GREAT GIFT BOOKS AND NEAT LITTLE PACKAGESTHE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ESPN: SAINTS, SAVIORS, & SINNERS
Edited by Jay Lovinger, Introduction by Hunter S. Thompson (Hyperion, $40)A collection of essays, illustrations, and photographs explore sports as America’s secular religion. Thompson leads with the strangely chaotic place where sports and religion interact; George Plimpton writes of sports gods, worthy of worship. The greats make an appearance —
Muhammad Ali, Billie Jean King, Avery Brundage — prophets, if you will, who change the way people look at life, even if just on the field or court.
OUR READ: A SCORE FOR THE SPORTS LOVER IN YOUR LIFE
THE BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES 2002
Edited by James Ellroy (Houghton Mifflin, $28)Robert B. Parker,
Joyce Carol Oates,
Michael Connelly, and Thomas H. Cook are among the mystery masters who make their literary appearances in this sixth best-of volume.
OUR READ: APPROPRIATELY CHILLING AND THRILLING
-
NEW ON DVD<
br/>Tom Cruise and
Mike “yeah, baby” Myers are coming home for the holidays in
Minority Report, available December 17, and
Austin Powers in
Goldmember (left), a shagadelic treat also out this month, that boasts a medley of extras, such as “Fashion vs. Fiction,” an explorative look at the various phases of fashion in
Goldmember.
Great DVD box sets that make perfect last-minute gifts include Baz Luhrmann’s Red Curtain Trilogy Box Set. Offering a fix to any Luhrmann fan, it wraps three of his most impressive films —
Moulin Rouge SE,
Romeo + Juliet, and
Strictly Ballroom — in a five-disc collection. For the comedy-lover, the Farrelly Brothers Collection Box Set is a sure hit, containing
Shallow Hal,
Me, Myself & Irene, and
There’s Something About Mary. Another collector’s set that’s ageless and a sure hit: the James Bond Gift Set, which includes
Dr. No, GoldenEye, Goldfinger, License to Kill, The Spy Who Loved Me, The Man With the Golden Gun, and
Tomorrow Never Dies — all special edition.
— ANNA FIALHO