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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
In sports books, the term "left wing" typically means something very different than it does in Zirin's; a sportswriter and regular contributor to The Nation, Zirin takes a look at sports through the prisms of race, class, politics and identity, examining the mainstream sports media's charged rhetoric and challenging the industry's readily-accepted common wisdoms (especially the popular notion that professional athletes are all rich, spoiled, self-centered thugs). Each of the ten chapters deals with a different issue, from Major League Baseball's exploitation of the Dominican Republic to Olympian graft. Zirin's clear, concise arguments detail the behind-the-scenes manipulation of football star-turned-Army ranger Pat Tillman's death, point out the racism inherent in the media's coverage of Barry Bonds and explicate the global and local politics of soccer. Unfortunately, Zirin's tone is too often snide, stooping to the same depths for which he regularly lambasts right wing commentators (for instance, referring to Dodger second baseman Jeff Kent as someone who "splashes on High Karate before strutting to the free clinic"). Still, this is a unique and thought-provoking collection of politically enlightened sports writing, suitable for anyone with season tickets and a left-of-center outlook.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Product Description
“Dave Zirin is the best young sportswriter in America.”—Robert Lipsyte
This much-anticipated sequel to What’s My Name, Fool? by acclaimed commentator Dave Zirin breaks new ground in sports writing, looking at the controversies and trends now shaping sports in the United States—and abroad. Features chapters such as “Barry Bonds is Gonna Git Your Mama: The Last Word on Steroids,” “Pro Basketball and the Two Souls of Hip-Hop,” “An Icon’s Redemption: The Great Roberto Clemente,” and “Beisbol: How the Major Leagues Eat Their Young.”
Zirin’s commentary is always insightful, never predictable.
Dave Zirin is the author of the widely acclaimed book What’s My Name, Fool? (Haymarket Books) and writes the weekly column “Edge of Sports” (edgeofsports.com). He writes a regular column for The Nation and Slam magazine and has appeared as a sports commentator on ESPN TV and radio, CBNC, WNBC, Democracy Now!, Air America, Radio Nation, and Pacifica.
Chuck D redefined rap music and hip-hop culture as leader and co-founder of the legendary rap group Public Enemy. Spike Lee calls him “one of the most politically and socially conscious artists of any generation.” He co-hosts a weekly radio show on Air America.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hilarious and humane,
By John Chapman (Minnesota, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Welcome to the Terrordome: The Pain, Politics and Promise of Sports (Paperback)
If you're tired of reading the same type of takes on sports - the rambles full of pop culture references that pretend to stand for real commentary, the reactionary critiques of the sports villain of the week, read Welcome to the Terrordome. You'll most likely spend half your time laughing and the other half amazed that Mr. Zirin has been reading your mind.
It doesn't take much experience reading sports columnists, or listening to them talk on TV, to come away with a pretty grim view of the sports world. The profession seems to attract a sort of bitter, fatalist heckler who wants to forget that it's not just a game. Well, it isn't just a game - it's an industry, one that sometimes gets to write its own rules but more often has to live in the same world we all do - the one with pain, politics and promise. Dave Zirin has the perspective and vision to put these pieces together, to see how the sports world meshes and collides with the real world. And when he heckles - which he does often, and with panache - it's cutting but not cruel. There's a strong current of humanity in Dave's writing. This isn't a lunkhead screaming from the cheap seats, it's someone who wants to see excellence and fairness at all levels of sport - the field, the office, the media. With all the time and money we spend on it, that's the least we can ask.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Skills,
This review is from: Welcome to the Terrordome: The Pain, Politics and Promise of Sports (Paperback)
If you've ever asked the question "what's the point of sports?" aside from gladiatorial competition meant to pacify and distract from the monotonous struggle that occupies the time of most people, Dave Zirin provides the answer.
