Rating: 
Summary: Solid but not spectacular
Review: Splendid writing, on a number of sports related topics. D. Halberstam has put together the best and brightest sports writers and some of their best work.It is a collection of some of the icons of the field of sports journalism. Some of the writing comes from the glory days, "the golden age" of sports journalism when sports writers concealed the foibles of America's sports heroes. Included are legends like the immortal Grantland Rice, Tom Boswell, Jimmy Breslin, Mike Lupica and Dick Young. Many of these men wrote regularly for the great newspapers of their time; their work spanned decades. They made the best of their craft. It is an equally stellar work for the characters and the events portrayed. There is a whole section of the book devoted to Muhammad Ali. Norman Mailer's "Ego" and Dick Schaap's contribution "Then and Now" by themselves are worth the price of the book. Fan of Ted Williams? Check out Richard Ben Cramer's contribution. More fond of chess? Look to Barach's "The Day Bobby [Fisher] Blew It". Some of the best writing ever. Great writing and fantastic subjects. Who could ask for anything more?
Rating: 
Summary: If you love either sports or great writing, this is for you!
Review: Splendid writing, on a number of sports related topics. D. Halberstam has put together the best and brightest sports writers and some of their best work. It is a collection of some of the icons of the field of sports journalism. Some of the writing comes from the glory days, "the golden age" of sports journalism when sports writers concealed the foibles of America's sports heroes. Included are legends like the immortal Grantland Rice, Tom Boswell, Jimmy Breslin, Mike Lupica and Dick Young. Many of these men wrote regularly for the great newspapers of their time; their work spanned decades. They made the best of their craft. It is an equally stellar work for the characters and the events portrayed. There is a whole section of the book devoted to Muhammad Ali. Norman Mailer's "Ego" and Dick Schaap's contribution "Then and Now" by themselves are worth the price of the book. Fan of Ted Williams? Check out Richard Ben Cramer's contribution. More fond of chess? Look to Barach's "The Day Bobby [Fisher] Blew It". Some of the best writing ever. Great writing and fantastic subjects. Who could ask for anything more?
Rating: 
Summary: Pleasing even to a non-sports person
Review: The selection are excellent (they'd have to be for best writing of the century). The essays show a love of sports but also deeper meditations on the art of writing, as well as society. Endless amounts of ink have been used in describing seasons' worth of stats and hyperbole but it is the quiet nature of the essay that allows a deeper glimpse behind the stats or beyond the glare of the media. The essays on DiMaggio and Williams are examples of showing life after baseball and at the same time the influence of these men on the sport. The only drawback I saw to the book was no information about the writers themselves. I am looking through the prism of a writer -- catching facets of light and form. Through the writer I am seeing someone who is seen by millions. I can speculate on the writer or if the writer is upfront about their views of the person but the writer is a mystery at the same time they are revealing the mystery of the sport or sportsmen. I would recommend this book not only for the lover of sports but also to anyone who appreciates good writing in general. As a newbie to reading sportwriting it was a very welcome introduction.
Rating:
Summary: A Must-Have for any Sports Lover
Review: This book is a fascinating look into the personalities of some of America's most cherished sports icons. It does what sports journalism should aspire to do - delve beneath the surface layer of statistics, and show us the heart and soul of the athletes that compete in the American limelight. The dissections of DiMaggio, Ted Williams and Ali are especially insightful, while the coverage of many individual sporting events is gripping, making you feel as if you are actually attending the event. Because this book covers almost every conceivable American sport, it affords the reader the luxury of picking and choosing the stories that may pertain to one's favorite sports.
Rating:
Summary: Solid but not spectacular
Review: This is a thouroughly joyous book. As always you could make an argument pro/con for the selection of stories, but that is probably the case with all collection of this sort. The Ali selection is nice, and the Bobby Fischer piece is fabulous. All in all a good buy.
Rating:
Summary: Super Sports Stories
Review: This is an excellent book for several reasons--it is convenient in that you can quickly read one story and put the book aside without having to go back to get back into the story, it is full of excellent writing, and it gives beautiful glimpses into a very diverse group of sports. The book advertises itself as containing the "best" sports writing of the century and for the most past I would certainly agree, and disagreement has to be expected when you declare something the best, so it is great reading. It is fine journalism, telling captivating stories about people and games, but it is also does an excellent job of showing the importance of sports beyond the fields of play. I would highly recommend the book to sports loves, aspiring journalists, and I would also recommend many of the pieces for people who cannot understand why sports lovers really love sports.
Rating:
Summary: excellent collection
Review: What surprised me about this collection was that some of the most enjoyable stories were the ones about sports I don't have much interest in. The mountain climbing, chess and horse racing stories were some of the best in this collection. As the title suggests, these are well-written stories, which cover a lot of ground. I normally wouldn't waste my time reading about something like chess, but I read and enjoyed every story in this collection. I knew I would enjoy the stories about the major sports, but some of the others surprised me.
Rating:
Summary: excellent collection
Review: What surprised me about this collection was that some of the most enjoyable stories were the ones about sports I don't have much interest in. The mountain climbing, chess and horse racing stories were some of the best in this collection. As the title suggests, these are well-written stories, which cover a lot of ground. I normally wouldn't waste my time reading about something like chess, but I read and enjoyed every story in this collection. I knew I would enjoy the stories about the major sports, but some of the others surprised me.
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