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
Customer Reviews:
pretty good book.......2007-08-10
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..........2007-06-14
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...".......2007-05-08
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.......2007-04-17
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.......2007-01-10
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.
Book Description
On August 28, 1945, a scout for the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team escorted an intriguing, if not exactly youthful, prospect in the to intriguing, if not exactly welcoming, office of a veteran baseball man who had already revolutionized the sport at least once. Jackie Robinson meet Branch Rickey.
What actually happened in that cluttered room over the course of the next few hours will never be known for certain, but without a doubt this meeting set in motion changes in major league baseball and in the nation that would echo long after the postwar became the Cold War.
Though baseball necessarily lies at the heart of this fascinating dual biography, the stories of these two remarkable men touch many of the most important issues and changes in American life from 1895 to 1970-the transition from rural to urban America, two World Wars and the war in Vietnam, the Red Scare, the evolution of mass media, and, of course, the Civil Rights movement-their lives spanning most of the century that they helped to shape.
Alone, each story is a good one. Combined-and they can hardly be separated-the Rickey-Robinson story becomes compelling, even mythical. For those readers not particularly interested in baseball, Rickey and Robinson will surely help them appreciate the game's place in American history. At the same time, those who do not have to be persuaded that baseball truly in America's game will treasure this remarkable work. Includes 16 photographs.
Customer Reviews:
OK for being forced to read it........2003-04-24
I take Chuck Chalburg's US History class at the community college where he teaches. Reading this book is exactly like listening to him give a lecture: long and droning, but informative. I don't know anything about baseball, nor do I care, and aside from the occasional anomaly, this book is still easy to follow. I feel priveleged to be in Mr. Chalberg's class even though it is VERY difficult and he should probably be teaching at a higher level.
Average customer rating:
- #1 Sport
- Swing batta batta batta, swing, batta, swing!
|
Heroes of Baseball: The Men Who Made It America's Favorite Game
Robert Lipsyte
Manufacturer: Atheneum
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Sports & Recreation
| Biographies
| People & Places
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Nonfiction
| Baseball
| Sports
| Sports & Activities
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Ages 4-8
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Lipsyte, Robert
| ( L )
| Authors & Illustrators, A-Z
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Memoirs
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Baseball
| Biographies
| Sports
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Sports Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Two Hot Dogs With Everything
-
Great Moments in Baseball History
-
Pick Me Up
-
Heat
-
The Boy Who Saved Baseball
ASIN: 0689867417 |
Book Description
TY COBB. CHRISTY MATHEWSON. SHOELESS JOE JACKSON. BABE RUTH. LOU GEHRIG. JACKIE ROBINSON. JOE DIMAGGIO. MICKEY MANTLE. WILLIE MAYS. DUKE SNIDER. TED WILLIAMS. CURT FLOOD. ROBERTO CLEMENTE. HANK AARON.
Their names echo through the halls of time and the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Their feats are legendary. They never quit, and they never backed down. They inspired generations of Americans to push themselves to do their very best. They were, and remain, the heroes of baseball.
Hitting monster home runs, pitching perfect games, making impossible catches, and stealing home during the World Series -- these are the kinds of feats that turn baseball players into baseball superstars. But it takes more than great feats to become a hero of the game.
Every generation needs its own heroes, and in each generation that need is answered differently. Heroes reflect the times and societies in which they live and work. The impact made by baseball's heroes affects the way our society perceives itself, as well as the goals we set for ourselves and for our nation. Award-winning sportswriter Robert Lipsyte presents his vision for who the heroes of the game are, and what they did to achieve their legendary status.
Customer Reviews:
#1 Sport.......2007-02-07
Never grow tired of reading about some of the men responsible to laying the foundation for baseball.
Swing batta batta batta, swing, batta, swing!.......2006-10-13
Right off the bat I'd like to say that if you're looking for a reviewer who knows their baseball through and through, I am not your woman. This review will not contain long lamentations over why Mr. Robert Lipsyte did not include such-n-such a player or harbor lengthy critiques of his encapsulations of certain games. I enjoy baseball, of course, but I've always spent more of my time watching minor league games than anything particularly major (Go, Saint Paul Saints!). As for individual players, the bulk of my knowledge, to be perfectly blunt, begins and ends with that episode of The Simpsons where Mr. Burns hires everyone from Daryl Strawberry to Don Mattingly to play in his softball league. In a way, I was a perfect test-subject for Lipsyte's intense and interesting look at what exactly constitutes a baseball "hero". I may not know much about the game, but I know my good non-fiction literature and this book definitely fits the description. Smarter than just a listing of baseball greats, Lipsyte takes the time to ask what it is that makes a hero and whether the men featured in this book deserve such an appellation, so that in bringing up such questions, this book stands apart.
From A.G. Spalding to Randy Johnson, from 1869 to today, Robert Lipsyte states his goals for this book right from the start. Mentioning how contemporary baseball stars feel like close friends to us he goes on to say that, "After you read this book, I hope you'll also feel you know some of the older heroes of baseball who brought our game to life and kept it alive for us." And so we see baseball grow from its early beginnings as a male diversion to the powerhouse moneymaker it is today. Lipsyte covers the usual suspects (Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, Lou Gehrig, etc.) while also sprinkling in a feeling for the times in which they lived. Illustrated by a vibrant design that makes use of copious amounts of colored and sepia-toned photographs, moments both heroic and shameful come to light here with varying results. What you end up with, then, is a complex encompassing of players of every shape and stripe that make up the wonderful game that is baseball.
