"This is the best book looking inside the mind of a big-league manager I have ever read, because Francona is sharp and loves the game, because Shaughnessy is eloquent and a dazzling storyteller."--"Philadelphia Daily News"
When Terry Francona took over as manager of the Boston Red Sox in 2004, the storied franchise hadn't won a World Series championship in eighty-six years. Led by Francona, the team won two over the course of four years. During the full eight years of Francona's tenure, the Red Sox were transformed from "cursed" into one of the most successful and profitable teams in baseball history--only to fall back to last place as soon as Francona was gone.
"Francona: The Red Sox Years" lets readers in on the inner workings of the Red Sox clubhouse like no book has ever done before. From the highs of the World Series to the lows of the final months of the 2011 season--the most epic collapse of a team in baseball history--this book features the never-before-told stories about Sox fans' favorite players, moments, wins, and losses.
"A scorched-earth memoir . . . that] touches fleetingly on steroid use, sabermetrics, and Michael Jordan's stint in the minor leagues . . . but saves its heaviest artillery for the owners . . . and] Theo Epstein backs him up."--"New York Times Book Review"
"It's not often that baseball aficionados and gossip gluttons can plunk down on a shared portion of outfield grass with the same book for an afternoon of readerly delight, but "Francona "can bridge those kinds of differences."--"Boston Globe"

The Boston Red Sox's loss to the New York Yankees in the final game of last year's playoffs has been called ?the game of the century, ? evidence that the rivalry between the Red Sox and the Yankees is hotter than ever. In the wake of that defeat, author and "Boston Globe" sports columnist Dan Shaughnessy has updated his bewitching story of the curse that has lain over the Red Sox since they sold Babe Ruth to the hated Yankees in 1920. Here he sheds light on classic Sox debacles?from Johnny Pesky's so- called hesitation throw, to the horrifying dribbler that slithered between Bill Buckner's legs, to last year's stunning extra-inning home run that kept the Sox without a World Championship for yet another year. Lively and filled with anecdotes, this is baseball folklore at its best.

In Senior Year, Dan Shaughnessy focuses his acclaimed sportswriting talent on his son Sam's senior year of high school, a turning point in any young life and certainly in the relationship between father and son. Sam is a natural hitter who quickly ascended the ranks of youth baseball. Now nicknamed the 3-2 Kid for his astonishing ability to hover between success and failure in everything he does, Sam is finally a senior and it is all on the line: what college to attend; how to keep his grades up and his head down until graduation; and whether his final high school baseball season will end in disappointment or triumph.
All along the way, Dad is there, chronicling that universal experience of putting your child out on the field--and into the world--and hoping for the best. With gleaming insight, wicked humor, and, at times, the searching soul of an unsure father, Shaughnessy illuminates how sports connect generations and how they help us grow up--and let go.