The Curse of the Bambino

The Boston Red Sox's loss to the New York Yankees in the 2003 playoffs has been called "the game of the century," evidence that the rivalry between the Red Sox and the Yankees was hotter than ever. In the wake of that defeat, author and Boston Globe sports columnist Dan Shaughnessy updated his bewitching story of the curse that laid over the Red Sox after they sold Babe Ruth to the hated Yankees in 1920. Here he sheds light on classic Sox debacles from the years before they broke the curse and finally reached the World Championship again—from Johnny Pesky's so-called hesitation throw to the horrifying dribbler that slithered between Bill Buckner's legs. Lively and filled with anecdotes, this is baseball folklore at its best.Shaughnessy emerges as something like a jockÆs Hawthorne, evoking the muse and writing of witchcraft, foiled heroism, and the scarlett letter B upon every Red Sox fanÆs breast. (Scott Booth, The National)

A wonderful book that performs magnificently on every levelùas history, as mythology, as drama, and as pure entertainment. (Doris Kearns Goodwin)

The quintessential New England horror story. Read it and weep. (Stephen King)Dan Shaughnessy is a sports columnist for the Boston Globe. He is the author of numerous books on Boston’s rich sports history, including Ever Green: The Story of the Boston Celtics and One Strike Away.