Amazon.com
In Baseball's Great Experiment: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy and the follow-up Jackie Robinson Reader, Jules Tygiel focused his historian's eye on what was arguably baseball's most stunning single event. Dissecting it from every angle, he followed its consequences through the weft of the national fabric in a pair of consummate, readable, and marvelously entertaining books that painted an arresting portrait of a remarkable man and his remarkable ordeal. In Past Time Tygiel widens his focus to turn his considerable narrative and interpretive skills loose on the broader tapestry of the game itself. The result is a superb collection of essays on American history filtered through the national pastime's lens. "If there is a unifying theme"--and there certainly is--"it is that while the game of baseball itself has changed minimally since its origins, the context and format in which Americans have absorbed and appreciated the game have dramatically shifted."

Drawing on his encyclopedic knowledge of the game, Tygiel uses the game as his doorway for entry into--and airing out--several rooms of the American past. Though the nine essays that make up Past Time reflect the game's nine innings and are presented chronologically, they are each entities unto themselves and can be read in any order. Rarely stepping onto the playing field, they avoid the mushiness and rhapsodizing that baseball tends to evoke. Instead, they take provocative looks at the often overlooked--like why statistics hold the game together, and why holding the game together was crucial to an America emerging from the Civil War--and fresh looks at old warhorses like baseball and the Depression era, baseball and civil rights, and baseball and America's post-World War II geographical shift. The final "inning" examines such recent obsessions as rotisserie leagues and fantasy camps, and the chapter on Bobby Thompson's famed home run and how the ways we would experience the game in the early years of the Cold War would change is thoroughly absorbing. But, then, so is the rest of Past Time. It has you wishing for extra "innings." --Jeff SilvermanBook Description
Few writers know more about baseball's role in American life than Jules Tygiel. In Baseball's Great Experiment: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy, Tygiel penned a classic work, a landmark book that towers above most writing about the sport. Now he ranges across the last century and a half in an intriguing look at baseball as history, and history as reflected in baseball.In Past Time, Tygiel gives us a seat behind home plate, where we catch the ongoing interplay of baseball and American society.We begin in New York in the 1850s, where pre-Civil War nationalism shaped the emergence of a "national pastime."We witness the true birth of modern baseball with the development of its elaborate statistics--the brainchild of English-born reformer, Henry Chadwick. Chadwick, Tygiel writes, created the sport's "historical essence" and even imparted a moral dimension to the game with his concepts of "errors" and "unearned" runs. Tygiel offers equally insightful looks at the role of rags-to-riches player-owners in the formation of the upstart American League and he describes the complex struggle to establish African-American baseball in a segregated world.He also examines baseball during the Great Depression (when Branch Rickey and Larry MacPhail saved the game by perfecting the farm system, night baseball, and radio broadcasts), the ironies of Bobby Thomson's immortal "shot heard 'round the world," the rapid relocation of franchises in the 1950s and 1960s, and the emergence of rotisserie leagues and fantasy camps in the 1980s.In Past Time, Jules Tygiel provides baseball history with a difference. Instead of a pitch-by-pitch account of great games, in this groundbreaking book, the field is American history and baseball itself is the star. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Fascinating
What a treat! Tygiel presents nine loosely-connected essays on various aspects of baseball and their interrelation with other aspects of American history and social change.With a historian's eye for detail and mind for interpretation, each chapter presents gems of insight that even serious students of baseball history will find intriguing.Tygiel's writing style, as befits a professor of history, is intelligent, literate, and persuasive, but never dry.The "short-story" format works well, and provides opportunity for reflection--although readers may have a hard time not just moving on to the next "inning."Reflecting Tygiel's academic background, the essays are impeccably researched and lavishly footnoted, with many primary sources cited.This book is a must for fans of baseball, and for fans of US history--for fans of both, buy the hardback, and reserve a place of honor for it on your bookshelf. You'll want to read it over again, for this book's only major drawback is the lack of extra innings.

provocative, enjoyable synthesis of baseball and history
When Professory Jules Tygiel presented his authoritative analysis of Jackie Robinson in "Baseball's Great Experiment," he gave notice that writing about baseball could not only reflect history but provide lovers of the "national game" a sense of how baseball reflected and influenced the society in which they live. His most recent effort, "Past Time," is a splendid integration of baseball and the dominant social and economic themes resonating around and through the sport.Written in nine chapters, each representing an inning/era in baseball's past, Professor Tygiel explores numerous athletic and historical themes in a beautifully written and thoroughly researched volume.It belongs not only on shelves of those, like me, who love the sport, but those, like me, who believe that imaginative and provocative histories can help assist all of us in understanding who we are and how we became the way we are.

Readers could enjoy this volume by selecting any one of the chapters;although the work is presented chronologically, Professor Tygiel offers each "inning" as its own entity.The meticulous research that entered into his writing (the book has some twenty pages of footnotes) weaves seamlessly into truly graceful writing.As he would say of DiMaggio, "he makes it look easy."There are trenchant observations on baseball as business, on the place of a ballclub in a city's self-definition and how the media has enhanced and democratized the sport.

I especially enjoyed his talented analysis of the impact of media on the sport.From print journalism, which helped create fans to the advent of visual media (ably noted as "new ways of knowing") to the impact of electronic dissemination of information, baseball has enjoyed a symbiotic relationship with mass communication.I was most impressed with his description of Henry Chadwick, whose devotion to the scientific and reform ideas he saw as essential to baseball's success, the father of baseball statistics.Readers will no doubt delight remembering Chadwick's invention of the stories "batting average" when they consider the impact of Bill James' type of information in their modern sensibilities.

There are nuggets of unmitigated delight here as well.Tygiel wonderously describes Babe Ruth becoming mute during an early radio interview and having his voice replaced by the moderator; nobody knew the difference and many commented on how well Ruth spoke.Then, Tygiel gives an absolutely fascinating commentary on Russ Hodges' famous "The Giants win the pennant" call after Bobby Thompson hit his "shot heard 'round the world."Not only that, he provides insight into how a prescient statistic analyst, Dodger employee Allan Roth, sadly predicted the very homerun which upset his beloved team.

Written with a love of the sport, a respect for the glorious cadences of the human voice and a knowledge of the political, economic and social interaction of sport and society, "Past Time" will emerge as one of the essential works on baseball every fan of the game and of the country will want to own.

