Being a hybrid which is basically a reference book but which also has textual modules and seasonal narratives which are meant more to be read than consulted. The book is a long-needed gathering of information which is mostly available elsewhere but not always in a convenient form. My only quibbles are that the book should be less bulky than Total baseball if it was going to be easier to use, and it isn't; another notable problem is that the basic organization is by season and the user has to do considerable flipping around to find out about any one player's career. ( )

The standard reference work on 19th-century baseball. ( )