Description:
In a TV universe crammed with cliché, sportscaster Jack Whitaker has managed to survive for half a century, his dignity intact, his respect for the word unquestioned. Whether perched in the press box or standing on the sidelines of our various fields of play, he's imparted a certain elegance, poetry, and wit from his microphone to our living rooms. Not surprisingly, his memoirs--whether he's in Normandy after D-day or Louisville on Derby day--are as limber and engaging as his commentaries. A world-class raconteur, Whitaker writes affectionately of the early days of sports television, but he's no mere booster. If American television and sports seemed to grow up hand in hand, Whitaker won't hold his tongue on ways in which they have not matured well together. Nor is he about to make any effort to control his affection for golf and horse racing, the two sports that have particularly captured his heart, and why should he? His writing on these pursuits is superb. And while his chapter on the favorite courses he's played should turn golfers green with envy, it doesn't; his reportage is too generous for that. Whitaker's been a privileged observer--and sharer. In his years at CBS and ABC, he has traveled the world, covered the mighty, been thrilled by victory, and agonized over defeat. His memoirs, to be sure, are a fan's notes, but they are laced with perspective and conclude with advice: "Sports cannot end wars, erase racism, or end poverty, but properly guided they can be a more positive force in these areas than they are now. To help with that guidance seems a worthwhile challenge for a new generation of sportscasters and sportswriters. All they must remember is that it's an adventure, not brain surgery for children." Among today's self-enthralled talking heads, that's become harder than it seems. --Jeff Silverman
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