Buzz Bissinger’s 3 Nights in August: Strategy, Heartbreak, and Joy Inside the Mind of a Manager is the story of St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, as he manages his Cardinals in a three-game series against the visiting Chicago Cubs.  Published in 2005, the novel covers a pivotal three-game set between the two clubs in August of the 2003 season.  At the beginning of the series, the Cardinals are tied with the Houston Astros for the division lead in the National League Central, and the Cubs are only a game behind. 

Following and documenting La Russa through these three key contests, Bissinger reveals the complexities and intricacies of day-to-day, hour-to-hour, and indeed, inning-to-inning baseball strategies.  Bissinger reveals La Russa’s intensity when managing games and his acute attention to detail, including La Russa’s individual index cards for each player on his team and the opposing team, detailed with that player’s tendencies and results for each at-bat.  La Russa is revealed as not only a master of the game but also a student, one who continues to learn and one who re-invents himself as a manager as modern statistics such as Sabermetrics come to the fore of the game. 

Bissinger takes the reader behind the scenes into the Cardinals’ locker room pre and post-game as the reader takes a seat with La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan as they go over the first game with starter Garret Stephenson.  The reader learns the patterns of every opposing batter that Stephenson will face, as well as those of the Cardinals’ hitters in another meeting, including embattled leadoff man Kerry Robinson.  Bissinger places emphasis on the troubled relationship between coach and player with regard to Robinson, an emphasis that ultimately turns into a story of redemption.  The reader gets a fascinating dugout view of the beautiful game of baseball and the wrenching work and thinking that the players and coaches put into it, every day. 

But beyond a weaving a brilliant tapestry of the game, Bissinger makes the reader care about Tony La Russa as a person, as a man.  Pages are spent on La Russa’s post-game ritual following a Cardinals’ loss: dinner alone at a restaurant, poring over the game in his head and on his index cards.  Bissinger dedicates space to La Russa’s family and his clearly dedicated and loving wife, as well as La Russa’s past in baseball.  After reading this book, the reader knows Tony La Russa, and cares.  And that is one of the highest compliments a sports novel can receive.

3 Nights in August is a story that transcends traditional baseball fandom.  Whether you consider yourself a “true” baseball fan, a casual fan (and a fan of neither the Cardinals nor the Cubs), or just a fan interested in learning more about the game, this book is an absolute must-read.  To a baseball nut like this author, this book was a rare glimpse into the closed, exclusive world of professional baseball. To a fan, that glimpse into baseball is riveting and one that is certainly appreciated. This novel is highly recommended to any sports fan and to anyone interested in Tony La Russa and his career.