Rating: 
Summary: A Story So Good, It Would Survive Any Author
Review: ... I live in Southern California and I'm a life long Dodgers and Angels fan, but I remember "Durocher's Cubs" very well. In 1969, I wanted the Mets to win, but the following spring I read Leonard Koppett's "The New York Mets: The Whole Story" and got my first exposure to the arrogance of New York fans and media. "So, you don't think God is a Mets fan, eh?" Koppett kept saying. Yeech! I realized then I had been rooting for the wrong team. "Durocher's Cubs" are indeed one of the most fascinating baseball teams since World War II, and Claerbaut deserves credit for the brilliant idea of writing a book about them. It is such a good story, I'd recommend it (barely) even though there are many problems with Claerbaut's writing. First of all, throughout the book he employs archaic baseball terminology (a "base" is a "sack" and homerun is a "circuit shot", etc.) It's as if he were filing a newspaper story from the 1908 World Series. It gets pretty annoying after a while. Second, the 50 or so pages covering the 1966-1968 seasons are dry as dust. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to finish the book during that stretch. The tedium is primarily a function of his piling on of statistics while virtually ignoring the color and dash of the team's wonderful personalities. Third, yes, there are a number of typos, but not as many as some other reviewers might lead you to think. I'm afraid poor proof reading is fairly common in publishing these days. Fourth, I don't know why some reviewers are waxing eloquent about Claerbaut's coverage of the turbulent world outside the ballpark from 1966-1972. All he does is just open each chapter with a two-or-three-sentence paragraph that sets the world scene. His description is no deeper than my navel. And what he does say is rather laughable. To open the chapter on the 1971 season, he accuses Nixon of running a dictatorship: "The Nixon administration tightened its grip on America," he says, rather like Hitler in Germany following Hindenburg's death I guess. On the plus side, Claerbaut finally gets to the heartbreaking 1969 season. Then the heartbreaking 1970 season. Then the bitter, bitter souring of relations between Durocher and his players in 1971 and 1972. What a story! These chapters make the book. Claerbaut lays costly negligence at Durocher's feet for not addressing problems at the top of the batting order and in the bullpen, and he further indicts Durocher for not developing young talent, not using his bench players enough and generally operating in a mode of continual crisis. His chapter on Durocher himself is also very interesting. Claerbaut's critique of Durocher is such that he very importantly fails to ask the question his analysis would lead one to ask: could the Cubs of Jenkins, Banks, Santo, Williams and others have done better without him? I would have been very interested to read his opinion. Claerbaut is also negligent himself for repeating a rumor that Durocher may have bet against the Cubs in a crucial September 1969 game against the Mets. He seems to doubt that this is true, but if he was going to raise such a serious charge at all, he should have dealt with it in greater detail. A final criticism: Where is Ernie Banks in all this? Claerbaut quotes Jenkins, Santo and Williams throughout the book, but Banks has nothing to say. The reason seems to be that Claerbaut relies entirely on second hand sources for the observations of the ballplayers. Judging from Claerbaut's book, Ernie Banks evidently never wrote an autobiography. Today, the Cubs of Dusty Baker appear to be ready to have a string of contending years. Durocher's Cubs, then, sit almost in the middle of the long World Series drought from 1945 to...hopefully not too much longer. That fact alone makes this book about the six consecutive winning years of baseball's "loveable losers" a flawed but worthwhile one for fans of the Cubs and baseball in general.
