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Wrigley Field: The Long Life and Contentious Times of the Friendly Confines Kindle Edition
In spring 1914, a new ballpark opened in Chicago. Hastily constructed after epic political maneuvering around the city’s and organized baseball’s hierarchies, the new Weeghman Park (named after its builder, fast-food magnate Charley Weeghman) was home to the Federal Leagues Chicago Whales. The park would soon be known as Wrigley Field, one of the most emblematic and controversial baseball stadiums in America.
In this book, Stuart Shea provides a detailed and colorful chronicle of this living historic landmark and shows how the stadium has evolved to meet the shifting priorities of its owners and changing demands of its fans. While Wrigley Field today seems irreplaceable, we learn that from game one it has been the subject of endless debates over its future, its design, and its place in the neighborhood it calls home. To some, it is a hallowed piece of baseball history; to others, an icon of mismanagement and ineptitude. Shea deftly navigates the highs and lows, breaking through myths and rumors, in a book packed with facts, stories, and surprises that will captivate even the most fair-weather fan. From big money (the Ricketts family paid $900 million for the team and stadium in 2009), to exploding hot dog carts, to the curse-inducing goat, Shea uncovers the heart of the stadium’s history.
“More than any other American institution, baseball most wholeheartedly welcomes half-baked history and curdled lore. It's fun, after all; what grinch wishes to poke at the tale of Babe Ruth's called shot? But more often than not the real stories are even more delicious, and no one has gathered more of them than author Stuart Shea. His book is an unceasing delight.”—John Thorn, official historian, Major League Baseball and author of Baseball in the Garden of Eden
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherThe University of Chicago Press
- Publication dateMarch 7, 2014
- File size10049 KB
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“One of the best books ever written about the Cubs, their home and the fans who flock there to watch them, win or lose.” ― Rolling Stone
"Most ballpark books are like junk food―hundreds of empty calories of glossy photos and told-a-million-times anecdotes. They sate your appetite briefly without feeding your brain. But Stuart Shea’s Wrigley Field is a Thanksgiving feast for baseball fans. The book is saturated with culture and passion, flavor and spice, all lovingly created by a master chef. This is history to be savored: a winning combination of intimate knowledge, amazing detail, relevant context, and expert storytelling." ― Gary Gillette, editor of The Baseball Encyclopedia
“The 448-page book is packed with colorful anecdotes that are sure to keep any Chicago history buff or baseball fan—yes, even those who root for the South Side White Sox (or 'Pale Hose,' as Shea notes they are nicknamed)—glued to their bleacher seat.” ― Wrigleyville Nation
“Unlike any other venue, Wrigley Field has been a second home for generations of fans, a paragon of modern convenience turned baseball’s ultimate wayback machine, a status symbol for social climbers and corporate muscle alike. Shea’s book is the perfect history of the place that reflects Chicago’s past and future, its failures and its aspirations.” ― Christina Kahrl, cofounder of Baseball Prospectus
“You should read this book because of the history of wonderful stories and anecdotes about the team's and the ballpark's history, some of which is 'contentious,' as Shea's title states, some of which is just colorful and fun, just as is the history of the neighborhood and city in which it resides.” ― Bleed Cubbie Blue
"Wrigley Field: The Long Life & Contentious Times of the Friendly Confines is a great reminder of what makes the ballpark so special, and why the Cubs remain so popular." ― The Writer's Journey
"Stuart Shea's Wrigley Field: The Long Life and Contentious Times of the Friendly Confines deserves the location of honor on the nightstand of each and every Cubs fan, to be read a chapter or two at a time between Opening Day and the World Series." ― Chicago Tribune
“Home of the Cubs, world’s greatest ballpark, Chicago's largest beer garden, bucket list-worthy tourist attraction, field of (broken) dreams, enduring monument to enduring failure―Wrigley Field is all of these things, and of course so much more. Stuart Shea's witty, informative, and deeply entertaining book gives the Friendly Confines the tribute it deserves.” -- Dan Epstein, author of Big Hair and Plastic Grass: A Funky Ride Through Baseball and America in the Swinging ’70s
About the Author
Product details
- ASIN : B00ICQO8V6
- Publisher : The University of Chicago Press; Revised edition (March 7, 2014)
- Publication date : March 7, 2014
- Language : English
- File size : 10049 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Sticky notes : On Kindle Scribe
- Print length : 462 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,180,872 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #494 in Baseball History
- #651 in Sociology of Sports (Books)
- #655 in History of Midwestern U.S.
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I have been looking forward to this new release from Shea on the same topic, called Wrigley Field: The Long Life and Contentious Times of the Friendly Confines. Although I have purchased this book, I have not yet received it. But I have checked an extended excerpt of the book from the publisher's website - which is the reason why I write this review. Based on that excerpt, it appears that this book is effectively a rewrite and update of Wrigley Field: An Unauthorized Biography. Much of the excerpt that I read is identical to the original book (including many of the subheadings), although in some places the writing has been tightened or expanded upon. It is also worth noting that this book carries the story beyond the time of the original book into the Ricketts era.
In short, if you are expecting a brand new book on Wrigley Field by Shea, you will be disappointed. On the other hand, Shea's original book was an excellent work, and this book appears to improve and expand upon it. If you have the original book, you should consider reinvesting here. If you never read that book, but have an interest in learning about the colorful history of the Friendly Confines, don't miss this one.
UPDATE: After having read through the book, I have a few other notes to share. First, the book has a few illustrations, all of which are different from the Unauthorized Biography version. Surprisingly, a picture showing the 1922-23 expansion of the ballpark (p. 45) is incorrectly described in the caption as a picture taken during the original 1914 construction of the park. Hopefully this and other minor errors will be fixed in the next pressing.
A great gift for Cubs fans everywhere -- but read it first yourself as I did LOL!
The author sees the current $500 million renovation project as different from all those that have come before it and casts a cautionary flare about the possible implications, contending that these proposed changes could “make Wrigley, perhaps for the first time, unrecognizable to someone time traveling from 1914.” It is this kind of perceptive insight that sets Shea’s impressive biography apart from others that have tried to dissect the magic that is The Friendly Confines. For Cubs fans desperately looking for reason to cheer this year, this superb history of the ballpark they so cherish surely is it.