Review of "Underwater"

There really is no good way to introduce the topic of this book, so I will just say that it was one of the toughest and saddest books I have read for this blog since starting it 11 years ago.  Here is my review of "Underwater." 

 Title/Author:

“Underwater:  The Greed-Soaked Tale of Sexual Abuse by USA Swimming and Around the World” by Irvin Muchnick

Rating: 

3 of 5 stars (okay)

Review:

The sports world was shocked when the sexual abuse scandal in gymnastics, and especially by Larry Nassar, was exposed.  However, sadly, that is not the only sport with this issue – many young athletes in swimming have suffered the same fate.  It goes beyond sexual abuse of young female athletes.  Young male athletes have also been abused and the abuse for both sexes can also be emotional, to the point of coaches proposing marriage.  This isn’t new as well, as this book by Irvin Muchnick exposes the decades-long abuse of athletes.

I will note that the rating is not due to the subject, the amount of research (exhaustive and extensive) or the accuracy of the findings.  As a reader, I found this book very tough to read.  There are SO many names that are both victims and abusers that I have a very hard time keeping track of who was being investigated and who was covering up for who.  If nothing else, that shows the depth of how long this has been going on in USA Swimming and in many swim clubs.

 Of course, stories of the victims get to be very depressing to read as well.  Just like when exposing the abusers and the cover-ups, this was hard to follow as well. Again, not because of any poor writing or investigation, but strictly from the sheer numbers.  It boggles the mind to think that this has been going on for decades. 

Even big names, while not directly or even indirectly implicated, can somehow be linked to some of these scandals.  The biggest name amongst these is Michael Phelps and Muchnick does a nice job of balancing fairness to Phelps – after all, he didn’t commit any of these crimes – but still wonders how he could be attached to some of these atrocities. It's a very hard book to read but is one that is worthy of the time to illustrate just how badly some promising athletes have been treated.

I wish to thank ECW Press for providing a copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.

 

Link: Underwater: The Greed-Soaked Tale of Sexual Abuse in USA Swimming and around the Globe: Muchnick, Irvin: 9781770417755: Amazon.com: Books

Review of "The Promise of Women's Boxing"

With the Olympics now in full swing, I always watch some of the boxing matches, both men and since 2012, the women as well.  This is a book that gives some much-deserved recognition to female boxer.  Here is my review of Malissa Smith's recent book on the sport.  

Title/Author:

“The Promise of Women’s Boxing: A Momentous New Era for the Sweet Science” by Malissa Smith

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review: While the sport of boxing has recently seen a downturn in popularity, mainly due to the rise of other combat sports such as mixed martial arts, it should be noted that women’s boxing has defied that pattern and has actually gained in popularity and participation.  The history of female boxing is captured in this well-researched book by Marlissa Smith.

Smith is known as one of the most knowledgeable journalists for women’s boxing and both her writing and her passion shows quite prominently in the book.  She covers the history of the sport, from the early days when women couldn’t get approval from state licensing boards to the current popularity and Olympic participation it currently enjoys.  I mention the Olympics because Smith uses that acceptance as the most crucial time for the acceptance of women’s boxing – when it became an Olympic sport for the 2012 London Summer Games.

One of the medal winners from those Games, Clarissa Shields (the current heavyweight champion), wrote the forward for the book and is one of the many boxers Smith prominently features in the book.  Of course, there is Layla Ali, whose famous father helped her with name recognition and therefore piqued the interest of fans when she would fight.  Then there are some more well known champions from the sport such as Christy Martin, Katie Taylor and Cecelia Braekhus who are all prominently mentioned in the book.  

While it is great that Smith tells the stories of many of these boxers who trained and fought hard for little pay and recognition, that she did this for so many boxers, especially in the early part of the book, it was hard to keep track of them or to get a good sense of what was happening during that era of the sport.  While it is perfectly understandable that Smith wanted to ensure these athletes got the recognition for their contributions to the sport, I personally found it hard to keep track of them all.

Once the aforementioned 2012 Olympics were discussed in the book, it was both easier to read and follow and for me, more enjoyable.  I thought Smith did a fantastic job of writing about championship fights and chronicling the progress of women’s boxing.  This included when the sport finally was recognized with inductees into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2021 – a year after a special, separate Hall was started. 

