News
Entertainment
Science & Technology
Life
Culture & Art
Hobbies
News
Entertainment
Science & Technology
Culture & Art
Hobbies
Review of Baseball’s Endangered Species: The Craft of Scouting by Those Who Lived It | Sport in American History
Lowenfish, Lee. Baseball’s Endangered Species: The Craft of Scouting by Those Who Lived It. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2023. Pp. 344. $34.95 Hardcover and ebook. Reviewed by Łukasz Muniowski Rarely has a man been more suited to produce a book on the history of a given issue than is Lee Lowenfish fit to write the…
Review of The Big Time: How the 1970s Transformed Sports in America | Sport in American History
MacCambridge, Michael. The Big Time: How the 1970s Transformed Sports in America. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2023. Pp. 496. $26.49 Hardcover and ebook. Reviewed by Łukasz Muniowski It is important to point out at the beginning that The Big Time is not marketed as an academic book. In fact, it does not aspire or pretend…
Review of Serving Herself: The Life and Times of Althea Gibson | Sport in American History
Brown, Ashley. Serving Herself: The Life and Times of Althea Gibson. New York: Oxford University Press, 2024. Pp. 616. $29.95 hardcover. Reviewed by Bill Pruden Before there was the Williams sisters, there was Althea Gibson. In the late 1950s, her efforts cracked open the formerly-closed door to the historically all-white, upper-class world of tennis to the…
Review of Without Helmets or Shoulder Pads | Sport in American History
Muchnick, Irvin. Without Helmets or Shoulder Pads: The American Way of Death in Football Conditioning. Toronto: ECW Books, 2023. Pp. 180. $26.95 CAD paperback. Reviewed by Łukasz Muniowski When thinking about the causes of football-related deaths, the first thing that comes to mind is concussions, which continue to be a subject of conversation. However, Irvin Muchnick’s…
Review of Speed Capital | Sport in American History
Ingrassia, Brian M. Speed Capital: Indianapolis Auto Racing and the Making of Modern America. University of Illinois Press, 2024. Pp xii+ 286. $24.95 paper. Reviewed by Ari de Wilde In Speed Capital: Indianapolis Auto Racing and the Making of Modern America, Brian M. Ingrassia chronicles the history of America’s most famous race: the Indianapolis 500.…
Review of Chris & Nancy: The True Story of the Benoit Murder-Suicide and Pro Wrestling’s Cocktail of Death | Sport in American History
Muchnick, Irvin. Chris & Nancy: The True Story of the Benoit Murder-Suicide and Pro Wrestling's Cocktail of Death, The Ultimate Historical Edition. ECW Books, 2021. Pp. 280. $26.95 CAD paperback. Reviewed by Łukasz Muniowski Chris Benoit was my favorite wrestler. Chris Benoit murdered his wife and son, and then took his own life. These two truths…
Review of Beyond the Black Power Salute: Athlete Activism in an Era of Change | Sport in American History
Kaliss, Gregory J. Beyond the Black Power Salute: Athlete Activism in an Era of Change. University of Illinois Press, 2023. Pp. 280. $24.95 paper. Reviewed by Łukasz Muniowski Inspired by Colin Kaepernick’s 2016 protest, Gregory J. Kaliss digs through the history of African-American activism, skipping past decades of “colorblind icons, like Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods,…
Review of New Kids in the World Cup: The Totally Late ’80s & Early ’90s Tale of the Team That Changed American Soccer | Sport in American History
Edler, Adam. New Kids in the World Cup: The Totally Late ‘80s & Early ‘90s Tale of the Team That Changed American Soccer Forever. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2022. Pp. 360. $34.95 hardcover and e-book. Reviewed by Łukasz Muniowski The US men’s national team was one of the 13 teams that appeared in the original World…
Review of Spirit and Sport: Religion and the Fragile Athletic Body in Popular Culture | Sport in American History
O’Neil, Sean. Spirit and Sport: Religion and the Fragile Athletic Body in Popular Culture. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2022. Pp. 210. $50.00 paperback and e-book. Reviewed by Łukasz Muniowski Sean O’Neil introduces himself in the Preface to his book as “an ordained Christian minister and a bishop” (p. xi). And both occupations set the tone for…
Review of Muggsy: My Life from a Kid in the Projects to the Godfather of Small Ball | Sport in American History
Bogues, Tyrone with Jacob Uitti. Muggsy: My Life from a Kid in the Projects to the Godfather of Small Ball. Triumph Books, 2023. Pp. 256. $28 paper. Reviewed by Łukasz Muniowski Asked whether there would ever be another Larry Bird, Bird himself answered that the proper question should be whether there would ever be another Muggsy…
Review of The Digital NBA: How the World’s Savviest League Brings the Court to Our Couch | Sport in American History
Secular, Steven. The Digital NBA: How the World’s Savviest League Brings the Court to Our Couch. University of Illinois Press, 2023. Pp. 240. $27.95 paper. Reviewed by Łukasz Muniowski Steven Secular’s book is a combination of two approaches, intertwining first-hand observations and academic works about media studies and geopolitics, most notably globalization. Prompted to write the…
