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Ballpark: Baseball in the American City
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About Ballpark: Baseball In The American City
Product Description An exhilarating, splendidly illustrated, entirely new look at the history of baseball: told through the stories of the vibrant and ever-changing ballparks where the game was and is staged, by the Pulitzer Prize-winning architectural critic. From the earliest corrals of the mid-1800s (Union Grounds in Brooklyn was a "saloon in the open air"), to the much mourned parks of the early 1900s (Detroit's Tiger Stadium, Cincinnati's Palace of the Fans), to the stadiums we fill today, Paul Goldberger makes clear the inextricable bond between the American city and America's favorite pastime. In the changing locations and architecture of our ballparks, Goldberger reveals the manifestations of a changing society: the earliest ballparks evoked the Victorian age in their accommodations--bleachers for the riffraff, grandstands for the middle-class; the "concrete donuts" of the 1950s and '60s made plain television's grip on the public's attention; and more recent ballparks, like Baltimore's Camden Yards, signal a new way forward for stadium design and for baseball's role in urban development. Throughout, Goldberger shows us the way in which baseball's history is concurrent with our cultural history: the rise of urban parks and public transportation; the development of new building materials and engineering and design skills. And how the site details and the requirements of the game--the diamond, the outfields, the walls, the grandstands--shaped our most beloved ballparks. A fascinating, exuberant ode to the Edens at the heart of our cities--where dreams are as limitless as the outfields. Review “I read this entire book! Baseball inspires a religious devotion for me and its many followers. This book by Paul Goldberger gives incredible new insights into the cathedrals at which we love to worship it. I am so grateful for it. Thank you, Paul.” —Jerry Seinfeld "As a Pulitzer Prize–winning architecture critic, Paul Goldberger brings scholarship and a discerning eye to these pages. He also brings a thoughtful fan’s appreciation of baseball’s unique appeal and romance. Qualities which are enhanced, or diminished, by ballpark design." —Bob Costas “Offers a concise history of major-league ballparks, from the earliest wooden structures to the present . . . Flip to the sections on your favorite parks and you’ll find surprising tidbits on nearly every page, [but] the book also mounts a sustained argument across its pages, which makes reading it end to end equally rewarding . . . Lushly illustrated.” —John Swansburg, The New York Times Book Review “Both a beautifully illustrated history of North American baseball stadiums and a defense of the simple but enduring idea of a ballpark that fits neatly into the hum and hive of a grid of city streets . . . Goldberger has an easy way with his descriptions, and his analyses of various ballparks are done with clarity and wit. The book is studded with insightful observations.” —Michael Lindgren, The Washington Post "There has never been a book on a sports subject that approaches a subject through the historical designs of its playing fields or, surely, does it as well. Through his architectural expertise and with compelling writing skills, Paul Goldberger in Ballpark: Baseball in the American City takes the reader into arenas that embrace unique and pleasurable insights of what is commonly referred to as our national pastime." —Ira Berkow “[An] entertaining, insightful account of the places that house the national pastime . . . One of the most engaging books to be written on either cities or baseball in the past decade . . . The emotional resonance of Ballpark is a testament to Goldberger’s thoughtfulness.” —Josh Stephens, Planetizen “Excellent . . . thought-provoking . . . [with] sumptuous photos and illustrations.” —Whitney Terrell, Literary Hub “Highly informed and interesting . . . An invaluable book, with delicious stories and insights into both baseball and urban studies. —Richar
