George Plimpton

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The Man In The Flying Lawn Chair: And Other Excursions And Observations

George Plimpton

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George Plimpton on Sports

George Plimpton

"There are people who would perhaps call me a dilettante, because it looks as though I'm having too much fun.I have never been convinced there's anything inherently wrong in having fun." -- George PlimptonGeorge Plimpton on Sports collects the best writing -- the most observant, the most acerbic, the most humane, and the most fun -- from George Plimpton's long career as the consummate and prototypical participatory sports journalist.Included are excerpts from his book-length work, as well as articles that have appeared in Sports Illustrated and other magazines and sporting journals, that range from golf and bowling to his experiences trying out for quarterback with the Detroit Lions and pitching to the Major League All-Stars, to sparring a couple of rounds with one of the toughest boxers in the sport.

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Other editions: Softcover - 2005

The Paris Review Guide to Good Writing

George Plimpton

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As Told At The Explorers Club: More Than Fifty Gripping Tales Of Adventure

George Plimpton

For more than a century, The Explorers Club has been the meeting place for some of the most daring adventurers on the planet. It's a legendary oasis, where a man just back from the Gobi Desert might kick back and, over some port, have a chat with a fellow off to Bandung. Here then, are some of the best tales ever swapped at that capital of adventure, including: Anthony Fiola on being in close quarters with a polar bear Charles Lindbergh on his famous flight Felix Reisenberg on the Arctic Anne Keenleyside, Ph. D. on cannibalism Roald Amundsen on the explorer Stefansson Mervyn Cowie on hunting killer lions Jean-Marc Boivin on hang-gliding Curtis and Kathleen Saville on oceanic rowing E. W. Deming on Sitting Bull's mysterious death It's some of the finest writing on some of the most hair-raising journeys ever made, all selected by editor George Plimpton, himself a member of The Explorers Club.

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Other editions: Softcover - 2005

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The Man In The Flying Lawn Chair: And Other Excursions And Observations

George Plimpton; Sarah Dudley Plimpton

George Plimpton needed no encouragement. If there was a sport to play, a party to throw, a celebrity to amaze, a fireworks display to ignite, Plimpton was front and center hurling the pitch, popping the corks, lighting the fuse. And then, of course, writing about it with incomparable zest and style. His books made him a legend. The Paris Review, the magazine he founded and edited, won him a throne in literary heaven. Somehow, in the midst of his self-generated cyclones, Plimpton managed to toss off dazzling essays, profiles, and New Yorker “Talk of the Town” pieces. This delightful volume collects the very best of Plimpton’s inspired brief “excursions.”
Whether he was escorting Hunter Thompson to the Fear and Loathing movie premiere in New York or tracking down the California man who launched himself into the upper atmosphere with nothing but a lawn chair and a bunch of weather balloons, Plimpton had a rare knack for finding stories where no one else thought to look. Who but Plimpton would turn up in Las Vegas, notebook in hand, for the annual porn movie awards gala?

Among the many gems collected here are accounts of helping Jackie Kennedy plan an unforgettable children’s birthday party, the time he improvised his way through amateur night at Harlem’s famed Apollo Theater, and how he managed to get himself kicked out of Exeter just weeks before graduation.

The grand master of what he called “participatory journalism,” George Plimpton followed his bent and his genius down the most unbelievable rabbit holes–but he always came up smiling. This exemplary, utterly captivating volume is a fitting tribute to one of the great literary lives of our time.

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Boxing: 15 Rounds of Knockout Writing on the Sweet Science

George Plimpton

Blow by blow, no other sport awakens the deepest human instincts of its spectators like boxing. Professional boxers rank among the most celebrated athletes in history, and their epic battles in and out of the ring have always been the most read and talked about sports stories. Tales of champions such as Muhammad Ali, "Smokin" Joe Frasier, and Sugar Ray Leonard remind us of the rich heritage of the sometimes brutish sport, while at the same time bringing to light the humanness of our heroes.
Edited and introduced by sportswriting legend George Plimpton, BOXING transports us into the dressing room of Muhammad Ali, re-creates the shocking death of a boxer in the ring, acquaints us with one of the most memorable fictional fighters ever created, and much more. The 15 pieces--to correlate with a 15-round championship fight--form a definitive collection of the best prose on boxing.

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The Curious Case of Sidd Finch

George Plimpton

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Other editions: Softcover - 1988, Hardcover - 1988, Hardcover - 1987

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Ernest Shackleton

George Plimpton

Writer and media personality George Plimpton not only tells Shackleton's story, but recounts his own recent adventure following Shackleton's footsteps through the bleak, beautiful seas, and islands at the bottom of the world. A groundbreaking series of illustrated biographies, A & E Biographies combines the smart, concise approach of the hugely popular A&E Biography television series with the illuminating visual approach of DK Publishing to present the lives of history's most colorful figures.Television's longest running, single-topic documentary series Biography on A&E Network is not only one of the most successful shows - it is one of the most popular. Biography has profiled more than 900 people in its fifteen years.

