Synopses & Reviews
William Nack has won the prestigious Eclipse Award-given annually for the best magazine piece on horseracing-an unprecedented six times. His only previous book, Secretariat: The Making of a Champion, has been eloquently described by Laura Hillenbrand, author of Seabiscuit, as the "gold standard" of horse books.Now, Nack's finest turf writing, coupled with an ample assortment of dead-on profiles and investigative stories across the world of sports, is brought together in My Turf. Nack serves up unforgettable portraits: from his celebrated account of the death of Secretariat to his homage to both Yankee Stadium and Saratoga, including one-of-a-kind profiles of boxers Sonny Liston and Rocky Marciano, jockeys Willie Shoemaker and Robbie Davis, baseball players Keith Hernandez and the schizophrenic Martin Bergen, basketball coach Rick Pitino, and the chess master Bobby Fischer.
Synopsis
William Nack is widely acknowledged as one of the finest sports writers of the past half-century. He has won the prestigious Eclipse Award, given annually for the best magazine piece on horseracing, an unprecedented six times. Laura Hillenbrand, best-selling author of Seabiscuit, recently called his acclaimed biography Secretariat the "gold standard" of horse books. But Nack's "turf" goes far beyond the racetrack. In this, his first collection, Nack's finest horse racing journalism is coupled with his legendary, one-of-a-kind profiles of athletes from Sonny Liston to Formula One driver Alex Zanardi, Rocky Marciano to Rick Pitino, and Keith Hernandez to Willie Shoemaker. And that is not all. From his compelling history of Yankee Stadium, to his inspiring account of Bob Kalsu, the only professional American athlete to die in Vietnam, to his poignant portrait of Cincinnati Reds catcher Willard Hershberger, who, at fifteen, discovered his father dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound and later committed suicide himself, Nack serves up riveting stories of people and places. He also uncovers some of the dirtiest secrets in sports from the shady world of hit men and greedy owners who hire them to kill their horses for insurance payoffs to weightlifting muscle men, who, while stoked up on steroids, have gone on murderous rampages. Whether writing about famous athletes-human and equine-or weighing in on some of the most controversial events and personalities in sports, William Nack has few equals.
Synopsis
"Whether writing about boxers, body builders, horses, the guys who ride the horses, or the guys who kill the horses for a slice of the insurance money, Nack...is brilliant."-Boston Globe
About the Author
William Nack recently retired from Sports Illustrated, but still contributes to GQ and Sports Illustrated, among other publications. He lives in Washington, D. C.