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Baseball
- Narrated by: Ken Burns
- Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
- Abridged Audiobook
- Release date: 09-21-10
- Language: English
- Publisher: Random House Audio
Regular price: $22.60
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Best-selling author George Vecsey is an esteemed and award-winning sports journalist for the New York Times. In Baseball, he recounts the history of America's national pastime. Baseball has been around in various forms for thousands of years, but only within the last 200 years has it become an American institution. Growing from a sport played in open fields and big-city streets, baseball has seen its share of innovators and detractors, heroes and villains.
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The story of jazz encompasses the story of American courtship and show business; the epic growth of cities, and the struggle for civil rights and simple justice that continues into the new millennium. If you haven't already, download the accompanying audio to Ken Burns' remarkable documentary!
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Publisher's Summary
The companion to Ken Burns’s magnificent PBS television series—updated and expanded to coincide with the broadcast of a new, two-part "Tenth Inning" directed with Lynn Novick.
The authors of the acclaimed and best-selling The Civil War, Jazz, and The War turn to another uniquely American phenomenon: baseball. Geoffrey C. Ward's and Ken Burns’s moving and fascinating history of the game goes beyond stolen bases, double plays, and home runs to demonstrate how baseball has been influenced by, and has in turn influenced, American life.
The audiobook covers every milestone of the game, from the rules drawn up in 1845 by Alexander Cartwright to the American League’s introduction of the designated hitter in 1973; from the 1924 Negro World Series to Jack Roosevelt Robinson’s major-league debut; from the first curve ball in 1867 to Nolan Ryan’s seventh and last no-hitter in 1991.
This new edition brings the authors’ monumental work into the 21st century: steroids, home-run records, the rise of Latino players, the long-awaited Red Sox World Series victory, and so much more. Baseball is an audiobook that speaks to all Americans.
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- Richard
- United States
- 05-18-11
Just OK
Ken Burns is a tremendous documentarist...not such a tremendous reader. If you like baseball, you'll greatly enjoy the anecdotes and various tidbits that make up this generally entertaining tale. The book covers virtually the entire history of the game is such a relatively short time, but you don't feel shortchanged at the end. It was quite difficult at times, however, to not get distracted by the narrators (Burns) somewhat high-pitched, slow, sterile reading style.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- edward m. williams
- 02-23-15
Nations past time
Well done story concisely hitting the highs and lows of our nations past time. Perhaps a different deeper voice each inning to break the monotony of Mr.Burns voice.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- David Munoz
- Renton, WA
- 02-15-16
Abridged
Wish it wasn't. Still worth listening to, but the documentary is longer than the audio book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Charlie Smith
- Tahoe CA
- 05-09-15
love
Outside perspective of Ken Burns I like the soft voice describing a hard game . brilliance