From David Zirin, "The best young sportswriter in America" (says Robert Lipsyte), comes a rollicking, rebellious, myth-busting history of sports in America that puts politics in the ring with pop culture.

In this long-awaited book from the rising superstar of sportswriting, whose blog "The Edge of Sports" is read each week by thousands of people across the country, Dave Zirin offers a riotously entertaining chronicle of larger-than-life sporting characters and dramatic contests, and what amounts to an alternative history of the United States as seen through the games its people played. Through Zirin's eyes, sports are never mere games, but a reflection of — and a spur toward — the political conflicts that shape American society.

Half a century before Jackie Robinson was born, the black ballplayer Moses Fleetwood Walker brandished a revolver to keep racist fans at bay, then took his regular place in the lineup. In the midst of the Depression, when almost no black athletes were allowed on the U.S. Olympic team, athletes held a Counter Olympics where a third of the participants were African American.

A People's History of Sports in the United States is replete with surprises for seasoned sports fans, while anyone interested in history will be amazed by the connections Zirin draws between politics and pop flies. As Jeff Chang, author of Can't Stop Won't Stop, puts it, "After you read him, you'll never see sports the same way again."

"Zirin (What's My Name, Fool?), writer of a politically minded online sports column, examines the intersection of sports and politics, chronicling the struggles of America's oppressed, starting with Choctaws playing lacrosse and slaves in the South, and reaching all the way to a critique of Michael Jordan as an apolitical athlete. There are many worthy and deserving stories of courage and conscience in this vast canvas; however, the telling suffers from Zirin's term paper — like prose that relies far too much on overly long quotes from source material. For example, three pages about NFL player Dave Meggyesy has a short introductory paragraph by Zirin and then excerpts Meggyesy's autobiography for the bulk of the section. This book would have been more engaging and logically organized as a reference book with entries on each athlete or group, rather than a linear historical narrative of sports. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

To those who scoff at the idea that sports counts in the real world, casually bring up Jackie Robinson, Babe Didrikson Zaharias and Kenichi Zenimura, whose dedication to baseball created major-league-level play in internment camps during World War II. Journalist Zirin gives due credit to the unsung, pointing out the very close relationship between the idols and lesser idols of sports and the city functionaries, mayors, governors, legislators and presidents who courted them. The endorsement of a sports hero was magic, of course, and the support of the politicos created venues, stadiums and parks, but as Zirin points out, how sport has been played in America and by whom (and watched by whom) are not-so-subtle inside looks into the heart of America. Readers can opt for just enjoying the sports stories; more likely, they will see how sport raised us up and let us down as a people. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

"A thought-provoking, contrarian take on American sport." Booklist

From author and sportswriter Zirin comes a rollicking, rebellious, myth-busting history of sports in America that puts politics in the ring with pop culture.

Dave Zirin is the author of three books, including What's My Name, Fool? and Welcome to the Terrordome. He writes the popular weekly online sports column The Edge of Sports and is a regular contributor to The Nation, SLAM, and the Los Angeles Times. He lives in Takoma Park, Maryland.