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allyson_e's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
elevitre's review against another edition
5.0
Well Told Stories
More than just about sports, the author provides intimate insight and detail about several sports figures and their trials or tribulations. Allows you to relate to some while reflecting about your own personal accomplishments and what you sacrificed to get them.
More than just about sports, the author provides intimate insight and detail about several sports figures and their trials or tribulations. Allows you to relate to some while reflecting about your own personal accomplishments and what you sacrificed to get them.
steve_sanders's review against another edition
5.0
Like John McPhee and Richard Ben Cramer, Thompson is not so much a sports writer as he writer who uses sports to elicit profound portraits of what it means to be human.
itsmarkyall's review against another edition
5.0
There’s no sports writer alive who writes with the kind of emotion Wright Thompson does. Read the last chapter and do your best not to cry.
mschills's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.0
cshee329's review against another edition
5.0
This book stands on its own merits as a great short story collection but as a sports book as well, it's pure bliss. I found Wright Thompsom's writing style very captivating, he makes larger-than-life athletes so human and relatable and in general, is just a gifted storyteller. It feels like you're listening to an old friend the way his words come together. He covers the greats like Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods, but I was pleasantly surprised at my interest in other figures, such as Dan Gable, ones I might have not come across in my own time. What I enjoy the most about this book is how the stars and the athletes are kind of a backdrop to a much deeper exploration of stories and themes: The cost of being great in pro-sports, reconciling with being great no longer and the pure magic-power sports have of bringing us together and tearing us apart. Still early but will probably be one of my favorite books this year.
timhoiland's review against another edition
4.0
While I enjoy watching sports (some more than others), I don't read a lot of sports journalism. Yes, there are exceptions, chief among them The New Yorker's Roger Angell and The Guardian's Barney Ronay. Add Wright Thompson to that list.
In The Cost of These Dreams, a collection of his writing from ESPN The Magazine, Thompson obsesses over what drives the people who inspire us on the diamond, the pitch, the court. He wants to learn – wants us to see – the price they pay to become living legends, superstars, myths. His opening piece on Michael Jordan pairs well with The Last Dance documentary miniseries from last year. The inner forces that made MJ so good at basketball leave him completely ill-suited for normal middle-aged life.
Later, we spend time in Lionel Messi's hometown of Rosario, Argentina, where nobody seems to know what to make of the wunderkind who left for Europe before he could grow up (literally). The goings-on in Leo's heart and mind remain a mystery to his closest friends, possibly inaccessible even to himself.
One is left with the distinct impression that "the cost of these dreams" is, for the most part, entirely too high.
In The Cost of These Dreams, a collection of his writing from ESPN The Magazine, Thompson obsesses over what drives the people who inspire us on the diamond, the pitch, the court. He wants to learn – wants us to see – the price they pay to become living legends, superstars, myths. His opening piece on Michael Jordan pairs well with The Last Dance documentary miniseries from last year. The inner forces that made MJ so good at basketball leave him completely ill-suited for normal middle-aged life.
Later, we spend time in Lionel Messi's hometown of Rosario, Argentina, where nobody seems to know what to make of the wunderkind who left for Europe before he could grow up (literally). The goings-on in Leo's heart and mind remain a mystery to his closest friends, possibly inaccessible even to himself.
One is left with the distinct impression that "the cost of these dreams" is, for the most part, entirely too high.
x_z's review against another edition
4.0
The cost of these dreams
Dec 2022: 4*
All of the interesting stuff is in the space between where I perceive myself and how others perceive me.
How cool would it be to get MJ into bridge again? Would be huge for the game. If there’s any way of contacting him, I’d send email or letter. Dedicated drive - more mental than puzzles or games. He’d love it as he’s so damn competitive. He’d get so hooked and good. Maybe even tell him Zia quote about hard to be world class if didn’t start young.
Loved Tiger one.
Aug 2021: 5*
Fascinating. Mesmerizing. I cried multiple times.
Story at end about his dad and Augusta hit home.
Saints and NOLA story made me cry at the beginning. he captured the dome energy gleason block so well. Benson and lemon fb coach. Amazing.
Tiger one was captivating, sad af at end, tortured soul
V good one about the Ole Miss 1962 team.
Urban Meyer one was really good, Pat Riley one OK, MJ one awesome--in Cornell Club gym I remember!
This was a great one to listen to. 10/10. Want to buy for Dad for his bday.
Dec 2022: 4*
All of the interesting stuff is in the space between where I perceive myself and how others perceive me.
How cool would it be to get MJ into bridge again? Would be huge for the game. If there’s any way of contacting him, I’d send email or letter. Dedicated drive - more mental than puzzles or games. He’d love it as he’s so damn competitive. He’d get so hooked and good. Maybe even tell him Zia quote about hard to be world class if didn’t start young.
Loved Tiger one.
Aug 2021: 5*
Fascinating. Mesmerizing. I cried multiple times.
Story at end about his dad and Augusta hit home.
Saints and NOLA story made me cry at the beginning. he captured the dome energy gleason block so well. Benson and lemon fb coach. Amazing.
Tiger one was captivating, sad af at end, tortured soul
V good one about the Ole Miss 1962 team.
Urban Meyer one was really good, Pat Riley one OK, MJ one awesome--in Cornell Club gym I remember!
This was a great one to listen to. 10/10. Want to buy for Dad for his bday.
vannl95's review against another edition
5.0
This was my second time going through this book, except I listened to most of it through the audiobook version. Wright Thompson is the greatest sports writer of our generation. My favorite story this time around was, "The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived On," a story about Claudia Williams, daughter of Red Sox star Ted Williams, struggling to find herself by mending her broken relationship with her father.