Review of "Eighth Wonder of the World"

In order to have two reviews posted in one day, that means one of those books has to be pretty good to have me read it so quickly.  This book certainly qualifies as one, as I finished it today on my train rides to and from the ballpark today.  It was a page turner about the Houston Astrodome that covered anything you can think of about the iconic stadium. Here is my review of "Eighth Wonder of the World."

Title/Author:

“The Eighth Wonder of the World: The Life of Houston’s Iconic Astrodome” by Robert C. Trumpbour and Kenneth Womack

Tags:

Baseball, Football (American), Oilers, Astros, history, stadium, politics

Publish date:

September 1, 2016

Length:

272 pages

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (outstanding)

Review:

When the Houston Astrodome opened for its first baseball game in April 1965, it was so unlike any other sports stadium that was in use at the time.  How the iconic structure came into being and what it meant to the city of Houston and to sports stadiums is captured in this outstanding book by Robert Trumpbour and Kenneth Womack.

While the Astrodome was the home field for both baseball’s Houston Astros and football’s Houston Oilers, the book’s sports passages concentrate on baseball and the quirks it presented as a ballpark. The early flaws that are well-known such as the glare from the original roof and the death of the natural grass inside the dome are covered well in the book and how quickly the problems were addressed.

However, the best writing in the book is saved for the political maneuvering (both in government and in baseball) to get the Astrodome built. Trumpbour and Womack describe all the deals and pleading that Roy Hofheinz and others had to work in order to gain approval. The baseball politics to make sure that Houston would get a team to be a tenant in the Dome was just as intriguing as that was not a sure bet either.

No matter the topic covered, every aspect of the stadium’s history was chronicled and written in a such a manner that will make the reader want to learn more. Even topics such as the architecture of the stadium and the push for destruction of the currently empty mausoleum made for interesting reading.

Throughout the book, the two authors emphasize how the Astrodome not only made Houston a “big league” city, but they also noted that many of the innovations in the fans’ experience at a stadium, such as in-house restaurants, padded seating and a video scoreboard, are here today because of Hofheniz’s vision. The authors also made the same observation for items such as private boxes. Other teams and stadiums copied this because after all, as the authors stated, “luxury was not a patentable commodity.”

Any reader who wants to learn more about this state-of-the-art (for its time) stadium and its history and the current push to decide its fate should read this book. It covers the entire history of the “Eighth Wonder of the World” in one terrific 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:

http://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/product/Eighth-Wonder-of-the-World,677225.aspx

https://www.amazon.com/Eighth-Wonder-World-Houstons-Astrodome/dp/0803255454/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1473123397&sr=1-1&keywords=eighth+wonder+of+the+world

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-eighth-wonder-of-the-world-robert-c-trumpbour/1123666070?ean=9780803255456

Final post of 2015 - Ballparks Yesterday and Today

It's hard to believe another year is about to end. There have been many good sports books published in 2015 and it was nice to be able to enjoy several of them. This one had a second edition published in 2015 and I received it as a gift from a family member who knows how much I love baseball. It is one that I would recommend to every baseball fan. Here is my review of "Ballparks: Yesterday and Today."

Wishing all a very happy and prosperous 2016. No matter if your team wins or loses, enjoy the games during the year and keep reading about them as well. 

Title/Author:

“Ballparks: Yesterday & Today” by Phil Trexler and Marty Strasen

Tags:

Baseball, professional, stadium

Publish date:

April 1, 2015 (second edition – originally published 2011)

Length:

160 pages

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

Every baseball fan has special memories at a favorite ballpark. Whether it was enjoying a Fenway Frank with Dad at a Red Sox game, admiring the ivy that covers the outfield wall at Wrigley Field or watching a baseball disappear in the upper deck at Tiger Stadium, the stadium holds as much nostalgia as the game itself for many.

That makes this book that contains pictures and stories of over 65 ballparks very special. No matter the era or how long the stadium was used for a Major League baseball team, it is included in the collection of ballparks that this book encompasses. Each chapter covers an era of ballparks: The Early Ballparks (1870-1900), the Golden Age (1901-1932), Early Expansion (1933-1966), The Modern Age (1966-1988) and the Second Golden Age (1989-present).

Interesting facts are included in the short story of most of the parks and pictures of not only the parks themselves but also artifacts such as pennants, uniforms (both players and employees), and ticket stubs. For example, my favorite of these was one of a $1.50 grandstand seat for game 5 of the 1917 World Series between the White Sox and Giants.

There are anecdotes about the “cookie cutter” parks of the 1970’s, the new age parks that have been popular the last 25 years and the wooden parks of yesteryear.  It is a book that is to picked up and looked at time and time again instead of being read like a story. That is because there are many stories for baseball fans to enjoy about each park.

This latest edition was updated to include the two newest parks: Target Field in Minneapolis and Marlins Park in Miami. No matter the age of the stadium, any baseball fan will be able to find his or her favorite one in this book and capture the wonderful memories that one can have only at a ball game.  It is a coffee table book highly recommended for all baseball fans.

Book Format Read

Hardcover

Buying links:

https://pilbooks.com/product/ballparks-yesterday-today/  

http://www.amazon.com/Ballparks-Yesterday-Today-Phil-Trexler/dp/145081087X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1451528426&sr=1-1&keywords=ballparks+yesterday+and+today

Review of "A Nice Little Place on the North Side"

There are two ball parks which are on nearly every baseball fan's bucket list - Fenway Park and Wrigley Field.  Fenway Park just had its 100 year anniversary in 2012, this year it will be Wrigley's turn and to honor the occasion, award winning author George F. Will, a lifetime Cubs fan, wrote an outstanding book on the park and Cubs history.  Here is my review of that book.

Title/Author:

“A Nice Little Place on the North Side” by George F. Will

Tags:

Baseball, Cubs, history, stadium

Published:

March 25. 2014

Length:

160 pages

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (Outstanding)

Review:

Wrigley Field, the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs, will turn 100 in 2014.  Well known columnist, author and die-hard Cubs fan George F. Will wrote this book as a tribute to the park which has become a shrine, a museum, or a place where good baseball goes to die, depending on your viewpoint.

Will pieces together many stories and facts about the Cubs and various people involved with the team into an entertaining, easy read. He describes the ballpark as a frame which Cubs games are played within. The writing is eloquent but flowing and easy to read, a staple of Will. There is even some sidebar information that ties in with Wrigley Field history. One that was particularly interesting and funny at the same time was a story about how humans have always had a hankering for beer, sometimes even believing that it was more healthy than drinking water.  Why would this be included in this book?  Will refers to a study that concluded that even more than the won-loss record of the Cubs, the price of beer at Wrigley Field affected attendance at Cubs games. It concluded that the attendance was four times more sensitive to beer prices than the baseball team’s performance. That snippet had me laughing and shaking my head.

Speaking of laughing, there are plenty of humorous moments in this book.  Many of them are jabs at various entities.   While they are not harsh insults or demeaning, they do make a point.  Again, this is similar to Will’s other writing, whether other books or his column.  Here are two of my favorite examples of humor in the book.  When describing the lack of piped-in music at Wrigley Field other than the organist’s rendition, he compares it to an NBA game, stating that “The NBA experience – strobe lights, lasers, smoke and cacophonous music – is like being held prisoner in a Wurlitzer jukebox.”    Later in the book, when Will is writing about the Tribune Company, which also owned television superstation WGN, he believed the Cubs were “attractive for this purpose (televised on WGN), particularly because television has never been fastidious about filling time with excellence.”

Some of the characters he writes about during the history of the ballpark include a tale of a program vendor who would drop a program into the hands or lap of an unsuspecting fan and then demand payment for the publication.  This vendor was named Jacob Rubenstein, who later changed his name to Jack Ruby – yes, THAT Jack Ruby.  

Ernie Banks is the subject of another well researched story that is important to the history of Wrigley Field.  After all, what would a book about Wrigley Field be without mentioning Mr. Cub?  I found this snippet in the passage about Banks the perfect way to illustrate Will’s writing throughout the book.  “Banks embodies the post-1945 franchise, for two reasons.  First, his disposition, win or lose – and it was mostly lose – was as sunny as the ballpark in which he never performed at night.  Second, his play demonstrated that even in a team game, a player can achieve greatness with precious little support from his teammates.”  

Overall, I felt that this was an outstanding book for its ease of reading, its humor, its research and for the baseball history.   Any baseball will love this book, and at 160 pages, it will be a quick read, but one that will linger in the reader’s memory.

I wish to thank NetGalley for providing an advance review copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Did I skim?

No. 

Pace of the book: 

Excellent.  After the first two chapters, which I started while finishing another book, I flew through the rest of the book.  With short, entertaining stories, enough stats and baseball history to make hard core fans like me happy and enough wit throughout the book, it was a very fast read.

Do I recommend? 

Yes, enthusiastically.   Any baseball fan or Chicagoan, whether a native or transplant, will like this book on a ballpark that is treated like a museum and has a rich history.

Book Format Read:

E-Book (Kindle)

Buying Links:

http://www.amazon.com/Nice-Little-Place-North-Side-ebook/dp/B00FIN0UT0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390150946&sr=8-1&keywords=a+nice+little+place+on+the+north+side

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-nice-little-place-on-the-north-side-george-will/1115696830?ean=9780385349321