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Field of Screams: The Dark Underside of America's National Pastime | 
 enlarge | Author: Richard Scheinin
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Category: Book
List Price: $30.00
Buy Used: $0.78
You Save: $29.22 (97%)
New (19) Used (23) Collectible (1) from $0.78
Avg. Customer Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 730330
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 404
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.7
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 7.2 x 1
ISBN: 0393311384
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.3570973
EAN: 9780393311389
ASIN: 0393311384
Publication Date: August 1, 1982
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Help save a tree. Buy all your used books from Green Earth Books. Read -> Recycle -> Reuse!
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
For those who have had it with the "Boys of Summer" playing "The Summer Game" on a "Field of Dreams," here is a blackly funny reality check--featuring a rogue's gallery of cheats, misers, sadists, racists, egomaniacs, substance abusers, gamblers, and criminals who have participated in America's favorite sport.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
 All the dirt you'll find on a pair of old cleats August 3, 2004
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
And what dirt it is! Yes, this book is a useful corrective for those who think of Baseball as something sweet like lemonade or mother's milk. Like stand-up comedy, baseball seems to attract humans who are closer to monsters than most regular people, so mixed in with the good guys is a wide variety of cheaters, losers, misanthropes, crooks and brats. Indeed, no matter what team you root for, you know in your heart they aren't all perfect gentlemen all the time.
Ty Cobb alone deserves a whole volume to himself. Of course for every bigot, etc., there's a Branch Rickey so the whole picture isn't as bleak as Scheinin paints it. Still, he's a talented writer with a knack for decoupage, and his cut-up stories amuse and provoke. Batter up!
A fast and entertaining read. December 11, 2002
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
"Field of Screams" was a fast read and a lot of laughs but make no mistake about it, the author wanted to and did show the underbelly of what once our national pastime. I enjoyed the book, however one must remember like most things in life there are two sides to a story and baseball is no different. As a lifetime fan of the game the book did not in any way taint my view of the game of baseball. I still think it's the greatest sport ever devised by man however humans are flawed and baseball is no different. For those of you that have an overly romantic view of the game perhaps you should stay away from the book. But if you are a realist and a baseball fan by all means get this book. It's very entertaining and I think will give you a different insight to a game that parallels the history of our country and the attitudes of our no so distant past.
Hilariously Demented Book That Suffers A Few Factual Errors May 28, 2000
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
When I first began reading this book, I was a little turned off by the author's style of writing. It was as if he wanted to say, "Nah nah nah nah boo boo," about everything he was relating to his readers. As I continued deeper into the book, though, his style grew on me and I really enjoyed reading it. The author does make a few mistakes in his reporting, though; for instance, Casey Stengel did not win eleven American League penants and eight World Series while managing the New York Yankees. Stengel won ten AL penants and seven World Series with the Bronx Bombers. This type of error hardly ruins the book, but it is especially irritating considering the author's know-it-all attitude. The main premise of the book is that baseball historians are too sentimental about the past, referring to different eras as the "golden age" while shamelessly glossing over the game's seedier moments. It would be hard to argue against this theory. For years sportwriters were well aware of Babe Ruth's excesses off the field, but refrained from reporting them to the public because journalists were not as cutthroat as they are now and they wanted to protect the game and Ruth's image as a legendary hero. Part of the game's long history involves events that weren't pretty, but nonetheless deserve their mentions in the history books as much as the great moments. It is both humorous and frightening to read about the animosity with which men like Ty Cobb, John McGraw, and Billy Martin operated. The constant feuds they caused are an important part of the game and shouldn't just be swept under the couch like they never happened. The strange thing about this book is that the author can't seem to decide whether he should celebrate the bad behavior of players past and present or condemn it. The next time he takes on such a lofty project, he should determine the attitude he is going to exude towards his subject matter, whether that attitude be good, bad, or indifferent. Such an approach would lend his book more consistency.
 SUBJECT MATTER NOT LIMITED TO BASEBALL March 23, 2000
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
The book is entertaining to read, but let's not think this subject matter is limited to the sport of baseball. Equally disgusting incidents could be dug up regarding other sports. Let's not be so naive to think the people who play baseball are somehow different than those who populate other sports. To me, a pitcher who throws beanballs is a coward. It is the batter's job to hit the ball, and the pitcher who feels he must drill a batter for doing that is a coward. You don't see a batter throwing a bat at the pitcher for striking him out. I also found a couple of mistakes. Ordinarily a spelling mistake would be minor, but the author spells the name of Walt Hreniak as Walt "Wreniak". He should know better. Of greater significance are the pictures of Ted Williams on pages 257 and 277. The same picture shows Williams appearing to be jumping up in a fit of anger. Page 259 states that this happened when "Ted Williams throws bat 75 feet into stands, where it hits Red Sox general manager Joe Cronin's housekeeper." While true, the author would like to have us believe it was intentional. Page 277 states that this same picture is one in which Williams spat at the fans. The pictures that shows Williams jumping with his arms in the air and cringing is the one in which the bat ACCIDENTALLY slipped out of his hands and landed in the stands. However, these identical pictures I referred to are NOT of him spitting nor intentionally throwing the bat in the stands as the author would have us believe. The picture is his reaction to fear of what is going to happen when the bat lands in the stands. Ted explained this picture in one of his own books. I found the book entertaining, but we certainly could find equally disgusting incidents in other sportrs, also. Finally, if the author was aware of the story behind the picture of Williams on the listed pages, and chose to embellish, shame on him. Otherwise, it is a mistake that could easily have been corrected with more research.
This is the "Married with Children" sitcom of baseball lit. August 1, 1999
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
Although he misses some obvious anecdotes. Did'nt Lou Gehrig travel with his mother on the Yankee road trips? That seems suspect in itself. He also missed the legendary Pete Jakusic of the 1945 St. Louis Browns. One day one armed outfielder Pete Gray asked him to help him tie his shoes. Jakusic replied "Tie your own shoes, you one armed SOB". This book is a cynics delight. Hopefully a second edition will one day be released. Albert Belle makes Ted Williams look like a gentlemen. A whole chapter could be written about that.
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