George Plimpton (1927–2003)

Author of Truman Capote

215+ Works 4,682 Members 59 Reviews 3 Favorited

About the Author

George Ames Plimpton was born March 18, 1927. He was educated first at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, and then spent four years at Harvard majoring in English and editing the Harvard Lampoon, followed by two at King's College, Cambridge. Before he left for Cambridge, he served as a tank show more driver in Italy for the U.S. Army from 1945 through 1948. After graduation, at about 27 years of age, Plimpton went with his friends to Paris. There they founded the Paris Review in 1953 and published poetry and short story writers and did interviews. In the '50s, Plimpton and staff came to New York, where they kept the Review going for half a century. The Review has published over 150 issues. Plimpton also served as a volunteer for Robert Kennedy's 1968 presidential run and was walking in front of him as the candidate was assassinated in the kitchen of a Los Angeles hotel. Plimpton was known as a "participatory journalist". In order to research his books and articles, he quarterbacked in a pre-season NFL game, pitched to several all-stars (retiring Willie Mays and Richie Ashburn) in an exhibition prior to Baseball's 1959 All-Star game, performed as a trapeze artist for the Clyde Beatty-Cole Brothers Circus, and fought boxers Archie Moore and Sugar Ray Robinson. Plimpton was alson known by the nickname the Prince of Cameos for the amount of work he did in films, playing small parts and screenwriting. He was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2002. Within a month of the academy induction, the French made him a Chevalier, the Legion of Honor's highest rank. The Guild, an arts organization based on Long Island, gave him a lifetime achievement award. Plimpton was also a member of PEN; the Pyrotechnics Guild International; the National Football League Alumni Association; and the Mayflower Descendants Society. In 2003, Plimpton decided to write his memoirs, signing a $750,000 deal with Little, Brown and Co. Before he could finish, George Plimpton died, on September 26, 2003 of natural causes at the age of 76. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Includes the names: Plimpton George, George Ed Plimpton, George Plimpton ed., et al. George Plimpton, editor George Plimpton, Edited by George Plimpton, George Edited By Plimpton, George Plimpton, et al., Eds, George (ed.); et al. Plimpton

Also includes: George A. Plimpton (2)

Image credit: MDCarchives

Series

Writers at Work

Works by George Plimpton

Popular Recent

Truman Capote (1997) 450 copies, 3 reviews

Paper Lion [1968 film] (1966) — Original book — 444 copies, 10 reviews

D.V. (1984) 369 copies, 6 reviews

Writer's Chapbook (1989) — Introduction — 238 copies, 1 review

The Curious Case of Sidd Finch (1987) 218 copies, 3 reviews

Writers at Work 02 (1966) 162 copies, 2 reviews

The Paris Review: Women Writers at Work (1989) — Editor — 160 copies

The Bogey Man: A Month on the PGA Tour (1968) 154 copies, 1 review

Writers at Work 03 (1968) — Editor — 154 copies

Out of My League (1961) 129 copies, 5 reviews

Open Net: A Professional Amateur in the World of Big-Time Hockey (1985) 110 copies, 4 reviews

Writers at Work 04 (1977) 107 copies

As Told at The Explorers Club: More Than Fifty Gripping Tales of Adventure (Explorers Club Classic) (2003) 97 copies

Writers at Work 05 (1981) — Editor — 95 copies

Mad Ducks and Bears: Football Revisited (1973) 93 copies, 1 review

Shadow Box: An Amateur in the Ring (1977) 79 copies, 3 reviews

Home Run (Harvest Original) (2001) 77 copies, 1 review

The Best of Plimpton (1990) 76 copies

Writers at Work 07 (1986) — Editor — 74 copies

Writers at Work 06 (1984) — Editor — 65 copies

The Man in the Flying Lawn Chair: And Other Excursions and Observations (2004) 64 copies, 2 reviews

