Review of "The Fenway Effect"

This is an upcoming book by a well-known MSNBC reporter about the cultural influence of the Boston Red Sox and even though I knew that the Red Sox were beloved by many, I didn't realize just how many connections in non-baseball areas the team had.  I learned a lot and enjoyed the book as well. 

 

Title/Author:

“The Fenway Effect: A Cultural History of the Boston Red Sox” by David Krell

Rating: 

4 ½ of 5 stars (Very Good)

Review:  The Boston Red Sox have a special place in the hearts of many New Englanders.  Even those who don’t follow baseball closely seem to have their emotions tied together with the ups and downs of the area’s baseball team. This book by David Krell explores some of those connections and why the Red Sox are an important part of the fabric of Boston.

The book explores many different aspects of this grip that the team has on the culture of the area.  Not only are the important baseball games covered (Game Six of the 1975 World Series, Game Six of the 1986 World Series, the “Boston Strong” game after the Boston Marathon bombing where David Ortiz gave his famous speech) but connections in the community and in other forms of entertainment are discussed as well.  For the latter, examples of this is the television show “Cheers” and it’s main character Sam Malone who was a pitcher for the Red Sox before opening his bar and “Fever Pitch”, the romantic comedy with Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon, who plays a die-hard Red Sox fan.

Something that is worth noting is that topics that originated from a source other than the Red Sox are also included and proper credit, when due, is given. The best example is one of my favorite topics in the book, the Jimmy Fund. For those who don’t know about it, it is a very popular fundraiser for research into children’s cancer.  It was inspired by a child cancer patient in 1948 and the “Jimmy” name is fictional, although the real name of the child is later revealed. But while this charity is well-connected with the Red Sox and legendary Red Sox player Ted Williams often visited patients without publicity, this was not originally a Red Sox staple.  “Jimmy” expressed a desire to see his favorite baseball player, Billy Southworth.  At the time, he was the manager of the Boston Braves, so the Jimmy Fund was started by the Braves.  There are other connections to the Braves and plenty of mentions of the other professional sports teams in Boston.

The fan experience should also be included in this book and it covers many different areas of the region and various ages.  This was my only disappointment with the book, although not because they were included.  Indeed, this book would be incomplete without hearing from people on why the Red Sox are so important.  But reading them in one chapter as they were organized felt like they were staring to sound the same.  Of course, they were not – and for other Red Sox fans, this might resonate more greatly, but for me, they just started to feel like the same story but told in different ways.

That doesn’t take away anything from the book as it is one that I thoroughly enjoyed and it is complete for everything from the Red Sox ballpark before Fenway Park (Huntington Avenue Grounds) to the iconic Citgo sign seen over the Green Monster, this book is one that any baseball fan who understands what the Red Sox mean to the New England region will want to read.

I wish to thank University of Nebraska Press for providing a review copy. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.

Link: The Fenway Effect: A Cultural History of the Boston Red Sox: Krell, David: 9781496232335: Amazon.com: Books

 

Review of "Canyon Dreams"

One sure sign of changing seasons is the change in my reading.  With autumn nearly here, my reading is changing to winter games.  This book on one of those sports, basketball, is an excellent account of not only a high school team, but also a fascinating look at native American culture.  Here is my review of "Canyon Dreams"

Title/Author:

“Canyon Dreams: A Basketball Season on the Navajo Nation” by Michael Powell

Tags:

Basketball, high school, culture, race

Publish date:

November 19, 2019

Length:

272 pages

Rating: to

5 of 5 stars (outstanding)

Review:

On a native American reservation in northern Arizona, there is a small patch of land where Chinle High School sits. However, nearly everyone on the 17.5 million acre reservation knows about the school because of its basketball team. At the school and the surrounding community, the game and the team are a passion.  The love of the game has been passed down for generations. Journalist Michael Powell follows the team for one season and his observations are the basis for this excellent book.

Basketball is only a part of the story. Powell intertwines stories from many different Navajo people – young and old, male and female, players and spectators, even the coach himself – in order to illustrate much about life on the reservation for everyone as well as the excellent basketball played at the school and on the playgrounds where it is known as “rez ball.”

The reader will learn about the hardships endured, the traditions and respect for nature embedded in Navajo culture and oh, yes, how important the basketball games are for everyone, not just the players.  The perspectives of the players are also interesting lessons in the conflicts they face – do they work on their games in the hope of gaining a college scholarship?  By doing so, they will have to live life outside of the reservation, something many of them have never experienced, but on the other hand, many see no hope for improvement in their lives if they stay.

Powell writes with equal excellence about basketball and native American culture, both the beautiful and the ugly. I found this mixture an excellent narrative about the entire culture fascinating and when the Wildcats kept winning and kept advancing, I couldn’t help but cheer them on as hard as I would for my favorite college or professional teams. Any reader interested in native American culture as well as basketball should add this one to their library.

I wish to thank Blue Rider 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.amazon.com/Canyon-Dreams-Basketball-Season-Navajo/dp/0525534660/ref=tmm_hrd_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=

Reveiw of "Sports Talk"

When you use a phrase you know is sports-related in everyday conversation, do you ever wonder how it got started?  This book is probably the best source for that type of information as it contains many different phrases from many sports.  Here is my review of "Sports Talk", another book that qualifies for the Blogger Shame challenge as the author sent it to me many months ago.  File this one under "better late than never."

Title/Author:

“Sports Talk” by Colin McNairn

Tags:

Sports, language, culture

Publish date:

February 6, 2017

Length:

282 pages

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (outstanding)

Review:

If someone tries to count all the various idioms and phrases in everyday language that have their origins tied to sports, he or she would have a huge task. Instead of simply counting them, lawyer and author Colin McNairn went one step further and collected 650 of the most popular of these phrases and writes about them with plenty of humor, anecdotes and trivia mixed in. 

The book is organized by sport – each chapter will describe phrases used from each sport that are widely (or even not-so-widely) used in business, politics or regular conversation.  The list is far too extensive to write here, but not to worry – the index of the book not only has an alphabetical listing of subjects, but there is also an alphabetical list of each phrase mentioned in the book.

The sports where these phrases originate vary widely as well, from archery to baseball to Australian Rules football.   As one might imagine, the “ball” sports in North America are the origin for most of the phrases, but a few other sports also have their fair share of idioms used every day, especially horse racing.

The author does mention that the phrases documented in the book are used in English-speaking areas such as North America (mainly Canada and the United States), the United Kingdom and Australia.  The book is one that flows well and the reader will finish it rather easily in one sitting.  Describing any particular phrase in this review would not do the book justice as the book does an excellent job at explaining each phrase used.  A reader does not have to be a sports fan in order to enjoy this book.  If one is either a sports fan or one who is intrigued by language, it is one that should be read by that person.

I wish to thank Mr. McNairn for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Book Format Read:

E-book (Kindle)

Buying Links:

https://www.amazon.com/Sports-Talk-Penetrated-Everyday-Language-ebook/dp/B06W5FWR6F/ref=mt_kindle?_encoding=UTF8&me=

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sports-talk-colin-mcnairn/1125808715?ean=9781525501531