"In this erudite and captivating book, author Larry Platt takes us on his own unique tour through American sports. Culled from a decade of writing about our games and the people who play them, Platt offers exclusive profiles of the athletes we love--and love to hate ... In these and other profiles, Platt shows that sport, more than any other nationwide pastime, is the way that we come to understand--and alter--race relations, gender, and, most profoundly, how we communicate with each other in ways often ignored by social commentators"--Inside front jacket cover.