The Best
I probably grew up in "the middle" of baseball history avidly watching "my" Giants at the Polo Grounds and on channel 11 out of New York.In those days the Dodgers and Giants played each other 22 times a season and they were some of the best baseball wars imaginable.

Jules Tygiel maticulously and fascinatingly brings the history of baseball alive from its' beginnings up to "THE" homerun hit by Bobby Thompson in l951. Unlike other authors, however, he intigrates the progress of baseball with its intersection and influence on the progress of society. It is an unforgettable history lesson written in a crisp fashion that allows easy reading.

The last third of the book traces the dramatic changes in professional baseball that brings us the game we know today where arch rivals play a maximum of eight to ten games per year against each other and players continually rotate from team to team seeking the best dollar.

Whether you enjoy today's game as well the past where there were two leagues of eight teams each is irrelevent.Baseball, in the form it is played in 2000,is establishing permanentcy andlikely to change little save for further expansion. Jules Tygiel's "Past Time" lets us understand the how and why the changes in the past fifty years have occurred.Like it or not - it sure is nice to know!

Finally, one of the best baseball books I have ever read.

Baseball as America, because Baseball is America
I must start with the disclaimer:I am an unabashed fan of Baseball.To some of us, there is so much about Baseball which parallels the growth and development of our country.Jules Tygiel does an admirable job of linkingsome of Baseball's magic moments with the spirit of the times, andinterweaves the two in a fascinating piece of work.

The history of someof the early magnates of the game (Comiskey, Mack and McGraw) parallelssome of the other early captains of industry, and understanding how theydid what they did explains much of how we have moved from agrarian societyto industrial capitalism.The segregation of the Negro Leagues and theultimate integration of the game are richly explored, set with the backdropof the issue of race in America.

"The Shot Heard Round TheWorld" was certainly one of the games greatest moments.But I hadnever thought of it in terms of the "post-war pre-eminence"(some, including the author might instead say the "arrogance") ofAmerica, and the place of New York as the center of the world (I guess themoniker "Mediteranian" had been already taken several centuriesprior).

Easy reading.A great gift for those who have an interest in thegame which goes deeper than what can be found in tomorrow morning's boxscores.

First-rate baseball history -- emphasis on the "history"
In the nine essays comprising this volume, historian Jules Tygiel demonstrates his mastery of 150 years of baseball history.But rather than attempt a comprehensive treatment of the topic, he focuses on key issueswhich often slip through the cracks of broader histories and biographies: the evolution of baseball statistics, the men whose personalities dictatedthe evolution of the game from 1900-20, the effect of mass media on thegame and its fans, the rise of fantasy games and adult fantasy camps inrecent decades.

This shouldn't be the first baseball history book in yourlibrary.If you have a shelf-ful of books on the topic, though, "PastTime" should be among them.No matter how many you've read, you'lllearn something new here. ... Read more

Book Description
“Football is force and fanatics, basketball is beauty and bounce. Baseball is everything: action, grace, the seasons of our lives. George Vecsey’s book proves it, without wasting a word.”
–Lee Eisenberg, author of The Number

In Baseball, one of the great bards of America’s Grand Old Game gives a rousing account of the sport, from its pre-Republic roots to the present day. George Vecsey casts a fresh eye on the game, illuminates its foibles and triumphs, and performs a marvelous feat: making a classic story seem refreshingly new.
Baseball is a narrative of America’s can-do spirit, in which stalwart immigrants such as Henry Chadwick could transplant cricket and rounders into the fertile American culture and in which die-hard unionist baseballers such as Charles Comiskey and Connie Mack could eventually become the tightfisted avatars of the game’s big-money establishment. It’s a celebration of such underdogs as a rag-armed catcher turned owner named Branch Rickey and a sure-handed fielder named Curt Flood, both of whom flourished as true great men of history. But most of all, Baseball is a testament to the unbreakable bond between our nation’s pastime and the fans, who’ve remained loyal through the fifty-year-long interdict on black athletes, the Black Sox scandal, franchise relocation, and the use of performance-enhancing drugs by some major stars.

Reverent, playful, and filled with Vecsey’s charm, Baseball begs to be read in the span of a rain-delayed doubleheader, and so enjoyable that, like a favorite team’s championship run, one hopes it never ends.

“Vecsey possesses a journalist’s eye for detail and a historian’s feel for the sweep of action. His research is scrupulous and his writing crisp. This book is an instant classic——a highly readable guide to America’s great enduring pastime.”— The Louisville Courier Journal



From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

pretty good book
a good book worth reading by any baseball fan.the author really knows his stuff.my only complaint is that it jumps around a little chronologically, making somewhat difficult to read at times.if you are thinking about buying it, do it.you probably won't be disappointed.

For the casual fan...
This book is strictly for casual fans or general readers.While smoothly written, the stories told are well-known and the historical insight negligible.For a serious academic history of the game, read Benjamin Rader, BASEBALL: A HISTORY OF AMERICA'S GAME (second edition) or Charles C. Alexander, OUR GAME: AN AMERICAN BASEBALL HISTORY (a little dated, since it was published in 1991).If you are really determined, try Harold Seymour's classic three-volume history.

"Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks..."
BASEBALL:A HISTORY OF AMERICA'S FAVORITE GAME by George Vecsey is not quite a comprehensive account of America's pastime.However, Vecsey pinpoints the major events and people who defined the game on and off the field, and clears the myths from the facts.He intermingles the Abner Doubleday myth with Columbus and Pocahontas, and specifically states that Albert Goodwill Spalding, a pitcher turned businessman, helped typify baseball to how it is recognized today.From Abner Doubleday to the scandalous fervor of 1919 and the Black Sox as well as the so-called Great Bambino curse that was finally broken one day in October 2004, the book places the game within a historical perspective.

Vecsey intertwines baseball with history.He embraces the game as a long-time fan as well as a sports columnist, but with a tinge of romanticism when he recounts his childhood memories of the game during baseball's "golden age" and Jackie Robinson and Stan Musial reigned.The book is a combination of the Ken Burns's documentary and HBO Sports', "When it was a Game." There are several historical references throughout the book, such as his discussion of the First and Second World Wars when team members heeded to the call of duty, and unfortunately, never to return.What is worth noting is that the game boosted morale during and after the war; in 1949 General MacArthur praised the game as a "piece of diplomacy," and decades later, Japanese Ambassador to the United States, Ryozo Kato, stated that the game "helped heal the memories of war" (115).In addition, with emergence of the Civil Rights Movement, baseball became integrated and progressed with the times.

