Looking for a sports non fiction book. Literally pulled Red Card: How the US Blew the Whistle on the World's Biggest Sport Scandal of the library shelf while browsing and enjoyed it. Any other investigation journalism books on sports or narrative non fiction sports books? TIA
by spintwoways
14 Comments
not sure if this qualifies…
How to Watch Basketball Like a Genius: What Game Designers, Economists, Ballet Choreographers, and Theoretical Astrophysicists Reveal About the Greatest Game on Earth by nick greene
I’ve held season tickets for roughly 2/3 of my life. greene’s book captures what makes NBA basketball such a joy to experience: the speed, power, strength, and precision, the possibility of seeing a WTF! kind of play.
this book is kind of quirky and chock full of historical tidbits. it’s interesting to see how the game has evolved from naismith’s peach basket origins, and learn about the rules, e. g. jordan rules, that were implemented to reduce the advantages afforded to players with a generational talent.
it transports you back in the stands, listening to the squeak of shoes and yelling in outrage at the officials.
Now I can die in peace by Bill Simmons.
Story of the 2004 Red Sox, gripping & funny.
Under the Lights and in the Dark by Gwen Oxenham is a phenomenal book about women’s soccer players in the US (and abroad). She tells little vignettes about players you may know, like Brazil’s Marta, and players you probably don’t know. It’s so good.
I also really liked Caitlin Murray’s book The National Team, about the USWNT.
If you want a memoir, I think Hope Solo’s memoir is excellent and actually helps you understand why she is the way she is. Abby Wambach’s memoir is also really good.
I like women’s soccer, if you can’t tell.
One non-soccer book that I really liked is The Feather Thief — about a guy who stole priceless feathers from a museum to tie them into fly fishing lures.
It’s not investigative but Rammer jammer yellow hammer
The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown
Moneyball by Michael Lewis
Moneyball by Michael Lewis. It’s fabulous and so so eye opening.
I’ll always recommend The Only Rule Is It Has To Work; non fiction about two stats nerds who get the chance to run a very very minor league baseball team
Raw Recruits by Alexander Wolff was eye opening to me, as someone who follows college basketball pretty closely. It’s likely incredibly outdated today, but I imagine still an interesting read on the dirtiness and grime of college basketball recruiting.
Cinderella Man: James J. Braddock, Max Baer, and the Greatest Upset in Boxing History by Jeremy Schaap
The Bad Guys Won: A Season of Brawling, Boozing, Bimbo Chasing, and Championship Baseball with Straw, Doc, Mookie, Nails, the Kid, and the Rest of the 1986 Mets, the Rowdiest Team Ever to Put on a New York Uniform–and Maybe the Best – Jeff Pearlman
I adored “Homestand: Small town baseball and the fight for the soul of America” by Will Bardenwerper.
The Batavia Muckdogs are located in a faded small city between Buffalo and Rochester, NY. They used to be a single A MLB affiliate but lost their affiliation in the league’s recent drastic restructuring. They’ve been reborn as a college league team, and the author spent $99 on season tickets to get to know the team management, players and fans and draw conclusions about what this means for the game and for America.
Have you read Shoe Dog (Phil Knight’s memoir)? Everyone I’ve lent it to has enjoyed it…even non-sports fans
Ball Four by Jim Bouton is a look at old-time baseball
Anything by Jeff Pearlman.
I’ve read his books on Walter Payton, The 90s Cowboys, the USFL of the 80s and the ‘86 Mets.
He digs in deep and uncovers some really great stuff.
I’m a die hard Bears fan, and my favorite book of his is still the USFL book “Football For A Buck”
Check that one out