The Eastern Stars: How Baseball Changed the Dominican Town of San Pedro de Macoris

My wife is from the Dominican Republic and my youngest son is in love with baseball so this book was important to me for those reasons to start with. As I read the book, I was to learn a great deal about the Dominican Republic, it's relationship to the other Caribbean countries, their storied past, thrust onto the world stage by Christopher Columbus (who for all intents and purposes also wiped out most of the native people) and modern political history. All in all this little country has been exploited by many world powers, the people challenged beyond all belief by their own leaders and the invasions of various conquerors and "protectors", including the USA. It is a testimony to the people of this country of their steadfast determination to remain sovereign in the face of some many and varied assaults. More recently, the history of baseball is well intertwined with the history of a sugar cane town, once the home of the great poets of the Dominican Republic. This book takes the reader through the history of baseball in the Dominican Republic, and folds in the influence and impact of baseball in the United States and other countries, like Japan. The author takes time to describe in detail the context of the baseball in this and other communities where well-paying jobs are few and far between, and the jobs that are there are physically intense and profoundly low paying. Soon enough, it becomes clear to the reader that for many boys, there are few ways to "success" but through a chance to become a major league baseball star. Several well-known major league stars' lives are covered, with details about their life before, during and after baseball. Not only do they have major league success (and failure) but many leverage their love and knowledge of the game to take advantage of the adjacent opportunities like runnning training camps, scouting for players, managing and so on. The story is moderately complex, the dimensions of these peoples' existence many, and through it can be seen the hope and optimism that is so characteristic of the people in "DR". If you're interested in baseball in general (there's plenty of stats); Dominican baseball stars; or even the history of the Dominican Republic (condensed), this book will reward you with it's anecdotal telling and many vignettes from the lives of world and Dominican leaders, successful (and not so successful) Dominican baseball players, and the author's own experiences during his visits with the many interesting people upon whom this book is based. This account has given me a new respect for the people of the Dominican Republic and has reminded me of the fact that the human spirit can achieve almost anything that the soul embraces.

Most of the baseball books I've read (such as the one I reviewed most recently, The Baseball Codes) are about the *game* of baseball. Kurlansky's is different. Unlike your average book about the sport, in The Eastern Stars you'll rarely find the phrase, "The count was 3 and 2, with 2 outs." Instead, this book is about the cultural history of baseball in a place and economic system that is foreign to most of us. It's fascinating -- assuming that you are as attracted as I am to anthropology, or "how one item can impact an entire society." Kurlansky is no stranger to this kind of writing, as his previous books (such as Salt: A World History) demonstrate. But I hadn't realized until I read The Eastern Stars that he has a long journalistic history in the Dominican Republic, and the depth of his knowledge really shows. This isn't someone who flew in for a few weeks worth of interviews; Kurlansky is well aware of the frequency with which the power goes out in the Dominican Republic, and people's dependence on motorbikes (I once saw five people on a two-person motorbike -- plus a guitar). In fact, if you're interested in the Dominican Republic without any reference to baseball, this would be an excellent overview. I certainly wish I'd read his chapter on the country's history before I spent a week in the country in the mid 90s. (I stayed with friends, cooking on a gas stove powered with rum. It was a very long way from any resort hotel.) There are points where I began to suspect that the author was trying to decide if his book should be about the history/impact of sugar (to accompany Salt) rather than baseball, because he paints such a vivid picture of the last century in the sugar industry. But the crux of this book is baseball, and the tiny Dominican town called San Pedro de Macoris -- where 79 major leaguers originated between 1962 and 2008, one out of every six of the Dominicans who made it to the major league. You know their names: Sammy Sosa, George Bell, Julio Franco, Robinson Cano. What you may not realize is the distance those men traveled, from raging poverty to the very foreign United States (most spoke no English when they arrived, leading Kurlansky to share several entertaining anecdotes about how the boys managed to order food). Baseball was and is the path out of a dead-end existence, and young boys play baseball constantly -- even though many have no baseballs, only socks filled with whatever is available. Much of the town's ecosystem has been tuned to the purpose, such as the buscons who run baseball academies to train young and talented boys (and get a percentage of the signing bonus, when there is one). Mostly, Kurlansky does his best to look for, "What makes this town so special?" -- and I really enjoyed his search for the answer. He applies an excellent journalistic sense to "America's pasttime" (even if there are more non-U.S. players every year) that explains why MLB looks for talent outside our country, how the Dominican gover

I really enjoyed this book. Lots of historical perspectives. The author definitely did his homework and knows the subject.

Every modern baseball fan has heard of San Pedro de Macoris, that hotbed of Dominican baseball talent, but most know little about the town. In "The Eastern Stars", author Mark Kurlansky introduces the reader to its sugar past, its baseball present and the changes the game has made to the town. This book is part history, part baseball and part Third World study. The history part traces the history of the Dominican Republic, its colonial past, its chronic tension with Haiti and its series of dictators. Getting to the more localized history of San Pedro, it follows its rise as a sugar center and, as that declined, the rising prominence of baseball. We learn about a culture drawn from around the Caribbean that drew on the traditions of the Dominican, Cuba, Haiti and British Island dotting the Sea. We read about the impact big world issue have on something as non-political as baseball. Did you, for example, ever stop to think that the U.S. Embargo of Cuba opened the door to the major leagues to Dominicans by closing it to Cuban stars? In much of the book, Kurlansky treats us to stories of the many of the major leaguers, both great stars and those whose careers were measured in days. We read of the heroics and the antics of Juan Marichal, Joaquin Andujar, Sammy Sosa, George Bell and many others. Issue of nationality and race, white, black and Latino, are shown from the San Pedro perspective, which is much different than that of the U.S. The importance of the signing bonus and the big league salaries to the player, his family and community, is illustrated in example after example. The continued attraction of San Pedro to retired players says something about the ties of country and home. As we read of the scouts, the camps, the retired major leaguers and the eager boys who bring us the magic of summer, the reader cannot help but wonder how it is that our entertainment is dependent on this land so near and yet so different. For any fan of baseball or the history and culture of the Caribbean, this is a good read.

In the last 50 years the Dominican Republic has become a rich area for professional Baseball Players, stars like Juan Marichal, Sammy Sosa, Rico Carty, George Bell among the biggest names. This book sets the stage concerning the poverty of this area and the one way out for the boys. The Town of San Pedro de Macoris has produced over 72 MLB players, albeit some for a "cup of coffee". The appendix has a listing and short biographical sketch on each one of those players. Even though its emphasis is on San Pedro the author touches the sad history of the Dominican Republic and the social economic conditions of that island nation over the last 100 years. If you are interested in the historical basis of Baseball here is a book on one aspect of its rich history. The author for the most part documents facts and stays clear of personal judgements and opinions.