The Baseball Anthology: 125 Years of Stories, Poems, Articles, Photographs, Drawings, Interviews, Cartoons, and Other Memorabilia - Hardcover

Wallace, Joseph; Sparky Anderson

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0810931354 ISBN 13: 9780810931350

Publisher: Harry N Abrams, 1994

Synopsis

From Babe Ruth to Reggie Jackson, the 1869 Red Stockings to the 1993 Blue Jays, The Baseball Anthology gives fans a candid look at the colorful stars and most thrilling and controversial moments in the history of America's beloved national pastime. More than 200 photographs and illustration are included, as well as poems, articles, interviews and more.

About this title

Reviews

This is basically an oral history of the national pastime from its inception to the present. Many players and events are described: Johnny Evers reminisces about the famous force-play that became "Merkle's Boner" to the world in 1908. Fred Lieb tells how the Yankees' pitcher Carl Mays killed the Indians' Ray Chapman with a submarine pitch ("I could see the left eye hanging from its socket") in 1920. Hall-of-Famer Leo Durocher recalls how he put down an uprising of Brooklyn Dodgers to keep Jackie Robinson out of the big leagues by saying of their petition: "You can wipe your ass with it." Hank Aaron remembers that when he came close to beating Babe Ruth's home-run record, he received "Dear Nigger" letters. But what makes this book special are the pictures, especially those in black-and-white: Jackie Robinson stretching at first base with Ebbets Field in the background; Willie Mays climbing the outfield wall to rob a player of a base hit; Casey Stengel sliding home with an inside-the-park home-run during the 1923 World Series; and, of course, the Babe hitting one out. A treat for the baseball aficionado, freelancer Wallace's book makes a nice companion volume to Baseball by Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns (Nonfiction Forecasts, Aug. 15). Photos. BOMC dividend selection.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Exquisite photographs and 97 essays, ranging from dubious to exemplary in quality and relevance, trace the 125-year history of professional baseball. Major League Baseball lends its logo to the fan's ultimate coffee-table book. By having unmatched access to various baseball archives, including those belonging to Major League Baseball, the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and the New York Public Library's Spalding Collection, Wallace has compiled a powerful visual account of the sport. Photographs of legendary players--including Christy Mathewson, Babe Ruth, Frank Robinson, and, in one especially riveting still, Yankees' catcher Thurman Munson bracing for a collision at the plate--beautifully, almost eerily, preserve these heroes at the height of their youthful powers. Other effects, including uniforms, endorsements, cartoons, and trading cards, forcefully yet subtly demonstrate baseball's far-reaching cultural impact. While Wallace (The American Museum of Natural History's Book of Dinosaurs and Other Ancient Creatures, p. 1116) intends to show the game from all angles, the text occasionally struggles to meet the estimable standards set by the illustrated sections. Laudable is Wallace's inclusion of reports from the Reach and Spalding baseball annuals of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Other noteworthy items are a 1955 scouting report on Brooks Robinson, who later became one of the greatest infielders ever, and Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey's explanation of his choice of Jackie Robinson as major league baseball's first black player in over 60 years. But the impact of such documentation is somewhat mitigated by the inclusion of ghostwritten autobiographies and ``flack'' pieces of questionable objectivity, and by Wallace's own introductory passages, which, with their boosterish tone, gloss over some of the game's less obvious undercurrents. But above all, baseball is a fan's game, and this book, compiled lovingly by a fan, deserves notice as a beautiful and enjoyable baseball time capsule. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

There may not be a World Series in 1994, but there's certainly no shortage of baseball books and films. Floating in on the formidable wake of Ken Burns' Baseball , here's another heavily illustrated, coffee-table history of the game. Though clearly a second choice to the print version of Burns' epic film, this entry in the baseball-nostalgia sweepstakes is not without its charms. Organized chronologically, the book combines a photo history of the game with a running narrative composed largely of excerpts from a wealth of well-known baseball writers (Kahn, Angell, Boswell, and more of the usual suspects). In addition, there's a refreshing emphasis on newspaper reportage of the day. The pictures are delightful, both for their excellent reproduction and for their content, but many will be familiar to most fans. One presumably serendipitous bonus is that several players and teams ignored in the Burns film (Juan Marichal, Al Kaline, the Chicago Cubs) receive well-deserved attention here. Don't expect a full-dress history of the game from this attractive anthology, but don't dismiss it either. Recommended for most sports collections. Bill Ott

Edition details

• Publisher: Harry N Abrams
• Publication date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0810931354
• ISBN 13: 9780810931350
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 296