Why Michael Couldn't Hit

A professor of neurology at Rush Medical College in Chicago, Klawans is that rara avis, a scientist with an interest in sports. He has combined the two to produce this enlightening study based on the successes, failures and tragedies of major sports figures such as Michael Jordan, whose unexcelled abilities in basketball did not carry over to baseball; Primo Carnera, the boxer whose acromegalic gigantism caused his death; Muhammad Ali, proof positive that the aim in boxing is to cause brain damage; Wilma Rudolph, who overcame crippling polio to become an Olympic running champion; and Babe Didrickson Zaharias, in Klawans's view the greatest athlete of this century. Readers also learn about the development of the neurological system and the ways drug therapy may help those with certain neurological disorders. A superb contribution by a writer who can make recondite physiological information comprehensible to lay readers. Photos. (Oct.)