Play Their Hearts Out

Winner of the PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sportswriting
Winner of the Award for Excellence in the Coverage of Youth Sports
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Eight years of unfettered access and a keen sense of a story's deepest truths allow Pulitzer Prize��inning journalist George Dohrmann to take readers inside the machine that produces America's basketball stars. Play Their Hearts Out reveals a cutthroat world where boys as young as eight or nine are subjected to a dizzying torrent of scrutiny and exploitation. At the book's heart are the personal stories of two compelling figures: Joe Keller, an ambitious coach with a master plan to find and promote ��he next LeBron,��and Demetrius Walker, a fatherless latchkey kid who falls under Keller's sway and struggles to live up to unrealistic expectations. Complete with a new ��here-are-they-now��Epilogue by the author, this thoroughly compelling narrative exposes the gritty reality that lies beneath so many dreams of fame and glory.
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NAMED ONE OF THE BEST SPORTS BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE LOS ANGELES TIMES ��THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR �Ⅹ�KIRKUS REVIEWS
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Look for the exclusive conversation between George Dohrmann and bestselling author Seth Davis in the back of the book.