Travis Vogan's cultural history of ABC Sports offers a compelling analysis of America's love affair with sports. It provides an inside look at how that love was cultivated through sport's marriage to television on an altar where ABC's constant telling of the 'thrill of victory and agony of defeat' taught an entire culture how to think about sporting achievement. This is essential reading for any fan or student of contemporary sport.--Lawrence Wenner, editor-in-chief of Communication & Sport Muhammad Ali and Howard Cosell, Wide World of Sports and Monday Night Football, the tragedy at Munich and the emptiness of TrashSports are all part of the genius of Roone Arledge and his empire at ABC Sports. Arledge taught a generation of viewers how to watch sports, how to love them, and how to hate them. Travis Vogan's deep look into the world Arledge created suggests the meaning and legacy of televised sports. This is a book for anyone who cares about sports and worries about the future of the beast.--Randy Roberts, coauthor of A Season in the Sun: The Rise of Mickey Mantle
