Sports Illustrated: Fifty Years of Great Writing Hardcover – December 1, 2003 by Editors of Sports Illustrated
 
Honoring the fiftieth anniversary of Sports Illustrated, this collection of memorable stories and essays captures some of them most compelling moments in sports history and offers profiles on many of the larger-than-life sports figures, including works by Bob Creamer, Frank Deford, Dan Jenkins, Ed Swift, Tex Maule, and other notable writers. 50,000 first printing.
 
From Booklist
*Starred Review* Sports Illustrated set out to raise the bar for sports writing when it debuted in 1954. Longtime editor Andre Laguerre, who stepped down in 1976, pushed his writers to take their work beyond the cliches, statistics, and humdrum details of the daily sports pages. He also looked beyond his staff for the best writer for a subject. Among those who contributed to the magazine are Robert Frost, John F. Kennedy, William Faulkner, and A. J. Liebling. The selections included here run the gamut from the silly to the profound, but each in its way exemplifies the lofty ambitions to which the magazine aspires. Among the highlights are William Nack' s examination of former boxing champion Sonny Liston, 20 years after his death; an ode to Ted Williams by Leigh Montville; and Jeff MacGregor's account of an Oklahoma rattlesnake roundup, which will have readers' skin crawling even as they wipe tears of laughter from their eyes. One might quibble over a favorite piece that's been left out, but there's no argument that each selection included is a shimmering example of the best of sports journalism. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
 
1.11/1.15