Customer Reviews

Baseball As I Have Known It

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Fred Lieb knew the players he talks about personally. Anything written by Fred Lieb about baseball is coming from a true authority on the subject. Baseball has a history unlike any other sport. No other sport can touch it, and in reading about it from Fred Lieb you are getting it from a true master. Do yourself a favor. Buy the book.

The romanticism of baseball's glorious history is well documented by Fred Lieb. His unique perspective of having followed the game as a young fan growing up in Philadelphia, then covering it as a sportswriter, allows the author to offer great knowledge of his beloved sport. Lieb also allows the reader to experience the thrills he enjoyed covering the game, as well as the human side of the ballplayers, on and off the field. This is absolutely a must read, both for the casual fan of the game, as well as those who thrill in baseball's glorious past.

Fred Lieb wrote a gem that will have you referring back again and again. His matter-of-fact, focused writing style is a delight. He was a sports journalist in the 20's and 30's and knew many players, managers, and owners well. He takes sports stars out of the realm of mythology and humanizes their foibles and follies. His tales of Babe Ruth and the chapter about good friend Lou Gehrig is worth the price of the book alone. This is what writing is about! You may even get a few chills when his wife's work is elaborated upon, and how premonitions sometimes come true. You will also get a huge kick out of The Babe's response to her avocation- and the stories about Damon Runyon are fascinating.

Because Fred Lieb saw so many old time players and told about them in such an interesting way. I also thould he was very fair in his comparing of the players abilities.

I've been reading about baseball for almost 50 years, and for some reason I didn't come across this book until recently. What a life Fred Lieb led! He reported on major league baseball for almost 70 years, most of it in New York City. He knew everybody worth knowing. This book is probably the best baseball book that hardly anyone has heard of (yet). Gehrig was Lieb's best friend from baseball. Lieb was an honorary pallbearer for Babe Ruth -- the only sportswriter so chosen by Ruth's widow. Lieb is in baseball's Hall of Fame. The book is filled with revelations, candid conversations, and reminiscences of many of baseball's greatest stars of its Golden Era. Lieb is the source of many stories that baseball biographers have drawn from. You get the feeling from reading this book that he is an impeccable source. He claims to have originated the phrase "The House That Ruth Built" in an inspired moment. I believe him.

This book never gets old or out dated..........Lieb was a great writer and storyteller...........It's more fun reading this than watching some of the guys playing the game today...........Highly recommended...............