Sportswriter, storyteller, humorist - Ring Lardner was an American original, and in this affectionate, entertaining, and authoritative biography, Pulitzer Prize winning critic Jonathan Yardley gives us a new look at Lardner's all too short life and career.

"To this awesomely detailed biography of Ring Lardner, Yardley brings a first-rate literary critic's perceptions; an experienced reporter's skills; a deep interest in that earlier, innocent era of baseball that spawned Lardner as one of the greatest ever to write about that sport; and an obvious and abiding affection for his complex, often puzzling subject." - Chicago Daily News

"A satisfying portrait of the sad, self-mocking man who wrote some of the funniest prose in the American language." - The New York Times

"Jonathan Yardley's compelling biography "Ring" is a fascinating account of how Lardner rose from his small-town roots to become one of the most famous storytellers in American literature, but one whose life was haunted by his bouts with alcoholism and depression." - The San Francisco Chronicle