From Publishers Weekly
This collection of original essays is a natural: not only does the same parent corporation own both newspapers, it also has a significant stake in the Red Sox. But the anthology isn't just hype; the New Yorkers in particular gladly point out that this is "a Potemkin Village of a rivalry," and that whether Babe Ruth cursed the Sox or not, the Yankees have been able to win 26 World Series in the 84 years since Babe arrived in the Bronx because they consistently fielded a better team. Dreamy-eyed paeans to the "religion of baseball" are thankfully kept to a minimum, as the writers focus on major Sox-Yankees confrontations through the decades (including last year's championship series brawl) and anecdotes starring players from both teams—many of whom may go unrecognized by baseball fans in other cities. If the book does have a fault, it's that its writers often wind up repeating the same stories, though the differing perspectives can be illuminating. Globe writers fess up to the Sox's sorry legacy as the last Major League team to hire an African-American player, for example, while Times columnists use the fact as one more opportunity to hammer home their team's superiority. 60 b&w, 20 color photos. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


Book Description
A Struggle for the Ages. . .

BOSTON GLOBE JANUARY 6, 1920
RED SOX SELL RUTH FOR $100,000 CASH
--------
Demon Slugger of American League, Who Made 29 Home Runs Last Season, Goes to New York Yankees
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FRAZEE TO BUY NEW PLAYERS

The Yankees vs. the Red Sox. Each baseball season begins and ends with unique intensity, focused on a single question: What's ahead for these two teams? One, the most glamorous, storied, and successful franchise in all of sports; the other, perennially star-crossed but equally rich in baseball history and legend. In The Rivals sports writers of The New York Times and The Boston Globe come together in the first-ever collaboration between the two cities' leading newspapers to tell the inside story of the teams' intertwined histories, each from the home team's perspective.

Beginning with the Red Sox's early glory days (when the Yankees were perennial losers), continuing through the Babe Ruth era and the notorious trade that made the Yankees champions (and marked the Sox with the so-called "Curse of the Bambino"); to Ted Williams vs. Joe DiMaggio; Thurman Munson and Carlton Fisk; Roger Clemens and Pedro Martinez; down to last year's legendary playoff showdown, The Rivals captures the drama of key eras, events, and personalities of both teams.

And who better to tell the story than the baseball writers of the two rival cities? For The New York Times, it's Dave Anderson, Harvey Araton, Jack Curry, Tyler Kepner, Robert Lipsyte and George Vecsey who report on the Yankee view of the rivalry, while The Boston Globe
loch's Gordon Edes, Jackie MacMullan, Bob Ryan and Dan Shaughnessy recount the view from the Hub. And their stories are richly illustrated with classic photographs and original articles from the archives, capturing the great moments as they happened. For Red Sox fans, Yankees fans, or anyone interested in remarkable baseball history, The Rivals is an expert, up-close look at the longest, and fiercest of all sports rivalries.



From the Inside Flap
"Here in Boston, the Hub of the Hardball Universe, we think that the 'rivalry' between the Red Sox and Yankees is the greatest rivalry in all of sports-better than Dodgers-Giants, Cardinals-Cubs, Celtics-Lakers, Cowboys-Redskins, Ali-Frazier, Texas-Oklahoma, Russell-Chamberlain, Michigan-Ohio State, Seabiscuit-War Admiral, and even Harvard-Yale." - from the Introduction by Dan Shaughnessy "[The Yankees-Red Sox rivalry is] useful, even essential, to our understanding of the two teams, their cities, their fans, perhaps the Pastime and its nation. In many ways, it is similar to that Cold War rivalry between those other Reds and Yankees. It may even have been the model for it." - from the Introduction by Robert Lipsyte


From the Back Cover
"Here in Boston, the Hub of the Hardball Universe, we think that the 'rivalry' between the Red Sox and Yankees is the greatest rivalry in all of sports-better than Dodgers-Giants, Cardinals-Cubs, Celtics-Lakers, Cowboys-Redskins, Ali-Frazier, Texas-Oklahoma, Russell-Chamberlain, Michigan-Ohio State, Seabiscuit-War Admiral, and even Harvard-Yale."
- from the Introduction by Dan Shaughnessy

"[The Yankees-Red Sox rivalry is] useful, even essential, to our understanding of the two teams, their cities, their fans, perhaps the Pastime and its nation. In many ways, it is similar to that Cold War rivalry between those other Reds and Yankees. It may even have been the model for it."
- from the Introduction by Robert Lipsyte



About the Author
The New York Times and The Boston Globe are two of the nation's preeminent newspapers, and their renowned sports coverage features many of the most famous names in sports journalism.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Each baseball season begins and ends with unique intensity, focused on a single question: What's ahead for these two teams? One, the most glamorous, storied, and successful franchise in all of sports; the other, equally rich in baseball history and legend but perennially star-crossed. In The Rivals, the sportswriters of The New York Times and The Boston Globe come together in the first-ever collaboration between the two cities' leading newspapers to tell the inside story of the teams' intertwined histories, each from the home team's perspective. Beginning with the Red Sox's early glory days (when the Yankees were perennial losers), continuing through the Babe Ruth era and the notorious trade that made the Yankees champions (and marked the Sox with the so-called Curse of the Bambino); to Ted Williams vs. Joe DiMaggio; Thurman Munson and Carlton Fisk; Roger Clemens and Pedro Martinez; down to last year's legendary playoff showdown, The Rivals captures the drama of key eras, events, and personalities of both teams. And who better to tell the story than the baseball writers of the two rival cities? For The New York Times, it's Dave Anderson, Harvey Araton, Jack Curry, Tyler Kepner, Robert Lipsyte, and George Vecsey who report on the Yankee view of the rivalry, while The Boston Globe's Gordon Edes, Jackie MacMullan, Bob Ryan, and Dan Shaughnessy recount the view from the Hub. And their stories are richly illustrated with classic photographs and original articles from the archives, capturing the great moments as they happened. For Red Sox fans, Yankees fans, or anyone interested in remarkable baseball history, The Rivals is an expert, up-close look at the longest and fiercest of all sports rivalries.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

This collection of original essays is a natural: not only does the same parent corporation own both newspapers, it also has a significant stake in the Red Sox. But the anthology isn't just hype; the New Yorkers in particular gladly point out that this is "a Potemkin Village of a rivalry," and that whether Babe Ruth cursed the Sox or not, the Yankees have been able to win 26 World Series in the 84 years since Babe arrived in the Bronx because they consistently fielded a better team. Dreamy-eyed paeans to the "religion of baseball" are thankfully kept to a minimum, as the writers focus on major Sox-Yankees confrontations through the decades (including last year's championship series brawl) and anecdotes starring players from both teams many of whom may go unrecognized by baseball fans in other cities. If the book does have a fault, it's that its writers often wind up repeating the same stories, though the differing perspectives can be illuminating. Globe writers fess up to the Sox's sorry legacy as the last Major League team to hire an African-American player, for example, while Times columnists use the fact as one more opportunity to hammer home their team's superiority. 60 b&w, 20 color photos. (Sept. 7) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

AUTHOR DESCRIPTION