Although BASEBALL is geared towards the general-reading public, this is by no means an introduction to the game.The book is rather a historical commentary that insights readers about this aspect of American culture that is as historic as it is ever changing.Vecsey's narrative is enlightening, and it is amazing to know that the game has existed for over two centuries and continues to draw new followers and spectators.

A good book on baseball
I am not an avid baseball fan, but I do enjoy going to a few games each year.I also enjoy a good read - and this was a good read. What I enjoyed most was learning about the early history of the game, which I had no clue about.I also found the chapters on the negro leagues, the Yankees, and the Curt Flood/free agency era, to be informative.

Inside Baseball History
An objective critique of baseball history separating truth from fiction.
A well written and interesting book showing the unknown conflicts between owners and players. The owners reluctance to expose internal problems with star athletes. It also raises questions about the origins of America's game. Though provoking and insigtful. This writer knows his stuff. ... Read more

Book Description
With more than 500 photographs
-- Introduction by Roger Angell
-- Essays by Thomas Boswell, Robert W. Creamer, Gerald Early, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Bill James, David Lamb, Daniel Okrent, John Thorn, George E Will
-- And featuring an interview with Buck O'Neil ... Read more

Customer Reviews (110)

A tribute to baseball by Ken Burns and his team
This volume contains a lot that is very good.Its structure is a bit forced (nine innings, or periods, of baseball history).The 9th inning, as others have noted, covers a large time frame compared with earlier "innings."I'm not sure that the decade is the best way of organizing baseball history, either.Still and all, that's more a matter of taste than anything else.

The book's authors candidly observe that they will focus on eastern teams, e.g., Boston Red Sox and Brooklyn Dodgers, "because we felt their stories especially rich in the human drama that accompanies the history of every team." However, I agree with a reviewer (who bears the name of one of Detroit's best first basemen ever) who laments that this really does slight the deep baseball history that covers much more territory than New York to Boston.Again, though, certainly not a fatal flaw by any stretch in this book.

This book is seen as complementary to the documentary series on PBS, designed to elaborate certain issues in ways not possible in the TV medium. Some of the special features in both the documentary and book are the recollections of Buck O'Neil; interviews with historians, writers, managers, and players.Finally, essays by a number of "guests" represent an interesting twist.Roger Angell has a wonderful Introduction, "Hard Lines," in which he juxtaposes the apparent ease of playing baseball with the harsh realities of players often fighting just to stay in the big leagues or losing the joy for the game (note the brief discussion on Carl Yastrzemski).He observes that: "Once we understand how really hard it is, we become citizens of baseball, admiring its laws and just paths, even when the luck of the day hasn't gone our way."Other guest commentators include George Will, Bill James, and Doris Kearns Goodwin.

But the book is about baseball, so the nine innings are themselves the heart of this book.The early years, up until 1900, feature a strange game to us today, with very different rules--as well as the origins of racial segregation in the game (the issue of race is one of the main themes of the book).The second inning discusses the game as "Something like a war," when players played and fought hard.And so on.No need to provide a full chronology. Some special segments: the role of Babe Ruth, in the Fourth Inning, helping baseball dig out from under the disaster of the Chicago Black Sox, who threw a World Series. The Sixth Inning features the end of segregation in baseball, with Jackie Robinson's big league debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

A final quotation from Buck O'Neil illustrates how the game can be addictive--to players (and even to fans), when he says: "There is nothing in life like getting your body to do all the things it has to do on the baseball field."

All in all, an ambitious work, trying to capture the spirit of baseball, its sins, and its contributions.While I do have some questions about this volume, as already noted, it ends up not quite being a home run, but it surely is extra bases.

Baseball is to broad a title for this narrow look
Call the film something other than "Baseball".That word is far too broad for what we get to see.

Let's look at one installment: "Inning 8: 1960-1970".

Point One: There must be very little baseball history in the midwest U.S. because "Baseball" tells very little from it.This must be mentioned as a disclaimer.However, there are stories from the midwest that should never be overlooked.For example, the 1968 season in Detroit seemed to fit so well into the flow of the documentary.A city in Detroit that was ravaged by race riots with a team that lived, breathed and tasted the experience, but also drank the cup of victory.That story is as much about the city of Detroit as it is baseball.It is etched in the city's history and it is unreasonable not to tell such a story in the context of the decade. I wonder what went into why it was not told or how it ended up on the cutting room floor?Was this at the request of Curt Flood, who was featured in this decade's segment?It was Flood's stumble and defensive miscue in center field that handed Detroit a game seven and series victory.In general, I found the lack of midwestern baseball stories to be as aggravating as baseball coverage is in general from the national media.The St. Louis Cardinals are the only midwest representative in this segment.Regretfully, this is the case with the one documentarian who can get a grant package big enough to produce such a large series on national public television.Where is the public service?

Secondly, the tone of the film is terrible.It's rather depressing to watch.It relies too heavily on a few commentators and subjects.Those historians who talk about their experience with events as fans are dispassionate about the game.The film should have found fans instead of historians.Since it clearly was not concerned with any sort of comprehensive history, but instead storytelling, go to the people who can tell stories best.Those would be baseball fans, not historians.Trust me, the history of the game is easily told without historians speaking to their personal connection and childhood experiences.

The film could have been a great deal of fun to watch, even without being comprehensive.I would love to have seen some of the passion and excitement of the New York Mets fans in 1969, even though the Mets received too much attention at that point of the eighth segment.

Overall, the set is not fun to watch.I've been a passionate baseball fan since as early as I can remember but "Baseball" by Ken Burns is not something that I am attracted to, but rather felt the need to endure to be able to claim I hadn't missed it.That stinks.

The consummate set of videos about Baseball.
Contained in these ten DVD's are just about every historical moment in baseball.

Inning 1 Baseball from its inception in the 1840's to the 1900's This explores baseballs roots from Abner Doubleday to the beginnings of what we know as modern day baseball.

Inning 2 1900 to 1910. The beginning of the World Series. Great footage and photos of old parks and players.

