American Icon; The Fall of Roger Clemens and the Rise of Steroids in America's Pastime

Teri Thompson, Nathaniel Vinton, Michael O'Keeffe, Christian Red

ISBN 10: 0307271803 / ISBN 13: 9780307271808

Published by Alfred A. Knopf, New York, New York, U.S.A., 2009

About this Item

Alfred A. Knopf, New York. 2009. Hardcover. First Printing Stated. Book is tight, square, and unmarked. Book Condition: Fine. DJ: Fine. Red boards with black overlay on spine with bright gold lettering on spine. 454 pp. A biography of the epic downfall of Roger Clemens after the Mitchell Report showed that he relied on steroids and human growth hormone to assist his career. This is a story of the strongest examination of the rise of illegal drugs in America's favorite sport, the gym-rat culture in Texas that has played such an important role in spreading those drugs, and the way Congress has dealt with the entire issue. A clean pristine copy.

Seller Inventory # 002532

Bibliographic Details

• Title: American Icon; The Fall of Roger Clemens and the Rise of Steroids in America's Pastime
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf, New York, New York, U.S.A.
• Publication Date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0307271803
• ISBN 13: 9780307271808
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Fine
• Seller catalogs:
  • Baseball
  • Biographies

About this title

Synopsis

It was an epic downfall. In twenty-four seasons pitcher Roger Clemens put together one of the greatest careers baseball has ever seen. Seven Cy Young Awards, two World Series championships, and 354 victories made him a lock for the Hall of Fame. But on December 13, 2007, the Mitchell Report laid waste to all that. Accusations that Clemens relied on steroids and human growth hormone provided and administered by his former trainer, Brian McNamee, have put Clemens in the crosshairs of a Justice Department investigation.

Why did this happen? How did it happen? Who made the decisions that altered some lives and ruined others? How did a devastating culture of drugs, lies, sex, and cheating fester and grow throughout Major League Baseball's clubhouses? The answers are in these extraordinary pages.

American Icon: The Fall of Roger Clemens and the Rise of Steroids in America’s Pastime is about much more than the downfall of a superstar. While the fascinating portrait of Clemens is certainly at the center of the action, the book takes us outside the white lines and inside the lives and dealings of sports executives, trainers, congressmen, lawyers, drug dealers, groupies, a porn star, and even a murderer—all of whom have ties to this saga. Four superb investigative journalists have spent years uncovering the truth, and at the heart of their investigation is a behind-the-scenes portrait of the maneuvering and strategies in the legal war between Clemens and his accuser, McNamee.

This compelling story is the strongest examination yet of the rise of illegal drugs in America’s favorite sport, the gym-rat culture in Texas that has played such an important role in spreading those drugs, and the way Congress has dealt with the entire issue. Andy Pettitte, Jose Canseco, Alex Rodriguez, and Chuck Knoblauch are just a few of the other players whose moving and sometimes disturbing stories are illuminated here as well. The New York Daily News Sports Investigative Team has written the definitive book on corruption and the steroids era in Major League Baseball. In doing so, they have managed to dig beneath the disillusion and disappointment to give us a stirring look at heroes who all too often live unheroic shadow lives.

About the Author

Michael O’Keeffe, Christian Red, Teri Thompson, and Nathaniel Vinton (shown left to right) are the New York Daily News Sports Investigative Team, which has been at the forefront of the issue of performance-enhancing drugs since the team’s inception in 2000. One of the only investigative units of its kind in American sports journalism, the I-Team has won more than a dozen major awards for its work.