Gerald R. Gems, Boxing: A Concise History of the Sweet Science. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2014. Pp. 343, notes, bibliography, and index, black and white photographs.$40.00 hardback. Reviewed by Mac Ross In Boxing: A Concise History of the Sweet Science, Gerald R. Gems provides one of the most robust and ambitious history of the…
Tenney, John Darrin. Baseball in Territorial Arizona: A History, 1863-1912. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company, Inc., Publishers, 2016. Pp. 196. Bibliography, Notes, and 23 Photos. $29.95 paperback. Reviewed by Jorge Iber At the very start of his work, John Darrin Tenney describes for readers the extensive research conducted in order to produce this brief tome,…
Corzine, Nathan Michael. Team Chemistry: The History of Drugs and Alcohol in Major League Baseball. Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 2016. Notes, Selected Bibliography, Index. Pp. 248. $95.00 cloth, $19.99 paperback. Reviewed by Mercedes Townsend Earlier this month, we witnessed the Cubs win its first World Series since 1908, breaking the infamous “Billy Goat Curse.” The…
Stark, Douglas. Wartime Basketball: The Emergence of a National Sport during World War II. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 2016. Pp. 384. Notes, appendices, and index. $34.95 hardback. Reviewed by Cat Ariail As the Golden State Warriors marched toward 73 wins last season, basketball fans debated whether the Dubs were the greatest basketball team…
Leifer, Neil (with Diane K. Shah). Relentless: The Stories Behind the Photographs. Focus on American History Series. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2016. pp400 + 276 photos. $45. Reviewed by Andrew R.M. Smith Make no mistake—Neil Leifer entered the sports world through its stomach. His job as a delivery boy for the Stage Deli, erstwhile…
This post is a part of the series, “Sport History Rewind.” In this series, contributors revisit and reevaluate important texts to determine the degree to which their analyses, arguments, research, and influence resonate in the field today. Of particular concern is how well the works fit into historiographical debates and compare with more recent sport-related…
Luther, Jessica. Unsportsmanlike Conduct: College Football and the Politics of Rape. New York: Akashic, 2016. Pp. 247. Notes. $15.95 paperback. Reviewed by Noah Cohan Jessica Luther didn’t intend to make a career at the intersection of journalism, college football, and sexual assault. But not long after she started her sports blog, Power Forward, in 2011,[1]…
Kirschbaum, Erik. Soccer without Borders: Jurgen Klinsmann, Coaching the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team and the Quest for the World Cup. New York, NY: Picador Press, 2016. Pp. xxv+358. Author’s Note and Index. $25 hardcover. Reviewed by Cedrick G. Heraux Hired in July 2011 to coach the United States Men’s National Team (USMNT), Jurgen Klinsmann…
Guroff, Margaret. The Mechanical Horse: How the Bicycle Reshaped American Life. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2016. Pp. 295. Abbreviations, bibliography, notes, index, 10 b&w photos, and 5 b&w illustrations. $24.95 hardcover. Reviewed by Lindsay Parks Pieper I recently visited Washington, D.C., to conduct research in the Library of Congress. The proximity of the library…
Messner, Michael A. and Musto, Michela. Child’s Play: Sport in Kids’ Worlds. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 2016. Pp. 256. Notes, indexes, and appendices. $90, cloth, $29.95 paperback. Reviewed by Sam White Child’s Play: Sport in Kids’ Worlds is a welcome contribution to both the fields of Childhood Studies and Sport Studies. While primarily…
Sport in American History 