Play for a Kingdom

by Thomas Dyja

When Union soldiers and Rebel troops accidentally cross paths, they decide to put aside the bloodshed and compete in their own way, breaking out the baseball and playing game after game, until the horrors of war once more overwhelm them. A first novel.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Civil War, Baseball, Fiction, War, American Civil War, American

432 pages, Hardcover

First published January 28, 1997

About the author

I've written three novels and two works of non-fiction before THE THIRD COAST. I've also worked as an editor, book packager, and many years as a bookseller in Chicago, New York, and Boston. I currently live in Manhattan with my wife and daughter, who's in high school; my son is away at college.

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baseball--and the Civil War! A unique concept by Thomas Dyja and the book works well as a story about a series of baseball games and as a story about the Civil War, with descriptions of intense combat as well as detail about the day-to-day life of the soldiers. The story takes place during Grant's Overland Campaign in 1864, a bloody campaign that pinned Lee inside Petersburg, Va. Two companies of tough veteran soldiers--one Union, one Confederate--keep encountering each other and engage in what becomes a series of baseball games. I kept thinking that was pretty far-fetched, that the two companies would be able to keep meeting and also be able to play out a series of games--without getting caught..! But the author makes it work. The story is told beautifully and the characters are engaging. It did go on a little too long, at over 400 pages, but I have no problem giving this excellent historical novel a solid 4 stars.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A friend gave me this book to read because I love historical fiction and the Civil War era in particular. I've been reading a lot of fantasy/young adult novels and wasn't really anxious to move to another genre just yet, but since it was a borrowed book, I didn't want to sit on it too long.

Boy am I glad I picked it up. I really enjoyed this book. It had probably the best descriptions of the day-to-day life of a soldier at that time. Although I often prefer my history sanitized (think "Gone With the Wind") the battle descriptions were, I imagine, pretty accurate and often difficult to read.

Great character development and Dyja does an excellent job of telling a story. I wish I had started a character list when I first started reading, there are many and it's difficult to keep track of who's who in the beginning. It takes some perseverance in the beginning to get into the story, but your patience will be rewarded.

[Carol Storm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding Civil War novel -- truly balanced in the portrayal of North and South. Plus there's baseball!

[Gabby · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've read from any genre on any subject. The story takes place in the midst of the Civil War close to the battle at Spotsylvania. The Union soldiers involved have less than a month to serve in their tour of duty. They are the 14th Regiment from Brooklyn, New York. All they want is to get through the final days before they are discharged so they can go back to their homes, families, or the lives they left behind. Unfortunately, they are not lucky enough to spend their remaining days in the war in easy circumstances, but one unlikely event makes their remaining time a little less stressful. They meet a Confederate group of soldiers and end up playing several games of baseball with them. It is not necessary to know much about baseball to follow that storyline, nor is it important to know much about this particular battle in the Civil War. Dyja takes this story through many different scenarios to make points about what soldiers have to go through to survive some of the most harrowing experiences anyone can imagine living or dying through. For some, the most difficult and shattering realization comes when they realize that they are fighting to win nothing. They are there simply to kill or be killed. Facing that and dealing with it encompasses most of the story. Each of the characters is forever changed by what he experiences during the last few weeks he is required to serve his obligation as a soldier. I had some issues at the beginning of this book keeping the characters straight, and that persisted through much of the book. However, I could not put this book down. It was that well written and that compelling a story. I will never look at war the same way ever again. As for the whole matter of the Civil War -- those issues are far too complicated to reduce the whole matter down to what some see as Lincoln freeing the slaves.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I randomly picked this book up off the shelf at a local public library in London, England. I was a bit surprised to find a baseball book in an English library. Checked it out and really enjoyed the story. Great read, highly recommend.

[Mallory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some books take longer to read than others, and that's okay. I wouldn't say I thought I would fly through this, but it surprised me how I only wanted to read a few chapters at a time. We're following the 14th Brooklyn post-Gettysburg. These men are finally able to count the days when they will be able to return home. So why would they risk everything for a game? This story follows the not-uncommon intersection between war and sport and how when guards are dropped just for a moment and one sees the other as more than just "enemy," bigger, uncomfortable questions begin to be asked. Questions about ideals and motivations and morals. It's odd to say that this was refreshing to read just after Ender's Game because the battle scenes are so much more horrific, but there was a real quality to the conflict and the company here that I found lacking in the other. If you have an interest in either baseball or the Civil War, I would recommend this book. It's been on my shelf for a long time and I always find it interesting how I finally decide to read something (2020 has been that year though), but once again, I picked it up at the right time.

