Home Field: Writers Remember Baseball [Kindle Edition]

In an America groomed for instant only gratification, baseball is no longer the metaphor for life as it was for the generation just past. But if loyalty is still a big deal to you and the Zen of baseball is almost palpable, this little gem of a book is sure to fill the mythical mitt. Nine wonderful northwest writers herein tall tales of wonder and sorrow, each essay a memoir of the dreams both fulfilled and shattered by the epic that is baseball. If you have ever, just once, pondered the meaning of incomprehensible hand signals or envied the intimate companionship of teamwork, this
collection of essays will satisfy and inspire.

I really enjoyed this collection of essays about baseball. Baseball is clearly a sport that brings people together regardless of age, gender and athletic ability. This is the message of Play Ball. I do not understand every nuance about the game of baseball, but I believe that having a knowledge of the game is not a requirement in order to enjoy reading the book.

I love the essay by Sherman Alexie entitled "The Warriors". He grew up playing Little League baseball on an Indian reservation in the seventies. This is a funny story about Alexie's fascination of white women began. Some of his team mates on his baseball team happened to be white people. Sherman learns to embrace and love women of all cultures. This story left me with a positive feeling that made me want to continue reading this book.

There is an essay about softball by Holly Morris entitled "Smells Like Team Spirit". This is an essay about how the sport of softball brings a group of women together in the spirit of competition. The Smellies are not a talented group of softball players, but they play together for the love of the game.

The editor of this book is a writer named John Douglas Marshall. He includes a very moving memoir about how watching the game of baseball can help form a bond between fathers and sons. This is a very heartwarming essay and one of my favorites. He also includes biographical information about the literary achievements of the contributing authors. I want to read more work from each of these writers.

Lynda Barry lends her talents in an essay about a special baseball glove given to her father. This is a very moving story about trying to have a relationship with a family member with a drinking problem. Lynda Barry is also a talented cartoonist and writer. I am eager to read more of her work.

I love the spirit of camaraderie in the essay "God's Tourney" by Robert Leo Heilman. The love of baseball reunites team mates after forty years in the town of Roseburg in Oregon. I do not play sports, but this essay made me feel like a part of a baseball team.

Play Ball is an entertaining collection of essays about baseball. The essays are funny and moving. I enjoyed it very much.

True baseball fans love these stories,and you'll get exposure to some wonderful writers you might not have read before. Yes, they're focused on the northwest, but the stories ring true wherever you are.