Rating:
Summary: A Story So Good, It Would Survive Any Author
Review: ... I live in Southern California and I'm a life long Dodgers and Angels fan, but I remember "Durocher's Cubs" very well. In 1969, I wanted the Mets to win, but the following spring I read Leonard Koppett's "The New York Mets: The Whole Story" and got my first exposure to the arrogance of New York fans and media. "So, you don't think God is a Mets fan, eh?" Koppett kept saying. Yeech! I realized then I had been rooting for the wrong team. "Durocher's Cubs" are indeed one of the most fascinating baseball teams since World War II, and Claerbaut deserves credit for the brilliant idea of writing a book about them. It is such a good story, I'd recommend it (barely) even though there are many problems with Claerbaut's writing. First of all, throughout the book he employs archaic baseball terminology (a "base" is a "sack" and homerun is a "circuit shot", etc.) It's as if he were filing a newspaper story from the 1908 World Series. It gets pretty annoying after a while. Second, the 50 or so pages covering the 1966-1968 seasons are dry as dust. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to finish the book during that stretch. The tedium is primarily a function of his piling on of statistics while virtually ignoring the color and dash of the team's wonderful personalities. Third, yes, there are a number of typos, but not as many as some other reviewers might lead you to think. I'm afraid poor proof reading is fairly common in publishing these days. Fourth, I don't know why some reviewers are waxing eloquent about Claerbaut's coverage of the turbulent world outside the ballpark from 1966-1972. All he does is just open each chapter with a two-or-three-sentence paragraph that sets the world scene. His description is no deeper than my navel. And what he does say is rather laughable. To open the chapter on the 1971 season, he accuses Nixon of running a dictatorship: "The Nixon administration tightened its grip on America," he says, rather like Hitler in Germany following Hindenburg's death I guess. On the plus side, Claerbaut finally gets to the heartbreaking 1969 season. Then the heartbreaking 1970 season. Then the bitter, bitter souring of relations between Durocher and his players in 1971 and 1972. What a story! These chapters make the book. Claerbaut lays costly negligence at Durocher's feet for not addressing problems at the top of the batting order and in the bullpen, and he further indicts Durocher for not developing young talent, not using his bench players enough and generally operating in a mode of continual crisis. His chapter on Durocher himself is also very interesting. Claerbaut's critique of Durocher is such that he very importantly fails to ask the question his analysis would lead one to ask: could the Cubs of Jenkins, Banks, Santo, Williams and others have done better without him? I would have been very interested to read his opinion. Claerbaut is also negligent himself for repeating a rumor that Durocher may have bet against the Cubs in a crucial September 1969 game against the Mets. He seems to doubt that this is true, but if he was going to raise such a serious charge at all, he should have dealt with it in greater detail. A final criticism: Where is Ernie Banks in all this? Claerbaut quotes Jenkins, Santo and Williams throughout the book, but Banks has nothing to say. The reason seems to be that Claerbaut relies entirely on second hand sources for the observations of the ballplayers. Judging from Claerbaut's book, Ernie Banks evidently never wrote an autobiography. Today, the Cubs of Dusty Baker appear to be ready to have a string of contending years. Durocher's Cubs, then, sit almost in the middle of the long World Series drought from 1945 to...hopefully not too much longer. That fact alone makes this book about the six consecutive winning years of baseball's "loveable losers" a flawed but worthwhile one for fans of the Cubs and baseball in general.
Rating:
Summary: It's time to put this to bed
Review: 1969.The country is at war,internal and external.Ted kennedy is driving to oblivion,Nixon is baiting democrats and making overtures to china.apollo 11 is winning the souped up drag race to the moon.the cubs,under leo durocher,are dominating the newly alligned nl east,chased by the ghost of a cardinal's team[the real question is what happened THERE?] and ,the until then hapless ny mets.The myth is that the cubs were the better team which collapsed down the stretch and the mets "backed' in.Well,this book will niether add nor detract from that argument.fact,the mets won 100 games.Nobody backs in with 100 win.If anyone had a real beef,it was the baltimore orioles,a far superior team to any of the decade!Still,this lame debate has raged on ,supported by an inane old timers game a few years back,the world series that should have been,between the orioles and cubs.Mercy. The book does touch on some memorable players,including the great Billy Williams,the singular most underrated baseball player of the last 35 years.Still,one gets this gnawing feeling,that occurs sometimes in sports.for no known or measurable reason,one team does get every break imaginable.The mets were certainly that team that year.The cubs of 1969 will always be a very good team that didnt really do it,head to head,down the stretch,when they had to.That is a tough legacy. But an honest one of a good team with some great players{the aformentioned Williams,a twilighting Ernie Banks, the should be hall of famer ron santo,and fergie jenkins}, a once brilliant manager and spectacular fans.
Rating: 
Summary: A Cubs fan's delight
Review: Claerbaut accomplishes two major things with this terrific book. He recreates the drama and energy of that magical time in Cubs history, the era that created the Cub hysteria we now see. You read it and you are there. Secondly, he goes under the surface and answers the aching question all real Cub fans struggle with: Why didn't that Cub team win? And he does it using the state-of-the-art methods discussed in MONEYBALL, rather than the common shot and a beer opinion. It's just a terrific read. You get entertained, and informed. Whether you like the Cubs or not, for baseball-lovers this book explains one of the great mysteries in MLB history. But for us Chicagoans, every TRUE Cub fan should own it.
