February 23, 2010 Blog Tour: The Greatest Moments in Sports
What do you consider the greatest moment in sports? When the Red Sox finally won the World Series? When the US Hockey Team defeated the Soviets?
Renowned sportcaster Len Berman offers readers his 50 greatest sports moments in Sourcebooks’ The Greatest Moments in Sports, now in bookstores. I looked forwarded to reading this because I rarely review “boy” books and this is one I know boys would definitely enjoy.
Inside are Berman’s handpicked greatest moments. Keeping in mind that greatest is subjective, Berman’s introduction explains these are “great” because of the drama involved or the historical impact, etc.
…if they can’t even agree on who thought up America’s pastime, then who can really say what the greatest moments in sports history were? Well, for one, I can! I’ve seen a few sports events in my day: lots of World Series, Super Bowls, and Olympics. You may or may not agree with my choices, but for each moment, I’ll tell you why I thought it was one of the greatest. It could be the drama of the moment. Perhaps it was historical or just plain amazing.
What really connects this book to the reader is the enclosed CD. There’s 12 tracks, and listeners get to hear actual broadcasts from the event. Before each broadcast, Berman offers an introduction and puts the event in context for the reader. His enthusiasm for sports is evident, as he eagerly discusses each moment, such as Secretariat winning the Triple Crown.
The layout of this book is really attractively done, with large images and text over them. Various colors and info sidebars with historical info, player stats, and other information throughout. I particularly like the use of arrows, calling your attention to important information quickly.
I learned quite a bit from this book. Prior to reading, I wasn’t really familiar with Jackie Robinson or knew that Secretariat was nicknamed “Big Red.” The historical range of the events was great too, with as early as the 1940s and as recently as 2008 covered. Most of all, I love the nonchalant style Berman has throughout the book, perfect for the sports-crazed fan as well as a casual reader curious about sports history. With a nice flow and stories presented in an entertaining manner, it’s a fun read.
You can view author Len Berman’s website at www.thatssports.com/
Copy for review provided by the publisher.
Title: Greatest Moments in Sports
Author: Len Berman
Date: 2009
Publisher: Sourcebooks’ Jabberwocky Kids
Pages:136
- 2 comments
- Posted under Uncategorized
Permalink #
Gina
said
Enjoyed the review! I too rarely read what I would classify as a more typical boy book (probably works the same way for guys though), but a little knowledge about an unfamiliar subject can come in handy. I remember reading a book last year about about a baseball great…great to those that knew of him, which I did not. It was a children’s book and the writing style was rather unique which of course has kept it memorable for me. Now I can’t quote stats or the teams by state, but I can say I enjoyed the book and the knowledge it imparted. Glad to see that this one reached you as well…and the CD of broadcasts, definitely a nice touch!
Happy reading! =0)
Permalink #
Dan
said
I would agree that the US beating the Soviets in the 1980 Olympic Hockey game is the greatest moment in sports. It was essentially the Cold War played out on ice, and never do I remember an entire country growing so close together because of one athletic game. It was an incredible experience.