Rating: 
Summary: Everything about the Black Sox and Then Some
Review: I vaguely knew about just what happened during the 1919 World Series, but after reading this I found that there was more to what happened than just eight players throwing the Series for money. Eliot Asinof does a marvelous job of gathering information on the events leading up to and following the 1919 World Series. He recounts how the scandal came about, through the five of seven games the White Sox lost, through the investigation and court proceedings, up to the lives of the eight banished players after baseball. Throughout the book I tried to figure out just who in fact was/were the scapegoat(s) -- Comiskey, the players, or the gamblers -- yet after finishing the book I realize that all are to blame. Though one could argue that Joe Jackson and Buck Weaver should have been reinstated, the fact is that both, even though they may not have participated, allowed the conspiracy to take place by not telling their manager "Kid" Gleason or Comiskey. Overall this was a great book and I highly recommend it to anyone who wishes to find out about the Black Sox.*There is a scene in the movie "Eight Men Out" where Eddie Cicotte is shown a baseball that would be used the next season. After watching the movie, I had a thought: during the late 1910s the book explains how baseball attendance was notably declining. To bring back the crowds, a different type of baseball was used beginning in the early 1920s--a ball woven tighter for the purposes of traveling farther when hit. (Cicotte noticed this when holding the ball.) This coincided with the launching of Babe Ruth as a baseball icon due to his home-run hitting abilities. As a result, he may have been single-handedly responsible for restoring interest in baseball. Baseball experienced another lull in attendance in late 1994 as the strike approached, and also early in 1995. What did baseball do to bring back the fans? Well, though some speculate that baseballs were juiced in the late 1990s, I can say this: Brady Anderson hit 50 home runs in 1996; he never had another season in his career where he hit more than 25.
Rating:
Summary: a dated classic perhaps, but a classic
Review: In its time (1965) this book really blew the lid off the long-sanitized version of the Black Sox scandal available to the public. Its readability, depth and refusal to glorify any of the participants are what make it the starting point for any baseball lover seeking the true story of the whole sordid affair. Its placement in greater historical context is especially well done; the reader is reminded that it did not occur in a vacuum. WWI was just over, Prohibition was coming, and the dominant national mood was 'we're very noble, we won the Great War' (all historical debatability of that point aside). Game-throwing was nothing new to baseball, as Asinof points out, but the idea that a full third of a team would throw a World Series was a body blow to what had become somewhat of an egotistical nation. While some new information has come to light in the last thirty-five years, it has only supplemented what Asinof learned--to my knowledge none of it has been refuted. Considering the number of basements and old offices likely cleared out in the intervening time, and at least one definitely pertinent discovery that I'm aware of (the Grabiner notes), this is quite an accomplishment. Recommended both as baseball history and as a portrait of a lusty, turbulent time.
Rating:
Summary: This is the Best Book I have ever read
Review: Maybe that is an exaggeration. Regardless, the work so effectively completes the picture of the 1919 world series scandal. The writing is clear and vivid. No background information about the scandal or baseball is necessary to enjoy this book. The novel expresses the historical portrait of post WWI and pre depression America, with unregulated gambling and little unionization. The use of media and press in sports and scandal of this trial beckons how media, sports, and scandals are related today. I hope everybody gets a chance to read at least one page, because you can't put it down afterwards.
Rating: 
Summary: Still definitive
Review: The book, bar none, on the 1919 World Series fix. The details of the extremely ill-planned conspiracy to do...well, everybody thought they were doing something different...are presented very well by ex-journalist Eliot Asinof, whose writing is convincing and direct. As a White Sox fan, and one who was depressed that that team's only mention in Ken Burns' Baseball was the Black Sox Scandal, I would like everybody interested to read this book and reflect on how major breaches of trust do not appear that way to those involved, when they perceive the routine betrayals and frauds going on everyday.
Rating:
Summary: Do you want the real story? Start reading "Eight Men Out"!
Review: This book changed my entire philosophy behind the "Black Sox" scandal and the other related stories of that time frame. Asinof gives not only an accurate description of the 1919 World Series and its aftermath, but also delves into the other scandals of that era, making the reader further understand the circumstances surounding scandalous baseball. He brings new considerations to readers who have previously misunderstood and or misread about the times of Shoeless Joe and the other ball players of that time. After reading his book I find that most of the further reading I have done on the topic has been inaccurate or misleading. My personal desire to learn and eventually write on the topic of my favorite Black Sox player ultimately came from this wonderful book. I rate this book nothing less than the best; 5 stars. A great read for any sports enthusiast!
Rating:
Summary: Do you want the real story? Start reading "Eight Men Out"!
Review: This book changed my entire philosophy behind the "Black Sox" scandal and the other related stories of that time frame. Asinof gives not only an accurate description of the 1919 World Series and its aftermath, but also delves into the other scandals of that era, making the reader further understand the circumstances surounding scandalous baseball. He brings new considerations to readers who have previously misunderstood and or misread about the times of Shoeless Joe and the other ball players of that time. After reading his book I find that most of the further reading I have done on the topic has been inaccurate or misleading. My personal desire to learn and eventually write on the topic of my favorite Black Sox player ultimately came from this wonderful book. I rate this book nothing less than the best; 5 stars. A great read for any sports enthusiast!
