Rules of the Game: The Best Sports Writing from Harper's Magazine (American Retrospective) - Softcover

Library Journal Review

This collection of great writings by Mark Twain, George Plimpton, and A. Bartlett Giamatti, to name but three, is the ideal addition to any library's general collection on Americana, sports, social studies, and, not least of all, baseball. If one knew nothing about this country, its history, and mores, one would be almost qualified for citizenship once these wonderful texts have been read, savored, and reread. From the emergence of the Davis Cup and musings (in 1938) about the future hold of television on sports and our lives to the assault on racism in sport and society, not to mention the grip of a sports team on small-town life, this collection is superior in every aspect. On baseball, we move from the bleachers of Wrigley to the role of a sports hero in overcoming bereavement to Branch Rickey and Bernie Carbo.VERDICT This is sheer reading pleasure of a rare quality. Highly recommended for all sports fans.--Gilles Renaud, Cornwall, Ont.

Selectism, March

"Reading "Rules of the Game" is like getting a lesson in sports history from some of our finest writers while sipping an aperitif at the Algonquin Round Table. There is such a seamless bond between writer and sport, and Rules of the Game flows as smoothly as an Ali jab."--Ron Darling, Emmy Award-winning broadcaster

"Great sports writing is as much an American tradition as the games that are played on our fields and courts. This all-encompassing collection from some of the finest writers in the history of our nation (Mark Twain on hunting turkeys) brings to life great sporting moments both personal and transformative in scope. These writings from Harper's are a treasure to savor for all of us who love sports and the words that they inspire."---Hannah Storm, ESPN SportsCenter anchor

Harper's Magazine has been America's preeminent monthly periodical for more than 150 years. Rules of the Game: The Best Sports Writing from Harper's Magazine takes a look into this storied magazine's unparalleled archive and uncovers funny, touching, exciting, intriguing stories of the sporting life, both professional and amateur, and what it means to us. These essays show that how we play and write about sports not only reflect our nation's character, but challenge it. Including stories from Mark Twain and James B. Connolly at the turn of the twentieth century, visiting with George Plimpton, Tom Wolfe, Bill Cardoso, and A. Bartlett Giamatti along the way, and continuing with Lewis Lapham, Rich Cohen, and Pat Jordan today, this collection is the definitive voice on sports-writing through the last hundred years. Edited by Matthew Stevenson and Michael Martin, with a humorous, insightful preface by Roy Blount Jr. (Fifth in the American Retrospective Series.)