Three Nights in August

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author captures baseball's essence in this account of a dramatic three-game series viewed through the eyes of legendary St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa. Through 25 years of managing, Tony La Russa has won more games than any current manager. He's the most strategically adept and arguably the smartest manager in baseball, and he still believes that games are won not by statistics, but by the hearts and minds of the players. Given unprecedented access to La Russa and his team, best-selling journalist Bissinger captures baseball's strategic and emotional essence. We watch from the dugout as La Russa's Cardinals take on their archrivals, the Chicago Cubs, in a thrilling three-game series. Some of the greatest players of our time grace the lineups: Albert Pujols, Sammy Sosa, Scott Rolen, Mark Prior. La Russa, a 40-year veteran of the game, shows why he's so revered. And Bissinger's laser-beam focus uncovers surprising truths about the pathology of slumps, the art of beanball retaliation, the eccentricities of pitchers, and the timelessness of the game. His swinging prose brings every moment gloriously to life.