Free (Kindle/iTunes/ePub) Beyond the Dream [Pulitzer Winner Vintage Sports Reporting]

[ATDrake]

Beyond the Dream: Occasional Heroes in Sports by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ira Berkow (Wikipedia) is a collection of his vintage sports reporting columns for the Newspaper Enterprise Association which probably eventually helped him win* said Pulitzer, free courtesy of publisher Diversion Books, who are re-printing the original 1975 Atheneum hardcover with a special anniversary introduction.

This is actually pretty nifty, and a pretty good overview of mid-century North American sports history, at least on the personal performative level. And as the author himself kind of mentions in the new intro, it's interesting to see which celebrity sports figures have stood the test of time, while others who may have had greater athletic ability have fallen into obscurity since their heyday.

Currently free @ Amazon (available to Canadians & in the UK), iTunes & Google Play (both available to Canadians).

And this has been the selected 3rd (non-repeat) free ebook thread of the day.

Because it's always nice to get quality non-fiction, especially probably-prize-winning quality non-fiction.

Enjoy!

Description
One of sportswriting’s greatest luminaries paints a stirring portrait of the athlete.

In his career as a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Ira Berkow has chronicled the life of an athlete at every level of competition. There are the kids on neighborhood fields and courts, dreaming of stardom. There are the rookies, finally playing in the top leagues on the planet, learning to walk before they can run, before they can soar. There are the superstars, dominating their sports. There are the once-greats, now using experience and wisdom where once athletic prowess was enough. And there are the retirees, those whose glory days are behind them, either ballasted or burdened by legacy.

There are also those who orbit the athlete, from writers to broadcasters, from promoters to fans. And there are those who never made it, who fell short or burned out.

Ira Berkow looks at all of these men and women, through the lens of remarkable careers of some of sports greatest athletes: Muhammad Ali, Ted Williams, Chris Evert, Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, Joe DiMaggio, Hank Aaron, and countless others. The result of these seventy-three insightful, engaging, and wildly entertaining pieces is no ordinary view of sports but a composite of all games, all athletes, and the good and the bad in a life in sports.

* Or at least get the nom "for thoughtful commentary on the sports scene".