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Rating: 
Summary: JUST AS GOOD AS "SUMMER GAME", BUT TIME CHANGES PERCEPTION
Review: "Five Seasons" is just as good as "The Summer Game", but my personal perceptions, part of maturation, changed my perception of the book. Roger Angell's first work covered events before I was aware of them and then those that occurred in my most formative, fanatical, baseball-crazy years. "Five Seasons" describes years in which I was still a huge baseball fan (I always have been and always will be), but they are all events I witnesed. For this reason, and because as I grew older my interests - girls, cars, awareness, life - changed, so too does my impression of Angell's writing. Do not take this as any kind of put down. To a younger reader who did not witness the events in "Five Seasons", I assure you that Angell's writing can fill you with wonder as much as "The Summer Game" did for me. It has been said, and I agree here, that baseball is the preferred game of intellectuals, or at least educated people. Nobody embodies this reality better than Angell and his writings.STEVEN TRAVERS
AUTHOR OF "BARRY BONDS: BASEBALL'S SUPERMAN"
STWRITES@AOL.COM
Rating:
Summary: JUST AS GOOD AS "SUMMER GAME", BUT TIME CHANGES PERCEPTION
Review: "Five Seasons" is just as good as "The Summer Game", but my personal perceptions, part of maturation, changed my perception of the book. Roger Angell's first work covered events before I was aware of them and then those that occurred in my most formative, fanatical, baseball-crazy years. "Five Seasons" describes years in which I was still a huge baseball fan (I always have been and always will be), but they are all events I witnesed. For this reason, and because as I grew older my interests - girls, cars, awareness, life - changed, so too does my impression of Angell's writing. Do not take this as any kind of put down. To a younger reader who did not witness the events in "Five Seasons", I assure you that Angell's writing can fill you with wonder as much as "The Summer Game" did for me. It has been said, and I agree here, that baseball is the preferred game of intellectuals, or at least educated people. Nobody embodies this reality better than Angell and his writings. STEVEN TRAVERS
AUTHOR OF "BARRY BONDS: BASEBALL'S SUPERMAN"
STWRITES@AOL.COM
Rating:
Summary: "The Master" does it again...
Review: Part two of Roger Angell's 15 year written love affair with baseball...this book picks up where "The Summer Game" left off and doesn't miss a beat, covering the 1972 through 1976 seasons. Each chapter has all the classic written/observed anecdotes that Angell is famous for, as well as expert detailed coverage of the game(s) and the ever-discouraging front-office activities that the 70's were famous for (the Reserve Clause, the advent of Free Agency...etc). Still, Angell's ability to write insightful and elegant observations are what make this and The Summer Game standout and really makes all other baseball writing pale by comparison. For this book, he also adds something different when he takes on small projects such as following a Major League scout around the country, visiting with three Detroit Tiger fanatics and detailing the almost tragic rise and fall of Steve Blass, the Pittsburgh Pirate hero from the 1971 World Series. Each of these off-normal stories essentially "tells" itself, but Angell frames each in his own inimitable style that really defines "story-telling". I have such high regard for his writing that I wish he'd take on other projects (like history writing in general), as I'm sure that he'd excel there too (of course, being in his 80's probably has a lot to do with which projects he chooses to undertake). I read recently that Angell hates being called the "Poet Laureat" of baseball writing, but I can't think of a finer term for so marvelous a writer. This book should be combined with "Summer Game" and re-issued as a single volume for future writers to use as a model for taking a subject and turn it into expert storytelling. Highest recommendation!
Rating:
Summary: "The Master" does it again...
Review: Part two of Roger Angell's 15 year written love affair with baseball...this book picks up where "The Summer Game" left off and doesn't miss a beat, covering the 1972 through 1976 seasons. Each chapter has all the classic written/observed anecdotes that Angell is famous for, as well as expert detailed coverage of the game(s) and the ever-discouraging front-office activities that the 70's were famous for (the Reserve Clause, the advent of Free Agency...etc). Still, Angell's ability to write insightful and elegant observations are what make this and The Summer Game standout and really makes all other baseball writing pale by comparison. For this book, he also adds something different when he takes on small projects such as following a Major League scout around the country, visiting with three Detroit Tiger fanatics and detailing the almost tragic rise and fall of Steve Blass, the Pittsburgh Pirate hero from the 1971 World Series. Each of these off-normal stories essentially "tells" itself, but Angell frames each in his own inimitable style that really defines "story-telling". I have such high regard for his writing that I wish he'd take on other projects (like history writing in general), as I'm sure that he'd excel there too (of course, being in his 80's probably has a lot to do with which projects he chooses to undertake). I read recently that Angell hates being called the "Poet Laureat" of baseball writing, but I can't think of a finer term for so marvelous a writer. This book should be combined with "Summer Game" and re-issued as a single volume for future writers to use as a model for taking a subject and turn it into expert storytelling. Highest recommendation!
Rating:
Summary: the best baseball book ever.Period.
Review: Perhaps there is a quibble here.maybe the summer game is the finest baseball book ever written.Roger Angell is a poet[appropriate for e.b. white's stepson],and the finest chronichler of the game. he is a FAN,not a beat reporter,and is a grown up, far more interested in the beauty on the field than the foibles off.From the opening essay on the ball itself,to a wonderful essay on three detroit tiger fans,this is lovely. HOW COULD THE PUBLISHERS LET THIS GO OUT OF PRINT? With the unfettered garbage [george will's pompous assinine writings come to mind] that is baseball publishing,allowing this to languish out of print is sad, if not a crime.
Rating:
Summary: Baseball fans who haven't read this book are missing out!
Review: Roger Angell's love for the game flows throughout this fine book. Every bit of his prose is a joy to read, and the tales are enchanting. Covering five seasons, Angell brings to life the ebb and flow of the game and the people who make it great - from the players, the coaches, the management personnel and not the least, the fans. If you want to read a book that captures what baseball means, pick up this one. You won't be disappointed!
Rating:
Summary: Baseball fans who haven't read this book are missing out!
Review: Roger Angell's love for the game flows throughout this fine book. Every bit of his prose is a joy to read, and the tales are enchanting. Covering five seasons, Angell brings to life the ebb and flow of the game and the people who make it great - from the players, the coaches, the management personnel and not the least, the fans. If you want to read a book that captures what baseball means, pick up this one. You won't be disappointed!
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