An incredible work of art!!

I myself am a Cardinals fan, but that does not mean that this book isn't a great read for any fan of baseball. I have friends and co-workers who are fans of the dreaded Cubs, they have read this book and loved it as well!

"Three Nights in August" finally gives the sports fan a look at all of the work and strategy that goes into managing a baseball team. If anyone out there thought that it would be an easy job, think again... Buzz goes into Tony's daily routines during the season, and it's hard to believe the man can stand up let alone manage the greatest team in baseball. I don't know how he does it getting a mere 5 hours of sleep a night!?!?

This book does a great job showing the stress and incite of a manager and how they must deal with it everyday. A wonderful book that should be read by anyone who is a true fan of the game!

I'm biased being a longtime Cardinal fan but any serious baseball fan will get a lot of inside information from this book. I couldn't believe all the things I learning reading about St. Louis manager Tony LaRussa matching wits with Chicago's Dusty Baker.

They make the game sound really complicated, maybe more so than it should be, but it's pretty mindboggling all the things that go on in LaRussa's head during a ballgame. I can understand why he is good friends with famous coaches like Bill Belechick and Bobby Knight. All of these guys are obssessed about their jobs and teaching their sports to their players. (They are also all big winners.)

Buzz Bissinger does an outstanding job giving so much information with such a little premise: a three-game series in 2003. It's a great character study, though, of LaRussa. You'll never look at this guy the same after reading this book, especially when it concerns what he does with this family. Yup, he's a strange dude!

Bissinger is the author of the popular "Friday Night Lights," so if you like his style of writing, check out this book. You'll learn a lot of baseball, even if you already know quite a bit.

For all of the hype and attention this book received, this has to be one of the most disappointing baseball books I have ever read. I read this book hoping to gain a deeper understanding of the inner workings of managerial strategy than a fan usually has; instead I was treated to excessive fawning over simplistic ideas and well as a lack of understanding of baseball and its' statistics. The author italicizes the phrase "hit and run" as if it were a copy writ invention of Tony LaRussa. He acts amazed at the idea that managers and pitching coaches actually plot out pitching matchups in advance [and refers to that plan as the Thing of Beauty (his caps, not mine) ad nauseum]. He describes a curveball that doesn't break as going from "a killer 12 to 6 morphing into a very mortal 12 to 3" when what he is trying to say is that it flattens out in the center of the plate. He quotes the statistical line of pitcher Garrett Stephenson from 2000 and 2001 to show how off of a year he is having when anyone can see that the only significant change is his won-loss record, which is more of an indication of run support from teammates. He tries to prove that Albert Pujols has the best start of a career of "any player in the history of the game" by comparing his early career stats to those of Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez, as if they are the two best players in the history of the game, and as if that would in turn mean that they had the best two year start of a ny players.. He refers to the video room operator as the Cardinals "secret weapon", as if they are the only team to do this. He calls Rich Ankiel a "once in a millennium" lefthander, which not only would make him the best lefthander in the history of baseball but also as likely to remain so for the next 900 years. He describes an early August game between the Cardinals and Cubs (who are about tied for first place) as one that "the Cards cannot lose if they want to remain in the division race". I could go on and on but the basic idea is that one gets the impression that Bissinger just DOES NOT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT BASEBALL. In addition, he has an atrocious writing style, with overstated metaphors and similes on almost every page. I would recommend this book for masochists who enjoy having their blood pressure shoot through the roof, as well as to any immediate family members of the author who would be so proud as to render them oblivious to the books' faults.

If you've ever wondered what it takes to be a leader -- the commitment, the focus, the almost obsessive compulsion that drives excellence then this book is a great backdrop. La Russa demonstrates what it takes to lead a team at such an elite level, the impact winning and losing has on his players and himself and how he develops the talent and manages ego...sounds eerily similar to the business world.

I must admit I'm a Cardinal fan of more than 50 years, but I really felt this is one of the FIVE BEST BOOKS I've ever read about baseball. The description of the inner workings of today's clubhouse and management structure were fascinating and very well written. I can see where people get the impression that LaRussa is a self-absorbed egotist, as this book would seem to support that impression. I am a 59-yearold male.

Loving baseball, though not necessarily the Cardinals, is a pre-requisite for enjoying this book. I've never been much of a LaRussa fan, but Bissinger does a very nice job of capturing LaRussa's intensity and philosophy of baseball.

