Since taking over the New York Yankees franchise in 1973, the Steinbrenners have transformed the fabled team from a struggling franchise into a baseball dynasty. George purchased the team for $8.8 million and quickly became known as “The Boss” --- a hands-on owner whose relentless pursuit of victory defined an era. Under his leadership, the Yankees captured seven World Series championships, became a global sports brand, and consistently dominated the sports pages. Yet, as veteran New York Post columnist Mike Vaccaro reveals, the story of the Steinbrenners and their team is much bigger and more complex --- a drama of Shakespearian proportions, combining tragedy and great comedy.

In October of 1912, seven years before gambling nearly destroyed the sport, the world of baseball got lucky. It would get two teams-the Boston Red Sox and the New York Giants, winners of a combined 208 games during the regular season --- who may well have been the two finest ball clubs ever assembled to that point. Most importantly, during the course of eight games spanning nine days in that marvelous baseball autumn, they would elevate the World Series from a regional October novelty to a national obsession. The games would fight for space on the front pages of the nation's newspapers, battling both an assassin's bullet and the most sensational trial of the young century, with the Series often carrying the day and earning the “wood.”

The New York Yankees. The Boston Red Sox. For a hundred years, no two teams have locked horns as fiercely or as frequently --- and no two seasons frame the colossal battle more perfectly than 2003 and 2004. Now, with incredible energy and access, leading sports columnist Mike Vaccaro chronicles the history of the greatest rivalry in sports, and the two stunning American League Championship Series that define a century of baseball. EMPERORS AND IDIOTS is as lively, fascinating, and raucous as the teams themselves --- a must-have volume for any Yankees or Red Sox fan.