|
| 
 enlarge | Author: David Pietrusza
Publisher: Diamond Communications
Category: Book
List Price: $34.95
Buy New: $21.22
You Save: $13.73 (39%)
New (5) Used (10) Collectible (1) from $17.49
Avg. Customer Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 872916
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 564
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.3
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.8
ISBN: 1888698098
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.357092
EAN: 9781888698091
ASIN: 1888698098
Publication Date: September 1998
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Absolutely Brand New & In Stock. 100% 30-Day Money Back. Direct from our warehouse. Ships by USPS. 1+ million customers served-In business since 1986. Happy Customers is Our #1 Goal. Toll Free Support
|
| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 6-9 of 9 | | « PREV | | |
 They don't make commissioners like that anymore January 8, 1999
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
As the century draws to a close and sportswriters compile lists of the most important men in modern baseball, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis should be right up there with Babe Ruth, Christy Mathewson, and Mark McGwire. Without the stern hand of Landis following the infamous "Black Sox" scandal, baseball may have evolved into a grotesque spectacle more akin to professional wrestling than the National Pastime. The grand jury indictment of eighth members of the Chicago White Sox for throwing the 1919 World Series was a black eye for baseball. The resulting trial featured "lost" confessions by the accused and a post-trial meal between players and several jurors after the not-guilty verdict. Landis had been commissioner for almost a year when he delivered his decision that still keeps Shoeless Joe Jackson out of the Hall of Fame. That is the part of the story that many baseball fans know, but one of author David Pietrusza's main points is the Judge's banning of Buck Weaver, who knew of the fix and did not report it. While it seems unfair, the decision on this matter gave baseball the honor system it previsously lacked. Gambling on games continued, but players with knowledge of a fix were more likely to go to Landis than to risk Buck Weaver's fate. Landis banned many lesser-known players during his 24-year tenure, but he also had tussles with the likes of Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, and Rogers Hornsby on the subject of gambling. Babe Ruth's failed attempt to barnstorm against the Judge's wishes is one of the more entertaining chapters in the book. Branch Rickey's battles with Landis over the farm system in the 1930s foreshadows the clashes between future commissioner Bowie Kuhn and A's owner Charlie Finley over free agency in the 1970s. Pietrusza deftly dispells the myth that Landis alone stood in the way of intergration of baseball. The first part of the book chronicles the somewhat humble beginnings of the son of a Union surgeon from Ohio, who named his sixth child after the Civil War battle that crippled his left leg. Judge Landis, referred to throughout the book by his nickname of "the Squire," was the most successful member of a family that became influential in the midwest as well as Washington, D.C. Indeed, almost half the book details the Squire's law career and eventual appointment as a federal judge in Illinois. Author Pietrusza details each significant case ever to come before the judge, including his decision against Standard Oil and John D. Rockefeller that made Landis a household name. In the 452 pages of text, plus another 212 pages of notes and index, Pietrusza not only tells us about the man, but he puts us back in the times that the Judge lived. Having worked with the author previously, I expected the book to be thorough, but I learned more about politics, history, and yes, baseball, than I ever imagined. In the end, the life of baseball's first--and finest--commissioner is too brief and we feel sad that we shall not see his like again in the game he helped make great.
A GREAT BIO! December 25, 1998
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
A GREAT READ. I THOROUGHLY ENJOYED IT AND RECOMMEND IT TO ANYONE INTERESTED IN BASEBALL OR AMERICAN HISTORY.
 Judge Landis-- a complicated case December 17, 1998
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
Hard to tell what to think of the judge. He was kind to the downtrodden on one hand, but overly harsh on the other. Cases in point are the 1919 White Sox players like Buck Weaver (who played no role) and Shoeless Joe Jackson (merely suckered along for the ride). Can't help feeling sorry for Eddie Cicotte either as he was clearly screwed by Comiskey and forced to fight back for the dignity of his family-- wrong method, but right motive.However, the blackest mark on the judge has to be his role in keeping black players out of the game. Bill Veeck wanted to put them on his St.Louis Browns team a full decade before Jackie Robinson and would have done so without Landis blatant interference. The game was not integrated (for this century) until Landis did the owners a favor by croaking.
Judge & Jury is really two books - baseball and politics/law December 7, 1998
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Judge and Jury is really two books, because Kenesaw Landis had two vastly different careers, and author Pietrusza is the first to have recognized the significance of that dichotomy. Baseball fans will value Judge and Jury's coverage of Landis' career as the National Pastime's first commisioner. They will particularly savor revelations concerning two topics. The first is the machinations surrounding the Judge's appointment in the wake of the 1919 Black Sox scandal, particularly the plottings and counter-plottings of American League president Byron "Ban" Johnson. The second is Pietrusza's artful demolition of the oft-told tale that Landis scotched Bill Veeck's plan to purchase the Philadelphia Phillies and stock the team's roster with Negro League stars. Either chapter is worth the price of admission for baseball fans. Landis' other career covered politics and the law. Baseball fans and history buffs alike will find much to learn: of Landis' career in the State Department; his remarkable family; his handling of the landmark Standard Oil antitrust case and the IWW and Socialist Party sedition cases of World War 1; and his interaction with the Chicago crime scene (including pre-Capone mobsters, poison-dispensing mass-murderers, and high-stakes swindlers). Landis could be harsh; he could be surprisingly lenient. Pietrusza skillfully chronicles both sides of this complex and often downright enigmatic individual. Judge and Jury is a masterpiece of sports biography and more than holds its own regarding Landis' "other" life. Five stars.
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