Overall, I enjoyed this book on women’s boxing by a renowned expert on the sport and it is only right that these hard-working women get the recognition and publicity they deserve.

I wish to thank the publisher for providing a review copy of the book.  The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.

Link: The Promise of Women's Boxing: A Momentous New Era for the Sweet Science: Smith, Malissa, Shields, Claressa: 9781538177716: Amazon.com: Books

Review of "The Big Time"

Books about anything to do with sports, no matter the topic or which sport, in the 1970s always intrigues me and this one was no exception.  Here is my review of "The Big Time"

Title/Author:

“The Big Time: How the 1970’s Transformed Sports in America ” by Michael MacCambridge

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:  For anyone who followed sports during the decade of the 1970’s, they were certainly not the same at the end of the decade as they were at the beginning.  This is true no matter which game, league or athletes one examined. This was also a reflection of the changes in American society and these are tied nicely together and told in wonderful prose in this book by Michael MacCambridge.

While many different sports and social topics are covered in this book, women’s sports and how they affected the feminist movement of the 1970’s is the most prominent theme in the book.  The big events are covered, of course, such as the “battle of the sexes” tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, but there is much more to this topic.  The best example has nothing to do with action on a playing surface but in board rooms. 

The Association for Intercollegiate Atheletics for Women (AIAW) was founded in 1971 to govern women’s college sports.  They were more about opportunity than for competition, and they believed Title IX, passed in 1972 and an important point mentioned several times in the book, would be the final hurdle to their goals.  However, the NCAA, having other ideas, was incorporating those sports into their programs in order to comply with the law and they eventually took over all women’s programs.  While it was sad for those AIAW members, it was important to note the progress made.

Similar write ups are in the book for other social issues such as racial equality and labor rights in various sports.  It is noted how important the decision by arbitrator Peter Seitz to strike down baseball’s reserve clause had a ripple effect in all other sports when it came to free agency for players.  Some sports adapted free agency more quickly than others and it didn’t come without significant labor strife, but that is also an important topic when it comes to 1970’s sports.

Of course, the text isn’t limited to just these types of topics.  There are several passages about the actual games played as well and the variety of sports covered is tremendous.  Just about any particular game you can think of that was played in front of spectators was covered.  That is one of the best aspects of this book – the variety.

I wish to thank Grand Central Publishing for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

 

Link: The Big Time: How the 1970s... by MacCridge, Michael (amazon.com)

 

Review of "Summer Baseball Nation"

When I was offered an advance copy of this book, I thought that from the description it would be about the Cape Cod summer league, a very popular summer league that uses only wood bats and is stocked with college players.  That league and one of its better teams is part of the book, but there is so much more to it that it's a very fun and enjoyable read.  Here is my review of "Summer Baseball Nation"

Title/Author:

“Summer Baseball Nation: Nine Days in the Wood Bat Leagues” by Will Geoghegan

Tags:

Baseball, amateur

Publish date:

April 1, 2020

Length:

240 pages

Rating:

5 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

While the word “baseball” will conjure up images of Major League players and ballparks with tens of thousands of fans in attendance, there are summer baseball games in which the players are not paid millions of dollars, tickets are fairly inexpensive, the teams are very popular in the local town – and those players are college players whose seasons ended but are playing to keep their skills sharp.  These summer leagues are described in this wonderful book by Will Geoghegan in which he spends nine days during the summer of 2016 watching some of these teams.

What makes this book a pleasure to read is that while reading it, it’s easy to imagine one’s self sitting in the bleachers at one of these games in places like Hampton, Virginia, Kenosha, Wisconsin, or Cotuit, Massachusetts. The teams in those three towns, as well as Fairbanks, Alaska are the main focal points of the book.  When writing about these teams, their players or the towns, Geoghegan shares the experience with enough detail that readers just might be picturing themselves as sitting in the bleachers at Hampton’s War Memorial Stadium cheering on the Peninsula Pilots or following the ups and downs of the 2016 season for the Cotuit Kettleers.

If a reader is picking up this book looking for statistics like WAR and OPS+ on these college players, or maybe about the cutthroat world of trying to improve either a signing bonus or draft position for these players, then the reader will have to look elsewhere.  The business of baseball in this book is about the general managers and other employees of these teams who do everything from advertising to manning concession booths, all for the love of the game.  A few basic statistics are mentioned for better players but those are very minor pieces of their stories.