The book uses a three game series against the Cubs in August 2003 to structure a narrative that includes flashbacks to the careers of LaRussa and others to give context to the particular moves and situations confronted during the series. It's a very nice narrative device, used effectively by Jane Leavy in her biography of Sandy Koufax, which was structured around Koufax's perfect game against the (who else?) Cubs in September 1965.

LaRussa's appeal is his ability to combine Joe Torre's approach to managing personalities, the instincts of an old time baseball man, and a willingness to question old baseball dogmas in the light of experience and new data. I've always thought that LaRussa overmanaged games, but Bissinger's book does a lot to promote LaRussa as one of the game's top managers.

Bissinger credits LaRussa with the major innovations in the evolution of the bullpen (i.e., one inning closers, set up men, and the idea of the bullpen as a calling rather than as a dustbin for rejected starters) and use of videotape. That's a bit of an overstatement. I remember the Yankees using Ron Davis to set up Gossage and even before then I remember Dick Williams using Knowles to set up Fingers. But LaRussa certainly was an important part of this trend.

The true baseball fan will love LaRussa's experimentation with replacing the one starter with a cadre of relievers, LaRussa's rejection of the closer-by-committee concept, his strategic calculus during the series, his handling of difficult player personalities, and how LaRussa deals with the beanball. Also, Dave Duncan comes across as one of the great pitching coaches, rivaling old timers like Sain and the more recent gurus like Mazzone. Finally, I was unaware of the influence of Paul Richards on LaRussa and the generation of managers who came to the fore in past 25 years.

On the downside, Bissinger overwrites. His flowery and overblown language gets in the way of the story. And he is, of course, too close to LaRussa given the constraints of a project in which he is essentially hired by LaRussa to tell LaRussa's story. Should LaRussa have gotten more out of a player like J.D. Drew? What about the tension between him and a class act like Rolen? Does his intensity and tactical assumptions get in the way of managing personalities to get the most out of them? What about his handling of steroid and substance abusers? These issues would have been explored more thoroughly by a more objective observer.

This is definitely a worthwhile book for the baseball aficionado. The general reader may want to steer clear.

3 Nights in August provides an interesting narrative to talk about a baseball team including the players, managers and all of the supporting staff. By limiting the book to just one series of three games, it uses small incidents to imply season-long issues. Yet, the author does blend in backstory to provide context.

This is one of the first books I have read that effectively counters sabermetric studies by giving more a detailed view of how a manager is treating particular players on a given night. The book includes glimpses such as LaRussa trying to manage the hurt feelings of millionaire players. Rather than showing sympathy for anyone, it provides a straight look at why LaRussa, who has never been known as a softie, must balance player personalities with their skills or risk having professionals act unprofessional.

Since the book is essentially told from LaRussa's point of view, it does gloss over some of the most significant criticisms of the manager. However, that is not the point. Since LaRussa is known for being a manager who feels the weight of every loss, this does a nice job of communicating how last night's game impacts this manager's view of tonight's game. All-in-all, I would recommend the book to any baseball fan who wants a closer look into the dugout.

This could have been such a wonderful book. The prose was elegant, the story was intense and everything came together well.

Except for the fact Buzz Bissinger has a vendetta against sabermetrics and sabermetricians. The attacks on the book "Moneyball" and the flipant remarks attacking others (like me) who love the game was sickening.

I would avoid this book and look elsewhere for that "summer classic."

I will never see Tony the same again. It is so well written that I never got bored reading it and I cannot say that for all sports related books I have read.

This is one of the best baseball books out there. Bissinger takes the reader to many levels of the game, and gives a lot of insite to Tony LaRussa as a manager and tactician. I strongly recommend this book for any baseball fan. It is a really great read.

A well written book that provided some insight into the game, particularly the thought process of a manager. For that I give it three stars.

But '3 Nights' was neither as enlightening nor thought provoking as a 5-star sports book - such as 'The Game' by Ken Dryden, 'Beyond the Sixth Game' by Gammons, or Lewis' 'Moneyball'. At times, Bissigner's work came across more as a hero worship of La Russa than a study of the game, which detracted from the author's credibility to accurately assess what he witnessed and learned from the dugout.

This book provides an in-depth look at a critical three-game series between the St. Louis Cardinals and their archrivals, the Chicago Cubs.

