[close] Sports history is studded with miraculous moments when, down-to-the-wire, athletes reach beyond themselves and come up with more heart, more fortitude, more adrenaline than they knew they ever had. They prove time and again that it's not over 'til it's over, not until the fat lady sings. Al Silverman is the writer the subject calls out for-he thrills with us, the crowd, and with the players themselves. Inextricably linked with Brian's Song, based on the book I Am Third, Silverman recreates the most electrifying of these great sports events, whether the bottom of the ninth, the fifteenth round, or the eighteenth hole that brought cheering, screaming, crying fans to their feet.

The thirteen accounts in this memorable book celebrate the uncompromising unwillingness to quit that has proven, time and again: you had better not leave the stadium early. Among the stirring events relived here, in their historical context and glory, are the sixth game of the 1975 Red Sox-Reds World Series; the tumultuous 1971 Frazier-Ali fight; and the only sudden death pro football championship game ever played (Colts vs. Giants, 1958). Here is the race of a completely unknown contender's life in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics; the 1992 Duke-Kentucky battle for college basketball supremacy; the 1999 women's World Cup soccer match between China and the United States; and the epic quest for hockey gold at the 1980 Olympics.

With extraordinary narrative detail and fresh insights culled from interviews with many of the participants of these now-legendary contests, It's Not Over 'Til It's Over captures the thrill and astonishment of players and spectators alike. This is a book bursting with the charge and excitement of the great games. [close]