The Best of Plimpton

Starting in the proper spot - chapters detailing his most well known role as participatory journalist lead off this amusing compendium - the book effortlessly keeps the reader's interest on virtually every page. Whether Plimpton's boxing a heavyweight contender, quarterbacking a professional football team, pitching to a lineup of baseball all-stars or even playing percussion for Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic, he describes it all in vivid detail and with refreshingly well written prose.One chapter delivers an extraordinary look into Ali's locker room just before a championship title defense. Plimpton was lucky enough to have an inside seat with pen and paper in hand to document Ali's pre-fight routine, banter, warmups and jocular manner throughout. From Ali's locker room Plimpton then takes the reader to various anecdotes and crazy stories involving Norman Mailer.The Mailer stories are spotted all over the book and make for the liveliest reading - while at a football game Mailer pulls out a telescope as long as a baseball bat, hovering it just above the heads of the row in front; Mailer at a Long Island costume party incessantly and obsessively all night long swinging the sledgehammer on a strength-testing machine futilely trying to get the plunger to reach the top to ring the bell all the while he's donning a Ben Franklin costume; Mailer trance like, luring young women into staring contests at parties; Mailer over and over again literally ramming heads with other guests at cocktail gatherings; Mailer maniacally thumb wrestling; you get the idea.Plimpton goes on to write of a truly strange dinner he had with Hemingway. During which Hemingway grabs Plimpton's hand in some macho bizarre display of toughness and digs his grip into Plimpton's palm with a long, almost vice-like death lock; Hemingway's fingernails dig into Plimpton's palm, the world famous novelist refusing to relinquish the painful grip for minutes on end. Plimpton and their fellow dinner companion were actually fearful that it all could've easily ended in an infamous Hemingway fistfight!Included is probably the most in depth expose ever written on head football coach Vince Lombardi. Plimpton had a real knack for drawing out both the most mundane and most astonishing details about Lombardi's methods and practices. Among other things the piece documents his extraordinarily harsh conditioning practices with players not infrequently vomiting and passing out. Kramer's 'Instant Replay' simply didn't capture Lombardi the way Plimpton does here. He's then off to the annual Yale Harvard game. This Ivy football excursion was his young daughter's first taste of the annual rivalry and it's a touching description of that autumnal day between father and daughter.Some of the more intriguing passages delve into the proper decorum while dining at the legendary NYC restaurant Elaine's which was regularly visited by writers, novelists and journalists of the Manhattan set. It comes complete with instructions on handling Woody Allen's table along with the other literary cognoscenti.The Best of Plimpton would be woefully incomplete if it failed to contain Sports Illustrated's mythical French horn playing Sidd Finch. The 168 mph fireballer will live as one of the greatest April Fool's jokes ever published.

I rank Plimpton as a top five non-fiction writer of the last half century. Unlike a considerable number of these new age "creative non-fiction" writers, his ego is not all over the page nor did he have to stretch to introduce a literary flair to his prose. Plimption can make seemingly boring subjects such as bird counting contests or fireworks museums endlessly fascinating. He also does ample justice to racy subjects such as swinger conventions and his stay at the playboy mansion.Plimpton's writing is not pretentious and he always shows considerable respect and humor towards his subjects. A great writer and a great man.

I gave this as a gift and the recipient seemed very pleased. It arrived in a timely manner. I was disappointed that it did not come in hard back.

Great writing from a great man. I just wish more people knew about him and his works. If you are a sports fan at all, he should be your favorite author, and if you aren't, he should be your favorite author.

Great book. And, hey, the one dollar copy I ordered is signed by Mr.Plimpton himself! Check your books more thoroughly next time, book sellers. You may be able to get more money.

Awesome

Some good. Some boring.

My wife, Nona , and I do dramatic readings. In particular we liked Plimpton's "Music: An Address at a New York Philharmonic Lunch".