The stories that make this book so great are the ones that just are not present in professional baseball – the Midnight Sun game, an annual tradition for the Alaska Goldpanners.  An unusual home run derby hosted by Kenosha in which the long balls land in Lake Michigan.  A rebirth of baseball in Hampton more long after the last minor league left town and the town’s love affair with the collegiate players.  Reading this makes one realize that there is so much more to the game than just the big money and big statistics.  This book is baseball at the grass roots and it is so much fun to read that it comes highly recommended for any baseball fan.   

I wish to thank University of Nebraska Press for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

                                                                       

Book Format Read:

E-book (PDF)                                                                                                                                   

Buying Links:

https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/university-of-nebraska-press/9781496213990/

https://www.amazon.com/Summer-Baseball-Nation-Nine-Leagues-ebook/dp/B07ZQWQRS1/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Review of "Empire of Infields"

One of the perks of being a blogger is that I get to read books on a wide variety of sports-related topics.  Such as this one - I never imagined that baseball had such an impact on Taiwanese culture.  Sure, those of us a certain age will remember when Taiwan dominated the Little League World Series, but I never knew that the game has been a part of the island for a much longer period.  Here is my review of "Empire of Infields"

Title/Author:

“Empire of Infields: Baseball in Taiwan and Cultural Identity, 1895-1968” by John J. Harney

Tags:

Baseball, international, amateur, culture

Publish date:

July 1, 2019

Length:

240 pages

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

While baseball has been an American sport since the mid-1800’s, some may not know that Japanese baseball has also been around since the 19^th century and they brought the game to Taiwan, at the time a Japanese colony.  However, instead of viewing the game as a product of Japanese imperialism, Taiwan grew to embrace the game and used it for shaping its own cultural identity.  That point is brought to readers of this well-researched book by John J. Harney.

Harney, an assistant professor of history at Centre College in Danville Kentucky, takes the reader on a trip to the days when Taiwan was first a Japanese colony, then after World War II, an independent nation that would not become part of the people’s Republic of China.  Baseball played an important part of this history, as Japan brought the game to Taiwan via barnstorming tours by Japanese teams. They got the idea from the barnstorming American teams that came to Japan in the early 20^th century. 

As the game grew in Taiwan, there are two teams that were notable for helping to shape not only the baseball identity of the island nation but also the overall culture as well.  There are three teams that Harney writes about to illustrate this relationship.  They are the Nenggao team from 1924, the Kano team of teenagers in 1931 (it is interesting to note this team was the most famous of the teams from this area, but they failed to win the championship in that year) and the 1968 Hongye schoolboy team.  This team was a preview of the dominance that Taiwan would show in the near future at the Little League World Series. The Hongye team is also notable in that the People’s Republic of China would use this team for its political narratives and embrace it to illustrate Chinese nationalism at a time when Taiwan and the mainland were in a bitter dispute.

There is very little writing about the actual game on the field as this is a scholarly work that is meant to educate readers about the culture of Taiwan and how baseball became a part of that culture instead of just going away when the island was no longer a Japanese colony when World War II ended.  Readers who are interested in works on Taiwanese or Far Eastern history or culture will want to pick up this book.  

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.nebraskapress.unl.edu/university-of-nebraska-press/9780803286825/

https://www.amazon.com/Empire-Infields-Baseball-Cultural-1895-1968-ebook/dp/B07JQKCCC8/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Review of “Life Is a Marathon”

This review will be a little different for two reasons.  One, it is the first memoir I have read about running.  Second, I am trying out a new tablet with a keyboard so (hopefully) I will be able to post without having to wait for when I am at a computer.  This was a very good memoir - here is my review of  “Life Is a Marathon.”

Title/Author:

“Life Is a Marathon: A Memoir of Love and Endurance” by Mark Fitzgerald

Tags:

Running, memoir, amateur

Publish:
March 26, 2019

Length:
288 pages

Rating:

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

Becoming a world-class marathon runner takes a lot of sacrifice, dedication and love for the sport. The same qualities are present in people who support family members with mental health issues.  Mark Fitzgerald, who has written several running books, shares his life experiences in both of these topics in this compelling memoir.

