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PLAYING HARDBALL

Name: PLAYING HARDBALL
Author: David Whitford
ISBN: 0-385-42282-2

THE HIGH-STAKES BATTLE FOR BASEBALL'S NEW FRANCHISES

by David Whitford ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1993

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Assuming that Bismarck was correct in his judgment that citizens should not see how either their sausages or laws are made, baseball fans might be well advised to eschew reports like the absorbing one at hand—which documents the many ways in which the national pastime is, at the major-league level, more a commercial venture than a sport. In his eye-opening, behind-the-scenes account of how the Colorado Rockies and Florida Marlins earned the right to join the National League's roster, Whitford (Extra Innings, 1991, etc.) dashes any sentimental notion that crass realities are not top priorities for club owners. Apart from paying the steep price of admission ($95 million apiece), the winning entrants not only had to beat out rival groups representing other locales (Buffalo, Orlando, Sacramento, etc.) but also had to survive a rigorous screening by the arrogant and grasping proprietors of extant teams. In addition, they were obliged to enlist the aid of municipal, state, and national officials with variant agendas while convincing voters that the diamond game was worth higher taxes and/or public debt. As Whitford makes clear in his episodic, anecdotal narrative (notable for its vivid profiles of key players), the process went most smoothly in southern Florida, where immensely wealthy entrepreneur Wayne Huizenga became the area's leading investor once he'd satisfied himself that baseball could be a profitable proposition. By contrast, the Denver-based partnership that also landed an expansion franchise hustled for money, political support, and a stadium from its opening pitch. While Whitford does not focus exclusively on the megabuck finances that make professional baseball a risky enterprise throughout North America, dollars play the leading role in his text—whose redeeming characters are limited largely to talent scouts. A fine and revealing report on economic man at work and play on a field of dreams.

Pub Date: April 1, 1993

ISBN: 0-385-42282-2

Page Count: 288

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1993

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.