Rating: 
Summary: "There's a lot of stuff goes on"--Tony LaRussa
Review: George Will's "Men at Work" was written out of his love for the game, and "the game inside the game." The book features extended interviews with baseball luminaries Tony LaRussa, Orel Hersheiser, Tony Gywnn and Cal Ripken jr. It is divided into sections on managers, pitchers, hitters, and defensive play. Will states that baseball is about paying attention, about the myriad details that make up each pitch, each play, each out.
At times the book bogs down into a tech manual, giving even the most enthusiastic readers a little too much detail; at other times Will's rightwing political bias does emerge in the guise of a discussion of a strong work ethic, individual initiative for personal gain, and nostalgic idealization of the past.But taken as a whole, "Men at Work" is a paean to what used to be called "America's favorite pastime". Will demonstrates why baseball appeals on many levels to a wide range of people. As a lifelong fan, someone who has never tired of the game because however lopsided the score, there is always something to pick up on (see Tony LaRussa's quote above), I recommend the book to readers of all ages.
Rating:
Summary: George from Florissant is a hick from North County
Review: Hey George from Florissant, how about those Cardinals now??? Still bashing LaRussa??? Why don't you get over your Whitey Herzog obsession and enjoy the fact that the Cards play hard every night. If you had cable you'd be able to see that most other teams don't do that.
La Russa is a great manager and this is a pretty good book.
Rating: 
Summary: It's OK at times, I suppose
Review: I agree with the reviewer who said this reduced baseball to a tech manual, removing the passion. I got the impression that Will enjoys baseball because it allows him to feel sophisticated. I enjoy baseball because it's a thinking man's game, but half of that equation is GAME, with competition, passion and celebration for the winners. At best, Will captures some of that passion in his book. But more often than not, it makes it seem more of an engineered factory product.
There are occasions when I really enjoyed the book. I love baseball, and I do love the minutia. It's fun getting behind the scenes to watch Tony LaRussa's coaches work together, and to see the pure hitting mechanics from a master like Gwynn. But I suppose the simplest way to put it is--it's too much of a good thing at times, it becomes mundane, repetitive and boring way too often. I think my baseball education--via the Yankee radio announcers, ESPN.com columnists and OTHER books--has been sufficient, and a lot more fun than this. Check out any of Halberstam's books, or John Updike's essay about Ted Williams' last game titled "Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu," if you want pure literary baseball magic.
One last thing--consider these two baseball titles. "Men at Work" versus "The Boys of Summer." Interesting the different images they bring to mind. I prefer the latter.
Rating:
Summary: Dense.
Review: I am a fan of baseball and an admirer of George Will. That he wrote such a comprehensive book on our National pasttime makes me smile. However, the book was a bit broader than it needed to be, and the term 'over-analysis' might apply.
Rating: 
Summary: this book is not about the Australian 80's band!
Review: I bought this book thinking that Will would provide some of his philosphical interpretations of the outwardly lighthearted lyrics of the popular 80's band from Australia, Men At Work. I always thought there was a lot more to the band then what everyone saw on MTV, and finally, this famous, great thinker was going to tell the world what I had always known about the group. Man, was I disappointed. I read thru the first 7 pages, and there was no reference to the band. I thought he was just working up to it - describing what a complex and artful sport baseball was, and then I figured he was going to surmise that the band was like baseball, in that it was also complex and artful. But it just never happened.
My friends told me I was stupid for making that assumption, because the sub-title of the book is "the craft of baseball". But I just figured that was one of Will's typical nonsensical references - you know, like when he's talking about Clinton having sex with Monica, and then he throws in something about Sir Thomas Moore leading the Knights of Plantagenet to Victory over Hirohito's armies of Luddites or something. Who could blame me for thinking this book was Will's treatise on how the veggemite sandwich impacted the anglo-christian societies of the 80's or something? Well anyway, if you're a serious fan of the band "Men at Work", this is not the book for you.
Rating:
Summary: A Very Informative Look at Baseball
Review: I originally picked up this book on the strength of Will's political writings. I didn't expect an awful lot, but was very surprised when I found that Will actually knows the game....better than most people, even. Delving into baseball's past and yet staying connected to the present and looking into the future, Will gives the reader a very clear picture of how the game is played at the professional level, detailing many of the subtleties and minutiae that must be mastered to attain that level. At times a little dry and over-statistical, the book is filled with many informative and amusing quotes and anecdotes which make the book an overall pleasure to read. Highly recommended for any semi-serious student of the game.
Rating:
Summary: A Very Informative Look at Baseball
Review: I originally picked up this book on the strength of Will's political writings. I didn't expect an awful lot, but was very surprised when I found that Will actually knows the game....better than most people, even. Delving into baseball's past and yet staying connected to the present and looking into the future, Will gives the reader a very clear picture of how the game is played at the professional level, detailing many of the subtleties and minutiae that must be mastered to attain that level. At times a little dry and over-statistical, the book is filled with many informative and amusing quotes and anecdotes which make the book an overall pleasure to read. Highly recommended for any semi-serious student of the game.
Rating:
Summary: What a disapointment.
Review: I put down "Men At Work" with a profound sense of disappointment. I passionately love the sport of baseball. There is no feeling quite like sitting in the stands on a hot summer night and watching two teams play nine innings. I passionately love books about baseball- David Halberstam's "October 1964" being the favorite of the genre. I liked Will's 1998 follow up to this book, which was published in 1990. But I did not like "Men At Work". Here's why- "Men At Work" reads like a tech manual. Hit, run, pitch, field. Okay fine, but when one distills baseball into such an exact science the passion leaves the game. "Men At Work" makes baseball into a game of economics- put in pitcher W against hitter X because he has a Y-to-Z ratio between his groundball outs and flyball outs . . . This is not why I love baseball. Also, after a while Will's observations become redundant. George we spent fifty pages learning about the strategy employed by Tony Gwynn in hitting, why do we have to read twenty pages recapitulating the same things from Wade Boggs? If you want to read a good baseball book, read "October 1964" or "Bunts". Don't read "Men At Work".
Rating:
Summary: What a disapointment.
Review: I put down "Men At Work" with a profound sense of disappointment. I passionately love the sport of baseball. There is no feeling quite like sitting in the stands on a hot summer night and watching two teams play nine innings. I passionately love books about baseball- David Halberstam's "October 1964" being the favorite of the genre. I liked Will's 1998 follow up to this book, which was published in 1990. But I did not like "Men At Work". Here's why- "Men At Work" reads like a tech manual. Hit, run, pitch, field. Okay fine, but when one distills baseball into such an exact science the passion leaves the game. "Men At Work" makes baseball into a game of economics- put in pitcher W against hitter X because he has a Y-to-Z ratio between his groundball outs and flyball outs . . . This is not why I love baseball. Also, after a while Will's observations become redundant. George we spent fifty pages learning about the strategy employed by Tony Gwynn in hitting, why do we have to read twenty pages recapitulating the same things from Wade Boggs? If you want to read a good baseball book, read "October 1964" or "Bunts". Don't read "Men At Work".
Rating: 
Summary: George has found his calling
Review: I'm sorry, but it's not my fault that George Will's political ideas are beyond right field, to the warning track, back, back, back, back - gone. But he writes great baseball. 'Course, I'd probably get along with Richard Mellon Scaife if he wrote baseball. It's a Ten, dammit!! Get it!!
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