The most striking feature about the book is the ending of each chapter.  Fitzgerald will make a personal discovery on how the experiences he shared in the chapter help him realize a new realization about what that meant to him in the bigger picture of life.  Whether it was him assisting a woman in the last few miles of a marathon to help her finish at the sacrifice of his own time or how he feels when he has to call authorities after his wife Nataka attacks him yet again due to her bipolar condition, his realization of what he has discovered is always touching and will make a reader pause to consider.

Each chapter is filled with good detail about what Fitzgerald is experiencing and what is most telling and sets this one apart from many sports memoirs is the emotion that will be felt by the reader.  Whether it is the terrifying moments when his wife is attacking him with a knife, the sadness he feels when she is yet again involuntarily hospitalized, the agony of an injury during a race or the elation at winning or beating personal bests, this book is one that tugs at the heart in every imaginable way.

Runners and non-runners alike will want to read this one as it covers a wide range of topics and emotions.  Many of the stories will be ones that readers can relate to, and even if not, they will be enjoyed.

I wish to thank Da Capo Lifelong Books for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Book format read:
E-book (Kindle)

Buying Links:
Amazon.com: Life Is a Marathon: A Memoir of Love and Endurance eBook: Matt Fitzgerald: Kindle Store

Life Is a Marathon: A Memoir of Love and Endurance by Matt Fitzgerald, Hardcover | Barnes & Noble®

Review of "Play Ball!"

This book contained much more than just stories about soldiers playing baseball during the Great War - it was a nice lesson on just how much the doughboys loved the game.  Here is my review of "Play Ball!"

Title/Author:

“Play Ball! Doughboys and Baseball During the Great War” by Alexander F. Barnes, Peter L. Belmonte and Samuel O. Barnes

 

Tags:
Baseball, history, amateur

Publish date:

March 28, 2019

Length:

256 pages

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

The popularity of baseball as a participant sport in the United States as well as a spectator sport was very high during the time of World War I.  No matter where troops were stationed during the Great War, it was very likely that one could find a baseball game. This is illustrated in this book about the soldiers and their love of the game.

 

The authors performed a great deal of research, including items such as newspaper articles, cards and photos of soldiers, or “doughboys” as they were called during World War I, playing baseball.  Box scores and stories from soldiers give the book not only an air of authenticity, but also a personal touch as well.

 

It didn’t matter where these soldiers were stationed.  There were games between units on training bases, on the fields in France and also in Germany. These games were often played for diversion from the horrors of war and also for the morale of the troops.  A nice touch by the authors was to include women in this book as there were teams made up of women as well, mostly from the nursing corps. One other noteworthy item is that there were many desegregated games played by these men and women, unlike the professional leagues back in the United States.

 

The writing and narration is crisp and easy to read, nicely complementing the pictures and other items noted earlier.  Any reader who wants to learn more about the baseball games that the doughboys played during the Great War will want to pick a copy of this book. It is an excellent addition to anyone interested in the connection between World War I and the national pastime.

 

I wish to thank Schiffer Publishing for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

 

Book Format Read:
E-book (PDF)

Buying Links:

https://www.amazon.com/Play-Ball-Doughboys-Baseball-during/dp/076435678X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1548867244&sr=1-1&keywords=Play+Ball%21+doughboys  

Review of "The Legion Team"

It is always a treat to find books about teams or players I never heard of, and this one about an amateur hockey team that played in Waterloo, Iowa in the 1920's was excellent.  While information about the team was difficult to find and piece together, the author (who also narrated the audio version) did a very good job of telling the story of this team that never had to play a road game.  Here is my review of "The Legion Team"

Title/Author:

"The Legion Team: Forgotten Hockey in Waterloo, 1927-1930” written and narrated by Tim Harwood

Tags:

Ice Hockey, amateur, history, audiobook

Publish date:

May 20, 2015 (print version published June 13, 2013)

Length:

143 pages

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (outstanding)

Review:

The city of Waterloo, Iowa is the home for the Waterloo Black Hawks, a junior hockey team playing in the United States Hockey League. While they are the only team currently playing in the city, they are not the first team.  There was an amateur team that played in the 1920’s sponsored by an American Legion post that captured the fancy of fans in Waterloo.  This book by Tim Harwood attempts to revive the memories of that team.

