Customer Reviews

Emperors and Idiots: The Hundred Year Rivalry Between the Yankees and Red Sox, From the Very Beginning to the End of the Curse

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Invariably, we had to be bludgeoned with an onslaught of Red Sox-Yankees books after the "Greatest Comeback in Sports History." It seems like a dozen or more books have hit the shelves since The Curse was broken, but most were rushed so hurriedly to market to capitalize on demand, that almost none are anything more than time-worn retreads of stories we already knew - or worse, Red Sox fans/authors whose objectivity is questionable at best. But Vaccaro's book was set in motion long before The Babe rolled over in his grave. It's clearly a book two years in the works, since Aaron "Bleeping" Boone's HR, and its exhaustive detail and historical sweep turn over stones even the most rabid Yanks' and Sox' fans had likely never noticed before. For fans of both teams who have a passionate appreciation for the scope of the greatest rivalry in sports, this is an absolute must-read. Forget sports; this is one of the most thorough and insightful history books I've ever read.

Mike Vaccaro brings to sportswriting something most of his statistical, fanatical, factoid spewing brethern forgets...baseball, at it's very core, is about the people behind the numbers. Thats what makes this book so much more interesting than all of the other Red Sox-Yankee history books. This book weaves together such a poetic colorful narrative of quotes, emotions and stories from the all the players involved right down to the dihard fan in the last row of bleacher seats. We all know how the story ends, but Vaccaro takes us on that crazy ride one more time. This time we see it and feel it from all sides.

This is one of the better books about baseball I've read. Mike Vaccaro is one of the top sports columnists in the country and he makes a very good transition to book author. The interweaving
of history and the present is well done and kept me interested throughout. Recommended for fans of either team. Entertaining and informative.

For all the criticism I've heard about this book being yet another in a steady stream of noise about the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry over the past three years, I can confidently say that isn't true; this is a book about the past 102 years in the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry. The dramatic story of 2003 and 2004 is interspersed with stories from 1904, 1919, 1941, 1946, 1949, 1977, and 1978, all well told and well researched.

The main negatives I saw in the book were a slightly overdramatic prose style (he uses a lot more words than necessary, and certainly tends to overstate things) and some factual errors (for example: he states the Pedro threatened to hit Posada in the head during Game 3 of the 2003 ALCS, which was an inaccuracy stated by Tim McCarver on the air but later proven inaccurate). Still, for any fan of either side of the rivalry, even those who have been around a while, I recommend this book.

After years of my husband swearing off of reading, I finally got him to turn a page again by giving this book as a gift. He's a Red Sox fan, and the familiarity of the stories coupled with historical references make this book engaging and informational.

What got me interested in purchasing this book to begin with was hearing the audio version on Book Radio (SiriusXM). I realized that if it could capture my attention (not a baseball fan), then it would surely pull fans in who can truly appreciate the rivalry between these two teams.

Rented this on CD as a part of a long road trip. While giving SOME new insight, this is more like a summary of boxscores turned into a book. I was expecting MUCH more from this...instead, I got hours dedicated to 2 games and minutes dedicated to the other 98 years mentioned in the title.

Took almost 4 weeks to receive these two books that I ordered. Missed being able to give one as a birthday gift, due to the lateness.

Over the years, there has been enough prose written about the rivalry between baseball's New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox to fill volumes upon volumes. However, in "Emperors and Idiots", Mike Vaccaro is able to keep the material fresh and interesting by narrowing his focus to just the Yanks and Sox.

For example, most takes of this rivalry include a focus on the Red Sox being "cursed" and the Yankees winning all their titles in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. This book, though, only touches on the games actually played between the two warring clubs (e.g. I don't believe Bill Buckner is discussed at all in the text, besides in a passing reference). Whether it is the beginning of the rivalry in 1904 (with the New York Highlanders playing the Boston Beaneaters), the heated games of the late 1940s and mid-70s, or the jump-start in 2003-2004, Vaccaro's ability to keep his focus on just the two teams led to the unearthing of some information that was new to me (or at least I hadn't remembered in a very long time).

Of course, "Emperors and Idiots" spends the requisite time focusing on the '03 and '04 seasons and playoffs, which is a topic that can be read over and over by baseball fans and never really get old or stale. Sure, there is some talk of "ghosts" and "curses" and such things, but they play second-fiddle to what the book really tries to do: Try to understand the New York/Boston rivalry from the perspective of the fans, the front offices, and the players.

Until reading this book, the co-authored text "Faithful" (Stephen King and Stewart O'Nan) was what I considered to be the authority on this subject...but that really only told the story from the die-hard Sox fan's perspective. This book gives equal time to each side in its quest to try and understand why the rivalry is perhaps the greatest in the history of sports.

A must read for diehard followers of The Rivalry--Yankees vs. Red Sox. An entertaining compilation of the observations and emotions from the point-of-view of various fans on both sides of this age-old confrontation, particularly regarding the more recent battles of the last few years. Very enjoyable.

Enjoyed listening to EMPERORS AND IDIOTS by Mike Vaccaro,
the story of the 100 year Yankee-Red Sox rivalry . . . it emphasized
the very exciting races in both 2003 and 2004, while also interspersing
tales from 1904, 1919, 1941, 1946, 1949, 1977, and 1978 . . . and
that leads to my only criticism of the book; i.e., it was a bit
choppy . . . personally, I would have preferred a more linear approach.

Yet I quibble . . . what a thrill to relive many of the seasons that I
personally followed . . . (NOT the ones prior to 1977!) . . . and even
then, I enjoyed hearing about DiMaggio and Williams, and the fact
that they almost got traded for each other . . . also, it was fun
getting to again hear names from my not-so-distant past, including
Mantle, Maris, Fisk, Yastremski, Pinella, Munson, Jackson and taking me
through the present era of Martinez, Jeter, Damon, and Rivera.

The CD version had an added bonus: interviews with Bill "Spaceman"
Lee and Yogi Berra, two players who had actually experienced the
rivalry . . . to quote Berra, "You really have to go through it to
know what it was like to go through it."

This book gave me a feel for just that . . . fans of either team--or
sports, in general--will like EMPERORS AND IDIOTS.