Rating: 
Summary: Durocher's Cubs makes its point OVER AND OVER AND OVER
Review: Durocher's Cubs is a pretty good book analyzing the Cubs best years. However at times I felt like I was reading a media guide and not a book. He proves time and time again that Durocher was not the same manager as he was compared to his years in Brooklyn by giving us countless game situations. He goes into too much detail about Durocher's childhood and demons that he faced. All of us have our demons but the author treats these as the only reason the Cubs couldn't win. If I remember correctly, Durocher never threw a pitch, swung a bat, or threw a ball that year. For a better Cub history book, read The Chicago Cubs: The Million to One team.
Rating: 
Summary: Durocher's Cubs
Review: Excellent, I enjoyed it every much. If you lived through Durocher's Cubs you'll love it. Brought back a lot of memories. It tells the complete story of the team, not just 69. It also contains the best analysis yet of why they didn't win a title and why we loved those players so much. The 67 run to first place, Adolpho Phillips, Willie Smith's home run, Holtzman's no hitter, Pepitone, Pappas, the clubhouse explosion, it's all here.
Rating: 
Summary: Worst Book I've Ever Read
Review: I grew up as a Cub fan. I've changed loyalties since the late 70's, but the Cubs of Claerbaut are still my heroes. This book, however, is the WORST I've ever read on any topic. As a history teacher of 31 years I've read somewhere in the vicinity of 1,000 books. Never have I seen a tome that has had as many incorrect spellings, botched facts, inane analyses, and poor writing style. I now regret having had my wife lovingly dish out my hard-earned money for this literary trainwreck. She could have gotten me a highlight tape of the '69 Mets and it would not aggravate me as much. Here and now I'm warning any Bruin-backer (as Claerbaut would label him) to save his cash, keep an eye on ESPN CLassic, and have the patience to wait until Leo's era in Chicago is profiled.
After all, if a Cub fan has been waiting 57 years for another pennant, he can bide his time a little longer for a better book.
Rating:
Summary: A Timeless Joy
Review: I read a lot of books and am pretty critical. Sports books are often badly written. Not this one. When you see the hysteria surrounding Wrigley Field whenever the Cubs are in the hunt, you need only read this fast-moving book to realize how it all began. The modern Cubs are the sons of Durocher's Cubs--Ron Santo, Billy Williams, Ferguson Jenkins, and of course, Leo "The Lip" Durocher. The soap opera of those on-the-edge-of-your-chair years is wonderfully captured in the pages of Claerbaut's book. Even better, the book is so up-to-date. Its analysis of why this great team didn't win is something everyone from Billy Beane to Dr. Phil would have been proud of. History comes alive here. This book is timeless.
Rating:
Summary: A Timeless Joy
Review: I read a lot of books and am pretty critical. Sports books are often badly written. Not this one. When you see the hysteria surrounding Wrigley Field whenever the Cubs are in the hunt, you need only read this fast-moving book to realize how it all began. The modern Cubs are the sons of Durocher's Cubs--Ron Santo, Billy Williams, Ferguson Jenkins, and of course, Leo "The Lip" Durocher. The soap opera of those on-the-edge-of-your-chair years is wonderfully captured in the pages of Claerbaut's book. Even better, the book is so up-to-date. Its analysis of why this great team didn't win is something everyone from Billy Beane to Dr. Phil would have been proud of. History comes alive here. This book is timeless.
Rating:
Summary: Lovable Losers
Review: Part of the mystic of the Chicago Cubs is that they have not been to a World Series since 1945 and haven't won one since the beginning of the 20th century. Most of those years, they haven't even been competitive, but the fans still fill up Wrigley Field game after game. They know the Cubbies aren't going to win, in fact they expect to lose. David Claerbaut's book focuses on the years of 1967-1972 when the Cubs put together the most impressive team in baseball, yet never won a division, much less a World Series. Mr. Claerbaut, using statistics, all star appearances, future hall of famers on the roster and other items to show that those Cubs in fact are the greatest team to never win a championship. Mr. Claerbaut is from Milwaukee and was originally a Braves fan, but converted to the Cubs after the Braves won the 1957 series. He writes the book as a fan and it is clear he loves the legendary Leo "The Lip" Durocher. But once you get past the fanatic aspect, the book offers some great information on team that due to never making the playoffs, had never gotten the attention they deserved. If your a Cubs fan, then this book will definitely interest you. If you are a student of the game, you will enjoy it as well. It is a good, but not great read.
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