Writers at Work 08 (1988) — Editor — 53 copies

Ernest Shackleton (A&E Biography) (2003) 53 copies

The Paris Review: Poets at Work (1989) 53 copies

The Best American Sports Writing 1997 (1997) 49 copies

Fireworks (1984) 46 copies

Writers at Work 09 (1992) 44 copies, 2 reviews

The X Factor: A Quest for Excellence (1990) 43 copies, 1 review

One for the Record: The Inside Story of Hank Aaron's Chase for the Home Run Record (1974) 33 copies

The Paris Review Anthology (1990) 28 copies

George Plimpton on Sports (2003) 26 copies

The Norton Book of Sports (1992) 26 copies

One More July: A Football Dialogue with Bill Curry (1977) 21 copies

The Paris Review 142 1997 Spring (1997) — Editor — 21 copies, 1 review

Pet Peeves: Or Whatever Happened to Doctor Rawff? (2000) 20 copies

The Paris Review 136 1995 Fall (1995) — Editor — 18 copies

The Paris Review 154 2000 Spring (2000) 18 copies

The Paris Review 144 1997 Fall (1998) — Editor — 15 copies

The Paris Review 167 2003 Fall (2003) 15 copies

The Paris Review 150 1999 Spring (1999) — Editor — 15 copies

The Paris Review 219 2016 Winter (2016) 15 copies, 2 reviews

The Paris Review 151 1999 Summer (1999) 13 copies

The Paris Review 166 2003 Summer (2003) 13 copies

The Best American Movie Writing 1998 (Serial) (1998) 13 copies

The Paris Review 147 1998 Summer (1998) — Editor — 13 copies

A Sports Bestiary (1982) 13 copies

The Paris Review 134 1995 Spring (1995) — Editor — 13 copies, 1 review

The Paris Review 162 2002 Summer (2002) — Editor — 12 copies

The Paris Review 137 1995 Winter (1996) 12 copies

The Paris Review 79 1981 Spring (1981) — Editor — 11 copies

The Paris Review 128 1993 Fall (1993) 11 copies, 1 review

The Rabbit's Umbrella (1973) 10 copies, 1 review

The Paris Review 146 1998 Spring (1998) 10 copies

The Paris Review 140 1996 Fall (1996) 10 copies

The Paris Review 145 1997 Winter (1998) — Editor — 10 copies

The Paris Review 135 1995 Summer (1995) — Editor — 10 copies

The Paris Review 43 1968 Summer (1968) — Editor — 9 copies

The Paris Review 159 2001 Fall (2001) — Editor — 9 copies

The Paris Review 18 1958 Spring (1958) — Editor — 9 copies, 1 review

The Paris Review 35 1965 Fall (1965) 8 copies

The Paris Review 133 1994 Winter (1995) 8 copies

The Paris Review 141 1996 Winter (1997) 7 copies

Sports (1978) 7 copies

The Paris Review 31 1964 Winter-Spring (1964) — Editor — 7 copies

The Paris Review 156 2000 Fall (2000) — Editor — 7 copies

The Paris Review 100 1986 Summer-Fall (1986) 7 copies

The Paris Review 168 2003 Winter (2003) 7 copies

The Paris Review 158 2001 Spring-Summer (2001) 7 copies

The Paris Review 21 1959 Spring-Summer (1959) — Editor — 6 copies

The Paris Review 149 1998 Winter (1999) — Editor — 6 copies

The Paris Review 78 1980 Summer (1980) 6 copies, 1 review

The Paris Review 120 1991 Fall (1991) 6 copies

The Paris Review 132 1994 Fall (1994) — Editor — 6 copies

The Paris Review 82 1981 Winter (1981) — Editor — 6 copies

The Paris Review 148 1998 Fall (1999) 6 copies

The Paris Review 106 1988 Spring (1988) — Editor — 6 copies, 1 review

The Paris Review 84 1982 Summer (1982) — Editor — 6 copies, 1 review

The Paris Review 119 1991 Summer (1991) — Editor — 6 copies

The Paris Review 139 1996 Summer (1996) 6 copies

The Paris Review 28 1962 Summer-Fall (1962) 5 copies

