John Feinstein Books in Order
John Feinstein has written 51 books, published between 1986 and 2024. The first book is A Season on the Brink (1986) and the newest is The Ancient Eight (2024). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 51
- Published
- 1986–2024
- Pages on record
- 13,640 in 37 of 51 books
- Reading time
- 227–341 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 13,640 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 37 of 51 titles with a page count on record.
John Feinstein (1955-2025) was an American sportswriter and commentator, for many years a reporter at the Washington Post. A Season on the Brink (1986) is his best known book, an account of a season inside Bob Knight's Indiana Hoosiers basketball programme, and it opens a catalogue of 51 titles reaching The Ancient Eight (2024). Basketball, golf, football and college sport run through the nonfiction, and the Sports Beat, Benchwarmers and Bobby Kelleher series were written for younger readers.
How many John Feinstein books are there?
John Feinstein has 51 books, released between 1986 and 2024. They include 3 series and 37 titles listed outside any series.
John Feinstein Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 51 John Feinstein books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 1A Season on the Brink1986 · confirmed 1/41986–1/4
- 2Forever's Team1989 · 375 pages · confirmed 1/419893751/4
- 3A Season Inside1989 · 464 pages · confirmed 1/419894641/4
- 4Hard Courts1991 · 471 pages · confirmed 1/419914711/4
- 519923161/4
- 6Play Ball1993 · 425 pages · confirmed 1/419934251/4
- 719952771/4
- 8A Good Walk Spoiled1995 · 680 pages · confirmed 1/419956801/4
- 9A Civil War1996 · 429 pages · confirmed 1/419964291/4
- 10A March to Madness1998 · 482 pages · confirmed 1/419984821/4
- 11First Coming1998 · 88 pages · confirmed 1/41998881/4
- 12The Majors1999 · 488 pages · confirmed 1/419994881/4
- 13The Last Amateurs2001 · 440 pages · confirmed 1/420014401/4
- 14The Punch2002 · confirmed 1/42002–1/4
- 15Open2003 · confirmed 1/42003–1/4
- 16Let Me Tell You A Story - Lifetime In The Game2004 · confirmed 1/42004–1/4
- 17Caddy for Life2004 · 336 pages · confirmed 1/420043361/4
- 18Let Me Tell You a Story2004 · confirmed 1/42004–1/4
- 1920052721/4
- 20Next Man Up2005 · 544 pages · confirmed 1/420055441/4
- 2120062791/4
- 22Last Dance2006 · 400 pages · confirmed 1/420064001/4
- 2320072981/4
- 24Tales from Q School2007 · 343 pages · confirmed 1/420073431/4
- 25Living on the Black2008 · 288 pages · confirmed 1/420082881/4
- 2620093081/4
- 27Are You Kidding Me?2009 · confirmed 1/42009–1/4
- 282010–1/4
- 29Moment of Glory2010 · 357 pages · confirmed 1/420103571/4
- 30One on One2011 · 533 pages · confirmed 1/420115331/4
- 312012–1/4
- 32The Classic Palmer2012 · 144 pages · confirmed 1/420121441/4
- 33Foul Trouble2013 · 400 pages · confirmed 1/420134001/4
- 3420143591/4
- 35Where Nobody Knows Your Name2014 · 368 pages · confirmed 1/420143681/4
- 3620152981/4
- 372016–1/4
- 38The Legends Club2016 · 404 pages · confirmed 1/420164041/4
- 39Backfield Boys2017 · 374 pages · confirmed 1/420173741/4
- 40The First Major2017 · 311 pages · confirmed 1/420173111/4
- 41The Prodigy2018 · 372 pages · confirmed 1/420183721/4
- 42Quarterback2018 · 357 pages · confirmed 1/420183571/4
- 4320203841/4
- 4420203361/4
- 45The Back Roads to March2020 · confirmed 1/42020–1/4
- 46John Feinstein: The Friends I've Made2020 · confirmed 1/42020–1/4
- 47Raise a Fist, Take a Knee2021 · 384 pages · confirmed 1/420213841/4
- 4820222561/4
- 49Feherty: The Remarkably Funny and Tragic Journey of Golf's David Feherty2023 · confirmed 1/42023–1/4
- 51The Ancient Eight2024 · confirmed 1/42024–1/4
John Feinstein books grouped by series
Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.
Sports Beat in order
6 booksTriple Threat in order
3 books- 1. The Walk On
- 2. The Sixth Man
- 3. The DH
Benchwarmers in order
3 booksBobby Kelleher in order
2 booksStandalone books
37 books37 John Feinstein titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read John Feinstein books in order?
You only need to read John Feinstein books in order within each series: the books listed here span 3 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
Where to start with John Feinstein
Start with A Season on the Brink (1986), the earliest published title.
What is the newest John Feinstein book?
The Ancient Eight (2024) is the newest John Feinstein book released so far.
Is there a new John Feinstein book coming?
No next John Feinstein book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Awards John Feinstein has won
Wikidata records 1 award for John Feinstein. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Edgar Awards2006Won
John Feinstein at a glance
- Died
- John Feinstein died in 2025, according to Wikidata.
- Last book
- The newest book credited to John Feinstein on record dates from 2024.
- Release pace
- John Feinstein books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 13,640 pages across the 37 of 51 books with a recorded length, a median of 368 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most John Feinstein books, 15 of 51, were published in the 2010s.
What the John Feinstein books are about
41 of the 51 John Feinstein books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: basketball is tagged on 11 of 41. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Basketball 11 of 41 books
- History 9 of 41 books
- Biography 8 of 41 books
- Children's fiction 7 of 41 books
- College sports 6 of 41 books
- Football 6 of 41 books
- Golf 6 of 41 books
- Golfers 6 of 41 books
- Sports & Recreations 6 of 41 books
- Journalism 5 of 41 books
- Nonfiction 5 of 41 books