Review of Life in the G: Minor League Basketball and the Relentless Pursuit of the NBA | Sport in American History
Squadron, Alex. Life in the G: Minor League Basketball and the Relentless Pursuit of the NBA. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2023. Pp. 288. $34.95 hardcover and e-book. Reviewed by Łukasz Muniowski As Alex Squadron himself points out, the NBA G League is “a place nobody wants to be,” yet every season basketball players crowd to get…
Review of Women’s American Football: Breaking Barriers On and Off the Gridiron | Sport in American History
Crawford, Russ. Women’s American Football: Breaking Barriers On and Off the Gridiron. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2022. Pp. 408. $34.95 hardcover and e-book. Reviewed by Łukasz Muniowski As pointed out by Russ Crawford at the beginning of the first book devoted solely to women’s American football, “Women and girls on more than 150 teams play tackle…
Review of The Last Real World Champion: The Legacy of “Nature Boy” Ric Flair | Sport in American History
Hornbaker, Tim. The Last Real World Champion: The Legacy of “Nature Boy” Ric Flair. Toronto: ECW Press, 2023. Pp. 392. $29.95 CAD paperback and e-book. Reviewed by Łukasz Muniowski Ric Flair has been involved in wrestling for over 50 years. Following his recent appearance on AEW Rampage, it seems that, as long as his body allows, he…
Review of Troublemaker | Sport in American History
Cornwell, Lisa. Troublemaker: A Memoir of Sexism, Retaliation, and the Fight They Didn't See Coming. New York: Triumph Books, 2023. Pp. 256. $30 paperback and e-book. Reviewed by Łukasz Muniowski In the first sentence of the foreword to Troublemaker, Hillary Clinton informs the reader that this is not a book about golf and it can…
Review of A Complete History of the Major League Baseball Playoffs – Volume 1 | Sport in American History
Thompson, Evan. A Complete History of the Major League Baseball Playoffs – Volume 1: Pre-Divisional Tiebreakers Through 1976. BookBaby (self-published). Pp. 460. $34.95 (paperback). Reviewed by Richard A. Macales By the mid-1960s Major League Baseball was in trouble. BIG TROUBLE! Attendance had tanked. Batting statistics and runs scored––which fans generally prefer over great pitching––“hit” record…
The Changing Landscape of College Sports: the Power 5, SMU, and Conference Realignment | Sport in American History
By Andrew McGregor Next year college football — and all of major college sports — will look radically different. During the last few months conference realignment has dramatically reshaped the landscape, shifting traditional powers, disrupting rivalries, and eschewing geographic logic in the quest for media dollars and relevance. This is hardly new. Conference realignment has…
Review of Dyed in Crimson | Sport in American History
Dyed in Crimson: Football, Faith, and Remaking Harvard’s America. University of Illinois Press, 2023. Pp. 290. Acknowledgments, bibliography, conclusion, index, introduction, notes. $28 paperback. Reviewed by Bob D’Angelo Anti-Semitism in the United States is not new, but it has been bubbling to the surface again with alarming frequency. According to FBI statistics, American Jews account…
Review of Force of Nature | Sport in American History
Baugh, Peter. Force of Nature: Joe Sakic, A Star-Studded Team, and How the Colorado Avalanche Built a Stanley Cup Winner. New York: Triumph Books, 2022. Pp. 288. $19.99 paperback and e-book. Sometimes everything you need to know about a book is right there in the title and subtitle. Oftentimes authors try to make their books…
Review of Goodbye, Oakland | Sport in American History
Dolich, Andy, and Newhouse, Dave. Goodbye, Oakland: Winning, Wanderlust and a Sports Town’s Fight for Survival. Chicago: Triumph Books. 2023. Pp. 256. No index or chapter notes. $28 (hardcover). Reviewed by Richard A. Macales “There are three sides to every story: your side, my side, and the truth. And no one is lying. Memories shared…
Review of Soccer Frontiers | Sport in American History
Bolsmann, Chris and George N. Kioussis, eds. Soccer Frontiers: The Global Game in the United States, 1863-1913. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2021. Pp. 306. $65.00, hard cover and PDF. Reviewed by Daniel Hart Soccer––the “beautiful game”––swept back into the American consciousness this fall with a fine showing by the United States Men’s National Team…
Review of Big Game, Small World | Sport in American History
Wolff, Alexander. Big Game, Small World: A Basketball Adventure (Revised and Expanded Twentieth Anniversary Edition). Durham: Duke University Press, 2022. Pp. 424. $24.95 paperback and e-book. Originally reported during a transformative time for basketball in the 1990s, Alexander Wolff’s book was (and unfortunately still remains) a product of its time. However, despite a fascination with…
Review of Horse Racing the Chicago Way | Sport in American History
Steven A. Riess, Horse Racing the Chicago Way: Gambling, Politics and Organized Crime, 1837-1911. (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2022). Reviewed by Nicholas E. Sarantakes As the title indicates, Steven A. Riess studies the rise and fall of horse racing in Chicago in Horse Racing the Chicago Way: Gambling, Politics and Organized Crime, 1837-1911. However, as the…