The Paris Review 22 1960 Fall-Winter (1960) — Editor — 5 copies

The Paris Review 113 1989 Winter II (1989) 5 copies

The Paris Review 165 2003 Spring (2003) 5 copies

The Paris Review 143 1997 Summer (1997) — Editor — 5 copies

The Paris Review 87 1983 Spring (1987) 5 copies

The Paris Review 122 1992 Spring (1992) — Editor — 5 copies

The Paris Review 125 1992 Winter (1992) — Editor — 5 copies

The Paris Review 115 1990 Summer (1990) 5 copies

The Paris Review 111 1989 Summer (1989) — Editor — 5 copies

The Paris Review 52 1971 Summer (1971) — Editor — 4 copies

The Paris Review 124 1992 Fall (1992) 4 copies

The Paris Review 51 1971 Winter (1971) — Editor — 4 copies

The Paris Review 89 1983 Fall (1983) — Editor — 4 copies

The Paris Review 116 1990 Fall (1990) 4 copies

The Paris Review 29 1963 Winter-Spring (1963) — Editor — 4 copies

The Paris Review 32 1964 Summer-Fall (1964) 4 copies

The Paris Review 157 2000 Winter (2000) — Editor — 4 copies

The Paris Review 130 1994 Spring (1994) — Editor — 4 copies

The Paris Review 126 1993 Spring (1993) 4 copies

The Paris Review 40 1967 Winter-Spring (1966) — Editor — 4 copies

16 on 16 : Irish writers on the Easter Rising (1988) 4 copies

The Paris Review 117 1990 Winter (1990) 4 copies

The Paris Review 37 1966 Spring (1966) — Editor — 4 copies

The Paris Review 121 1991 Winter (1991) — Editor — 4 copies

The Paris Review 164 2002 Winter (2002) — Editor — 4 copies

The Paris Review 76 1979 Fall (1979) — Editor — 3 copies

The Paris Review 60 1974 Winter (1974) — Editor — 3 copies

The Paris Review 138 1996 Spring (1996) 3 copies

The Paris Review 108 1988 Fall 3 copies

The Paris Review 161 2002 Spring (2002) — Editor — 3 copies

The Paris Review 41 1967 Summer-Fall (1967) — Editor — 3 copies

The Paris Review 123 1992 Summer (1992) — Editor — 3 copies

The Paris Review 23 1960 Spring (1960) — Editor — 3 copies

The Paris Review 46 1969 Spring (1969) — Editor — 3 copies

The Paris Review 42 1968 Winter-Spring (1968) — Editor — 3 copies

The Paris Review 13 1956 Summer (1956) — Editor — 3 copies

The art of fiction no. 21: Ernest Hemingway 3 copies, 1 review

The Paris Review 80 1981 Summer (1981) 3 copies

The Paris Review 163 2002 Fall (2000) — Editor — 3 copies

The Paris Review 103 1987 Summer (1987) — Editor — 3 copies

The Paris Review 98 1985 Winter (1985) — Editor — 3 copies

The Paris Review 90 1983 Winter (1983) 3 copies

The Paris Review 105 1987 Winter (1987) — Editor — 3 copies

The Paris Review 127 1993 Summer (1993) 3 copies

The Paris Review 96 1985 Summer (1985) — Editor — 3 copies

The Paris Review 38 1966 Summer (1966) — Editor — 3 copies

The Paris Review 61 1975 Spring (1975) — Editor — 3 copies

The Paris Review 129 1993 Winter (1993) 3 copies

The Paris Review 94 1984 Winter (1984) 3 copies

The Paris Review 112 1989 Winter — Editor — 3 copies

The Paris Review 68 1976 Winter 3 copies

The Paris Review 114 1990 Spring (1990) 3 copies

The Paris Review 19 1958 Summer (1958) — Editor — 3 copies

The Paris Review 30 1963 Summer-Fall — Editor — 3 copies, 1 review

The Paris Review 155 2000 Summer (2000) — Editor — 3 copies

The Paris Review 69 1977 Spring (1977) — Editor — 3 copies

The Paris Review 24 1960 Summer-Fall — Editor — 2 copies

El hombre que estuvo allí: Lo mejor de George Plimpton (Spanish Edition) (2017) 2 copies

