The Spirit of St. Louis : A History Of The St. Louis Cardinals And Browns

Rating:
Summary: A lot of fun for baseball historians
Review: A good book about the St.Louis baseball teams, especially since there's little out there about the Browns. One thing that keeps this one from being as good as Golenbock's best, "Bums", is the paucity of anecdotes from fans.

Rating:
Summary: A lot of fun for baseball historians
Review: A good book about the St.Louis baseball teams, especially since there's little out there about the Browns. One thing that keeps this one from being as good as Golenbock's best, "Bums", is the paucity of anecdotes from fans.

Rating:
Summary: Missed by just a bit
Review: Actually I'll give the book four stars for the Cardinals sections and two stars for the Browns sections. How could Peter overlook the 1922 Browns and their race for the pennant? Read the book for the Cardinal sections but don't bother if you're interested in Brownie history.

Rating:
Summary: the best of golenbocks books
Review: EXCELLENT.IF YOU ARE A CARDINALS FAN,OR A BASEBALL HISTORY BUFF(LIKE ME), YOU WILL LOVE THIS BOOK. I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE AUTHORS NEXT BOOK.I HOPE HE DOES ONE ON THE GIANTS.

Rating:
Summary: Cardinal fans will love this book
Review: I admit I'm biased, I grew up in St. Louis and was treated to the great Cardinal teams of the 80's. There's no doubt. baseball fans will love this book, Golenbock does an incredible job of taking readers through the birth of both the Cardinals and Browns in St. Louis. My only criticism, the parts of the book on the Browns did tend to drag.

Rating:
Summary: Cardinal fans will love this book
Review: I admit I'm biased, I grew up in St. Louis and was treated to the great Cardinal teams of the 80's. There's no doubt. baseball fans will love this book, Golenbock does an incredible job of taking readers through the birth of both the Cardinals and Browns in St. Louis. My only criticism, the parts of the book on the Browns did tend to drag.

Rating:
Summary: Golenbock hits a home run, though not a grand slam
Review: I had previously read Wrigleyville, so I knew this one was going to be a fine work. The only problem is that trying to cover two teams whose history goes back 125 years, he had to cram too much into too little space. Although I am a Cardinal fan, I thought the Browns were given short shrift. I would also have liked to see an appendix with standings and statistics. However, it is still a very good book, and well worth the price, especially for those who love the Cardinals and who love Golenbock's oral histories. Note that a paperback edition is due out in April 2001. If you're a true Cardinal fanatic, though, you might want the hardbound version.

Rating:
Summary: A baseball town gets its due
Review: Peter Golenbock is known for his oral histories of such teams as the Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs and Brooklyn Dodgers, and this latest book on St. Louis baseball is a worthy addition to the collection. The Cardinals have a storied history, from Rogers Hornsby to Dizzy Dean, from Stan Musial to Bob Gibson, and from Lou Brock to Willie McGee. From a ragtag organization to one of the storied franchises in baseball, this book also details the people who owned and managed the Cards, such as Branch Rickey, Sam Breadon, Gussie Busch and Bing Devine. What makes The Spirit of St. Louis even more of a must-read for baseball fans are the sections devoted to the St. Louis Browns. The Browns were at one time the more popular St. Louis ballclub, and George Sisler was as good a player as any who played in St. Louis. Unfortunately, the Browns suffered through mediocrity, until 1944 when they won the pennant. (and played the Cardinals in the World Series!). The decline of the Browns culminating in owner Bill Veeck putting tiny Eddie Gaedel up to the plate is also of interest.

Rating:
Summary: Okay Read
Review: Peter Golenbock is the king of the oral history genre in sports writing. In his latest book, he actually takes on the histories of two teams, the vaunted Cardinals and the hapless Browns. In addition to the story of the teams, you get a history lesson of the city of St. Louis which is fairly interesting. Mr. Golenbock spends alot of time on the Cardinals from their origins through the World Series years of the 1960's. After that he spends virtual no time on the 70's teams and very little on the 80's teams even though they won a World Series in '82 and made two others. Trying to grab the younger reader, he devotes too much space to McGwire's home run chase which even though it only took place two years ago, has already be written about to death. The chapters on the Browns are mildly interesting if only for the Bill Veeck stories. Overall the book is a decent read and contains some interesting antidotes from Stan Musial, Red Schoendist, Curt Flood, Tim McCarver, Dizzy Dean and others.

Rating:
Summary: Okay Read
Review: Peter Golenbock is the king of the oral history genre in sports writing. In his latest book, he actually takes on the histories of two teams, the vaunted Cardinals and the hapless Browns. In addition to the story of the teams, you get a history lesson of the city of St. Louis which is fairly interesting. Mr. Golenbock spends alot of time on the Cardinals from their origins through the World Series years of the 1960's. After that he spends virtual no time on the 70's teams and very little on the 80's teams even though they won a World Series in '82 and made two others. Trying to grab the younger reader, he devotes too much space to McGwire's home run chase which even though it only took place two years ago, has already be written about to death. The chapters on the Browns are mildly interesting if only for the Bill Veeck stories. Overall the book is a decent read and contains some interesting antidotes from Stan Musial, Red Schoendist, Curt Flood, Tim McCarver, Dizzy Dean and others.