Has a great beat and is easy to dance to. I'll give it a star.

(NEWS FLASH: I don't read books by people named "Buzz").

Buzz Bissinger is an absolutly fantastic writer. This book combines an indepth behind the scenes look at Larussa and others, but also gives a lot of inside info on players like JD Drew, Pujols, and others. I love hearing about the managerial strategy, what happens after the game, in the club house etc. I'm not a big reader, but once I started this book, I couldn't put it down.

Buzz Bissinger is an absolutly fantastic writer. This book combines an indepth behind the scenes look at Larussa and others, but also gives a lot of inside info on players like JD Drew, Pujols, and others. I love hearing about the managerial strategy, what happens after the game, in the club house etc. I'm not a big reader, but once I started this book, I couldn't put it down.

Though the title suggests that this book will be a tedious breakdown of three St. Louis Cardinals games towards the end of Summer, "Three Nights in August" is far more than that.

In actuality, "Three Nights in August" dissects a pivotal three-game series for the Cardinals against their rivals, the Chicago Cubs, in a way never before seen in print. A single key decision of whether or not to replace the starting pitcher becomes a chapter about the resurgence of a relief pitcher who has had more than his fair share of arm surgeries. A single phone call on the way to the stadium becomes several chapters about finding and developing talent and how it can all go awry with the quirkiest of injuries.

Within each and every page of this book, there is depth that one will not find in other books about baseball. As a fan of LaRussa's all the way back to when he coached the Oakland A's, I never had a clue how much was going on between his ears until now.

You can't read this book and not come away with a genuine respect for LaRussa and how much he has to deal with in order to be the manager of a Major League team.

You also cannot read this book and not come away with a deep appreciation for the way author Buzz Bissinger turned the minutiae of baseball into an multi-layered, compelling, yet somehow still easy to follow story.

It might be a bit much for fringe fans, but if you are a true baseball fan, this book is a must read.

One of the best baseball books, taking the reader into the mind of Tony LaRussa as he manages his team through a 3-game series with the Chicago Cubs. Player weaknesses and strengths are discussed frankly. This one is for the real fan.

I was a bit disappointed because I read "Men at Work" 15 years ago and much of this reads the same as the LaRussa chapter did in that book. The chapters herein that divert from the finer details of Larussa's internal thought process with strategy are the most interesting parts of the book. The Kile, Robinson, Ainkiel chapters are where Bissinger does his best. However, Bissinger fails to deliver on communicating the passion of this rivalry the way he so masterfully delivered on attacking that angle of the passionate fans in "Friday Night Lights." Cardinal fans will love it because they love everything Cardinals. Bissinger fans will like it. Regular baseball fans of other teams will see this book as average.

If you are a baseball fan you will love this book.

As baseball is said to be the great American pasttime, the St. Louis Cardinals are one of the great original teams.

3 Nights in August is an inside look at the Cardinals' up and down season in 2003, disecting what would prove to be one of the pivotal matchups of the pennant race between the Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs.

The dramatic story had me rivited to the book the futher I got into it. Like a fast car that starts out slow, the story slowly builds into an epilogue that is impossible to resist. Bissinger explained a whole side of the game of baseball that I had never considered even in my over one-hundred games of attendance. Hey, as long as the beer is cold and a team is playing right? His explanations of strategy were thrilling. The stories about stealing bases, signs, explanation of fielding techniques were priceless.

Bissinger also delves into the mind of Tony Larussa. Although LaRussa is mediocre as far as post-season goes compared to other Cardinal coaches, he is one of the older breed who really use psychology in the game rather than relying primarily on statistics. LaRussa's coaching strategy is so thorougly disected that I cannot wait to attend another game and really pay attention to things that had escaped my notice in the past.

Stories about the human side of baseball were also empowering. In this day and age of mind-numbing salaries and stories of juicing, reading about Darryl Kile and his family was heartbreaking. Reading into the emotional side of greats such as Albert Pujols, Scott Rolen, and Jim Edmunds brought a real dose of personality to an otherwise stoic game. Perhaps the best part of the book is the description of emotions and problems that pitchers have to face, be it mental or physical, dealing with the sore arm, bum ankle, or damaged ego, while describing their reactions to events during the game.

