Amazon.com Review
It may seem like a big conceit, but the assertion that the Big Red Machine was the last baseball dynasty--and always will be--is not far off base. Unless the business of baseball changes drastically, it will be mighty tough to assemble a team of all-star players and keep them together long enough to build the sort of dominance the Cincinnati Reds (and their fans) enjoyed in the 1970s. Greg Rhodes and John Erardi present this formidable marriage of all-stars and brilliant coaching with anecdotes, quotes, pictures, and year-by-year commentary. The exciting rise of the Reds begins with the arrival of general manager Bob Howsam in 1967 and subsequent hiring of little-known Sparky Anderson three years later and gains momentum with the grooming of one of the greatest lineups to take the field. Over the course of seven years, the Big Red Machine won consecutive World Series, four National League pennants, and five National League Western Division titles. The "Great Eight"--led by Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Tony Perez, Davey Concepcion, and George Foster--earned 63 All-Star selections, six MVP awards, and 26 Gold Gloves. The glory of this dynasty, maybe the last of its kind, is preserved with a careful, knowledgeable touch and a true fan's attention to drama and detail.
