Customer Reviews

Play for a Kingdom

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First of all, why did I read this book? Well, I came across this book one evening while browsing my local library. I was immediately intrigued by this book that combines two of my favorite subjects: baseball and the civil war.

The basic premise: a company of Union soldiers from Brookline, with less than three weeks to go in their active duty, struggle with the hellish reality of war, the personality conflicts with one another, and the unavoidable need to complete a covert five-game series of baseball games with a group of Rebels.

The characters in this book are complex and well thought out. The company is a collection of very different men at odds with each other and the cause they are fighting for. The butcher's son, the Irish ruffian, the aloof lawyer, the Hungarian immigrant must all come together to survive the final days of their duty.

What I liked most about this book is the evolving attitudes of most of the characters. After the company shares a couple of games of baseball with their Rebel enemies, a few of the men begin to realize that the Southerners are much like them. I particularly liked the situation the Irishman found himself in when a company of black men (he despises the Africans) comes to his rescue when he is trying to desert his own company.

If I have one complaint about the book, it is that the story and the characters are fictional. Knowing that this story was not based on a real account, diminished the experience for me. That said, I still highly recommend this book. The characters are very intriguing, the accounts of the baseball games are fun, and the depiction of the battle scenes are vivid and intense.

18th Century historical fiction is becoming a popular genre, but this one breaks the mold. A description cannot do it justice. It suffices to say that Dyja interweaves the Civil War, espionage, and baseball in a completely believable and engrossing way. It is moving, suspenseful and exciting. A great story!

Thomas Dyja writes an entertaining novel about humans tested under the strain of war--all revealed through baseball games...And the first two reviewers can think of nothing but complaints over the dust-jacket photograph; or the fact that the 14th Brooklyn had no Company L??? Come on, Gentlemen, nobody cares how high-speed your educations are--Just enjoy the Novel.

I picked this book up because like so many others my to passions are baseball and the civil war. Dyja has a wonderful way of creating characters you remeber and learn to care about even with a large cast of characters you have no problem remembering them all. The battle brutal battle scenes are very well done you can almost feel the animalistic survival instincts these men felt specifically the part when they are fighting hand to hand. The baseball scenes are also well done the wording and dialouge are fresh and vivid. This book really puts a human face on the tragedy that is war.

When you take two pieces of American history like baseball and the Civil War you are bound to have an interesting book. Mr Dyja has written a wonderful story that not only desrcibes the horrors of the war but uses baseball as a way for the north and south to get together outside the battlefield. Who will betray who? That is the central question as the story plays itself out. The battles are deadly for both sides and the play by play of the games is done with edge of your seat excitement. I would be interested to know if this book was based on any type of facts or is it just a wonderful story. If you are a civil war buff, a baseball fan, or both - you will enjoy this great book.

When I saw this book on the shelf at our local bookstore I almost could not believe my eyes -- a baseball Civil War book? Almost too good to be true. But Play For A Kingdom pulls it off. It does an outstanding job of presenting the point of view of regular, Union soldiers. All of the characters are engrossing and interesting. And the baseball scenes are satisfying. One of the best books I have ever read, regardless of the genre.

Can you imagine the surprise? To find a novel that sets baseball in the context of the American Civil War? My first response: This is the legacy of Ken Burn's special on Baseball. Then after reading the dust jacket, a second response: What?! Union vs. Confederacy in nine innings between The Wilderness and Spotsylvania?! That's not possible! I thought about it for a few weeks and I recalled a marvelous novel by Tim O'Brian, 'Going After Cacciato' which is set in the Viet Nam War, in which realism begets extended metaphor. So I gave 'Play for a Kingdom' a chance and I am glad I did. I allowed the author a certain degree of inexactitude in details; I weighted character develompent heavily and looked for a bigger story than soldier life in that great war. Thomas Dyja comes close to pulling off a great story; 'Play for a Kingdom' is not another 'Killer Angels' and it is not the sweat soaked realism of Shelby Foote's 'Shiloh.' Neither is it as wonderfully meticulous as Slotkin's 'The Crater;' it doesn't have the romance and adventure of Keneally's 'Confederates.' 'Play for a Kingdom' askes the reader to trust the characters and follow them. The reader, familar with the American Civil War, would not expect much suspense near the end of the book; we know how it turns out. But these characters pull off some legitimate surprises in terms of dignity, humanity and authority. There are some very good scenes in 'Play for a Kingdom': the Union's march into the forest, the finding of the first baseball field, many of the battle scenes which are not panoramas, but close encounter and hand-to-hand. There are many good parts to Dyja's Civil War tale; there are enough good parts to recommend it to the casual fiction reader and the Civil War enthusiast. Yes, I am aware of some mistakes (Company L) and some improbabilities (passing secrets, in Latin, between the skirmish lines, etc.) But its fiction damnit; I'll allow a certain degree of latitude for error and inaccurate presentation if the characters hold up and they do. So on a rainy or snowy weekend, uncork a liter of wine or a fifth of Southern Comfort, take your shoes off and be prepared not to get out of your easy chair for a weekend. Rea Andrew Redd, Director of Library Systems, Waynesburg College and Union reenactor

An excellent debut novel. The battle scences were right on and the baseball subplot was woven in very well. A very plausible plot, with an outstanding, rewarding ending. Well done.

