Shut Out

Reviews / Votes

"Shut Out is an important book that reaches beyond the borders of the City of Boston and the Red Sox. With courage, eloquence and hard-nosed reporting Howard Bryant asks the tough questions others have not and explores baseball's ongoing struggle with race as played out in the history of one team. Shut Out is as fearless as the truth." -- Glenn Stout co-author Red Sox Century, author Yankees Century
"There's no mistaking the view afforded us by Howard Bryant - up close, in our faces, so raw and unfiltered, it forces us to entirely re-think Boston's baseball history. Bryant compels us to ask: do we have the guts to do it?." -- Bob Klapisch, Baseball columnist, The Bergen Record and Author of "The Worst Team Money Could Buy."
"A withering look at the institutionalized racism of the Boston Red Sox... [a] scorching and well-documented history of the team's racial attitudes... a taut story, lucidly told." -- Kirkus Reviews
"Bryant...brings excellent journalistic instincts and baseball smarts to the table." -- Publisher's Weekly, July 1, 2002
"Bryant's book, "Shut Out: A Story of Race and Baseball in Boston" revisits a chapter of Red Sox history that has probably been lost to a generation of young fans who eagerly root for the Rainbow Coalition of Manny, Pedro, Jose, and Rickey." -- Alex Beam, Boston Globe, 7/9/2002
"A fine, lively dissection of not only race and the Red Sox, but race relations in Boston in general, and the city's legendary sportswriters as well. A must-read for not only Red Sox fans, but those who love and follow the game." -- Jules Tygiel, author of Baseball's GreatExperiment: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy
"Brace yourself for 'Shut Out,' the story of the Red Sox and race relations, written by Howard Bryant of the Bergen Record. Bryant grew up around here and did his homework on this one. Published by Routledge, the book is due out next month." -- Boston Globe sports columnist Dan Shaughnessy
"One of the most anticipated baseball books of the summer." -- The Boston Herald
"A long overdue look at the history of racism not only in Boston, but in baseball." -- Reggie Jackson
"Massachusetts native Howard Bryant, author of a new book, "Shut Out: A Story of Race and Baseball in Boston", was in town covering the series for the Bergen (N.J.) Record. The tome is bound to ruffle feathers." -- Boston Globe
"Bryant...has written a useful and perceptive book. Sport is not always a metaphor for quite so many things as we Americans like to think it is, but in this instance the story of race and the Red Sox is an exceedingly accurate mirror of the story of race and Boston, and thus of race and America." -- Washington Post, Jonathan Yardley
"Shut Out merits attention because it is the first book detailing and analyzing the racial problems of the Red Sox...required reading for anyone who cares about the history of racial prejudice and the game of baseball." -- - The Nation
"An unflinching expose...While some may disagree with Bryant's assessment, the book will likely create an important dialogue on why so many African-American athletes have felt unwelcome in Boston. Rather than sweeping the franchise's flaws under the rug, Shut Out calls for some serious soul-searching before the Red Sox can move on." -- -Providence Journal
"...a breakthrough book..." -- --Bill Madden, New YorkDaily News
"...riveting..." -- -Steve Serby and Kevin Kernan, The NewYork Post
"A revealing book..." -- -Stan Hochman, The PhiladelphiaDaily News
"[A] courageous, well-written and important book.scrupulously researched.'Shut Out' does an exemplary job in locating the problems of the Red Sox within the context of Boston's racial history." -- -Bruce Dancis, The Sacramento Bee
"Controversial, anecdotal, insightful, the book is a keeper. It is about the Red Sox, but also about race relations in Boston. Based on over 100 interviews, four years in the making - Shut Out is well worth the purchaseprice." -- Harvey Frommer, Frommer Sports Book Review
"Bryant is historian enough to chronicle honestly what went on throughout the bad old days at Fenway Park..." -- -Bill Littlefield, The Boston Globe
"Bryant misses very little in his examination. The busing crisis, spring training, the struggles of others black non-baseball athletes in Boston, the historic lack of black sportswriters in Boston, even Ted William's famous call for Negro League players to be in the Hall of Fame." -- Howard Bryant/Fort Worth Star Telegram