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The Greatest Baseball Stories Ever Told

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The baseball stories that make up this book make it possible to call this book the Greatest Baseball Stories Ever Told. These stories have appeared in years past in the three Fireside books of baseball that are currently out of print. Since they are no longer available it would be advisable for you to strike while the iron is hot and buy this book. The book contains both fiction and non-fiction and certainly doesn't cover all the great stories that the Fireside books contain, but you can't argue with the thirty that make up this book. I would especially recommend this book for youngsters interested in baseball literature who weren't around to enjoy the Fireside books.

I don't know if these are truly the greatest baseball stories ever told, but they are certainly entertaining. I am a baseball fan, but I'm not especially learned in baseball history. These stories, all by a different author, have deepened my love for the game and engendered appreciation for the men who play the game, past and present. I admit up front that I am a die-hard Dodger fan. The chapter by Vin Scully on Sandy Kofax's perfect game gave me goose bumps. I learned my love of baseball from my father, so the chapter by Doris Kearns Goodwin was especially meaningful (brought tears to my eyes). She tells how her father taught her to keep a score book for the Brooklyn Dodger games, then relay to him, play by play the entire game when he came home from work. She tells how, when the score was close toward the end of a game, she had to ask her mother to take notes while she left the room because the anxiety was just too much to bear. I, too, have had to do this. Of course, the first chapter with Abbott and Costello's "Who's On First" is a classic whether you are a baseball fan or not. I enjoyed every page of this book and plan to pass it along to grandkids who also love the game of baseball.

This is an absolutely super collection of baseball stories. There's alot of familiar stuff in here -- how could it be called the "Greatest" without John Updike's story on Ted Williams or Gay Taleses's on Joe DiMaggio -- but where the book really steps to the plate is in its surprises: like the fiction by Zane Grey and P.G. Wodehouse, whom I associate with other arenas, and tremendous non-fiction from Al Stump (on Ty Cobb), Bill Barich (on Russian barnstormers), and a completely unexpected Red Smith (on Morganna the Kissing Bandit and Johnny Bench.) This is a book aimed right for the baseball fan's heart. It certainly pierced mine.

I was looking for something to decompress with after the 7th game of the World Series. Now, after reading all the stories in this awesome anthology, I can't wait for the new season to begin. This is great baseball stuff. I especially liked the profiles of Cal Ripken -- believe me, this is the way you'll want to always remember the Iron Man -- and Yogi Berra, who the writer compares to a mystic yogi. The book also has the entire Abbott and Costello "Who's On First" routine, which is every bit as funny on the page as it is on the ear. Another really memorable story comes from the old Dodgers announcer Red Barber, who I used to listen to on NPR. He writes about what Jackie Robinson went through to break the color line, and how much he learned from Robinson in the process. I recommend this highly to baseball fans everywhere.

There are those who prefer football or basketball, but I'll take baseball. It has a pace that some may find slow, but I think of as more leisurely, allowing suspense to build slowly and often leaving the conclusion unknown until the final out. If you're down twenty points in football with a minute left, there's no way you're going to win; if you're down three runs (a similar three scores as in the football example), there is at least still a chance.

The dramatic twists of fate in baseball are only part of makes the sport great. There is also the rich history and the colorful characters. And unlike almost any other team sport, baseball lends itself well to the narrative structure; when you read about a baseball game, you can picture exactly what happened. An entire game could be described on paper and you can see it all in your mind; try this with a basketball game and you'll be disappointed.

Thus this book. Take some of the great writers (in sports or otherwise), give them the best sport to write about, and you can't go wrong, and this one doesn't. As an anthology, not every story is equally fantastic, but they are all good. They serve as a reminder of what makes baseball great: its drama, its history and its character.

This work is different from the normal Anthology that this reviewer is familiar with. In most, one finds a melange of writings that go from mediocre to very good. The Editor has managed to select writings from some our most talented Authors and has woven them into an exvellent Compendium that was a real joy to read. Whethe one is a casual fan or a true fanatic of the Sport, there is much to satisfy the reader. The Contributors are a veritable whos-who of Baseball Jounalism. The works have been carefully selected to showcase the Sport as well as the Author. The Editor has done a superb job in the works that were chosen in this most satisfying work that will be read and re-read on numerous occasions. It is strongly recommended for all readers.