Book Review
Copyright (c) 1994, Thomas Van Hook
All rights reserved



Our Game:  An American Baseball History by Charles G. Alexander
Henry Holt Books, Copyright 1991, 1st Printing 1991
ISBN 0-8050-1594-9, 388 Pages
LCCN 90-20585

     There are parts of my childhood that I always cherish.  My
senior prom night, the thrill associated with my first dog, and
playing catch in the backyard with my father.  Of all the above
memories, the last one seems to be universal among young men. 
It's this universal love for baseball that has found it's way
into the ideals of father/son bonding.  It was my father that
taught me how to catch a fly ball.  It was my father that showed
me how to twist my wrist in just such a manner to achieve the
elusive pitch called "the curveball."  It was my father that came
to every single Little League game that I played in.  It was my
father that cheered the loudest when I got a single.  Where
baseball was concerned, it was my father that showed me
everything.  Those are memories that will last a lifetime.
     Charles Alexander accomplishes a similar feeling with this
book.  He tries valiantly to chronicle the history of baseball
from it's earliest days to the final days of the 1990 season. 
With so much information to present in one format, this book will
lose the average reader quite easily.  For someone like me, an
avid baseball nut, this book will present some of the most
cherished memories of the game's history.
     For what Mr. Alexander attempted to do, this book falls just
short of pure genius, but there are some flaws to it.  Instead of
dividing periods of baseball into eras, each of Mr. Alexander's
chapters chronicle a ten-year period.  In this manner, certain
events are not given enough light in this history while others
are a bit over-done.  For instance, the 1919 Chicago "Black" Sox
scandal in the World Series never got much mention in the chapter
concerning the period from 1910-1919.  However, in the section
concerning the period 1920-1929, it took virtually most of center
stage, thereby casting a pall over the early years of Babe Ruth's
career and the "prime" years of Ty Cobb's.
     In short, this is quite a good history.  It's compact, but
it does not "gloss" over most of the issues.  For someone
interested in a crash-course on the history of baseball, this is
the book for them.  For those already well versed in the history
of baseball, this is a good book to recommend to your fifteen
year old when trying to explain the current strike.  After all,
the reasoning behind this strike goes way back through all of
baseball's rich history.

Overall Grade:  B-

