Just as we were winding down the parent/teacher meeting, my son’s teacher asked if she could query me something personal. Uh oh, I thought, she found an error in a Cooking With Lang video, or maybe she had realized how terrible my math was when I incorrectly graded some math homework. But nope, instead she just wondered if I could recommend a few sports books that she could give her teenage son, who is a sports fan.
I try to read a lot. I have the Kindle app on my phone, and I constantly have a book downloaded. Whenever I have a free moment—waiting in the car while my wife runs into the grocery store; sitting through my kid’s sports practice; late at night trying to fall asleep—I flip open whatever book I’m reading at the moment and tear through a few pages. I just finished Dirt by Bill Buford, and I’m just starting Phil Knight’s Shoe Dog.
I read all kinds of books, but non-fiction has always been my favorite genre. It’s a trick to pull off, being both entertaining and informative, but the best non-fiction books do just that. Similarly, sports books also age, as the times change. Jim Bouton’s Ball Four was revolutionary at the time, but when I read it a few years ago, I was underwhelmed.
Anyway, here are ten sports books that I recommended, and I could easily give another few dozen. What are your favorite sports books?
Might as well start with a shameless plug. This is ostensibly about the Atlanta Braves but it’s basically my memoir. I grew up in Atlanta during the era when Bobby Cox managed the Braves and led them to over a dozen NL East division titles. They made a few World Series and actually won one in 1995. This book is my tribute to the team and the coach who made me a sports fan, and all the lessons I learned along the way, about sports and life.
Since we’re on the Braves, this is an autobiography by Chipper Jones. For the most part, athlete autobiographies are inherently limited. Athletes know that the more honest they are, the more stuff they have to answer for, so they usually present “cleaned up” versions of their history. This book, surprisingly, gives way more access than I suspected Chipper to give, and it makes it a must-read for Braves fans.
FreeDarko Presents: The Undisputed Guide to Pro Basketball History
Let’s keep the shameless plugs going! I wrote parts of this book also, but the genius of this book comes from the whole crew that worked on it. The FreeDarko guys changed the way people write and talk about the NBA, and the art Jacob Weinstein came up with is truly unparalleled.
Please don’t see the title and think of the Jimmy Fallon/Drew Barrymore movie. That movie is based on this book, but the book is about the Arsenal soccer club and Nick Hornby loving sports perhaps more than he loves his girlfriend. This book is about soccer, but it’s really more about growing up and becoming an adult. And it’s wonderful.
The Miracle of Castel DiSangro
The best books transport us to worlds we know nothing about. This book by Joe McGinniss is about a small village in Italy with a soccer team that surprisingly qualifies for the Serie B. And then McGinniss arrives and everything really gets crazy.
Another soccer book, about the hooligan culture around British soccer a few decades ago. I like books about soccer. It’s sorta funny that the author of Among the Thugs writes food books now.
Michael Lewis’ book about Bill Beane and the Oakland A’s eventually became a hit movie, so you may be familiar with the story. Basically, the A’s don’t have the payroll to compete with the big money teams, so Beane devises a strategy to give the A’s a shot. The efficacy of the plan is sort of beside the point: What matters is learning how to think differently, and not being afraid to zag while everyone else is zigging.
If “The Last Dance” was your introduction to Michael Jordan, this book should be your grad school. Written by legendary Bulls beat writer Sam Smith, this is the blueprint most Jordan/Bulls pieces are based upon.
One of my favorite sports books ever. I read this so long ago, and haven’t re-read it in a while, so It’s probably pretty outdated by now. Still, for some reason, then-Indiana coach Bobby Knight gave a journalist complete access for a season back in the ’80s, and Feinstein reported everything, warts and all. Reading this book as a kid is part of what made me want to write about sports as an adult.
This isn’t about a specific sport, but this oral history of ESPN has plenty of sports in and around the main narrative. I learned a ton from reading this book, particularly about the business of sports and broadcasting. And considering how ESPN is such a huge part of any sports fan’s life, I think any sports fan will enjoy this one.