The Arena: Inside the Tailgating, Ticket-Scalping, Mascot-Racing, Dubiously Funded, and Possibly Haunted Monuments of American Sport [Paperback]

In this addictive (Finalist PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing Smart, readable, deeply reported and researched, engagingly personal, funny and often surprisingly poignant. [ Fascinating&.He comes across as the Studs Terkel of stadium life, demonstrating an easy camaraderie with his sources&Its his sod-level reporting that animates the book, lending a distinctive blue-collar vibe of bantering co-workers who take pride in jobs well donejobs like painting the logo on a playing field or combing over the bald spots in the ivy-covered outfield walls of Wrigley Field. This is an irresistible tour de force that reveals how and why our monuments to games are hard-wired to fans most thrilling and heartbreaking memories. A fabulous book. Rafi Kohans terrific Kohan answers a central question: If every game is on TV, why do we still shell out hundreds to see them live? Hint: Even in this era of HDTV and disposable stadiums, we still need to be together. An altogether new and riveting sports classic. A copy of Kohans brilliant, funny, illuminating book should be sealed in a vault beside every one of these places we go to yell ourselves hoarse, so that future archaeologists sifting through our ruins can understand who we were and why we gathered together. An addictive, detailed look at the lives of sports arenas . . . . Kohans curiosity and empathy are infectious as he demonstrates how human this corporate aspect of sports can be. He has created an immersive, informative work that will delight and enlighten a wide range of readers. Highly compelling . . . . Part history and sociology, part ethnography, and part journalismsometimes straight shoe-leather, sometimes participatory, and oftentimes a little bit gonzothe book features many of the behind-the-scenes questions you have always had and a few that you never considered. . . . Kohan brings the modern sporting arena to life in this fine exploration of the corners of American stadiums that aren't necessló)