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 ..read more

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 ..read more

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 ..read more

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 ..read more

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 ..read more

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 seem impossible to reconcile, with the former overshadowing the latter. Fond memories of the “Canadian Crippler” beating bigger and stronger opponents in the ring fade in light of what happened during the last weekend of June 2007. Irvin Much ..read more

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, that lacked political engagement, to go all the way back to the 1960s. Names like Muhammad Ali, Tommie Smith, John Carlos, Billie Jean King, and Jim Brown are the expected heroes of the book, and rightfully so. But Kaliss ..read more

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 Cup in 1930. The Americans immediately made a mark on the competition, finishing third overall. They are still waiting to repeat that feat. Unlike the women’s national team, the American men have yet to make even the semifinal of the global tournament. In f ..read more

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 Spirit and Sport, as it is devoid of religious objectivity. That is not to mistake this work as a piece of Christian propaganda; it is not that. Rather, it may be perceived as an overly-enthusiastic and -analytical account of a li ..read more

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 Bogues. And, in a sense, he was right. Dirk Nowitzki or Kevin Durant, while unique in their own way, may be considered next-generation versions of Larry Legend, whereas players like Earl Boykins, Ty Lawson or Isaiah Thomas have a couple of inches on Tyrone “Muggs ..read more