Baseball: An Illustrated History [Paperback]

Geoffrey C. Ward (Author), Ken Burns (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 4, 1994

530 illustrations in text

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Baseball is indeed a mirror of American life, and Ward and Burns show how well America's story is told through baseball. Their book is the companion to a nine-part PBS television documentary scheduled to begin on September 18. In format and approach it resembles the authors' previous best seller, The Civil War (LJ 9/1/90). Each chapter, or "inning," proceeds chronologically with a dominant theme and dramatis personae. The profusion of striking illustrations add an extra dimension to each chapter. Another nice feature is the interlaced essays by such fine writers as Roger Angell, Robert Creamer, and Thomas Boswell on the hold that baseball has on ordinary people. The narrative gains force and momentum in sections examining the injustice of segregation and the forgotten heroes of the Negro leagues. Because the book is based on a documentary filmscript, the narrative sometimes seems a bit episodic, jumping from scene to scene and story to story. Overall, however, this rich and suggestive history is one of the finest books produced on baseball. Highly recommended.
--Paul Kaplan, Lake Villa Dist. Lib., Ill.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Baseball comes to PBS? Don't worry, all you public-broadcasting snobs. It's not as bad as it sounds. Your local PBS affiliate hasn't outbid the major networks for the Game of the Week. Instead, Ken Burns, whose Civil War documentary won more than 40 film and television awards, has turned from Bull Run to Bull Durham, producing a new, nine-part video on baseball that will air in the fall. Published in conjunction with the PBS program, this lavishly produced, gorgeously illustrated history of the game rises far above the often dreary companion volume genre. Coauthored by Burns and Geoffrey Ward, the book devotes its nine chapters (or innings, as they're called) to a decade-by-decade survey of the evolution of baseball. Complementing the historical material are more than 500 photos, some in color, and several impressionistic essays by various luminaries including Thomas Boswell and George Will. Perhaps surprisingly, the essays are the only weak link. Yes, baseball inspires us all to flights of rhetorical fancy, but isn't it time to call a moratorium on this sort of thing: America is about hope and renewal. And gloriously, so is baseball, pulsing with the mystery of the seasons and life itself. Thanks for sharing that, John Thorn, but the pictures and the unadorned facts presented here say it far more eloquently. Baseball doesn't need purple prose; the game's faces, names, dates, and numbers carry their own poetry, and Ward and Burns, unlike some of the essayists, wisely avoid the temptation to wax lyrical. Fans will find plenty to quibble about in these pages (too much Mantle; not enough Mays), but with the exception of The Baseball Encyclopedia, there is no better one-volume history of the sport. Bill Ott

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Product Details

• Paperback: 483 pages
• Publisher: Knopf; 1st edition (September 4, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679404597
• ISBN-13: 978-0679404590
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 1.6 x 11.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,087,329 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Blockbuster, April 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Baseball: An Illustrated History (Paperback)

A tour de force of a book to accompany the PBS video series. This book is one of the best to examine the history of baseball and its impact on America and the American people. Highlights include the coverage of Jackie Robinson and the Negro Legues, particularly the interviews with Buck O'Neil (who should be in Baseball's Hall of Fame). The only disappointment was that it was a bit short on information about Mickey Mantle. Still, this is a major work that belongs on the coffee table of baseball lovers everywhere.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The definitive book on baseball history., July 12, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Baseball: An Illustrated History (Paperback)

I've read Ward & Burns' book twice. I could look at the historic photos for hours. It is NOT filled with stats, batting averages, or on-base percentages. I was amazed at the true origins of my favorite sport. The quotes are thought provoking and it takes me down memory lane each time I pick it up. If you want to smell the green grass on a summer afternoon, hear the crack of a wooden bat smothered by the roar of the crowd or wipe the dirt from your uniform after you slide into second, then read Baseball:An Illustrated History.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars LEGENDS AND AMERICAN HISTORY MAKE THE BOOK ASTOUNDING, March 19, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Baseball: An Illustrated History (Paperback)

BASEBALL HEROES AND EVERYDAY PLAYERS AND THE PART THAT HISTORY EVOLVES AROUND THE GAME MAKE THIS BOOK ONE OF THE BEST THAT I HAVE READ. THE PICTURES THEMSELVES ARE INCREDIBLE AS THEY PORTRAY THE GAMES GREATEST MOMENTS AND THE GAMES MOST DISAPPOINTING EVENTS. THE TEXT IS COLORFUL AND FULL OF IMAGES THAT BRING BACK THE GAME AS IT WAS PLAYED AT THE START AND EVENTS FROM THE LAST TWO DECADES ARE BROUGHT BACK INTO MEMORY AS GREAT GAMES THAT I REMEMBER SEEING. THE EVOLUTION OF THE GAME IS INCREDIBLE TO SEE AS WELL AS THE CHANGES THAT TECHNOLOGY HAS BROUGHT TO THE GAME. FINALLY IT BRINGS GREAT RECOGNITION TO THOSE UNFORTUNATE THAT BECAUSE OF THEIR RACE WERE NOT RECOGNIZED AS BASEBALLS GREATEST DURING THEIR ACTIVE PLAYER CAREERS. THIS IS A MUST FOR THE AVID BASEBALL FAN. (GERARDO MAGANA