Now I Can Die in Peace: How ESPNs Sports Guy Found Salvation, with a Little Help from Nomar, Pedro, Shawshank and the 2004 by Bill Simmons

Now I Can Die in Peace: How ESPNs Sports Guy Found Salvation, with a Little Help from Nomar, Pedro, Shawshank and the 2004 Reviews

• 
  Patrick McGrady

  This book really resonated with me because I am a Sox fan and I remember riding this roller coaster when it happened. In my eyes, few can articulate and express the feelings of the crazed fan the way Bill Simmons can. From the melodramatic lows to the euphoric highs, Bill is the voice of the biased, passionate and slightly psychotic "Boston Sports Fan".
  
  Long Live the Boston Sports Guy.
• 
  Matt

  It's hard for anyone to write a book about the things they love, I think, and it's especially hard when that love borders on the masochistic and obsessive - what else can you do but vent, gush, and pontificate about the significance of your emotions? About the only way to make such an effort work is to gear it to your fellow sufferers as testament and therapy, which explains why Kahlil Gibran is featured in every crappy wedding vow, why Charles Bukowski has such godlike status in AA, and why fellow Red Sox martyrs aged 28-52 responded so wildly to Now I Can Die In Peace, one of the messiest, nerdiest paeans to undying love that I hope I ever read.
  
  I should preface this review by saying that while I sorta like Bill Simmons, I think he's a sportswriting equivalent of what old baseball writers used to call "press box hot", a phenomenon in which a kinda pretty girl suddenly looks like a top model when set against the heifers in the press box. Compared to most of the windbags, blowhards, and schmaltz merchants who infest contemporary sports journalism, Simmons has the wit of PG Wodehouse and the common sense of Thomas Paine, and considering how much fun sports are to follow he's naturally a favorite of every sports fan with a brain and a sense of humor: after all, he seems to be the only writer with a meaningful platform in the entire industry who comes even close to Getting It, and as such is the incidental champion of millions. At his best -- very infrequent these days -- Simmons is as good as any comic-minded sportswriter, and anybody reading this review who hasn't read his "Atrocious GM Summit" or his "Idiot's Guide to the Isiah Trial" needs to get to Google posthaste.
  
  That said, outside of the world of sports writers, Simmons looks good but not great: though he can be thoughtful and sharp, he's really not a 'writer' per se, but more of a talker whose preferred audience is a word processor screen. He never does much with language itself, and his analysis tends to ramble, contradict itself, and worst of all, detour into all these excruciating lists and scales and arbitrary nerd metrics (The Vengeance Scale, a 50-item Wonderlich test to determine true Red Sox fans, the 18 reasons one can root for a team, etc.) that make this reader crumble in despair. All his faults tend to proliferate when he writes about teams he loves, probably because he can't pause or self-edit -- he thinks he can, but I think his idea of 'editing' is too often polishing up ideas that were misguided to begin with -- which brings me to an unhappy verdict.
  
  This book sucks. It combines the worst features of a diary -- tics and foibles and regrettable displays -- with the glibness of a sports bar argument -- unconnected or unexplained passages, scads of distracting footnotes -- while making virtually no attempt to evoke why anyone would be a baseball fan, just giving a numbing catalog of the minutiae and badinage of those who were born one. Like any diary the book is almost without a narrative, which means that if you don't own DVD's of Sox seasons from 1998-2004, you'll be lost every other page ... and none of this complaining even begins to address Simmons' proclivity for pop culture metaphors, which are lazy and perishable in the first place and crippling for a writer who supposedly has an eye on posterity: half the jokes in here expired the week they were written. Some funny one-liners still sparkle here and there, but ultimately this is as much of an ordeal to read as it must've been to live. The worst thing is that this book didn't have to suck: it's just riddled with straight-up bad writing and self-indulgence. I suppose that for Simmons this book was a personal Zihuantanejo, and I respect that, but for non-Sox freaks it's just that 500-meter tunnel of shit that Andy had to crawl through to get out of his cell. Let this one die in peace, or at least the remainder bin, and let's hope for a lot of improvement in Simmons' forthcoming history of the NBA.
• 
  Chelsea

  I'm 11 pages in, and I've been a fan since page 1. Footnotes! Red Sox! Diehard fans!
  
  There will be no objectivity here. BEST BOOK EVER. Bill Simmons, why haven't we gotten married and had babies yet?
  
  Now that I've finished it, my review is pretty much the same. (Footnotes!) And, really, Red Sox fans will love the book, anyone who hates the Yankees will like the book, and anyone who thinks Shawshank Redemption is the best movie of all time will adore the book.
  
  Really, though - Simmons references either Shawshank, Saved by the Bell, or The Godfather in literally every column, and sometimes all three. Want to know who on the 2001 Red Sox would play who on 90210? Check out page 151.
  
