John Thorn

The history of the early game by the Official Historian of Major League Baseball. Who really invented baseball? Forget Abner Doubleday at Cooperstown and Alexander Cartwright. Meet Daniel Lucius Adams, William Rufus Wheaton, and other fascinating figures buried beneath the falsehoods that have accrued around baseball's origins. This is the true story of how organized baseball started, how gambling shaped the game from its earliest days, and how it...

A moving and fascinating history of the game of baseball. Goes beyond the stolen bases and home runs to demonstrate how baseball has been influenced by, and has in turn influenced, American life.