Promotional Information

A behind-the-scenes chronicle of the rise of ESPN by the authors of the New York Times bestseller Live From New York.

About the Author

James Andrew Miller is the author of Running in Place: Inside the Senate and Live from New York. He has also written for the New York Times, Life, the Washington Post and Newsweek. His various positions in television include Senior Executive Producer of ''Anderson Cooper 360'' and Executive VP of Original Programming at USA Network

Reviews

"...Perhaps the most anticipated book in sports media history."--Newsday

"Those Guys Have All the Fun is a de rigueur read for sports fans who wonder how a fired hockey announcer used a $9,000 credit card advance to start a broadcasting empire that changed what we think about sports and how we view them."--Woody Paige, Denver Post

"Those Guys Have All the Fun delivers a hell of a narrative...[and] an outstanding work of journalism. Easing interviewees into such comfort that they said what they did on record is an enormous achievement for Miller and Shales."--Daniel Roberts , Fortune

"A fascinating little-engine-that-could tale of money, power and the early days of cable television."--Clint O?Connor, Cleveland Plain Dealer

"A revelation: what goes onto the TV screen turns out to be just the glossy tip of an iceberg of ugly backstage drama. Miller and Shales must be extraordinarily talented interviewers, because their subjects are surprisingly uninhibited and frank and willing to dish and slag....[They are] good at zeroing in on a debacle and getting everybody involved to weigh in...by the end of the book you're amazed at the disconnect between the chaos behind the scenes and the relatively slick end product."--Lev Grossman, Time

"A rollicking glimpse behind the guys and gals who sport around at ESPN, America's sports church. Amen."--Publishers Weekly

"As highly anticipated by sports junkies as a Chicago Cubs championship, [Those Guys Have All the Fun] provides painstaking details on how a nutty idea concocted by a father-son team developed into a brand worth more than the NHL, MLB and NBA combined...Shales and Miller manage to create a page-turning document about the ultimate dysfunctional workplace"--Neil Justin, Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Fascinating and compulsively readable."--Tim Marchman, Wall Street Journal

"Packed with entertaining stories of unpleasant people and awful behavior....[Those Guys Have All the Fun is] offers a nuanced look at ESPN, does some top-notch TV-biz reporting on the early days of the cable industry, and offers compelling behind-the-scenes stories...[It is] a serious, impressive, piece of work."--Rob Brunner, Entertainment Weekly

"This treat for sports fans has a cast of characters that is huge and varied."--Janet Maslin, New York Times

"What a story: larger-than-life personalities, salacious gossip, backstabbing and corporate intrigue set against the backdrop of the rise of cable television as an economic and cultural force....The quotes flow seamlessly, and the voices are fresh and vibrant...The depth and breadth of the interviews make it not only the definitive account of ESPN's first three decades but one of the best books yet on how cable shaped American culture."--Andy Lewis, Hollywood Reporter

Praise for THOSE GUYS HAVE ALL THE FUN: "Those who work in the business of sport will devour the book...[readers are] granted the kind of behind-the-scenes access that sports media junkies are rarely given..."--Richard Deitsch, SportsIllustrated.com

Miller and Shales's (Live from New York) second book wisely uses an oral history format to tell the inside story of multimedia sports broadcasting giant ESPN. They crafted their long but engaging narrative by interviewing over 550 current and former ESPN broadcasters, executives, and off-air staff who add their own unique insights into the network's 30-year history and illuminate the many behind-the-scenes personality and ego clashes. A few athletes and broadcasting competitors chime in as well. Tony Korn-heiser, Chris Berman, Dick Vitale, Jim Rome, Keith Olbermann, and others are candid in both their complaints and compliments. Matt McCarthy, Joan Baker, and coauthor Miller swap unremarkable narration duties. Recommended for anyone who takes sports media seriously. [The Little, Brown hc, published in May, was a New York Times best seller; the Back Bay pb will publish in December.-Ed.]-Douglas King, Univ. of South Carolina Lib., Columbia (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.