  Once again, I'm pretty happy with any book that name checks my baseball husband, Kevin Youkilis, but Simmons goes one step further and gives us this sentence (and accompanying footnote): "The farm system is teeming with prospects like Craig Hansen, Jon Lester, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Edgar Martinez. (I just included that sentence in case none of those guys pans out and you can giggle to yourself about it 25 years from now. I'm thoughtful that way.)" Sorry, Bill, but you're batting a solid .500 right now. Make that .750! Hmm. Make that .666?
  
  And, finally, reading about the 2004 ALCS will never, ever get old. Oh, Dave Roberts.
  
  Plus I have to make my mother read it, because he defends Damon signing with the Yankees.
• 
  Gyoh80525

  This book is a series of columns written by the author (who is currently a columnist for espn.com) about what it was like to see the Red Sox win the World Series for the first time in 86 years. It is that actual columns written at the time with commentary written a few years later. The book is at times brutally funny (like when the author describes the "Tom Cruise face". Basically he's trying to look sad when Goose dies in Top Gun but it really looks like he is trying to take a dump) and at other times touchingly sad (like when the author debates whether he should raise his child to root for his team because being a Red Sox fan can be so painful).
  
  One reason I read books is to be transported to another person's reality (whether made up or real) and to see his perspective. This book gives me a glimpse into the life of someone who has cheered for a team all his life but the team keeps losing in tragic fashion. Someone who begins to fear that he might live a full life and never see his team win. It gives me a perspective that I could never have had on my own. In the end I really sympathized for him and am now a little more glad that the Red Sox did finally win.
  
  In fact, I might just now root for the Cubs. (OK, maybe not!)
• 
  Tara

  I don't like the Red Sox OR the Yankees, but I appreciate Simmons' humor and the fact that he's a true Sox fan and not a bandwagoner. I almost died reading pages 265-273, being an Angels fan myself (when you cut us, we bleed too, Bill! We bleed too!)* Incidentally, the season this book highlights marks the season I really, and I mean really, started to dislike the Red Sox. What I do like is Simmons' approach to being a fan. And I will give him this... he is more emotionally invested in his teams than almost anyone I know. So five stars for writing like a true fan, but minus two because I just cannot stand the Red Sox.
  
  *I remember watching those painful games, seeing my team choke, and then actually hoping the Yankees would win because I was so bitter about that loss. And this wasn't the last time the Halos would choke against the Sox. Ugh. Also, this applies with the 2008 Lakers/Celtics NBA Finals. I do not like Boston.
• 
  AJ Griffin

  When i was about 7, I used the money I was given for my dad's birthday gift to buy him a sweet baseball/hockey/football game for our computer; when my mother gently questioned the selflessness of this gift, I insisted that it was the kind of thing he would love and it definitely was not because i wanted it for myself.
  
  Of course I was lying. I was 7.
  
  Anyway, I did the same thing about 10 years later when I bought this for him. On the one hand, I used my own money, and it was something he would/did enjoy. On the other hand, I was still sneaking into his bedroom, stealing the book and reading it until he got home. What can I say? Bill Simmons is the Klosterman of sports (except, i guess, when Klosterman is writing about sports), and I love the Red Sox.
• 
  Kate Quinn

  For a Red Sox fan, Bill Simmons is the ultimate: he is sharp, he is funny, he knows his team, and he makes absolutely no pretense at being fair. My own memories of the miraculous 2004 win over the Yankees and the Cardinals include the systematic destruction of my fingernails, a lot of agonized whimpering, and the consumption of enough straight rum to destroy my stomach lining. Bill Simmons recalls that hectic and marvelous time much more eloquently and humorously in this account of the Red Sox's miraculous stampede to the championship. His footnotes alone are worth the price of the book.
• 
  Jay Rain

  Rating - 7.5
  
  A bit disappointing as it turns out to be nothing more than a few years worth of his columns & does not have the same inside knowledge that I was expecting - still have to love his writing wit though
  
  Pop culture references were cool but become repetitious 50% of the way through the book (Shawshank, Victory); What is most interesting is his physical transformation from cool to nerdy appearance
  
  
  
  
  
• 
  Stefanie

  For real Red Sox fans only! Simmons is the funniest sports writer ever, this is the kind of book that made me laugh out loud on the T. It's taken me a while to get through, but I love it every time I pick it up.
• 
  Zach Koenig

  As a die-hard fan of our national pastime, I have a very nostalgic soft-spot in my heart for that 2004 Boston Red Sox team that defied the odds to first topple the Yankees and then capture their first World Series championship since 1918. Though not a geographically-based Sox fan (I live in Minnesota and root, root, root, for the home team Twins), I jumped on the bandwagon that season just purely for the sense of history that was being accomplished.
  
  As a result, I have read a good many books on this subject, and up until this point Stephen King's "Faithful" had been my favorite. Not anymore...by a long shot. The sincerity and humor that author/columnist Bill Simmons puts down on paper is a combination of genius and the sort of passion that most sports fans only wish they had.
  
  In this collection of select columns between 1997-2005, Simmons runs the emotional gamut that all sports fans have experienced at one point or another. The difference, of course, is that Simmons can make it so doggone funny and enjoyable to relive again! The obscure and hilarious references he makes to sports situations and players will have you chuckling all the way through.
  
