Examining baseball not just as a game but as a social, historical, and political force, this collection of sixteen essays looks at the sport from the perspectives of race, sexual orientation, economic power, social class, imperialism, nationalism, and international diplomacy. Together, the essays underscore the point that baseball is not just a form of entertainment but a major part of the culture and power struggles of American life as well as the nation's international footprint.

In Whats My Name, Fool? sports writer Dave Zirin shows how sports express the worst - and at times the most creative, exciting, and political - features of our society. Zirins sharp and insightful commentary on the personalities, politics, and history of American sports is unlike any sports writing being done today. Zirin explores how NBA brawls highlight tensions beyond the arena, how the bold stances taken by sports unions can chart a path for the entire labor movement, and the unexplored political stirrings of a new generation of athletes who are no longer content to just ''play one game at a time.'' Whats My Name, Fool? draws on original interviews with former heavyweight champ George Foreman, Olympic athlete John Carlos, NBA player and anti-death penalty activist Etan Thomas, antiwar womens college hoopster Toni Smith, Olympic Project for Human Rights leader Lee Evans and many others. It also unearths a history of athletes ranging from Jackie Robinson to Muhammad Ali to Billie Jean King, who charted a new course through their athletic ability and their outspoken views.

Major League Baseball returned to Washington, D.C., in 2005 and created a bang that no one had anticipated. The Washington Nationals enjoyed astonishing success from the get-go; by midseason they were in first place in the highly competitive National League East. The team, composed mainly of former Montreal Expos and managed by one of the best players in the history of the game—the feisty, outspoken Frank Robinson—captured the attention of baseball fans not just in the nation’s capital but throughout the country. Barry Svrluga, beat reporter for The Washington Post, has followed the saga of the Nationals from the early, intense wrangling over bringing the team to Washington to the surprising success of their first-ever season. Granted exclusive access to the team, he brings the players to life in wonderful anecdotes about their lives on and off the field, interviews fans from around the city, and offers his own astute analyses of the team’s ups and downs throughout the season. A savvy observer of both Washington and Major League politicking, he covers the conflicts that undermined the existence of a D.C. team for more than three decades, including battles about financing the franchise and the building of a new stadium (now scheduled to be completed in 2008), as well as bitter opposition from the neighboring Baltimore Orioles and others inside the baseball establishment.

Arguing about the merits of players is the baseball fan's second favorite pastime and every year the Hall of Fame elections spark heated controversy. In a book that's sure to thrill--and infuriate--countless fans, Bill James takes a hard look at the Hall, probing its history, its politics and, most of all, its decisions.

Sportscaster Howard Cosell dubbed it "rule number one of the jockocracy" sports and politics just don't mix. But in Game Over, celebrated alt-sportswriter Dave Zirin proves once and for all that politics has breached the modern sports arena with a vengeance. From the NFL lockout and the role of soccer in the Arab Spring to the Penn State sexual abuse scandals and Tim Tebow's on-field genuflections, this timely and hard-hitting new book from the "conscience of American sportswriting" (The Washington Post) reveals how our most important debates about class, race, religion, sex, and the raw quest for political power are played out both on and off the field. Game Over offers new insights and analysis of headline-grabbing sports controversies, exploring the shady side of the NCAA, the explosive 2011 MLB All-Star Game, and why the Dodgers crashed and burned. It covers the fascinating struggles of gay and lesbian athletes to gain acceptance, female athletes to be more than sex symbols, and athletes everywhere to assert their collective bargaining rights as union members. Zirin also illustrates the ways in which athletes are once again using their exalted platforms to speak out and reclaim sports from the corporate interests that have taken it hostage. In Game Over, he cheers the victories but also reflects on how far we have yet to go. Combining brilliant set pieces with a sobering overview of today's sports scene in Zirin's take-no-prisoners style, Game Over is a must read for anyone, sports fan or not, interested in understanding how sports reflect and shape society--and why the stakes have never been higher.

Award-winning author Matt Doeden explores the ways that sports have always had an impact on society.

"Baseball Rebels tells stories of reformers and radicals who were influenced by, and in turn influenced, America's broader political and social protest movements, including battles against racism, corporate control, worker exploitation, sexism and homophobia, and American militarism"--