The Last Best League: One Summer, One Season, One Dream

Rating:
Summary: A Big Box of Chocolates
Review: Once in a very great while, someone sends baseball a great big valentine in book form (David Lamb's Stolen Season comes immediately to mind). Such it is with Collins' book. The Last Best League reminds us of why some of us fell in love with the game to begin with - the pace, the sounds, the smells, the kids without the arrogance. It certainly is the best piece of baseball non-fiction I've read in quite a number of years

Rating:
Summary: A Big Box of Chocolates
Review: Once in a very great while, someone sends baseball a great big valentine in book form (David Lamb's Stolen Season comes immediately to mind). Such it is with Collins' book. The Last Best League reminds us of why some of us fell in love with the game to begin with - the pace, the sounds, the smells, the kids without the arrogance. It certainly is the best piece of baseball non-fiction I've read in quite a number of years

Rating:
Summary: Last best baseball book
Review: The author clearly loves his subjects: athletes with their chance to make it to the bigs. In particular, he loves baseball at its purist. Pure because there are no guaranteed contracts, no established stars, just college players who see their goal so close and so badly want to make the next step. Each game, and each athlete, is an adventure. It will be fun over the years to see which of the players chronicled in this book become stars in the years to come.

Rating:
Summary: Last best baseball book
Review: The author clearly loves his subjects: athletes with their chance to make it to the bigs. In particular, he loves baseball at its purist. Pure because there are no guaranteed contracts, no established stars, just college players who see their goal so close and so badly want to make the next step. Each game, and each athlete, is an adventure. It will be fun over the years to see which of the players chronicled in this book become stars in the years to come.

Rating:
Summary: One of my top ten baseball books...
Review: The Last Best League is a wonderful book, right up there with Good Enough to Dream, The Celebrant, A False Spring, and my other favorite baseball books. Jim Collins takes us inside the Cape Cod League via the Chatham A's, and although the A's didn't have a winning Cape season, it's fascinating to see the changes and growth in those involved. As other reviewers have noted, Collins gets the ins and outs of baseball, and the pace of this book is perfect. As they say "I couldn't put it down"..I'd like to point out that this book doesn't come across as a "tell all", but more as an appreciation. Faults are pointed out, but not exploited. Thanks Mr. Collins for a terrific read. I hope to someday enjoy some summer evenings in Chatham..

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful inside look and a valentine to America's Game...
Review: This is a terrific book. It balances nicely between an inside look (and it is quite honest about the players and other characters, showing their true human qualities--it does not pretty them up) and an ode to the one of the last places where the true spirit of the game lives. I had long known of the league, but mostly through the reports of Peter Gammons and Baseball America. It was all numbers and thumb nail scouting reports. This book added layer after layer of humanity to these guys. It also captures quite beautifully the connection of the game and the mythical qualities and the small town virtues. It doesn't overdo it either. The touches are excellent. The narrative is a bit meandering at times, but that is ok, so is the game. A beautiful tribute to the men (mostly Pauly, D'Antona, and Stauffer) and a game that is timeless. Thank you Jim Collins.