Rate this book

The Victory Season: The End Of World War II And The Birth Of Baseball's Golden Age (2013)

by Robert Weintraub(Favorite Author)

3.91 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0316205915 (ISBN13: 9780316205917)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Little, Brown and Company

review 1: I didn't really start following baseball until the late 1950's, so I am a little too young to remember most of the everyday players discussed in this book, although not too young to know the really famous players (and managers) who are a big part of this season, such as Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Country Slaughter, Leo Durocher, and Harry and Dixie Walker, to name the most famous ones. I enjoyed Weintraub's recount of the 1946 baseball season, including the International League where Jackie Robinson was playing for the Montreal Royals, on his way to join the Brooklyn Dodgers the following year. But for me, the mix of baseball with the happenings of a nation recently victorious in war, but still experiencing shortages associated with the wartime rationing, and beginning t... morehe shift away from train travel to air travel (including some, but not all, of the baseball teams) and undergoing tremendous, pent-up labor strife, was all fascinating. Mix that up with reports here and there about the Nuremberg trials, the occupation of Japan, the effects of black migration during the war, the books and movies popular in 1946, and you have the makings of a very interesting time in American history. Anyone who likes baseball and 20th Century American history will most likely enjoy reading this book.
review 2: Three things going on in this book. First, the author traces the military experiences of many pro baseball players that served in WW 2 and the first year of baseball after the war. Second, he follows Jackie Robinson's first year in the minor and major leagues. Lastly, he gives you start to finish coverage of the 1946 pennant race culminating in an epic series between the Red Sox and Cardinals. This book will make a baseball historical junkie's heart beat a little faster. For the audience this book is aimed at the book is 5 stars all the way but for some with a more casual interest in the sport it is interesting with a hint of overkill. less

Download links for: The Victory Season: The End of World War II and the Birth of Baseball's Golden Age

Advertising