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Title: Everything They Had: Sports Writing from David Halberstam
ISBN: 140132312X
Author:
David Halberstam
Publicate Date: 2008-05-06
Publish: 2008-05-06
List Price: $24.95
Average Customer Rating: 4.0
Format: Hardcover
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $7.94
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $1.75
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Wonderful Sports Writing
In "Everything They Had," we get the lighter side (in the best sense) of David Halberstam. A noted Pulitzer winning journalist and writer of contemporary history, he also wrote many books and articles about sports such as baseball, football, basketball, and fishing. Sports were the fun part of his life as a writer. In fact he noted that taking time for his sports projects were his way of taking a sabbatical. This shows in the sheer love and wonder he displays through half a century of sports writing. At times, I felt as I was reading an autobiography. Not being a professional sportwriter, Halberstam was able to pick and choose his subjects. Through his writing from the 1950's to the new millenium we see the rise and role of sports in America against the backdrop of the sociological and technological changes. Halberstam describes the rise of the NFL, the continual hold of baseball in the hearts of America, and the excitement brought by the NBA. We also gain insights into personal sports Halberstam loved such as fishing and rowing and. Halberstam does not always present a rosy picture, but "Everyting They Had" is the work of an optimist and a man who looked for the best. It is not an all inclusive anthology as many sports such as Ice Hockey, Golf, and Motor Sports are left out. However, this compilation is Halberstam's story of a part of his life's journey and the writing quality is wonderful and memorable.
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2: Worthwhile
Halberstam was an even more prolific writer than I had thought, as demonstrated by this collection of his short sports pieces published in various magazines over the years. The collection demonstrates his keen eye for the cultural changes mirrored in sport and his appreciation for character. As for the latter, the portrayals of Ted Williams, Joe Torre, Reggie Smith, Muhammad Ali, and Pat Riley are excellent.
Two pieces on basketball are exceptionally strong -- a 1985 article about Indiana high school basketball (with some Bobby Knight mixed in) that captures the State's passion for basketball and the changes in society and sport since the 1950s. Another excellent piece concerns Halberstam's friendship with a little known basketball player who was part of the North Carolina team that beat Wilt Chamberlain and Kansas in the 1950s and who had a brief stint in the NBA.
Many of the pieces explore male friendships and bonding in the context of sports. Halberstam does not delve much into the darker side of sport, perhaps getting his fill of that in his political writing.
Some of the pieces in the collection are a bit superficial and lack the depth of reasearch and passion that gave so much life to Halberstam's longer works. They smack of taking a break and making a quick buck.
On the whole, a worthwhile collection.
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3: A Solid Collection
This is a very solid collection, and a reminder of what a talented writer Mr. Halberstam was. The themes he would turn into books can be found throughout the essays. He was, it seems, most interested in the combination of race, the media, fame, and friendship. There is a certain weight toward his more recent writings (much of it available online through espn.com and other sites). Certainly worth reading, and for those of us who found Halberstam to be the most gifted writer who happened to write about sports, it is a must have book.
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