Baugh, Peter. Force of Nature: Joe Sakic, A Star-Studded Team, and How the Colorado Avalanche Built a Stanley Cup Winner. New York: Triumph Books, 2022. Pp. 288. $19.99 paperback and e-book. Sometimes everything you need to know about a book is right there in the title and subtitle. Oftentimes authors try to make their books…
Wolff, Alexander. Big Game, Small World: A Basketball Adventure (Revised and Expanded Twentieth Anniversary Edition). Durham: Duke University Press, 2022. Pp. 424. $24.95 paperback and e-book. Originally reported during a transformative time for basketball in the 1990s, Alexander Wolff’s book was (and unfortunately still remains) a product of its time. However, despite a fascination with…
Aiello, Thomas. Hoops: A Cultural History of Basketball in America. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2022. Pp. 304. $34 paperback and e-book. Reviewed by Łukasz Muniowski Writing a comprehensive history of anything is a hard task, one requiring much discipline, devotion… and selection. Establishing what made a particular historical activity or development what it…
Moore, Louis. We Will Win the Day: The Civil Rights Movement, the Black Athlete, and the Quest for Equality. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2021. Pp. 260. $24.95 paperback and e-book. Reviewed by Łukasz Muniowski Louis Moore’s We Will Win the Day is the first book in a new series from the University Press of…
Wernicke, Luciano. Incredible World Cup Stories: Wildest Tales and Most Dramatic Moments from Uruguay 1930 to Qatar 2022. Sutherland House, 2022. Pp. 368. $24.95 paperback. Reviewed by Łukasz Muniowski Spanning almost 100 years, World Cup tournaments have been––without a doubt––some of the most exciting and popular sport competitions. Compiling just one book of stories about…
Wood, Keith Brian. Memphis Hoops: Race and Basketball in the Bluff City, 1968–1997. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2021. Pp. 218. $35.00 hardback and ebook. Reviewed by Łukasz Muniowski The first integrated high school game in Memphis took place on September 15, 1965, between all-white Catholic High and all-black Father Bertrand High. The game functions…
Stark, Douglas, ed. The James Naismith Reader. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2021. Pp. 251. $29.95. hardback and ebook. Reviewed by Łukasz Muniowski Basketball’s initial function was to correct and contain the seemingly endless energy of young students, who found themselves in need of physical and intellectual occupation during long and dark winter months in…
Kuska, Bob with Archie Clark. Shake & Bake: The Life and Times of NBA Great Archie Clark. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2021. Pp. 352. $29.95. hardback and ebook. Reviewed by Łukasz Muniowski Archie Clark is not the first, second, or third name that comes to mind when discussing NBA greats. He did not make the NBA…
Trutor, Clayton. Loserville: How Professional Sports Remade Atlanta––and How Atlanta Remade Professional Sports. Lincoln: Nebraska University Press, 2022. Pp. 504. $34.95 hardback and ebook. Reviewed by Łukasz Muniowski A major American city––one that is either in development or dealing with social, economic, or environmental issues––never fully “arrives” or “emerges” on the national map until it lands a…
Sharon Mazer. Professional Wrestling: Sport and Spectacle. Second Edition. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2020. Pp. 198. $30 paperback. Reviewed by Łukasz Muniowski From the beginning of her book, Professional Wrestling: Sport and Spectacle, which was originally published in 1998, Sharon Mazer makes it clear that she is just a tourist in the world of…
Sport in American History 