Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 Gutman sneaks history past haters of history June 27, 2007
My 14-year-old son is a hater of history, and of reading for that matter. Typical. But he is a lover of sport, especially baseball. Sound like your boy? Well, read Dan Gutman's bio sheet. These words also describe his attitude as a boy. But the author has done us all a service by writing great adventures aimed at an audience reminiscent of young Dan. Satch and Me, Shoeless Joe and Me, Jackie and Me, Mickey and Me--my son read them all, and was excited to tell me about them. I would say it is important for the young reader to read at least one of these titles first before reading Abner and Me, which is a little less baseball adventure and a little more historical adventure. The protagonist, Stosh, this time goes back in time to the Civil War to learn if Abner Doubleday really invented the game of baseball. Along the way he learns of the heartache of a nation at war, the terror of the battlefield, the waste of a noble president's life. My son had just flunked his history test in a poorly taught class before reading Abner. Gutman has a way of pouring just enough history and social commentary into his books to sneak teaching past his unsuspecting reader. As a parent of a non-academic boy, I say Gutman should be praised for his service.
 Still good. June 19, 2007
It definately has a different twist than his other books. This book is REALLY educational. There are tons of facts about the Civil War in it. Normally, I am bored with history, but these details were somewhat gruesome. If you are someone who gets grossed out easily, this book is not for you. Sorry. :(
 A Swing and a Miss November 10, 2006
My son, my students, and I were eagerly awaiting the arrival of this book. The general opinion is that it just isn't as engaging as the others in the series. There isn't the focus on a baseball player/team. However, everyone agrees that it is not "bad."
A general who liked to have fun May 31, 2006
I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes, or has an interest in baseball. This is because it gives information on someone who might have had invented baseball. There were many surprises in the story, but I will only tell one of them. I was surprised that Abner did not know anything about baseball, if I were to write the book I would have put that Abner did invent baseball. I feel that this book is definitely a page-turner kind of book because every chapter, every page, every paragraph was so interesting you would not want to put it down. All in all, I think this one of the greatest books I have ever read.
A general who liked to have fun May 31, 2006
I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes, or has an interest in baseball. This is because it gives information on someone who might have had invented baseball. There were many surprises in the story, but I will only tell one of them. I was surprised that Abner did not know anything about baseball, if I were to write the book I would have put that Abner did invent baseball. I feel that this book is definitely a page-turner kind of book because every chapter, every page, every paragraph was so interesting you would not want to put it down. All in all, I think this one of the greatest books I have ever read.
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