Examines such varied aspects of sports in America as organized children's competitions, collegiate athletic programs, sports financing, government involvement, and the role of the media in professional sports.
**James A. Michener** was born in 1907 and raised by a Quaker woman in Pennsylvania. During World War II he served with the U.S. Navy and traveled across the Pacific. His *Tales of the South Pacific* won the Pulitzer Prize in 1947. He lived with his wife in Austin, Texas. He was director of the Texas Center for Writers at the University of Texas.
