During the first half of the century, New York reigned as the sporting capital of America, if not of the entire world. From Madison Square Garden to the House That Ruth Built, from the Polo Grounds to Jacob Ruppert's Brewery, from Toots Shor's and Jack Dempsey's to the Hippodrome and Gil Hodges' Bowling Lanes--Big Apple sports were king. Now East Side, West Side recreates that golden age as over 200 splendid illustrations bring this legendary era back to life.

East Side, West Side, written by Lawrence S. Ritter (author of Baseball's classic oral history The Glory of Their Times), evokes an unforgettable landscape of early American sporting life through echoes of old sports venues. Visit long-lost stadiums, fields, pool halls, saloons, and boxing rings to hear fascinating tales told by those old enough to remember.

From 1890 to 1925 architect Stanford White's magnificent Madison Square Garden was the social and entertainment center of the metropolis, hosting prizefights, political conventions--and a murder mystery. In the arena's roof-garden cabaret one night in 1906 a jealous and deranged millionaire shot the architect to death, resulting in the first "trial of the century."

Ah, Flatbush! "If you were in a box seat at Ebbets Field," said broadcaster Red Barber, "you were so close you could see the sweat on the first baseman's upper lip." Ritter brings to life Hilda Chester's ear-shattering cowbell, the roaming Dodgers Sym-phony Band, and the Brooklyn Football Dodgers.

Relive Max Baer's glorious triumph over Primo Carnera for the heavyweight title. Visit "Raging Bull" Jake LaMotta at Gleason's Gym. Every squared circle in old New York is in East Side, West Side.

Eavesdrop on the Copacabana's infamous brawl of Spring 1957, involving Yankee immortals Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, and Hank Bauer. While Sammy Davis, Jr. sang, punches flew, leaving one amateur bowler unconscious and Billy Martin exiled to the woeful Kansas City A's.

Minnesota Fats and Willie Mosconi chalk their cue sticks for the Mother of All Grudge Matches. Where? Not at some dingy pool hall--but at the Waldorf-Astoria.

It's not all glamor. It's not all glory. Where do down-and-out athletes end up? Take a visit to Jack Johnson and Grover Cleveland Alexander at Hubert's Museum and Flea Circus on 42nd Street.

Lawrence S. Ritter is the author of the classic The Glory of Their Times, which has been in print continuously since its publication in 1966. He is also the author of The Babe: The Game That Ruth Built (with Mark Rucker), Lost Ballparks, and Leagues Apart: The Men and Times of the Negro Baseball League, a children's book which was nominated for an NAACP Image Award in 1995.

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Also by Lawrence S. Ritter:

• The Babe: The Game That Ruth Built