Baseball [Hardcover]

Kenneth Burns (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 25, 1997

4 cassettes / 4 hours
Read by Ken Burns

The companion AudioBook to Ken Burns's magnificent PBS Television Series

The authors of the acclaimed and history-making bestseller The Civil War now turn to another defining American phenomenon.  Their subject is Baseball.

During eight months of the year, it is played professionally every day; all year round, amateurs play it, watch it, and dream about it.  Baseball produces remarkable Americans: it seizes hold of ordinary people and shapes them into something we must regard with awe.

Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, Joe DiMaggio . . . truly gifted human beings acting out universal fantasies that, for whatever reason, are most perfectly expressed on a baseball field.

All this and more rings through Ward and Burns's moving, crowded, fascinating history of the game - a history that goes beyond stolen bases, triple plays, and home runs to demonstrate how baseball has been influenced by, and has in turn influenced our national life: politics, race, labor, big business, advertising, and social custom.

The audio covers every milestone of the game: from the rules drawn up in 1845 by Alexander Cartwright to the founding of the Brotherhood of Professional Base Ball Players in 1885, from the 1924 Negro World Series through Jack Roosevelt Robinson's major-league debut in 1947, and Nolan Ryan's seventh and last no-hitter in 1991.

Monumental, affecting, informative, and entertaining - Baseball is an audio that speaks to all Americans.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

4 cassettes / 4 hours
Read by Ken Burns

The companion AudioBook to Ken Burns's magnificent PBS Television Series

The authors of the acclaimed and history-making bestseller The Civil War now turn to another defining American phenomenon. Their subject is Baseball.

During eight months of the year, it is played professionally every day; all year round, amateurs play it, watch it, and dream about it. Baseball produces remarkable Americans: it seizes hold of ordinary people and shapes them into something we must regard with awe.

Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, Joe DiMaggio . . . truly gifted human beings acting out universal fantasies that, for whatever reason, are most perfectly expressed on a baseball field.

All this and more rings through Ward and Burns's moving, crowded, fascinating history of the game - a history that goes beyond stolen bases, triple plays, and home runs to demonstrate how baseball has been influenced by, and has in turn influenced our national life: politics, race, labor, big business, advertising, and social custom.

The audio covers every milestone of the game: from the rules drawn up in 1845 by Alexander Cartwright to the founding of the Brotherhood of Professional Base Ball Players in 1885, from the 1924 Negro World Series through Jack Roosevelt Robinson's major-league debut in 1947, and Nolan Ryan's seventh and last no-hitter in 1991.

Monumental, affecting, informative, and entertaining - Baseball is an audio that speaks to all Americans. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From AudioFile

As you'd expect in a history of baseball, all the legends are here. So is the story of the game's growth from the Elysian Fields of New Jersey to the multi-million dollar entertainment it is today. But Ward and Burns do more than chronicle the exploits of heroes. They examine "America's pastime" in the context of our history, showing a relationship between the game and events, trends, and customs that shaped our country. The one disappointment in this production is its reader. Burns has a high voice, which doesn't modulate enough to reflect context. This lack of variety makes everything sound crucial. P.B.J. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Random House Value Publishing (November 25, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517195186
• ISBN-13: 978-0517195185
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (174 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,140,337 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

72 of 75 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The consummate set of videos about Baseball., May 16, 2007

By 

M. A. Filippelli "Marc12074" (Roseville, CA, US) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Baseball - A Film By Ken Burns (DVD)

Contained in these ten DVD's are just about every historical moment in baseball.

Inning 1 Baseball from its inception in the 1840's to the 1900's This explores baseballs roots from Abner Doubleday to the beginnings of what we know as modern day baseball.

Inning 2 1900 to 1910. The beginning of the World Series. Great footage and photos of old parks and players.

Inning 3 1910 TO 1920. Covers Babe Ruth, the Black sox, Grover Cleveland Alexander and more. Footage of Fenway being built

Inning 4 1920 to 1930 Really the beginnings of the Yankee dynasty but the Cardinals rule the National league with the famed gas house gang.

Inning 5 1930 to 1940. More footage of all the great stars of the day, Ruth, DiMaggio, Williams and more.

