UI Press | Elliott J. Gorn and Warren Goldstein | A Brief History of American Sports

A Brief History of American Sports

An in-depth look at the importance of sports to American culture and way of life

Elliott J. Gorn and Warren Goldstein show us where our games and pastimes came from, how they developed, and what they have meant to Americans. The great heroes of baseball and football are here, as well as the dramatic moments of boxing and basketball. Beyond this, the authors show us how sports fit into the larger contours of our past. A Brief History of American Sports reveals that from colonial times to the present, sports have been central to American culture, and a profound expression of who we are.

"We have for too long ignored the critical importance of sports in our continuing national narrative, seeking meaning only in the increasingly stale arena of the state (and its wars and generals and ‘great men'). With A Brief History of American Sports, Elliott J. Gorn and Warren Goldstein remind us that the very serious world of play provides a precise mirror of American life and aspiration, a deep, at times painful, but always abiding portrait of who we are."--Ken Burns, documentary film director, and co-author of Baseball: An Illustrated History

"If history were baseball, Gorn and Goldstein would get credit for a triple play: they have skillfully and imaginatively integrated sports into the framework of American culture and society, produced a pioneering work which should have enduring influence, and given us a scholarly history which is delightful to read. It's a terrific book in every way."--Lawrence W. Levine, University of California at Berkeley

Elliott J. Gorn is a professor of history at Brown University. He is the author of The Manly Art: Bare-Knuckle Prize Fighting in America, Mother Jones: The Most Dangerous Woman in America, and editor of Muhammad Ali: The People's Champ. Warren Goldstein chairs the Department of History at the University of Hartford. He is the author of the award-winning Playing for Keeps: A History of Early Baseball.