FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME: My Story
By Michael Jordan, edited by Mark Vancil
Crown/Rare Air, 156 pages, $50
Even though he has been the subject of countless books, articles and essays, the Bulls’ Michael Jordan remains a singularly enigmatic individual. In this graphically stunning “visual autobiography,” basketball’s greatest player looks back at his career and tries to fill in some of the blanks left in the media’s worshipful coverage of his every on- and off-court move.
Although it’s difficult to tell how much of his inner self he’s truly revealing, Jordan does seem sincere in his ruminations about the game, his fellow athletes, the roots of his animosity for Bulls General Manager Jerry Krause and Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, his relationship with ex-coach Phil Jackson, his feelings for his family and his bankroll, and the lessons he learned from his late father.
“For the Love of the Game” is a feast for the eyes as well. Filled with glorious photos and informative stats packages, the kinetic artistic design is a perfect complement to the breezy commentary.
THE CHICAGO BULLS ENCYCLOPEDIA
By Alex Sachare
Contemporary, 308 pages, $39.95
Only time will tell which championship ring actually will turn out to be Bulls’ last, but this seems as good a time as any to step back and reflect on the history of the franchise, which has made a remarkable transition from the dregs to dynasty.
If all anyone knows of Chicago’s team are the seasons when No. 23 captured the imagination of the sporting world, this informative and entertaining reference work will come as something of a revelation. The Bulls’ pre-Jordan history may not be as storied and glamorous as that of the Celtics, but it does have its moments. The careers of such gritty stars as Norm Van Lier, Bob Love, Jerry Sloan and Chet Walker are documented alongside the stories of today’s heroes, and Alex Sachare also offers comments on the rivalries, coaches, drafts, trades and key games.
Also noteworthy: Michael Jordan’s 50 Greatest Games, by Tribune writer Bob Condor (Citadel, 259 pages, $16.95), ranks the superstar’s best performances and provides detailed evidence to support the choices. Six Times as Sweet, by Jan Hubbard (HarperCollins, 112 pages, $16.95), is a tightly focused look at the playoff series that brought the Bulls their double triple in world championships.
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BASEBALL
By Joseph Wallace
Abrams, 224 pages, $35
This handsome, large-format book is a perfect companion to the many “instant” paperbacks that have been published in the wake of the record-shattering year enjoyed by Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and the Yankees. Joseph Wallace, who previously edited “The Baseball Anthology” for Abrams, tells the story of the pastime in the words of its greatest players. The anecdotes and insights are culled from the stars’ autobiographies and long-forgotten interviews from newspapers and magazines of the period. The effect is not unlike that of an oral history, in which statistics take a back seat to memories, and legends from the past seem to occupy the same space in time as today’s greats. Terrific photos accompany chapters on hitting, pitching, defense and the mental game.
THE SPORTING NEWS SELECTS . . . BASEBALL’S 100 GREATEST PLAYERS
By Ron Smith
Sporting News, 224 pages, $29.95
If anyone should feel comfortable annointing a relative handful of stars out of the 15,000 men who have played baseball at the major-league level, it’s the editors of the 112-year-old Sporting News. The weekly magazine has documented the sport like no other publication, and it offers plenty of wisdom to back up the book’s selections, which range from Babe Ruth to Early Wynn. (Home-run king McGwire, this year’s hero, is No. 91.) Also fun are the sidebar lists that accompany the individual essays.
Also noteworthy: Race for the Record, by Lee R. Schreiber (HarperCollins, 120 pages, $19.95), in which Major League Baseball officially commemorates the epochal home-run contest between McGwire and Sosa. Sammy’s Season, with photos from the Chicago Cubs and Chicago Tribune (Contemporary, 106 pages, $14.95), focuses on Senor Swat’s magnificent MVP campaign, with an introduction by Tribune columnist Skip Bayless.
THE OFFICIAL BOOK OF FIGURE SKATING
From the U.S. Figure Skating Association
Simon & Schuster, 266 pages, $30
This comprehensive coffee-table book follows the sport from its emergence in the mid-19th Century to today, as figure skating has become a showcase event at the Olympics and a major entertainment draw on TV. The editors focus on the memorable stars, but plenty of room is left for diagrams of jumps and spins, and explanations of the rules and judging concerns. Young skaters will find this to be an essential reference guide to their sport (they can, for example, learn how to create a dance routine), while older fans will enjoy the colorful takes on history, technique and personalities.
