The Meaning Of Sports: Why Americans Watch baseball, Football, and Basketball and What They See When They Do.

By Michael Mandelbaum

Book Overview

In The Meaning of Sports, Michael Mandelbaum, a sports fan who is also one of the nation's preeminent foreign policy thinkers, examines America's century-long love affair with team sports. In keeping with his reputation for writing about big ideas in an illuminating and graceful way, he shows how sports respond to deep human needs; describes the ways in which baseball, football and basketball became national institutions and how they reached their present forms; and covers the evolution of rules, the rise and fall of the most successful teams, and the historical significance of the most famous and influential figures such as Babe Ruth, Vince Lombardi, and Michael Jordan.

Whether he is writing about baseball as the agrarian game, football as similar to warfare, basketball as the embodiment of post-industrial society, or the moral havoc created by baseball's designated hitter rule, Mandelbaum applies the full force of his learning and wit to subjects about which so many Americans care passionately: the games they played in their youth and continue to follow as adults. By offering a fresh and unconventional perspective on these games, The Meaning of Sports makes for fascinating and rewarding reading both for fans and newcomers.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1586483307
• ISBN13: 9781586483302
• Release Date: May 2005
• Publisher: PublicAffairs
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.02 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.4" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Mandelbaum's work teaches us all.

Mandelbaum's work teaches us all. Michael Mandelbaum's The Meaning of Sports lived up to all of the expectations I had for it. It captured my attention with facts about my minds blurred past of sports. The way he breaks down each mjor individual sport and relates them to the major periods and times of our world was intriging. I would suggest this book to any non sports fan who cannot see why the rest of us are in love with...

Superb! A great mind applied to a great subject

This is a brilliant book. I recommend it wholeheartedly to any sports fan, as well as to anyone who isn't a fan. It is a pleasure to read and you'll learn a lot about the culture of the United States, about human nature and about why people love sports. Beautifully written, as well. A great mind applied to a great topic.

Outstanding - A great book for Sports Fans & Thinkers Alike

What a wonderful and unique addition to the world of sports publishing. Not only are there facts galore that educate even a highly knowledgeable sports fan, the insights and analysis are unparrelled. I could not put it down. This amazing book by Professore Mandelbaum can be read on many levels (far more than I can probably grasp) and yet it appears approachable by anyone; be they sports fan, someone who questions why sports...

A wonderful read---pure pleasure and fascination

I loved this book for its beautiful writing, the clarity of the author's thinking, and the way it showed me why people love sports. I've given it to my father, a big time sports fan, who adored it, and my grandmother, who has lived with a sports fan for more than 60 years, and she loved it, too. Whether you love sports or don't understand what the big deal is, this is a great read, pure pleasure. You'll learn a lot whether...

a terrific read--and not just for sports fans

Michael Mandelbaum, who happens to be one of the country's leading experts on international politics, offers here a beautiful written, engaging account of the history of America's three major sports: baseball, football, and basketball. Sports enthusiasts will love this book, but so will those--like me--who have only a passing interest in sports, or none at all, for Mandelbaum not only tells us about the colorful personalities...