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Book Review:
Baseball, a Humorous Look at the World of Baseball
by Jonathan
Leshanski
April 9, 2005
Book Review: Baseball, a Humorous Look at the
World of Baseball
By Charles S. Hellman and Robert A. Tiririlli
Published by Sports Cartoon Books, 119 pgs
Baseball, a Humorous Look at the World of Baseball is a book
that takes a humorous fling at much of the terminology of the game
by relating it as cartoon imagery. It is definitely a different
genre than those that we here at AHP typically review so, in trying
to review this book I had to come up with a whole new set of standards
for rating the content.
I am really not sure how to rate it. The art is good, the terminology
is on the money and some of the cartoons are pretty darn funny.
That’s not uniformly true and it’s definitely not a book
for everyone, but it has some pretty good stuff that’ll make
any true baseball fan smile.
Basically it’s a collection of 119 (or thereabouts) single
page cartoons each representing some form of a baseball term or
terms often used about the game, including things like batting cage,
looking for a hit, third strike and cheap seat. It’s obvious
that a lot of work went into it and that the artists had some fun
while compiling it.
It made me smile more than laugh and although I thought that the
cartoonists could have taken the book a little farther, I did enjoy
it. The quality of the cartoons is uneven as to humor content but
I suspect that not all of this book was meant to be humorous but
rather it may have been meant to relate some graphical ideas to
some terms. In doing that it’s a fine effort and most fans,
especially those that don’t have an overly intellectual outlook
on the game would enjoy this as a stocking stuffer type of a gift.
I only make that a caveat because it is a little light as to mental
content, but it’s still fun.
I won’t give it more than a 1 ball rating, because it’s
not the New Yorker Book of Baseball cartoons - and it’s not
for everyone but I have no doubt that a lot of fans will enjoy it.
Our Rating System is based on a four ball system as follows:
One Ball: Average. It has something to say but is nothing
special.
Two Balls: Something men usually have - also means its a
cut above average, and worth reading/owning.
Three balls: Stands out from its peers and is highly recommended.
Four Balls: More than just what two men have when hanging
out together, it means it is an exceptional book that truly earns
a walk - straight to the local book store to get a copy.
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