The Dodgers Encyclopedia

Rating:
Summary: Help Needed Here - Good, not Great
Review: A good resource for those of us who love those fabulous bums! A GOOD resource but not a GREAT one. Why?

1) No color photos.

2) Editorial flaws. For example, even those he is written up in the body of the book Zach Wheat's stats were not included in the stats section. Tell me HOW could you leave out the stats of the greatest Dodger of the early 20th century and possibly one of the greatest Dodgers ever? Answer, "You can't - it's inexcusable."

3) Out of focus photos. The publisher needs to train the copy stand operator - there are too many out of focus photos here for it to be a coincidence! Very amatuerish work indeed.

4) Not exhaustive. Where are the diagrams of the parks? What were the dimensions for Washington Park? How did the uniforms evolve? Why were they called the "Robins" at one point? Where did Dodger blue come from? You won't find the answers here.

Granted, this IS a first edition book. Expect later revisions to be better and more comprehensive.

Until then, this is about the best single book reference on the Dodgers to be found, as flawed as it is! I bought a copy despite my objections.

Rating:
Summary: Sad Moment in Dodger History
Review: Few baseball history books display as many historical blunders, typographical errors and other editorial infelicities as this one. Players' names are misspelled, keystroking errors abound, sentences are left incomplete, and whole sections are repeated or placed out of proper sequence in the stats section. An atrocious editorial job which did not serve this author well. And who ever came up with the idea that a "Dodgers Encyclopedia" should include portraits of many figures (James Creighton and Candy Cummings e.g.) and events (1858 series between Brooklyn All-Stars and Hoboken All-Stars) connected with diamond history in the New York borough, but completely unrelated to the NL ballclub (while at the same time skipping over numerous substantial LA Dodgers figures)? Along with the signing of Kevin Brown as franchise savior, this tome is one of the distinct disappointments of recent Dodgers history.

Rating:
Summary: big dodger fan
Review: I have been a big Dodger fan for more than twenty years, and I loved this book. It allowed me to relive all the memorable events in Dodger history, particularly the World Series coverage of the 1981 and 1988 World Championships. Mickey Hatcher, Kirk Gibson, and Fernando, were three of my heroes. I also enjoyed all the player biographies, like Bill Russell, Bill Buckner, Ron Cey, and Pedro Guerrero. This is a wonderful book for Dodger fans.

Rating:
Summary: Best of the team encyclopedias
Review: I refrained from purchasing this book for many months based on your two negative customer reviews. When I finally did buy it, I realized that I should have listened to the professional reviewers, who gave the book high ratings. I have several other baseball team encyclopedias, and the Dodgers Encyclopedia is the best of the lot. The World Series coverage, the pennant races, and the no-hitter descriptions, are head and shoulders above any other book of its type. I particularly enjoyed the section on 'Memories Through the Years'. It brought to life many historic moments in Dodger history, like Fernandomania, the exploits of Kirk Gibson, and 'The Infield', in addition to introducing me to Brooklyn through the signing of Jackie Robinson, memories of Ebbets Field, and the tragi-comic career of Pistol Pete Reiser. All in all, a wonderful book!

Rating:
Summary: The definitive Dodger history
Review: If you want a fair, unbiased review of this book, check the professional critics who rated it. One critic, who gave it five stars, said 'The Dodgers Encyclopedia can take its rightful place with the best team encyclopedias on the market'. This book contains complete chapters on the Dodgers World Series appearances, their exciting pennant races, and their no-hitters, as well as biographies of over 100 of their top players, managers, sportscasters, and executives. It also has a chapter on other unforgettable memories in Dodger history, such as the zany happenings in Ebbets Field (The Daffyness Boys, The Boys of Summer, The Dodger Sym-Phony, Hilda Chester, Happy Felton, and many more), Gil Hodges four home runs in one game, Willie Davis' hitting streak, Manny Mota's pinch hitting exploits, Roy Campanella night in the Colisseum, Ramon Martinez's 18 strikeout game, Kirk Gibson - the Natural, Mickey Hatcher - the Human Blowout Patch, and many more. The statistics section contains the career batting and pitching records of every player who ever wore Dodger Blue (INCLUDING Zack Wheat). But you be the judge. Read the book for yourself. I think you'll love it.