Part of what I liked about this book so much was the form of the narrative. Right from the start we learn a little about our author's youth, then we move on to some quick thoughts on what makes a baseball hero. Not long thereafter we zoom into the big names in the field and their accomplishments. Credit Lipsyte then with his broad characteristics of what a significant accomplishment might be. For example, in an act of respect for his child readers, Lipsyte explains what the reserve rule was and why Curt Flood was a hero to break it (and at his own expense at that). Plus the range of players Lipsyte is able to pull from is just incredible. He does a top notch job of diversifying the sport, even going so far as to look at where baseball may be going someday. What other book on the topic for kids would spend as much time examining baseball in Japan and stars like Ichiro Suzuki? Or predict something like, "Maybe the next monster talent in the outfield who will make things happen will come from China"? And then to wind down the book with a final look at the attributes that raise a ballplayer's status from star to hero alongside the photos of Jackie Robinson, Roberto Clemente, and Babe Ruth... well, I'm no sentimentalist, but Lipsyte's work on this book is a class act through and through.
Obviously an eyebrow or two will be raised in terms of the inclusion of Ty Cobb. Even I in my state of perpetual baseball ignorance know that Cobb was a bad bad man. Why celebrate him here? Lipsyte credits Cobb with not being a great person but rather a "great player". At one point he goes so far as to even say of our heroes that, "Some are the players who, with skill and intensity, show us how the game was made to be played (like Ty Cobb)." Which naturally begs the question of whether or not this means that the game is meant to be played down, dirty, mean, and with spikes aimed squarely at the fellows covering the bases. Lipsyte obviously stands by his choice, and that actually makes the book more interesting. If a baseball player is a nasty piece of work, can they still be a "hero" of the game? I guess that may all depend on which team you're rooting for, eh?
The text is punctuated regularly by sidebars that effectively break apart the narrative with a variety of fun facts. One, for example, might give a list of various baseball nicknames and where they came from. Another is entitled, "Records That Will Never Be Broken". I was particularly amused by a section that covered Lipsyte's favorite baseball movies. Some may be a tad old for the child audiences he's recommending them to ("Bull Durham", for example) and "Damn Yankees" is nowhere in sight. Which, in retrospect, is probably a good thing. By the way, is it true that no baseball cards come with gum anymore? And why was Lawrence Peter Berra nicknamed "Yogi"? As you can see, some panels inspire more questions than they answer.
So do people like Mark McGwire, Ty Cobb, and Pete Rose belong in a book like this? You be the judge. Lipsyte's style is endearing partly because he doesn't tell young baseball fans what to think. They can accept or deny these weak men as they lay. Heck, there's even a sidebar entitled, "Pete Rose: You Decide" that puts the facts of the matter before the child reader. As I mentioned before, I'm not a baseball fanatic myself so there could well be facts and opinions missing from Lipsyte's view of some of the events recorded in this book for all I know. Yet somehow, I think this is a lovely piece of work. It hangs together well as a whole, is filled to brimming with superb photographs from every era, contains a great "Further Reading" Bibliography so important in a children's book, has great websites listed, an Index, a Timeline on the front AND back endpapers, and even a Glossary of Terms. Fill in Lisyte's range and great writing and you've got yourself a non-fiction hit on your hands. Great for rookies like myself.
Book Description
In October 1888, Albert Goodwill Spalding--baseball star, sporting-goods magnate, promotional genius, serial fabulist--departed Chicago on a trip that would take him and two baseball teams on a journey clear around the globe. Their mission had two goals: to fix the game in the American consciousness as the purest expression of the national spirit, and to seed markets for Spalding's products near and far. In the process, these first cultural ambassadors played before kings and queens, visited the Coliseum and the Eiffel Tower, and took pot shots with their baseballs at the great Sphinx in Egypt. Their expedition is chronicled with dash and wit in Spalding's World Tour, "a riveting story of baseball and the man...who brought it into the 20th century." (Newsweek)
Customer Reviews:
A fascinating window on the past.......2006-07-04
Mark Lamster has written a fascinating account of Albert Spalding's 1888-89 world tour. I had long assumed that all but the most general details of this event were lost to history, but the author's prodigious research and lively style has resulted in a vivid account that I couldn't put down. Not only was the tour brought to life for me, but the ball players' personalities as well. Lamster's coverage of the tour also serves as a window on society and life in the 19th century, in a most revealing way. In a word, this amazing book is delightful.
Fascinating And A Great Read.......2006-04-05
A fascinating and exceptionally well written view into America in the late 19th century. If you love either history or baseball then you should read. If you love both then this book is made for you. If you love neither but have interest, then I strongly reccommend because the author does a terrific job of making the characters and scenes come to life. I very much enjoyed this book.
