Baseball: A History of America's Favorite Game

One of the great bards of America's Grand Old Game, George Vecsey, gives a rousing account of the sport, from its pre-Republic roots to the present day. Baseball is a testament to the unbreakable bond between our nation's pastime and the fans, who've remained loyal despite the fifty-year-long interdict on black athletes, the Black Sox scandal, franchise relocation, and the use of performance-enhancing drugs by some of today's major stars. Reverent, playful, and beautifully written, Baseball begs to be read in the span of a rain-delayed doubleheader but is so satisfying that one hopes it never ends. Book jacket.

George Vecsey, a sports columnist for The New York Times, has written about such events as the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics but considers baseball, the sport he’s covered since 1960, his favorite game. He is the author of more than a dozen books, including Loretta Lynn: Coal Miner’s Daughter (with Loretta Lynn), which was made into an Academy Award—winning film. He has also served as a national and religion reporter for The New York Times, interviewing the Dalai Lama, Tony Blair, Billy Graham, and a host of other noteworthy figures. He lives in New York with his wife, an artist.


From the Hardcover edition.