Baseball: A Literary Anthology (Library of America) [Englisch] [Gebundene Ausgabe]

More than any other sport, I think, baseball seems to inspire writing that's lyrical without being cheesy or cloying. That much is apparent in this collection, which also treats us to "Casey at the Bat" (naturally), Owen Johnston, Ring Lardner, Nelson Algren, Jimmy Breslin, Roger Angell, and much more (but, I observe without comment, no George Will). When my lovely bride gave me this collection back in June, I knew it would be a perfect companion for the season. Now I'm finding it an even better companion for the still young off-season. So as we try to figure out how many days are left until pitchers and catchers report to spring training, this great collection of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and prose will carry us forward, and back, to summer.

Among the contributions are the works of Ring Lardner, Don DeLillo, sportswriters Damon Runyon & Red Smith, and poets William Carlos Williams & Yusef Komunyakaa. Included are essays and player profiles from John Updike, Gay Talese, Roger Angell, and David Remnick.

Baseball: A Literary Anthology is a varied and exuberant display of what baseball has meant to American writers. Among the highlights: Philip Roth considers the terrible thrill of the adolescent centerfielder; Richard Ford listens to minor league baseball on the radio while driving cross-country; Amiri Baraka remembers the joy of watching the Newark Eagles play Negro League ball; Stephen King follows his son's team on their riveting journey toward a Little League championship.

Bringing together tales of ambition and heartbreak, childlike wonder and implacable disappointment, raw strength and even rawer emotion, Baseball: A Literary Anthology tells a rich and vital story about the sport that has always been more than just a game in the hearts of Americans.

In an age where venal, shorsighted men seem bent on destroying the game, reading this book gives one perspective: Such men have always existed--and failed. This stands, then, as a book of remembrance, reflection and hope. It's just what baseball-and baseball fans-need.

This is a truly great read!

Appropriately, the first selection is Thayer's "Casey at the Bat." I never weary of reading it or of hearing someone recite it. Corny? Of course. I hasten to add, Dawidoff also includes brilliant commentaries by those sports journalists most closely identified with baseball (e.g. Runyon, Lardner, Rice, Smith, Gallico, and Angell) as well as Satchell Paige's delightful selection, "Rules for Staying Young." As I think about this book, the word "feast" comes to mind; also the word "buffet." The authors offer a wide and deep combination of perspectives on what remains our national pastime. Although I am appalled by so much which is apparently essential to Major League Baseball today (especially greed and the inevitable victim of it, loyalty), I have not as yet lost my faith in the game's essential integrity. I still get goose bumps when I emerge from a walkway and first see the lush green field. Later, the crack of a bat, the roar of a crowd in response. Hot dogs, cold beer, popcorn and peanuts (if not Cracker Jack). The uniquely thrilling excitement of an inside-the-park home run, a triple play, a steal of home. Years ago, a graduate school professor of mine suggested that a myth is something that never was and always will be. That is my view of baseball in its purest forms, a view encouraged by this remarkable book.