The Paris Review 93 1984 Fall (1984) — Editor — 2 copies

The Paris Review 56 1973 Spring (1973) — Editor — 2 copies

The American literary anthology 2 copies

The Writer's Chapbook: A Compendium of Fact, Opinion, Wit, and Advice from the Twentieth Century's Preeminent Writers 2 copies

The Paris Review 50 1970 Fall (1970) — Editor — 2 copies

The Paris Review 49 1970 Summer (1970) 2 copies

The Paris Review 95 1985 Spring (1985) — Editor — 2 copies

The Paris Review 153 1999 Winter (1999) — Editor — 2 copies

The Paris Review Volume 30, No. 107: Summer, 1988 2 copies

George Plimpton PAPER LION 1966 Harper & Row, NY Early Printing HC/DJ [Hardcover] unknown 2 copies

The Paris Review 27 1962 Winter-Spring (1962) — Editor — 2 copies

The Paris Review 16 1957 Spring-Summer (1975) 2 copies

The Paris Review 48 1969 Fall (1969) — Editor — 2 copies

Sports Illustrated Baseball (1993) — Editor — 2 copies, 1 review

The Paris Review 92 1984 Summer (1984) — Editor — 2 copies

The Paris Review 86 1982 Winter (1982) — Editor — 2 copies

The Paris Review 71 1977 Fall 2 copies

The Paris Review 59 1974 Fall (1974) — Editor — 2 copies

The Paris Review 152 1999 Fall 2 copies

The Paris Review 75 1979 Spring 2 copies

The Paris Review 99 1986 Spring (1986) — Editor — 2 copies

The Paris Review 109 1988 Winter — Editor — 2 copies

The Paris Review 102 1987 Spring (1987) — Editor — 2 copies

The Paris Review 57 1974 Spring (1974) — Editor — 2 copies

The American Literary Anthology 2 (1969) 2 copies

The Paris Review 70 1977 Summer (1977) — Editor — 2 copies

The Paris Review 74 1978 Fall-Winter (1978) — Editor — 2 copies

The Paris Review 81 1981 Fall — Editor — 2 copies

The Paris Review 64 1975 Winter — Editor — 2 copies

The Paris Review 39 1966 Fall (1966) — Editor — 2 copies

American Journey: the Times of Robert F. Kennedy (Interviews By Jean Stein) (1970) 2 copies

The Paris Review 55 1972 Fall 2 copies

The Paris Review 20 1958 Fall-Winter (1958) — Editor — 2 copies

Oakes Ames: Jottings of a Harvard Botanist (1980) 2 copies

The Paris Review 34 1965 Spring-Summer — Editor — 2 copies

The art of fiction no. 149: John Le Carre 1 copy, 1 review

The Paris Review 107 1988 Summer 1 copy

The Paris Review 118 1991 Spring — Editor — 1 copy

The Best of George Plimpton 1 copy

The Paris Review 192 : Spring 2010 (2010) 1 copy

the paris review magazine (r. crumb the art of comics, summer 2010 193) (2010) 1 copy