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The Bogey Man

George Plimpton

"Plimpton will interest even the man who can't tell a pitching wedge from a putter.... This is really a book about a kind of madness with rules, and anyone can appreciate the appeal of that." -Newsweek THE BOGEY MAN remains arguably the funniest book on golf ever written. George Plimpton here joins the pro golf circuit for a month of self-imposed torture in the name of bringing professional sport to the sphere of the average man. Arnold Palmer, Dow Finsterwald, Wlater Hagan, and others populate this intriguing, classic, candid view from the first tee.

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Other editions: Softcover - 1993, Softcover - 1989, Softcover - 1983

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Mad Ducks and Bears

George Plimpton

MAD DUCKS AND BEARS is the engaging companion to George Plimpton's PAPER LION. In this book, Plimptons personal favorite, he rejoins two of his football teammates from the Detroit Lions, lineman John Gordy and Alex Karras, to talk about their careers in this sometimes brutal, always fascinating game. MAD DUCKS AND BEARS is a more reflective, less madcap book than what we have come to expect from Plimpton - but no less truthful and searching.

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Other editions: 1973

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Paper Lion

George Plimpton

In the mid-'60s, Plimpton joined the Detroit Lions at their preseason camp as a 36-year-old rookie quarterback wannabe, and stuck with the club through an intra-squad game before the paying public a month later. The result is a literary masterpiece about professional football that not only elevated the art of participatory journalism to an art form, but also remains one of the most insightful and hilarious books ever written on the game. The Detroit Lions agreed to permit Plimpton-wearing Number 0-to join them for four weeks of training camp, and to culminate his apprenticeship by calling a series of plays in an intra-squad game in Pontiac Stadium. No holds are barred in this memorable, on-the-field look at football and how the professionals play it. Naturally, Plimpton didn't make it as a football hero; he barely affords himself a dignified account of his performance on the field, which is just as well. What remains is an enduring classic of professional football as it looks to a first-string writer trying out as a last-string quarterback.

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Other editions: Softcover - 1988, 1986, Hardcover - 1981, Softcover - 1977, Hardcover - 1966

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Out of My League

George Plimpton

A classic of sport, and the first of George Plimpton's remarkable forays into "participatory" journalism, OUT OF MY LEAGUE chronicles with wit, charm, and grace what happens when a self-professed amateur wonders how he would fare on a baseball mound in a major league game. On an ordinary afternoon in the third-base-line seats of Yankee Stadium, Plimpton hits on what seems an inspired idea--to get on the mound and pitch a few innings to the All Stars of the American and National Leagues. What begins as a fun-filled stunt, for the "average man" to pitch in the Big Leagues, comes to a nearly humiliating end. This honest and hilarious tale features Mickey Mantle, Billy Martin, Willie Mays, Ernie Banks, Whitey Ford, Ralph Houk, Richie Ashburn, and other baseball greats. What happens when America's favorite sports dilettante tries his arm against the likes of hall-of-fame baseball players recalls every young boy's forgotten dream of heroics on a baseball diamond; and for that fact alone, OUT OF MY LEAGUE remains one of George Plimpton's most beloved works.

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Other editions: Softcover - 1993, Softcover - 1983

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Shadow Box

George Plimpton

SHADOW BOX is one of George Plimpton's most engaging looks at professional sport through the eyes of an amateur. Stepping into the ring against the light-heavyweight champion Archie Moore, Plimpton pauses to wonder why he ever became a participatory journalist. Bloodied but unbowed, he holds his own in the bout - and brings back this timeless look at boxing and its devotees, among them Muhammed Ali, Joe Frazier, Ernest Hemingway, and Norman Mailer.

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Other editions: Softcover - 1993, 1977

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Open Net

George Plimpton

OPEN NET is another inimitable account of an amateur's foibles meeting the world of professional sport. George Plimpton takes to the ice a goalie for the Boston Bruins, after first signing a document holding the team harmless if he should meet with injury or death as their amateur goaltender. He survives a game against the Philadelphia Flyers relaticely unscathed - and brings back this memorable portrait of the rough-and-tumble world of professional hockey.

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Other editions: Softcover - 1993, Hardcover - 1988, Softcover - 1987

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The Art of the Bookplate

George Plimpton; James Keenan; James P. Keenan

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Pet Peeves: Or Whatever Happened to Doctor Rawff?

