Lists of Bests: Sports Illustrated's Top 100 Sports Books of All Time http://www.listsofbests.com/list/58 In the early 1900s editor Maxwell Perkins told anyone who would listen that Chicago sports columnist Ring Lardner was the most talented writer he knew, high praise given that Perkins' stable included Hemingway, Fitzgerald and Thomas Wolfe. It shouldn't have come as a shock, though. Many of the country's best writers have long been fascinated with sports, and that passion shows up in their prose. After all, when done right, sportswriting transcends bats and balls to display all the traits of great literature: incision, wit, force and vision, suffused with style and substance. Herewith the editors of Sports Illustrated's favorite sports books, compiled with love and reason, out of intense and sometimes unruly discussions. Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:13:20 GMT en-us 0 50 100 50 0 The Sweet Science http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/64991 <div id="position">1</div><div class="place-image-placeholder"><span class="qm">*</span></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by A. J. Liebling</div> The Boys of Summer http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/1442 <div id="position">2</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/1442"><img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0060956348.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Roger Kahn</div> Ball Four http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/119 <div id="position">3</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/119"><img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0020306652.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_V1121981392_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Jim Bouton</div> Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/5589 <div id="position">4</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/5589"><img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0306809907.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by H. G. Bissinger</div> YOU KNOW ME AL http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65807 <div id="position">5</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65807"><img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0020223420.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Ring Lardner</div> Season on the Brink http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65808 <div id="position">6</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65808"><img src="http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/0671688774.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by John Feinstein</div> SEMI-TOUGH http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/19812 <div id="position">7</div><div class="place-image-placeholder"><span class="qm">*</span></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Jenkins</div> Paper Lion: Confessions of a Last-String Quarterback http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/32702 <div id="position">8</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/32702"><img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/1592280153.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by George Plimpton</div> The Game http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65809 <div id="position">9</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65809"><img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0771576730.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Ken Dryden</div> Fever Pitch http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/31239 <div id="position">10</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/31239"><img src="http://ec2.images-amazon.com/images/P/1573226882.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Nick Hornby</div> A River Runs through It and Other Stories, Twenty-fifth Anniversary Edition http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/5008 <div id="position">11</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/5008"><img src="http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/0226500667.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Norman Maclean</div> Seabiscuit: An American Legend http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/8904 <div id="position">12</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/8904"><img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0375502912.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by LAURA HILLENBRAND</div> Loose Balls: The Short, Wild Life of the American Basketball Association-As Told by the Players, Coaches, and Movers and Shakers Wh http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65810 <div id="position">13</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65810"><img src="http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/0671749218.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_V1056463707_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Terry Pluto</div> Bang the Drum Slowly http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65811 <div id="position">14</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65811"><img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0803272219.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_.gif" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Mark Harris</div> Heaven Is a Playground http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65812 <div id="position">15</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65812"><img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0803294271.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Rick Telander</div> Levels of the Game http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65813 <div id="position">16</div><div class="place-image-placeholder"><span class="qm">*</span></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by John McPhee</div> Breaks of the Game http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65814 <div id="position">17</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65814"><img src="http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/0345296257.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_.gif" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by David Halberstam</div> The Summer Game (Unabridged) http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65815 <div id="position">18</div><div class="place-image-placeholder"><span class="qm">*</span></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Roger Angell</div> The Long Season http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65816 <div id="position">19</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65816"><img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/1566634180.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_V1082484886_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Jim Brosnan</div> Instant Replay: The Green Bay Diary of Jerry Kramer http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65817 <div id="position">20</div><div class="place-image-placeholder"><span class="qm">*</span></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Jerry Kramer</div> Everybody's All-American http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65818 <div id="position">21</div><div class="place-image-placeholder"><span class="qm">*</span></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Frank Deford</div> Fat City (California Fiction) http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65819 <div id="position">22</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65819"><img src="http://ec3.images-amazon.com/images/P/0520206576.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_V1056450164_.gif" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Leonard Gardner</div> The City Game: Basketball from the Garden to the Playgrounds http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65820 <div id="position">23</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65820"><img src="http://ec2.images-amazon.com/images/P/0803259344.