Customer Reviews

The Ultimate Baseball Book, Expanded and Updated

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

 

 

I read the first edition of this book, I guess more than 20 years ago now. I was dazzled immediately, in the very first inning, by both the prose and the great photos. The most amazing thing (to me anyway)is Nemec's historical report. Somehow even though he's writing the more recent chapters more than 10 years apart you'd never know it. You'd think of him as a 19th century guy from what else he's written, but his 1990's chapter flows with the same spark and flavor as his first chapter on the early years written way back when. Most of the other pieces hold up very well too, especially the one on DiMaggio and Richter's look at Montreal baseball before the Expos. Let's all hope this crew is still around in another decade to do another update.

If you're interested in the history of baseball, I think you will enjoy this book no matter what your level of expertise on the subject. I agree with the previous reviewer's comment about it being the best of its breed. They say Ken Burns called this "the Cadillac of baseball books," and you can certainly see the influence it must've had on his Baseball film-series. It's a nice fat book, at over 400 pages, and there are plenty of historical photos and illustrations included on practically every page, making it truly a browser's delight. With the expansive scope, covering 1876-1999, those who range from really serious to fanatical about baseball history may be left wanting more in terms of depth and description of many topics. Nevertheless, I found the level of detail impressive and I believe that almost anyone with an interest in the game will really enjoy this excellent book.