Body Politic: The Great American Sports Machine

As a professional sportswriter, Shields (Black Planet: Facing Race During an NBA Season) does more than simply record wins and losses, and in this volume, he takes a serious look at how Americans view sports. He analyzes the temperament, behavior and attitudes of both players and coaches. He is especially interested in clashes--racial, cultural and regional. When writing about basketball, Shields wonders about the prevalence of black players, many of whom grew up without a father. As he discusses the skirmishes between blacks and whites, he observes,""Black players, especially, get tired of, especially, white coaches yipping at them. Players complain that most coaches don't speak to them 'man to man' most coaches can't fathom how their tirades can carry racial connotations to players."" With stylish prose, Shields also discusses, among others, basketball legend Charles Barkley, Seattle Mariners' right fielder Ichiro Suzuki, and Kayla Burt, a college basketball player whose promising career was curtailed by heart surgery. Shields's polished writing and his coverage of more significant matters than just a win--race relations, teamwork, etc.--is solid. Had the book a more unified theme, instead of reading like individual essays, it would have wider appeal.