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Excellent, Fév 26 2004
Eight Men Out is both an excellent journalistic/historical account of the events surrounding the "Black Sox" scandal and a very good read. Asinof creates vivid and believable portraits of all of the protagonists while being careful to make clear when he's relating facts supporting by verifiable evidence and when he's offering reasonable but unverifiable inferences or conclusions. Far and away the best and most accessible accumulation of research into the scandal, and one of the better books you'll find anywhere focusing on sports history.
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CLASSIC, Janv. 18 2004
Par Un client
Easily one of the finest books on baseball history I have read. I saw the movie in the late 1980s and have always been fascinated by the motivations that would prompt the players to risk their careers. Although Asinof does not excuse the players he also puts a lot of blame on Charles Cominsky and other individuals -- not just the gamblers -- who either were aware that something strange was going on or tried to cover it up.
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The "Black Sox" Scandal Explained, Oct. 15 2003
This book tells the history of the 1919 World Series. Most prior accounts have been fragmentary. No one person knew all the factors; many of the participants never met each other or knew of their existence. Asinof wove together a multitude of threads from the newspapers of that time ('Preface'). Official documents had disappeared, and most participants died before talking. Survivors refused to talk, the gambling gangster world was still around. Sources chose to remain anonymous. Many of the incidents in this book represent a composite of sources. The Introduction says this scandal was not an isolated incident in an otherwise unblemished history of baseball. Comiskey cruelly exploited his peons (like others), but this did not excuse this betrayal of the fans. The April 1919 Federal court decision found Professional Baseball violated the Sherman Anti-Trust Act; this must have impressed the players that year. A later Supreme Court decision overturned this (I wonder what was paid for it?). Perhaps the real scandal of 1919 was that it revealed baseball was a business, not a sport.Baseball and betting were allied from the beginning, just like other sports (horse racing). Bribery and other tricks were used to fix the results (as in the 1876 pennant series). Baseball was the biggest entertainment business in 1917. When race tracks were shut down during wartime, gamblers and bookies switched to baseball. Gamblers would befriend baseball players with women and whiskey; they could control ball games as readily as horse races. Stories were hushed up for the good of the game. Bribing ball players was known, players had done this to win the pennant in 1917. The heavy betting on Cincinnati lowered the odds. Rumors spread about the fix. One set of gamblers wanted Chicago to lose, but another set wanted Cincinnati to lose (p.47)! There was a thin line separating effective play from a near miss that helped the other side (p.66). When the gamblers failed to make their payoff after the second game, the White Sox went on to win. (The gamblers had them coming and going.) The gamblers said the series must be ended in the 8th game (p.113). Some people suspected something bad had happened. A pile-up of civil cases followed: all the defendants lost money betting on the White Sox. Accepting bribes now left the players open to blackmail and extortion (p.145). 1920 was a bigger year for gate receipts. The American League President sought to use this scandal against Comiskey. There was hatred among the White Sox players (p.166). Pages 170-1 tell why you should never act without benefit of counsel when questioned by the authorities (p.177). Different newspapers reported Jackson't confession in different ways (p.189). "The Front Page"? The players would not have betrayed Comiskey unless there was a cause for bitterness. The great national pastime must reflect the society it lived in, the worship of "easy money". The Black Sox scandal wounded American pride and self-esteem, the image of nobility and humanity (p.197). While corruption was rampant in state and national legislatures, and show business, could baseball not be corrupt? Yet it foretold the 1920s, a decade of unprecedented crime, corruption, and immorality (p.198). Did America expect higher morals from ball players than from businessmen, or anyone else (p.243)? The ball players were charged with a conspiracy to defraud the public; but they only threw some ball games. The jury found them all not guilty; this kept Professional Baseball clean. The next day the new Baseball Commissioner announced that they would be banned for life (p.273). After you read this book you'll know why popular histories of baseball usually begin around 1921; the preceding 50 years is rarely mentioned.
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Eight Men Out - A Must Read, Sep 21 2003
I have owned this book for several years and read it a while back. I started reading it again, intent on just browsing through some of the highlights. Once I started, it was like reading it for the first time. The writing is so vivid and the story so engrossing that I found myself hoping that the players would not throw the games and later that they would all, especially Buck Weaver (I loved John Cusack in that role) get reinstated back in the game, even though I knew this could not happen.It seems that if Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis had the information that Eliot Asinof had, he would have let all the players back in the game. This is a book I will no doubt read again.
