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sparklelys's review against another edition
5.0
With the near-infinite ability to search for any stat on our phones, there's no need for "bar debate" about what happened in a given game, with a certain player, at a precise moment. So let's have some better debates! What if Billie Jean King lost to Bobby Riggs? What if football were reinvented today? What if Major League Baseball had started testing for steroids in the early 1990s? What if track had basketball money?
adamrbrooks's review against another edition
4.0
I listen to Pesca every weekday, and especially like when he gets contrarian. And I liked the audio previews of this book (especially the Brooklyn Dodgers segment on NPR). But most of the book fell a little flat for me. Rather than being projections into alternate realities, they were mostly history lessons. Fatsis nailed his piece with emotion, Bois was fun (if too long) about basketball, and Hock and Jackson’s serious thoughts on changing how athletes are treated were definitely worth reading.
Maybe it’s like any collection of essays/short stories by various writers: if you’re finding something for everyone, not every thing will be to every reader’s liking.
(I should add that, yet again, Gladwell introduces something speculative, then immediately acts as if it’s establish fact. That’s his whole schtick!)
Maybe it’s like any collection of essays/short stories by various writers: if you’re finding something for everyone, not every thing will be to every reader’s liking.
(I should add that, yet again, Gladwell introduces something speculative, then immediately acts as if it’s establish fact. That’s his whole schtick!)
bclark8781's review against another edition
3.0
Not sure what I was expecting. Kind of cute. Some of the essays are interesting.
kburns2004's review against another edition
3.0
I thought this was a very interesting concept of a book. Skipped a few scenarios that didn't interest me. I really thought it was a thought-provoking book. Would recommend for anyone that is a fan of sports.
pharmdad2007's review against another edition
5.0
Fantastic collection of essays imagining some great scenarios. Some plausible, some iffy, some just for laughs, but all are delightful.
gls_merch's review against another edition
2.0
Interesting premise of reimagining key events in sports history to see how things would change, but the execution is quite uneven. With so many different writers taking a swing at it, you see a variety of outcomes. I enjoyed the highly researched approach of Ben Lindbergh as he looked at how baseball would change if stery testing were implemented earlier. I also enjoyed Jesse Eisenberg's fanciful tale on how he contributed to the Phoenix Sun's loss in the NBA Finals. However, most of the efforts seemed perfunctory and did not draw me in.
eely225's review against another edition
4.0
As several reviewers have noted, the challenge in summing up this book is its dramatic variability from essay to essay. It depends greatly on the particular interests of the reader, as many essays will be unable to capture personal interest, even if it does the service of offering sufficient context.
Still, I don't want to hold the book back too far based on its inclusion of topics that couldn't interest me anyway. It's going for breadth, and that's fine. Instead I'll note some general trends and identify some of the essays I liked best. Because there's no need to read this cover to cover; if an essay isn't working for you, there's no reason not to just skip it.
The essays break down into a few general categories:
1) What if this specific play/game had gone differently? Would things be different generally?
2) What if the weird, niche sport I like was as popular as the NFL?
3) What if the nature of the sport I like were different due to rule changes, either historical or projected into the future?
4) What if historical events outside the sport that impacted it were different?
5) Miscellaneous dalliances with the absurd.
For #1, the interest level will depend a lot on the reader. For those with no investment in certain games, players, franchises or sports, this will be unlikely to resonate. But for those that do like that thing, however, it can be intensely interesting.
#2 got the most uninteresting. Every author in this category seemed to dream about Lebron James playing the weird sport they like and it being on TV a lot. The good ones questioned whether the sport would still be likable in the same way.
#3 is some of the most broadly appealing. We may not know much about specific histories in sports, but most readers will have a general understanding of sports they don't follow. Seeing the chain of events that might follow from a fundamental reassessment of that sport's norms is a fun thought experiment.
#4 is often pretty good too, since these take broader social forces that emanated from and impacted sports in ways that non-fans can relate to.
#5 is deeply variable, mostly based on one's sense of humor. It crosses over with several categories, but clearly several authors felt more license to take the project other than fully seriously.
So here are some essays that typified what the book does well:
-What if Major League Baseball Had Started Testing for Steroids in 1991? by Ben Lindbergh
I'm a fan of the author, and this essay is the reason I checked out the book. It's a clear, statistically-driven analysis of the ways that we tend to overestimate the impact of the so-called Steroid Era on baseball.
-What if Football were Reinvented Today? by Nate Jackson
Football, as a sport, is at a strange place right now. It has a political edge that is impossible to ignore, and the ramifications of its health risks are becoming hard to ignore for more and more people. This essay, from a former NFL player, examines ways to retain the fundamental characteristics of the game while also making it safer and more exciting. Worth taking seriously.
