Accidents do Happen... For the Best

An Accidental Sportswriter
Robert Lipsyte - 2011 HarperCollins Publishers

I was very excited to read this book by Bob Lipsyte about his sports writing career and the biggest complaint I have is that is wasn't longer.  Lipsyte focuses on a few athletes and individuals and selects some of the major social issues, as they occurred in sports, to talk about as a reflection of his career.

The book is clear, pretty easy to read (sometimes the transitions are a little abrupt) and unique from most other sports writer's accounts in Lipsyte's love-hate relationship with what has "accidentally" defined his career. 

There are many interesting anecdotes that he recounts (one of the best when he met Muhammad Ali and the Beatles in the same day, before either became national sensations) and various issues that he discusses (the interesting relationship between those that write about sports and the sports hierarchy that allows writers to write about them.)

This book is recommended for its fresh, different and intriguing interpretation of sports and sports writing.