The Best of Bad Hemingway, Volume Two (1991) 1 copy

The Paris Review #72 (Winter 1977) 1 copy

The American Literary Anthology / 2 (Brautigan) 1 copy

The Paris Review 26 1961 Summer-Fall (1961) — Editor — 1 copy

The Paris Review 10 1955 Fall — Editor — 1 copy

The Paris Review 85 1982 Fall 1 copy

The Paris Review: Number 25, Winter / Spring 1961 1 copy

THE PARIS REVIEW 27 WINTER/SPRING 1962 1 copy

The Paris Review 131 1994 Summer 1 copy

The Paris Review 12 1956 Spring 1 copy

The Paris Review 101 1986 Winter — Editor — 1 copy

The Hamptons : Long Island's East End 1 copy

The Paris Review 53 1972 Winter 1 copy

Paper Lion and Veeck- as in wreck- Slip Cased Set (Autographed Sports Classics) (1966) 1 copy

The Paris Review 4 1953 Winter — Editor — 1 copy

How to make a speech 1 copy

The Paris Review 33 1965 Winter-Spring — Editor — 1 copy

The Paris Review 36 1966 Winter — Editor — 1 copy

The Paris Review 62 1975 Summer — Editor — 1 copy

The Third American Literary Anthology (1970) 1 copy

The Paris Review 44 1968 Fall — Editor — 1 copy

The Paris Review 45 1968 Winter — Editor — 1 copy

The Paris Review 83 1982 Spring — Editor — 1 copy

Sports Classics 10-Volume Hardcover Boxed Set: Paper Lion; The Glory of Their Times; Farewell To Sport; Veeck - as in Wreck; Babe; The Long Season; The Boys of Summer; Instant… (1970) 1 copy

The Paris Review 91 1984 Spring (1984) — Editor — 1 copy

The Paris Review 25 1961 Winter-Spring — Editor — 1 copy

The Paris Review 11 1955 Winter 1 copy

The Paris Review 47 1969 Summer — Editor — 1 copy

The Paris Review 6 1954 Summer — Editor — 1 copy

The Paris Review 5 1954 Spring — Editor — 1 copy

The Paris Review 17 1957 Fall-Winter — Editor — 1 copy

The Paris Review 88 1983 Summer (1983) 1 copy

The Paris Review 66 1976 Summer (1976) — Editor — 1 copy

The Paris Review 65 1976 Spring (1976) — Editor — 1 copy

The Paris Review 14 1956 Fall — Editor — 1 copy

The Paris Review 77 1980 Winter-Spring 1 copy

Work Explorer

Associated Works

Roughing It (1872) — Introduction, some editions — 3,656 copies, 42 reviews

Edie: An American Biography (1982) — Editor — 830 copies, 11 reviews

The New Journalism (1973) — Contributor — 361 copies, 2 reviews

Baseball: A Literary Anthology (2002) — Contributor — 360 copies, 4 reviews

The Paris Review Book of Heartbreak, Madness, Sex, Love, Betrayal, Outsiders, Intoxication, War, Whimsy, Horrors, God, Death, Dinner, Baseball, Travels, the Art of Writing, and… (2003) — Introduction — 342 copies, 1 review

Red-Dirt Marijuana and Other Tastes (1967) — Introduction, some editions — 292 copies, 2 reviews

Endless Feasts: Sixty Years of Writing from Gourmet (2002) — Contributor — 268 copies, 2 reviews

The Best American Sports Writing of the Century (1999) — Contributor — 199 copies, 1 review

Baseball as America: Seeing Ourselves Through Our National Game (2002) — Contributor — 198 copies

An American Album: One Hundred and Fifty Years of Harper's Magazine (2000) — Contributor — 145 copies, 1 review

Above New York: A Collection of Historical and Original Aerial Photographs of New York City (1988) — Introduction — 114 copies

Best Of Bad Hemingway: Vol 1: choice entries from the harry's bar & american grill imitation hemingway competition (1989) — Introduction, some editions — 107 copies, 1 review

