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BOOK REVIEWS |
by
Susan Richards
Dynasty: The Inside
Story Of How The Red Sox Became A Baseball Powerhouse
By Tony Massarotti
Review by Susan Richards—March 25, 2008. Question: What could be better than reading a book about the 2004 World Champion Red Sox? (And I confess to reading as many as I could get my hands on) Answer: A book that combines both the 2004 and 2007 World Champion Red Sox with the added bonus of the inside scoop of the years leading up to the 2004 Sox breakthrough year, not to mention all the behind the scenes action (both public and not so public) in the years between ’04 and 07.
Massarotti, whose most recent book was the entertaining “Big Papi; My Story of Big Dreams and Big Hits” a collaborative effort with David Ortiz himself (and also reviewed in FenwayNation.com) has written a book that is very satisfying - revisiting the stories that many are already very familiar with (let’s face it, who can get tired of hearing about the already legendary Dave Roberts stolen base?) to the not so familiar ( just one example – the haunting story behind the rise and demise of Dan Duquette).
Once you have gotten a chapter or two into this book, it’s difficult to put down (I actually read almost the entire book in one weekend sitting) – With chapters that start with: “On one of the most significant and symbolic days in the history of the storied Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park had the chaotic feel of a train station during the busiest time of the year” you are quickly drawn into the public and private lives of a group of characters only baseball could invent – Manny, Nomar, Millar, Papi, Theo, Pedro, Damon, Dustin, Everett, Mo, Duquette, Tito, Lucchino, Henry, Orlando, Roger, Curt, to name just a few who are lovingly and not so lovingly detailed in ‘Dynasty” - along with all the anecdotes that only characters like these could create.
What cements this book’s appeal is - that along with the great story of the Red Sox (and the “dynasty” they have grown into) there is an obvious and sincere affection Massarotti has for baseball in general, and for the Red Sox more specifically. Many of these characters aren’t always pretty – far from it – but the author presents an honest, empathetic and often humorous picture that is hard to resist.
Best Boston Sports Arguments by Jim Caple, Steve Buckley
Review by Susan Richards
This is an enjoyable read. Firstly, I have to admit I’ve had this book since the winter. I think it’s taken me so long to finish because I’ve actually found myself rereading and then discussing quite a few of the book’s questions with my husband and even my die-hard Boston fan friends and coworkers. These are indeed controversial and debatable questions but ultimately I have found myself for the most part, in agreement or at least near agreement with most of the authors’ conclusions. Some of the questions posed are pleasantly predictable ones - “Should Boston Replace Ancient Fenway Park?” , “Who Was Better, Ted or Dimaggio?” “What Was the Greatest Football Play in Boston History?” , “What Was Bobby Orr’s Greatest Goal?” “Do the Celtics Have Too Many Retired Numbers?” However, some of the answers reached by the authors to these questions may come as a surprise to readers - I know they did to me. At the other end of the spectrum are the not so predictable questions and the intriguing answers the authors supply to questions like: “Was it the Curse -- or Bigotry--That Kept the Red Sox from Overtaking the Yankees?” or “Does Nancy Kerrigan Owe Tonya Harding a Thank You?” or “ Who Was The Most Overrated Closer in Red Sox History?” and finally the weirdest question; “Who’s Had a Better Career, Ben Affleck or Lou Merloni?” Again, the answers that Caple and Buckley come up with for questions like these are entertaining, humorous, and definitely thought and discussion - provoking. For those of you who are perhaps looking for a bit of a temporary escape from the worries of the 2007 Sox season (and let’s face it, the Sox would have to be about 30 games ahead of “They Who Shall Not Be Named” for us fans to even start to think about relaxing), this is a perfect book - whether you agree with the author’s answers to these stimulating 100 questions or not!