This book has special meaning to me because I've been a lifelong Cardinals fan and attended game 3 that was described in the book, flying halfway across the country to catch one of the pre-eminent matchups in MLB. The image of the Kerry Robinson walkoff home run in the 9th inning will never be erased from my mind. I'll never forget the Cubs fans sitting in the row ahead who we had been hecking with the whole game jumping up to give us high-fives. I'll never forget the fans in old Busch Stadium jumping to their feet in a deafining roar that isn't adequately portrayed in the book. A squadron of F-15 fighter jets could have flown over and no one would have noticed at that special moment.

Thank you Mr. Bissinger for a great read that brings back many good memories of the St. Louis Cardinals and the wonderful game of baseball.

It was a good book but it does have a bad aftertaste. I like the storyline and I just think it tried to take some subtle shots at Lewis' book "Moneyball" when it shouldn't have. And this goes for in general if you're going to take your shots at "Moneyball", in order for it to be effective, you have to be indirect.

Then again, I enjoyed this book. Bissinger writes really well still, hopefully he'll do it again.

Three Nights in August is a great, detailed account of what goes on with the Cardinals and specifically with one of the greatest managers in baseball history, Tony LaRussa. LaRussa is guarded and this book opens up his stragedies, his history in the game and the decisions that he makes. Bissinger has an amazing knack to pinpoint every detail of the game. We also take a look inside the Cardinal clubhouse and the heart-wrenching decisions that LaRussa makes everyday.

I was attracted to this book because I'm a Cubs fan and heard about Bissinger around the movie release of "Friday Night Lights."

"Three Nights in August" gets into the mind of Tony LaRussa, one of the greatest tacticians to ever manage the game of baseball. Bissinger makes us feel the loneliness LaRussa feels at the end of the dugout, shows how the emotional and physical demands of the game take a toll on his family, and gets into the minutia of three games to see how tiny behind-the-scenes decisions like putting on a hit-and-run or stealing another's teams signs can affect the outcome of a game.

Weaved around these games are stories of the players, like comeback kid Cal Eldred, still pitching after four arm surgeries and more than 1,000 days between wins; or the insouciant JD Drew, too confident to play with heart. There is also the tragic tale of Darryl Kile, the Cards' pitcher found dead in June 2002 before a series against the Cubs. Bissinger finishes with a short narrative about the 2004 season, the year the Cards won their division with the best record in baseball, but were swept by the Red Sox in the World Series.

"Three Nights in August" is lyrical without being overly romantic and factual without being overly analytical. Kind of like Tony LaRussa, a statistics junkie who ultimately decides with his heart.

This book was written with the baseball fan in mind and the writer succeeded in getting the fan's attention, me being a Cardinals fan made the book even more interesting and is on the top of my list. The look from inside the clubhouse opened doors which until now have stayed shut and made Tony La Russa look more human to me and a lot of other people. The book also clarified the lonelines of the manager's job and how hard it must be to live without family and friends. Great read and highly recommended to all baseball fans, this book makes me wonder if Buzz Bissinger's other books are just as good.

This is Bissinger's account of a three game series between the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs. Interspersed with the story of the games, is the story of Tony LaRussa. The reader is treated to the story of LaRussa's life, his struggles and the vagaries of being a manager in MLB today.

There are also portriats of some of the players on the Cardinals, like Kerry Robinson and Darryl Kile. Bissinger has such a mastery of storytelling that these vignettes mesh in perfectly with the story of the 3 game series.

A definite keeper, and a great book for baseball fans.

This depiction of baseball was very interesting & insightful. Bissinger again scores very high marks after his success with Friday Night Lights. I am not a huge baseball fan but do enjoy well written provocative literature. I will wait anxiously for Buzz's next offering.

When you combine my two favorite hobbies (baseball and reading), the result will likely be a success. This book satisfies my `itch' for both reading and baseball. The author is an excellent writer, and I thoroughly enjoyed his writing style. Often baseball is communicated with the flamboyance (what I really mean is drabness) of the box score. Yes, at times this author waxes philosophical, and he sometimes writes in a way that may be better suited for fiction, but I loved it. I value the statistical, dry, factual part of the game of baseball. But I also appreciate the author's ability to liven this book through good writing. Another great baseball book is Nine Innings, but unlike Three Nights in August, Nine Innings failed in the writing department. Baseball is a long season, with lots of numbers, players and repetition. People who effectively communicate the game (radio announcers, sports writers, and authors) do so effectively through flair and color.

