Welcome to the Terrordome: The Pain, Politics and Promise of Sports |
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You Are Here: Home > History Books > Basketball History > Item 98
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Welcome to the Terrordome: The Pain, Politics and Promise of Sports
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by Dave Zirin and Chuck D
Sales Rank: 225048
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List Price: $16.00
$10.88
At Amazon
on 9-16-2008.
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Features
Cover Type: Paperback with 280 pages
Published by: Haymarket Books June 1, 2007
Written in: English
ISBN 10 Number: 1931859418
ISBN 13 Number: 978-1931859417
Book Dimensions:
7.8 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
Weighs: 9.6 ounces
Reader Reviews
Why are athletes repeatedly told, through radio shows like Mike and Mike and various other venues, to "just shut up!" about issues that directly affect themselves, their community, and country? Sports, unfortunately, are too often cast as apolitical cultural wallpaper. Latrell Sprewell's 68-game suspension nearly a decade ago was a consequence of his uncontrollable demeanor--period. Barry Bonds (steroids or not) is just an irascible baby--period. The NBA instituted a minimum age because David Stern and company care about their players' education and maturity--period. You can believe the press conference sound bites if you like, but there is a lot more historical and political weight surrounding these issues than the popular press often admits or cares to discuss. What would happen if the NHL or WTA implemented age minimums? Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it. Though the media is saturated with discussions on all facets of sports, it is still not totally OK to talk in a pointed or more than passing (and often seemingly obligatory) manner about how sports reflect, reinforce, and have the ability to challenge discourses surrounding race, gender, sexuality, class, age, nationhood, etc. Indeed, doing so publicly is likely to get a "just shut up!" response. It's as if Jackie Robinson solved racism and Billie Jean King conquered gender inequities--their contributions are unyieldingly praised without a commitment to continuing their larger political projects. For those of us who do not unquestioningly take what information we are given by the mainstream sports media industry, it's nice to know that someone like Dave Zirin is out there providing an alternative--and extremely important--perspective. Zirin's new book, Welcome to the Terrordome, which takes its title from a Public Enemy song (and which includes and introduction by Chuck D), extends and enriches several of the discussions he has been writing about for years on his well-regarded website, [...], through his 2005 book What's My Name Fool?, and in various other venues. Zirin's insightful, clear, and often humorous essays, like Chuck D's brutally honest lyrics, "rope a dope the evil with righteous," welcoming readers to the "terrordome" that is the contemporary American political landscape and clearly showing sports' various roles in these circumstances--covering topics ranging from Barry Bonds to the NBA's anxiety over Hip Hop. However, it is also important to note Zirin's subtitle: "The Pain, Politics, and Promise of Sports." Zirin sincerely believes in sports and their ability to challenge political circumstances. For instance, the Superdome, featured on Welcome to the Terrordome's cover and slyly referenced by its title, illustrates this pain, politics, and promise. It's publicly-funded sporting structure that, during Katrina, served as a harbor/tomb for many people who could never afford to enter the building under different circumstances. The Superdome's role in Katrina, along with countless other examples (for instance the controversy surrounding Muhammad Ali's name change discussed in Zirin's What's My Name Fool? and Muhammad Ali Handbook), shows how sports can both entertain and serve as a site from which to intervene and effect change. The great value of Zirin's writing is that it continually makes these layers of meaning, along with their implications and stakes, explicit. While Zirin certainly loves and enjoys sports, he does not love how they are often used to veil the political and social issues in which they are so intimately embroiled. Welcome to the Terrordome, like all his work, challenges readers to refuse to take their sports at face-value and to "just speak up" about its contemporary uses and misuses. It's an essential read whether you are a student of sports, casually interested in sports history, or just like to check scores periodically.
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Welcome to the Terrordome: The Pain, Politics and Promise of Sports
Available from Amazon
Price: $10.88
Updated on 9-16-2008.
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