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Now I Can Die in Peace: How The Sports Guy Found Salvation Thanks to the World Champion (Twice!) Red Sox Paperback – March 24, 2009

by Bill Simmons (Author)

133 customer reviews

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ESPN's beloved Sports Guy replays the years leading up to the Boston Red Sox historic championship season and says goodbye to a lifetime of suffering. At least for now."The Red Sox won the World Series." To Citizen No. 1 of Red Sox Nation, those seven words meant "No more 1918 chants. No more smug glances from Yankee fans. No more worrying about living an entire life -- that's 80 years, followed by death without seeing the Red Sox win a Series."
But once he was able to type those life-changing words, Bill Simmons decided to look back at his Sports Guy columns for the last five years to find out how the miracle came to pass. And that's where the trouble began. Why didnt he see it coming? Why didn't it happen sooner? What was the key deal, the lucky move, the funny bounce, the sign from above that he failed to spot? Pretty soon, The Sports Guy was second-guessing himself, rewriting history, sniping at his own past predictions, pounding the table -- that's what sports guys do, right And doing so, he let himself get sidetracked by the suffering of the Boston Bruins, frustrated by the false promise of the Celtics -- and driven into a state of ecstasy by the dynastic New England Patriots.
The result is Now I Can Die in Peace, a hilarious and fresh new look at some of the best sportswriting in America, with sharp critical commentary (and fresh insights) from the guy who wrote it in the first place.

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Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Thirtysomething Simmons, author of the witty "Sports Guy" column on espn.com, tells of his life as a Red Sox fan in this hilarious, irreverent account. Simmons recalls reading the Boston Globe sports pages before he was in grade school, taking in as much Red Sox lore as he could garner. When he came across a copy of Al Hirschberg's What's the Matter with the Red Sox? in first grade, he didn't want to believe that his beloved team was cursed. But as owners and players made one bonehead move after another, he could only sit back and wallow in the collective suffering. The reversal of the curse began, according to Simmons, with the acquisition of Pedro Martinez, the first sign that the front office was after young players approaching their prime rather than looking back at it. From that fateful day in 1997, Simmons, blending his reprinted columns with new material, tracks the essential moves that brought the Sox to the 2004 World Series and made possible their sweep of the Cardinals in four games. (The last 100 pages or so are a diary of the season's final weeks, the play-offs, and the series). The footnotes, cleverly arranged like sidebars, make for fascinating reading in and of themselves. Whether familiar with "Sports Guy" or not, readers will enjoy this refreshing, funny take on Boston's reversal of fortune. Mary Frances Wilkens
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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"Bill Simmons is the funniest sportswriter of his generation." -- Chuck Klosterman, author of Killing Yourself to Live

"Destination reading for anyone who worships at the twin altars of pop culture and sports." -- Entertainment Weekly --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product details

Paperback: 468 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books; Updated ed. edition (March 24, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1933060727
ISBN-13: 978-1933060729
Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 133 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #501,193 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #68 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Miscellaneous > Journalism
- #161 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Humor > Sports
- #1220 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Baseball

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Frank L. Greenagel IITop Contributor: Baseball

a journey out of sports purgatory

August 29, 2007

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

"...And he was one-third of the infamous 1996 Boston coaching staff (along with Tim Johnson and Kevin Kennedy)that stood motionless on the top step of the dugout, wearing matching bushy mustaches, Raybans and warmup jackets, looking like they were participating in a photo shoot for gay baseball porn."

The book contains articles written between 1998 and 2006 (in the new paperback), and it covers those Red Sox teams pretty extensively, with a HUGE focus on the 2003-2004 teams. Even so, Simmons occaionally provides the readers with tales from earlier Red Sox seasons (and other Boston sport teams too).

He's not an objective columnist by any standard: he lives and dies with the Red Sox, and it makes his book both personal and entertaining. Through his writing, we get to know his friends, wife and most significantly, his father. He weaves in college anecdotes, family arguments, weddings, drunkalogues, and a myriad of pop-culture references into most of his articles. They fit in and add to his topics.

It's a fun book. A must for any Red Sox fan, and along with "Mind Game", it's the best book about the 2004 Red Sox.

One final note: I'm a Yankee fan.

Comment 3 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

Following the Bible's Format

March 26, 2009

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Following the 2004 season, The Sports Guy wrote the best of the many books about the Red Sox championship run. In preparation for opening day of 2009, he has revised it to include 100 pages of updated columns.

Simmons starts the new section with an analysis of how Sox fans confronted a new and uncursed existence. He asks "What happens when your identity gets stripped away, when you get the chance to start from scratch?" He follows this with: a comparison of Larry Bird and Big Papi, coverage of the Dice-K acquisition, the 2007 championship, the Rocket and the Roids, a defense of Manny being Manny and the 2008 loss to the Rays. Through it all, Simmons writing is more about what it is to be a fan than it is about the team or the game.

If you strip away the occassionally on target pop culture references and the more accurately directed humor, this book is the story of the love affair of Simmons, his family and his city for a team. (Part of that sentence is stolen from Ken Coleman's 1967 Impossible Dream narration.) The Sports Guy proudly wears his passion on his sleeve: "I think like a fan, write like a fan and try like hell to keep it that way." It is a lifelong relationship: "You love sports most when you are 16, then you love it a little less every year."