Can you imagine the surprise? To find a novel that sets baseball in the context of the American Civil War? My first response: This is the legacy of Ken Burn's special on Baseball. Then after reading the dust jacket, a second response: What?! Union vs. Confederacy in nine innings between The Wilderness and Spotsylvania?! That's not possible! I thought about it for a few weeks and I recalled a marvelous novel by Tim O'Brian, 'Going After Cacciato' which is set in the Viet Nam War, in which realism begets extended metaphor. So I gave 'Play for a Kingdom' a chance and I am glad I did. I allowed the author a certain degree of inexactitude in details; I weighted character develompent heavily and looked for a bigger story than soldier life in that great war. Thomas Dyja comes close to pulling off a great story; 'Play for a Kingdom' is not another 'Killer Angels' and it is not the sweat soaked realism of Shelby Foote's 'Shiloh.' Neither is it as wonderfully meticulous as Slotkin's 'The Crater;' it doesn't have the romance and adventure of Keneally's 'Confederates.' 'Play for a Kingdom' askes the reader to trust the characters and follow them. The reader, familar with the American Civil War, would not expect much suspense near the end of the book; we know how it turns out. But these characters pull off some legitimate surprises in terms of dignity, humanity and authority. There are some very good scenes in 'Play for a Kingdom': the Union's march into the forest, the finding of the first baseball field, many of the battle scenes which are not panoramas, but close encounter and hand-to-hand. There are many good parts to Dyja's Civil War tale; there are enough good parts to recommend it to the casual fiction reader and the Civil War enthusiast. Yes, I am aware of some mistakes (Company L) and some improbabilities (passing secrets, in Latin, between the skirmish lines, etc.) But its fiction damnit; I'll allow a certain degree of latitude for error and inaccurate presentation if the characters hold up and they do. So on a rainy or snowy weekend, uncork a liter of wine or a fifth of Southern Comfort, take your shoes off and be prepared not to get out of your easy chair for a weekend. Rea Andrew Redd, [...]

Can you imagine the surprise? To find a novel that sets baseball in the context of the American Civil War? My first response: This is the legacy of Ken Burn's special on Baseball. Then after reading the dust jacket, a second response: What?! Union vs. Confederacy in nine innings between The Wilderness and Spotsylvania?! That's not possible! I thought about it for a few weeks and I recalled a marvelous novel by Tim O'Brian, 'Going After Cacciato' which is set in the Viet Nam War, in which realism begets extended metaphor. So I gave 'Play for a Kingdom' a chance and I am glad I did. I allowed the author a certain degree of inexactitude in details; I weighted character develompent heavily and looked for a bigger story than soldier life in that great war. Thomas Dyja comes close to pulling off a great story; 'Play for a Kingdom' is not another 'Killer Angels' and it is not the sweat soaked realism of Shelby Foote's 'Shiloh.' Neither is it as wonderfully meticulous as Slotkin's 'The Crater;' it doesn't have the romance and adventure of Keneally's 'Confederates.' 'Play for a Kingdom' askes the reader to trust the characters and follow them. The reader, familar with the American Civil War, would not expect much suspense near the end of the book; we know how it turns out. But these characters pull off some legitimate surprises in terms of dignity, humanity and authority. There are some very good scenes in 'Play for a Kingdom': the Union's march into the forest, the finding of the first baseball field, many of the battle scenes which are not panoramas, but close encounter and hand-to-hand. There are many good parts to Dyja's Civil War tale; there are enough good parts to recommend it to the casual fiction reader and the Civil War enthusiast. Yes, I am aware of some mistakes (Company L) and some improbabilities (passing secrets, in Latin, between the skirmish lines, etc.) But its fiction damnit; I'll allow a certain degree of latitude for error and inaccurate presentation if the characters hold up and they do. So on a rainy or snowy weekend, uncork a liter of wine or a fifth of Southern Comfort, take your shoes off and be prepared not to get out of your easy chair for a weekend. Rea Andrew Redd, Director of Library Systems, Waynesburg College and Union reenactor.