Rating: 
Summary: Baseball as America, because Baseball is America
Review: I must start with the disclaimer: I am an unabashed fan of Baseball. To some of us, there is so much about Baseball which parallels the growth and development of our country. Jules Tygiel does an admirable job of linking some of Baseball's magic moments with the spirit of the times, and interweaves the two in a fascinating piece of work.The history of some of the early magnates of the game (Comiskey, Mack and McGraw) parallels some of the other early captains of industry, and understanding how they did what they did explains much of how we have moved from agrarian society to industrial capitalism. The segregation of the Negro Leagues and the ultimate integration of the game are richly explored, set with the backdrop of the issue of race in America. "The Shot Heard Round The World" was certainly one of the games greatest moments. But I had never thought of it in terms of the "post-war pre-eminence" (some, including the author might instead say the "arrogance") of America, and the place of New York as the center of the world (I guess the moniker "Mediteranian" had been already taken several centuries prior). Easy reading. A great gift for those who have an interest in the game which goes deeper than what can be found in tomorrow morning's box scores.
Rating:
Summary: Baseball as America, because Baseball is America
Review: I must start with the disclaimer: I am an unabashed fan of Baseball. To some of us, there is so much about Baseball which parallels the growth and development of our country. Jules Tygiel does an admirable job of linking some of Baseball's magic moments with the spirit of the times, and interweaves the two in a fascinating piece of work. The history of some of the early magnates of the game (Comiskey, Mack and McGraw) parallels some of the other early captains of industry, and understanding how they did what they did explains much of how we have moved from agrarian society to industrial capitalism. The segregation of the Negro Leagues and the ultimate integration of the game are richly explored, set with the backdrop of the issue of race in America. "The Shot Heard Round The World" was certainly one of the games greatest moments. But I had never thought of it in terms of the "post-war pre-eminence" (some, including the author might instead say the "arrogance") of America, and the place of New York as the center of the world (I guess the moniker "Mediteranian" had been already taken several centuries prior). Easy reading. A great gift for those who have an interest in the game which goes deeper than what can be found in tomorrow morning's box scores.
Rating:
Summary: The Best
Review: I probably grew up in "the middle" of baseball history avidly watching "my" Giants at the Polo Grounds and on channel 11 out of New York. In those days the Dodgers and Giants played each other 22 times a season and they were some of the best baseball wars imaginable. Jules Tygiel maticulously and fascinatingly brings the history of baseball alive from its' beginnings up to "THE" homerun hit by Bobby Thompson in l951. Unlike other authors, however, he intigrates the progress of baseball with its intersection and influence on the progress of society. It is an unforgettable history lesson written in a crisp fashion that allows easy reading. The last third of the book traces the dramatic changes in professional baseball that brings us the game we know today where arch rivals play a maximum of eight to ten games per year against each other and players continually rotate from team to team seeking the best dollar. Whether you enjoy today's game as well the past where there were two leagues of eight teams each is irrelevent. Baseball, in the form it is played in 2000,is establishing permanentcy and likely to change little save for further expansion. Jules Tygiel's "Past Time" lets us understand the how and why the changes in the past fifty years have occurred. Like it or not - it sure is nice to know! Finally, one of the best baseball books I have ever read.
Rating:
Summary: The Best
Review: I probably grew up in "the middle" of baseball history avidly watching "my" Giants at the Polo Grounds and on channel 11 out of New York. In those days the Dodgers and Giants played each other 22 times a season and they were some of the best baseball wars imaginable. Jules Tygiel maticulously and fascinatingly brings the history of baseball alive from its' beginnings up to "THE" homerun hit by Bobby Thompson in l951. Unlike other authors, however, he intigrates the progress of baseball with its intersection and influence on the progress of society. It is an unforgettable history lesson written in a crisp fashion that allows easy reading. The last third of the book traces the dramatic changes in professional baseball that brings us the game we know today where arch rivals play a maximum of eight to ten games per year against each other and players continually rotate from team to team seeking the best dollar. Whether you enjoy today's game as well the past where there were two leagues of eight teams each is irrelevent. Baseball, in the form it is played in 2000,is establishing permanentcy and likely to change little save for further expansion. Jules Tygiel's "Past Time" lets us understand the how and why the changes in the past fifty years have occurred. Like it or not - it sure is nice to know! Finally, one of the best baseball books I have ever read.
Rating:
Summary: The Best
Review: I probably grew up in "the middle" of baseball history avidly watching "my" Giants at the Polo Grounds and on channel 11 out of New York. In those days the Dodgers and Giants played each other 22 times a season and they were some of the best baseball wars imaginable. Jules Tygiel maticulously and fascinatingly brings the history of baseball alive from its' beginnings up to "THE" homerun hit by Bobby Thompson in l951. Unlike other authors, however, he intigrates the progress of baseball with its intersection and influence on the progress of society. It is an unforgettable history lesson written in a crisp fashion that allows easy reading. The last third of the book traces the dramatic changes in professional baseball that brings us the game we know today where arch rivals play a maximum of eight to ten games per year against each other and players continually rotate from team to team seeking the best dollar. Whether you enjoy today's game as well the past where there were two leagues of eight teams each is irrelevent. Baseball, in the form it is played in 2000,is establishing permanentcy and likely to change little save for further expansion. Jules Tygiel's "Past Time" lets us understand the how and why the changes in the past fifty years have occurred. Like it or not - it sure is nice to know! Finally, one of the best baseball books I have ever read.
