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robertrivasplata's review
funny
informative
medium-paced
4.25
Finally a book about sports that actually makes me more interested in the sport! This book is everything I was hoping it to be. Perfect primer for those who know bugger-all about baseball & baseball history. The glossary in the back is very helpful. Do not take the Jeopardy test before reading this book! Highlights how central baseball stats have always been to baseball culture. The story of the game's evolution is very fascinating. The art really feels like it brings the people & places of past eras to life. Also discusses the place of baseball in American culture. I liked the quote from Virginia Woolf about baseball writer Ring Lardner: “He writes the best prose that has come our way… often in a language which is not english”. Packed with info & so is pretty dense reading for a comic book. Maybe that's just because I am so unfamiliar with baseball to start with, & so needed to consult the glossary to understand basic concepts. I now feel ready to read further books about Baseball, or maybe even watch more baseball!
birdmanseven's review
4.0
I'm impressed with the amount of facts that are crammed into this volume without overcrowding it. It's very informative and still manages to feel like a graphic novel. Check it out.
For my interview with the author listen in here:
https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/alex-irvine-talks-baseball-space-and-the-anthropocene-rag
For my interview with the author listen in here:
https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/alex-irvine-talks-baseball-space-and-the-anthropocene-rag
michaelnlibrarian's review
4.0
Lately I have found that I enjoy some graphic novels or histories more than I would expect. To some degree this is a chronological presentation of the "story of baseball" but as with many discussions of baseball, it often devolves into recitation of the almost endless different records and other measures of baseball achievement that aren't my favorite part of the game. Still, given the format, a fair amount is said about players and others as people and athletes (briefly - it is a graphic novel) and interesting comparisons of baseball during its history and society and culture more generally.
Reading something like this that moves through the entire long history of baseball in 168 pages, one realizes how crazy it is to compare different eras of play. It's the same game - except it isn't.
Worth a look from the public library, that's for sure.
Reading something like this that moves through the entire long history of baseball in 168 pages, one realizes how crazy it is to compare different eras of play. It's the same game - except it isn't.
Worth a look from the public library, that's for sure.
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