I decided to mix it up a little and read a nonfiction book. This was about the Major League Baseball Season of 1932, and I really enjoyed it. Some crazy things happened (one player got shot by his girlfriend!) that season. If you’re a baseball fan or a history buff, I’d highly recommend this audiobook!

I’m not sure how to review this more than to say I cannot - though I am required to give a star rating. I was excited to get a copy of this but found it unreadable. I understand this is not a final copy, and I am looking forward to checking out a final copy, but it was unreadable as presented in my copy. The spelling errors and more importantly the lack of numbers, rather important for baseball stats, left me not wanting to read. As mentioned, I will still check out this book in its final copy so this is not a criticism of this book at all - just the copy I received as not in its final state. I will give a 3 star rating because I am still interested in reading and can’t fairly rate it higher or lower because I couldn’t read it.

A comprehensive account of the 1932 Major League Baseball season, and the World Series at it's conclusion, The Called Shot is an interesting journey into the sport and world at the time.

The Called Shot is not just a book about Babe Ruth and the game that served as a turning point in baseball. It is a book about one of the golden eras of baseball, featuring a cast of characters that all made decisions that led to the fateful pitch and ultimate swing by Babe Ruth. A casual fan of baseball may not understand the intricacies of the sport as laid out in this title. Most sports have managers and owners, staff that support the team, but baseball has a long history of incredible supporting roles. We all know who Babe Ruth is, but how many of us know Roger Hornsby, one of the most feared batters of all time? How many of us know Charlie Root, the player that pitched to Babe Ruth in this at-bat? I believe this is the brilliance of the book, readers must wait until the precipice of the book to read about the titular event. The author has packaged this narrative into a tightly written story that flows from one person to the next, one subject to another, until the ultimate conclusion of 'the called shot', supplying context along the way.

I particularly enjoyed the author's candid treatment of the subject at-bat. He relates that Ruth pointed somewhere in the vicinity of a distant location, above the pitcher's head, maybe in the outfield, the historical record is hard to decipher in this situation. Through the book, the author presents chapter after chapter of well-researched, interesting text that shines a light on the inner workings of baseball in this period. From the endnotes, the reader can glimpse the thorough research that went into this book.

The author explores every facet of the game from umpires to relief pitchers and everything in between. The interplay between the league, the management of the teams, and the players is carefully examined in a narrative and engaging way throughout the course of the story. This is a work of history that captures the spirit of baseball and stays as close to the truth as possible. Readers will identify that the author has thoroughly researched this work, though not on the level of a historical monograph. This is a captivating look at baseball in the era of Babe Ruth.

Overall, this is a great read and a fantastic title from the University of Nebraska Press and Thomas Wolf. I would recommend to any fan of both history and baseball, or someone who is interested in this period and is not necessarily a baseball fan. This is a great book for a reader interested in learning more about baseball in the summer of 1932.

I received a galley copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

In the 1932 World Series between the New York Yankees and the Chicago Cubs legend has it that Babe Ruth called a home run over the centre field fence of Wrigley Field. “The Babe” had faced the abuse of Cubs players and fans alike and responded in the way he knew best. He pointed out over centre field and he sent the ball on that same trajectory to silence his opponents. The story is disputed by some of those who were there, but in the hearts of fans and the collective consciousness of baseball it is true.

The Called Shot by Thomas Wolf is the story of that season, brilliantly told as it balances the details of the season and the stars of the field with off field drama and the social history of the time. The Yankees and the Cubs are considered in great detail as they make their way towards their respective league pennants, one more directly than the other. There is a goldmine of stories about leading players of the day, enhanced by statistics as only baseball knows how, and also the broader context of personalities off the field and drama in personal lives from gambling, and debts to partying and late night shootings.

Chicago itself also takes a major role as not only the host city of one of the World Series teams but also the host of the presidential candidate conventions for both parties. It was a city at the heart of America during a time of upheaval and change. An eclectic mix of characters gathered there around politics, business, organised crime and baseball, and all of them find their way into Wolf’s wonderfully researched and detailed history.

Perhaps the richest seam of all comes from the fans, such as the prison warder and the lifer convict who travelled together to see a World Series game. Baseball writing has a real knack for capturing the love between fans and the game, a depth of relationship that never goes away and builds a nostalgia and respect for history that finds physical form in Cooperstown, and Wolf adds to that proud tradition here.

