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With an introduction by Hunter S. Thompson.
Following the success of the New York Times bestseller ESPN SportsCentury comes a new collection of essays, illustrations, and photographs that explores a completely original concept: sports as the American secular religion.
We've all seen the images: a stadium of fans performing the "we are not worthy" genuflection, a St. Vincent Lombardi medal, Michael Jordan being followed by a worshipful crowd of media members. And what room doesn't grow silent to absorb the words of the prophet-like Muhammad Ali, or to revel in footage of the miracle victory of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team Indeed, the parallels are unmistakable: Sports is America's secular religion, and its famous figures occupy a hallowed place in our culture.
No one has ever captured this topic as cogently as the writers included in Saints, Saviors and Sinners. Each section of the book is accompanied by numerous photographs, which viscerally support the theme of each grouping. Le Anne Schreiber writes about "Saints," Ralph Wiley discusses "Saviors," Peter Carlson examines "Sinners," Robert Lipsyte explores the "Prophets," and George Plimpton delves into "God." Superbly designed by the prize-winning team behind ESPN SportsCentury, Saints, Saviors and Sinners is far more than a compendium of photos, illustrations, and essays -- it is a cohesive, insightful, and instructive examination of America's top sports figures and their position in our society.
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About the Author:
Jay Lovinger, who recently helped launch ESPN.com's Page 2, is a former managing editor of Life magazine. He also founded and edited the Washington Post Sunday magazine and helped start Inside Sports, a literary sports magazine, for Newsweek.
From Library Journal:
This book is not about ESPN, though it was put together under its auspices. Nor is it a staid, scholarly interpretation of sports as a secular religion but a lively pop take (gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson contributed the introduction) on that subject. Heavyweights such as George Plimpton and the New York Times's Robert Lipsyte offer essays showing us athletes who have personified various aspects of the sport-as-religion school. Some of the book's choices are no-brainers: Larry Bird/Magic Johnson (presented, fittingly, as a duo) and Jackie Robinson as saviors; Vince Lombardi as a god; Pete Rose, O.J. Simpson, and virtually all of the notable sinners. But we are also introduced to some figures about whom we know very little or who surprise us by their presence here: Heisman winner Nile Kinnick of the University of Iowa, pitcher Mark "The Bird" Fidrych, and the horse Ruffian as saints (as in religion, martyrdom oils the way to sainthood) and Avery Brundage as a prophet. The sports-as-religion angle isn't new, but this is an entertaining, informative, often funny collection of essays, spiced with many interesting sidebars, that is a pleasure to read. For the public library with a few extra bucks in the budget, a word of advice: try it, your readers will like it.
Jim Burns, Jacksonville P.L., FL
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Jim Burns, Jacksonville P.L., FL
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherHyperion
- Publication date2002
- ISBN 10 078686754X
- ISBN 13 9780786867547
- BindingHardcover
- Edition number1
- Number of pages256
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