Description
Book SynopsisThe most celebrated baseball writer of our time has selected his favorite pieces from the last forty years to create Once More Around the Park, a definitive volume of his most memorable work. Mr. Angell includes writing never previously collected as well as selections from The Summer Game, Five Seasons, Late Innings, and Season Ticket. He brings back the extraordinary games, innings and performances that he has witnessed and written about so astutely and gracefully—“The Interior Stadium,” on the complex attractions of baseball; “In the Country,” on a friendship that began with a fan letter and took him far from the big stadiums and big money; “The Arm Talks,” on contemporary pitching strategy and the arrival of the split-finger delivery; and many others. Mr. Angell's conversations with past and present players and managers, scouts and coaches, rookies and Hall of Famers enhance his own expertise and critical appreciation, which define him as the game’s most useful and ardent fan. “Angell resembles a pitcher with pinpoint control. As a chronicler of the game, he’s in a class with Ring Lardner and Red Smith.”—Newsweek. “Angell’s perceptions are fresh, vivid, and uncannily accurate.... Only a fan who cares this much could observe so carefully and write so eloquently.”—San Francisco Chronicle. “A triumph of art and grace.”—Chicago Tribune Book World.
Trade Review“Good collections make for good writers. Angell's is one of the best.” -- Louis D. Rubin * News and Observer *
“An original and eclectic thinker who takes us right into the heart of the game.” * Tampa Tribune Times *
“One of the most valuable players in American journalism.” -- Dan Cryer * Newsday *
“A magical collection...fits the game of dirt and spikes like one's favorite mitt fits one's hand.” * Chicago Tribune *
“Angell covers the bases in this collection...marvelous imagery.” * The New York Times *
“Angell writes with economical precision, nailing observations as a pitcher does corners.” * Sports Illustrated *
“Roger Angell is the best baseball writer of our time—maybe ever.” * Newsweek *
“The Babe Ruth of baseball writers.” * The Boston Globe *
“No one writes more evocatively about the craft and magic of baseball than Roger Angell.” -- Michiko Kakutani * The New York Times *
Table of ContentsPart 1 Preface ix Part 2 Box Scores 3 Part 3 from: The "Go!" Shouters 5 Part 4 Days and Nights with the Unbored 10 Part 5 Three for the Tigers 24 Part 6 Gone for Good 43 Part 7 from: Agincourt and After 69 Part 8 On the Ball 86 Part 9 from: Several Stories with Sudden Endings 95 Part 10 from: Wilver's Way 99 Part 11 So Long at the Fair 117 Part 12 Distance 125 Part 13 The Web of the Game 153 Part 14 In the Country 170 Part 15 In the Fire 203 Part 16 Life in the Pen 230 Part 17 from: Not So, Boston 236 Part 18 from: La Vida 267 Part 19 from: The Arms Talks 278 Part 20 Celebration 304 Part 21 No, But I Saw the Game 325 Part 22 from: The Interior Stadium 347
