“With the LEGENDS series, Howard Bryant brings to life the best that sports has to offer—the heroes, the bitter rivalries, the moments that every sports-loving kid should know.”—Mike Lupica, #1 bestselling author of Travel Team, Heat, and Fantasy League
Experience baseball's most exciting moments, World Series heroics, greatest players, and more!
Baseball, America's pastime, is a sport of moments that stand the test of time. It is equally a sport of a new generation of heroes, whose exploits inspire today's young fans. This combination makes for a winning debut in Legends: The Best Players, Games, and Teams in Baseball.
This is no traditional almanac of mundane statistics, but rather a storyteller's journey through baseball's storied game. Told in fun, accessible chapters and accompanied by iconic photos, a slew of Top Ten lists for kids to chew on and debate, and a Timeline of the 40 Most Important Moments in Baseball History, this collection covers some of the greatest players from Babe Ruth to Hank Aaron; the greatest teams to take the field and swing the bats; the greatest social triggers, such as Jackie Robinson's breaking of the color barrier; the greatest playoff rivalries, including the 2004 showdown between the Red Sox and Yankees that turned into an instant classic; and, of course, the edge-of-your-seat World Series moments that left some cheering while others wept. This is the perfect book for young fans eager to learn more about the sport that will stay with them for a lifetime.
Praise for LEGENDS:
An Best Book of the Month!
* "A terrific gathering of heroic hacks and legendary near misses."—Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
"[T]his is clearly a book for sports lovers. A strong choice for rounding out sports collections, this work knocks it out of the park."—School Library Journal
"Any fan of baseball will enjoy this compilation . . . Fans of all ages will find this a useful guide; teachers might find this an interesting mentor text for a student reporting on a particular topic since the approach is unique."—VOYA
"[T]his book will attract all manner of analysis and discussion among lovers of America’s favorite pastime. Fans of other sports will cheer: this is only the first in a series devoted to sports."—Booklist
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
Even a non-baseball fan read this cover to cover!
By Janet Hamilton
Summary: Each chapter of this book stands alone, telling the story of a player or team. The first section, “Spring”, tells the stories of individual players from Babe Ruth to Rickey Henderson. “Summer” moves on to teams, like the 1914 Boston Braves and the 1998 New York Yankees. Finally, “Fall” recounts some of the more amazing World Series stories. Don’t worry, both the 1975 and 2004 Red Sox made the final cut.Pros: Not being a huge baseball fan, I thought I would just read a few of the chapters. I got hooked with the first story of Babe Ruth and ended up reading the book cover to cover. Even the most avid fan will likely learn something from this book, and will undoubtedly enjoy reliving favorite baseball memories.Cons: It seems like a no-brainer to have lots of pictures in each chapter. Instead, there are a mere 18 photos, all stuck at the end of the book.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
This isn't a good baseball book by any stretch of the imagination...
By Cipher
Seems to be the Author's favorite teams, favorite players. Only...He raves over the A's having having three 20 game winners one season, bu makes no mention of the Orioles of the same period with four 20 game winners. Or the fact that the Os won 100+ games three years in a row.No chapter for Gehrig? A lifetime .340 hitter. The '27 yankees as after thought while he goes ga-ga over the A's of the '70s?The author starts out telling us the book isn't perfect. True enough, and he made no effort in that direction either. He goes on and on about his favorites and glosses over many a great player, IF he even mentions them at all. This isn't a good baseball book by any stretch of the imagination, there are so many much better books out there, don't waste your time with this narrowly focuse fan piece...
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful.Magical storytelling
By L. Harrington
Magical storytelling: accessible, humorous, yet sharpened by the sensitivity of a cultural historian. Bryant shows us how these players were great, not only because of how well they played the game, but how well they lived their lives. A great read for any kid, sports fan or not.