Is This A Great Game, Or What? by Tim Kurkjian
Review by Susan Richards
Summer is here and the baseball books are flying out of the publishers like the homers that are starting to rip now that warmer weather is finally here. I love reading about baseball just about as much as I do watching it - in fact depending on what the Sox are doing in any particular game, I like it more. At any rate, the diminutive ESPN sports commentator & analyst, Tim Kurkjian, has written an extremely readable book about his 25 years writing and talking about baseball. His love for the game shines through on every page and is the major reason why this book is so enjoyable to read. Kurkjian starts his book with an introduction that describes his graduation from Walter Johnson High School (named after “the greatest pitcher in baseball history”) where he had written for the school newspaper; “The Pitch”. He continues with the chapter “My Mom Was My Catcher” where he fesses up to the fact that he has cut out every box score from every game for the last seventeen years even though, as his wife has told him, “You can get all that on the Internet”. It’s hard to resist reading a book with chapter titles like: “Phil Niekro’s Teeth”, “My Face Was Crushed by a Bowling Ball Going 90 MPH” and “I’m Old, I’m Fat, I’m Bald, I’m Ugly, I Have a Plate in My Head” Yes, this last chapter title is a quote straight from the Gerbil’s mouth and he actually said it directly to Kurkjian - this chapter describes the stressful job of a baseball manager which Kurkjian sums up by stating: “ It is not Wilford Brimley sitting on the bench, arms crossed, spitting tobacco and waiting for Roy Hobbs to arrive in The Natural”. Other chapters describe Kurkjian’s experiences with scouts, baseball stats guys, little league baseball, spring training, baseball administration, his ESPN cohorts (this chapter alone is worth the price of the book - the inside stories and private jokes he shares are priceless! ) and finally a chapter called; “Why Can’t There Be a Left-handed Catcher?” where Kurkjian lists the 25 things about baseball that “bother me, confuse me, intrigue me and make me wonder, and make others wonder why I don’t get a hobby.” I for one, am glad that Tim Kurkjian continues to “wonder” about baseball and that he has finally chosen to write a book about it. I wholeheartedly agree with Dan Shaughnessy when he said in his review: “Is this a great book, or what?....I can’t wait for volume two.”
The Curse of Carl Mays
By Howard Camerik
Book Review by Susan Richards—I’m a sucker for a good ‘time-travel’ book and when it’s combined with baseball— well.... you’ve definitely got my attention. Baseball lends itself particularly well to time travel— a game that has no time parameters and is composed of endless “what if” moments: like an out at first by half a step instead of a winning run batted in; a third strike instead of a walk-off home run— that list is endless. One of a Red Sox fan’s biggest “what-ifs” resides in Game Six of the ‘86 World Series and this is one of the main (but surely not only) plot lines of this intriguing novel.
The book starts at 12:23am October 26th, 1986— it’s game
six of the World Series at Shea Stadium. We are in Bill Buckner’s head
as he ruminates from first base on “this Red Sox thing” and hobbles
over to the pitcher’s mound to try to settle down the young reliever,
Cal Schiraldi. This game is the anchor for the book as we are flashed back
and forth between it and a game in 1920. Within the flashbacks are numerous
stops involving real-life characters like Bill Buckner, along with the seemingly
unrelated persona of Cleveland Indian shortstop Ray Chapman. Chapman is at
bat at the Polo Grounds and being pitched to by Yankee (and former Red Sox)
pitcher Carl Mays. Here it’s August 16th, 1920, the day that Ray Chapman
was hit in the head by a Carl Mays pitch— a pitch that left Chapman
dead within hours.
The rest of the book follows its main character Pat McCarvill who was born
in South Boston on the anniversary of Ray Chapman’s death.
Depending on what version of the timeline we’re dealing with, McCarvill is the mayor of Boston, a professional baseball player, an upstanding family man, or carousing ladies man. When we also get a chance to check in on the life of New Yorker Rusty May, grandson of Carl, the true quirkiness of time travel hits home, quite literally, as the paramedic Rusty has a chance to change his own life as well as his grandfather’s. This actually impacts the course of world events and, ultimately, the final outcome of Game Six on that fateful October night in 1986.
