Crazy '08: How a Cast of Cranks, Rogues, Boneheads, and Magnates Created the Greatest Year in Baseball History

This a wonderful read for any history buff or baseball fan. Ms. Murphy does a masterful job of spinning the yarn of the 1908 baseball season, with all of its colorful personalities and crazy hijinks, while raising the larger historical context of the social and economic transformations America was undergoing near the turn of the last century. She never misses a beat and keeps the action moving along, blending historical analysis with play-by-play recountings of key games and biographies of the most colorful characters in the game. It's a fun read, but a smart book filled with wonderful tidbits and analysis to please the most intellectual of baseball fans.

Baseball fans who are also fans of baseball history are always on the lookout for books that flesh out familiar stories from the game's past. There are a plethora of baseball non fiction books that merely put a spit shine on eras, teams and players of bygone days, adding nothing to our understanding or appreciation. Then along comes a book like "Crazy '08" by Cait Murphy a work that not only adds new dimensions to the wild and whacky story of the 1908 NL pennant race but sheds a bright shining light on a time in American history. Yes "Crazy '08" is replete with colorful baseball characters ranging from irascible Giant Manager John McGraw, to rambunctious Cub shortstop Johnny Evers to the magnificent Honus Wagner. Of course the infamous Merkle game is the centerpiece of this luscious feast. And truly baseball as it was played 100 years ago (the same basic rules, quite a different etiquette) is the time period. Author Murphy hits a home run in relating all these facets. But her real feat is all the stories, teams, players, managers, owners, umpires and other assorted supporting cast that she fits comfortably and indispensably into this epic tale (an epic that clocks in at a mere 384 pages no less!). And that's the baseball stuff! Totally within context of this history of a seminal baseball season, she includes tales of an obese Chicago mass murderess, anarchists, coal mines, race riots and more. 1908 is remembered for the dramatic three-team National League pennant race between the New York Giants, Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates that wasn't decided until the season's last day and then one. This added affair came about because a seeming Giant victory over the hated Cubs late in the season had to be replayed due to what has famously become known as Merkle's Boner -- the base running faux pas of a Giant rookie. The resulting controversy epitomizes the roles of those "Cranks, Rogues, Boneheads and Magnates" mentioned in the book's subtitle. Murphy is nothing if not the Honus Wagner of researching which is all well and good but can she write? Boy howdy! The woman's style is so breezy the pages will flap by on their own if you don't hold `em down. A student of baseball history? Step right up and read "Crazy 08." A casual fan? You'll love it just as well. Hell, if you're just interested in turn-of-the-century Americana or want a good read, "Crazy '08" comes highly recommended.

I have read other books reviewing the 1908 baseball season such as "The Unforgettable Season", but Cait Murphy's effort is the best by far. She has done a masterful job in bringing the significant individuals back to life from this time period. In addition, her description of the fans (bugs or cranks), and their loyalty to their home team is outstanding. This book made me feel as though I was right there taking part in what the game of baseball was like in 1908. It is really a "You Are There" description. Her humorous method of writing throughout the book is precious with laughs on many pages. The book focuses mainly on three National League teams (Giants, Cubs, and Pirates) that are fighting for the pennant while one chapter is devoted to the three American League teams (Tigers, White Sox, and Indians) battling for the A. L. flag. The text, itself, is 298 pages long and is very hard to put down. I have read hundreds of baseball books, and this is one of the very best. If you want a taste of what the game of baseball and its fans were like 100 years ago this is a wonderful book for you to read. Also, if you have a youngster around 10 years old who enjoys reading about the game's history I would highly recommend this book. I know I am ordering extra copies for just that purpose. In addition, present major league players would do well to introduce themselves to what the game was like 100 years ago along with learning about the men who made up the game's colorful past. Get busy on another one, Ms. Murphy.

Cait Murphy's CRAZY 'O8 is a celebration of perhaps the most bizarre season in baseball history. Whether you agree with her premise that it WAS THE GREATEST YEAR is beside the point for anyone who enjoys an often hilarious, sometimes tragic baseball yarn, meticulously researched and written with the fan in mind. I happen to agree with her, but I'm a Cub fan so by definition the Greatest Season in the history of baseball has to be 1908, the last year the Cubs won the World Series. But combine that with the fact that had it not been for "Merkle's Boner" they wouldn't have even been in the World Series, add bribery, gambling, boozing, riots, birth, death and a cast of characters so colorful that you find yourself turning page after page wondering "What next?" and not being disappointed. The story gets stranger and wilder with each passing week of the season. As we approach a Cubs centennial celebration of dubious merit, this is the book you should read for a full appreciation of an era during which the Cubs were a dynasty and the Yankees (Highlanders) were a baseball doormat. Ah. Those were the days ...

Cait Murphy has composed a splendidly written chronicle of a year in the life of baseball. "Crazy `08" builds fast with a sweeping history of the years preceding '08. It then ties together story after fascinating story, breathing life into the dead ball era. This is not simply a baseball book, it is a book about life, competition, egos, culture, and a nation. The portraits are not always pretty, because baseball (and life) are not always attractive. However Murphy's paintings of these pictures are striking and eye-catching. Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction , Soul Physicians, and Spiritual Friends (and an avid Cubs' fan!).