
Moneyball
The Art of Winning an Unfair Game
By: Michael Lewis
Hardcover | 8 August 2003 | Edition Number 1
At a Glance
Hardcover
$50.50
Aims to ship in 15 to 25 business days
When will this arrive by?
Enter delivery postcode to estimate
Moneyball is a quest for the secret of success in baseball. Following the low-budget Oakland Athletics, their larger-than-life general manger, Billy Beane, and the strange brotherhood of amateur baseball enthusiasts, Michael Lewis has written not only "the single most influential baseball book ever" (Rob Neyer, Slate) but also what "may be the best book ever written on business" (Weekly Standard).
I wrote this book because I fell in love with a story. The story concerned a small group of undervalued professional baseball players and executives, many of whom had been rejected as unfit for the big leagues, who had turned themselves into one of the most successful franchises in Major League Baseball. But the idea for the book came well before I had good reason to write it?before I had a story to fall in love with. It began, really, with an innocent question: how did one of the poorest teams in baseball, the Oakland Athletics, win so many games?
With these words Michael Lewis launches us into the funniest, smartest, and most contrarian book since, well, since Liar's Poker. Moneyball is a quest for something as elusive as the Holy Grail, something that money apparently can't buy: the secret of success in baseball. The logical places to look would be the front offices of major league teams, and the dugouts, perhaps even in the minds of the players themselves. Lewis mines all these possibilities?his intimate and original portraits of big league ballplayers are alone worth the price of admission?but the real jackpot is a cache of numbers?numbers!?collected over the years by a strange brotherhood of amateur baseball enthusiasts: software engineers, statisticians, Wall Street analysts, lawyers and physics professors.
What these geek numbers show?no, prove?is that the traditional yardsticks of success for players and teams are fatally flawed. Even the box score misleads us by ignoring the crucial importance of the humble base-on-balls. This information has been around for years, and nobody inside Major League Baseball paid it any mind. And then came Billy Beane, General Manager of the Oakland Athletics.
Billy paid attention to those numbers ?with the second lowest payroll in baseball at his disposal he had to?and this book records his astonishing experiment in finding and fielding a team that nobody else wanted. Moneyball is a roller coaster ride: before the 2002 season opens, Oakland must relinquish its three most prominent (and expensive) players, is written off by just about everyone, and then comes roaring back to challenge the American League record for consecutive wins.
In a narrative full of fabulous characters and brilliant excursions into the unexpected, Michael Lewis shows us how and why the new baseball knowledge works. He also sets up a sly and hilarious morality tale: Big Money, like Goliath, is always supposed to win... how can we not cheer for David?
About the Author
Michael Lewis, the best-selling author of The Undoing Project, Liar's Poker, Moneyball, The Blind Side, and The Big Short, among other works, lives in Berkeley, California, with his wife and three children.
Industry Reviews
"Another journalistic tour de force." -- Wall Street Journal
"Engaging, informative, and deliciously contrarian." -- Washington Post
"Anyone who cares about baseball must read Moneyball." -- Newsweek
"An extraordinary job of reporting and writing." -- San Jose Mercury News
"You have to read Moneyball.... Amazing anecdotes... an entertaining, enlightening read." -- Baseball America
"Ebullient, invigorating... provides plenty of action, both numerical and athletic, on the field and in the draft-day war room." -- Time
"One of the most enjoyable baseball books in years." -- New York Times Book Review
ISBN: 9780393057652
ISBN-10: 0393057658
Series: Emersion: Emergent Village resources for communities of faith
Published: 8th August 2003
Format: Hardcover
Language: English
Number of Pages: 304
Audience: General Adult
Publisher: W W Norton & Company
Country of Publication: GB
Edition Number: 1
Dimensions (cm): 29.1 x 17.8 x 4.7
Weight (kg): 0.56
Shipping
Standard Shipping | Express Shipping | |
---|---|---|
Metro postcodes: | $9.99 | $14.95 |
Regional postcodes: | $9.99 | $14.95 |
Rural postcodes: | $9.99 | $14.95 |
How to return your order
At Booktopia, we offer hassle-free returns in accordance with our returns policy. If you wish to return an item, please get in touch with Booktopia Customer Care.
Additional postage charges may be applicable.
Defective items
If there is a problem with any of the items received for your order then the Booktopia Customer Care team is ready to assist you.
For more info please visit our Help Centre.