Rating:
Summary: First-rate baseball history -- emphasis on the "history"
Review: In the nine essays comprising this volume, historian Jules Tygiel demonstrates his mastery of 150 years of baseball history. But rather than attempt a comprehensive treatment of the topic, he focuses on key issues which often slip through the cracks of broader histories and biographies: the evolution of baseball statistics, the men whose personalities dictated the evolution of the game from 1900-20, the effect of mass media on the game and its fans, the rise of fantasy games and adult fantasy camps in recent decades. This shouldn't be the first baseball history book in your library. If you have a shelf-ful of books on the topic, though, "Past Time" should be among them. No matter how many you've read, you'll learn something new here.
Rating:
Summary: First-rate baseball history -- emphasis on the "history"
Review: In the nine essays comprising this volume, historian Jules Tygiel demonstrates his mastery of 150 years of baseball history. But rather than attempt a comprehensive treatment of the topic, he focuses on key issues which often slip through the cracks of broader histories and biographies: the evolution of baseball statistics, the men whose personalities dictated the evolution of the game from 1900-20, the effect of mass media on the game and its fans, the rise of fantasy games and adult fantasy camps in recent decades. This shouldn't be the first baseball history book in your library. If you have a shelf-ful of books on the topic, though, "Past Time" should be among them. No matter how many you've read, you'll learn something new here.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating
Review: What a treat! Tygiel presents nine loosely-connected essays on various aspects of baseball and their interrelation with other aspects of American history and social change. With a historian's eye for detail and mind for interpretation, each chapter presents gems of insight that even serious students of baseball history will find intriguing. Tygiel's writing style, as befits a professor of history, is intelligent, literate, and persuasive, but never dry. The "short-story" format works well, and provides opportunity for reflection--although readers may have a hard time not just moving on to the next "inning." Reflecting Tygiel's academic background, the essays are impeccably researched and lavishly footnoted, with many primary sources cited. This book is a must for fans of baseball, and for fans of US history--for fans of both, buy the hardback, and reserve a place of honor for it on your bookshelf. You'll want to read it over again, for this book's only major drawback is the lack of extra innings.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating
Review: What a treat! Tygiel presents nine loosely-connected essays on various aspects of baseball and their interrelation with other aspects of American history and social change. With a historian's eye for detail and mind for interpretation, each chapter presents gems of insight that even serious students of baseball history will find intriguing. Tygiel's writing style, as befits a professor of history, is intelligent, literate, and persuasive, but never dry. The "short-story" format works well, and provides opportunity for reflection--although readers may have a hard time not just moving on to the next "inning." Reflecting Tygiel's academic background, the essays are impeccably researched and lavishly footnoted, with many primary sources cited. This book is a must for fans of baseball, and for fans of US history--for fans of both, buy the hardback, and reserve a place of honor for it on your bookshelf. You'll want to read it over again, for this book's only major drawback is the lack of extra innings.
Rating:
Summary: provocative, enjoyable synthesis of baseball and history
Review: When Professory Jules Tygiel presented his authoritative analysis of Jackie Robinson in "Baseball's Great Experiment," he gave notice that writing about baseball could not only reflect history but provide lovers of the "national game" a sense of how baseball reflected and influenced the society in which they live. His most recent effort, "Past Time," is a splendid integration of baseball and the dominant social and economic themes resonating around and through the sport. Written in nine chapters, each representing an inning/era in baseball's past, Professor Tygiel explores numerous athletic and historical themes in a beautifully written and thoroughly researched volume. It belongs not only on shelves of those, like me, who love the sport, but those, like me, who believe that imaginative and provocative histories can help assist all of us in understanding who we are and how we became the way we are. Readers could enjoy this volume by selecting any one of the chapters; although the work is presented chronologically, Professor Tygiel offers each "inning" as its own entity. The meticulous research that entered into his writing (the book has some twenty pages of footnotes) weaves seamlessly into truly graceful writing. As he would say of DiMaggio, "he makes it look easy." There are trenchant observations on baseball as business, on the place of a ballclub in a city's self-definition and how the media has enhanced and democratized the sport. I especially enjoyed his talented analysis of the impact of media on the sport. From print journalism, which helped create fans to the advent of visual media (ably noted as "new ways of knowing") to the impact of electronic dissemination of information, baseball has enjoyed a symbiotic relationship with mass communication. I was most impressed with his description of Henry Chadwick, whose devotion to the scientific and reform ideas he saw as essential to baseball's success, the father of baseball statistics. Readers will no doubt delight remembering Chadwick's invention of the stories "batting average" when they consider the impact of Bill James' type of information in their modern sensibilities. There are nuggets of unmitigated delight here as well. Tygiel wonderously describes Babe Ruth becoming mute during an early radio interview and having his voice replaced by the moderator; nobody knew the difference and many commented on how well Ruth spoke. Then, Tygiel gives an absolutely fascinating commentary on Russ Hodges' famous "The Giants win the pennant" call after Bobby Thompson hit his "shot heard 'round the world." Not only that, he provides insight into how a prescient statistic analyst, Dodger employee Allan Roth, sadly predicted the very homerun which upset his beloved team. Written with a love of the sport, a respect for the glorious cadences of the human voice and a knowledge of the political, economic and social interaction of sport and society, "Past Time" will emerge as one of the essential works on baseball every fan of the game and of the country will want to own.
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