Mark Lamster

This is a surprisingly interesting book even if you aren't a baseball fan. An enterprising team owner and upcoming sports equipment magnate, Spalding sought to gain more visibility for the American pastime by doing exhibition games around the world over the course of six months in 1888-89. The book really is much more about the experiences of a group of Americans, mostly young men (several wives came along), visiting exotic places and behaving like, well, a bunch of young men would on a rather incredible road trip. Lamster is a very good writer who carries the story along with fun anecdotes and never bogs down in moralizing or schmaltz. Highly recommended.… (altro)