When Boston Won the World Series: 02/24/09
Bob Ryan's fascinating history of the first World Series (in it's modern form) happened to be published the year that Boston would finally break their cursed streak and win the World Series. His book came out about six months before that historic and fun to watch win. The book covers the events that lead to the creation of the World Series.

Way back then, the team wasn't called the Red Sox. They were just the Boston team for the American League. The book though isn't about the team beyond them being the winning team and for the author being a writer for the Boston Globe. Mostly it's about the game, the business and the fans.

As Caveman points out in his well written and funny review the book has some typos but it's still an interesting and good bedtime read. I also read it a chapter or two before bed over the course of about a week. What the book mostly shows is how little baseball has changed. Fans are still fans, business is still business and sports writers are still sports writers. For a better baseball themed rundown on the book, go check out Caveman's list.

What made this book stand out for me were all the photographs and newspaper clippings included along with Ryan's analysis of events. I think I spent as much time enjoying looking at the pictures and reading the old articles as I did with reading the book. As with almost any sports book it helps to have a basic understanding of the game. If you like baseball you will probably like this book.

books | nonfiction | Bob Ryan | 2004

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