Inning 3 1910 TO 1920. Covers Babe Ruth, the Black sox, Grover Cleveland Alexander and more. Footage of Fenway being built

Inning 4 1920 to 1930 Really the beginnings of the Yankee dynasty but the Cardinals rule the Natonal league with the famed gass house gang.

Inning 5 1930 to 1940. More footage of all the great stars of the day, Ruth, Di Maggio, Williams and more.

Inning 6 1940 to 1950. The effects of war on the American pastime. The splendid splinter goes to war, he comes back and picks up where he left off.

Inning 7 1950 to 1960. The Yankee dynasty continues. Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, The shot heard around the world, Don Larsons perfect game. The Giants and Dodgers pick and leave.

Inning 8 1960 to 1970. The Los Angeles Angels are born, The Kansas City A's become the Oakland A's, The Royals and Mets are born. The Padres are born and move into a small stadium outside of San Diego. And then there was the Seattle Pilots. Those amazin Mets win the World series. Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax get agents but are unsuccessful in changing baseballs anti trust act and re sign with the Dodgers. Maris passes the Babe with an asterisk.

Inning 9 1970 to 1994. Curt Flood looses his war against baseball but the players eventually win. The players union gets stronger. The Reds come to power. The A's win a couple world series. Roberto Clemente's life cut short. Washing looses another team called the Senators.

The film also has some great commentary interspersed through out all of the DVD's. At the end of each DVD is a trivia game based on the decade that the DVD covered.


While the movie is based for the most part on New ork teams this is truly a must for all baseball fans. There is no other collection of materials that covers baseball like this one does in terms of breadth and depth.

Good, but not absolutely great
I hate to say it, mainly because I don't want to come off as racist, but thisdocumentary spends a little too much time on the Negro Leagues. For a league no longer in existence, I think Burns could have spent as much time as he did on the other forgotten leagues. By the middle innings you are left wondering if this is a documentary about the Negro Leagues or about Baseball. He spends less time on the All American Girls Baseball League then it actually existed. This was America's first attempt at creating a women's professional sports league and it is treated in passing. In the end you find that seven of the innings are about professional baseball, specifically the Majors. One of the innings, not all together but in pieces across other innings, is devoted entirely to the Negro Leagues. And one inning, again not together but in pieces, is devoted to all the other leagues that came about (including the Federal League, the American Association, and the All American Girls Baseball League).

The best time capsule covering any sport history on video
This series takes you from the beginning of Baseball to the 1990s.Most of it is covered by decade with the 9th inning covering the 1970s up to 1995 (about the time when the series aired on PBS).

Has rare photos and film covering every event of the sport. Has extensive footage of the Negro League, Babe Ruth, and covers every star in the sport at their times.Has some mention of times about the minor league teams as well.

I'm surprised being from Seattle and recalling what Baseball politics turned into this town around the 70s that the Pilots moving from Seattle to Milwaukee (to become the Brewers) wasn't covered as well as the legal battle to get the Mariners into the Kingdome.Was this dropped on purpose?That was an unusual move to do since a lot of the other legal wrangling with the owners, players, courts, the government, and the players union wasn't missed.Perhaps maybe it was dropped due to space on the last DVD.

It's definately a piece of video history to have.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Courage Displayed on a baseball diamond

In Great Moments In Baseball History, you can learn a lot about some of the greatest players in major league history. Matthew Christopher, the author of this book, put together his view of a 9 tremendous, and courageous pitching performances, hitting clinics, catches, and life stories in this book. Some people who are in the book are strong, courageous, have stamina, but most of all, each person has their own little characteristic different than everyone else's. Anyone who asks me about this book, all I have to tell them is that it is a great read and a wonderful grouping of stories that any true baseball fan can enjoy time and time again.
All of these stories are incredible in their own special way. For example, there is a story about a pitcher who only had one hand and he threw a no hitter against a team who had in the previous week scored 7 runs against him, he showed to everyone that he had courage. Another story describes a pitcher who had cancer and was told that he would never pitch in the majors again, and it would be considered lucky to be able to play catch in the backyard with his son. Against all odds, after just 11 short months he was back in the majors and he was pitching great. Unfortunately he was diagnosed with cancer again and had his arm removed but he is still alive and well. Finally there is my favorite story of Joe Nuxhall who pitched in his first ever major league game at the tender young age of just 15. Although he was nervous he pitched well and was signed to a contract with the Cincinnati Reds at 16 years old (he was the youngest player ever to play major league baseball).
Matthew Christopher added great little details to every story to kind of add some drama to each one. For example, he told the audience how even though Babe Ruth was old and out of shape he could still hit three homeruns in a baseball game and have fun doing so. Another example is in the story of the pitcher with cancer, Christopher added in the detail of how he "might" be able to play catch with his son in the backyard to add some drama to the already dramatic situation. There are also so great word usages in the stories and he places every one of them in the perfect spot to help the reader make sense of everything.
Great Moments In Baseball History is a great book about heart warming, funny, and enlightening stories and people. Every story is different and exciting in that one special way that you can always remember. Also the author describes everything very well and it is easy to understand every word that is being said. Finally you can learn a lot from every person in the book and a piece of their life that may reach out and touch your own life.

Good stuff
Matt Christopher is one of the best baseball writers for young readers out there. This is another notch in his belt. Pick this up.

great moments
I found this book to be very good. Its reading level is 9th grade or so but that didnt stop this 41 year old from enjoying it. The book talks about 9 great moments in baseball and shares a few interesting perspectives on the game. Every fan should know of these charming and touching moments. If you love the game check it out.

A must read for young ball players
My boys (9 and 14) have read many of Matt Christopher's books.All are good, some are great treats.I gave a copy of "The Kid Who Only Hit Homers" to each boy on my baseball team last year.They loved it! This year I am giving each player a copy of Christopher's "GreatMoments."I read this collection of great moments (an unassistedtriple play in the World Series for example) to my boys and enjoyed everypage.We re-read some of the stories they were so much fun.This is amust read for all young/new baseball fans. ... Read more

Book Description
The story of one of baseball's most ferocious hitters, Jimmie Foxx. The most inclusive biography of Foxx to date, Millikin's book provides a complete picture of his subject. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

The best
This book has detail about Foxx that has never appeared anywhere before except possibly contemporary newspapers. Foxx's minor league career, largely ignored by previous biographers, is treated extensively. A compelling treatment of the life of a Hall of Famer who hasn't received as much publicity as many players of lesser talent.

