The Bible of Red Sox Gossip: Feeding the Monster

"My argument was that if you really want a story that is going to portray the organization in all its fullness, then I need to be there to see all that."

Gay Talese should be proud of Vanity Fair writer (and former Phoenix contributor) Seth Mnookin for taking the hardcore New Journalism to Fenway Park. You think you already know everything about the Sox? Well, was the stuff you’re reading written by a guy who spent weekends talking shop with John Henry? Red Sox Nation will have multiple heart attacks over Mnookin’s Feeding the Monster: How Money, Smarts, and Nerve Took a Team to the Top. After spending a year with the unluckiest team in baseball, Mnookin explains exactly how the stars aligned for the World Series win. But this isn’t just another rundown of a historic event: there’s more juicy insider scandal in here about Nomar, Pedro, Theo, and the rest of the gang than that the Shiloh Jolie-Pitt issue of People (or, come to think of it, today's Lance Bass edition). Ask Mnookin if he got to keep his key to Fenway when he reads tomorrow, July 27th, at the Borders Bookstore Café, 10-24 School St, Boston | 12:30 pm | Free | 617.557.7188. Word Up does not endorse Mnookin's fugly farmer shirt (see above) but we heart the writing! And that's what counts.

ELSEWHERE:
* SethMnookin.com and the author's blog
* Mike Miliard on Brains, Balls, and a Key to Fenway
* The Black Table on Mnookin's first book, Hard News: The Scandals at the New York Times and Their Meaning for American Media
* We kind of wish everyone, including Mnookin, would leave James Frey alone
* Read an excerpt from Feeding the Monster on ESPN: "I just felt empty," says Garciaparra. "Just like, no way." He hung up the phone and walked out of Francona's office. "I go to my locker and I see D-Lowe there, and I go, 'Don't worry, it's not you, it's me. See ya, bro.' And word starts spreading around and I'm just trying not to cry." Garciaparra packed his stuff, left Minnesota, and got on a plane to Chicago."
* The Globe and the Globe Magazine cover Feeding the Monster