Description
Book SynopsisExplores the development of Taiwanese baseball and the influence of baseball on Taiwan's cultural identity in its colonial years and beyond as a clear departure from narratives of assimilation and resistance.
Trade Review"
Empire of Infields provides a deeply nuanced analysis of the complicated historical interactions of sport and colonialism in Taiwan."—J. S. Franks,
Choice"Harney's
Empire of Infields joins Sayuri Guthrie-Shimizu's
Trans-Pacific Field of Dreams: How Baseball Linked the United States and Japan in Peace and War (2012) as an important work describing the evolution of baseball as an international sport. And while soccer, golf, basketball, or tennis may have a more truly global reach, he demonstrates well how baseball came to establish its secure niche in the world."—Paul Dunscomb, H-Asia
"Harney's
Empire of Infields is a book for those interested in who the Taiwanese are, by going back to the root and the route of the game of baseball. It goes beyond simple assimilation/resistance dichotomy via sport in terms of nation building, and it is well-written and the research masterfully handled."—Tzu-hsuan Chen,
Asian Journal of Sport History & Culture“In this well-reported, wonderfully conceived book, John Harney has mapped not just the history of Taiwanese baseball but the role the game has played in the evolution of a contested Taiwanese national identity. This is a kaleidoscopic analysis of the entanglement of Japanese colonialism, Taiwanese identity, and nationalism, politics, and globalization.”—George Gmelch, author of
Baseball beyond Our Borders: An International Pastime“John Harney has utilized a host of primary sources to produce a nuanced and detailed reinterpretation of Taiwanese identity via the historical role of baseball. He offers an alternative analysis to the usual assimilation and resistance frameworks in other works as he negotiates the contested and ambiguous identity of a nation in limbo. A must-read for scholars of East Asian studies and sport historians.”—Gerald R. Gems, past president of the North American Society for Sport History
Table of ContentsNote on Transliteration and Choice of Team Names
Acknowledgments
Introduction: National Games
1. A Japanese Sport in the Colony
2. Waseda Baseball and Japan’s Place in the World
3. Barnstormers or Emissaries of Empire?
4. The Road to Kōshien
5. Kanō
6. Chiang’s China and Taiwanese Baseball
7. Echoes of Empire
8. Hongye
Conclusion: Baseball’s Long Goodbye
Notes
Bibliography
Index
