Customer Reviews

American Baseball. Vol. 1: From Gentleman's Sport to the Commissioner System (American Baseball Series)

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A fascinating look at the birth of the national pastime. It is paticularly interesting in the way the author finds the roots of the game in the in the growth of (a la Weber) leisure time among the growing middle class during the mid to late 19th century. The volume also does a terrific job in giving the reader a sense of what was expected of terms of players, fans, and umpires in the early days of the professional game. I have just purchased the second volume and look foprward to the third voulme as well. A must for any hardcore Baseball historians!

Voigt's three-volume work on the history of American baseball, of which this is the first, is excellent reading. The information is fascinating and, more importantly, it's well-documented. This volume is divided into four sections: The Gentleman's Era; Baseball's Golden Age; Baseball's Feudal Age; and, The Return of the Old Order. One of the many things I enjoyed about this book is that the author covers not only baseball, the owners, the players, and the umpires, but he covers the fans, the stadiums, the popular songs, the equipment, the rules, you-name-it. An informative, interesting read.