Synopses & Reviews
In this andlt;Iandgt;New York Timesandlt;/Iandgt; bestseller, Pulitzer Prize-winning author George F. Will returns to baseball with more than seventy finely honed pieces about the sometimes recondite, sometimes frustrating, yet always passionately felt national pastime. Here are Will's eulogy for the late Curt Flood ("Dred Scott in Spikes"), Will on Ted Williams ("When Ted Williams retired in 1960, a sportswriter said that Boston knew how Britain felt when it lost India. Indeed, Britain felt diminished, but also a bit relieved"), and Will on his own baseball career ("I was a very late draft choice of the Mittendorf Funeral Home Panthers. Our color was black"). Here are subjects ranging from the author's 1977 purchase of a single share of stock in the Chicago Cubs to the memorable 1998 season, which is discussed in an all-new essay. andlt;BRandgt; For fans of andlt;Iandgt;Men at Workandlt;/Iandgt; and Will's other baseball writings, this book is as pleasurable as a well-executed bunt.
Review
Ron Rapoport andlt;Iandgt;San Francisco Chronicleandlt;/Iandgt; You cannot fail to be entertained by the joy and charm [Will] finds in the game.
Review
Matthew Berke andlt;Iandgt;The Weekly Standardandlt;/Iandgt; A splendid collection....Will is a fount of memories about baseball's past.
Review
David Plaut andlt;Iandgt;USA Today Baseball Weeklyandlt;/Iandgt; Like a Greg Maddux curve, Will's prose dances and moves in all directions while seldom missing the corners of the strike zone.
About the Author
andlt;Bandgt;George F. Willandlt;/Bandgt; is a syndicated columnist whose writings appear in more than 480 papers nationally. He writes a biweekly column for andlt;Iandgt;Newsweekandlt;/Iandgt; and appears each Sunday on ABC's andlt;Iandgt;This Week with Sam Donaldson and Cokie Roberts.andlt;/Iandgt; A winner of the Pulitzer Prize, he lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
Table of Contents
andlt;Bandgt;Contentsandlt;/Bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Introductionandlt;BRandgt;The Cubs and Conservatismandlt;BRandgt;The Fan's Funny Sort of Seriousnessandlt;BRandgt;The Most Consoling Word: "Overdue"andlt;BRandgt;Players Are Bought and Sold? Say It Ain't So.andlt;BRandgt;Warren Buffett Misses a Gravy Trainandlt;BRandgt;The Chicago Water Beetlesandlt;BRandgt;Alexander Cartwright and the Joy of Baseballandlt;BRandgt;The Case for I.T. (Ineptitude Transfer)andlt;BRandgt;The 1980 Cubs' Strength: Candorandlt;BRandgt;The Answer Is: Ronald Reagan. The Question Is: Who Is the Only Person to Have Held America's Two Most Difficult Jobs?andlt;BRandgt;Baseball and Socialismandlt;BRandgt;Baseball and Communismandlt;BRandgt;The Earlandlt;BRandgt;The Pythagoras of Winchester, Kansasandlt;BRandgt;Ancient Greece Got It Rightandlt;BRandgt;Speaking Stengeleseandlt;BRandgt;Baseball in the Unmitigated Cityandlt;BRandgt;Baseball by the (Elias) Bookandlt;BRandgt;The Answer Is Harry Chiti. The Question Is...andlt;BRandgt;The Nation's Failings in the National Pastimeandlt;BRandgt;The Work of Louisville's Fathersandlt;BRandgt;Ring Lardner, Call Your Officeandlt;BRandgt;La Plata's Cheerfulness Quotientandlt;BRandgt;The DH: On the Other Hand...andlt;BRandgt;Blue-Collar Governmentandlt;BRandgt;The Fuse That Lit the Fireandlt;BRandgt;Perhaps the Players Are Livelierandlt;BRandgt;Systems Equilibrate, Really.andlt;BRandgt;Skill, and "Mere" Willandlt;BRandgt;"The Moment's Over"andlt;BRandgt;Let There Be Lightsandlt;BRandgt;Good Character, Not Good Chemistryandlt;BRandgt;A Mosaic of Memoriesandlt;BRandgt;Play Bail!andlt;BRandgt;Revenge of the Ectomorphsandlt;BRandgt;Pete Rose's Chromosomesandlt;BRandgt;Living on the Lip of a Volcanoandlt;BRandgt;Pete Rose and His Friendsandlt;BRandgt;A Professional Catcherandlt;BRandgt;The 1990 Lockout: No Hits, Many Errorsandlt;BRandgt;The Prodigyandlt;BRandgt;George Steinbrenner: An Acquired Tasteandlt;BRandgt;Baseball Lit. 101andlt;BRandgt;Blame Burt Wilsonandlt;BRandgt;George Will's Baseball: A Conservative Critique by Donald Kaganandlt;BRandgt;The Romantic Fallacy in Baseball -- A Reply to Donald Kaganandlt;BRandgt;Chicago Baseball: "Never a Lovely So Real"andlt;BRandgt;Baseball Along the Backroadsandlt;BRandgt;"I Can't Stand It, I'm So Good"andlt;BRandgt;The Season of '41andlt;BRandgt;The Collision Between Bart and Peteandlt;BRandgt;Marvin Miller: Sore Winnerandlt;BRandgt;Local Ownership and Other Traditionsandlt;BRandgt;Love at Camden Yardsandlt;BRandgt;The Lurid Monotony of Billy Martinandlt;BRandgt;Steve Palermo's Game of Inchesandlt;BRandgt;Baseball's Basic Dilemmaandlt;BRandgt;Fifties Baseball: Not Long on Nuanceandlt;BRandgt;Andy Van Slyke and the Present Monetary Status of Baseballandlt;BRandgt;Bill Rigney: Baseball's Favorite Uncleandlt;BRandgt;Coming Back to Clark and Addisonandlt;BRandgt;John Olerud: Not Neonandlt;BRandgt;A Stupendous Mysteryandlt;BRandgt;Tony Gwynn, Union Manandlt;BRandgt;The 14 Million, and the 276 Millionandlt;BRandgt;Babe Ruth, Replacement Playerandlt;BRandgt;The Strike: A Postmortemandlt;BRandgt;A Grown-Upandlt;BRandgt;Brett Butler, Human Buntandlt;BRandgt;The Infield Fly Rule and the Absence of Chivalryandlt;BRandgt;A Splash of History as a Cure for Nostalgiaandlt;BRandgt;Hard Feelings Along the Lower Hudson Riverandlt;BRandgt;Explaining the Power Surge: Up from Oliver Stoneandlt;BRandgt;Dred Scott in Spikesandlt;BRandgt;Leyland in Tealandlt;BRandgt;Alomar in Contextandlt;BRandgt;The Argument Against Democracyandlt;BRandgt;Fans to Owners: "Down in Front"andlt;BRandgt;Purists vs. Impuristsandlt;BRandgt;"Them Are the Bases"andlt;BRandgt;Miller Timeandlt;BRandgt;Conclusionandlt;BRandgt;1998: OK, Try to Top andlt;Iandgt;Thisandlt;/iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Acknowledgmentsandlt;BRandgt;Indexandlt;BRandgt;Art Credits and Text Permissions