James S. Hirsch
Encyclopedia
James S. Hirsch is an American
journalist and best-selling author who has written extensively about sports, race, and American culture and whose most recent book is the first authorized biography of Willie Mays
. He was a reporter for The New York Times
and The Wall Street Journal
, and his first book was the best-selling Hurricane: The Miraculous Journey of Rubin Carter
.
Hirsch has also written Riot and Remembrance: America's Worse Riot and Its Legacy, Two Souls Indivisible: The Friendship That Saved Two POWs in Vietnam, and Cheating Destiny: Living with Diabetes. His biography on Willie Mays, released in February 2010, describes how the Negro League
phenom became an instant sensation with the New York Giants
in the 1950s, was the headliner in Major League Baseball
's expansion to California, and played an important but underappreciated role in the civil rights movement.
Hirsch, a graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism
and the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs
, lives in the Boston
area.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
journalist and best-selling author who has written extensively about sports, race, and American culture and whose most recent book is the first authorized biography of Willie Mays
Willie Mays
Willie Howard Mays, Jr. is a retired American professional baseball player who played the majority of his major league career with the New York and San Francisco Giants before finishing with the New York Mets. Nicknamed The Say Hey Kid, Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, his...
. He was a reporter for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
and The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
, and his first book was the best-selling Hurricane: The Miraculous Journey of Rubin Carter
Rubin Carter
Rubin "Hurricane" Carter fought professionally as a middleweight boxer from 1961 to 1966. In 1966, he was arrested for a triple homicide in the Lafayette Bar and Grill in Paterson, New Jersey...
.
Hirsch has also written Riot and Remembrance: America's Worse Riot and Its Legacy, Two Souls Indivisible: The Friendship That Saved Two POWs in Vietnam, and Cheating Destiny: Living with Diabetes. His biography on Willie Mays, released in February 2010, describes how the Negro League
Negro league baseball
The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams predominantly made up of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relatively successful leagues beginning in...
phenom became an instant sensation with the New York Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
in the 1950s, was the headliner in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
's expansion to California, and played an important but underappreciated role in the civil rights movement.
Hirsch, a graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism
Missouri School of Journalism
The Missouri School of Journalism at University of Missouri in Columbia, claims to be the oldest formal journalism school in the world. Founded in 1908, only the Ecole Supérieure de Journalisme de Paris established in 1899 may be older...
and the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs
Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs
The Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs is a graduate school at The University of Texas at Austin that was founded in 1970 to offer professional training in public policy analysis and administration for students interested in pursuing careers in government and public affairs-related areas...
, lives in the Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
area.