He has written, edited and collaborated on a number of books about sports and entertainment, including Betty Garrett and Other Songs: A Life on Stage and Screen; See How She Runs: Marion Jones and the Making of a Champion; The Immortal Bobby: Bobby Jones and the Golden Age of Golf; and, in collaboration with Chicago White Sox owner Eddie Einhorn, How March Became Madness: How the NCAA Tournament Became the Greatest Sporting Event in America. He also edited the acclaimed anthology, A Kind of Grace: A Treasury of Sportswriting by Women.
His most recent book, Tim and Tom: An American Comedy in Black and White, was written with Tim Reid and Tom Dreesen. It tells the story of the only black and white comedy team in the history of show business, and is being adapted for the screen. He is currently editing an anthology of Chicago sports columnists from Ring Lardner to the present that will be published by the University of Chicago Press.