In regard to my second `itch', the baseball in this book is great. Larussa (love him or hate him) is one of the most successful managers in history, and a look at his life is an excellent glimpse into the game itself. I consider myself a big baseball fan, but there was so much that I learned about the game through this book. It is clear that Larussa has a passion and commitment to his job that is rare, not only in baseball but in other professions as well. So strong is his passion and commitment, that I believe it is unhealthy. The author doesn't try and cover up the fact that Larussa hasn't been a very good father or husband. The question is, was this really a sacrifice for Larussa? I doubt he would have it any other way.

The book was great, I will read anything else this author writes.

The content of Bissinger's _Three Nights_ has been expansively glossed over now, so I'll just get straight to the point-no need for a Summary.

My interest in this book was sparked by Tony LaRussa, probably the most polarizing manager in baseball today. To some he's a master strategist, a commander pushing tactical boundaries (anybody else remember how he batted the pitcher 8th a few times to get McGwire more RBI chances?). To others, LaRussa is not nearly as smart as he acts and a poor manager of personalities. I can think of more than one player who left St. Louis disgruntled. He is also almost personally responsible for slow games from his unwavering reliance on matchups. Personally I placed myself in the He's Not As Good As He Thinks He Is camp. Still, from this book I wasn't searching for more reasons to criticize LaRussa the manager, rather I was hoping for a look at The Man LaRussa himself and an understanding of his motives. I wanted to see a human behind those sunglasses. Through the three-game series against Chicago, I was hoping to find reasons to like or respect LaRussa.

Under the general's mask is a man consumed by fear. Bissinger pulls away threads of LaRussa's wool armor, showing that behind every strength is a weakness, for every move a looming counterpunch. LaRussa has essentially left his family in the bullpen, which Bissinger is not judgemental about. Rather, this is presented as the downside to a passionate man. It's part of being a Baseball Man.

The most anticipated part of this book was LaRussa's attitude towards beanballs and brushbacks. Tony has, over the years, likely been involved in more beanball wars than any manager I've followed. It's part of what causes such polarizing views on him. Bissinger carefully details the conflicts that LaRussa endures when one of his players is hit. LaRussa is literally a "made" man in the dugout, adhering to the informal Baseball Man code of ethics, agonizing over what the consequences of his moves will be for his soldiers on the diamond.

Slightly less effective are instances when the book's focus strays from the three-game series. Specifically, on ocassion I feel that the editorializing about Modern Players is overbearing. The purpose of including the Modern Player discussion is to show another aspect of the game LaRussa must manage, but sometimes this discussion strays into Today's Players Aren't As Good As They Were in My Day arguments that have been made time immemorial. I'm not sure why "hit and run" is italicized; this is common parlance and suggests that Bissinger indeed fails to cleanly glove basic aspects of the game. And, why not just save us all the time and capitalize the "great" in "great Albert Puljols"?

What this book displays is that there is a human being behind those sunglasses, and that a manager's code of ethics leaves little room for sentimentality. LaRussa's faults aren't based on smugness, but rather his inability to transcend. His humanness rests in his imperfection, and in his attempts at forming graceful symmetry from an imperfect object. A Baseball Man is a wonderful thing, but every strength is made taught by the pulleys of weakness.

"3 Nights In August", is a very good book that is reminiscent of George Will's "Men At Work". Bissinger's case study here surrounds a three-game series between the archrival Cubs and Cardinals which takes place in St. Louis in August 2003. While holding La Russa in high regard, Bissinger presents a fairly balanced profile of one of the smartest and most respected managers in The Game today. He delves into the hours of discussion and analysis that La Russa and his pitching coach, Dave Duncan, go through in preparing for the Cubs series. Bissinger shows us the importance of strategy, technology, and statistics: video analysis, index cards, and tactics that evolve with the pitch count. But he also shows us the essential human side: how La Russa deals with prima donnas, slackers, schizophrenic pitchers, lengthy separation from his family, and even the death of one of his players.

The most casual of fans may find "3 Nights In August" to be a bit too in-depth, as Bissinger often provides pitch-by-pitch, inning-by-inning commentary. But there's more than enough high-level and background material to please most readers, and many will discover the game within The Game.