Amazon.com
Before he became a tycoon in the sporting-goods business, Spalding was one of the guiding lights of professional baseball's infancy. He was a star pitcher--the first to notch 200 career victories--an innovative team owner, a power broker, and, in the end, an éminence grise. And, if he is mostly remembered today as a name branded into the hide of fielders' gloves, his on-field legacy and influence continue to draw immodest breath in this, one of the more curious volumes of the baseball canon.
On one level, Spalding has penned a comprehensive early history of the game, much of it actually reliable. On a second, deeper level, America's National Game, first published in 1911, survives as his testament, the gospel not just according to Albert, but according to how he suggests his own enormous contributions be remembered. Spalding was a true believer: "To enter upon a deliberate argument to prove that Base Ball is our National Game; that it has all the attributes of American origin, American character and unbounded public favor in America, seems a work of supererogation. It is to undertake the elucidation of patent fact; the sober demonstration of an axiom; it is like a solemn declaration that two plus two equals four."
If the numbers don't always add up--Spalding takes full credit for saving baseball and America from gamblers and drunks by helping found the National League in 1876 and then breaking the precursor of the first players' union 14 years later--there is much to recommend in this preservation of an opinionated man's convictions and vivid memory. This was a tremendously important book when it first appeared. Almost a century later, it continues to stand on its bully pulpit as it opens a fascinating, if not always reliable, window into the past. --Jeff Silverman
Book Description
Albert G. Spalding's addiction to what he saw as a peculiarly American sport began early on the sandlot in Rockford, Illinois. One of the first professional baseball players and later a manager and club owner, he branched out to become a leading manufacturer of sporting goods. America's National Game, published a few years before his death in 1915, lays out the beginnings of baseball and its advancement while dispensing Spalding's vivid reminiscences and firm opinions. The essential nature of the game, he thought, was warfare. And the opponents took many forms: among them the evil syndicates trying to control the sport, and more inwardly and importantly, the temptations familiar to every young man.
Baseball's lasting debt to Spalding becomes clear in Benjamin G. Rader's introduction to this Bison Book edition, which makes America's National Game available in its entirety for the first time in paperback and adds an index.
Average customer rating:
|
Minnesota Twins (America's Game)
Paul Joseph
Manufacturer: Abdo & Daughters Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding
Nonfiction
| Baseball
| Sports
| Sports & Activities
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Ages 9-12
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1562396706 |
Average customer rating:
|
Chicago Cubs (America's Game) (America's Game)
Chris W. Sehnert
Manufacturer: Abdo & Daughters
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding
General
| Sports & Activities
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Nonfiction
| Baseball
| Sports
| Sports & Activities
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Sports
| Sports & Activities
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Ages 9-12
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1562396617 |
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.
Customer Reviews:
"Solid Throwback Piece of Work".......2003-07-22
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........2003-02-24
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.......1998-10-07
I am currently taking a course at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana, entitled: The History of Baseball. Thus far, Benjamin Rader's book has provided valuable insight into the complete early history of the rise of baseball. Anyone seeking to explore the beginnings of the game, and what the game has become from its beginning, should use "Baseball: A History of America's Game" as the primary source.
Average customer rating:
|
Florida Marlins (America's Game)
Bob Italia
Manufacturer: ABDO & Daughters
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding
Nonfiction
| Baseball
| Sports
| Sports & Activities
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Ages 9-12
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Sports
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1562396811 |
Book Description
A quirky, wry, and often hilarious odyssey through the baseball fields of Latin America--both sports book and travelogue, political reportage and meditation on New World identity. El Beisbol sparkles with keen observation and irreverent humor. --Washington Post Book World
Books:
- Best Way to Train Your Gun Dog: The Delmar Smith Method
- Between a Rock and a Hard Place
- Beyond Brawn: The Insider's Encyclopedia on How to Build Muscle & Might
- Big Horses Good Dogs And Straight Fences: Musings of Everyday Ranch Life
- Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: Theory & Technique
- Caddie Woodlawn
- Casting a Spell: The Bamboo Fly Rod and the American Pursuit of Perfection
- City Walks Deck: Chicago: 50 Adventures On Foot (City Walks)
- Coaching Youth Softball: A Baffled Parent's Guide
- Coaching Youth Softball: A Baffled Parent's Guide
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Nuts, Bolts, and Jolts: Fundamental Business and Life Lessons You Must Know
- How to Handle Difficult Parents: A Teacher's Survival Guide
- Country: The Twisted Roots of Rock 'N' Roll
- Creating Collaborative Advantage
- Essentials of Corporate Finance
- Halo, Books 1-3
- Frommer's Washington, D.C. 2007
- QuickBooks® 99 Bible
- Deglobalization: Ideas for a New World Economy
- Geek Love: A Novel
Sports Illustrated: The Baseball Book
The Best of Baseball Digest: The Greatest Players, The Greatest Games, the Greatest Writers from the Game's Most Exciting Years
The Hellenistic Age: A Short History (Modern Library Chronicles)
Nonviolence: 25 Lessons from the History of a Dangerous Idea (Modern Library Chronicles)
Storm from the East: The Struggle Between the Arab World and the Christian West (Modern Library Chronicles)
