Asterisk: Home Runs, Steroids, and the Rush to Judgement »

Is it too late? Have rampant accusations of widespread steroid use ruined sports? From Lance Armstrong to Marion Jones, from Shawne "Lights Out" Merrriman to Mark McGwire, the amazing accomplishments athletes have worked so hard to achieve have been diminished by relentless and repeated-but often unsubstantiated-accusations of "juicing. Asterisk confronts these issues head on, separating fact from fiction and inviting us to take a second look at the issue of steroids and the accomplishments of our greatest athletes.

Mike Stadler - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"Asterisk" suggests that fans should be able to respect Bonds' talent if they consider it fairly. Before the 1998-1999 offseason, which is when Bonds supposedly began using performance-enhancers, he was clearly one of the best hitters to ever play the game. Ezra recounts plenty of statistics and some awe-inspiring anecdotes to convince a fair-minded fan that Bonds has great natural talent, an unparalleled work ethic and a genius' understanding of baseball. Of course, many baseball fans already grant this at the same time that we wonder: Given all that talent, why turn to steroids? If you are willing to accept Ezra's presentation and interpretation of the evidence as accurate, then there is a good chance you will finish the book with some doubts about whether Bonds really did, in fact, turn to performance-enhancing drugs. Ezra assails everything from the motives of the government agents working the case to the character of Bonds' former girlfriend, a key witness, to the ideas that Bonds' size and statistics are evidence of performance-enhancing drugs. Taken at face value, Ezra's counterarguments are effective.

Acknowledgments     v
Foreword   Mike Schmidt     vii
Introduction     xi
The Price of Arrogance     1
Talent and Hard Work     27
Steroids     41
The People versus Bonds     59
It Sure Looks Like He's on Steroids     83
Those Statistics     113
Testimonials     153
Closing Thoughts     183
Postscript     193
References     197
Index     215