The Sporting Life: Horses, Boxers, Rivers, and a Russian Ballclub

Bill Barich's widely praised work doesn't get any better than these intimate glimpses into the stories behind the stories, the real lives behind the public facade of the sporting world. Barich delves into both participatory and spectator sports, examining three different types of horse racing: down-and-dirty bush racing in Cajun country; an elegant steeplechase at Ascot, England, and a big-time Santa Anita thoroughbred heading for the Kentucky Derby; two boxers from radically opposite ends of the spectrum: Pat Lawlor struggling to make it in San Francisco, and Mike Tyson battling his emotions; two fly-fishing adventures on legendary California rivers; and the world's strangest baseball club, the Moscow Red Devils, barnstorming the United States with Soviet trinkets for sale and skills on par with a good American high school team. Every piece shines with Barich's distinctive voice, and approach that splendidly balances both enthusiasm and intelligence with healthy doses of humor. The result is the very best kind of sports writing - from one of the master prose stylists of our time. (61/4 X 91/4, 164 pages)