THE END OF BASEBALL NAMED AMONG
BEST
FICTION OF 2008 BY THE ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH."...Bill
Veeck shines in fiction, just as he did in real life."
"To paraphrase George Bernard Shaw, some baseball novels see
things as they are and ask why; Peter Schilling Jr.'s brilliantly
conceived The End of Baseball sees things that weren't
and imagines what could have been. The best baseball novel so far
this century."
—Allen Barra, Baltimore Sun
"Veteran sports journalist and debut novelist Schilling offers
a compassionate, enjoyable re-imagining of the early days of baseball.
Among the backdrop of patriotic elation, pre-civil rights racism
and Cold War paranoia, The End of Baseball offers a deeply
inspirational story of faith. A terrific tale."
—Kirkus Reviews
"This exciting, fast-paced story is a fine commentary on baseball
lore, race relations, and American sentiment during World War II,
and it will have the reader hanging on every pitch, wondering how
Veeck and his players will overcome racial discrimination to prove
they can play in the major leagues."
—Publisher's Weekly
"This is not a happy book with a happy ending... it is a book
based on a different timeline but the same people, motivations and
events during a very dark period in human history—consider
yourselves forewarned. Armed with this information it will allow
the reader to go through the pages of one of the finest pieces of
baseball fiction to come out in a very long time without being disappointed
that real life rarely ends on a high note. Peter Schilling Jr. deserves
the highest of marks for creating a fictitious history that feels
like the genuine article... Thanks to Schilling we understand that
change will not be 'the end of baseball' but rather
that the game is more likely to be destroyed by those fighting the
change. If the biggest complaint about a book is that it may be
too well written, then it's safe to say it's a work
of which the author should be proud. Take a bow Mr. Schilling. Bravo."
—John Brattain, The
Hardball Times
"This rollicking read of a book stars such big names as Satchel
Paige, Cool Papa Bell, Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard, Roy Campanella
— and Veeck himself, chain-smoking, wheeling and dealing,
tossing off ideas like sparks from a transformer gone haywire...
In lesser hands than those of novelist Schilling, these '44 Athletics
would breeze to the pennant. But Schilling's season packs lots of
lumps before it reaches a curiously realistic climax... [A]s somebody
in baseball puts it, The End of Baseball sails straight
down central. As somebody else in baseball used to say, it's a winner."
—Harry Levins, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
"The End of Baseball is a gem of historical fiction,
a diamond, if you will. Taking place during World War II, a time
in which America was embroiled in a fight against Hitler's bigotry,
it is a well-written, well-needed investigation into the roots and
realities of prejudice in our own land... [It] is a hearty feast
for the baseball glutton." —Wesley Hudson, Winston-Salem
Journal
"Schilling hits a home run with his debut novel... while not
only doing a solid job transporting the reader back to the mid 1940s,
he takes on the enviable task of developing multiple characters
that have tremendous amonuts of complexity."
—Pat Lagreid, The Baseball Book Review
"[A]n imaginative, thought-provoking novel. The book is fiction
but is created against a backdrop of real life characters. Just
a terrific read!"
—Harvey Frommer, Frommer's Book Reviews
"[Peter Schilling Jr.]... proceeded to hit one out of the
park. The attention paid to each character, making each unique,
and making many both hero and villain, will mesmerize any reader...
Though baseball fans will certainly love this book, particularly
for the edge-of-seat, heart-pounding descriptions of on-feild action,
non-baseball fans will love the vivid imagery, the rich character
descriptions, and the reactions of those characters watching and
listening to those same pitches and innings."
—Chrissie Bonnes, GameDay (Minnesota)
"Skillfully drawn with all his flair (and all his faults),
Schilling does a near-masterful job of constructing Veeck. In this
portrayal, Veeck is penned with appropriate complexity and humor:
he’s smart, he smokes, he drinks, he thinks, he reads, he
works behind-the-scenes, he’s pained (futzing with his nascent
prosthetic of a leg, having lost the limb as a Marine in WWII) and
oftentimes, he’s very much alone. And this last description
is what makes him so very human, what makes the reader feel that
he too is living this season, with all it’s balls and strikes
of life, right along with the protagonist... Schilling has surely
done a wealth of commendable research to reconstruct the cities,
stadiums, people, and personal histories of this time. But above
all the legwork stands the literary interworkings of a one-legged
man, with Bill Veeck wonderfully looming, and laughing between the
lines and above the words -- smoking and drinking his way through
a season that never was."