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Everything about the Black Sox and Then Some, Juil 18 2003
I vaguely knew about just what happened during the 1919 World Series, but after reading this I found that there was more to what happened than just eight players throwing the Series for money. Eliot Asinof does a marvelous job of gathering information on the events leading up to and following the 1919 World Series. He recounts how the scandal came about, through the five of seven games the White Sox lost, through the investigation and court proceedings, up to the lives of the eight banished players after baseball. Throughout the book I tried to figure out just who in fact was/were the scapegoat(s) -- Comiskey, the players, or the gamblers -- yet after finishing the book I realize that all are to blame. Though one could argue that Joe Jackson and Buck Weaver should have been reinstated, the fact is that both, even though they may not have participated, allowed the conspiracy to take place by not telling their manager "Kid" Gleason or Comiskey. Overall this was a great book and I highly recommend it to anyone who wishes to find out about the Black Sox.*There is a scene in the movie "Eight Men Out" where Eddie Cicotte is shown a baseball that would be used the next season. After watching the movie, I had a thought: during the late 1910s the book explains how baseball attendance was notably declining. To bring back the crowds, a different type of baseball was used beginning in the early 1920s--a ball woven tighter for the purposes of traveling farther when hit. (Cicotte noticed this when holding the ball.) This coincided with the launching of Babe Ruth as a baseball icon due to his home-run hitting abilities. As a result, he may have been single-handedly responsible for restoring interest in baseball. Baseball experienced another lull in attendance in late 1994 as the strike approached, and also early in 1995. What did baseball do to bring back the fans? Well, though some speculate that baseballs were juiced in the late 1990s, I can say this: Brady Anderson hit 50 home runs in 1996; he never had another season in his career where he hit more than 25.
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read it and weep, Jui 26 2003
Par Un client
a baseball classic. the type of book you want to pick up every few years and read again. the ring lardner scene is too good to be true. it brings to colorful life a whole different era of baseball, one we can scarcely imagine in a time when most players are incredibly overpaid.
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A Baseball Player who can Relate, Mars 5 2003
Eight Men Out
In the book eight men out, Eliot Asinof puts you right into the 1919 Chicago White Sox season. He goes through everything in and out, leaving out no details. The introduction gives a great feel on how the book will role. Asinof starts by giving a preview, like I said, and then goes on to explain the fix, series, exposure, trial, impact, and the aftermath.
The Chicago White Sox were a pennant winning team owed by Charles Comiskey, a penny pincher, hands on manger who always undercuts his players. The fixes started when the team won the pennant. Comiskey promised his team and players rewards of raises and big parties if they victorious. When the team followed there job and did not receive anything they became angry.
A few gamblers found out that Comiskey's boys were looking to make a money making scheme. The gamblers presented an offer to eight players to throw the 1919 World Series. Those eight players agreed and did what they were told, the Sox's loss the first game. But, when Cincinnati Reds won the first game the smell of a fix was in the air. The commissioner of baseball ended up performing a complete investigation. The players that were involved in the sandaled ended up getting got but avoided jail through the help of others. The only punishment that they received was that they could never play professional baseball ever again.
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Baseball History and Good Storytelling, Jui 24 2002
Eight Men Out is widely considered one of the better baseball books written. Having recently reread the book, I would concur with this assessment. Asinof's writing and storytelling are excellent, only to be outdone by the thoroughness of his research. Readers are drawn into the culture of 1919 America and the subculture that surrounded (and elevated) baseball in those times. The book offers readers a complete investigation and review of one of baseball's greatest scandals. However, rather than just report facts and findings, Asinof provides a complete and compelling narrative that encompasses all elements of the story. This includes perspectives from the gamblers and players, owners, fans and the baseball hierarchy. Meetings are described, conversations detailed and stories told in such a manner that one might think Asinof was present - not writing nearly fifty years later. The book allows the reader to better understand the prominence of baseball in the American psyche at the time, as well as the damage done to that psyche. This is best exemplified in the myth/legend that Shoeless Joe Jackson has grown into today. Eight Men Out is a must for all baseball fans, but also a thoroughly enjoyable story for any fan of history and Americana. Interestingly, in an era of baseball defined by steroid use and highly paid free agents, many fans often yearn for the older, glory days of the game. Asinof provides a clear and vivid look into some of those glory days. It's far from perfect and a lot darker than the historical blinders may have allowed us to realize. Certainly, the impact of this scandal is still with the game today.
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This is the Best Book I have ever read, Avril 17 2002
Maybe that is an exaggeration. Regardless, the work so effectively completes the picture of the 1919 world series scandal. The writing is clear and vivid. No background information about the scandal or baseball is necessary to enjoy this book. The novel expresses the historical portrait of post WWI and pre depression America, with unregulated gambling and little unionization. The use of media and press in sports and scandal of this trial beckons how media, sports, and scandals are related today. I hope everybody gets a chance to read at least one page, because you can't put it down afterwards.
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What gets five stars, Mars 17 2002
Eight Men Out is one of the two or three best baseball books ever written. It's a book I reread every five years or so. It's truly great. What I want to know, though, is this -- if you give Eight Men Out five stars, how many stars are you going to give King Lear?
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CDN$ 18.00 CDN$ 13.68
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Accueil Amazon
