Just finished a great book about the curse laid on the Boston Red Sox in 1918 when they traded one of the greatest players that ever lived. There's a story of a San Francisco Giants curse that was lifted recently which allowed them to win this year's World Series Championship.
Curse The Fan Who Rejects A Good Baseball Story, November 10, 2010
This review is from: The Curse of the Bambino (Paperback)
The book "The Curse of The Bambino" is a great read full of colorful stories about baseball and the men who promoted and played the game. Sure I come to the book after the Boston Red Sox have won two modern day World Series, but good stories cannot be erased by events that occur after the fact. In fact, I'd say the story of the Bambino Curse was put in a time-capsule the moment the Sox finally won it all in 2004. And who doesn't like opening up a time-capsule and peering into a time and place that once was? Based on many reviews of this book I'd say there is one group unwilling or unable to look back; Red Sox fans.
I think what author Dan Shaughnessy did with the Sox curse is give a reader the full unbiased story from beginning to end. As a baseball fan you'll enjoy reading not only about Babe Ruth and owner Harry Frazee, but the many many ball players and incidents that mysteriously kept the curse going for over 90 years. I do feel for those Red Sox fans who lived and died during the era of the curse, never seeing their beloved Sox win it all. I believe this book is a tribute to those fans as well as fans of all sports who know the heartbreak of being close to winning it all only to have it snatched away in the blink of a interception, a three pointer, a goal, a putt or a sure out ground ball mysteriously rolling between two Buckner legs. Sorry Sox fans, it couldn't be avoided.
Dan writes like few other sports writers reporting on baseball. He mixes the old with the new, the facts with the myths and the heroics with the heart breaks. He's a reporter who isn't afraid to give his take on why the unexpected in sports can so easily become the expected. He gives us also a glimpse into the ever growing history of baseball, even throwing in the Jackie Robinson story. I never knew that Robinson's first tryout in the majors was with the Boston Red Sox, did you?
I really enjoyed reading my 2000 Penguin Edition of "The Curse of The Bambino," which features a picture of Bill Buckner's blunder on the cover. I refused to put it down at a time when my San Francisco Giants were exorcising demons of their own on the way to a Giants World Series Championship, their first in San Francisco ever. It was a season full of torture as well as triumph and it had a sort of unexplainable redemptive spiritual essence to it. Call it a reverse of a curse if you will, it was amazing. Mesmerizing right through to the victory parade down San Francisco's Market Street.
If you love the game of baseball, you'll appreciate the incredible stories that come with it. The Curse of The Bambino is one of those incredible stories that must be chewed on like tobacco in order to savor the juices, even if those juices are known to be hazardous to your health.
Great Job Dan!
9-4-1-8
Curse The Fan Who Rejects A Good Baseball Story, November 10, 2010
This review is from: The Curse of the Bambino (Paperback)
The book "The Curse of The Bambino" is a great read full of colorful stories about baseball and the men who promoted and played the game. Sure I come to the book after the Boston Red Sox have won two modern day World Series, but good stories cannot be erased by events that occur after the fact. In fact, I'd say the story of the Bambino Curse was put in a time-capsule the moment the Sox finally won it all in 2004. And who doesn't like opening up a time-capsule and peering into a time and place that once was? Based on many reviews of this book I'd say there is one group unwilling or unable to look back; Red Sox fans.
I think what author Dan Shaughnessy did with the Sox curse is give a reader the full unbiased story from beginning to end. As a baseball fan you'll enjoy reading not only about Babe Ruth and owner Harry Frazee, but the many many ball players and incidents that mysteriously kept the curse going for over 90 years. I do feel for those Red Sox fans who lived and died during the era of the curse, never seeing their beloved Sox win it all. I believe this book is a tribute to those fans as well as fans of all sports who know the heartbreak of being close to winning it all only to have it snatched away in the blink of a interception, a three pointer, a goal, a putt or a sure out ground ball mysteriously rolling between two Buckner legs. Sorry Sox fans, it couldn't be avoided.
Dan writes like few other sports writers reporting on baseball. He mixes the old with the new, the facts with the myths and the heroics with the heart breaks. He's a reporter who isn't afraid to give his take on why the unexpected in sports can so easily become the expected. He gives us also a glimpse into the ever growing history of baseball, even throwing in the Jackie Robinson story. I never knew that Robinson's first tryout in the majors was with the Boston Red Sox, did you?
I really enjoyed reading my 2000 Penguin Edition of "The Curse of The Bambino," which features a picture of Bill Buckner's blunder on the cover. I refused to put it down at a time when my San Francisco Giants were exorcising demons of their own on the way to a Giants World Series Championship, their first in San Francisco ever. It was a season full of torture as well as triumph and it had a sort of unexplainable redemptive spiritual essence to it. Call it a reverse of a curse if you will, it was amazing. Mesmerizing right through to the victory parade down San Francisco's Market Street.
If you love the game of baseball, you'll appreciate the incredible stories that come with it. The Curse of The Bambino is one of those incredible stories that must be chewed on like tobacco in order to savor the juices, even if those juices are known to be hazardous to your health.
Great Job Dan!
9-4-1-8
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