Sometimes a book that I thought would be mostly about baseball (or another sport) may be more heavily into another topic. That was the case for this book and it was a very good one. Here is my review of “The Gas and Flame Men.”
Title/Author:
“The Gas and Flame Men: Baseball and the Chemical Warfare Service During World War I” by Jim Leake
Rating:
4 of 5 stars (very good)
Review:
When Germany started using poisonous gas as a weapon during World War I, the United States formed its own Chemical Warfare Service to not only counter this type of attack, but also to go on the offensive for this strategy. When the call was made for men to join this special unit, several well-known baseball players heeded the call. This book by Jim Leake is a very good work on both the military and baseball parts of this story.
There is certainly more written about the Chemical Warfare Service (CWS) than about baseball in the book. However, this doesn’t mean the game is ignored. There is good material on several well-known ballplayers who were part of the CWS - including two very famous Hall of Fame players, Christy Mathewson and Ty Cobb. Leake, through excellent research, finds quotes about how the players felt about serving their country with the “work or fight” orders of that war. There was some controversy about Mathewson’s willingness to fight, and Leake’s research shows that wasn’t the case. Cobb’s feelings about the possibility that he would not return to baseball after military service was also interesting.
However, the best work was about the CWS itself. Every aspect of the program was covered, from its inception to the recruiting of men with knowledge of chemistry and gasses to the training. One notable item was something that is hard to fathom today and that the soldiers were shipped overseas without any training in the program - that would be received while on the field. Interestingly, one soldier who would fell under this category was Cobb, but the Armistice Day treaty was signed before Cobb saw any combat. He was getting training but the war ended earlier than expected.
As all know, Cobb went on to more great seasons after returning home. However, as author Leake noted, this wasn’t the case for all. He does write about the tragic death of Mathewson soon after coming home, which was attributed to his exposure to gas during the war. Leake’s work on lesser known players like Eppa Ripley is just as good throughout the book as well. Readers who enjoy military literature or baseball books will want a copy of this book.
I wish to University of Nebraska Press for proving a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
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