Synopses & Reviews
There have been many anthologies devoted to our national pastime’s greatest players, but here, at last, is one dedicated to those, for reasons far more personal than stats-based, we call our
favorites. In
Top of the Order twenty-five of today’s premier sports journalists, cultural critics, novelists, and humorists (as well as a couple of former major leaguers) deliver memorable, never-before-published odes to their favorite players, past or present. By turns uplifting, woeful, and hilarious, these essays define what it means to be beset by that strange, incurable condition known as baseball fandom.
Featuring original essays by:
Roger Kahn on Jackie Robinson, Buzz Bissinger on Albert Pujols, Jonathan Eig on Lou Gehrig, Neal Pollack on Greg Maddux, Laura Lippman on Brooks Robinson, Jeff Pearlman on Garry Templeton, Jim Bouton on Steve Dembowski, Pat Jordan on Tom Seaver, Michael Ian Black on Mookie Wilson, Matt Taibbi on Jim Rice, Steve Almond on Rickey Henderson, and many more.
Review
Library Journal, 2/1/10 “Leading off this impressive lineup of fiction and nonfiction writers, journalists, musicians, etc., is W.P. Kinsella with a vivid foreword reminding baseball fans why they love the sport. Then the all-star contributors present their favorite ball player…On many occasions, the writer’s explanation for his or her choice tells us much about the writer’s own youth and subsequent career choices—thus the ultimate charm of this collection is how it tells us something about ourselves as well as our heroes.”
Booklist, 4/1/10 “The profiles run the gamut from serious to whimsical; virtually all expose an element of baseball’s quirky, often irrational fandom. Great fun for fans, who will be inspired to examine their own fond feelings for that over-the-hill middle reliever on the downside of a mediocre career.”
BiblioBuffet.com, 3/21/10
“A wonderful addition to the baseball library…Twenty-five beautifully written, memory-evoking and all around gripping reminiscences of the players that have touched our lives…Features a diverse array of contributors…The selections of the writers is at times obvious and at other times idiosyncratic but that is one of the reasons Top of the Order is so special…The contributors to Top of the Order have been inspired to deliver some of the finest sports writing that I have read in recent years—and often from contributors who would not be considered ‘sports writers.’ Not just because the writing is beautiful, but because it resonates powerfully with the reader; it is as if the writers and the reader share a common past and common memories—the common ground of being fans of the sport…Each of the selections will evoke memories in the true baseball fan.”
Synopsis
There have been plenty of collections devoted to our national pastime's greatest players, but here, finally, is an amazing array of original writing dedicated to those whom, for reasons far more personal than stats-based, we call our favorites. The result is an assortment of reflections--by turns uplifting, woeful, and hilarious--on the love of the game and what it means to be beset by the strange, incurable condition known as baseball fandom.
Featuring: Roger Kahn on Jackie Robinson, Buzz Bissinger on Albert Pujols, Jonathan Eig on Lou Gehrig, Neal Pollack on Greg Maddux, Laura Lippman on Brooks Robinson, Jeff Pearlman on Garry Templeton, Carrie Rickey on Crash Davis, Jim Bouton on Steve Dembowski, Pat Jordan on Tom Seaver, Steve Almond on Rickey Henderson, and many more.
Synopsis
Todays top sports journalists, cultural critics, novelists, and humorists deliver memorable, never-before-published odes to their favorite baseball players
About the Author
Sean Manning is the editor of the nonfiction anthologies The Show Ill Never Forget and Rock and Roll Cage Match. He lives in New York.