About this title: "Crazy '08" recounts the Chicago Cubs' 1908 season--the year of the greatest pennant race the National League has ever seen. In addition to telling the exciting story of a great season, this work also chronicles the forces that created modern baseball and the America that produced it.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Smithsonian
Date Published: 2007-03-01
ISBN-13:9780060889371ISBN:0060889373
Description: New. New Book. There is slight time wear. Otherwise looks new. Free tracking # included! International buyers are welcome. We ship every business day. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed! read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Smithsonian
Date Published: 3/13/2007
ISBN-13:9780060889371ISBN:0060889373
Description: New. 0060889373 Brand New Book With Remainder Mark. May Have Slight Shelf Wear. In-Stock Now For Immediate Secure Packaging & Delivery wear on DJ. read more
Description: Near Fine. No Jacket Issued. Near Fine trade paperback Baseball history book, c2008. With all new author Q & A. This is a very attractive & entertaining baseball history book. This book has a wonderful cover with tight pages and great photos. Unmarked, & No names, & Not a remainder book. 378 pages. read more
"Cait Murphy observes that 1908 is an important season in the history of baseball in America. She closes the book with the statement (page 288): "In the sweep of baseball's history, 1908 is not the end of an era, nor the beginning of one. It is, however, the end of the beginning." She starts the work by answering why she explores 1908 (page xiii): "The best season in baseball history is 1908. Besides two agonizing pennant races, it features history's finest pitching duel, hurled in the white heat of an October stretch drive, and the most controversial game ever played." I'm not sure that I buy 1908 as the apogee of baseball; however, Murphy does make a nice case.
The book begins with some context, looking at the earlier years of the National League and American League just after the turn of the century. She also looks at the evolution of gloves and bats and the other artifacts of the game. There are glimpses of stadia of the time.
Also nicely done are the character sketches of some key figures from 1908--from Manager John McGraw of the Giants to John Evers and Frank ("Husk" or "The Peerless Leader") Chance of the Cubs to Honus Wagner and so on. The book takes a chronological look at the season thereafter, from opening day through the great replay of the tie game (when Fred Merkle didn't touch second base, leading to a tie score) to a brief afterword on the World Series (not much time spent on it, since it was a blowout, with the Cubs winning their last World Series over the Detroit Tigers).
Some interesting tidbits are scattered throughout: the seemingly large number of players who committed suicide (pages 66-67), the amazing variety of interests of Cubs' players on one train trip (if accurately portrayed by a reporter)--"Doc" Marshall reading a book on dentistry, Johnny Evers reading a biography of Savonarola, two players discussed how to raise alfalfa, Ed Reulbach reading a chemistry book, five playing poker, and so on.
There is the portrayal of some of the great moments of the season, for instance, Young Fred Merkle not touching second base after an apparent game-winning hit against the detested Cubs (pages 189-191).
There are also several "time-out" inserts that provide interesting side-bar discussions. One of these looks at Chicago and its bawdy politics of the early 1900s; another examines the howler that Abner Doubleday invented the game of baseball. An Epilogue briefly describes what happened to key players after the 1908 season, including Mordecai "Three-Finger" Brown (there is a picture of his misshapen hand in the volume, suggesting how he might have created interesting movement on his pitches), Frank Chance, Hal Chase, Fred Merkle, "Cy" Young, and so on.
All in all, a nice detailed view of a fascinating season in baseball history."
"Thanks to my wonderful wife for buying me this book. I really enjoyed reading about baseball in 1908. There was much more swearing, fighting, and personality. Unfortunately, much of the swearing, as it was entirely improper, was omitted from the written word in 1908 and is now lost. Also, games were played in less than two hours with no stoppages for TV or radio commercials or pierogi races or player interviews. Baseball in 1908 would be more my speed. Also, the book spoke to how baseball fit within the American landscape of the time - some good and interesting info. Some of the prose wasn't quite my style but still pretty well written."
"Wow! I learned a lot about the business of baseball, from the farm leagues to the majors including the history of several teams and how the sport evolved from the early days. The primary plot here is about the run up to the 1908 World Series and the struggles between the Cubs, New York Giants and other contenders for the top spot in baseball. There was so much of what we would consider primitive then, but the people of the time thought was really cutting edge. Much has not changed, of course, since human nature is still the same. This first book by Ms. Murphy is a fascinating history, but could use some severe editing to keep the story on track. Her background is magazines, but she displays a wry style here that I enjoyed, even though I am not a big sports fan. I look forward to more from her."
"Hughly entertaining book on the 1908 pennant race with the Tigers, Cubs and NY Giants. The author structures the work in the time and provides a real glimpse into the early years of the 20th century. Murphy's manner incorporates much lingo and slang and creates an "of the moment" feel that propels the history quite remarkably. Also she provides historical asides that keep the work from being so insular. You feel much closer to these early icons of baseball as well as the tough hardened lives they lead. A baseball fan could ask for nothing finer in recounting the early times of the great sport."
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