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Pete Axthelm</div> Natural http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65821 <div id="position">24</div><div class="place-image-placeholder"><span class="qm">*</span></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Bernard Malamud</div> North Dallas Forty http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65822 <div id="position">25</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65822"><img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/1892129892.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Peter Gent</div> When Pride Still Mattered : A Life Of Vince Lombardi http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/19623 <div id="position">26</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/19623"><img src="http://ec2.images-amazon.com/images/P/0684870185.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by David Maraniss</div> Babe: The Legend Comes to Life http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65823 <div id="position">27</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65823"><img src="http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/067176070X.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Robert Creamer</div> The Golf Omnibus http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65824 <div id="position">28</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65824"><img src="http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/0517057948.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by P.G. Wodehouse</div> About Three Bricks Shy...And the Load Filled Up http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65825 <div id="position">29</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65825"><img src="http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/0345364414.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_V1056436961_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Jr Roy Blount</div> A Fan's Notes http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/18622 <div id="position">30</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/18622"><img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0679720766.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_V1114009736_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Frederick Exley</div> Joe DiMaggio: The Hero's Life http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65826 <div id="position">31</div><div class="place-image-placeholder"><span class="qm">*</span></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Richard Ben Cramer</div> The Game They Played http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65827 <div id="position">32</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65827"><img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0786708212.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_V1056488281_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Stanley Cohen</div> Veeck--As In Wreck: The Autobiography of Bill Veeck http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65828 <div id="position">33</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65828"><img src="http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/0226852180.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Bill Veeck</div> Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/45201 <div id="position">34</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/45201"><img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0671612972.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Ben Hogan</div> The Worst Journey in the World http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65829 <div id="position">35</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65829"><img src="http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/0786704373.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Apsley Cherry-Garrard</div> Beyond a boundary http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65830 <div id="position">36</div><div class="place-image-placeholder"><span class="qm">*</span></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by C. L. R James</div> A false spring http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/45020 <div id="position">37</div><div class="place-image-placeholder"><span class="qm">*</span></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Pat Jordan</div> Life on the Run http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65831 <div id="position">38</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65831"><img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0679762086.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_V1128020909_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Bill Bradley</div> The Red Smith reader http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65832 <div id="position">39</div><div class="place-image-placeholder"><span class="qm">*</span></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Red Smith</div> An Outside Chance: Classic and New Essays on Sport http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65833 <div id="position">40</div><div class="place-image-placeholder"><span class="qm">*</span></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Thomas McGuane</div> The unforgettable season (Fireside sports classic) http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65834 <div id="position">41</div><div class="place-image-placeholder"><span class="qm">*</span></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Gordon H Fleming</div> The Celebrant http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65835 <div id="position">42</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65835"><img src="http://ec2.images-amazon.com/images/P/0803270372.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Eric Rolfe Greenberg</div> Big Red of Meadow Stable: Secretariat, the making of a champion http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65836 <div id="position">43</div><div class="place-image-placeholder"><span class="qm">*</span></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by William Nack</div> Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65837 <div id="position">44</div><div class="place-image-placeholder"><span class="qm">*</span></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Bill James</div> End Zone http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/42584 <div id="position">45</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/42584"><img src="http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/0140085688.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_V1132599554_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Don DeLillo</div> Foul! The Connie Hawkins Story http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/1936269 <div id="position">46</div><div class="place-image-placeholder"><span class="qm">*</span></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by David Wolf</div> Shoeless Joe http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/11412 <div id="position">47</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/11412"><img src="http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/0395957737.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_V1077689569_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by W. P. Kinsella</div> Into Thin Air : A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/10331 <div id="position">48</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/10331"><img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0385492081.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by JON KRAKAUER</div> Eight Men Out: The Black Sox and the 1919 World Series http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/45840 <div id="position">49</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/45840"><img src="http://ec2.images-amazon.com/images/P/0805065377.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Eliot Asinof</div> Baseball's Great Experiment: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65838 <div id="position">50</div><div class="item-image" style="padding:3px;float:left;"><a href="http://www.allconsuming.net/item/view/65838"><img src="http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/0195106202.01._SCTHUMBZZZ_V61386304_.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-size: 12px;"> by Jules Tygiel</div>