Any song by "Three Dog Night"
Hello and welcome to the first-ever Nexus of the Universe book review. Unlike people who actually majored in English and have a firm understanding of pacing, plot development, character development and other literary terms that I try to use to sound smarter than I really am, I don't actually know enough about those things to comment on them.
No, instead I'm going with the former Supreme Court Associate Justice Potter Stewart method of determing if a book is good. I know it when I read it.
With that said, here's my review of Buzz Bissinger's "Three Nights In August"
Guys like me with no talent in either baseball or sportswriting will never get to the feeling of what it's like to be on a Major League baseball team. From the day-to-day grind of the 162 game season, broken up in numerous three-game series in one city before flying off to the next three-game series.
Fortunately for people like me, St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa was a fan of Bissinger's previous work and gave him virtually unfettered access to his team during the 2003 season and what he produces is a fantastic look into not only the life of a professional manager, but also to the insights of a man who has won more baseball games than all but two other people in the history of the sport.
Bissinger is perhaps best known for his book Friday Night Lights which looked at the frenzy that surrounded the 1988 Permian High School football team deep in the heart of Texas. He uses the same writing technique in both books, using events that transpire during the course of the series, (or, in the case of Friday Night Lights, over the course of the season) to go off on tangets about the players or other people involved.
We learn about the almost total devotion LaRussa gives to the game, often at the expense of his family who lives on the West Coast without their father and husband for most of the season, seeing him only on off-days and when the Cardinals make their West Coast swing.
More than just a decision-maker during the game, Bissinger paints a picture of a man who spends more time trying to find the right buttons to push to maximize the talent and effort of his players, from the bench player who thinks he should be starting everyday to the kid with all the talent in the world who seems content to make his millions rather than fulfilling his potential.
And while fans may suggest dropping a player in the lineup if he's slumping or moving a guy up in the lineup who may be going through a hot streak, LaRussa explains that certain hitters are just more comfortable hitting in different places. Moving a guy from sixth or seventh into the fourth or fifth spot may not seem like a big deal, but different hitters change their approach based on what they think is expected of them.
Making the book more enjoyable for me was the fact that the three-game series Bissinger uses to go off on his tangets was against the Cubs. Given that the book is about the 2003 season (the year the Cubs came within five outs of the World Series . . . curse you Steve Bartman), it was a chance to relive some of the good old days, even reading about players who were gone after the season that I'd forgotten about.
To be sure, the book is written for someone with a deep understanding of the game and not the casual fan. However, Bissinger writes in such a way that casual fans will finish having a greater understanding of the pressures and decisions a manager and his staff have to deal with.
I don't have any cool rating system to evaluate the ins and outs of the book. I use a much simpler equation in grading a book.
Did I like the book? In this case, the answer is a resounding yes.
(Also, I'd recommend Friday Night Lights to anyone interested high school athletics, regardless of the sport. I got the feeling reading it that the events he described in that book could very well have been written about my high school football team.)
Weekend plans: While many here in the United States have a long weekend to celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr, I don't. In the interest of keeping my job, I'll refrain from any Kanye West jokes.
Blogging Update: Somehow, I managed to miss the one-year anniversary of the founding of the Nexus of the Universe. I'd like to thank all you for making this one of the places you waste time during your busy work day. I hope to contine to be a destination for people who should be working but would rather read what some guy in South Georgia has to say about who from the Law & Order franchise he wants prosocuting his case if he's murdered in New York City.
Have a great weekend and I'll be back soon with another post.
No, instead I'm going with the former Supreme Court Associate Justice Potter Stewart method of determing if a book is good. I know it when I read it.
With that said, here's my review of Buzz Bissinger's "Three Nights In August"
Guys like me with no talent in either baseball or sportswriting will never get to the feeling of what it's like to be on a Major League baseball team. From the day-to-day grind of the 162 game season, broken up in numerous three-game series in one city before flying off to the next three-game series.
Fortunately for people like me, St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa was a fan of Bissinger's previous work and gave him virtually unfettered access to his team during the 2003 season and what he produces is a fantastic look into not only the life of a professional manager, but also to the insights of a man who has won more baseball games than all but two other people in the history of the sport.
Bissinger is perhaps best known for his book Friday Night Lights which looked at the frenzy that surrounded the 1988 Permian High School football team deep in the heart of Texas. He uses the same writing technique in both books, using events that transpire during the course of the series, (or, in the case of Friday Night Lights, over the course of the season) to go off on tangets about the players or other people involved.
We learn about the almost total devotion LaRussa gives to the game, often at the expense of his family who lives on the West Coast without their father and husband for most of the season, seeing him only on off-days and when the Cardinals make their West Coast swing.
More than just a decision-maker during the game, Bissinger paints a picture of a man who spends more time trying to find the right buttons to push to maximize the talent and effort of his players, from the bench player who thinks he should be starting everyday to the kid with all the talent in the world who seems content to make his millions rather than fulfilling his potential.
And while fans may suggest dropping a player in the lineup if he's slumping or moving a guy up in the lineup who may be going through a hot streak, LaRussa explains that certain hitters are just more comfortable hitting in different places. Moving a guy from sixth or seventh into the fourth or fifth spot may not seem like a big deal, but different hitters change their approach based on what they think is expected of them.
Making the book more enjoyable for me was the fact that the three-game series Bissinger uses to go off on his tangets was against the Cubs. Given that the book is about the 2003 season (the year the Cubs came within five outs of the World Series . . . curse you Steve Bartman), it was a chance to relive some of the good old days, even reading about players who were gone after the season that I'd forgotten about.
To be sure, the book is written for someone with a deep understanding of the game and not the casual fan. However, Bissinger writes in such a way that casual fans will finish having a greater understanding of the pressures and decisions a manager and his staff have to deal with.
I don't have any cool rating system to evaluate the ins and outs of the book. I use a much simpler equation in grading a book.
Did I like the book? In this case, the answer is a resounding yes.
(Also, I'd recommend Friday Night Lights to anyone interested high school athletics, regardless of the sport. I got the feeling reading it that the events he described in that book could very well have been written about my high school football team.)
Weekend plans: While many here in the United States have a long weekend to celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr, I don't. In the interest of keeping my job, I'll refrain from any Kanye West jokes.
Blogging Update: Somehow, I managed to miss the one-year anniversary of the founding of the Nexus of the Universe. I'd like to thank all you for making this one of the places you waste time during your busy work day. I hope to contine to be a destination for people who should be working but would rather read what some guy in South Georgia has to say about who from the Law & Order franchise he wants prosocuting his case if he's murdered in New York City.
Have a great weekend and I'll be back soon with another post.
posted by Luke at 11:22 PM
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