SCRIBE

The classic American sportswriter reflects on a half-century of covering the games we play.

Boston Globe mainstay Ryan (The Best of Sport: Classic Writing from the Golden Era of Sports, 2005, etc.) is one of this country’s finest writers, period, fashioning wit, drama and sincerity into a wealth of stories about all kinds of sports until he went into semiretirement in 2012. Here, he recounts the arc of his career, shares advice from the golden age of old-school journalism and pens terrific anecdotes about some of basketball’s larger-than-life figures. He admits readily that his career was something of an accident, from his first internship at the Globe to inheriting the sports desk at the age of 23. “I was confident I could write a decent basketball story,” he writes. “But covering a team is something entirely different than writing about a sport. There is no manual. I’ve never discovered a course anyone can take. It is the ultimate trial-and-error experience.” Along the way, Ryan levies praise on giants like Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, weighs in on the Michael Jordan versus LeBron James debate, and shares his memories of provocative coaches like Red Auerbach, Bob Knight and Chuck Daly. The author provides a solid mix of candid, respectful and honest assessments, with much of his trademark humor added in. Despite being known for his basketball lore, Ryan is also something of a multi-instrumentalist, offering thoughtful reflections on football, baseball, Olympic hockey and even the Great American Songbook. “I love sports and I want people to know it,” he writes. “I’d like to think the word people most associate with me is ‘enthusiasm.’ Give me a good game and I’ll be happy; as a fan I may regret the outcome, but as a journalist, I’ll appreciate the drama.”

A terrific memoir with lessons for young journalists, sports fans and anyone who shares the love of the games.