"Anyone interested in baseball can not fail  to be captivated by Boswell's penetrating look at  the game, and by his graceful  prose."--USA Today Thomas  Boswell, longtime Washington Post  syndicated sports columnist, has been called  "an astute observer of the human condition disguised  as a first-rate sportswriter." Boswell will  be featured as a major on-screen spokesman in Ken  Burns's PBS series on baseball, which airs in fail  '94 and will attract millions of viewers. His  three previous baseball collections have won wide  praise across the country and sold close to two  hundred thousand copies. In this latest book, Boswell  has handpicked his best baseball pieces of the past  five years to create a collection that will be  must reading for fans across the country. These  pieces, from The Washington Post  and national magazines, are arranged thematically so  there is a narrative flow to the book and cover  everything from Fay Vincent's ouster to Pete Rose's  gambling to the Bo Jackson saga to the return of  Steinbrenner. Another splendid gathering of smart,  witty, beautifully written stories aboutt our  national pastime, Cracking The Show  confirms that when it comes to baseball, Boswell  is in a league by himself. It's a sure hit for the  1995 baseball  season. "Boswell...is the thinking person's writer about the  thinking person's sport...inexhaustibly interesting  and fun."--George Will