cover image The Minority Quarterback: And Other Lives in Sports

The Minority Quarterback: And Other Lives in Sports

Ira Berkow, Berkow IRA. Ivan R. Dee Publisher, $26 (320pp) ISBN 978-1-56663-422-9

Pulitzer Prize winning New York Times sports columnist Ira Berkow gathers some of his best recent reportage in The Minority Quarterback and Other Lives in Sports. His pieces focus on the exploits of everyone from Michael Jordan to high school athletes, dealing as often with issues like teen suicide, murder trials and drug use as with athletic prowess, game highlights or statistics. Standouts include The End of Gil McDougal's Silent Seasons, an emotional piece about the former Yankee's hearing loss, and The Minority Quarterback, a piece that details the experiences of a white quarterback at the traditionally black Southern University. (May)