I loved this book with it’s fascinating mix of fact and fiction, not to mention it’s real-life characters ranging from Tris Speaker and Ty Cobb to Carlton Fisk and Bill Lee. “The Curse of Carl Mays” is a “5-Star” escape into the miraculous world of “what if” and a real-life lesson on how one simple act in time can forever alter what we thought of as destiny.
1/2
Feeding the Monster; How Money, Smarts,
and Nerve Took a Team to the Top
by Seth Mnookin
Book Review by Susan Richards—When I first heard about this book, I have to admit to being very intrigued with the idea of the author, Seth Mnookin, being given so much access to the inner workings of the Red Sox organization. When he proposed his book to John Henry he reveals, “The book I wanted to write was not an official or sanctioned history of the team, and I wasn’t willing to grant John (or the team) any editorial control over the final product” Mnookin states that Henry almost immediately agreed and thus he was granted unprecedented access to all levels of the organization, from the players and coaching staff to Lucchino, Werner and even Henry himself. The result of this access is a fascinating look at the period of time from the sale of the Sox in 2001 to the 2005 bombshell resignation of Theo Epstein and his subsequent return a few months later. Although I have read nearly a dozen books on this period in Sox history, there were definitely new and juicy revelations here.
Some of the most riveting details revolve around the relationships between Henry, Werner, and especially Epstein and Lucchino, whose tempestuous relationship in and out of the media as they battle through a series of misunderstandings, miscommunications and worse, is rather graphically delved into throughout the book. Mnookin also enjoys dispelling many of the myths that are so pervasive throughout Red Sox Nation, starting with the Harry Frazee story and the selling of Babe Ruth to fund his Broadway musical “No No Nanette” (untrue by the way ) to the mythical persona of Tom Yawkey— not so much the reported “gentlemanly sporting owner”, but in reality an alcoholic, racist bully.
Players are not left out of the mix here as the usual suspects are paraded forth for review — from the rise and fall of Kevin Millar to the “Manny Sagas: Part I and II”; from the re-signing of Big Papi to the loss of Johnny Damon. More illuminating and sometimes disturbing details are exposed for better: Papi is really just as lovable as we think he is; and for worse: most players couldn’t wait for Millar to get ousted. The epic struggles to figure out the more complex player personalities (Pedro and Nomar top this list),are also addressed and some rather remarkable insights are set forth, demonstrating just how the winding journey to the inevitable trading of both Sox icons was made.
I found this book immensely readable — a winning combination of a, by now, very familiar story, with some exciting new information colorfully presented by Mr. Mnookin. For those who think they know everything about the recent history of the Red Sox, this book will surprise as well as entertain you.
Watching Baseball by Jerry Remy
by Ernie Paicopolos, Editor-In-Chief
June 22, 2006. Full disclosure upfront: Jerry Remy was my manager at the 1992 Red Sox Fantasy Camp in beautiful downtown Winter Haven, Florida (the final year of the Sox stay there). So, I am just a little biased about the RemDawg's baseball acumen. Suffice it to say that he imparted more wisdom to a 40-year old wannabe left-handed first baseman than I got from all previous coaches combined from Little League through Babe Ruth. The guy knows his stuff.
This truism is on ample display in Remy's new book, "Watching Baseball". One of the great things about listening to Remy's analysis on NESN is his common sense approach to the game. He doesn't pretend that baseball is rocket science. It's a simple game, and, with the proper guidance from someone like Jerry, it's simple to comprehend. The book is a straightforward, yet comprehensive primer on how to appreciate every aspect of the game. You will know on what count to anticipate a hit-and-run, you'll track the subtle pitch-to-pitch movement of position players, and you will generally be a better baseball consumer.
In addition to all of this knowledge, you also get to revel in Jerry's hand-picked all-star squad, and get deep into the analysis of every key moment of the 2004 magic carpet ride. "Watching Baseball" is a joy for the baseball novice and the baseball aficionado. Get it and be a smarter fan. Five Stars!
Soon To Be Reviewed By FenwayNation
Other Books Reviewed By FenwayNation
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