Juicing the Game: Drugs, Power, and the Fight for the Soul of Major League Baseball - Softcover

Bryant, Howard

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0452287413 ISBN 13: 9780452287419

Publisher: Plume, 2006

Synopsis

In Juicing the Game, award-winning journalist Howard Bryant offers the only big-picture look at the insidious manner in which performance-enhancing drugs infested baseball as the game’s leaders stood idly by, reaping the rewards.

Combining hard-hitting investigative journalism with interviews with baseball heavyweights such as Jason Giambi, Commissioner Bud Selig, union head Donald Fehr, and Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson among many others, Juicing the Game is the definitive book on both the steroid scandal and the era it has irreversibly tainted. BACKCOVER: “A rich and measured tale of the last dishonest decade . . . No more comprehensive, balanced or fair account exists. Bryant carefully and powerfully builds his case. The self-inflicted catastrophe could have no better chronicler.”
—Los Angeles Times 

“If there ever was a ‘must read’ sports book of its time, this is it. Because of the undeniable truths it tells, Bryant’s book is essential reading.”
—The Washington Post Book World

About this title

From the Back Cover

Praise for Juicing the Game

"A Smart, savvy appraisal . . . Mr. Bryant's book is informed by a deep knowledge of baseball history. And it's valuable not only for its lucid, unvarnished account of the steroid scandal and its long-term consequences for the game, but also for putting that scandal in context. Powerful and unsettling."
-Michiko Kakutani, New York Times

"If ever there was a 'must read' sports book of its time, this is it. Because of the undeniable truths it tells, Bryant's book is essential reading."
-Washington Post Book World

"A rich and measured tale of the last dishonest decade . . . No more comprehensive, balanced or, yes, fair account exists. The self-inflicted catastrophe could have no better chronicler than Howard Bryant in his Juicing the Game. The damage done to the national sport will resound for years"
-Los Angeles Times

"This might be the most thorough and unnerving look at any sport ever written." -The Portland Oregonian

"Juicing the Game is about so much more than baseball that it will speak to any reader concerned with substance abuse, the power of politicians, the influence of scientists, the frustrations of whistle-blowers, the role of journalists, the impact of professional athletes on youngsters, and-it's tempting to say-truth, justice, and the American way. It is a remarkable book: well-reported, compellingly written, a narrative breathtaking in scope."
-Christian Science Monitor

"An extraordinary book."
-New York Sun

"Well-timed and fantastically researched"
-Seattle Post-Intelligencer

"Howard Bryant has not suffered a sophomore slump after his award winning-book Shut Out: A Story of Race and Baseball in Boston. Juicing the Game [is] another thoughtful and comprehensive work addressing social issues in baseball . . . a complex and fascinating story."
-Boston Globe

"A masterpiece of investigative and sports journalism."
-Nashville City Paper

"An insightful examination . . . an excellent primer for hard-core baseball fans, as well as for casual readers who are interested in the anatomy of steroid use in baseball. Bryant details the growing crisis with skill."
-Rocky Mountain News

"Some of the best reporting on the steroid issue that any journalist has done."
-The (Newark, NJ) Star-Ledger

"A well-researched, thorough, and balanced look at all forms of power in baseball . . . Howard Bryant's Juicing gives anyone who loves baseball chapter and verse on how the game got to its current state."
-The Washington Times

"Juicing the Game by Howard Bryant is a great book. Not 'very good.' If Howard Bryant hadn't yet arrived as a sports author of the highest order, then let's be clear: He has now. This is the definitive history of major league baseball over the past 15 years . . . comprehensive yet concise, detailed yet clear, and a sobering yet breezy, captivating, page-turning read. Did I mention it's a great book?"
-The Hardball Times

"A must read for those who wish to look into the history of the business of baseball, and a great book for those who wish to delve into the state of the game as it struggles, yet again, to survive those who run it."
-Baseball Think Factory

"Important . . . strongly recommended."
-Library Journal

About the Author

Howard Bryant is the author of Shut Out: A Story of Race and Baseball in Boston, which was a finalist for the Society for American Baseball Research’s 2003 Seymour Medal, and Juicing the Game: Drugs, Power, and the Fight for the Soul of Major League Baseball. He is a senior writer for ESPN.com and ESPN the Magazine; appears regularly on ESPN’s The Sports Reporters, ESPN First Take, and Outside the Lines; and serves as sports correspondent for NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday. He lives in western Massachusetts.

Edition details

• Publisher: Plume
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0452287413
• ISBN 13: 9780452287419
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 480