An Incomplete and Inaccurate History of Sport: . . . and Other Random Thoughts from Childhood to Fatherhood | 
| Author: Kenny Mayne
Publisher: Crown
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $12.98
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Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 11427
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6.1 x 1
ISBN: 0307396150
Dewey Decimal Number: 818.602
EAN: 9780307396150
ASIN: 0307396150
Publication Date: April 22, 2008
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Product Description
Painstakingly faithful to its title, Kenny Mayne’s book is neither complete nor is it particularly accurate. Ostensibly an A-to-Z encyclopedia of all known sports, many sports are never mentioned. There’s not a word about rugby, volleyball, Roller Derby, swimming, or (shockingly) Basque pelota or shinty. There is a chapter about sliding, but none about skiing. Competitive eating and rhythmic gymnastics will have to wait for another book. However, there are roughly eight chapters about tackle football–“the greatest sport in the world, and everyone knows it”–and a good four or five about horse racing, so quit complaining before you’ve even read the book. There will be plenty of time for complaining after you’ve finished it (about an hour from now–tops).
Those sports that are covered in the book are examined with exhaustive inattention to unretained detail. Many chapters have nothing to do with sport. For instance, the chapter on hunting is about hunting for a hassle-free triple tall Americano light on the water.
So, then, what exactly is this book-like thing you hold in your hands? Part nostalgic memoir (like the summer Mark Sansaver hit 843 home runs in backyard Wiffle ball), part Dave Barry—esque riffs (like explaining bocce to non-Italians), part scholarly tract (includes the origins of tackle football), and part metafiction (see “Time-outs”). . . all with illustrations drawn by Kenny’s daughters, it is what Kenny calls his anti coffee-table book, or Coaster. The publisher calls it $24.95. Reviewers like Michiko Kakutani may call it “insipid,” but because Kenny has included a revolutionary “backwords” following the book’s foreword, she’ll have to call it an “insipid breakthrough” of a book.
So what is this book-like thing? Like the great mysteries in life, you’ll have to decide for yourself.
*That would include a thought I just had. This thought had something to do with Wiffle ball. What a great chapter. But that’s not to say the chapter on hunting is terrible even though it’s mostly about coffee. Plus I wrote stuff about my children. There’s even a chapter on jai alai. This book has both still photographs and still illustrations. It doesn’t have any moving pictures. That would have required the inclusion of a projector and a big white screen in the book, and I’m trying to take a stand on energy conservation. Strangely enough, Ken Griffey Jr. asked me if the book would have video. This will make sense when you read the chapter on him.
I wish I'd written about the Seattle Pilots. I used to go to their games when I was nine. My favorite player was Tommy Harper. But this isn't just a sports book. It covers all sorts of things. I hope they place it in the Miscellaneous section. That should draw a lot of attention. I was told that the presence of a sub-title would sell more books. How am I doing with you? Make sure to tell people about this alluring and informative sub-title. This sub-title is longer than some of my chapters.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 Goofy Book That Lacks Focus is for Mayne Fans Only July 12, 2008
If you love Kenny Mayne's goofy, dry sense of humor then you may enjoy this humor book. It's not a serious look at the history of sport (though there are a few "relevant facts" tossed in) but rather a humor book in the style of the recent books from Jon Stewart and Steve Colbert. Because it lacks any focus and hyper-actively jumps from thought to thought with little development of any single idea the book ultimately is only for those male readers who have a short attention span and probably don't like to read much.
He covers traditional and oddball sports, including badminton, bocce, rowing, dodgeball and wiffle ball. There's also a section on carnival games. These chapters range from a a couple paragraphs to five pages, so none are really developed enough to make much of a point.
He includes pictures drawn by his daughters, shares some personal information (which we don't know if it's true because so much of the book is written in a mocking style), and even spends time talking about Dancing with the Stars. It may make a good book for dad for Christmas or Father's Day.