The best book out there on Double X
A very informative book. It covers his childhood until his death. Mostlyit covers his major league career of 20 years but covers his childhood inMaryland with lots of good details too. However, after his playing years(20+ years) is covered rarely quickly in about 20 pages. It was wellwritten, but sometimes had too much game by game details and stats. Is thisbook worth the 40.00 price tag? No, and I'm a huge Foxx fan. Cut the pricein half or wait for the softback edition to come out, and save yourself25.00 bucks. A few pictures in the book that are average-nothingspectacular.

The most definative book on Jimmie Foxx that I know of!!!
Mr. Millikin must of spent a great deal of time researching on Mr. Foxx. I know of no other book written on Mr. Foxx to be more accurate and true. If you are interested in Mr. Foxx, this is the only book that I wouldrecommend.Great job, Mr. Millikin and I look forward to your next book.

Most definative book on Foxx on the market...a must read!!!
Mr. Millikin has done his homework on Mr. Foxx.This book is wellresearched and by far the most accurate book ever written on Mr. Foxx.Mr.Millikin goes to the extreme to inform the reader, not only on Foxx'sbaseball career, but on his entire life.Once you finish the book, youfeel like you actually knew Mr. Foxx and appreciate his success on thediamond that much more.Thank you, Mr. Millikin for your hard work...yourbook is one I am proud to have on my bookself!!!

The best book I've ever read
I love this book

It is the greatest book I've ever seen ... Read more

Book Description
In this second edition of his lively, compact history of America's game--widely recognized as the best of its kind--Benjamin G. Rader expands his scope to include commentary on baseball in the 1990s: the Latino invasion, the building of retroparks, the dizzying race for new home-run records, and other topics. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

"Solid Throwback Piece of Work"
Great book, I actually read this book during the All-Star Break and it conjured up reminants of nostalgia from my own Little League days. Rader examines a "semi-comprehensive" look at Baseball's flucuating stages, touching economical and social issues, while recounting memorable games. Rader's compelling account of Ruth's "called shot" of the 1932 World Series made me feel as if I was at Wrigley! He also reminds us that American History and Baseball will forever remain synonomous, remembering the Great Depression and how the game once struggled as well. The "War Years" also serve as a testament to Baseball's effect on American society and how the game diverted many fellow Americans attention. Throughout the book, Rader illustrates graphs and charts, highlighting a club's attendance, realignment issues, and salary-cap/player income. Solid piece of historic literature on the development of the game and American history as well, his objective sold me completley, moreover, rekindled my passion for the game on all levels.
AllotofVision
-Marshall University-

THIS HISTORY IS ON THE BALL. AND, YES, IT SCORES. BIG.
Benjamin Rader's second edition of his definitive history of America's favorite national pastime continues to score. Big. The lively, compact history has been expanded, now including baseball in the 1990s, the Latino invasion, the building of retro parks, the dizzying race for home runs (think Sosa and McGwire), the return (again) of the New York Yankees and team dynasties. This may be a somewhat scholarly analysis of the sport, but it's also highly approachable and highly readable and rich in detail. Rader takes readers into the game both inside and outside the foul lines; he also corrects errors he made the first time 'round, most notably in chapters 14 and 15. (Readers of the first edition will know exactly what we mean, and can start whooping it up now.) As for the rest of you, all together now: Take me out to the ballgame ....

Baseball history the way it should be written
I am currently taking a course at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux,Louisiana, entitled: The History of Baseball. Thus far, Benjamin Rader'sbook has provided valuable insight into the complete early history of therise of baseball. Anyone seeking to explore the beginnings of the game, andwhat the game has become from its beginning, should use "Baseball: AHistory of America's Game" as the primary source. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an in-depth treatment of the organization and operation of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.Referencing primary documents from league owner Arthur Meyerhoff and others, the book offers a unique perspective inside the AAGPBL and examines its rise and fall, with an emphasis on league and team administration. The study begins with a brief history of women's softball, noting its importance as a precursor to, and talent pool for, women's professional baseball.Next the book investigates changing league administration and organization. Publicity and promotional philosophy and practices receive particular attention. Later chapters cover team administrative structure, team managers, and chaperones. Finally, discussion focuses on player backgrounds and league policies and regulations for the players, including salaries, trades, waivers, and allocation procedures and problems. The book includes a foreword by AAGPBL all-star Jean Cione; four appendices with valuable information about the AAGPBL Players’ Association and league highlights; numerous photographs; and an extensive bibliography. ... Read more

Book Description

Since its limited release just after the turn of the twentieth century, this American Tobacco cigarette card has beguiled and bedeviled collectors. First identified as valuable in the 1930s, when the whole notion of card collecting was still young, the T206 Wagner has remained the big score for collectors who have scoured card shows, flea markets, estate sales, and auctions for the portrait of baseball's greatest shortstop.

Customer Reviews (10)

The fascinating history behind baseball's most notorious card!
This is a great book for anyone who loves baseball and grew up collecting baseball cards.It colorfully takes us through the history of the infamous T206 Honus Wagner card, and all of its adventures.The tales of corruption and deceit along the way are fascinating, and gave me a different perspective on the hobby I once loved.

This book is an extremely quick read, and a very fun one.

Educating and fun
The Card was a very fun and easy read. It has great incites into the world of card collecting and collecting in general. My favorite part is the way the authors weave not only baseball history but American history as well throughout the book. I recommend this book to anyone interested in baseball and especially card collecting. It made me want to rifle through my sons shoe boxes of cards in hunt for that Honus Wagner!

Lengthy and Redundant
First of all, I love baseball and baseball cards and have been collecting cards since I was in First Grade.I really thought this book would be both compelling and informative.However, what I discovered is that what is stated in 256 pages easily could be condensed into 50 pages of text.Often anecdotes and stories are far too drawn out and the authors often find the need to go back to these old stories or bits of information as filler in later chapters.There is some to be taken from this book, but on the whole, it is much longer than it should be.I would pass, and if you want to give it a chance, surely check for it at the library and do not buy it.It won't add much to your personal collection.