Rating:
Summary: The "Black Sox" Scandal Explained
Review: This book tells the history of the 1919 World Series. Most prior accounts have been fragmentary. No one person knew all the factors; many of the participants never met each other or knew of their existence. Asinof wove together a multitude of threads from the newspapers of that time ('Preface'). Official documents had disappeared, and most participants died before talking. Survivors refused to talk, the gambling gangster world was still around. Sources chose to remain anonymous. Many of the incidents in this book represent a composite of sources. The Introduction says this scandal was not an isolated incident in an otherwise unblemished history of baseball. Comiskey cruelly exploited his peons (like others), but this did not excuse this betrayal of the fans. The April 1919 Federal court decision found Professional Baseball violated the Sherman Anti-Trust Act; this must have impressed the players that year. A later Supreme Court decision overturned this (I wonder what was paid for it?). Perhaps the real scandal of 1919 was that it revealed baseball was a business, not a sport. Baseball and betting were allied from the beginning, just like other sports (horse racing). Bribery and other tricks were used to fix the results (as in the 1876 pennant series). Baseball was the biggest entertainment business in 1917. When race tracks were shut down during wartime, gamblers and bookies switched to baseball. Gamblers would befriend baseball players with women and whiskey; they could control ball games as readily as horse races. Stories were hushed up for the good of the game. Bribing ball players was known, players had done this to win the pennant in 1917. The heavy betting on Cincinnati lowered the odds. Rumors spread about the fix. One set of gamblers wanted Chicago to lose, but another set wanted Cincinnati to lose (p.47)! There was a thin line separating effective play from a near miss that helped the other side (p.66). When the gamblers failed to make their payoff after the second game, the White Sox went on to win. (The gamblers had them coming and going.) The gamblers said the series must be ended in the 8th game (p.113). Some people suspected something bad had happened. A pile-up of civil cases followed: all the defendants lost money betting on the White Sox. Accepting bribes now left the players open to blackmail and extortion (p.145). 1920 was a bigger year for gate receipts. The American League President sought to use this scandal against Comiskey. There was hatred among the White Sox players (p.166). Pages 170-1 tell why you should never act without benefit of counsel when questioned by the authorities (p.177). Different newspapers reported Jackson't confession in different ways (p.189). "The Front Page"? The players would not have betrayed Comiskey unless there was a cause for bitterness. The great national pastime must reflect the society it lived in, the worship of "easy money". The Black Sox scandal wounded American pride and self-esteem, the image of nobility and humanity (p.197). While corruption was rampant in state and national legislatures, and show business, could baseball not be corrupt? Yet it foretold the 1920s, a decade of unprecedented crime, corruption, and immorality (p.198). Did America expect higher morals from ball players than from businessmen, or anyone else (p.243)? The ball players were charged with a conspiracy to defraud the public; but they only threw some ball games. The jury found them all not guilty; this kept Professional Baseball clean. The next day the new Baseball Commissioner announced that they would be banned for life (p.273). After you read this book you'll know why popular histories of baseball usually begin around 1921; the preceding 50 years is rarely mentioned.
Rating:
Summary: Superb Research, Gripping Tale
Review: This gripping expose' captures the feel of America in 1919. Author Elliot Asinof shows how the White Sox players (rather, infielder Chick Gandil) first approached the gamblers, and how the fixed World Series proceeded amidst threats, misunderstandings and double-crosses. We also read about the player's 1921 trial for conspiracy, noting that the gamblers escaped unscathed. I liked the author's portraits of conspiring players Eddie Ciccotte and Shoeless Joe Jackson (who's guilt seems modified), the unfairly banished Buck Weaver, and innocent teammates like Ray Schalk and Eddie Collins. Asinof correctly co-indicts baseball's reserve clause and Sox owner Charles Comiskey. The cold-hearted Comiskey precipitated the scandal by grossly underpaying his talented athletes in that already low-wage era. One senses parallels to modern college point-shaving scandals; bitter athletes fixing scores to grab a slice of the pie unfairly denied them.
Since this book first appeared in 1963, free agency boosted player salaries, the missing grand jury confessions surfaced (in offices of Comiskey's late attorney), and this book's movie plus FIELD OF DREAMS brought the scandal to recent light. One thing hasn't changed; the underdog White Sox still have been in just one one World Series (which they lost)in all the years since 1919.
Rating:
Summary: A must for all baseball historians
Review: This is one of the finest baseball books of all time. It is one that should not be read by children or teens, for they will never see their heroes in the same light again. The disturbing aspect of the story is that the game-fixing had gone on countless times. These men just happened to get caught. It is a harsh look at a harsh world. There are no good guys, and no truly bad guys. It is a fascinating read, but very sobering.
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