| Extra Innings: Writing on Baseball Contributor(s): Peterson, Richard (Author) |
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ISBN: 0252069609 ISBN-13: 9780252069604 Publisher: University of Illinois Press OUR PRICE: $14.36 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: April 2001 Annotation: Where is the truth about baseball to be found? In nostalgic stories of the timeless bond woven between fathers and sons on the ball field? Or in stinging exposes about manipulative owners, abusive coaches, and greedy players? Extra Innings tackles the question of how writing about baseball has shaped our understanding and misunderstanding of the national pastime. In a series of astute reflections on baseball histories, biographies, personal reminiscences, and fiction, Richard Peterson explores the shifting balance of romance and fact in standard baseball histories, offers a lively discussion of baseball fiction, and assesses the realism of postmodern baseball writing. He discusses the influence of Jackie Robinson on the serious baseball novel and the reluctance of baseball fiction to treat race issues realistically. He also surveys baseball fleeting appearances in the literary canon and suggests a "top nine" reading list for the baseball aficionado. Slicing away the myths and distortions of baseball's bizarre history, Extra Innings travels the course from the sport's rowdy early days to its contentious present. Somewhere between baseball as business and baseball as religion lies the truth of a game that remains, despite its tarnish, regenerative and redemptive. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Sports & Recreation | Baseball - Essays & Writings - Sports & Recreation | History |
| Dewey: 810.935 |
| LCCN: 00011381 |
| Series: Sport and Society |
| Physical Information: 0.59" H x 5.46" W x 8.23" (0.56 lbs) 192 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Where can we find the truth about baseball? In nostalgic stories of the timeless bond woven between fathers and sons on the field? Or in stinging exposés about manipulative owners, abusive coaches, and greedy players? In a series of astute reflections on baseball histories, biographies, personal reminiscences, and fiction, Richard Peterson explores how baseball writers have generated and challenged the narrative myths of the sport and its players. He looks at the shifting balance of romance and fact in standard baseball histories and offers a lively discussion of baseball fiction from the tall tales of W. P. Kinsella and Ring Lardner, to moral romances such as Bernard Malamud's The Natural. In addition, he discusses the influence of Jackie Robinson on the serious baseball novel and the reluctance of baseball fiction to engage race issues before offering a Top Nine reading list for the aficionado. |