Synopses & Reviews
Winners of twenty-seven World Series titles, the New York Yankees are the quintessential sports dynasty. Love them or hate them, they cannot be ignored by anyone who professes to be a fan of the great game of baseball.
With Damn Yankees, Rob Fleder, former Executive Editor for Sports Illustrated magazine, offers a timeless collection of original essays by some of the most prominent contemporary writers in America — from Pete Dexter to Jane Leavy, from Roy Blount Jr. to Colum McCann — each piece focusing on one uniquely colorful subject: the fanatically adored/resoundingly despised “Bronx Bombers.”
Funny, moving, provocative, insightful appreciations and detractions — from Babe Ruth to Mickey Mantle to Derek Jeter — Damn Yankees offers twenty-four fascinating takes on the most storied franchise of baseballs Major Leagues.
Synopsis
Love them or hate them, the New York Yankees have been an American institution for nearly a century. With their rich history and colorful cast of characters, the Yankees never fail to inspire or provoke. In this exciting compendium, some of our most acclaimed writers — including Pete Dexter, Colum McCann, Roy Blount Jr., Dan Barry, Jane Leavy, Charles P. Pierce, J. R. Moehringer, Bill James, and many more — step up to the plate to take their cuts. The result is a collection of original essays as idiosyncratic and expansive as the team that has inspired them: ruminations on Babe Ruth's gravestone, Derek Jeter's swing, and every other subject that spans from the hilarious (the Yankee wife swap of the seventies) to the sublime (the grace of Catfish Hunter). Superbly written, deeply insightful, and full of both passion and humor, Damn Yankees is a completely fresh look at baseball's most enduring franchise.
About the Author
Pete Dexter is the author of the National Book Award-winning novel
Paris Trout and five other novels:
God's Pocket,
Deadwood,
Brotherly Love,
The Paperboy, and
Train. He has been a columnist for the
Philadelphia Daily News and the
Sacramento Bee, and has contributed to many magazines, including
Esquire,
Sports Illustrated, and
Playboy. His screenplays include
Rush and
Mulholland Falls. Dexter was born in Michigan and raised in Georgia, Illinois, and eastern South Dakota. He lives on an island off the coast of Washington.
Rob Fleder was executive editor of Sports Illustrated and the editor of SI Books during his twenty years at Time Inc. He was the editor of Sports Illustrated 50th Anniversary Book, Sports Illustrated: The Baseball Book, Sports Illustrated: The Football Book, and Hate Mail from Cheerleaders, among other New York Times bestsellers.