⇒ Download Free Welcome to the Terrordome The Pain Politics and Promise of Sports Dave Zirin 9781458722140 Books

Welcome to the Terrordome The Pain Politics and Promise of Sports Dave Zirin 9781458722140 Books

Download As PDF : Welcome to the Terrordome The Pain Politics and Promise of Sports Dave Zirin 9781458722140 Books

Welcome to the Terrordome The Pain Politics and Promise of Sports Dave Zirin 9781458722140 Books

At some level this is an antidote to all of the positive, happy-world sports writing that has been served up over the decades. I have read many books over the years emphasizing the owner as sportsman, the player as role model, and sports as a utopian meritocracy. There is enough truth in these characterizations so that they serve as useful messages dispensed by major sports about themselves. In short, they are propaganda.

"Welcome to the Terrordome: The Pain, Politics, and Promise of Sports" takes head-on this dominant narrative and offers an assessment of sports in the context of the politics of social change. It cannot fail but force one to rethink how they understand the history of sports in the United States and its larger societal dimensions. Dave Zirin, a freelance journalist who has written for the "Los Angeles Times" and the "Nation" magazine approaches his story as something of a muckraker, something of an investigative journalist, and something of an historian. He is more successful in the first two categories than in the last one, but taken altogether this book opens the door to some rather important aspects of modern sports in the U.S.

Zirin acknowledges that games are never just games, and sports are a significant arena for political, economic, and social justice. Divorcing these activities from the cultural messages embedded in them ill serves society as a whole. The author focuses on many well-known but less well-understood aspects of modern sports. In the process we are exposed to inequities and exploitation in baseball, the role of soccer as a world phenomenon and the place of players in social change, the NBA and racism and culture, the politics of the Olympics, power and privilege in sports, and related issues.

The most interesting parts of the book, at least for me, was the politics of the Olympics and especially the famous Black Power salute of Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 medal ceremony and what it meant for social justice around the world. Almost as interesting was a strong defense of Barry Bonds in the controversy over steroids and despite his not having been formally charged in any abuse his broad denunciation in American society. Zirin asserts, and I believe he is right in this assertion despite his not making the case conclusively, that Bonds is the target of astounding racism in a society that was supposedly past all of that. It's not, of course, and an ugly in-your-face reemergence of racism has manifested itself in the last few years.

This is an important book, but more for the heat that it generates then for the light. Zirin's passion is well articulated and powerfully visible. Bravo! His analysis is somewhat less reasoned. He is not quite another Howard Zinn, whose powerful alternative historical analysis of the U.S. has altered the thinking of millions though certainly not enough Americans. Zirin starts down that path, and succeeds to a degree. I'm looking forward to reading other works by Dave Zirin, and seeing what else is present to counteract the candy-coated master narrative of sports that we all know is both misleading and detrimental to the quest for justice in modern America.


Tags : Welcome to the Terrordome: The Pain, Politics, and Promise of Sports [Dave Zirin] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. This much-anticipated sequel to What's My Name, Fool? by acclaimed commentator Dave Zirin breaks new ground in sports writing,Dave Zirin,Welcome to the Terrordome: The Pain, Politics, and Promise of Sports,ReadHowYouWant,1458722147,Fiction - General,Fiction General,General

Welcome to the Terrordome The Pain Politics and Promise of Sports Dave Zirin 9781458722140 Books Reviews

what a tremendous book for anyone interested in sports, humanity, racism and the cracks in the american dream. this book is amazing. zirin doesn't hold back at all and sinks his teeth down to the bone. highly, highly reccomended.
Good book
Ordered this last week with very high hopes, finished it the next day and wow, was i surprised at how misleading the synopsis was, yes it did tell you some little known facts about sports but it was more the ranting and opinions, not facts, of a neo-liberal con.

Now i agree with everything said in the book actually but it seems more like short essays written by a college student than a book that should be published.

Maybe i am just too picky but eh, stear clear of this.
The politically charged sports book Welcome to the Terrordome by Dave Zirin. The book covers the connection between social and cultural issues and sports, and it's really a great read. Among the topics Zirin connects are race relations in baseball thru Roberto Clemente, public financing of stadiums and how politicians often exploit sports figures.

