A Nice Little Place on the North Side: Wrigley Field at One Hundred Author: George Will | Language: English | ISBN:
0385349319 | Format: PDF
A Nice Little Place on the North Side: Wrigley Field at One Hundred Description
From Booklist
Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, turns 100 this season. Will, a lifelong Cubs fan originally from downstate Illinois, steps back from politics to indulge his passion for the generally hapless Cubs (last World Series win in 1908). In the context of Wrigley’s centennial, Will offers a rambling, gently amusing history of the team since it moved in. With few triumphs to write about, Will focuses on some of the dominant and/or quirky personalities associated with the team through the years. He has a particular fondness for Ernie Banks, aka Mr. Cub, who performed heroically for some atrocious Cub teams from 1953 through 1971, laying out the case that Banks, a first-ballot Hall of Famer, hasnt lingered in the minds of todays fans the way he should have done. Will also delivers brief but revealing examinations of longtime team owner P. K. Wrigley, players Phil Cavarretta and Hack Wilson, and manager Leo Durocher. Will, who has a Pulitzer for commentary on his mantel as well as a roomful of other awards, is one of the nation’s most visible Cub fans; this ode to the team and its home field will make a very pleasant read for baseball fans in general and Cub fans in particular. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Expect lots of television and other media promotion for this one, tied to various Wrigley Field celebrations. --Wes Lukowsky
About the Author
GEORGE F. WILL is one of the most widely read writers in the world, with his twice-weekly syndicated column appearing in more than five hundred newspapers and online news sources. He is a Fox News contributor and the author of thirteen books, including
Men at Work,
With a Happy Eye But . . .,
Bunts,
The Woven Figure, and
One Man’s America. A winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary and the Bradley Prize for outstanding intellectual achievement, he lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
- Hardcover: 224 pages
- Publisher: Crown Archetype (March 25, 2014)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0385349319
- ISBN-13: 978-0385349314
- Product Dimensions: 1.2 x 6 x 8.8 inches
- Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
The measure of a good book, perhaps a great book, is when I finish the last page, I’m sad to see it end.
This Wrigley Field tribute, lovingly crafted by George Will, is a gem—but I still had five days of vacation left. Surely Will could craft a second book for us hopeless Cub fans. Misery loves company.
Another measure of a great book—I can read numerous paragraphs out loud to my wife, and she’s not annoyed. And no wonder—she converted me into the religion that is Cubs misery in 1968, a year before we married.
“Is 1984 in the book?” she asked, sadly.
I assured her that the heartbreak of 1984 was duly noted—plus other dates and fates: Leon Durham, Steve Bartman, 100 years of Wrigley Field, and dozens and dozens of other Cubs moments to inspire depression.
So why read this? Because the sadness is frequently erased with Will’s dry wit, intelligent analysis, and sidebar wisdom and humor:
--“For most teams, 0 for 30 is called a calamity. For the Cubs it is called April.”
--“What does a female bear taking birth control have in common with the World Series? No Cubs.”
Will quotes sportscaster Red Barber who once said, “baseball is dull only to dull minds.” Exactly. That’s why Cubs fans clearly have higher I.Q.s. We find meaning and solace in the nuanced explanation of win/loss records.
But this is far more than a tribute to Wrigley Field, host to more than 140 million fans since 1913. Will’s wisdom shines in hundreds of one-liners:
--For immigrants, “Learning to talk baseball was part of the catechism of the civic religion.”
--“Chicago was just the place for a man with Cowperwood’s high ratio of energy to scruples.
When I saw the Amazon Vine description for this book, I expected it to be a lot like Fenway 1912: The Birth of a Ballpark, a Championship Season, and Fenway's Remarkable First Year. I had enjoyed that book, so I expected I would like this, too. Nope: I LOVED this book.
But it might help for you to know what to expect.
The Fenway book really is about the "birth of the ballpark;" it's largely about the story of _the park_, with everything from architecture design to the political scene to the nature of how baseball was played in 1912. Will's _Wrigley Field at One Hundred_ isn't really about the park itself, despite the fact that it too is published a century after Wrigley's construction. It's about the community that makes the Cubs -- and its park -- special.
Oh dear, that sounds sappy. It's not -- not in the least. This book alternately make me say, "Oh wow, that's cool!" and laugh out loud. George Will clearly LOVES his Cubbies, and yet is perfectly aware of their failings. And he has me utterly charmed.
The book has plenty of trivia and statistics, the sort we baseball fans love. Will shares marvelous anecdotes, too, and they're skillfully told. "When Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, the commissioner of baseball, objecting to Cubs chatting up Al Capone when he sat in a front row box seat, Gabby Hartnett, longtime Cub player and manager, supposedly said, 'If you don't want me talking to the big fellow, why don't you tell him yourself?' This looks like one of those suspiciously perfect quotes that journalists refer to as 'too good to check.
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