Moneyball

The Art of Winning an Unfair Game

By: Michael Lewis

Narrated by: Michael Lewis

Length: 5 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

"I wrote this book because I fell in love with a story." But the idea for the book came well before I had good reason to write it - before I had a story to fall in love with. It began, really, with an innocent question: how did one of the poorest teams in baseball, the Oakland Athletics, win so many games?

With these words Michael Lewis launches us into the funniest, smartest, and most contrarian book since, well, since Liar's Poker. Moneyball is a quest for something as elusive as the Holy Grail, something that money apparently can't buy: the secret of success in baseball. The logical places to look would be the front offices of major league teams, and the dugouts. But the real jackpot is a cache of numbers collected over the years by a strange brotherhood of amateur baseball enthusiasts: software engineers, statisticians, Wall Street analysts, lawyers and physics professors.

These numbers prove that the traditional yardsticks of success for players and teams are fatally flawed. This information has been around for years, and nobody paid it any mind. And then came Billy Beane, General Manager of the Oakland Athletics. Billy paid attention to those numbers, and this book records his astonishing experiment in finding and fielding a team that nobody else wanted.

In a narrative full of fabulous characters and brilliant excursions into the unexpected, Michael Lewis shows us how and why the new baseball knowledge works. He also sets up a sly and hilarious morality tale: Big Money, like Goliath, is always supposed to win...how can we not cheer for David?

©2003 Michael Lewis (P)2002 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"The single most influential baseball book ever." (Rob Neyer, Slate)

"Another journalistic tour de force." (Wall Street Journal)

"Engaging, informative, and deliciously contrarian." (Washington Post)

"Lewis's reading is excellent....Not just for baseball fans, this story will impress anyone who understands that the way things are done can always be improved." (AudioFile)

Really Fun In The Summer

The author does a great job of crafting an interesting story of an odd character. Listen to the book then listen to a ball game...great tool for second guessing managers, general managers and owners.

Awesome!

A must for any fan who likes to see what goes on behind the scenes.

Great book

I do not like baseball and most definitely do not like statistics but this book is amazing. It made me so interested in baseball that I cannot even put it into words. Billy Beane is really an amazing person and this book shows why. Never a dull moment.

Best Audible Book Yet

I could say this was the best non-fiction book I've heard or even the best sports story I've heard (surpassing the thrilling Seabiscuit) but it would be more accurate to say simply the best book fiction or non-fiction I've heard. It is a book where the human interest story far surpasses the sports or business themes to create an appeal for a broad range of listeners. I simply could not stop listening to this book until I finished it. By the way I've listened to more than 30 audible books in the past 2 years.

A Very Good Book - But ...

This is an excellent book, especially (but not necessarily) if you really like baseball. Even a casual fan, or an intellectually-minded business person, will find this book interesting. It's all about abandoning preconceived notions and focusing on the facts in front of your nose - even when everyone is trying to distract you (or is actively working against you). Then, execute. If you do the right thing long enough, you'll be a success. It's a David and Goliath story. Just imagine if there had been a Billy Beane around to save the Roman Empire, for example (okay, that's a stretch). All that said, however, I feel the book suffers greatly by being abridged. In fairness, I dislike abridgments in general, especially non-fiction abridgments. If the author and editors decided that the words should be there in the first place, why mess with it. I encourage everyone to boycott abridgments on general principles. It may be okay for the odd second-rate thrill novel, but I don't understand abridging a work of non-fiction. Nevertheless, I still recommend this production of Moneyball, but I will purchase the unabridged version when it becomes available, and enjoy this story all over again, the way it was meant to be heard.

Best Sports Book I've Ever Read

This is a great story about a maverick underdog winning against all odds. It is entertaining, educational, funny, and smart. Did I mention well written? Well read? It is also a great business book.

Hope it works for the Dodgers

I was suprisied that Billy Bean was not the main one to transform the A's. It was Paul Dpidesto who really was the man behind the man. After reading this book I have a bit more faith in the choice the Dodgers made in their new GM.

A good listen

A well rounded performance by the author. The story is interesting with great detail. Much better than the movie.

If you're into baseball or sports...

you'll enjoy this audio book. The Oakland A's and Billy Beane's formula for success is revealed. Although the A's did have one of the lowest OBP compared to other teams this year. It's still a revealing and funny look at behind the scenes baseball.

love it. love it. love it.

I've watched the movie several times, read the book several times and listened to this abridged version several times. it never gets old.