Because the players on those squads are no longer with us and details of the games and the teams are difficult to obtain, this book is a work of dedication for the author as he painstakingly brings the details of the team, its games and its home in a manner that is easy to read or listen to. The reader will not only learn about the team sponsored by the Becker-Chapman American Legion Post, but the book starts out by telling the story of the two men who died in World War I and whom the Post was named for.  Neither of them played hockey (both were football stars) but their stories set the stage for the beginning of hockey in Waterloo.

The club, sometimes referred to as the Hawks, was not a professional team nor was it affiliated with any other club or league.  Throughout its existence, it never traveled to another city for a game. Instead, teams from cites as far away as Chicago, St. Paul and Winnipeg came to Waterloo where they faced a club that won more games than it lost and would play in front of several thousand enthusiastic fans. The arena did not have the capability to make artificial ice, so the games were only played when it was cold enough to have natural ice inside. 

The book is a nice summary of the games played throughout the four year history of the Becker-Chapman team, with enough detail provided that a reader or listener will comprehend just how good the team was and the enthusiasm of the fans.  Some games are filled with details like specific goal scorers, statistics and attendance while a few are not covered in as great detail. It was all dependent on the newspaper accounts at that time since statistics were not kept and being an independent team, there were no league archives to research. 

The rules of the games for the team and in that era are also explained and some of them are quite different from today.  The team often carried only eight or nine players, so some of them played the entire sixty minutes.  Imagine a superstar player today like Sidney Crosby or Connor McDavid playing an entire game with no shifts.  The ice wasn’t always smooth – not only from the conditions of the arena and weather, but also because the rink was also used for public skating.

The end of the team’s run in Waterloo was due to economics. The Great Depression was in full swing and like so many other businesses, the American Legion had to cut back on expenses and one of them was hockey.  While the first two years produced a small profit, the fourth year resulted in a small financial loss and the Legion did not want to sink further in the hole with the team, so it folded.  When it did so, a chapter of Iowa hockey ended with it and this book does a great job of bringing that team back to life.  While a short book without a lot of depth on the team’s players, it nonetheless will inform the reader about that era of hockey and is recommended to be added to the library of any hockey fan.

Book Format Read:

Audiobook

 

Buying Links:

https://www.amazon.com/Legion-Team-Forgotten-Waterloo-1927-1930/dp/B00Y04QCEU/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Review of "Hoop"

While I normally don't share my lack of athletic ability here and instead read about those who do have wonderful skills, there was a time where I played a lot of basketball and I was able to at least compete at a good level.  For those like me who have ever played the game, this book will either bring back a lot of memories or at least explain why so many of us loved this sport.  Here is my review of "Hoop."

Title/Author:

“Hoop: A Basketball Life in Ninety-five Essays” by Brian Doyle

Tags:

Basketball, amateur, short stories, memoir

Publish date:

October 1, 2017

Length:

240 pages

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (outstanding)

Review:

Brian Doyle could be considered a hoops junkie. While he never played the game as a college or professional player, he has a deep and profound love for the sport. That is clearly evident in this wonderful book of 95 essays all dedicated to the game he loves.

The book covers a wide swath of topics related to the game.  Doyle writes about coaches in the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) leagues and his own days of playing CYO basketball.  He writes about drills like the weave. He, like many others, feels it is a waste of time – how often will a team actually run the weave during a game?  Answer: none.  Also mentioned is the drill every player dreads – suicide sprints (aka wind sprints).  For those who don’t know what they are, read about them in the book. For those who ever played the game and ran them, the dreaded memories will come back.

There is so much more covered about basketball.  The nets on the baskets, the type of court that one plays on, the shorts and sneakers worn, the best player he ever played against, the kid who knew he wouldn’t make the high school team, but played very well in the last practice before cuts – they are all covered in the book along with so many other aspects of the game.

Doyle’s writing on the game drew me in like how a shooter on a hot streak draws defenders.  The more I read, the more I wanted to keep going.  Just as that shooter should be fed the ball as often as possible (another topic of one of the essays) the reader should keep going on with this book until finished. 

Readers who have ever played the game, no matter the skill level or how long he or she laced ‘em up, will want to read this book for the memories and to gain a newfound love for the game itself.  For readers who have never played, but often wonder what draws people to the sport, these essays will tell that in a beautiful manner.

I wish to thank University of Georgia Press for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Book Format Read:

E-book (Kindle)

Buying Links:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hoop-brian-doyle/1126046955?ean=9780820351698

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0820351695/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0820351695&linkCode=as2&tag=netg01-20