Essays on American sportswriters, for which some are the first studies to appear anywhere. Discusses the styles of sportswriting employed in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Includes information on twentieth-century authors who crossed over from"serious" literature to sportswriting, as well as the history of sportswriting.

Capturing the century's greatest moments in every sport from basseball to chess, these authors (Red Smith, Tom Boswell, John Updike, Jim Murray, Norman Mailer, W.C. Heinz, Tom Wolfe, Jimmy Breslin, Dick Schaap, David Remnick, Ring Lardner, Gay Talese, William Nack, Frank Deford, George Plimpton, Jon Krakauer) and their subjects (including Joe DiMaggio, Secretariat, Bobby Knight, and Muhammad Ali) reflect the rising societal importance of sports in this century, showing how sports have been shaped by such monumental events as war, the civil rights movement, and the changing economyomy.

Represents the diversity and productivity of American drama since 1900. The careers of playwrights whose works achieved notable popularity as well as critical success are presented in some detail. Emphasis is placed on biography and a synthesis of the critical reception of authors' works.

Essays on distinctly American nature writers from the earliest to the most recent that have consistently sought to convey both their wonder at the natural world and their individual, personal experiences, within it.

This award-winning series systematically presents career biographies of writers from all eras and all genres through volumes dedicated to specific types of literature and time periods.

Filled with insightful analysis and compelling arguments, this book considers the influence of sports on popular culture and spotlights the fascinating ways in which sports culture and American culture intersect. This collection blends historical and popular culture perspectives in its analysis of the development of sports and sports figures throughout American history. American History through American Sports: From Colonial Lacrosse to Extreme Sports is unique in that it focuses on how each sport has transformed and influenced society at large, demonstrating how sports and popular culture are intrinsically entwined and the ways they both reflect larger societal transformations. The essays in the book are wide-ranging, covering topics of interest for sports fans who enjoy the NFL and NASCAR as well as those who like tennis and watching the Olympics. Many topics feature information about specific sports icons and favorite heroes. Additionally, many of the topics' treatments prompt engagement by purposely challenging the reader to either agree or disagree with the author's analysis.

In Whats My Name, Fool? sports writer Dave Zirin shows how sports express the worst - and at times the most creative, exciting, and political - features of our society. Zirins sharp and insightful commentary on the personalities, politics, and history of American sports is unlike any sports writing being done today. Zirin explores how NBA brawls highlight tensions beyond the arena, how the bold stances taken by sports unions can chart a path for the entire labor movement, and the unexplored political stirrings of a new generation of athletes who are no longer content to just ''play one game at a time.'' Whats My Name, Fool? draws on original interviews with former heavyweight champ George Foreman, Olympic athlete John Carlos, NBA player and anti-death penalty activist Etan Thomas, antiwar womens college hoopster Toni Smith, Olympic Project for Human Rights leader Lee Evans and many others. It also unearths a history of athletes ranging from Jackie Robinson to Muhammad Ali to Billie Jean King, who charted a new course through their athletic ability and their outspoken views.

Following in the footsteps of Robeson, Ali, Robinson and others, today’s Black athletes re-engage with social issues and the meaning of American patriotism Named a best book of 2018 by Library Journal It used to be that politics and sports were as separate from one another as church and state. The ballfield was an escape from the world’s worst problems, top athletes were treated like heroes, and cheering for the home team was as easy and innocent as hot dogs and beer. “No news on the sports page” was a governing principle in newsrooms. That was then. Today, sports arenas have been transformed into staging grounds for American patriotism and the hero worship of law enforcement. Teams wear camouflage jerseys to honor those who serve; police officers throw out first pitches; soldiers surprise their families with homecomings at halftime. Sports and politics are decidedly entwined. But as journalist Howard Bryant reveals, this has always been more complicated for black athletes, who from the start, were committing a political act simply by being on the field. In fact, among all black employees in twentieth-century America, perhaps no other group had more outsized influence and power than ballplayers. The immense social responsibilities that came with the role is part of the black athletic heritage. It is a heritage built by the influence of the superstardom and radical politics of Paul Robeson, Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Tommie Smith, and John Carlos through the 1960s; undermined by apolitical, corporate-friendly “transcenders of race,” O. J. Simpson, Michael Jordan, and Tiger Woods in the following decades; and reclaimed today by the likes of LeBron James, Colin Kaepernick, and Carmelo Anthony. The Heritage is the story of the rise, fall, and fervent return of the athlete-activist. Through deep research and interviews with some of sports’ best-known stars—including Kaepernick, David Ortiz, Charles Barkley, and Chris Webber—as well as members of law enforcement and the military, Bryant details the collision of post-9/11 sports in America and the politically engaged post-Ferguson black athlete.

The playwrights profiled in this volume range from those active at the very beginning of the century to some just emerging by the new millennium. This collection of biographies represents the diversity of both form and content in the twentieth-century American theatre.