Review of "The Summer of Beer and Whiskey"

With a title like this, what baseball fan WOULDN'T want to check out this book?  It's available at a good price, whether print, e-book or audio or at the library.  However, don't let the title fool you - yes, those beverages are part of the story, but it isn't as wild as you would think.

Title: "The Summer of Beer and Whiskey: How Brewers, Barkeeps, Rowdies, Immigrants and a Wild Pennant Fight Made Baseball America's Game" by Edward Achorn, narrated by Ax Norman

Rating: 4 of 5 stars (Very Good)

Review:

Baseball pennant races always are exciting. no matter the league or the year. In 1883, there was an exciting finish to the end of the American Association's season and this season is captured in this well-researched book by Edward Achorn. The title will draw in readers and it sounds like it was a very wild time in the game. While it was true that many of the players were hard drinkers and were "rewarded" with adult beverages, the bulk of the book deals with the business of the game, such as it was in the 19th century, as well as the play on the field. The American Association was considered a major league at the time and both Achorn and narrator Ax Norman, who does a good job on the narration, are careful to treat it as such. The best work in the book is about Moses Fleetwood Walker. a Black catcher who was the first Black player to be in a game considered Major League. (Jackie Robinson would be the first in Organized Baseball, as we know MLB today) Achorn's account of Walker's treatment and how he handles it is well written and well spoken by Norman. This is a good account of the 1883 pennant race and will bring the reader back to that time in the game complete with the booze, the gamblers, the train transportation and even happy fans of the Philadelphia Athletics cheering their champions at the platform. Recommended for readers who enjoy books on baseball of that era. Link: Amazon.com: The Summer of Beer and Whiskey: 9781610393775: Achorn, Edward: Books