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Right Off the Bat: Baseball, Cricket, Literature, and Life [Paperback]

Martin Rowe , Evander Lomke
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

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Book Description

July 12, 2011
Are baseball and cricket two sports divided by a common language? Both employ bats, balls, and innings. Fans of both love statistics, revel in nostalgia, and use baffling jargon. In Right Off the Bat, baseball nut Evander Lomke and cricket buff Martin Rowe explain "their" sport to the other sport's fans--through anecdotes, diagrams, photographs, and a curve (or dipper) or two.

Cricket and baseball share a parallel and occasionally intertwined history (the first international cricket match was played in the United States). Indeed, they have mirrored their countries' struggles with identity and race, and have expanded beyond the shores of their founding countries to become multinational sports commanding global followings that are, even now, challenging the future of both sports. Right off the Bat is the perfect present for fans of either sport, as well as a handy introduction to those who want to divine the deeper rhythms of play.

The book is illustrated with forty pictures covering the history of both games, not only in England and the United States, but from around the world, and includes two glossaries: one for baseball and one for cricket.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Looking over the legends and stars of both sports, explaining the rules, complete with glossary, Right Off the Bat is a fine assortment of knowledge, very much recommended for any curious sports fan..."—Midwest Book Review

From the Author

This book is the result of a conversation that began in the mid-1990s, when we worked together at a publishing company, and discovered that our respective sports--cricket and baseball--had much in common. We had a great time writing it, and exploring not merely the tactical decisions made on the respective fields, but the lore and history surrounding either sport, as well as the controversies and less salubrious moments in both games.  This book is for the ordinary individual, who may be interested in either or both sports. We're not professional sportswriters, we don't even qualify as aficionados, and both of us are w-a-a-a-y beyond the point where even in our fondest dreams we'd be able to play either game with any shred of dignity or self-respect. We're amateurs in the true sense of the word: We have strong feelings about our respective sports, and we enjoy them enough to want to tell people why we love them; we can also see the affection each has for his game to recognize a fellow enthusiast.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 220 pages
  • Publisher: Paul Dry Books; 1st ed edition (July 12, 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1589880692
  • ISBN-13: 978-1589880696
  • Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5 x 0.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,957,086 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars For Ballgame Fans and then some October 22, 2012
Format:Paperback
This is a book to delight fans of ballgames on two continents -- no, baseball and cricket now span the globe, so -- make that worldwide. It has basics for both games, amusing lore glaore, and a wonderful story under it all of how their desire to share the love of their country's games forged a lasting friendship between the two authors. It makes for great reading on a number of different levels. Highly recommended!
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5.0 out of 5 stars More than five reasons why I love this book May 3, 2012
Format:Paperback
1) they know that Jane Austen referred to baseball
2) they share their teenage charts for scoring their respective sports (how could they not have met with that kind of shared commitment to their sport?)
3) their explanations bring the non-sport lover into the game
4) they make a topic I didn't think I was interested in, interesting
5) Jane Austen isn't the only literary writer they concern themselves with.

Their ebook has 200 hyperlinks! So impressive.

In the game of life, they hit a home run; hmmm... what is the cricket equivalent again? I'll have to check. Oh good, I have just the book to help me!
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5.0 out of 5 stars A Winning Streak (Cricket); A Home Run (Baseball) February 9, 2012
Format:Paperback
Evander Lomke & Martin Rowe, the co-authors of this book, make for a winning team. They have written a delightful and informative introduction to two of the most popular sports on the globe. Their style is witty, literate, and filled with interesting accounts of exceptional matches and of extraordinary personalities. And their prose is especially enjoyable because the authors are such aficionados that their enthusiasm, their passion for baseball and cricket, is strong enough to engage the reader as well. This is not simply a how-the-games-are-played rules book but an account of the historical evolution of both sports as well as the social and financial issues that have affected them. In baseball terms: a home run with the bases loaded!

G.M. Pinciss
Professor of English, emeritus
Hunter College & The Graduate Center
City University of New York
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