The Greatest Baseball Stories Ever Told

Rating:
Summary: A solid hit
Review: I was looking for something to decompress with after the 7th game of the World Series. Now, after reading all the stories in this awesome anthology, I can't wait for the new season to begin. This is great baseball stuff. I especially liked the profiles of Cal Ripken -- believe me, this is the way you'll want to always remember the Iron Man -- and Yogi Berra, who the writer compares to a mystic yogi. The book also has the entire Abbott and Costello "Who's On First" routine, which is every bit as funny on the page as it is on the ear. Another really memorable story comes from the old Dodgers announcer Red Barber, who I used to listen to on NPR. He writes about what Jackie Robinson went through to break the color line, and how much he learned from Robinson in the process. I recommend this highly to baseball fans everywhere.

Rating:
Summary: Home run
Review: Lots of good stories from lots of good writers make this an essential collection for any fan of the National Pastime. Stories like "The Catch" -- about Willie Mays' famous catch in the 1954 World Series -- literally put you in the stands an arm's length from the action. And there's alot more just as compelling.

Rating:
Summary: The Title Says It All
Review: The baseball stories that make up this book make it possible to call this book the the Greatest Baseball Stories Ever Told. These stories have appeared in years past in the three Fireside books of baseball that are currently out of print. Since they are no longer available it would be advisable for you to strike while the iron is hot and buy this book. The book contains both fiction and non-fiction and certainly doesn't cover all the great stories that the Fireside books contain, but you can't argue with the thirty that make up this book. I would especially recommend this book for youngsters interested in baseball literature who weren't around to enjoy the Fireside books.

Rating:
Summary: The Title Says It All
Review: The baseball stories that make up this book make it possible to call this book the the Greatest Baseball Stories Ever Told. These stories have appeared in years past in the three Fireside books of baseball that are currently out of print. Since they are no longer available it would be advisable for you to strike while the iron is hot and buy this book. The book contains both fiction and non-fiction and certainly doesn't cover all the great stories that the Fireside books contain, but you can't argue with the thirty that make up this book. I would especially recommend this book for youngsters interested in baseball literature who weren't around to enjoy the Fireside books.

Rating:
Summary: Great writing about a great sport
Review: There are those who prefer football or basketball, but I'll take baseball. It has a pace that some may find slow, but I think of as more leisurely, allowing suspense to build slowly and often leaving the conclusion unknown until the final out. If you're down twenty points in football with a minute left, there's no way you're going to win; if you're down three runs (a similar three scores as in the football example), there is at least still a chance.

The dramatic twists of fate in baseball are only part of makes the sport great. There is also the rich history and the colorful characters. And unlike almost any other team sport, baseball lends itself well to the narrative structure; when you read about a baseball game, you can picture exactly what happened. An entire game could be described on paper and you can see it all in your mind; try this with a basketball game and you'll be disappointed.

Thus this book. Take some of the great writers (in sports or otherwise), give them the best sport to write about, and you can't go wrong, and this one doesn't. As an anthology, not every story is equally fantastic, but they are all good. They serve as a reminder of what makes baseball great: its drama, its history and its character.

Rating:
Summary: Great writing about a great sport
Review: There are those who prefer football or basketball, but I'll take baseball. It has a pace that some may find slow, but I think of as more leisurely, allowing suspense to build slowly and often leaving the conclusion unknown until the final out. If you're down twenty points in football with a minute left, there's no way you're going to win; if you're down three runs (a similar three scores as in the football example), there is at least still a chance.

The dramatic twists of fate in baseball are only part of makes the sport great. There is also the rich history and the colorful characters. And unlike almost any other team sport, baseball lends itself well to the narrative structure; when you read about a baseball game, you can picture exactly what happened. An entire game could be described on paper and you can see it all in your mind; try this with a basketball game and you'll be disappointed.

Thus this book. Take some of the great writers (in sports or otherwise), give them the best sport to write about, and you can't go wrong, and this one doesn't. As an anthology, not every story is equally fantastic, but they are all good. They serve as a reminder of what makes baseball great: its drama, its history and its character.

Rating:
Summary: An instant Hall of Famer
Review: This is an absolutely super collection of baseball stories. There's alot of familiar stuff in here -- how could it be called the "Greatest" without John Updike's story on Ted Williams or Gay Taleses's on Joe DiMaggio -- but where the book really steps to the plate is in its surprises: like the fiction by Zane Grey and P.G. Wodehouse, whom I associate with other arenas, and tremendous non-fiction from Al Stump (on Ty Cobb), Bill Barich (on Russian barnstormers), and a completely unexpected Red Smith (on Morganna the Kissing Bandit and Johnny Bench.) This is a book aimed right for the baseball fan's heart. It certainly pierced mine.

Rating:
Summary: An all-star baseball collection
Review: This is an absolutely terrific group of baseball stories. It would be cliche to say that "The Greatest Baseball Stories Ever Told" touches all the bases, but it pretty much does. What's great is how the title didn't let me down. With gems by writers like John Updike, Ring Lardner, Red Smith, Gay Talese, Roger Angell, and W.P. Kinsella, these really are among the game's greatest tales. Even better are the odd surprises that editor Jeff Silverman sends up to the plate -- like Vin Scully's beautiful call of the ninth inning of Sandy Koufax's perfect game, Casey Stengel's hilarious Congressional testimony, Al Stump's terrifying profile of Ty Cobb, Damon Runyon's deadline story of the game in which Ruth hit his first home run, and a poignant account of the woman who back-to-back struck out Ruth and Gehrig in a barnstorming exhibition. It all makes for a thoroughly provocative and memorable mix of journalism and fiction, and is certainly a welcome addition to this fan's baseball library.