An intriguing story well told
Authors Michael O'Keefe and Teri Thompson tell an interesting and entertaining story about "The Card"--the most valuable Honus Wagner T206 card as well as the card collecting and sports memorabilia "hobby."The Wagner card sold for $2.35 million in February 2007.It is, as the authors write, "the symbol of a hobby out of control."

As one prominent collector said, "Too much of this hobby's driven by greed."The authors chronicle the transformation of the hobby into a $2 billion a year, Internet-driven business, which attracts more than its share of unsavory characters.

While slightly familiar with the Gretzky Wagner T206 card (so named because hockey great Wayne Gretzky and a partner once purchased it), I had no idea about its history and the controversy that surrounds it.The authors present a strong case that the card was actually cut from a sheet of cards, trimmed and altered.If this is the case, the value of the card should have been drastically reduced.It seems, however, that too many people have too much to lose, if it was actually proven.

"The Card" is an intriguing story that will keep you turning the pages.Kudos to the authors for also providing a couple chapters on the career and post-career of Pittsburgh Pirates great Honus Wagner, one of the five original inductees in the Hall of Fame.

The Card Review
I liked the book, read it in two days.It makes you wonder about a lot of memorabillia out there and why the people selling it are out are there and running around unchecked.It kills me that even though people know about The Card, they still want it.It could be brand new and they'd still want it.That's called wanting something others want.It's not the item, it's the want.Interesting reading, a must for anyone interested in the world of baseball memorabillia or collecting sports cards.
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Customer Reviews (8)

antiquated, inadequate
Professor Alexander is a pioneer is the field of sports history, but his short history of baseball pales in comparison to what has cme since. He never fails to take a potshot at his betes noire, nor cackle over his pet theories, making this a hard read.

a good read...
Good book for a baseball fan to learn the history of the game.

Complete and Concise
Charles Alexander's book Our Game is a straight forward historical account of the national pasttime. In an age where very few people are interested in "pure" history, Alexander has managed to pen an intelligent andinformative book that gets to the point quickly and provides the readerwith a complete history of baseball.

Complete and Concise
Charles Alexander's book Our Game is a straight forward historical account of the national pasttime. In an age where very few people are interested in "pure" history, Alexander has managed to pen an intelligent andinformative book that gets to the point quickly and provides the readerwith a complete histroy of baseball.

good history, bad writing
To learn of some of the obscure and not-so-obscure baseball history lessons, this is a good read.That's worth 3 stars.The self-gratification and self-indulgence the author does throughout the bookleft me wondering if he was not just a bit full of himself while he pennedabout our pasttime.I enjoy some of the facts of baseball included herebut would have enjoyed a thinner version without all of the bragadociousways of the author. ... Read more

Book Description
This richly illustrated book is a magnificent salute to one of the most successful and popular baseball teams in the history of professional sports. The story begins in Brooklyn in the 19th century, spans the first half of the 20th, and focuses on the five decades during which the Dodgers have called Los Angeles their home. The tale culminates with the Dodgers' dramatic capture of the 2004 National League West title. It includes exciting accounts of all the important games and championship seasons and is packed with in-depth profiles of the most memorable players, managers, coaches, and figures from every era. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great for Dodger fans
This book is highly recommended for any Dodger fan. The people who remember the Brooklyn Dodgers will enjoy seeing and reading about Ebbets Field and Gil, Pee Wee, Jackie, Campy, Duke, Oisk, Skoonj, Uncle Robbie and the rest. Newer Dodger fans get to see Sandy, Big D, Maury, Fernando and Steve Garvey along with Eric Gagne.

Illustrated History of the Dodgers
As a long time Dodger baseball fan (over 50 years), I found the book very informative, intereting reading, and sprinkled with good photos.Great book for any Dodger fan.The book does a good job in a chronilogical order of telling the story of the organization - players, management, and owners.There weremany tidbits that I learned new or did not remember until reading the book. ... Read more

Book Description
Every baseball fan knows New York Yankee shortstop Derek Jeteris a great all-around player. But how about Alex Rodriguez, Jeter'steammate, former American League MVP, and probable future Hall of Famer?Many would argue he's even better than Jeter. And what about Jeter'sseemingly unassailable status as one of the greatest Yankees of all time?Such discussions highlight one of the great joys of being a baseball fan:arguing over who's really great and who falls just short, who doesn't getthe respect he deserves and who gets too much. In other words, who'soverrated and who's underrated. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (19)

Great debate material for baseball fans
I think any serious baseball fan would find Jayson Stark's book interesting and thought-provoking.The most overrated and underrated players is a great topic that can be endlessly debated.Stark tries to separate the myth from reality.And, there are no sacred cows--witness his selection of Nolan Ryan as the most overrated right-handed pitcher and Sandy Koufax as the most overrated left-handed pitcher.

Stark makes interesting and solid arguments for his No. 1 most overrated and underrated players at each position.He presents a thumbnail argument for Nos. 2 through 5.I would have liked a little more depth for these players.

When selecting underrated players, Stark relies too much on the voting for the 1999 All-Century team.Face it, you didn't have to know anything about baseball history to vote for that team.And, the results prove it.Being underrated by a bunch of baseball know-nothings isn't the same as being underrated by members of the Society for American Baseball Research.

It's easy to argue with some of Stark's selections (that's the point of the book).Stark must have had been suffering from a beaning, however, when he selected Don Zimmer as overrated.Overrated by whom?I've never met a baseball fan who praised Zimmer (a .235 lifetime hitter) as a player.If you think a player is overrated if a fan knows that he was a utility infielder 40 years after he retired, then Zimmer would be overrated.Otherwise, I can't see it.

While Stark can be interesting and enlightening, his style also can be irritating.His sophomoric shtick of flippantly addressing the reader and his numerous quips detract from the book.He also belabors the point of what he means by being overrated and underrated to the point of nausea.

Stark's book, however, is worth reading for the statistical nuggets alone.Here are some examples:
· Richie Ashburn's four 500-putout seasons is as many as all other Hall of Famers combined.
· Jim Wynn never received a Hall of Fame vote.
· Steve Garvey had six 200-hit seasons, but never scored 100 runs in a season.
· Frank Robinson is the only player to win the Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player, World Series MVP, and All-Star MVP awards.
· Ashburn and Rogers Hornsby are the only players to lead the league in average, walks and hits.

