Customer Reviews

How Boston Played: Sport, Recreation, And Community, 1856-1915 (Sports & Popular Culture)

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

 

 

I gave this book a three star, fair to middlin' grade. The title isn't totally misleading, but I would have put sport last in order of coverage. There's a lot of academic talk about past sociological work and general social coverage, but not a lot about the history of sporting activities. Maybe this was written too soon, but there's a lot known about the history of baseball now that I would have been interested in reading. One hundred years ago, Boston had huge crowds for ice skating on every available pond, curling teams, soccer leagues, and large numbers of baseball teams sponsored by community groups, employers, churches, etc. This book is OK for what it covers, but it does not tell you how Boston played in the post-Civil War years.