Review of Hoops: A Cultural History of Basketball in America | Sport in American History
Aiello, Thomas. Hoops: A Cultural History of Basketball in America. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2022. Pp. 304. $34 paperback and e-book. Reviewed by Łukasz Muniowski Writing a comprehensive history of anything is a hard task, one requiring much discipline, devotion… and selection. Establishing what made a particular historical activity or development what it…
Review of We Will Win the Day | Sport in American History
Moore, Louis. We Will Win the Day: The Civil Rights Movement, the Black Athlete, and the Quest for Equality. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2021. Pp. 260. $24.95 paperback and e-book. Reviewed by Łukasz Muniowski Louis Moore’s We Will Win the Day is the first book in a new series from the University Press of…
Review of We Are The Troopers | Sport in American History
Guinan, Stephen. We Are The Troopers: The Women of the Winningest Team in Pro Football History. New York: Hachette Books, 2022. Pp. vii + 288. Reviewed by Russ Crawford The stories of the pioneers of women’s tackle football are starting to make their way into print. Those who follow this site have had the chance…
Review of Charlie Murphy: The Iconoclastic Showman Behind the Chicago Cubs | Sport in American History
Cannon, Jason. Charlie Murphy: The Iconoclastic Showman Behind the Chicago Cubs. University of Nebraska Press, 2022. Pp. 376. Acknowledgments, bibliography, epilogue, index, introduction, notes. $36.95 hardback. Reviewed by Bob D’Angelo Charlie Murphy would have been in his element in today’s sports world. Controversial, opinionated, and never one to mince words, the man who owned the…
The Green-and-Gold Tapestry on California’s East Bay: Memories of Major League Teams ‘Planted and Uprooted’ in Oakland, competed for attention and respect in shadow of San Francisco (Part I) | Sport in American History
Sport in American History presents a two-part series on the beginning and end of Major League sports in Oakland. SAH reviews two books on the forgotten California Golden Seals and unforgettable Oakland A’s. Woven into the reviews––a look at the hockey Seals' never-ending woes and the 50th anniversary of the Oakland A’s first World Series…
Review of Golf’s Forgotten Hero | Sport in American History
Kenny, Kevin. Golf’s Forgotten Hero: The Life of John McDermott. Independently published, 2022. Pp. ix+106. Appendices, Bibliographical references, and Index. $12 paperback. Reviewed by Erica J. Zonder In May 2022, tennis player Naomi Osaka returned to play at Roland Garros, where just a year earlier she had withdrawn from the tournament citing mental health reasons.…
Review of Flashpoint | Sport in American History
Catsam, Derek Charles. Flashpoint: How a Little-Known Sporting Event Fueled America’s Anti-Apartheid Movement. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2021. Pp. xxviii + 213. 10 unnumbered pages of plates and index. $34.00 hardcover, $32.00 e-book. Reviewed by Tony Calandrillo In Flashpoint: How a Little-Known Sporting Event Fueled America’s Anti-Apartheid Movement, Derek Charles Catsam, Professor of History…
Review of Incredible World Cup Stories | Sport in American History
Wernicke, Luciano. Incredible World Cup Stories: Wildest Tales and Most Dramatic Moments from Uruguay 1930 to Qatar 2022. Sutherland House, 2022. Pp. 368. $24.95 paperback. Reviewed by Łukasz Muniowski Spanning almost 100 years, World Cup tournaments have been––without a doubt––some of the most exciting and popular sport competitions. Compiling just one book of stories about…
The Green-and-Gold Tapestry on California’s East Bay: Memories of Major League Teams ‘Planted and Uprooted’ in Oakland, competed for attention and respect in shadow of San Francisco (Part II) | Sport in American History
Sport in American History presents a two-part series on the beginning and end of Major League sports in Oakland. SAH reviews two books on the forgotten California Golden Seals and unforgettable Oakland A’s. Woven into the reviews––a look at the hockey Seals' never-ending woes and the 50th anniversary of the Oakland A’s first World Series…
Review of The James Naismith Reader | Sport in American History
Stark, Douglas, ed. The James Naismith Reader. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2021. Pp. 251. $29.95. hardback and ebook. Reviewed by Łukasz Muniowski Basketball’s initial function was to correct and contain the seemingly endless energy of young students, who found themselves in need of physical and intellectual occupation during long and dark winter months in…
Review of Memphis Hoops | Sport in American History
Wood, Keith Brian. Memphis Hoops: Race and Basketball in the Bluff City, 1968–1997. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2021. Pp. 218. $35.00 hardback and ebook. Reviewed by Łukasz Muniowski The first integrated high school game in Memphis took place on September 15, 1965, between all-white Catholic High and all-black Father Bertrand High. The game functions…