A fun summer/baseball book
Here is an enjoyable read for those baseball fans who have always questioned the rankings of various players throughout the decades. In simple and lively writing,the author singles out various overated and underated players and the reasons why they have fit into these categories.
It's a quick read and something to be passed on to a fellow baseball fan or better yet, to a friend with whom you have always argued with over the worth and abilities of various ball players.

Some really dumb thoughts!
This guy is nuts! He says Yaz is the most overated Red Sox player ever.
And has some of the most popular players as Overated and in some cases he has players underated and most people think of them as great. I really don't get the point of the book except to make money!

Hammering it home hurts
I very much enjoyed Stark's book. I really did. It made me think more about some of the players whom most people make assumptions about, and it confirmed some of my thoughts about other players who were under- or over-rated in my opinion as well. It also introduced me to some statistics, especially relative stats (in other words, comparisons with other players) I'd never even thought about. If I disagreed with him, I didn't take it personally (who would? It's just a book). Dave Winfield overrated? OK, I can see where you're coming from. Was Andy Van Slyke the 5th-most underrated at his position? Probably true--I'd agree more easily if you didn't introduce him as your friend Andy though. Phil Rizzuto overrated? Sure, you make some good points. Nolan Ryan and Sandy Koufax overrated? You're getting controversial, but I can see your points there too. The important thing is to read what Stark says, not just look at the player names in big bold text at the beginning of the section. It's called a book. It is intended for reading. So those are some positive points to the book, and the reason I give it as many stars as I do.

The one thing keeping it from getting 5 stars from me (I'm about to overreact a bit, so I apologize in advance) is his incessant chattering about what overratedness means and does not mean. In every single chapter, Stark has the urge to re-explain that just because a player is overrated does not mean that he should have taken up ballroom dancing (or some other activity unrelated to baseball) instead, but only that the average fan's perception of the player is greater than the player's actual performance. OK, I understood that point in chapter 1. Maybe a person who is a little less swift would have needed to review the concept in the second chapter. But in every single section of the book (sometimes for multiple players within a section), the point is driven home again. And again. And it drove me mad. Even at the end of the book--page 183 out of 194--he indicates that this is the point he is "getting at." Buddy, you got there before page 5. Could have saved me a solid 10 minutes of reading time if I didn't have to re-read the meaning of overratedness again and again and again.

So, it was a great book, and also a very fun and easy read. Only would have been improved if it weren't so maddeningly repetitive.

I would give it 5 stars, but then it might be overrated.
A 2007 summer reading list mini review.

When I heard Jayson Stark promoting this book on the radio, I knew I had to read it.I read it all cover to cover in 3 days and am very glad to have done so. Stark researched this book thoroughly, but the success of the book comes down to opinions and their presentation.Stark educates the reader on these opinions and entertains them with his presentation.

Stark's opinions are backed up statistically, although, he is the first to admit that you can back up whatever you want with statistics.This is what I most like about the book: Stark knows when not to take himself or the subject too seriously.He has an unusual ability, a gift really, to sound authoritative and self effacing at the exact same moment. Presenting your opinions passionately, persuasively and personably can never be overrated.
... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (16)

An in-depth study of baseball and its historical roots
Baseball Before We Knew It: A Search For The Roots Of The Game by baseball historian and expert David Block is a well researched, expertly written, inherently interesting, reader engaging, in-depth study of baseball and its historical roots. Baseball's actual origin is in Europe and Baseball Before We Knew It resents a wry and informative authorship of Block's intricate study of the great 'American' sport. Baseball Before We Knew It is very highly recommended reading for baseball fans and students sports history for its invaluable documentation and seminal, groundbreaking collection of information compiled and comprised to create what may easily be seen as the ultimate book of baseball. No personal, academic or community library Sports History collection can be considered complete or comprehensive without the inclusion of David Block's Baseball Before We Knew It!

WOWSER! All This and Occultists, too!
Having just been to Block's talk at the Harold Washington Library in Chicago, this reader got an eeyeful and an earful, bought the book and began reading it on the "el" on the way home and kept reading far too long into the wee hours of the morning.

Althought I'd like to have seen some of the compelling documents that were at Block's library presentation included in this volume, as a reference book on the incredible linkages to the game of baseball, Block's work is fascinating and as he said, still ongoing.

I'm a SABR member, too, as well as the Executive director of The Old Timers' Baseball Association of Chicago. sorry, I've never heard of the 1972 book that the sole negative reviewer mentioned, but this award-winning hunt for the origins of baseball takes odd turns throughout history, and while it may not be worth a hill of beans to fans in the Cubs bleachers today, for researchers, this is a great mystery that will, no doubt, be ripped off endlessly by hack writers for decades to come.

Kudos to ya, Dave; if this is your first big dig, I'm stoked to see what you unearth next!

Very interesting new material
The author seems to be primarily engaged in trying to debunk three myths: (1) that Gen. Abner Doubleday invented the game, (2) that the real inventor was Alexander J. Cartwright of the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club, and (3) that the game developed from the English game of rounders.

For the first, there has already been so much evidence that Doubleday had nothing in particular to do with baseball, so it would seem there was little more that could be said, except that, in fact, the author finds out some interesting evidence that he believes to be the main reason that A. G. Spalding might have favored Doubleday's claim-- that Spalding and Doubleday were both adherents of the same religious cult!

Regarding the Cartwright claim, the author has much less to say. He accepts that the Knickerbocker Rules were an important step in the development of baseball, but in addition he states that there is evidence that Cartwright's role in developing those rules was less significant than has been believed. And he shows that organized baseball games occured before the adoption of the Knickerbocker Rules.

It is in debunking the third "myth," I think, where the author strains to do something undeserved. So the name "rounders" does not seem to have been used prior to the nineteenth century. But the author admits that "rounders" was simply a name that has come to be assigned to an earlier English game, and that baseball developed from that game. The difference between that and the "myth" he is trying to debunk is minimal. If you really think it makes a difference between saying "baseball developed from rounders" and "baseball evolved from a number of games, but the most important was the game now known in England as 'rounders,'" you can accept this book's argument. I don't see it that way; to me "developed from rounders" and "developed from the game now known as rounders" are not significantly different.

But the book is interesting. It should be in your possession if you're interested in baseball, and especially in its history.

