Perfect : The Inside Story of Baseball's Sixteen Perfect Games

Rating:
Summary: OUTSTANDING!!
Review: As a baseball fanatic, I read several baseball novels a year. Perfect ranks among my favorites. Mr. Buckley provides a riveting account of baseball's perfect games and makes the reader feel as though he has personally witnessed each one. His meticulous research and writing style make this book a must read. I would highly recommend this book not only for the baseball fanatic but also for the casual fan.

Rating:
Summary: Dry look at perfection
Review: Baseball traditions mean a lot to me. The further we have moved from day games in the World Series, green grass to play, spring training where players actually had to work to get back into shape, and games a working class dad and his son could afford, the further removed I feel from baseball.

Buckley caught my attention with his title and tribute to baseball's sixteen perfect games, perhaps the most difficult of all athletic achievements. He offers a chapter on each perfect game, from J. Lee Richmond's on 12 June 1880 to David Cone's 18 July 1999. Senator Jim Bunning, who earned his own chapter with a perfect game in 1964, wrote the introduction. Buckley adds an appendix of "nearly perfect" games.

Given the title and topic, I expected riveting, rich, deep color and drama. While a lot of respect and research went into the book, I did not find all that I sought. Worse, in covering Don Larsen's 1956 World Series perfect game, Buckley TWICE has Gil Hodges batting for the Yankees (pp. 78, 79).

This book should suit the needs of the fanatic who lives and breathes baseball and who can accept less-than-stellar writing.

Rating:
Summary: Perfect: Perfectly Penned
Review: Buckley explores each game individually with all its twists and turns and captures these nuances with his vivid writing. He fleshes out all the personalities of the pitchers, hitters and coaches, bringing a personal dimension to the baseball statistics that are a mainstay of sports writing. However, I think the "Nearly Perfect" games that he outlines in the book's appendix are just as captivating as the perfect games. Don't miss this section.

Rating:
Summary: See Spot Pitch
Review: Good writers should be able to make their work suitable for all ages (especially younger readers) without making their prose sound overly simplistic or juvenile. This should be especially easy for books on baseball, since there's "a lot of little boy" in both the writers and readers - it should come naturally. Perfect, unfortunately, is just plain bad. How these writers can take some of the most dramatic stories of baseball and make them uninteresting and virtually unreadable leaves me (nearly) speechless. Even Ken Burns' Baseball series' mention of some of the perfect games in far less space is far more compelling. In addition, I found that there was really very little information - even with the recent games - that isn't already readily available in the briefest of articles found elsewhere. At most a few known quotes and dugout/clubhouse anecdotes can be found for each game, amid a wash of overly simplistic and juvenile text. Book should have been titled "See Spot Pitch". Can't recommend it, sadly.

Rating:
Summary: Perfect connection with perfect games
Review: I felt what it felt like to be on the mound for the compelling moments when the outcome of the sixteen games in question remained in doubt. Sure, there are many details about many of these games that would be great were they included in the narrative, however finding boxscores and post-game interviews should be relatively easy for any really discerning baseball fan.

"Perfect" is easily accessible; anyone reading this book can immediately relate to every scenario and interaction, even if they have never participated in a perfect game. This is a great way to interact with the history of America's pastime at its pinnacle.

Rating:
Summary: Perfect :The Inside Story of Baseball's Sixteen Perfect Game
Review: I just have to say that the writing in this book was very bad, and the best part that someone pionted out as the "nearly perfect" section in the back was written by someone else.

do not buy it.

Rating:
Summary: Perfect :The Inside Story of Baseball's Sixteen Perfect Game
Review: I just have to say that the writing in this book was very bad, and the best part that someone pionted out as the "nearly perfect" section in the back was written by someone else.

do not buy it.

Rating:
Summary: PERFECTLY ENTERTAINING
Review: If a "PERFECT GAME" is a flawless pitching effort, well, author James Buckley didn't pitch one here. Good solid outing, however, by one of the most knowledgeable writers of the Diamond Arena. The research here is as respectable as the writing itself, with the latter being a bit simplistic for the mature reader. Especially rewarding for the student of the game are the earlier pieces and Buckley does a fine job of recalling those faded days when the game was young and fresh and Americans everywhere just could not get enough of it. Highly recommended, especially if, like myself and probably every true baseball fan, you love stats.

Rating:
Summary: I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK
Review: Perfect is one of the best baseball books I have read in years. Buckley is obviously a fan of the game and his enthusiasm jumps off the pages. Buckley is a great story teller, and his writing is witty and entertaining. I truly enjoyed each story.