Reilly (Life of Reilly) gathers 28 cracking pieces on sport—and not just the usual suspects. The stunning "Near Death in the Afternoon," by Elizabeth Gilbert is the story of El Juli, a young and arrogant bull fighter who is gored in Madrid. Equally fringe and more disturbing is Bob Norman's "Backyard Bloodbath," which documents EFW ("Extreme Fuckin' Wrestling"), particularly two brothers who put on shows with tacks on the mat, barbed-wire–wrapped baseball bats, garbage cans and staple guns. It's bloody, raw, dangerous, utterly engrossing and revolting. Sports columnist Bill Plaschke's "Her Blue Heaven" is a moving story about being at odds with one of his critics, a 30-year-old-woman with cerebral palsy who lives in a shack in Texas and maintains her own Dodgers Web site. Equally poignant is Mark Kram Jr.'s "Joe's Gift," about Kansas City Chiefs running back Joe Delaney, who lost his life when he pulled a drowning boy from a pond. The book can be bleak, but Steve Ruskin's "Cold Comfort," a meditation on childhood, snow and sport, is a welcome relief from this motif—one that's sure to stir childhood memories in all readers. Peter Richmond's "Flesh and Blood" covers the mysteries and trial of Rae Carruth and the women who loved him, even though he set out to have them killed. Richmond goes on to blame this on the violent nature of sport, particularly football. At their best, these essays go beyond sport and into social commentary; these aren't pleas to change the world but acknowledgment of what draws one to sport in the first place: passion. (Oct. 15)
