Blogcritics Category: Books: Sports

Book Review: Ted Williams At War by Bill Nowlin

Charlie Doherty — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 03:28:46 EST

This is simply the best and most comprehensive book on Ted Williams' heroic wartime experiences. Period.
Most biographies on Ted Williams (a.k.a. the "Splendid Splinter") focus relatively little space -- a chapter or two -- to the man's life outside of baseball. The prolific author Bill Nowlin's terrific book Ted Williams At War however, at well over 360 pages, devotes plenty of space to Williams' time in the armed forces, including the political and...

Book Review: Driving With the Devil - Southern Moonshine, Detroit Wheels, and the Birth of NASCAR by Neal Thompson

Damian Penny — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 17:12:25 EST

A detailed, absorbing look at the culture that spawned NASCAR.
In 2008, after years of phenomenal growth, interest in NASCAR racing fizzled noticeably. Fans cite a litany of reasons: the poor economy, mediocre racing, the ill-conceived pseudo-playoff known as the "Chase for the Championship," the presence of (horrors!) a Japanese automaker in the Sprint Cup, and the pathetic spectacle of the Detroit...

Book Review: Call Me Ted by Ted Turner (with Bill Burke)

Justin McHenry — Tue, 9 Dec 2008 05:41:20 EST

Ted Turner looks back on an almost unbelievable life in this entertaining and inspiring autobiography.
Probably everyone has an opinion about Ted Turner, even if its only a vague opinion - you either like the persona or you don't. But you're probably not on the fence. He's a straight shooter who likes to talk and doesn't seem to mind if people don't like the things he says. Over the years, either because of this style or despite...

Book Review: Canoeing with the Cree by Eric Sevareid

Ryne Barber — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 05:49:52 EST

Sevareid has a real knack for providing detailed imagery of the environment; the importance of the journey requires commendation.
Eric Sevareid once took a journey, one which most normal individuals wouldn't even dream up. For his buddy, Walter Port, and him, the dangers and terrors of an outdoors adventure were just what they were looking for. Canoeing with the Cree lets us in on that adventure, in a non-fiction account that sees Sevareid giving a narrative of their...

Book Review: Between Sundays by Karen Kingsbury

Sara Christine — Wed, 5 Nov 2008 13:06:54 EST

Between Sundays features football, foster kids, and a story of redemption.
Karen Kingsbury is one of my favorite Inspirational Fiction authors. In many of her books, I find myself relating to the characters and their struggles and cannot seem to put the novels down. It has taken me a while, however, to pick up her book Between Sundays, which came out in November of 2007. The novel tells the story of the San Francisco...

Book Review - Dead Air: A Cycling Murder Mystery by Greg Moody

Ryne Barber — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 17:04:32 EDT

A quick, fun, and painless ride, but it won't throw you over the handlebars in surprise.
Dead Air: A Cycling Murder Mystery: If that tagline doesn't grab your attention, the comic book-like cover most likely will. Mysteries are always fun, and when they're paired with a situation that is not normal or likely, they become intriguing just because of the entertainment value alone. Dead Air doesn't do too much to speed by the...

Book Review: Men With Balls - The Professional Athlete's Handbook by Drew Magary

Matthew T. Sussman — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 05:48:50 EDT

If you discover a funnier book about football this year, you somehow got ahold of Eli Manning's diary.
There are numerous signs a part-time blogger has made it. Maybe they are able to quit their job and be a full-time basementeer. Maybe they scoop the mainstream media on a story that gets talked about for months to come. And maybe they just write a book about football and dick jokes.Drew Magary? Congratulations, you're the last of the...

Book Review: Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand

Ryne Barber — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 18:54:17 EDT

We miss Seabiscuit - but so does the racing world; in that, Hillenbrand succeeds in bringing the past to the present.
Seabiscuit is not about a racehorse. Laura Hillenbrand's biography tells the story of more than just the horse itself - she also writes about the people who came together to create one of the greatest icons in sports history.This is the story of a four-point meeting of the minds. Hillenbrand starts out introducing the reader, in detail, to each...

Graphic Novel Review: Dugout by Adam Beechen and Manny Bello

Bill Sherman — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 02:22:34 EDT

A new graphic novel combines baseball and prison break yarn.
There's a neat little pun in the title of Adam Beechen and Manny Bello's new black-and-white graphic novel, Dugout (AiT/Planet Lar). Look at the cover, with hero baseball manager Cookie Palisetti in his uniform, holding onto a bag of bats, ball, and what you first don't notice as pickaxes - and you can see the joke. Dugout is both a...

Book Review: Life on the Run by Bill Bradley

Ryne Barber — Tue, 7 Oct 2008 17:17:11 EDT

Coupling his views on basketball with his foreword, Bradley's book acts as an important critique on sports culture.
Bill Bradley seems like a heck of a guy. Playing pro basketball for the New York Knicks and being a Senate member, and then after that being a successful writer seems to scream "remarkable." And yet Bradley chooses not to write about his entire life, only a season on the basketball team. Bradley's account, though, reads more into the...