"Brosnan obviously knows his baseball, writes about it wittily, informally and with irony. He is a cynical, tough professional athlete and his book makes wonderful reading."--New YorkerFrom the author of The Long Season--considered by many to be the greatest baseball book of all time--comes another classic sports memoir by legendary pitcher Jim Brosnan, which chronicles how his team, the Cincinnati Reds, went on to win the 1961 National League pennant.In Pennant Race, Brosnan--with his trademark wise-guy wit and plain-spoken practicality--once again offers a refreshingly candid alternative to hackneyed baseball mythologizing. Day by day, game by game, Brosnan reveals the real lives of professional ballplayers: their exhilaration and frustration, hope and despair, chronic worry over job security, playful camaraderie, world-weary cynicism, and boyish--if cautious--optimism. Although the Reds would ultimately lose the World Series to the Yankees, for Brosnan and his teammates, this was a winning season. Pennant Race vividly captures a remarkable year in the life of a ball club and the golden age of one of Major League Baseball's most memorable eras.