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Babe Ruth and the 1918 Red Sox: Babe Ruth and the World Champion Boston Red Sox
1918. The date resonates with every Boston Red Sox fan the year their team won its last World Series championship. But beyond the franchise's legendary curse, what is known of the men who were crowned baseball's best on September 11, 1918?During that tumultuous summer, the Great War in Europe cast an ominous shadow over the national game, as enlistments and the draft wreaked havoc with every team's roster. Players and owners fought bitterly over contracts and revenue, the parks were infested with gamblers, and the Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs almost called off the World Series. And a Boston player known as The Colossus 23-year-old Babe Ruth began his historic transformation from pitching ace to the game's greatest slugger.Allan Wood has written the first complete account of Boston's last champions, mining 80 years of history and illuminating the season in which the Red Sox won an unprecedented fifth World Series title. And befitting a modern-day Red Sox fan's pessimism, Wood poses a chilling Was the 1918 World Series fixed?
438 pages, Paperback
First published December 26, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 21, 2011
The book 1918 by Allen Wood is about the Boston Red Sox season in 1918 and Babe Ruth’s impact on the Red Sox. The season ended with the Red Sox playing in the World Series against the Chicago Cubs. Part of the book is about how the war had an impact on that season. Also the book talks about how baseball will be played in the future. Through this story a reader can see how one great athlete can change the sports world.
The overall theme of the book is how Babe Ruth, as a great athlete, accepted responsibility in his sport and in his community. This book tells how Babe Ruth influenced the sport of baseball in 1918 and forever after that. Babe Ruth started playing baseball as a pitcher, but because he was such an incredible overall player he set records in all areas of baseball. Although the Major League Baseball Player Association was not in existence during this time period, Babe did represent players on his team and other playoff teams during bonus payment negotiations with the team owners. Babe was not perfect and he did some things that were not very smart, but he was a good person and a talented ball player. Donations to charities and taking care of the less wealthy children and families were things Babe did automatically, and he got other players to do this too.
1918 is written in a narrative style. It tells the story in a chronological style. It starts with opening day at Fenway Park in Boston in 1918 with the owner shoveling snow out of the park, and ends after the last game of the 1918 World Series. Parts of the book are written in a description style, which was a good way for the author to keep the reader interested in between history lessons about baseball. This was an effective writing style for this book. At one point that year, it was not sure if the Playoffs or the World Series were even going to happen because of the draft for World War I.
I enjoyed learning about the 1918 season and how it was played, but there were very slow parts to read. The book would have been quicker to read if the author had left out some of the extra paragraphs that went on and on about the same details. I have not ever read another book like this one where narration and description styles were combined. I really liked the descriptions of the games and learning about the strategies that influenced how the game was played back then. While I cannot say it is the best book I have read, I would definitely recommend it to others who like baseball.
The overall theme of the book is how Babe Ruth, as a great athlete, accepted responsibility in his sport and in his community. This book tells how Babe Ruth influenced the sport of baseball in 1918 and forever after that. Babe Ruth started playing baseball as a pitcher, but because he was such an incredible overall player he set records in all areas of baseball. Although the Major League Baseball Player Association was not in existence during this time period, Babe did represent players on his team and other playoff teams during bonus payment negotiations with the team owners. Babe was not perfect and he did some things that were not very smart, but he was a good person and a talented ball player. Donations to charities and taking care of the less wealthy children and families were things Babe did automatically, and he got other players to do this too.
1918 is written in a narrative style. It tells the story in a chronological style. It starts with opening day at Fenway Park in Boston in 1918 with the owner shoveling snow out of the park, and ends after the last game of the 1918 World Series. Parts of the book are written in a description style, which was a good way for the author to keep the reader interested in between history lessons about baseball. This was an effective writing style for this book. At one point that year, it was not sure if the Playoffs or the World Series were even going to happen because of the draft for World War I.
I enjoyed learning about the 1918 season and how it was played, but there were very slow parts to read. The book would have been quicker to read if the author had left out some of the extra paragraphs that went on and on about the same details. I have not ever read another book like this one where narration and description styles were combined. I really liked the descriptions of the games and learning about the strategies that influenced how the game was played back then. While I cannot say it is the best book I have read, I would definitely recommend it to others who like baseball.
May 23, 2022
A very thorough review of the 1918 season. Lot's of good detail on the team and Babe Ruth's early life, but Wood's tendency to invent his own dialogue and put it into the mouths of the various figures portrayed can be a bit off-putting, and leaves one uncertain which things should be taken at face value and which not.
October 4, 2012
I think that Allan Wood wrote this book to describe the 1918 Red Sox, and Babe Ruth. I think he just wanted to tell more about Babe Ruth than some people may have new. I learned a lot from reading this book, and I think that was his goal. In this book he describes the season and lifestyle of Babe Ruth during the 1918 season.
I think that the theme of the book is never give up. There are several times throughout the 1918 season that Babe and the manager bumped heads and Babe eventually walked out of the dugout saying “That’s it I quit.” Had he actually not returned to the team who knows what the season could have ended like? If he had not returned they would not have won a few games because he was not there to help. Therefore they might not have gone to the playoffs, or even, the World Series. So every time Babe came back he was helping his team, without even knowing.
This book was descriptive and a narration. Most of the book he is talking about games, trades, or scouting reports around the league. Then at some points of the book he is very descriptive about the game. He does a really good job explaining the situation of the game. He also describes the number of fans in the stands, also how loud or quiet the fans were being. I felt like I was actually there most of the time.
I really liked this book. I really like how descriptive he was about the situation or the game. I feel like I have really learned a lot about Babe Ruth, the Red Sox, and the rules of baseball that I did not know ever existed. There was not really anything that I disliked or would change about the book, so all in all I really enjoyed this book and recommend that you read.
I think that the theme of the book is never give up. There are several times throughout the 1918 season that Babe and the manager bumped heads and Babe eventually walked out of the dugout saying “That’s it I quit.” Had he actually not returned to the team who knows what the season could have ended like? If he had not returned they would not have won a few games because he was not there to help. Therefore they might not have gone to the playoffs, or even, the World Series. So every time Babe came back he was helping his team, without even knowing.
This book was descriptive and a narration. Most of the book he is talking about games, trades, or scouting reports around the league. Then at some points of the book he is very descriptive about the game. He does a really good job explaining the situation of the game. He also describes the number of fans in the stands, also how loud or quiet the fans were being. I felt like I was actually there most of the time.
I really liked this book. I really like how descriptive he was about the situation or the game. I feel like I have really learned a lot about Babe Ruth, the Red Sox, and the rules of baseball that I did not know ever existed. There was not really anything that I disliked or would change about the book, so all in all I really enjoyed this book and recommend that you read.
August 16, 2016
Well written, enjoyable telling of the season of 1918.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews