Author: Belinda Clarke

Don Zminda (BSJ70)

In “The Legendary Harry Caray: Baseball’s Greatest Salesman,” Zminda delivers the first full-length biography of Caray since the broadcaster’s death in 1998. It includes details of Caray’s orphaned childhood, his 25 years as the voice of the St. Louis Cardinals, his tempestuous 12 years broadcasting games for the Chicago White Sox, and the 16 years he broadcast for the Chicago Cubs while also becoming a nationally-known celebrity. Interviews with significant figures from Caray’s life are woven throughout, from his widow Dutchie and grandson Chip to broadcasters Bob Costas, Thom Brennaman, Dewayne Staats, Pat Hughes, and more.

Kevin Salwen (BSJ79) and Kent Alexander

Salwen and Alexander present a harrowing and comprehensive chronicling of the terrorist bombing at the 1996 Olympic Games and the security guard caught in the middle. On July 27, 1996, a former cop turned security guard named Richard Jewell spotted a suspicious bag in Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park at the 1996 Summer Games. Inside was a bomb, the largest of its kind in FBI and ATF history. Minutes later, the bomb remotely detonated by the attacker into a crowd of  50,000 people. While the explosion killed one person and wounded 111, the death toll could have been far worse if not for Jewell, who alerted authorities and helped evacuate the area. While the games played on, the pressure mounted to find the bomber responsible. Within three days, Jewell went from the hero to the FBI’s main suspect and his identity was released by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a false accusation that forever changed his life and let the true bomber roam free to commit more bombings.