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18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
Bow-Tie Reflections on Baseball, September 22, 2002
Those who have read Will's "Men at Work" already are aware of the author's knowledge of the game as well as his talent to put it into words. This is a compilation of the author's articles on Baseball that have appeared primarily in his newspaper columns over the years. Mr. Will, a spokesman for the political right, discards his politics for these excursions into his passion. Indeed, one is surprized by how often Mr. Will sides with the players in the labor/management diputes that litter modern Baseball. The author shares his nostalgia for the past and his appreciation of the heros of the present. If he seems a bit caught up in his Cubs and Orioles, he can be forgiven because the reader has his/her own favorites. We know the frustration and joy of the same loyalties he shares with us.I read the first two thirds of the book one "column" at a time between other books. I did so because I had read "The Best of Jim Murray" some years ago and did so over the course of several days. By the mid-point of that book, I came to the realization that Mr. Murray had written the same column for decades. It was just a matter of changing the name of the subject. You don't catch on to that reading two or three columns a week. Well, I read the last third of the book in the course of several hours. I did not get the same reaction that I got to Murray's book. However, I lost track of the number of times the total season attendance of the 1935 St. Louis Browns (80,922) was compared to the Opening Day attendance of the 1993 Colorado Rockies (80,227). There were other such repetitions of facts and figures that were noticeable when the book is read cover to cover. I suggest you savor the articles and let the book entertain you throughout the course of a summer or a year. However you choose to read it, don't miss this intellectual appreciation of what was once known as "America's Pasttime".
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
Bunts Hit A Homerun With Me!, August 10, 2002
Bunts by George F. Will is a collection of works written by Will between the years 1974 and 1997. Throughout this book, Will discusses the major changes in baseball, such as the designated hitter rule, unionization, recent franchise additions, free agency, and more. A long-suffering Chicago Cubs fan, Will, in several funny articles, describes what it is like to be a fan of a tema that hasn't won a pennant since World War II. A skilled political columnist, we are drawn into the argument over free agency and designated hitting. I love baseball, but sometimes find books about the sport to be tedious and overly stuffed with statistics. While this book does contain statistics (Will knows a great deal about the sport he loves), you're not smothered by them. It was a pleasurable read. The only part of the book I disliked was the rehashing (several times) of the strike disputes and how many times Will felt it necessary to prove that the owners were wrong about free agency. But believe me, you can get through that. Besides, this is a compilation of works - it's not like he intentionally meant to repeat himself. Will's reflections on baseball are remarkable considering that the man never played the sport professionally and is just an avid fan - so much of a fan in fact that he once owned stock in the Cubs franchise! The pictures are great, and the things I learned from this book. I thought I knew alot about baseball, but George F. Will proved me wrong in a way that I found to be interesting and alot of fun!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Exemplary stuff, July 16, 2002
My grandfather taught me never to trust a man who wears a bow-tie, but I have to give George Will credit for his deep knowledge of the sport (which never bogs down into pedantry) and - a far rarer commodity in baseball writing - his sterling prose. You don't have to agree with his sour political conservatism (which, in an impressive display of self-knowledge, he attributes to being a Cubs fan) to find this a cracking good read.
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Good Stuff, May 28, 2000
A funny and informative collection of baseball columns. George Will really knows his stuff, regarding baseball at least. Entertaining read for all, you don't have to be a fanatic to enjoy.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
An intelligent insight from an enduring fan of the game., April 28, 1998
Will's book is segmented by nature. It is a collection of essays and reviews, and is therefore not a narrative at all. However, each short stanza reflects as much about Will's personal devotion to the game as his refreshingly candid assessments of American culture. It is primarily a book for Chicago Cubs fans. He traces the evolution of baseball as a whole and counterparts this with the mediocre constancy of his beloved Cubbies. "Bunts" is about undying patriotism to the American pastime and one's team. He speaks well of the connection between media broadcaster and team loyalty. Will cites evidence that an over-reaching Federal Communications Commission once tried to take control of baseball broadcasts and ban partisan sportscasting. If they had succeeded, the late Harry Caray would have never had the chance to delight us as the voice of the Cubs, whose popularity outnumbers nearly every team despite ninety years without winning a World Championship. For the real baseball fan, intent on remembering the past with sentimentalism, intelligence, and conservative flair "Bunts" belongs in the baseball book Hall of Fame.
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Buy the book!, April 27, 1998
Certainly one of today's most intelligent Baseball writers, this collection of George Will's baseball writings are insightful, erudite and entertaining. You need not agree with Will's political persuasion to enjoy his scribblings on America's Pastime. Savor each and every one of these 70 essays then go on (or back) to read his Men At Work.
Bravo, George Will!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
See what happens when he doesn't have to talk to Donaldson?, June 1, 2000
Baseball carries a unique distinction from the other major sports in America because of its long history and stubborn resistance to change. Will understands this, and the pieces collected here in Bunts display both a genuine affection for, and a keen understanding of, our national pastime. Combining the sharp analysis and scholarship one expects from George Will with a surprising amount of humour and wit (who knew?), Bunts will quickly become a favorite of any baseball fan (and help many a non-fan understand what the fuss is all about). George Will - sentimental romantic. Go figure.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
A great book about the best sport., February 9, 2000
Is there a better sport than baseball? I submit not. It is a sport that is as old as America (as the reader learns on page 272 of "Bunts"), and as much a part of the American experience as anything. "Bunts", a collection of George F. Will's columns about baseball over the last thirty years, is a marvelous look at baseball from the eyes of the die-hard Chicago Cubs fan. Though I care not for Will's conservative mindset, I appreciate his prose and enjoy some of his takes on baseball. Some of Will's contentions are controversial (the game is better today than ever before), some well-reasoned (the glories of 1950s baseball were not so glorious) and some out-dated (one column mocking the Braves and Yankees, baseball's worst teams according to Will, looks hopelessly out-dated since these two behemoths have won four of the last five World Series). But Will puts himself out in front and you must give him credit for speaking his mind. Incidentally, the reviewer's particular favorite column is Will's 1991 look at baseball in the Windy City- "Chicago Baseball- 'Never A Lovely So Real'" (pages 171-180) Baseball fans will enjoy.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
As masterful as a well-laid bunt itself, June 18, 1998
The bunt is the quintessential unspectacular stroke of beauty in all sports. Unlike the slam dunk or home run, it lacks the self-aggrandizing adreneline essential to most other athletic feats. Appropriately, then, George Will has titled his book, a collection of stories about the unspectacular and the beautiful in baseball, after this most awesome of offensive maneuvers.Whether he is decrying the DH or lamenting the democratizion of sports, in "Bunts" George Will brings an intelligent and unique perspective to the national pastime. It is a must for all fans who find sports pages, sports magazines, and sports radio lacking. Passionate and intelligent, "Bunts" scores!
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
Baseball, Philosophy, Politics and Humor. What a treat!, May 19, 2000
George Will's ability to weave the fabric | |