  Like I said, I have read many books about the '04 Red Sox, and this is the best of the bunch. Once you crack the cover, it becomes incredibly difficult to put down, as each column will just leave you dying to read the next one.
• 
  David Blankenship

  15 years later, Bill Simmons is now a podcaster and a media mogul. But once upon a time, he was a great writer. Sometimes people think Simmons is self-absorbed...and maybe he is. But he writes from the perspective of a passionate fan, and this is a brilliant accounting of how the brilliant Red Sox miraculously won the World Series in 2004. The collection of old articles is great, but the footnotes put this book over the top. I'm not a Red Sox fan, but when my Royals won the World Series in 2015 I felt many of the things that Simmons felt in 2004. Such a great memoir...maybe someday Simmons will start writing again.
• 
  Peter Simons

  Simmons is very funny. But it's kind of hard listening to someone from Boston complain about their sports teams lack of winning. Of course the Sox took 86 years between championships, but the Celtic's and Bruins were winners. Since this book was written the Red Sox have won like 3 titles and the Pat's have won like 6. For a MN sports fan, this is all like listening to a rich person crying I only have 7 cars. Boohoo. Anyway, my favorite part of the book was remembering a lot of the games and history and looking up the players. It's a fun book to read.
• 
  Warren

  Simmons back when his fingers worked. This was the stuff I grew up on from him, so it was fun to revisit. Such a weird thing to go back to now since Boston was such a lovable loser town (except for the Mickey Mouse Celtics titles they won when there was like 3 good players in the league) back then and now have turned into what they hated about Yankees fans. For a guy that is basically a parody of himself at this point (still can’t quit listening to the pod tho) it’s hard to understate how cool of writer he once was.
• 
  Michael Huntley

  I’m not a Red Sox fan so some of the super fan references were lost on me. But I loved reading Simmons when I was younger and this book reminded me why. Some very funny stories and pop culture references. Luckily it’s mostly a compilation of old pieces on ESPN which aren’t super long and have fun footnotes. Some of the jokes are dated and not PC but at the time I’m sure they were acceptable. It’s a fun read and any sports fan can relate to his passion for the Red Sox.
• 
  Fred Daly

  Okay, so there's chick lit, and with this book we have bro lit, which means it is very tedious to read, even for a Red Sox fan. It's a collection of online essays from the period up to and including the 2004 World Series, when the Red Sox finally won a championship. He's a diehard fan, and he writes from a fan's perspective, but I sure didn't need to read a scene about getting drunk at a friend's wedding or several sexist comments about female celebrities.
• 
  Darren

  Would be a 3 1/2. Salute to sports guy. such a trip to read this 15 years after the fact given how now every fanbase acts as aggrieved as Red Sox fans did back then when like at least they had earned it. Now you got lakers and Yankees and Red Sox fans crying about the hard times when they‘don’t win for 5 years. Oh well. Go mariners
  
  also lol at simmons being like a beacon for film idiocy and the worshipping of shawshank. Re-watchables still kinda bangs tho
• 
  Robert S

  If you love the Red Sox and remember the times before 2004, then you will find a lot to love about this book. If you love Bill Simmons work then this is some of it as its more pure.
  
  I did enjoy large parts of Now I Can Die in Peace but the format prevented me from enjoying it more.
• 
  Patrick Weiland

  A collection of old School Bill Simmons' columns leading up to the 2004 Red Sox World Series Championship. Bill changed the way sportswriting was done by refusing to hide his love of Boston teams. A true pioneer in online sports blogging, it's a great time capsule to the early 2000's
• 
  Harrison Stanfill

  A must read for the depressed and devastated baseball fan. Go Mariners
• 
  Zach Smith

  Line the 2004 Red Sox, it starts slow but gets really, really good. One piece of advice: watch Shawshank Redemption before reading this.
• 
  Jamie Horan

  Funny deep dive into the famous 2004 Red Sox World Series. Some of the culture references went over my head.
• 
  Kelen Conley

  Cool if you're a Red Sox fan.
• 
  Jennifer Segar

  Filled with misogyny & bad takes (this man wanted Fenway park bulldozed and Dan Snyder to buy the team). Disappointed that anyone would publish this garbage but even more disappointed in myself for finishing it.
• 
  Claudia

  Liked it a lot. Read it quickly.
• 
  Jake Russell

  Full disclosure: before reading the book, I had an extreme anti-Boston sports bias. They are the evil empire of my sports lifetime with all of the titles they've won. I was, however, a big fan of Bill Simmons and his unapologetic homer brand of sports writing.
  
  This just goes to show how great of a writer Bill is. His romanticism with his team somehow made me not absolutely loathe the Red Sox during their magical curse-breaking run. It's captivating, it's hilarious, with anecdotes of his fandom amongst his buddies and anecdotes of pop culture references, and it just plain makes you love baseball and your community. A great read.