One Day at Fenway: A Day in the Life of Baseball in America.- By: Steve Kettmann

This is a fabulous example of the “story behind the game” genre.

But, instead of dwelling on the pasts of the people involved, it stayed in the present. Through interviews and first hand observations, Kettmann is able to walk you through the game through the eyes of people involved. The range of people discussed was also diverse. Instead of focusing on the players, Kettmann discussed owners, managers, fans, and celebrities. The book is able to paint a complete picture of what people at the game were thinking as the game was going on. Think of it as a collection of game blogs kept by a dozen people.

This book is a must read. The detail included in the stories is mind boggling. It tells you just what Joe Torre was thinking during a pitching change, or John Henry during breakfast, or random fan as he’s driving to the game. It was like watching golf on television, but fun. As the round goes on, the coverage jumps from golfer to golfer in such a way that you can see the whole round with several golfers. In the same way, you can read the same game while jumping from subject to subject. In the end, the total is so much more than the sum of the parts. The fact that the game happened to be one that I was lucky enough to attend was a nice little bonus in my case. In any event, this book comes highly recommended. It easily earns an S36 listing...

Rating: 4 bases.