The Best Team Ever: A Novel of America, Chicago, and the 1907 Cubs

by Alan Alop, Doc Noel

The Best Team Ever captures the essence of a century-old Windy City, and weaves baseball, love, murder and intrigue through every page. This baseball book, crime drama, and love story follows the 1907 Chicago Cubs from the Practice Season to the World's Championship Series. The team of Tinker to Evans to Chance. And ''Three Finger'' Brown, owner of the game's best curveball. Rookie ''Kid'' Durbin rides the bench and writes a journal as the Cubs play a near-perfect brand of baseball against the backdrop of a wild, corrupt Chicago and a transforming America. Madmen, saints and sinners on the diamond and off parade through the pages of this historical novel.

503 pages, Paperback

First published August 15, 2008

Reviews

[Sarah B · Rating 2 out of 5]

I saw a book called "The Best Team Ever" and it was about the Cubs during their dynasty years. So, naturally I wasted no time getting it. Two pages into this book I realized something wasn't right. Turns out it is a historical fiction book, more fiction than historical, about the 1907 Cub Championship season. There is so much fiction in this book that I now question whether the Cubs won the World Series in 1907. If for some reason you are reading or going to read this book skip all parts that tell the story of Connie Dandridge, Percy McGill, Mike Fitzgerald or Kid Durbin's Journal. If you skip all those parts there are about 75 pages on the Cubs season and if you already know that the Cubs won the World Series in 1907 you won't pick up anything new. Rather than buying this book I would get "Crazy 08". It's not technically about the Cubs but rather the 1908 season. It just so happens the Cubs play a large part in this book because they won the World Series for the second time that year. An added bonus is the disparaging remarks about the doormat of the American League, the New York Hilltoppers, known today as the New York Yankees.

[Ebookwormy1]

This book is historical fiction - a huge disappointment as I could only get a copy through InterLibrary Loan. Good job Goodreads reviews in saving me from more time down the drain!

I had thought it might be a narrative history of the 1907 Cubs, in the vein of Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair that Changed America, which I highly recommend.

I have shelved this in zz-books-I-ve-decided-not-to-read, because while I'm interested in the 1907 Cubs, I'm looking for history, not fiction. If you want Cubs baseball history, you will probably want to likewise skip it.

If it's historical fiction you are looking for, I think the rarity of this book compounded with the reviews indicates there are better titles out there. Though this positive review gave me a different perspective on it's worth as historical fiction:
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2008/...

And if it's city of Chicago reading that entices you, see the aforementioned,
The Devil in the White City, Larson, 2003
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Mega Goodreads mind, what IS a good history title on the 1907 Cubs?!

[cliff · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a lifelong Chicagoan and diehard Cub fan I found the authors did a grand job of mixing 90% fact with just enough fiction to make a compelling story. The best "Cubs" book since Warren Brown's in 1946.

[Ann Marie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't think it would be fair to give this book a rating since I didn't finish it - but I tried to get into it, but it never got going.

The only reason I bought this book was because they didn't have it at the library, which may have been a sign that I shouldn't read it... I regret the purchase.

[Kathy Siberz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do you like baseball stories? Are you a Chicago Cubs fan? Do you like history of early twentieth century? Then you will love this fictional story of a young Cubs pitcher in 1907 interwoven with Chicago and actual baseball players