Unless you are a huge Kenny fan the book is probably not your thing. There isn't enough solid information in it and the joking tones gets old really fast. It would have been better if he would have truly done some solid research, presented an interesting perspective on sports history and then tossed in some humor along the way. Instead he has written a book that ends up being just one big joke--and it isn't that funny.
Mike Hegan, Spencer Haywood, Lori Beiberstein, and Carolee June 17, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
...are memories I share with Kenny. I received the book for father's day and finished it sitting in the grandstands at the US Open at Torrey Pines. I enjoyed the book a lot, but it's probably because Kenny and I have fairly parallel memories of Seattle area sports - Pilots (I still have my Pilots Mike Hegan bat day giveaway), Sonics, Seahawks, Huskies, etc. - and because we both went to TJHS (I was a year ahead). Coincidentally, we both were on our honeymoons when Cal Ripken broke the record.
Trying to be objective, I wish there were a few more sports stories and sports memories, even if they were Seattle-centric or solely Kenny's. Kenny does overuse several literary devices, but I doubt that's intentional since he'd probably claim he doesn't know what literary devices are. He certainly didn't learn about them at TJ.
I am going to have my wife read the book to see if she can be more objective/critical since she didn't go to school with Kenny and knows little about Seattle sports (except what I have told her). I'll make sure she posts a review.
Give it a read... if you do, you'll never approach Monopoly trades in the same way again. Nice job Kenny!
Lyle Personette TJ '76
 A GIFT FROM MY FATHER June 1, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
My Father bought me the book and warned me that I could not stop reading it once I started. For everyone who loves Kenny's unique sense of humor and that "special way" of reporting sports and other stories at ESPN, the book is every bit written with the same humor only much more. One does not have to be a sports fanatic (although I am) to enjoy the book. It only requires wanting to be entertained for a couple hours and forget about the ills of the world for awhile (especially the election crap) The book tells a lot about Kenny Mayne, his family and his life in a very humorous way. My father who is 61 years of age told me he could identify with almost every sport mentioned. He also said that he (Bob Carper Ashley,Ohio 1958 holds the record (988) for wiffle ball home runs in a summer in case Kenny reads this review. But at 28, I must say, I loved the book. BUY IT! YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT! THANKS FATHER! AARON CARPER.
Amusing, but got a little tired by the end May 27, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Overall, Kenny Mayne cracks me up. I love his Dance Center segments on ABC's Dancing With The Stars. I've long enjoyed him on SportsCenter as well.
I expected more of the same stuff in this book, and that's exactly what I got. Even though it's supposed to be an incomplete and inaccurate history of sport, I honestly expected a little more about the spors themselves. Instead Kenny seems to segue a lot into childhood memories.
While I wanted more of his quirky take on sports, I found myself really enjoying the look back to childhood. His talking about wiffle ball, and it being the second greatest sport of all time really made me laugh because it sparked memories of my own. While I can't claim to have hit 843 home runs in a single summer, I laughed and reminisced about my own childhood while reading through his.
There were chapters in there that seemed a little like filler and nothing more, and frankly, I wouldn't have minded more about the relation to sports growing up.
Overall though, it was a quick, fun read. I was done with it in a day. If you like Kenny Mayne's sense of humor, you'll enjoy the book.
Tears of a Clown May 22, 2008
4 out of 7 found this review helpful
If you enjoy the "Wild-n-Crazy Guy" character portrayed by Kenny Mayne during his SportsCenter appearances and special assignments for ESPN, then this is a logical stop in the ever-expanding media universe of the network.
But if you find his fare as forced as the musings of a freshman pledge in an off-campus fraternity house on a very late Saturday night, then it's best to take the smaller dose of Mayne's chuckles when sitting in an easy chair, with your hand on the remote.
It would be inaccurate to say there is a middle-ground with Mayne's shtick; it is either hilarious or the sports version of tears of a clown.
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