While the title suggests a book about public financing battles of sports arenas, it really is suggestive of a broader context of sports and poltics. If you are reading only for the stadium connection this book might be a disappointment, but otherwise it was a delightful bonus as Zirin hits many aspects of sports, sports figures and sports coverage in the context of politics and life.

Not a book for a sports fan, but more for politically aware and interested people who enjoy sports or understand the large role it plays in our society.

A very interesting book that will leave you thinking, observing and expanding how you see the sports world....and isn't that pretty much why you would read in the first place?

-Cudo

Additional comments related to sports entertainment and operation in the Gameops.com Editor's Blog, [...]
Amongst sports writers David Zirin is a man among boys. He hasn't just mastered a single aspect of the genre; he has reinvented it with the complete package, which is showcased in Welcome to the Terrordome. Zirin combines acerbic wit, original insights (which is rare in sports journalism), a higher understanding of 20th century social history and an infallible drive to deliver "untouched" goods (partly allowed I suspect by the nature of the non-profit publishing company of the book). It's a breath of fresh air as his motives are only to inform and influence and not to sell anything or apologize for anyone.

The best part of Zirin of course is his ability to recognize and extrapolate on sports as a microcosm for important societal issues such as race, social and economic inequality. While I don't necessarily agree with all of Zirin's opinions, I found myself often putting the book down just to logically think through his positions and how they refute or support my own beliefs. I consider myself well versed in both sports history and social history yet I constantly was introduced to new events, people and history within the varied topics Zirin covers (Bonds, Olympics, Ali, Cycling, Clemente, etc.). To top it off Zirin has a great sense of sarcasm and I laughed out loud numerous times throughout.

This book is important because it has a potential to reach an audience not normally associated with higher-level intellectualism; namely sports fanatics. This is part of Zirin's overall argument in the sense that he criticizes modern sports athletes for not using their leverage to tackle social issues but are instead highly paid slaves of the corporate world.

Bottom Line Full of energy and insight and should be read by anyone (including non-sports fan) who are interested in how the sports world is interconnected and related to various aspects of social justice. Genre defining.
At some level this is an antidote to all of the positive, happy-world sports writing that has been served up over the decades. I have read many books over the years emphasizing the owner as sportsman, the player as role model, and sports as a utopian meritocracy. There is enough truth in these characterizations so that they serve as useful messages dispensed by major sports about themselves. In short, they are propaganda.

"Welcome to the Terrordome The Pain, Politics, and Promise of Sports" takes head-on this dominant narrative and offers an assessment of sports in the context of the politics of social change. It cannot fail but force one to rethink how they understand the history of sports in the United States and its larger societal dimensions. Dave Zirin, a freelance journalist who has written for the "Los Angeles Times" and the "Nation" magazine approaches his story as something of a muckraker, something of an investigative journalist, and something of an historian. He is more successful in the first two categories than in the last one, but taken altogether this book opens the door to some rather important aspects of modern sports in the U.S.

Zirin acknowledges that games are never just games, and sports are a significant arena for political, economic, and social justice. Divorcing these activities from the cultural messages embedded in them ill serves society as a whole. The author focuses on many well-known but less well-understood aspects of modern sports. In the process we are exposed to inequities and exploitation in baseball, the role of soccer as a world phenomenon and the place of players in social change, the NBA and racism and culture, the politics of the Olympics, power and privilege in sports, and related issues.

The most interesting parts of the book, at least for me, was the politics of the Olympics and especially the famous Black Power salute of Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 medal ceremony and what it meant for social justice around the world. Almost as interesting was a strong defense of Barry Bonds in the controversy over steroids and despite his not having been formally charged in any abuse his broad denunciation in American society. Zirin asserts, and I believe he is right in this assertion despite his not making the case conclusively, that Bonds is the target of astounding racism in a society that was supposedly past all of that. It's not, of course, and an ugly in-your-face reemergence of racism has manifested itself in the last few years.

This is an important book, but more for the heat that it generates then for the light. Zirin's passion is well articulated and powerfully visible. Bravo! His analysis is somewhat less reasoned. He is not quite another Howard Zinn, whose powerful alternative historical analysis of the U.S. has altered the thinking of millions though certainly not enough Americans. Zirin starts down that path, and succeeds to a degree. I'm looking forward to reading other works by Dave Zirin, and seeing what else is present to counteract the candy-coated master narrative of sports that we all know is both misleading and detrimental to the quest for justice in modern America.