This is a book written by the grandson of the famous military historian, General S.L.A. "SLAM" Marshall. It conerns allegations made about his grandfather, that appear to be true. Allegations that make his grandfather out to be a person who does NOT lie about catching the fish, but each time the story is told, the fish gets bigger and bigger. At least, that was my impression. But, it's also about how John Douglas Marshall, the grandson and First Lietenant in the US Army, disappoints and hurts his grandfather by filing for and receiving a Concientious Objector status in 1969, instead of being sent to the Vietnam War. Initially, I was slightly irked, because I was drafted in 1969, and have psychiatric problems from my two tours in Vietnam. It often seems that people with connections, or better education, often get the best of what America has to offer. Yet on another level, I was very pleased with Mr. Marshall's honesty, and the book shows how, no matter what family you came from, the Vietnam War affected everyone in this country, one way or another. One of the remarks Mr. Marshall made, which I will always remember, is a feeling he shared, many years later, with a fellow concientious objector. It was that their decision to seek C.O. status was the most important decision of their lives. And in this sense, I must agree with him and his friend. Because I think my decision to go to Vietnam for two tours, at the end of the war, was the most important decision or event to occur in my life, and I think that must be true of almost any male of our generation. No matter what course of action you took in regards to the war, it was a defining moment in your life. At this point, I look for forgiveness and healing, and I would suggest that this book is truly about some kind of Reconciliation Road for all of us.

Baseball as metaphor for life, or life as a metaphor for baseball has been pretty well covered. Unfortunately most of the writers in this book are caught in some personal vortex that can work only for them and has little to offer the reader. This collection is mostly about everyday people involved with some aspect of baseball and the inference tends to be that the essence of the game somehow lies in the milllions who participate in some form at some level. But it's a ruse, used to justify or validate many of the authors' opinions and maybe cherised moments. Not much here of merit.

Though most of the stories don't bridge the gap from the teller's personal interest to valid story telling, there are two exceptional pieces that belong in any first rate short story anthology.

They are "The Warriors," by Sherman Alexie, and "What Pop Fly Gave His Daugher," by Lynda Berry. These are excellent works. They are powerful, moving, informative, wonderful stories that happen to include baseball. Sherman Alexie brings humor, the quixotic mine fields of emerging adolesence, core questions about pecking orders, and schooling on and off the reservation in an engaging, entertaining, and authentic manner.

Lynda Berry offers a story in the life of a girl/emerging woman as she finds a way to deal with a near intolerable family. We are are shown a glimpse of the confusion and agony of this girl, and her determination and reslience as she survives and comes to grips with her noncaring and self-centered father. It's an excellent and informative read. And yes, baseball gloves, even if they only cost $.59, can work magic.

The remaining seven selections are meanderings of minimal interest. They are dull, and in the same breath as extolling the life virtues of baseball they tend justify ugliness and/or reflect/validate a sad personal perspective.

In "God's Tourney," Robert Leo Heilman treats American Legion regional playoff baseball with the devout obsequiosness of a budding acolyte of the true religion. He gives us a lot about being good enough, the quirks of the game, the usual about how baseball makes better people of those who play it, and becomes positively reverent when describing the hallowed ground of the Roseburg field. Seemingly unaware of the contradiction, he then plays the reality card: the very non amateur baseball commercial concessions necessary for legion ball to survive are dismissed as just a part of big thing called life. The official car (Buick), and so on. No dealing with reality and the obvious: you can't make nice something that isn't. Instead of letting the obvious just lie there, the author tries to validate it and somwhow attach it to the glow of those beautiful 600 wooden seats.

In "From the Church of Baseball: Different Hymns," by Timothy Eagon we have the modern blow up of all the coaches and parents who never figured out the value of games for children. While he does profess to come to some sort of epiphany at the end, he can't get past his obsession, not passion, about the game and "life."

From some dark recess he rails about the pathetic nature of T-ball and coach-pitch, everybody-is-a-winner stuff that is peddled at the lower ages. His squad is made up of nine year olds. He continues about how reality comes early for these kids - his team, which includes his daughter - about the pain the kids felt when Griffey broke his wrist running down a deep drive, or Ayala's "closings." He tells us that these kids know grit, triumph, and agony, and rambles on in a debasing monolouge, ending with "self-esteem, schmelf-esteem."

9 year old girls (and boys) just don't agonize over these things, unless they are tactical survival techniques for life at at home. With any luck, children at this age are encoureaged to learn and discover, allowed to be kids. The grit and agony too many of them know are obscene expectations to be adults by the age of nine, to validate adults instead of being validated by them, and to be bludgeoned into equating a hollow concept of "being a winner" with being valued. A quick look at the courts and social services shows us what too many 9 year olds, and younger, know about the agony of despair and abuse. That's real. Ayala and Griffey are nice diversions.

It's the game that's the thing, it's the game that rich and rewarding, unlike all but two of this collection.

The book and its essays are charming. Through these words you can feel the writer's life experiences as viewed through some association with baseball. Baseball is not the topic of this book, it is the illustration used to bring to you a number of life experiences - some joyful, others emotional - all worth reading and experiencing. Sort of a "Baseball - Soup for the Soul"!

Loserama. Another selfish, cowardly baby-boomer writes a long, tedious attempt at justifying his cowardice. Historically inaccurate to boot. Loserama. Skip this turkey

I thouroughly enjoyed this book. I have read a great many of slams books and greatly enjoyed his writing style. I also am very familiar with the other people in the book Hackworth,Westmoreland,truscott,etc.thats why i was so interested in it but aside from that, it is a great story of an american family torn apart by Vietnam as many families were.Really enjoyed learning all the history of slam as well.