George Plimpton

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Paris Review

George Plimpton

The latest issue of THE PARIS REVIEW highlights the art of biography in interviews with esteemed biographers Robert Caro, David McCullough, and Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. This spring issue also includes reminiscences of literary life in Paris by Richard Wilbur and Norman Mailer, as well as contributions from such distinguished biographers as Antonia Fraser, Philip Ziegler, and Michael Holroyd.

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Other editions: Softcover - 1997, Softcover - 1997, Softcover - 1997, Softcover - 1996, Softcover - 1996, Softcover - 1996, Softcover - 1996, Softcover - 1995, Softcover - 1995

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Truman Capote: In Which Various Freinds, Enemies, Acquaintances, and Detractors Recall His Turbulent Career

George Plimpton

He was the most social of writers, and at the height of his career, he was the very nexus of the glamorous worlds of the arts, politics and society, a position best exemplified by his still legendary Black and White Ball. Truman truly knew everyone, and now the people who knew him best tell his remarkable story to bestselling author and literary lion, George Plimpton.Using the oral-biography style that made his Edie (edited with Jean Stein) a bestseller, George Plimpton has blended the voices of Capotes friends, lovers, and colleagues into a captivating and narrative. Here we see the entire span of Capotes life, from his Southern childhood, to his early days in New York; his first literary success with the publication of Other Voices, Other Rooms; his highly active love life; the groundbreaking excitement of In Cold Blood, the first "nonfiction novel"; his years as a jet-setter; and his final days of flagging inspiration, alcoholism, and isolation. All his famous friends and enemies are here: C.Z. Guest, Katharine Graham, Lauren Bacall, Gore Vidal, Norman Mailer, Joan Didion, John Huston, William F. Buckley, Jr., and dozens of others.Full of wonderful stories, startlingly intimate and altogether fascinating, this is the most entertaining account of Truman Capote's life yet, as only the incomparable George Plimpton could have done it.

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Truman Capote: In Which Various Friends, Enemies, Acquaintances, and Detractors Recall His Turbulent Career

George Plimpton

He was the most social of writers, and at the height of his career he was the point where the glamorous worlds of the arts, society, and politics all met--a status perhaps best exemplified by his still-legendary Black and White Ball. Truman Capote truly knew everyone, and now the people who knew him best tell his remarkable story to bestselling author and literary lion George Plimpton.Using oral biography, a technique that perfectly matches the style of his subject, George Plimpton blends the voices of Capotes lovers, haters, acquaintances, and colleagues into a captivating and highly readable narrative. Here we are present for the entire span of Capotes life: his Southern childhood and his early days in New York; his first literary success with the publication of Other Voices, Other Rooms; his highly active love life; the groundbreaking excitement of In Cold Blood, the first "nonfiction novel"; his years as a jet-setter; and his final days of flagging inspiration, alcoholism, and isolation. All his famous friends and enemies are here: Katherine Graham, Lauren Bacall, Gore Vidal, Joan Didion, William Styron, Kurt Vonnegut, Norman Mailer, Lee Radziwill, John Huston, John Knowles, William F. Buckley, Jr., and dozens of others.Full of wonderful stories, startlingly intimate, and altogether fascinating, this is the most entertaining account of Truman Capote's life yet, as only the incomparable George Plimpton could write it.

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Hampton Shorts: Fiction Plus from the East End

George Plimpton; Judith Rossner; David Ignatow; Daniel Stern; Bruce J. Friedman; Pintauro. Joe

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The X Factor: A Quest for Excellence

George Plimpton

Celebrated journalist and author George Plimpton sets out to find that elusive quality--which he calls the "X Factor"--that all winners, from famous athletes to successful CEOs, seem to possess. In a quest both hilarious and informative, Plimpton corners sports superstars, famous coaches, successful businesspeople, and others, putting to each the same question: What is it that allows an individual, or a team, to outperform competitors who are no less gifted, mentally and physically? Media pubilcity.

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Other editions: Hardcover - 1995

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The Paris Review, No 135

George Plimpton

This issue celebrates the great American tradition of literary humor and investigates the future of the medium. Brendan Gill ponders his varied career in a Writers-at-Work Interview, and reflects on New Yorker humorists from Thurber to Frazier. Also featured: Jay McInerney, Fran Leibowitz, T. Coraghessan Boyle, Howard Stern, and Mona Simpson. Photos & illustrations.

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Toni Frissell: Photographs 1933-1967

George Plimpton; Sidney Frissell Stafford

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Paper Lion/Confessions of a Last-String Quarterback

George Plimpton

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Mad Ducks and Bears/Football Revisited

George Plimpton

Plimpton joins a couple of former teammates -- Alex Karras and John Gordy -- to reminisce and reflect on their careers.

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