Three Nights in August

Strategy, Heartbreak, and Joy Inside the Mind of a Manager

By: Buzz Bissinger

Narrated by: Jeffrey Nordling

Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author captures baseball's essence in this account of a dramatic three-game series viewed through the eyes of legendary St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa.

Through 25 years of managing, Tony La Russa has won more games than any current manager. He's the most strategically adept and arguably the smartest manager in baseball, and he still believes that games are won not by statistics, but by the hearts and minds of the players.

Given unprecedented access to La Russa and his team, best-selling journalist Bissinger captures baseball's strategic and emotional essence. We watch from the dugout as La Russa's Cardinals take on their archrivals, the Chicago Cubs, in a thrilling three-game series.

Some of the greatest players of our time grace the lineups: Albert Pujols, Sammy Sosa, Scott Rolen, Mark Prior. La Russa, a 40-year veteran of the game, shows why he's so revered. And Bissinger's laser-beam focus uncovers surprising truths about the pathology of slumps, the art of beanball retaliation, the eccentricities of pitchers, and the timelessness of the game. His swinging prose brings every moment gloriously to life.

©2005 Tony La Russa and H.G. Bissinger (P)2005 HighBridge Company

Critic reviews

"Enthralling." (Booklist)
"Mixing classic baseball stories with little-known details and an exclusive perspective, this work should appeal to any baseball fan." (Publishers Weekly)
"With a knack for detail, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author picks apart the fundamentals of the game, enters the mind of one of baseball's greats, and provides the reader with a front row seat. His ability to bring to life America's pastime is wholly provocative and excruciatingly detailed." (Bookmarks Magazine)

I <3 Baseball...but not this book so much.

I picked this book up in hopes that it would give me more insight to the mind of the man MLB named, The Genius. As a baseball coach, one can aspire to be as successful as Tony LaRussa. There are some good stories and the season detailed kept me interested, but I didn't ever get that feeling that I was learning something beyond I could have put together on my own by following the Cardinals via news, blogs, and online. If you are a Cards fan, then this will not disappoint. If you are a baseball fan, it's still worth a listen. It's not an any man baseball book like Moneyball though.

Awesome insight into LaRussa & a manager's work

I loved this book, as it's an incredibly detailed analysis of the challenges facing not just any Big League manager but goes deep into the life and work of Hall of Fame skipper Tony LaRussa during the 2003 season. I was fascinated to read this as Tony has just come back to lead my Chicago White Sox and I was eager to learn more about how he sees the game and plans his strategies. What an education! I'm very excited for the upcoming season and there's something here for any baseball fan to take away, from knowledge to pure entertainment. The prose is poetic but also dialed-in in the best traditions of great sports books, not only in describing the scenes and context but in making you feel like you have been alongside Tony in the clubhouses & dugouts. The narrator does a great job of putting intensity into every situation as needed and makes one voice sound like several over the course of the book. Highly recommended.

LaRussa Revealed

Leave out the f word and save about 1/3 of the book. Legalistic with little heart. You can thank him for 10 pitchers a game.

It's just a game

After listening to this book, I must admit that I have lost all respect for Tony LaRussa. Bissinger’s account of LaRussa’s family life (or lack there of), his inability to see any wrong in his own players (Mark McGwire or that it’s ok when his pitcher throws at a hitter) and his constant talk about how hard it is to be a baseball manager (“the hardest thing for a manager is when to call for a hit and run”). Give me a break.

We’re talking about the life of a baseball manager – LaRussa wants us all to believe that he’s some sort of God.

For Baseball Wonks Only

Unless you are a baseball fanatic or obsessive Cards fan, you may find yourself getting bored. The ballpark organ they play between chapters is cheesy.

Yikes this book does not hold up

Old, disgraced manager Tony LaRussa larps as the self-appointed God of Baseball talks about players as if their behavior, disposition, and approach to the game must be approved by him in order to be legitimate. Makes straight up racist not so subtle comments repeatedly.

In this exhausting MAGA dystopian hellscape we’re now perpetually stuck in, my patience and grace for TLR (who is MAGA too btw) is completely gone. Bombed out w/ an incredibly talented CWS team in 2022 also. Go away LaRussa, u won’t be missed.