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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
The best biographical reference work yet, June 17, 2000
Compiling essays on the 2,000 most influential people inbaseball history is a massive undertaking. Somehow, David Pietrusza,Matthew Silverman, Michael Gershman and the editors at Total Sports managed to pull it off -- and set a new standard for quality in the process. Previous biographical compendiums pale by comparison. Some limited their scope, concentrating on only the top players (for whom there already is ample biographical information elsewhere). Others attempted to cover more players but, for many players, provided little more than a summary of the player's statistical accomplishments. The Biographical Encyclopedia doesn't skimp on either count. It covers not only the top players, but also the most notable sportswriters, broadcasters, front office executives and statisticians. More often than not, an individual's essay includes unique biographical info that can't be found in other reference works. The worst one can say is that the book has its share of typos and that the writing is at times uneven. It goes without saying that editing a book of this length must have been a monumental task; the errors, however, rarely obscure pertinent information and are more annoying than damaging. The essays were penned by a number of different authors, so it is perhaps inevitable that some entries are better than others. The least impressive, however, are no worse than those from similar books in the past. Overall, the book marks a substantial improvement over previous efforts, and is priced quite reasonably. It would be a valuable additon to a serious fan's library, and would give a more casual fan hours of enjoyment.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
This is an amazing book!, May 22, 2000
This is one of the greatest baseball books that I have read in a long, long time. I am a huge baseball fan and this book tells you all about the games greatest stars. At first, I didn't think there would be a lot written about each player but, after seeing and reading some of this book, there is so much information. There are so many interesting facts about players that I never knew. On one hand, I wouldn't say this is a good book if you are strictly looking for statistics but, on the other hand, if you are looking to go beyond the statistics, it offers truly awesome in-depth biographies about so many player's lives and careers. I would recommend this book to any baseball fan who enjoys reading up on some of the game's greatest players!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
A beautiful book for the browsing baseball buff, October 20, 2001
I received this book as a gift and have enjoyed it very much. The number of players covered is extensive, and the biographies are generally fair, well-researched, and well-written. As a younger baseball fan who has long had an interest in the entire history of the game, I have particularly gotten a kick out of the analyses of the 19th and early 20th century ballplayers, as well as the pictures attached to each biography. I am a little disappointed, however, that the authors only use the classic, rather banal (generally) statistics in their biographical sketches, especially as the book was compiled by the editors of the bible of baseball, "Total Baseball". It's fine to read about how many wins Grover Cleveland Alexander racked up in his great career, but how good was he really in comparison to the other greats of his day, as well as in comparison to the greats of today? Stats like ERA+, PRO+, etc., would have really put each of these players in the proper historical perspective. I realize that this book is aimed at general audience, and that many baseball fans still deride advanced statistical analysis, but such analysis truly enriches evaluation of the long history of America's past-time. Don't get me wrong, the book is a lot of fun. I look forward, however, to when some accomplished sabermetricians expand the project. Reading about Babe Ruth's antics off the field accompanied by a searching analysis that truly reveals how mammoth a presence he was on the field, will be icing on the cake.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
A One of a Kind Baseball Reference, May 26, 2000
Another excellent offering from Total Sports. Between this book and Total Baseball, you will have at your fingertips far more about baseball history than any one person could possibly remember. With over 2,000 biographies, this book covers over 10% of players, managers and important figures in baseball history. There are pictures for each player along with a cursory stat line and then a biography for the player ranging from a half column for some to two or three pages for important figures like Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth. The material is fresh and interesting and I learned new things about players I thought I knew well. I have one relatively minor complaint. If they ever produce another edition, I would like to see a somewhat expanded stat line including things like major achievements (MVP's, Cy Young's), teams played for and ranking in important career categories. Still this is a marvelous resource for finding out something beyond what you can get in just a player's stat line.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
A much-needed book, May 25, 2000
By A Customer
"Baseball: The Biographical Encyclopedia," recently published by Total Sports, is satisfying both for the fan and the professional writer or researcher.This 1,300-page book, featuring essays on 2,000 players, managers, umpires, and front-office figures, includes great stories on both the famous and the obscure. You can learn new things about players from the level of Nap Lajoie, Craig Biggio, and Ewell Blackwell as well as such long-ago names as Walt Wilmot, Negro Leagues pioneer Gus Greenlee, and Hub Pruett. Even the most obsessive baseball bug can learn something from every page in this book. Having so much well-written and researched information in one source is invaluable to any baseball fan. Any book with a scope this big will have a few typos. Bud Black's essay, for instance, is paired with a photo most definitively not of Bud Black. However, it takes some searching to find photo errors, and the quality of research in this tome is quite impressive. I would have gotten more pleasure out of longer articles on some players, like the enigmatic and doomed Don Wilson, rather than four paragraphs on Babe Ruth's "called shot," but that's just a personal preference. I can't recommend this book highly enough. This is the best, most complete book of baseball biographies ever produced. Congratulations to those involved.
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Microsoft and this book., February 2, 2001
I bought this book and when I started reading it discovered that I had read the bios on the ballplayers previously. Wondering where I had, I started to do a search in my huge collection of baseball books and cds. Sure enough, I discovered that the biographical information had previously been released on the Microsoft: Complete Baseball Cd that was available in 1995. There is some new stuff in the book that was not on the cd.
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Most interesting historical baseball book, July 19, 2002
With all the trouble baseball is in today, this book provides an outlet for the fan who loved the game before agents, Selig, Don Fehr, astroturf, overpaid performers, etc. You can browse through it again and again, and still enjoy the stories of these players. It is a great supplement to the statistics that we have for all the players of the past.
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