Lacrosse: A History of the Game [Hardcover]

Donald M. Fisher (Author)

4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

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Product Details

Hardcover: 408 pages
Publisher: Hopkins Fulfillment Service; 1 edition (Mar 14 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0801869382
ISBN-13: 978-0801869389
Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 15.2 x 3.6 cm
Shipping Weight: 635 g

Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #825,437 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #30 in Books > Sports > Other Team Sports > Lacrosse

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Product Description

From Library Journal

Highlighting cultural and social developments, this volume offers a sweeping history of the game. Fisher (history, Niagara Cty. Community Coll.) traces the emergence of modern lacrosse in both Canada and the United States, pointing out that the sport's early Mohawk roots precluded early mass popularity. However, its appeal during the close of the 19th century, at institutions like Johns Hopkins University, enabled lacrosse to strike a chord with elite young men. Then, in the first half of the ensuing century, the American version of the game spread throughout the Northeast. Through the 1960s, lacrosse's devotees still lauded its amateurism while contending that the players harkened back to "noble savages." By the 1970s, the "old Indian game" became part of popular culture in America and elsewhere, and organizers increasingly argued that lacrosse required greater professionalization and financial support. The proliferation of "middle-class lacrosse" threatened "the elite aura" that had long characterized the sport. Fisher presents his story competently, if methodically. Another history might have dwelled more on tales about the sport's brightest stars, including the legendary Jim Brown. Still, this is a useful volume about a sport that has not received much coverage. Recommended for public libraries. R.C. Cottrell, California State Univ., Chico
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"This is the most complete history of the sport of lacrosse to date." -- —Ronald A. Smith, Pennsylvania State University, author of Play-by-Play: Radio, Television, and Big-Time College Sport

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Inside This Book (Learn More)

First Sentence
ON JUNE 4, 1763, a group of Ojibwa and Sauk Indians staged a stick-and-ball game outside Fort Michilimackinac, in what later became the state of Michigan, as part of a celebration of the English king's birthday. Read the first page

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Customer Reviews

5 Reviews

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Average Customer Review

4.0 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)

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1.0 out of 5 stars What was I thinking?, Sep 22 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Lacrosse: A History of the Game (Hardcover)

I love lacrosse and was thrilled as I perused this book the first time, but on a recent trip I re-read it and realized I needed to change my review. After a very thorough examination of the book, I came to realize that most of what the author says is merely repetition of the same points he makes in the first chapter. His book takes the view that modern lacrosse exploited native people, and this may be true in his area, but it is not true everywhere else. Lacrosse is played throughout England, Australia and ALL of Canada, not just in the few places Mr. Fisher describes. He fails to note the game's merits and paints it as little more than a muscle-headed goonfest in Canada and an elistist boys club in the Eastern US. I can't believe I missed it the first time around, but Mr. Fisher seems to almost dislike the game whose history he has set out to chronical. He is overly cerebral about a pastime whose greatest assets are merely the fun and camaraderie it involves. His perspective reminds me of the detached and cold hyperbole used by George Will in his book about baseball. Neither Will nor Fisher seem to have considered it important to play the game they describe. Given that Fisher's audience will chiefly be players, coaches and lovers of the game, this seems to me to be a huge error. This book reads like the university thesis it is. I can't believe I lugged it all over Europe!

Hands down one of the worst books I ever read. Save your money.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Quite simply, the definitive story of lacrosse, Feb 27 2003

Shilo Savant (Mission, BC, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lacrosse: A History of the Game (Hardcover)

This is a pithy book, and deserves to be read that way. It starts from the start and takes the game into modern times, looking at the cultural influences that created lacrosse, as well as its impact on us. Not an easy read, but not a slog either, it is a must-read for anyone who loves the game. Fisher goes beyond the more typical concept that lacrosse is a game with native origins, instead contemplating more recent influences too.

This is not a how-to, nor is it a study of the game's who's-who.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, Feb 11 2003

greg schultz (Tejas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lacrosse: A History of the Game (Hardcover)

A great work that provides a phenominal amount of historical content. A good book about a great game.

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