Favorite quotes: "Often, at the strangest moments of our lives, the deep and well-used ruts we travel do not allow us to consider the extraordinary circumstances we have recently experienced. Only once we are clear of them, and safe, do we begin to understand the profound impact they may have."

"This America is good idea. But it will fall apart... Everybody is rebel here. Nobody wants to think about everyone. Only themselves." - Karl Udelhoffer

"The first instinct of the Union boys was to welcome familiar faces, even if they belonged to Rebs. Among a combined body of nearly two hundred thousand men trying to kill each other, seeing people you knew after a battle still alive and relatively healthy was always an event worth celebrating."

[Tim Duff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Way too much graphic violence, language & sexual innuendo for me. I am not a prude, but a lot of these things were not necessary, in my opinion, to tell the story.

The mix of baseball & the Civil War was intriguing, but the story was ruined for me with all of the graphic tales which did not add to it.

[Vincent Scarsella · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't finish it. Too plodding. Found it difficult to get absorbed into the book.

[Christopher Merck]

I love Civil War history, and I love baseball...but I didn't love this book. I gave it up around page 50.

[Bradley Brill · Rating 5 out of 5]

A unique perspective on the men who fought in the Civil War. An entertaining tale.

[Davy Bennett · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw Abner Doubleday's large headstone at Arlington Cemetary a few years ago.

I love baseball, am a Civil War buff but going to donate this one. I have been to Cold Harbor.

Seems over the top.

[Stephen Brellenthin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Difficult to follow all the characters. Found it distracting, which made the book unexciting

[AnonymousReaderPerson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Giving one star always leaves me tempted to insult the story and/or author about the book's obvious flaws. This is one that had no obvious flaws...Just no real strengths. It took me more than a month to read when it should have been half of that. But I think - at least more times than not - the best test of a story's quality is how excited you are to pick it up and see what happens next. My excitement level on that front never went beyond "meh." It's a Civil War story about a bunch of soldiers who play baseball with the enemy. I finished this book without finding merit in any deeper summation than that - though the author was obviously aiming for a profound allegory between war and sports.

Oh, that's another thing...Sports play-by-plays in novels just irk me, even when the author does layer it with other narrative elements. But if I really want to know who singled who home, who stole a base, who made the out, who took a walk, just give me a damn score sheet. The entire novel doesn't play like that, but the parts that do are just a drag to get through.

[Badly Drawn Girl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a bit skeptical when I started this book. I'm not a huge fan of historical fiction and have little interest in books about the civil war. I needn't have worried. Thomas Dyja's novel is a wonderful story that is greater than the sum of it's parts. You don't have to be interested in the civil war, you don't even have to like the game of baseball, to be captivated by the story. The characters are so well developed and the descriptions so vivid that I felt like I was there, hiding in the trees and watching the action unfold. I highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys well written, engaging stories!

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

The concept of this novel was rather unique and beautifully drawn. It's more than a war story, it's more than a baseball tale, it's about people overcoming their pre-concieved notions of what they think they know about themselves and the world and forming new ideas as they see the world for what it truly is. Though some of the portions of the book seem cumbersome and quite a bit longer than they should have been, the ending is satisfying (though predictable) and it leaves you with a lot to think about. Definitely a must-read for anyone interested in the Civil War and/or baseball.

[Patrick]

Fiction. Great characters, great story combining two of my loves, baseball & the Civil War. Tough to read depictions of battle.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A family favorite, combining baseball and the Civil War. Incredibly detailed, a book you can't put down.

[Tom Eldridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful and heartbreaking Civil War story about Rebel and Yankee picket lines, secretly meeting for a game of baseball. Wonderful story about the war. Gripping, couldn't stop reading it.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

American historical....May 1864 Spotsylvania....baseball between Yanks and Rebs - value of life and friends.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Civil War baseball, yes, baseball book!

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Civil War baseball novel.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty neat premise but it just could not take off.