Synopses & Reviews
andquot;This is the best book looking inside the mind of a big-league manager I have ever read, because Francona is sharp and loves the game, because Shaughnessy is eloquent and a dazzling storyteller.andquot;andmdash;
Philadelphia Daily News When Terry Francona took over as manager of the Boston Red Sox in 2004, the storied franchise hadnandrsquo;t won a World Series championship in eighty-six years. Led by Francona, the team won two over the course of four years. During the full eight years of Franconaandrsquo;s tenure, the Red Sox were transformed from andldquo;cursedandrdquo; into one of the most successful and profitable teams in baseball historyandmdash;only to fall back to last place as soon as Francona was gone.
Francona: The Red Sox Years lets readers in on the inner workings of the Red Sox clubhouse like no book has ever done before. From the highs of the World Series to the lows of the final months of the 2011 seasonandmdash;the most epic collapse of a team in baseball historyandmdash;this book features the never-before-told stories about Sox fansandrsquo; favorite players, moments, wins, and losses.
andldquo;A scorched-earth memoir . . . [that] touches fleetingly on steroid use, sabermetrics, and Michael Jordanandrsquo;s stint in the minor leagues . . . but saves its heaviest artillery for the owners . . . [and] Theo Epstein backs him up.andrdquo;andmdash;New York Times Book Review
andldquo;Itandrsquo;s not often that baseball aficionados and gossip gluttons can plunk down on a shared portion of outfield grass with the same book for an afternoon of readerly delight, but Francona can bridge those kinds of differences.andrdquo;andmdash;Boston Globe
Synopsis
The bestselling story of Terry Francona's tenure as manager of the Boston Red Sox.
Synopsis
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER. Eloquent and dazzling, the story of Terry Francona's tenure as manager of the Boston Red Sox (Philadelphia Daily News).
When Terry Francona took over as manager of the Boston Red Sox in 2004, the storied franchise hadn't won a World Series championship in eighty-six years. Led by Francona, the team won two over the course of four years. During the full eight years of Francona's tenure, the Red Sox were transformed from "cursed" into one of the most successful and profitable teams in baseball history -- only to fall back to last place as soon as Francona was gone.
Francona: The Red Sox Years lets readers in on the inner workings of the Red Sox clubhouse like no book has ever done before. From the highs of the World Series to the lows of the final months of the 2011 season -- the most epic collapse of a team in baseball history -- this book features the never-before-told stories about Sox fans' favorite players, moments, wins, and losses.
"A scorched-earth memoir . . . that] touches fleetingly on steroid use, sabermetrics, and Michael Jordan's stint in the minor leagues . . . but saves its heaviest artillery for the owners . . . and] Theo Epstein backs him up." -- New York Times Book Review
It's not often that baseball aficionados and gossip gluttons can plunk down on a shared portion of outfield grass with the same book for an afternoon of readerly delight, but Francona can bridge those kinds of differences." -- Boston Globe
Synopsis
When Terry Francona took over as manager of the Boston Red Sox in 2004, the storied franchise hadnt won a World Series championship in eighty-six years. Led by Francona, the team won two over the course of four years. During the full eight years of Franconas tenure, the Red Sox were transformed from a cursed franchise into one of the most successful and profitable in baseball history—only to fall back to last place as soon as Francona was gone.
Francona: The Red Sox Years lets readers in on the inner workings of the Red Sox clubhouse like no book has ever done before. From the highs of 2004 to the lows of the final months of the 2011 season—the most epic collapse of a team in baseball history—this book features the never-before-told stories about Sox fans favorite players, moments, wins, and losses.
Synopsis
Three Nights in August captures the strategic and emotional complexities of baseball's quintessential form, the three-game series. As the St. Louis Cardinals battle their archrival Chicago Cubs, we watch from the dugout through the eyes of legendary manager Tony La Russa, considered by many to be the shrewdest mind in the game today. In his twenty-seven years of managing, La Russa has been named Manager of the Year a record-making five times and now stands as the third-winningest baseball manager of all time. A great leader, he's built his success on the conviction that ball games are won not only by the numbers but also by the hearts and minds of those who play.
Drawing on unprecedented access to a major league manager and his team, Buzz Bissinger brings a revelatory intimacy to baseball and offers some surprising observations. Bissinger also furthers the debate on major league managerial style and strategy in his provocative new afterword.
Synopsis
Reversing the Curse preserves one of the greatest sports stories of our lifetime for all posterity with an absorbing account of the Red Soxand#8217;s championship season. A more epic sports saga could not have been invented: here we have the curse that began with Babe Ruth; a team of comeback kids determined to prove their mettle; the Yankees-Sox rivalry, one of the greatest in sports history; and, finally, the first World Series victory for the Sox since 1918.
Dan Shaughnessy captures the Sox triumph in all its drama and euphoria with penetrating insight, a keen sense of history, and unparalleled insider access. With photographs by the Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Stan Grossfeld, Reversing the Curse is the definitive record of a landmark moment in baseball history.
Synopsis
In
Senior Year, Dan Shaughnessy focuses his acclaimed sports writing talents on his son Sam's senior year of high school, a turning point in any young life and certainly in the relationship between father and son. Using that experience, Shaughnessy circles back to his own boyhood and calls on the many sports greats he's known over the years -- Ted Williams, Roger Clemens, Larry Bird -- to capture that uniquely American rite of passage that is sports.
Growing up, Dan Shaughnessy was so baseball-obsessed that he played games by himself and didn?ft even let himself win. His son, Sam Shaughnessy, came by his own love of sports naturally and was a natural hitter who quickly ascended the ranks of youth sports. Now nicknamed the 3-2 Kid for his astonishing ability to hover between success and failure in everything he does, Sam is finally a senior, and it's all on the line: what college to attend; how to keep his grades up and his head down until graduation; and whether his final high school baseball season, which features foul weather, a hitting slump, and a surprising clash with a longtime coach, will end in disappointment or triumph.
All along the way, Dad is there, chronicling that universal experience of putting your child out on the field -- and in the world -- and hoping for the best. With gleaming insight, wicked humor, and, at times, the searching soul of an unsure father, Shaughnessy illuminates how sports connect generations and how they help us grow up -- and let go.
About the Author
Terry "Tito" Francona was a first baseman and outfielder in the majors from 1981 to 1990. After retiring as a player, he managed several minor league teams in the 1990s before managing the Philadelphia Phillies for four seasons. In 2004, Francona was hired to manage the Boston Red Sox, and that year he led the team to its first World Series championship since 1918. He won another World Series with Boston in 2007 and continued to manage the team until the end of the 2011 season. He is now a commentator for ESPN, joining in on their Sunday Night Baseball telecast and contributing to ESPN.com.Dan Shaughnessy is an award-winning columnist for the Boston Globe and the author of several sports books, including The Curse of the Bambino, a best-selling classic. Seven times Shaughnessy has been voted one of Americaand#8217;s top ten sports columnists by Associated Press Sports Editors and named Massachusetts Sportswriter of the Year. He has appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, The Early Show, CNN, Nightline, NPR, Imus in the Morning, ESPN, HBO, and many others. He lives in Newton, Massachusetts.