-What if the Olympics Had Never Dropped Tug-of-War? by Nate DiMeo
One of the best absurd pieces, the author not only highlights a strange piece of Olympic trivia, he makes a ridiculous idea seem interesting by asking how the sport might have grown in stature as a political metaphor in the Cold War era.
-What if Basketball Rims were Smaller than Basketballs? by Jon Bois
Probably one of the few legitimately funny pieces, it simply consists of a broadcast of a basketball game in which scoring points is physically impossible, but everyone keeps trying.
At the end of the day, it's a fast read. It's likely that there's something here for most fans of sport, including some things you probably wouldn't think would catch your interest. Some drag and some won't catch your interest regardless, but you can just skip those.
Still, I don't want to hold the book back too far based on its inclusion of topics that couldn't interest me anyway. It's going for breadth, and that's fine. Instead I'll note some general trends and identify some of the essays I liked best. Because there's no need to read this cover to cover; if an essay isn't working for you, there's no reason not to just skip it.
The essays break down into a few general categories:
1) What if this specific play/game had gone differently? Would things be different generally?
2) What if the weird, niche sport I like was as popular as the NFL?
3) What if the nature of the sport I like were different due to rule changes, either historical or projected into the future?
4) What if historical events outside the sport that impacted it were different?
5) Miscellaneous dalliances with the absurd.
For #1, the interest level will depend a lot on the reader. For those with no investment in certain games, players, franchises or sports, this will be unlikely to resonate. But for those that do like that thing, however, it can be intensely interesting.
#2 got the most uninteresting. Every author in this category seemed to dream about Lebron James playing the weird sport they like and it being on TV a lot. The good ones questioned whether the sport would still be likable in the same way.
#3 is some of the most broadly appealing. We may not know much about specific histories in sports, but most readers will have a general understanding of sports they don't follow. Seeing the chain of events that might follow from a fundamental reassessment of that sport's norms is a fun thought experiment.
#4 is often pretty good too, since these take broader social forces that emanated from and impacted sports in ways that non-fans can relate to.
#5 is deeply variable, mostly based on one's sense of humor. It crosses over with several categories, but clearly several authors felt more license to take the project other than fully seriously.
So here are some essays that typified what the book does well:
-What if Major League Baseball Had Started Testing for Steroids in 1991? by Ben Lindbergh
I'm a fan of the author, and this essay is the reason I checked out the book. It's a clear, statistically-driven analysis of the ways that we tend to overestimate the impact of the so-called Steroid Era on baseball.
-What if Football were Reinvented Today? by Nate Jackson
Football, as a sport, is at a strange place right now. It has a political edge that is impossible to ignore, and the ramifications of its health risks are becoming hard to ignore for more and more people. This essay, from a former NFL player, examines ways to retain the fundamental characteristics of the game while also making it safer and more exciting. Worth taking seriously.
-What if the Olympics Had Never Dropped Tug-of-War? by Nate DiMeo
One of the best absurd pieces, the author not only highlights a strange piece of Olympic trivia, he makes a ridiculous idea seem interesting by asking how the sport might have grown in stature as a political metaphor in the Cold War era.
-What if Basketball Rims were Smaller than Basketballs? by Jon Bois
Probably one of the few legitimately funny pieces, it simply consists of a broadcast of a basketball game in which scoring points is physically impossible, but everyone keeps trying.
At the end of the day, it's a fast read. It's likely that there's something here for most fans of sport, including some things you probably wouldn't think would catch your interest. Some drag and some won't catch your interest regardless, but you can just skip those.
jerkstorecalling's review against another edition
4.0
This was equal parts fascinating and ridiculous, and I couldn't put it down.
bookishkate517's review against another edition
4.0
I have received this title via NetGalley and publishers in exchange for an honest review
This was such a unique book. It consisted of some many "what-if" scenarios, which is what every sports fan thinks at least once a season. Some of these stories were ones I had known of, but others I hadn't. I liked that it covered every sport we can imagine; hockey, baseball, basketball, chess, etc.
This was such a unique book. It consisted of some many "what-if" scenarios, which is what every sports fan thinks at least once a season. Some of these stories were ones I had known of, but others I hadn't. I liked that it covered every sport we can imagine; hockey, baseball, basketball, chess, etc.
christianhartman's review against another edition
3.0
3.75 stars. Constructing alternate history is one of the most taxing and fruitful forms of imagination, done with alternatingly great depth, humor, and storytelling