Most of us will never know what it’s like to parachute out of a Cessna, tend goal for the Boston Bruins, burn rubber on a NASCAR track, scale Everest, or quarterback the Detroit Lions. So it’s our good fortune when dauntless literary journalists actually play the sports they cover—returning with firsthand tales from “inside the ropes.” Here, in the tradition popularized by George Plimpton, is participatory sportswriting at its finest and most far-out. Editor Zachary Michael Jack fields a dream team of today’s best sports journalists, hotshots, and rising stars in search of the game behind the game.

More than three dozen decorated writers take the field. Heirs apparent such as Tom Verducci, Jack McCallum, Melissa King, and Sam Walker join veterans Paul Gallico, George Plimpton, Davis Miller, Donald Katz, Tim Cahill, Grace Butcher, and James McManus in swinging for the journalistic fence. Together these thrill-seeking men and women capture the mojo of returning John McEnroe’s serve, taking a punch from Ali, paddling Jack London’s Alaskan river route, coaching the Phoenix Suns’ Steve Nash, umping Manny Ramirez. Forty eye-popping accounts offer the straight scoop as never before—not just in the field but on it.

Contributors: Billy Anderson, Barbara Beckwith, Dan Bishop, Grace Butcher, Tim Cahill, Betsy Crowfoot, Michael Finkel, Steve Friedman, Paul Gallico, Helga Hengge, Leslie Heywood, John Hildebrand, Zachary Michael Jack, Mark Jenkins, Ron C. Judd, James Kaplan, Don Kardong, Donald Katz, Melissa King, Davis Miller [aka Davis Lee], Corey Levitan, Jeff MacGregor, David Mamet, Jack McCallum, Bill McKibben, James McManus, T. Edward Nickens, Nick Paumgarten, George Plimpton, Rodney Rothman Bob Shacochis, Rob Story, Robert Twigger, Tom Verducci, Sam Walker, Dan Washburn, Dana White, and Randy Wayne White.

“These intrepid scribes who put down their pens and laptops and entered the arena may have gotten pummeled, pinned, passed, and pasted. But, man, did they capture the experience. Inside the Ropes is as rich a collection of writing—not just sportswriting, but writing writing—as one could hope to find.”—L. Jon Wertheim, senior writer for Sports Illustrated and author of Running the Table: The Legend of Kid Delicious, the Last Great American Pool Hustler

“As a former pro athlete turned head football coach, I can vouch that Inside the Ropes has the best feel for sport I've ever read, written by the best sportswriters in America.”—Chuck Long, head football coach for San Diego State University and former NFL quarterback