—Judd Spicer, City Pages (Minneapolis)
"In this fun, roller-coaster "what if" tale, Schilling
makes Veeck's dream come true... This is easily the most interesting
team since Philip Roth concocted the homeless Rupper Mundys of 1943
in The Great American Novel. Unlike Roth, however, whose
characters had great names like Gil Gamesh, John Baal and his father,
Spit, Schilling uses the real players to his advantage... Schilling
succeeds mightily. He knows his baseball and weaves an entertaining
story."
—Bob
D'Angelo, MSNBC.Com
"Required reading—readers are sure to cheer both Veeck
and players such as Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige in this alternate
take on baseball history."
—New York Post
"Of all sports, rivalled perhaps only by boxing, baseball
has the strongest links with literature. Philip Roth, Mark Harris,
Bernard Malamud and W. P. Kinsella are among the game's literati.
They're joined by Peter Schilling Jr. in The End of Baseball."
—Toronto Globe & Mail
"The world of baseball during World War II provides the atmospheric
background for this inspired debut novel that mingles fact and fantasy.
Schilling's what-if tale brilliantly re-creates a bygone era."
—John Marshall, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
"Brilliant. Baseball has a rich history of novels written
about it, but this one might just be its finest."
—StrandBooks.com
"Schilling's alternate-history pushes baseball's integration
ahead by four years [SIC--actually three], but the pages turn on
the larger-than-life characterization of Veeck, who emerges here
every bit as flamboyant as he was in the real world. In the ultimate
'woulda-coulda-shoulda' story, the vaunted color line is no match
for Veeck's showmanship and unquenchable spirit."
—Booklist
"A delightful historical novel."
—Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City)
"The End of Baseball is so engaging and convincing
that it accomplishes something truly special: it makes you wish
desperately it were true."
—Brad Zellar, The
Rake
"The End of Baseball is a blast. Like a Satchel Paige
flutter ball, it amuses and beguiles with every sharp turn. It's
perfect for baseball lovers, but it will entertain anyone who loves
a good story. Filled with wonderful characters and lively writing,
this is the best baseball novel I've read in years."
—Jonathan
Eig, New York Times bestselling author of Opening
Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson's First Season
"The End of Baseball reminded me of the books on
the shelf at my Grandfather's house. Schilling captures the period
beautifully. A wonderful story."
—Jim Bouton,
author of Ball Four and Foul Ball: My Life and
Hard Times Trying to Save an Old Ballpark
"The End of Baseball captures the mood and feel of
a time like no other baseball novel I have ever read. You are hooked
quickly and for the duration. It reminds me of the thrill I got
when I first read E.L. Doctorow's Ragtime."
—Paul
Dickson, author of The Bonus Army, An American Epic
and The Hidden Language of Baseball
"I always wished I could have spent time in the Negro Leagues,
and I always wanted to hang out with Bill Veeck. In Peter Schilling's
work of inventive history, The End of Baseball, I was allowed
to do both, and I thank him for that. If you ever wondered what
might have happened if Veeck had succeeded in his attempt to buy
the A's and fill the roster with Negro League stars, here's a chance
to find out. Enjoy the journey."
—Peter
Golenbock, author of 7: The Mickey Mantle Novel
and Bums: An Oral History of the Brooklyn Dodgers
and Dynasty: the New York Yankees, 1949-1964
"Peter Schilling takes one of the great 'what-might-have-been'
episodes in baseball history and brings it to life. This is best
baseball novel I've read about this era since Mark Winegartner's
Veracruz Blues. A fine achievement."
—Brad
Snyder, author of A Well-Paid Slave: Curt Flood's
Fight for Free Agency in Professional Sports (Viking Oct.
2006) and Beyond the Shadow of the Senators: The Untold Story
of the Homestead Grays and the Integration of Baseball
"A fascinating work, The End of Baseball is a powerful
'What-If' novel"
—Arnold
Hano, bestselling author of A Day in the Bleachers
(My choice for the greatest baseball book ever written.)
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