Rio Lobo [1970 film] (1970) 104 copies

When We Were Kings [1996 film] (1996) 50 copies

The Signet Book of American Essays (2006) — Contributor — 40 copies

How to Use the Power of the Printed Word (1985) — Author — 34 copies, 1 review

Christopher Felver: The Importance of Being (2001) — Contributor — 25 copies

Baseball, the Perfect Game : An All-Star Anthology Celebrating the Game's Greatest Players, Teams, and Moments (2005) — Contributor — 23 copies

Nero Wolfe: The Complete Second Season (2004) — Actor — 22 copies

I'm a Little Special: A Muhammad Ali Reader (1999) — Contributor — 20 copies

American Experience: The Donner Party [1992 TV episode] (1992) — Voice — 19 copies

Wonders: Writings and Drawings for the Child in Us All (1980) — Contributor — 19 copies

The Queen [1968 film] (1968) — Self — 11 copies

Iron Mike: A Mike Tyson Reader (2002) — Foreword — 10 copies, 1 review

Tagged

Main Associated

American literature (26) anthology (56) authors (30) autobiography (47) baseball (105) biography (219) essays (73) fashion (52) fiction (95) football (91) George Plimpton (24) golf (30) hockey (22) humor (39) interviews (160) journal (49) journalism (55) literary criticism (38) literary journal (67) literature (90) memoir (80) non-fiction (227) Paris Review (46) periodical (23) poetry (59) read (37) sports (206) to-read (89) writers (52) writing (189)

Common Knowledge

Canonical name: Plimpton, George
Legal name: Plimpton, George Ames
Birthdate: 1927-03-18
Date of death: 2003-09-25
Gender: male
Education: Harvard University (BA|1950)
University of Cambridge (BA|1952)
Occupations: journalist
actor
editor
writer
Organizations: American Academy of Arts and Letters (Literature ∙ 2002)
United States Army (WWII)
The Paris Review
Sports Illustrated
Relationships: Plimpton, Taylor (son)
Cause of death: heart attack
Nationality: USA
Birthplace: New York, New York, USA
Places of residence: New York, New York, USA
Place of death: New York, New York, USA
Associated Place (for map): New York, New York, USA

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73 reviews

RobertGerardHunt 8 reviews

The Man in the Flying Lawn Chair: And Other Excursions and Observations by George Plimpton

If you are an ordinary person living an unexceptional life, you may experience two conflicting emotions as you read this collection of Plimpton stories, namely envy and fascination. Envy at the privileged life of the author, for whom planning a child's birthday party with Jackie Onassis or scheming with Kurt Vonnegut to cease the buzzing of neighborhood model airplanes are as unremarkable as you or I putting a tank's worth of gas into the Civic. Fascination at the opportunity to explore show more other worlds and other lifestyles. This collection is most enjoyable when the name-dropping is minimal and Plimpton investigates people who have followed their own muses, as in the title story and a piece about a friend who persisted as a wildlife photographer despite frequent injury. There is also a nice story about Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater, wherein Plimpton not only describes his own experiences there but delves into the history of the theater as well. A segment on the adult film industry is marginally entertaining and seems merely vulgar in comparison to the rest. But always Plimpton is interesting and charmingly self-deprecating, and the reader is left with the impression that there has never been a better companion for dinner, adventure, or an evening out. show less

Sep 17, 20081 other review

lilithcat 552 reviews

D.V. by Diana Vreeland

I really adored this book. It's not written. Instead, it's rather obvious that the editors, George Plimpton and Christopher Hemphill, just sat down with Mrs. Vreeland and let her talk, and then pretty much transcribed the conversation as it had happened. And, boy, can she talk! A mile a minute is a conservative estimate. You zip through this book because you find yourself reading it as quickly as it was said. And it's full of italics! Vreeland's excitement and enthusiasm for whatever it is show more she's talking about are evident on the page.

What a life she led. Raised in a rawther social family, in London and Paris and New York, she married banker Reed Vreeland at the age of nineteen, and he was clearly the love of her life. She knew everyone, from Josephine Baker to Jacqueline Onassis with the Windsors in between, practically invented red, was fashion editor at Harper's Bazaar for twenty-six years and editor-in-chief at Vogue for eight, and ended her career at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute.

