Customer Reviews

The Great Book of Baseball Knowledge: The Ultimate Test for the Ultimate Fan

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Here comes the stats lovers dream book. If you are into baseball, really into baseball, by the number you really need this book. Nemec's ability to bring out the true statistical breakdown of the National Pastime was amazing.

Every baseball fan should be asking for and buying this true work of art. The book, in quiz form, does give charts, pictures and short stories on every possible topic from singles hitting to the home run.

The book takes the reader from the early years of the game, right up to the modern day players. You are inundated with numbers, facts and figures that should keep your conversations going for years to come.

I wasn't able to find any category that wasn't covered in this book. The book even covered the not so good players, as well as the Negro leagues. The book is "The Ultimate Test for the Ultimate Fan". A great job and a great book.

I have to take exception to the last reviewer even though I'm not really a big fan of the 19th century either. This book takes you on a complete journey throughout baseball history unlike most similar type books that would have you believe everything that happened before 1900 doesn't count. Sure it counts, and Nemec's book convinces you--okay, me anyway--that every player and record he cites in it is important from 1871 to the present. I will agree, though, that the answer section leaves something to be desired. My solution was to insert a kind of permanent bookmark so I could turn to it easily. Anyway, I really liked it a lot even if I too didn't exactly bat 1.000 on all the questions.

If you have a teenage son, as do I, I don't see how you can go wrong here if he likes baseball. My older son got this book for his birthday and that was the last we saw of him for about a week. He still loves it so much and is so possessive of it that I now have to get another copy to give my younger boy for Christmas. P.S. Their father might just wind up getting one too.

The best baseball book I've ever bought sight unseen. When I started leafing through it I couldn't believe my eyes. There are photos in here that I doubt even the Hall of Fame knows exist. A team picture of the 1890 Columbus Solons? And with all the players identified? But the photo and caption about the days when gloves still could be left on the field was my favorite. A really neat book.

This is a big book in every sense of the word. Loads of pages,loads of facts,loads of lists of record-holders, etc. It never lets down even for a moment, though. From the first page to the last it's lively, entertaining and highly informative. Most of all, it's great fun. My two sons and I took turns asking each other questions from this book as we drove across country last month. Over 2500 miles and we almost hated for the trip to end. But it made it easy for us to look forward to the long drive back. Great book.

i agree with all the others who raved about the breadth of the coverage. i also agree that there is a wealth of information not available elsewhere, or at least not readily obtainable. unfortunately trivia is only really fun if the reader has some familiarity with the person whose identity he is trying to discover. a really large portion of the book is devoted to questions about players that even diehard baseball trivia buffs have never heard of. to me this is a fatal flaw, in spite of the many interesting facts that can be gleaned from the questions and hints. i think the book also suffers from the fact that the answer pages are not more easily accessed. if you are dying to know an answer to one of the many interesting questions you might very well get sidetracked before you ever find it. all in all i think the book is a good value, but just think buyers should be aware it is not quite so perfect as some of the other reviewers would have us believe.

This author has gone to a lot of trouble to put together lists of players who hold both important and somewhat trivial records. All are interesting, though, and some of his questions that come with his lists are dynamite. The really amazing thing is how many of them already have to be updated because of what happened in 1999. But you can do that on your own with a bottle of Whiteout. The chapter here on pinch hitting alone is worth getting this book for.

One of the very few books I've encountered that actually is even better than all the glowing hype on its jacket and in its forward.

I'm giving this book a 9.5 instead of a perfect 10 only because my wife is no longer speaking to me. She claims I've been on another planet ever since I got Nemec's latest. It's true. But then you have to be on another planet to keep up with Nemec. His evolutionary record lists and career leader lists alone make this book a steal at double its price.

I review films for a living on occasion. I fancied that I could also review baseball books, but the guy who said this author is on another planet isn't exaggerating. I don't even know where to begin with Nemec's book. He's definitely the guy you want to find a way to pit the town baseball trivia bully against.