Zirin does for sports what Howard Zinn does for history by placing it in the real world context in which it belongs, instead of the corporate smoke and mirrors that simultaneously make sports larger than life while divorcing it of social relevancy. As a political hip hop artist I can appreciate Dave's work, not only because Chuck D of Public Enemy, the original political hip hop group, wrote the intro - which never hurts when you use their album title for your book - but because he stands in that independent socially conscious tradition. He's Public Enemy and Democracy Now! not Young Jeezy and CNN.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Master of the Metaphor!,
By
This review is from: Welcome to the Terrordome: The Pain, Politics and Promise of Sports (Paperback)
Here is nuance and complexity, sophistication and depth captured in magnificent similes and metaphors that will knock your socks off! Dave Zirin writes with a passion and reverence for sport and for athletes brave enough to speak out against political injustice and to incur the wrath of a coliseum culture. He invites the whole world into the sports world. Bravo to his heroes, and bravo to Dave Zirin!
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5.0 out of 5 stars
The Underside of Sports Exposed
At some level this is an antidote to all of the positive, happy-world sports writing that has been served up over the decades.
Published 3 months ago by Roger D. Launius
1.0 out of 5 stars
Boring book without a point
This book was very boring and I felt I wasted my money. I agreed with some of the book, but found it to be redundant and pointless.
Published 4 months ago by Michael G. Hayden
2.0 out of 5 stars
Ok, nothing too new here
This book was mildly interesting. The author takes pot shots at easy targets without really detailing his arguments fully.
Published 6 months ago by P. Flanagan
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sheer brilliance
Finally a book that takes some of our nations favorite pastimes and peoples and humanizes them. Instead of making excuses and putting people in sports aloof, Zirin examines the...
Published 23 months ago by Micah Wolfe
5.0 out of 5 stars
fabulous
what a tremendous book for anyone interested in sports, humanity, racism and the cracks in the american dream. this book is amazing.
Published 24 months ago by jon grife
5.0 out of 5 stars
Going back into the terrordome
Zirin was an important discovery for me. As a kid, I followed professional baseball and basketball with a very childlike passion.
Published on April 11, 2008 by Gregory N.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Terrordome
I enjoyed the book. I am glad to know about the authors website to get his new writing. I thought the book was insightful and great for a fan like me.
Published on January 7, 2008 by A. Jones
5.0 out of 5 stars
Zirin is the best sportswriter in america
Sports are the world's great distraction, especially in the United States. To really understand American culture, and other cultures too, you have to understand sports...
Published on October 26, 2007 by James Generic
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sports, History and Politcs Collide
The politically charged sports book Welcome to the Terrordome by Dave Zirin. The book covers the connection between social and cultural issues and sports, and it's really a great...
Published on October 15, 2007 by Jon Cudo, Editor of Gameops.com
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thought provoking and electric.
Amongst sports writers David Zirin is a man among boys. He hasn't just mastered a single aspect of the genre; he has reinvented it with the complete package, which is showcased...
Published on August 28, 2007 by Surface to Air Missle
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Inside This Book
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Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs):
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border culture Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, World Cup, Roberto Clemente, Barry Bonds, South Africa, Muhammad Ali, Jackie Robinson, Puerto Rico, African Americans, Puerto Rican, World Series, Latin America, Babe Ruth, Ball Four, Dominican Republic, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Super Bowl, Hall of Fame, Olympic Games, Pat Tillman, White House, Arundhati Roy, Avery Brundage, Dennis Brutus New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
border culture Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, World Cup, Roberto Clemente, Barry Bonds, South Africa, Muhammad Ali, Jackie Robinson, Puerto Rico, African Americans, Puerto Rican, World Series, Latin America, Babe Ruth, Ball Four, Dominican Republic, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Super Bowl, Hall of Fame, Olympic Games, Pat Tillman, White House, Arundhati Roy, Avery Brundage, Dennis Brutus New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?
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74% buy the item featured on this page: Welcome to the Terrordome: The Pain, Politics and Promise of Sports $10.88 |
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11% buy Bad Sports: How Owners Are Ruining the Games We Love $16.50 |
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9% buy People's History of Sports in the United States: 250 Years of Politics, Protest, People, and Play (New Press People's History) $12.89 |
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3% buy What's My Name, Fool? Sports and Resistance in the United States $8.97 |
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