Playing through the Whistle, S. L. Price
Playing through the Whistle, S. L. Price
List: $22.95 | Sale: $16.07
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Playing through the Whistle
Steel, Football, and an American Town

Author: S. L. Price

Narrator: Joe Barrett

Unabridged: 15 hr 17 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/04/2016

Synopsis

From a Sports Illustrated senior writer, a moving epic of football and industrial America, telling the story of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, its now-shuttered steel mill, and its legendary high school football teamAliquippa, Pennsylvania, is famous for two things: the Jones and Laughlin Steel mill, an industrial behemoth that helped win World War II, and football, with a high school team that has produced numerous NFL stars including Mike Ditka and Darrelle Revis. But the mill, once the fourth largest producer in America, closed for good in 2000. What happens to a town when a dream dies? Does it just disappear?In Playing through the Whistle, celebrated sports writer S. L. Price tells the story of this remarkable place, its people, its players, and through it, a wider story of American history from the turn of the twentieth century. Aliquippa has been many things—a rigidly controlled company town, a booming racial and ethnic melting pot, and, for a brief time, a workers’ paradise. Price expertly traces this history, while also recounting the birth and development of high school sports, from a minor pastime to a source of civic pride to today, when it sometimes seems like the only way out of a life of poverty, drug abuse, and crime. Playing through the Whistle is a masterpiece of narrative journalism that will make you cry and cheer in equal measure.

About S. L. Price

S. L. Price, a senior writer at Sports Illustrated since 1994, is the author of Heart of the Game; Pitching around Fidel, which was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize; and Far Afield, which Esquire named one of the top five reads of 2007. He lives in Washington, DC, with his family.

About Joe Barrett

Joe Barrett, an actor and Audie Award and Earphones Award–winning narrator, has appeared both on and off Broadway as well as in hundreds of radio and television commercials.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Angie

I saw this author interviewed on the NFL Network show "Good Morning Football" and I ordered the book instantly. This book is an American History tale set in the Pennsylvania town of Aliquippa. I understand why this small town of 9000 people has had so many successful people, including several hall o......more

Goodreads review by Barnabas

I expected to read a great football book by a great writer. Instead I read a book much more rich than that - history, culture, race, and football. Price uses first person interviews, historical narrative, and his own story telling gifts to put together a magnificent book. This is a snapshot of the r......more

Goodreads review by Brett

I should have LOVED this book. Its completely in my wheelhouse (non-fiction, sports, reads like fiction), but it’s like the writer collected too much good information and could not figure out what to exclude. Too long for sure. Should have been half the length......more

Quotes

“A sprawling display of Price’s signature prose: sharp, vivid, and particular…With football as his lens, Price transports you to the glory days of an iconic American steel town.” Jeanne Marie Laskas, New York Times bestselling author

“An artful mix of history, economics, sociology, and athletics……Price’s football story is really that of America’s Rust Belt in poignant miniature.” Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“The author provides memorable characterizations of cocky English-teacher-turned-football-coach Mike Zmijanac in the 1970s and star defensive lineman Jeff Baldwin in the ’80s…A more thorough account of any high school athletic program in the country would be tough to find.” Publishers Weekly

“Impressively researched and organized.” Library Journal

“Price, a Sports Illustrated senior writer, tells the town’s story all very well…There are also, of course, revealing anecdotes about individual players and the coaches.” Booklist

“A gut-wrenching portrait of a high school football team that has to embody the American dream for one small town, in large part because everything else that was supposed to do it has fallen apart. I would say this is some of the best sports writing I read this year, except that it’s some of the best writing I’ve read this year.” David Epstein, author of The Sports Gene

“Playing Through the Whistle is a big book on a tough town. It reminded me of The Wire, which is high praise.” Roy Blount Jr., author of About Three Bricks Shy of a Load

“With deeply nuanced reporting, and a style that’s both big-hearted and unsentimental, Playing through the Whistle isn’t merely the history of an American town, but American history itself.” Mark Kriegel, author of Namath

Awards

  • Amazon Best Book of the Month
  • Kirkus Reviews Pick
  • Boston Globe Pick
  • PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing
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