A CENTURY OF GOLF: Western Golf Association 1899-1999
By Tim Cronin
Sleeping Bear, 257 pages
This is a surprisingly lean year for large-format golf books, but Michigan’s Sleeping Bear Press is doing its usual fine job keeping the shelves full of titles that appeal to the mind, as well as the eye.
Of particular interest to Chicago-area enthusiasts is “A Century of Golf,” published in advance of the centennial of the Western Golf Association, which sponsors the Western Open and, each year, provides more than 800 Evans Scholarships to caddies. In effect, the book represents a history of golf in Chicago and environs, as well as an exhaustive study of the organization and its tournaments. Some of the sport’s top professionals offer personal reminiscences of their participation in the Open.
Also from Sleeping Bear are Calvin H. Sinnette’s Forbidden Fairways, which examines the difficulties blacks face in their pursuit of acceptence in the sport; Champion in a Man’s World, David E. Outerbridge’s biography of women’s golf pioneer Marion Hollins; and Cal Brown’s Masters Memories.
WOMEN WHO WIN: Stories of Triumph in Sports and Life
By Christina Lessa
Universe, 152 pages, $27.50
In candid photographs and inspirational biographical sketches, Christina Lessa celebrates the accomplishments of women who have excelled in sports ranging from the traditional–figure skating, swimming, track and field–to such outsider events as drag racing and boxing. We meet pioneers like driver Shirley Muldowney, diver Pat McCormick and jockey Julie Krone, as well as several young women whose dreams were allowed to come true only through the passage of Title IX, in 1972. Anyone who doubts what can be accomplished through perseverance–and no small amount of athleticism–will find this graphically elegant volume fascinating and instructive.
TOTAL HOCKEY: The Official Encyclopedia of the NHL
Edited by Dan Diamond
Total Sports, 1,888 pages, $49.95
At 1,888 pages, “Total Hockey” easily wins our annual Doorstop Award. This formidable reference work took three years to compile, and contains just about everything one could possibly care to know about the sport as played at the professional level. That means complete statistical panels for every player and goaltender to appear in a game since 1917-18; data on power-play, shorthand and game-winning goals; an NHL timeline; analysis of drafts; and team histories. This won’t be found among the more colorful volumes on bookstore shelves, but it’s essential for winning trivia contests and passing Canadian citizenship exams.
TALKING IRISH: The Oral History of Notre Dame
By Steve Delsohn
Avon, 364 pages, $24
MICHIGAN MEMORIES
By Bo Schembechler
Sleeping Bear, 206 pages, $45
No two schools in the country have richer football traditions–or more devoted fans–than Notre Dame and Michigan. These books certainly will fill a niche for those who just can’t get enough of the lore of their alma maters, through thick and thin.
In “Talking Irish,” Steve Delsohn interviews players, coaches, faculty members and reporters who can bear witness to the glory–and some of the missteps–of the Notre Dame program over the last 60 years. This includes discussions with such influential figures as Johnny Lujack, Lou Holtz, Joe Theismann and Joe Montana. A bit farther north, Bo Schembechler served the maize-and-blue for 21 seasons, and likewise oversaw a productive football machine. These pages contain his reminiscences of life as a player and coach, and, like the man, are neither flashy nor likely to be greatly appreciated outside the lower peninsula of Michigan.
Also noteworthy: This has been a pretty good season for football fiction. The Chicago Review Press recently published Football’s Best Short Stories, which includes pieces by Don DeLillo, John Updike, T. Coraghessan Boyle, Damon Runyan and Frank Deford. From Doubleday come two well-received novels: If I Don’t Six, by Elwood Reid, an unsparing look at the college game, and Rude Behavior, Dan Jenkins’ sequel to the uproarious “Semi-Tough” and “Life Its Ownself.” USA Today columnist Tim Green has also penned a gridiron thriller, The Red Zone, for Warner Books. All are entertaining.
