Customer Reviews

Endless Summers: The Fall and Rise of the Cleveland Indians

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4 star:		(3)
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As opposed to Terry Pluto's book, "The Curse of Rocky Colavito, which focused more on the colorful personalities behind the Tribe's years of mediocrity, this book focuses on the front office and ownership changes and their effect on the team.

I definitely recommend the book as a companion to Pluto's book. But read Pluto first. It's more fun and you'll understand some of the characters in the second book better. And if you can only read one of the two books, read Pluto.

A book that desperately needed to be written, if only so the true fan can relive the depths of our despair. As Nixon (shudder)once said, "Only when you've been in the deepest valley.."

The Indians had the distinction of being the poorest franchise in the American League for a period roughly between 1968 and 1989. This book is a thorough and well written documentation of that era and how it came to pass. A great deal of blame is laid at the feet of poor trading (often for NO REASON), the cavern that was Municipal Stadium and its adverse affects, and underfinanced or inept ownership (one exception).

The end of the book, which is rivalled only by Job in redemptive quality, focuses on the rebuilding of the team and the galvanizing of the local fans.

For all true fans, a smile, a tear, and a hard pinch to the nether regions to make certain we are not dreaming. Names have been omitted (by me) to encourage sales as well as protect the innocent.

Torry's ENDLESS SUMMERS is the sad tale of mis-management from the glory days of the 1950s to the depths of the 60s, 70s, and 80s, to the renaissance of the 1990s. He concentrates the heart of the story on the pitiful owners and inept general managers who guided the Tribe for over 40 years. Success was not measured in terms of wins or losses, but simply by whether the team would stay in Cleveland another year.

The writing is okay, not great. Like the Tribe itself, the opening of the book (1940s-1950s) and the close of the book (1990s) are the strength. The real hero in the end turns out to be GM Hank Peters, who put John Hart and other top-notch management from the Baltimore Orioles in place.

Recommended if you are a Tribe fan, but be warned this is definitely not of the quality of any of Terry Pluto's books.

This is an essential read if you love, or even like, the game of baseball. I never learned so much about how business decisions and money impact what you see on the field.