Reading these columns, another diehard instinctively feels an affinity for Simmons and appreciates his commitment, knowledge and intermittant suffering. This is made easier because the author often recognizes when he has stepped across the line that separates the healthfully obsessed from the not quite well (One of his footnotes points out, "This paragraph made me sound like an a**hole.") He doesn't always know when he is wandering on the borderline of the geek but that lack of concern and authenticity is part of his charm. He is, above all else, one of us.

In The Natural, Robert Redford's Roy Hobbs character asks the sportswriter played by Robert Duvall if he ever played the game. The answer: "No. But I made it more fun to watch." So does Simmons. (This is my attempt at pop culture relevance.) In the 70s and 80s, I didn't consider a Sox season over until I had read what Roger Angell and Peter Gammons wrote about it. That mantle has passed to Simmons. And, apparently, he is not going to disappoint. His plan is to "re-release this book with more chapters every few years, kinda like what God did with the bible."

Keep releasing them. We'll keep reading.

Comment 36 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

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Iowa Cowtippers

Far more funny online!

December 21, 2010

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

I'm a huge Bill Simmons fan, and have rooted for the Red Sox since 1978 (when I first visited Fenway - kind of an unfortunate year to become a fan, huh?). I think I was a bit disappointed because I had already read many of these articles on ESPN's website, and was hoping for something more. Though I still enjoyed his writing, as a book - it was disjointed and a little less enjoyable. I wish he had either written an entirely new book, or at least connected the dots a little better. Still, as a Red Sox/Bill Simmons fan, it was enjoyable, and I would recommend this book to others owith similar tastes.

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Peter James Schauer

Loved It

October 17, 2013

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

As much of Bill Simmons' work does, this book displayed the Boston-based sports writer's love of his hometown Red Sox and was written from the perspective that only real Simmons fans can understand. Simmons has a writing style that not many can match, given his sense of humor and sports knowledge. Put it this way: I'm a Yankees fan and I couldn't put this book down.

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Paul Ferrell

Five Stars

January 12, 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Bill Simmons is hilarious

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Yes

Curtis White

No need to love baseball to love this book

August 12, 2006

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

I was actually reading one of the classics received by my sister and brother-in-law (both teachers) when this book arrived in the mail...needless to say, the classic sat and gathered dust while I tore through the whole book without stopping. If you a sports fan and/or pop culture fan, you will find this book extremely entertaining. Even if you don't know the finer points of baseball, or the gruesome details of the Red Sox's struggles before winning the big one, this book will still keep you riveted and laughing long after your first web search for some of the more obscure movie star and sports star references. No longer a hidden gem, Bill Simmons has made his mark and is becoming a household name, and has drawn in non-sports fans to join his die-hard New England followers. If you are already a big sports fan, then you probably don't need to read this review as you already have the book in your possession...

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Amazon Customer

Pretty good

December 20, 2011

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I'm a Simmons fan, but this thing drags on a little bit (maybe because I'm a Cards fan), I think his basketball book is much better.

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Ryan

Awesome, I buy this book and weeks later an even newer issue comes out.

March 22, 2009

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I'm only about 60 something pages into the book and it's everything that I hoped it would be. Now I see that an even newer issue is out and well that pisses me off. I almost feel like I'm entitled to the newer content for free. Will I buy the newer book? NO. Will I wonder what I'm missing out on? YES. I just can't win. Hopefully my Red Sox do just the opposite this year. Go Sox!!

CommentWas this review helpful to you?

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Most recent customer reviews

Scott Gallison

Five Stars

Great book for long time sox fanx

Published 1 year ago

Abigail

FUNNY as ALWAYS and that's what I love about Simmons' work - I'd like to see a Simmons / Bryant T. Jordan collaboration someday

Bill Simmons is an awesome writer and this book was great! I went on a sort of sports book reading binge over the last month and a writing reviews for all (7) of the books I read,...Read more

Published on June 25, 2014

WDX2BB

No more curses

If sports books were treated like works of art, then "Now I Can Die in Peace" probably could be considered the first post-modernist book of its kind.Read more

Published on March 1, 2014

Steve Jones

Funny and insightful. However, it is mostly a collection of historical writings.

Funny and insightful. However, it is mostly a collection of historical writings. That being said, I did enjoy this book.

Published on November 10, 2013

Conor Cosgrove

Loved it!

Absolutely loved this book. Can't believe I read it so quick, literally couldn't put it down. Gave it to my friend who wasn't a red sox fan and he loved it too

Published on October 29, 2013

Usni

It's a collection of sports columns not a book

I would've loved to have a book about the Red Sox championship season from Bill Simmons' POV. Unfortunatley what I got was his old columns copied and pasted, with some fresh...Read more

Published on March 19, 2013

Stephanie

awesome

Raised a Sox fan and I can truly relate in a VERY funny, quirky, familiar way to The Sports Guy!

Published on January 21, 2013

NSW

I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now

Obviously, if I was a Seattle Mariners fan I would probably give this one or two stars just because I wouldn't know what the hell was going on.Read more

Published on January 20, 2012

thomas josh bowe

Love Bill Simmons

You don't have to be a sports fan to love this book. Simmons gets IT! He is an average guy with a great sense of humor.Read more

Published on March 5, 2011

Don

Extremely Disappointed

I have read both of Bill Simmons books in each edition. I have just finished reading Now I Can Die in Peace, the 2009 updated version and I am extremely disappointed.Read more

Published on January 29, 2011

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