Though the title may be misleading, Abrams's new book deals with economic issues almost as much as his past effort, The Money Pitch. He contends that baseball served as the primary unifier of an American society made up of distinct classes created by a host of factors associated with pre–WWII economics including immigration and expanding cities. While the majority of Abrams's prose is accessible, when faced with the burden of proof, his writing can turn academic, saturated with long quotations. And where is the World Series in all of this? Though the series was extremely competitive, Abrams's game recaps, presented using the era's lexicon, can't convey the excitement of the century-old series. Smartly, Abrams focuses the book's baseball sections on two subjects that baseball fans adore: nostalgia and statistics. The book's strength is the vignettes on stars like Pittsburgh's Honus Wagner, characters like pitcher Edward Doheny, who went "berserk" before the series started, and the antics of Boston fan "Nuf Ced" McGreevey and his Royal Rooters. Abrams has a strong case thanks to his broad and exhaustive research and he lets the statistics speak for themselves. For instance, Cy Young's 1903 season and astounding career numbers serve not only as a window into the national pastime at the turn of the century but also make for an intriguing contrast to today's game. Overall, Abrams's pitch is a strike for history buffs and diehard baseball fans, while for others it's more like a ball on the outside corner; just a bit out of reach. (Mar.)
Forecast:In time for the centenary of the first World Series, this book will catch the eye of many a fan, though it will vie for shelf space with three other similar books this season.
