Customer Reviews

The Red Sox Fan Handbook

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book has only been on my coffee table for a few days, and I've already spent countless hours delving into the the amazing amount of information it contains. The player bios are pithy and engaging, and with something like 400 players represented, could keep you busy all day. The section on statistics is fantastic -- I was always a bit confused as to how they were used by coaches and scouts, and now have a much better understanding. The section about the quirks of Fenway was fascinating...and there is sooooooo much more that I can't even begin to describe here.

Please note -- most of the reviews below are for the previous edition. In terms of readability, style, look, and content, this edition is the definitive one. It's shockingly up-to-date, and despite the amazing amount of stuff, is well laid-out and easy to just pick up and read. Which is what you or any other devoted Sox fan should do...

I'm so excited I am the first person to review this book-- it's great! I especially like all the anecdotes by the fans... they add a lot! If you are a fan of the Red Sox, you should definitely have this book. It's the best baseball book I've ever read!

I bought another book by mistake, at a bookstore, when what I had wanted was this one.

The name of the other book is THE BOSTON RED SOX FAN BOOK. It is by four authors. Despite this one having four authors, and the Red Sox Fan Handbook having just one, the Red Sox Fan Handbook has four times as much information. It also costs a few dollars more.

The other book has lots of space-fillers, most of them seemingly copied right out of the Red Sox Media Guide, even to using the same style of type presentation in the records section. There's nothing wrong with the book, per se. It's easier to read that the Red Sox Media Guide, though with much less detail. But it's just sort of lightweight.

This book - the Red Sox Fan Handbook - is far better. Its best feature are the individual player profiles. It has a couple of hundred pages - the heart of the book - which presents very readable profiles of most of the key players in Red Sox history, right up to present players like Abe Alvarez, who's pitched all of one game so far. It's a great deal of fun, and well worth the few extra dollars. Trust me, if you placed the two books side by side, you wouldn't hesitate.

I give the other book a "3" because like I said, it's not a bad book. This one is so much better.

This is the best book I have ever read on the Red Sox, bar none. It's extremely useful and fun to read. I don't think the previous negative reviewer and I looked at the same book; mine was fantastic! Even if you don't like the Red Sox, there's enough interesting information here to provide hours of entertainment.

This book is perfect for my wife to pick and read. The descriptions of some of the more arcane rules is great. Its also nice that I don't have to explain Bill Buckner to her, just pass the book.

It's subtitled "Everything you need to know to be a Red Sox fan or to marry one" ... and it is! It begins with a brief history of the team, answers questions about baseball rules, and includes tips on getting to the game and finding Red Sox info on the internet, all of which would be helpful to someone trying to become familiar with the team and the fans' obsession with it. But the book also will satisfy the already-knowledgeable Sox fan, too. There are profiles of over 300 players throughout history, discussing their relevance and why fans still talk about them today. There are also the personal stories of many fans and how they came to root for the Olde Towne Team. Even avid fans like me will find facts they didn't know, and they will enjoy reliving the moments and the players of the past.

The best thing about this book is.....this book! It's thoughtfully written and very informative!

If you are already a Red Sox fan, you already know everything in this book (and probably more - much is already dated). If you are not a Red Sox fan, you won't care. Either way, why bother?