Description
"A tour de force of reporting" (The Washington Post) from a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist that examines the often-corrupt machine producing America's basketball stars
"Indispensable."--The Wall Street Journal"Often heart-breaking, always riveting."--The New York Times Book Review
"Tremendous."--The Plain Dealer Winner of the PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sportswriting- Winner of the Award for Excellence in the Coverage of Youth Sports Using eight years of unfettered access and a keen sense of a story's deepest truths, journalist George Dohrmann reveals a cutthroat world where boys as young as eight or nine are subjected to a dizzying torrent of scrutiny and exploitation. At the book's heart are the personal stories of two compelling figures: Joe Keller, an ambitious coach with a master plan to find and promote "the next LeBron," and Demetrius Walker, a fatherless latchkey kid who falls under Keller's sway and struggles to live up to unrealistic expectations. Complete with a new "where-are-they-now" epilogue by the author, Play Their Hearts Out is a thoroughly compelling narrative exposing the gritty reality that lies beneath so many dreams of fame and glory. One of GQ'S 50 Best Books of Literary Journalism of the 21st Century - One of the Best Books of the Year: Los Angeles Times, The Christian Science Monitor, Kirkus Reviews This edition includes an exclusive conversation between George Dohrmann and bestselling author Seth Davis.
Author: George Dohrmann
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 02/07/2012
Pages: 448
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.85lbs
Size: 8.00h x 5.20w x 0.90d
ISBN13: 9780345508614
ISBN10: 0345508610
BISAC Categories:
- Sports & Recreation | Basketball
- Sports & Recreation | Cultural & Social Aspects
- Sports & Recreation | Coaching | Basketball
About the Author
George Dohrmann is a senior writer at Sports Illustrated and the magazine's investigative reporter. In 2000, while working at the St. Paul Pioneer Press, he won a Pulitzer Prize for a series of stories that uncovered a college basketball team's academic fraud. Dohrmann lives in San Francisco with his family. This is his first book.