Customer Reviews

Beisbol: Latin Americans and the Grand Old Game

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4 star:		(1)
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As a researcher for an upcoming television documentary about Latin Baseball, Mary and Michael Oleksaks "Beisbol, Latin Americans and the Grand Old Game," has been indispensable to my work. The book is a crucial read for anyone wanting a deeper understanding of the rich, multi-layered history and experiences of Latin American ball players. The writing is fluid and easy to follow. The Oleksak's seamlessly weave the personal stories, baseball history, and larger world events together to give insightful context to the experiences of the ballplayers. The organizational structure follows an episodic approach rather than chronological regurgitation, with punchy chapter titles such as "The Cuban Connection," and "Three Dominating Dominicans." This gives the book a definite narrative and, at times, the feel of a novel rather than a mere history. Though the subject of baseball in the Latin World has received increasing attention in the academic and popular press of late, it is important to note that "Beisbol" was a pioneering effort and the first text that I know of to invest serious research and thoughtful writing into this topic. Though several books have come out recently that focus with great depth into either the history, anthropology, or cultural impact of Latin ballplayers, there is still no book that I know of that addresses the total story so fluidly and effectively. This text is a true must-read for any fan of the grand old game.

Lengthy player profiles that don't just stop at their "American" baseball experiences are strategically placed within the text as the author skips from country to country across the Caribbean. It's not some sort of penetrating study and some of the chapters are quite brief but you do gain great insight into how much baseball is loved by the people of this region.

This effort is one of the most disappointment among the 100 or so baseball history titles that I have read in the past half-dozen years. The book is poorly edited and filled with literally hundreds of typographical errors. (Also the footnotes section at the end of the hardcover edition is simply eliminated from the end of the paperback, without corresponding adjustments in the text!) This factor is especially disappointing when it comes to the butchered names of dozens of Latin ballplayers. There are also numerous historical inaccuracies here. Hispaniola is not an island to the west of Cuba. Jackie Robinson was not called up to the Brooklyn Dodgers "not long after the 1947 began." Aluminum bats are not made in Cuba by the Batos company. And such errors go on and on. This book is a major disappointment when it comes to historical historical research.

A historical synopsis of what is now the official garden of talent for the Major Leagues; Latin America.

Ignites the importance of the Spanish American War - in baseball anyway.