I grew up as a Cub fan. I've changed loyalties since the late 70's, but the Cubs of Claerbaut are still my heroes. This book, however, is the WORST I've ever read on any topic. As a history teacher of 31 years I've read somewhere in the vicinity of 1,000 books. Never have I seen a tome that has had as many incorrect spellings, botched facts, inane analyses, and poor writing style. I now regret having had my wife lovingly dish out my hard-earned money for this literary trainwreck. She could have gotten me a highlight tape of the '69 Mets and it would not aggravate me as much.

Here and now I'm warning any Bruin-backer (as Claerbaut would label him) to save his cash, keep an eye on ESPN CLassic, and have the patience to wait until Leo's era in Chicago is profiled.
After all, if a Cub fan has been waiting 57 years for another pennant, he can bide his time a little longer for a better book.

1969.The country is at war,internal and external.Ted kennedy is driving to oblivion,Nixon is baiting democrats and making overtures to china.apollo 11 is winning the souped up drag race to the moon.the cubs,under leo durocher,are dominating the newly alligned nl east,chased by the ghost of a cardinal's team[the real question is what happened THERE?] and ,the until then hapless ny mets.The myth is that the cubs were the better team which collapsed down the stretch and the mets "backed' in.Well,this book will niether add nor detract from that argument.fact,the mets won 100 games.Nobody backs in with 100 win.If anyone had a real beef,it was the baltimore orioles,a far superior team to any of the decade!Still,this lame debate has raged on ,supported by an inane old timers game a few years back,the world series that should have been,between the orioles and cubs.Mercy. The book does touch on some memorable players,including the great Billy Williams,the singular most underrated baseball player of the last 35 years.Still,one gets this gnawing feeling,that occurs sometimes in sports.for no known or measurable reason,one team does get every break imaginable.The mets were certainly that team that year.The cubs of 1969 will always be a very good team that didnt really do it,head to head,down the stretch,when they had to.That is a tough legacy. But an honest one of a good team with some great players{the aformentioned Williams,a twilighting Ernie Banks, the should be hall of famer ron santo,and fergie jenkins}, a once brilliant manager and spectacular fans.

Excellent, I enjoyed it every much. If you lived through Durocher's Cubs you'll love it. Brought back a lot of memories. It tells the complete story of the team, not just 69. It also contains the best analysis yet of why they didn't win a title and why we loved those players so much. The 67 run to first place, Adolpho Phillips, Willie Smith's home run, Holtzman's no hitter, Pepitone, Pappas, the clubhouse explosion, it's all here.