Followers of this blog know that one of my favorite authors is Roger Angell. When I saw this book in the University of Nebraska Press catalog, I was very excited to read it and it is just as good as I had hoped. Here is my review of "No Place I Would Rather Be"
Title/Author:
“No Place I Would Rather Be: Roger Angell and a Life in Baseball Writing”
by Joe Bonomo
Tags:
Baseball, biography, writing
Publish date:
May 1, 2019
Length:
232 pages
Rating:
5 of 5 stars (outstanding)
Review:
One of the most acclaimed writers of baseball literature and essays is
Roger Angell, who had a long writing career with the magazine The New Yorker. When he began to write about baseball for the
magazine, it launched a career filled with personal satisfaction, much praise
and a litany of baseball writing for readers to devour. Angell’s career and
life are portrayed in this excellent book by Joe Bonomo.
From the beginning, Bonomo emphasizes that this is NOT a biography. This
is correct – while the book starts with a description of Angell’s childhood,
early adult life and how he got his job at the magazine, the book is more of a
sharing of Angell’s work and his thoughts about the game and his career.
Bonomo does a thorough job of covering all the major topics in baseball about
which Angell wrote. Readers of this book will learn (if they doesn’t already
know) about Angell’s love for both the Boston Red Sox AND the New York Mets. It makes sense – the Red Sox because he grew
up in New England and the Mets as he wrote about them since the franchise began
in 1962.
They will also see that Angell may have to adapt to some of the changes
that the sport has undergone but he still holds the same opinions today, at age
99, that he did in his youth. These
cover a wide range of topics from televised games to expansion teams to
expanded playoffs. However, just as Angell always does with his essays, Bonomo
makes sure that the reader understands that at the heart of if all, baseball is
still described as the best game in a manner only Angell can communicate.
Whether or not one has read any of Angell’s work, this book is one that
every baseball fan will want to pick up to learn more about this man who brings
to life in words the feelings and memories that fans of the game cherish
forever.
I wish to thank University of Nebraska Press for providing a copy of the
book in exchange for an honest review.
Book Format Read:
Hardcover
Buying Links:
https://www.amazon.com/No-Place-Would-Rather-Be/dp/1496213254/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
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