A Great Day in Cooperstown: The Improbable Birth of Baseball's Hall of Fame

This book, even for someone who is not a lover of baseball history, was somuch fun to read. And, the book was extremely well written by the author. Not only does it tell the true story of the beginnings of the Hall of Fame, but it weaves the story around the history of some of the greatest players in the game. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys baseball & especially to those who have been to the Hall of Fame.

For me Reisler's book was a very timely story, as I read it just before visiting the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in June 2008. He begins with the interesting public relations and (and almost religious) story regarding baseball's creation myth - that Gen. Abner Doubleday invented baseball in Cooperstown in 1839, a myth that caused the Hall of Fame to be placed there. The Museum itself both honors the myth and discredits it in neighboring rooms. Also entertaining are Reisler's accounts of how the first enshrinees handled that first day of immortality in 1939. Even among those who'd spent their working lives before the public, there were some who didn't quite appreciate the throng that gathered in Cooperstown. A fun puzzle is to try to identify the Hall of Famers on the front cover, both before you read the book and as you go through. Recommended to baseball fans, particularly to fans of the history and lore of the game. Others might wonder what all the fuss was about, as baseball has been elbowed aside by other sports (pro football in particular) for the adulation of American sports fans. Me, I like baseball.

Like a relaxing train ride, "A Great Day in Cooperstown" is a wonderful trip to the past. Mr. Reisler captures the mood and tempo of an earlier time, when the heroes were giants and baseball was the apple of the nation's eye. Myths are gently laid aside and bronze plaques are left in their place. If only things were still so simple.