- Hardcover: 354 pages
- Publisher: Bulldog Publishing (Jan 1 2010)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0970911718
- ISBN-13: 978-0970911711
- Product Dimensions: 24 x 16.2 x 3.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 816 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,319,894 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
This former Yankee pitcher, who wrote the sports tell-all template Ball Four, has a self-conscious voice that almost stifles this compelling story of Pittsfield, Mass., residents resisting a new stadium in order to renovate historic Wahconah Park instead. Bouton fancies himself both "pariah" and U.S. marshal, and writes one public official, "we have always tried to be respectful.... Go take a shower." But he accomplishes his goal of making the oldest minor league ballpark in America a metaphor for business interests run amok whatever the costs politically, environmentally and, yes, financially. When he points to former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani's nearly successful (yet minority-view) efforts to build new stadiums for the Mets and the Yankees despite a multibillion-dollar budget gap, Bouton is persuasive. But when Bouton declares his own motives are to "save an old ballpark, make some money, have fun," he is less so because he seems to delight in all the chicanery. Still, his commitment is beyond question; the book includes not only news accounts and e-mails, but even instant-messaging exchanges. At 354 pages,it's exhausting, but also heartfelt.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Bouton has been raising hell with the baseball establishment since 1970, when his landmark Ball Four revealed the frat-party side of the grand old game. Now he lines up against the economic lynchpin of pro sports: publicly funded stadiums. Pittsfield, Massachusetts, is the site of venerable Wahconah Park, home to various minor-league teams since 1892. Bouton and most of the area's citizenry feel the stadium should be repaired, updated, and preserved. The city government, however, along with various business interests, wants to build a new $18 million stadium--at taxpayer expense. This relatively small skirmish is portrayed by Bouton as a microcosm of the publicly funded sports facility battles that have been fought around the country. Typically, taxpayers foot the bill--under the pressure of team abandonment--so owners and players can get rich. Bouton, humor intact and sense of irony sharpened, chronicles the battle between the forces of fiscal responsibility and those who would build the new stadium (on a toxic waste dump). The good guys win this time, as the old ballpark is saved, at least temporarily, but Bouton paints a distinctly disturbing picture of corporate greed and taxpayer exploitation. Interestingly, Bouton's original publisher pulled out under pressure from pro-stadium business interests, leaving the author to publish his expose himself. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
You will pull your hair out,
By Alex (Bridgeport, WV United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Foul Ball (Hardcover)
This book is Erin Brockovich, the Insider, It's a Wonderful Life, A Civil Action, and Field of Dreams all rolled into one awesome book. I just read this in two days. It is both fantastic and infuriating. I am so mad I want to go up to Pittsfield and shoot some of these people. The situation faced by Bouton is so frustrating; yet this kind of behavior goes on every day all over America. The book is both inspiring and discouraging. It makes me want to go full bore for a similar cause; but it also reinforces what I already know: That it's almost impossible to change anything. But this book has an unknown (at the time of publishing) happy ending. Read the book and then check out Bouton's www.foulball.com for the latest news. Anyway, this is an absolute must read for ANY AMERICAN. You don't have to be a baseball fan, or even know what a bunt is to appreciate it.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Great Book,
By
This review is from: Foul Ball (Hardcover)
For years, I'd always intended (and still do intend) to read Bouton's classic baseball book, "Ball Four." But I hadn't even heard of his new book until I received it as a Christmas gift from my father. "Foul Ball" is not simply a great book for people who love baseball and what makes the game so wonderful (hint: it's not skyboxes or retractable roofs). It's one of those rare books that takes a relatively small story (small-town corruption and greed) and ends up revealing an awful lot about human nature (mostly bad, some good). Bouton's voice is very engaging--once you read the first few pages of the Intro, he's got you, and you're in it for the long haul. And the story is as compelling a drama as it is an unbelievable tale of the lengths some people will go to line their own pockets or grab a little bit of power--as well as the lengths the author and his partner will go to try to do the right thing.I was particulary interested to read Bouton's account (in the Epilogue) of how his original publisher, Public Affairs, jerked him around at the eleventh hour. As an editor and author who has worked in book publishing for the past 10 years, I was disgusted by the behavior of his editor and publisher, whose actions were inexcusable. I would highly recommend "Foul Ball" to anyone interested in baseball, the media (particulary local media in smaller markets), or the ways that big business can corrupt public affairs and discourse. It's a great read, and even though it sheds light on some dark and disturbing aspects of American society, you feel good knowing that there are people like Jim Bouton, and his friend and partner, out there fighting the good fight.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Book Earns Bouton His 1st CASEY Nomination,
By mike shannon (Cincinnati, Ohio) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Foul Ball (Hardcover)
If there was any doubt before, this book proves that the multi-talented Jim Bouton really can write. He is also a terrific researcher, reporter, entrepreneur, & tilter-of-windmills. This book is about a lot more than baseball, but it is clearly a CASEY Award calibre book nevertheless.
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