Inning 6 1940 to 1950. The effects of war on the American pastime. The splendid splinter goes to war, he comes back and picks up where he left off.

Inning 7 1950 to 1960. The Yankee dynasty continues. Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, The shot heard around the world, Don Larson's perfect game. The Giants and Dodgers pick and leave.

Inning 8 1960 to 1970. The Los Angeles Angels are born, The Kansas City A's become the Oakland A's, The Royals and Mets are born. The Padres are born and move into a small stadium outside of San Diego. And then there was the Seattle Pilots. Those amazin Mets win the World series. Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax get agents but are unsuccessful in changing baseballs anti trust act and re sign with the Dodgers. Maris passes the Babe with an asterisk.

Inning 9 1970 to 1994. Curt Flood loses his war against baseball but the players eventually win. The players union gets stronger. The Reds come to power. The A's win a couple world series. Roberto Clemente's life cut short. Washington loses another team called the Senators.

The film also has some great commentary interspersed through out all of the DVD's. At the end of each DVD is a trivia game based on the decade that the DVD covered.


While the movie is based for the most part on New York teams this is truly a must for all baseball fans. There is no other collection of materials that covers baseball like this one does in terms of breadth and depth.

I have watched this m any times now and it's still just as interesting as the first time I watched it.

41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An annual rite of spring: watching "Baseball", April 1, 2001

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: Baseball - A Film by Ken Burns [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Every spring I watch Ken Burns' celebrated documentary "Baseball" on the weekend of Opening Day. Even if I am not sitting glued to the tube while it is on, listening to John Chancellor tell the story of the game is an enjoyable experience. Each "inning" takes on a specific focus, providing a defining element in the way Ty Cobb played the game, the Black Sox Scandal, the way Babe Ruth played the game, the struggle of the Negro Leagues, the dominance of New York temas in the Fifties, the creation of Free Agency, etc. Concise profiles of many of the game's greatest players and managers are spread throughout the nine volumes. More importantly, virtually every great moment in the history of the sport is to be found, not to mention some wonderful old-fashioned baseball songs.

Clearly, the climax of the documentary comes in Inning 6, "The National Pastime," when Jackie Robinson starts playing for the Dodgers. The series begins with a prologue on Ebbets Field and Robinson is laid to rest in the final episode. While the focus is on the Major Leagues throughout, Burns always checks back in with what is happening with the black players and the Negro Leagues, building towards Robinson breaking the color barrier. I think it is fair to say the documentary loses some steam after that point, but then that is the point where the series gets to players and moments that overlap our own lifetime. Once we get to colored images from television there is a different feel to "Baseball" from the black & white images to which we have become accustomed.

Also, the more you know about the history of baseball the more you will see the glaring omissions. Stan Musial is the obvious example cited by other reviewers, but he is eclipsed in the episodes covering the 40's and 50's by Jackie Robinson and the New York teams, just as he was during his career. In terms of the talking heads it is hard to appreciate Billy Crystal and George Will, devotees of the game though they are, after listening to Buck O'Neill (who is the breakthrough "Shelby Foote" of "Baseball"). However, I prefer to ascribe these shortcomings to editorial decisions and the fact this is only a nine-tape set instead of maliciousness. So, yes, it could be better, and maybe it is too reverent, but there is a fundamental love of the game here comparable to such treasured feature films as "The Natural," "Bull Durham" and "Field of Dreams." All of these are necessary spring training workouts for preparation of enjoying the boys of summer.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential Viewing for Baseball Fans & American History Buffs, August 18, 2007

By 

azjmc - See all my reviews

This review is from: Baseball - A Film By Ken Burns (DVD)

This set isn't cheap, but it's one of the best documentaries I've ever seen. Burns' storytelling is always fascinating, focusing on the evolution of not only the game of baseball, but in an indirect way, American history as well. It is particularly meaningful that he interviewed some baseball greats (Williams, Mantle, Buck O'Neil) before they passed on. My only complaint is that the series stops at 1994. (I would love to see a coda/epilogue made covering the achievements and scandals of the last 13 years.) If you are a baseball fan, this is defintely worth having. Some nice special features too.