Reviews

Believe it or not, there once was a time when Sports Illustrated didn't do a swimsuit issue and readers didn't get a free gadget for subscribing. MacCambridge, a onetime pop culture reporter, chronicles SI's evolution from its shaky start as a snooty publication covering too many yacht races and polo matches to its present status as the leading sports journal in America. Based on over 300 interviews with former and current staffers, it offers an inside perspective, crammed with blow-by-blow accounts of the office rivalries and schemes that shaped the magazine. Profiles of renowned sportswriters like Dan Jenkins and Frank Deford are included, along with those of managing editors Andre Laguerre and Mark Mulvoy, who were instrumental in developing the magazine. MacCambridge also examines the print and electronic competitive challenges SI has faced, and, of course, he covers the story behind the swimsuit issue as well. Essential for all public libraries.‘Peter Ward, Lindenhurst Memorial Lib., N.Y.

Subscribers to Sports Illustrated as well as readers interested in the media and/or sports will be captivated by MacCambridge's account of the launch and growing pains of what would become the nation's leading sports magazine. He charts the evolution of SI from its first issue in 1954, as a money-losing publication with little focus, to one of the country's most profitable and influential magazines. MacCambridge, a freelance journalist, credits much of the success of SI to Andre Laguerre, who served as managing editor from 1960 to 1974, during which time advertising revenues grew from $12 million to $72 million and circulation increased to 2.2 million from 900,000. In addition, Laguerre assembled an editorial team who elevated sports writing to more than merely reporting on the winners and losers of particular games. Indeed, MacCambridge makes it clear that he views Laguerre's reign at SI as the magazine's glory years when such writers as Dan Jenkins, Bud Shrake, Tex Maule, Roy Blount Jr. and Frank Deford were on the staff, and the magazine did not face competition from sports radio talk shows or television, in particular ESPN (which SI's parent company, Time Inc., could have bought shortly after the launch of the channel). The strength of MacCambridge's story lies in his description of the colorful personalities who put out the magazine, ranging from Laguerre's team to others important in SI's development, especially former managing editor Mark Mulvoy and the current Bill Colson. Photos not seen by PW. (Oct.)