Pushing Back the Perameters
I have just read a number of rave reviews for Baseball Before We Knew It, so I won't try to outdo them.But I am a member of SABR and interested in tracing the development of 19th century uniforms and caps.I had email contact with Mr. Block before he finished his book, so my anticipation was high, and now I can say my expectations were more than met.From a practical and special point of view, I can now hang my "uniforms" on Block's chronological reconstruction, knowing that not every issue is settled, but that wide new vistas have been opened for my own research.His chronological flow chart toward the back is most helpful for the historian.Now we need to watch a good documentary movie on the Discovery Channel, so we can "see" what a game of ball looked in the Middle Ages.Would Kevin Kostner be interested?
Great job, David Block!
Jim "Batman" Battenfield of California

Breaking new ground
I was initially not going to write a review of this book, as there are already many justly praising it.The one negative review, however, saying that this book has little in it not in Harold Peterson's "The Man Who Invented Baseball" (published over thirty years ago) gave me pause.On one level it is clearly true.I remember as a boy my father telling me about Alexander Cartwright and the New York Knickerbockers, and dismissing the Abner Doubleday story.I don't know that he read Peterson's book, but the timing is right and Peterson did popularize the Cartwright story.This provoked me to dig out my out copy of Peterson and read it for the first time in many years.I can now definitively assure you that David Block is most certainly not just recycling Peterson's book.

They agree that there were earlier versions of ball-and-stick games, which they discuss, and that the version of the game that has come down to us as modern baseball was standardized by the Knickerbocker club.

That may make it look like they have similar theses, but they really do not.Peterson's thesis is right there in his title:someone invented baseball and he knows who it was.Earlier versions were fundamentally different from the Knickerbocker game, and the Knickerbocker game was the product one man's flash of genius.Earlier games are discussed, but they don't really matter, since the Knickerbocker game is taken as being so different.The discussions of earlier games mostly are there to discredit the Doubleday story, which typically has predecessor games being even more primitive than in the Cartwright story

Block's goal is also named in his title:he is seeking baseball's roots.The Knickerbocker game is part of a story that began centuries earlier.Earlier versions aren't a distraction, they are the story.Only by knowing what came before can we see what the Knickerbockers did and didn't do:what parts of their game were selections from an existing menu of options and what parts were true innovations.It turns out to be far more interesting than any myth of a heroic lone genius.

Why should we believe Block rather than Peterson?Peterson's is a book with no footnotes, but with detailed descriptions of events down to quoted conversations.Even if the events were found in histories that actually cited sources, we would know that this is fiction.Peterson probably considered it putting a human face on the story.I consider it making stuff up.He does that a lot.The chapters on early ball-and-stick games are a mish-mash of solid data, poorly understood facts, and utter fiction.So it is that he can, on adjacent pages, give two contradictory accounts of the origin of cricket.He has a story to tell and he isn't going to let facts get in the way.Block's book started out as an annotated bibliography of early baseball sources and Block is meticulous about documentation.When he is forced to interpret beyond the actual evidence he tells us this.You come away knowing exactly what is really known and what is educated guesswork.It is honest history.

I rarely give five stars in my reviews, but I have no qualms about doing so here.The book is quite simply the important book on the subject published in my lifetime.It may be surpassed some day, but that day isn't likely to be soon.For the foreseeable future this is the one book to own if you have any interest in the origins of baseball. ... Read more

Book Description

From the perspective of 2007, the unintentional irony of Chance's boast is manifest—these days, the question is when will the Cubs ever win a game they have to have. In October 1908, though, no one would have laughed: The Cubs were, without doubt, baseball's greatest team—the first dynasty of the 20th century.

Customer Reviews (47)

entertaining, light, and interesting
This book is very enjoyable. It covers the '08 season in depth with plenty of other useful facts which come along with any good non-fiction (about an era). It's funny, enjoyable, and a nice easy read. I would recomend it for any Baseball historian enthusiast

A wonderful book about a fantasy season - only it was real!
I needed to fill the void left this offseason by an anticlimatic end to the 2007 season. This book did the trick,I was floored. We've all seen pictures of the early days of baseball; and this book brought those pictures to life.What amazed me was how similiar, yet different the game was 100 years ago. I was transported to the year 1908 and became a fan of each team involved in that pennant race (as a side: as a met fan it was great to read how terrible the yankees were).Any critics of the author's style of writing should be ignored. This is a fun, fast paced book that has enough detail to bring the games alive.Can you imagine a pitcher winning 37 games, or another giving up 1 unearned run only to lose a pennant deciding game because the opposing pitcher threw a perfect game?!?! 6 teams, going down to the wire, only 2 will make the Series! In the modern era of wildcard play, divisions and 8 teams making the playoffs, a season like this may not ever happen again. Great book I am telling all my friends about this one! Go Cubs in '08 :)

Must-own for any baseball fan!
Cait Murphy brings 1908 to life with a richness and detail that is truly wonderful.Wrapping details of early 20th Century America into a fascinating account of an historic season, the reader is transported back in time.

This is baseball writing at its finest and a book that no fan should be without.

The trivia alone is worth the read
While any baseball fan worth his (or her) salt knows about 1919, Cait Murphy has taken a year in baseball, which most of us couldn't comment on, and provided a wealth of interesting information about. Her research is phenomenal and the trivia alone makes it a fantastic read. Excellent writing style and interesting insertions of non-baseball history make this a great book to add to your library. I bought four copies I liked it so much.

Baseball
This is the best book on baseball ever written.It not only speaks of the teams and players, but it gives a excellent history of America and its culture in the early 1900's.Ms. Murphy had me laughing out loud with her wit and humor in her description of those people and times.This was my favorite book on baseball. ... Read more

Product Description
John's writing is refreshingly vivid and beyond accurate. Drawing on an unparalleled pool of players, managers and historians, John illuminates each player so eloquently that it reads like a statistically rich novel. Not just a home run in our opinion, but rather a ninth-inning, two-out, two-strike, walk off grand slam.
EDITORS, BASEBALL ALMANAC
Baseball is never a static thing, a simple compilation of numbers. It is people doing extraordinary things in an eye-blink and John Valerino's book captures wonderfully this human element. To understand the genius behind the well-turned double play can only be understood by knowing the athletes who were the best at performing it. John does this masterfully... The double play may be the pitcher's best friend, but this book should be a serious baseball fan's best friend. A fan will