Roger Clemens Strikes Out

Former Yankee Roger Clemens is still under investigation about whether he lied under oath about using performance-enhancing drugs, but a new book suggests there’s a mountain of evidence against him. American Icon: The Fall of Roger Clemens and the Rise of Steroids in America’s Pastime, by four Daily News reporters, argues that the qualities that made Clemens a success—like perseverance and hubris—also led to his demise. After over a year of reporting, the authors come to the conclusion that Clemens did indeed lie under oath. Writes Michiko Kakutani of American Icon: “By focusing on Clemens and the people around him, the authors have turned the sprawling story of steroid-use into a sleek narrative that reads like an investigative thriller, peopled by a Dickensian cast of characters, from big-name ball players and their high-powered lawyers to small time bodybuilders and gym owners, from federal investigators and members of Congress to denizens of “the violent criminal underworld of muscle-building drug distribution.”