Book Reviews- July

[bedsitter23]

Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America by James Webb-  I figured I better finish this book before Jim Webb becomes President (Indeed, I finished it on the day Webb made his announcement).  I grabbed this as a bit of an impulse buy as a cutout at the closing of a major book retailer.  I am Scots-Irish and have to admit I don’t know much about where the Scots-Irish come from.  Indeed, that is one thing that the book hits upon.  While, the German side of my family has a well documented genealogy, the Scots Irish do not seemingly worry about such things.  That said, my family lineage is similar to Webb’s, as they moved westward from Virginia to Kentucky to Missouri or points further west.  Indeed, Webb’s grandfather was a miner near Carbondale, IL.

Webb said his intention was originally to write a novel, but instead went for a popular history.  I find much of the middle ages British history confusing and dry.  Webb does a decent job of navigating that history and trying to explain it out.  It starts a heritage of a people who do not want to be governed by outsiders, and are clannish in their tendencies.  This group evolves into what essentially is the ‘red stater’ of the 21^st century.  This is a group that values family pride over all else, including making wealth.  This is a group that like Webb highly value military service and volunteer for the armed forces more than other group.  Webb takes us from William Wallace to Andrew Jackson to Audie Murphy and George Patton.  Webb also talks about the music of this group which is recognizable in Hanks Sr and Jr, Steve Earle, and Merle Haggard, to name a few.  Webb recognizes this group is very loyal to their church, but also loves to raise h---.  Indeed, that is the story often told in country music.

Conservatives will hate Webb just because, and Liberals will see Webb as a redneck apologist.  Webb does make an interesting case for the Civil War and saying that what drove the Scots Irish to fight was their strong ties to family (which explain why Kentucky and West Virginia stayed in the union).  He explains Reconstruction as another ‘invasion’ in which there was resistance too.  Webb tends to understand some of the problems red staters have with affirmative action, and that the issues of poverty affect Southern Whites, and so many of the issues the red staters feel, and get dismissed are real.  (Webb trends back to the rich Cavalier English and New Englander puritans, while it is the poor hard working Scots Irish who became Appalachian Americans who are suffering poverty in the same way African Americans have and continue to do so)

The end of the book deals with many of these thoughts.  Indeed, Webb tends to understand Red Staters though it is unclear what that means.  The paradigm ten years ago was only a Southern Democrat could beat a Republican for the White House.  That no longer appears to be true. 

I found it interesting to learn of the heritage and thought it was worthwhile.  It is dry in parts.  I liked Webb’s conclusion and arguments though many will disagree politically.  But I do think it is a good take on a culture that does not get a lot of attention.  Webb also seems to be right in his assertion that the actions and morals of this group end up being those of the Country at large.

 

 

 

The Glory of their Times: the story of the early days of Baseball told by the men who played it – by Lawrence Ritter  - Ritter’s 1966 book is one of the classics in sports literature.  For lack of better comparison, as Alan Lomax did for music, Ritter interviewed the early stars of baseball.  In his case, he captured them and put them to print.  Ritter eventually added a couple of “later” day stars like Hank Greenberg and Paul Waner.  Like many classics, it is hard to understand the impact this book had 50 years later.  Many of the stars of this era like Goose Goslin are now recognized, but would likely not have been had it not been for Ritter.  Indeed, the definitive baseball history now is probably the Ken Burns anthology, but that visual documentary owes to the work of Ritter.  Indeed, you can find fans of this book from all over from Nelson Algren to Bill Bryson.

It is set up as 20 or so stories drawn from Ritter’s interviews.  There is quite a bit of overlap but only because the stars talk about what then were the biggest moments in the sport.  It would be akin to talking about Aaron’s 715^th , Buckner's error in the 85 series or playing with Willie Mays.  So there’s a lot of talk about Merkles Boner, which cost the Giants the pennant in 1908, and Fred Snodgrass’s error (called Snodgrass's Muff- what is it with the language) in the 1912 series, which cost the Giants the World Series.

It is a fascinating early time for the game, where everything was new, including whether umpires should say strikes and balls out loud.  The same ball was used over and over again, retrieved from the stands, rolled in dirt, and the pitchers could even add to it with their own substances, meaning a baseball could be near pitch black when thrown at a hitter.  It was the ‘deadball’ era where balls were not simply hit out of the park, and if you got a home run, it likely meant you had to beat it out via speed on the bases.  Home run leaders would typically get 5 or 6 total in a year.  There are appreciations of the greatness of Ruth, Matthewson, Walter Johnson, and different takes on the personality of Cobb.  Never mind watching the pitch count, these were pitchers who went out and pitched 9 innings and sometimes 18 in double headers. 

Making the team was luck in itself.  One player travelled across three states for a tryout without a dime in his pocket, only to be told he needed to come back next week.   While maybe not that extreme, many of the stories of being ‘discovered’ or making the big leagues are similar in detail, and baseball players did not make a lot of money, nor was the profession respected.

This is a real interesting book for baseball fans.  Even if you do not follow today’s game, but love the idea of the game, or are interested in turn of the century history, it really is a good read.  Although it is 50 years old, it still holds up, which is why it is a book that never seems to go out of print.