Remarks like "Unshined shoes are the end of civilization" and the famous "Pink is the navy blue of India" make Vreeland seem superficial. And, indeed, she herself said that she adored artifice. But she was also a very insightful, practical, intelligent and hard-working woman. She rightly says that the books one has read are the way you find out about a person. And although she says, "I stopped reading -- seriously reading -- years ago", she can talk about Tolstoy and kept The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon next to her bed. (More on Vreeland's books.)

If Chanel brought fashion kicking and screaming into the 20th-century, it was Vreeland (who adored and patronized Chanel) who made it part of the life of the woman-on-the-street. show less

Dec 27, 20095 other reviews

kimber-rose 217 reviews

Writers at Work 09: The Paris Review Interviews Ninth Series by George Plimpton

Really priceless stuff on 20th century writers. I checked this out of the library mainly for a rare interview with P. L. Travers, a writer I admire immensely. And it makes perfect sense indeed that the creator of Mary Poppins is a student of Zen. ( I should'v guessed!)

My favorite quote by her is: "If we're completely honest, not sentimental or nostalgic, we have no idea where childhood ends and maturity begins. It is one unending thread, not a life chopped up into sections out of touch with show more one another."

She did not see herself as a children's writer--even though children understood her better then grown ups--she wrote as she was inspired to write.

Another interview of interest was on Harold Bloom. I remember he was so famous as a literary critic back in the day, and here he is again harping on how the Color Purple is not literature(who was he arguing with??)...well, I get his point but it is interesting how the role of the literary critic has faded and now everyone's a critic. Everyone has their own take (hence we are here at Goodreads, getting to be our own critics now.) Still we now live in a world where we all get to have our say but standards have gone way, way down and all that seems to matter now are page-turners and whatever sells. ....Kind of sad, but a nice blast from the past to remember the world of the Nineties and how writers were -- a glimpse of the world before the internet changed everything. show less

Jan 4, 20251 other review

Pferdina 480 reviews

Paper Lion by George Plimpton

This interesting tale of the writer who joins the Detroit Lions for preseason training is a bit dated now. George Plimpton writes about his experiences in the training camp, mainly as the "last string quarterback," but also his attempts to learn other positions. Most of the book consists of descriptions of the other players and how they interact with each other: the hazing of the rookies, for example.

I'm not a fan of football, and know next to nothing about football in the late 1950s or show more early 1960s (with which this book is primarily concerned), so a lot of the information was probably lost on me. I didn't recognize the players' or coaches' names and I didn't get the references to big plays of the past. I read the book because I had heard of it as a classic in the genre of sports writing and I wanted to find out more. The writing was very good; I just didn't understand the football. The idea of an ordinary guy trying out for the professional football team has some appeal, though it seems completely ludicrous, and that's pretty much what Plimpton discovers: he isn't nearly as good as he would need to be to make the team at any position.

The other interesting aspect of the book (aside from the juicy football gossip) was the glimpse into a time gone by. The summer of Plimpton's experiment was long before I was born, so I was curious to find out how people (at least professional football players) lived then. The picture I saw was more working class, more urban, and simpler than my own life today. The players drink a lot of beer, they go to dance halls in the evening and practice actual dance steps together, they play cards, they do isometric exercises and there is no discussion of weight lifting or jogging, and they avoid milk and other foods that are bad for the "wind," whatever that means. In the off-season, they have regular jobs because football doesn't pay much. They drive beat up old cars and they are always one bad game away from being off the team. In fact, most of the professional teams do not even have their own stadiums to play in: the Lions played in Tiger Stadium, for example!

In summary, I think a sports fan, especially a football fan, would get a lot more enjoyment out of this book than I did. show less

Oct 16, 20229 other reviews

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