The title of The Called Shot refers to one legendary moment in the game’s history, but the book itself is bursting with stories about the players, owners and also the fans that will surely delight anyone who loves baseball.

Reading the ARC provided by Netgalley I was grateful for the approval of the book. What I was disappointed in was that there were many typos and just incomplete stats when revering to a player or even a historical figure.
The story takes you back to 1932 in the height of the depression and you get a look at the baseball world first through the Yankees than to the Cubs. You do get a little history of both clubs and of players. Herewith the Yankees he goes into Ruth mainly and also other top stars from the day. You are taken through parts of the Hoover administration and how he was trying to fix things but nothing was working. You also had what was called the bonus march on Washington, veterans from World War were promised money and other things only to be denied so they not only marched on D.C. but were now camping out.
You move along the season with Cubs shortstop Billy Jurges being shot in his hotel room by his girlfriend Violet Popovich. Which would later become the basis for the book the Natural written by a young man who was in the stands at the Cubs game. You also get a look at the Presidential primary which was being held in Chicago and the back-door deals for a man named F.D.R. to run for president. He was not even their and flew they’re from New York to accept the nomination.
His descriptions of the games and the different players will keep you entertained, as will the fights different players have among themselves, umpires, and sometimes fans. Sounds from the stands must have been great along with all of the chatter from the dugout and the field, for this is one of the author's descriptions of what Ruth was pointing to or at. You still get to make up your own mind as to what happened. People at least baseball ones will continue to talk about this for years to come. This book though was so much more and if it was not for all of the typos, I would give it 5 stars, instead, it is 4 because of those. I hope if you like the sport you will take the time to read this good book.

Reading the ARC of this book in the Kindle mode was a challenge due to several words tht were incomplete and a complete lack of the numbers frequently referred to such as home runs, RBIs, batting average, pitching record, etc. That said with the corrections that will be in the final version released for publication this will be an interesting and engaging read for those who are interested in the legend surroundng the "called shot".


I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my nonfiction book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook  page.

Nearly 80 years after the event took place, a home run in the fifth inning of game three of the 1932 World Series between the New York Yankees and the Chicago Cubs is still being discussed and debated. Yankee outfielder Babe Ruth came to the plate and while being heckled by players from the Cubs dugout, he supposedly pointed to center field and proceeded to homer in the area to which he pointed. The verification of that event, while still being debated today, is only one of a number of topics about the 1932 baseball season on display in this excellent book by Thomas Wolf.

The possibility of a reader getting confused by the title and not reading anything about the “called shot” until near the end is the only thing about the book that may not sit well with that reader. Otherwise, the reader is treated to great writing about the 1932 Yankees, Cubs, key personnel on both clubs, a little bit about teams that challenged them to their pennants and also the social, political and economic issues of that year.

Wolf dives deep into some of the better known baseball players of that time, especially if they were with the Yankees or Cubs that season. Of course, Babe Ruth is prominently mentioned throughout the book. Another well-known player is Rogers Hornsby, who is given a less-than-flattering portrayal as he was fired as the Cubs’ player-manager 99 games into the season. Hornsby’s penchant for gambling is also on display here, getting him into financial difficulty to the point he was borrowing money from Cubs teammates.

There is also an excellent write up on the Cubs shortstop Billy Jurges, who was shot by his girlfriend Violet Popovich. Wolf does include that among the many Cubs fans in attendance at Wrigley Field that year was Bernard Malamud, who used a fictional account of this incident in his novel “The Natural.” There is also an excellent story about how two prisoners were able to attend one of the World Series games with the prison warden at Wrigley. It is connections to non-baseball people like this that make the book an excellent read as it does show that baseball, especially at that time, had an impact on so many people in all walks of life.
The book also delves into the political and economic landscape at the time. America was in the midst of the Great Depression and the presidential campaign is also discussed. Especially noteworthy is the fact that both parties had their convention in Chicago that year. The writing on these topics is just as engrossing and informative as the baseball writing.

As for the subject of the title, readers who wish to know whether this really took place or not will be disappointed to learn that Wolf doesn’t engage in that debate, leaving it for others. But his description of that home run, as well as the rest of the material in the book, make for outstanding reading and readers who are interested in baseball or history should add this book to their list.

I wish to thank University of Nebraska Press for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.