived through it in the south, he really got it right. Terrible, horrible, and extremely human. I'd buy a cookbook written by this guy.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Margaret A. Gates

Interesting book for sports lovers

Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2020

Verified Purchase

I did enjoy this book especially the more famous sports stars after they had aged out of their sport and how difficult it was for them to do something else with their lives. They still felt like they could play their sport (in their mind) but the aging bodies say no way.. Some of the lesser known sports figures were not as interesting but still worth a read and some mysterious. I thought the one on New Orleans was a little too long.

Helpful

Von M.

Wright Thompson is one of the greats!

Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2020

Verified Purchase

Wright Thompson is like today's Jim Murray--a sportswriter who covers way more than the game. He's incredible. He uncovers motivation and personality like a forensic scientist with a knack for subjects and verbs. He's up there with the greats like David Halberstam, Joan Didion, Malcolm Gladwell, Jim Murray, and Rick Reilly. Great book. Especially loved the essays on MJ, Pat Riley, and Tiger Woods. Fathers and sons. I'd give this book six stars if possible.

Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2019

Verified Purchase

A well written book that explores the people behind the carefully sculpted image of them we see in the media. The best essays are the shorter ones where some detail may be lost but the reader does not get lost in the author's astonishing grasp of the details.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Tim

Moving essays

Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2019

Verified Purchase

This collection of essays is at times though-provoking. The Ghosts of Mississippi really gave me a new outlook on the civil rights struggles of the 1960s. The last essay in this book is a wonderful homage to the writer's dad.

Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2021

Verified Purchase

Strong collection of stories about the desires of life and how all of us go about satisfying those elusive & expensive desires. Sports & athletes may be the chosen vessel but the inner messages are aimed at our personal relationships with our families & friends. Highly recommended.

Helpful