Rating: 
Summary: Great Book
Review: This was above and beyond the best book I've ever read, and it was hard to put down. The book is about two Stanford grads, Brad Null & Dave Kaval, touring all the MLB Stadiums, and other baseball shrines (ex. The site of Ebbets Field) in one big road trip. The book was great because they gave every detail of the park. You found out everything from ballpark history to ball park food to the one thing you have to do at the park and why, all of which was done in a very funny perspective. For example the one thing you needed to do in Baltimore was use the bathroom on the 4th story of the Camden Yards warehouse, you'll need to buy the book to find out why you need to. You also learn about their adventures on the road, which included an overnight 1,000 mile + trip from Tampa,FL to Baltimore MD! The back part of the book is also a great addition. It gives you Brad and Dave's rankings of everything from ballparks to the worst mascots in baseball. The back also gives you advice to plan a trip similar to this one! This is a great book every fan of the game must own!
Rating:
Summary: give a kid a chance
Review: While I highly approve of Null and Kaval's epic trip, the book tends to evoke the tedium of the voyage rather than the excitement. What would be a really cool little web page (or fun conversation with the participants) becomes a pretty boring 332-page book. Potentially interesting stories like meeting Tony Gwynn strangely get less space than the guys going to Sizzler before a game. The "subplot" of Brad and Dave getting on each other's nerves, instead of providing drama, just seems like petty squabbling. The pictures seem to be from a fairly low quality point-and-shoot camera, and tend to have other fans' heads obscuring the action. This is not to say I think Brad, Dave, or anyone else can't take such a trip without having pro photo equipment or more interesting side stories, but if you're going to write a book about it, the standards are higher.There are nice nuggets scattered around, and I think Brad makes some good points about the newest wave of parks possibly being cookie-cutterish in their own way, but these aren't worth the time wading through the other stuff. If ballparks really interest you, there are some better historical treatments out there, or better yet, hit the road and do it yourself!
Rating: 
Summary: Great Trip, Not-So-Great Book
Review: While I highly approve of Null and Kaval's epic trip, the book tends to evoke the tedium of the voyage rather than the excitement. What would be a really cool little web page (or fun conversation with the participants) becomes a pretty boring 332-page book. Potentially interesting stories like meeting Tony Gwynn strangely get less space than the guys going to Sizzler before a game. The "subplot" of Brad and Dave getting on each other's nerves, instead of providing drama, just seems like petty squabbling. The pictures seem to be from a fairly low quality point-and-shoot camera, and tend to have other fans' heads obscuring the action. This is not to say I think Brad, Dave, or anyone else can't take such a trip without having pro photo equipment or more interesting side stories, but if you're going to write a book about it, the standards are higher. There are nice nuggets scattered around, and I think Brad makes some good points about the newest wave of parks possibly being cookie-cutterish in their own way, but these aren't worth the time wading through the other stuff. If ballparks really interest you, there are some better historical treatments out there, or better yet, hit the road and do it yourself!
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