The Pride of Havana: A History of Cuban Baseball (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Alonso de Ojeda, one of the first conquistadors to rush to the Caribbean in the wake of Columbus, was a man of great physical strength..." (more)
Key Phrases: champion pitcher, ceremonial first ball, amateur league, United States, Miguel Angel, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The "national" in "national pastime" is a relative term in Yale literature professor and former semi-pro catcher Roberto Gonzalez Echevarria's meticulous examination of baseball in the land of his birth. A respected scholar, Echevarria is also a fan, and he manages to weave both objectivity and appreciation throughout a carefully researched and multi-layered narrative that draws from numerous first-person reminiscences. If Echevarria's prose is dry at times, it manages to cover plenty of interesting territory as he threads the game through the fabric of Cuban history, culture, and lore.

The island's romance with baseball has remarkable parallels and interconnections with America's embrace of the game. Ballplayers from the United States loved to barnstorm during the off-season in wide-open Havana, the Dodgers used to train there, the Cuban League--alums include Brooks Robinson, Tommy Lasorda, Don Hoak, and Don Zimmer--was a major force in the vibrant spread of baseball through the Caribbean, and, not surprisingly, several Major and Negro League standouts--Martin Dihigo, Bert Campaneris, Mike Cuellar, Luis Tiant, Minnie Minoso, Camilo Pascual, Tony Oliva, and, more recently, the Hernandez brothers--were stars in their homeland first. But there are also stunning and powerful differences, as stunning and powerful as the differences between the two countries since Castro's rise to power.

Castro's own obsession with the game plays prominently, though Echevarria is quick to strike out the myth that Fidel himself was once a prospect. "Let it be known here," he emphasizes, "that Fidel Castro was never scouted by any major-league team, and is not known to have enjoyed the kind of success in baseball that would have brought a scout's attention to him." He had to settle for the world's attention instead. --Jeff Silverman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Echevarria, a literary critic and professor of Hispanic and comparative literature at Yale, has written a definitive cultural history of Cuban baseball from 1860 to the present. A former semi-pro catcher born and raised in Cuba, he currently plays in the Connecticut Senior Baseball League. According to Echevarria, baseball filled a void when Cuba rejected bullfighting and other Spanish influences. Despite all the political turbulence, the game has survived to become as much a part of Cuba's social fabric as soccer is for Brazil. The study features an excellent bibliography plus detailed notes for each chapter. The research is exhaustive, based on primary sources and interviews that include numerous anecdotes, making this an engaging read. Although this book is not for everyone, purists and historians of baseball will enjoy it. Buy where demand warrants.ALarry Little, Penticton P.L., B.C.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; illustrated edition edition (May 24, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195146050
• ISBN-13: 978-0195146059
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #653,264 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not a Fan's Book, December 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Pride of Havana: A History of Cuban Baseball (Hardcover)

While this book provides an important "scholarly" sociological study of the connections between sport (baseball), art, dance, and politics in Cuba throughout the century (as well as an engaging portrait of the author's own personal relationship with baseball in the 40s and 50s), it is far too dense and plodding in its treatment to engage most baseball fans. Also, while the author is condemnatory in his preface of others who have treated Latin baseball with a disregard for the Spanish language, he himself often mangles Spanish and English names (Gourriel/Gurriel, Ulrick/Ulrich/Ullrich, Willie/Willy Miranda, Aldolfo/Adolfo Luque, Ron/Don Blasingame, Buck O'Neill/O'Neil, Double Duty Radcliffe/Radcliff, Zavala/Zabala, Ramon/Roger Colorao/Colorado, Bustamente/Bustamante, Almendares/Almandares, Wilbur/Wilmur Fields, Franklyn/Franklin Murray, etc.) as well as historical facts (Marrero was 25 (35) in 1946, Prieto returned to Oakland in 1977 (1997), Pumpsie Green was an outfielder (infielder), the second Pan Am games were played in 1930, etc.). This is a solid book and in some places even a wonderful book. But poor editing leaves it short of a scholarly book; and the excessive emphasis on Cuban baseball during the author's own childhood (1940s and 1950s) also leaves the volume considerably short of being a definitive historical treatment of Cuban baseball.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An essential book, December 11, 1999

By	Nicasio Silverio (Miami, Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pride of Havana: A History of Cuban Baseball (Hardcover)

A masterpiece! This book is a cultural history of Cuba by a major literary critic and historian and a work of literature in its own right. Gonzalez Echevarria's rich narrative is captivating because of his attention to detail and profound knowledge of Cuban history and culture. This book is a treat to both lovers of baseball and of literature.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant look at sport and history in Cuba, December 28, 1999

By	Andrew Mattison (Boston) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pride of Havana: A History of Cuban Baseball (Hardcover)

Roberto Gonzalez Echavarria is fascinated by the relationship between communal cultural activities and ideology over the history of Cuba--he has published articles about dance, popular music, and of course literature. In this book he writes about baseball in Cuba, particularly its relationship with the Cuban national consciousness and the two revolutions it created. But the book also contains vivid lives, of the author himself as well as so many baseball men and baseball fans from the island of his youth, which give the book an immediacy I haven't found in any other history of Cuban culture.