The Best of Frank Deford: I'm Just Getting Started

His long looks at Bobby Knight, Bill Russell, and a former Connecticut high school football star who commits suicide at 24 are breathtaking. So is his exploration of University of Arkansas basketball coach Nolan Richardson, spun out by Deford as a play in four acts. His intertwined profile of Roger Bannister--the first four-minute miler--and Sir Edmund Hillary--the first to climb Everest--is a tour de force, as is his personal journey into the world of bowling. These are all pieces to be savored again and again for their expansiveness, circumspection, reportage, heart, style, and wit. They remind you what is Best about a writer of Deford's caliber in ways the constraints of radio can't pull in quite as clearly. --Jeff Silverman

Book Description
I Believe that professional wrestling is clean, and everything else is fixed.

Whether Frank Deford is the voice you hear on National Public Radios Morning Edition or the name you see in the Newsweek byline, you are sure to be entertained with the irreverent musings of this much acclaimed sports mind.

Called the worlds greatest sports-writer by GQ magazine, Deford possesses a witty and poignant take on the world of athletics that has earned him a wealth of fans, from the most ardent sports enthusiast to the greenest novice.

In this best of the best compilation, Deford creates insightful, richly drawn yarns on the human drama and occasional high comedy of athletic competition. The Best of frank Deford relates not only to the specific and spectacular events that make up great sportswriting, but reflects through sports the larger world of American culture. I try to maintain a certain balance between being serious and humorous. And I take a lot of chances. Ultimately, I try to keep people surprised. Frank Defords twelfth book is a grand collection of his most vivid caricatures, colorful anecdotes, and out-of-left-field observations on the often humbling and humorous nature of sport.

The Best of Frank Deford: Im Just Getting Started is a treasure of Defords best writing and will make an instant fan of any reader.

The collection of articles and commentaries contained in "I'm Just Getting Started" are from 1980 to 1999 and touch on every aspect of sports.

You get insight, irony, humor, commentary, entertainment, nostalgia and optimism as you turn the pages---all delivered in a most literate manner.

The essay on Bill Russell alone is worth the price of admission. "Frank Deford Goes Bowling" is an intriguing take on a subject seldom written up in sports pages.

Enjoyable for more than sports fans.


Intelligence Personified   August 10, 2000
 12 out of 14 found this review helpful

Frank Deford is a brilliant writer, not to mention, probably the single greatest sports' writer on the planet. He just takes sports' writing to a higher level. The Best of Frank Deford will prove this.

This book showcases some of Deford's best work as a journalist. Although some of the articles are a little dated, his style and amazing use of language still shines. The pieces included in this book are easily some of the best writng available. Any inspiring journalist could learn a great deal from this collection of writings.

Deford never holds anything back, and he is never afraid to speak his mind. I personally enjoyed the in-depth look at Bobby Knight. But, there are many other treasures in this candid book.

Overall, this is an excellent book and quite a fast read. Deford's witty and extremely articulate writing style allows you to flow right through the book. This is a masterpiece of writing, and a true pleasure for any sports' fan. The Best of Frank Deford is simply the best.