The Great American Baseball Strike

School Library Journal

Gr 5-8-Layden presents information in a well-organized and effective manner with, for the most part, relevant pictures and a snappy layout. The book begins with a lucid discussion of the issues that led to the recent strike. This is followed by a short discussion of the history of professional baseball. (The brevity of this chapter diminishes its usefulness.) However, a chapter on the often stormy history of owner/player relations is particularly good, giving a clear summary of the sometimes byzantine historical events that brought about the strike. The book ends with a discussion of the occurrences of this past spring, with a reminder that the present season got underway because of a court injunction, not because of a settlement. Obviously, this title is for a limited audience-hardcore baseball fans will probably be reluctant to read about something as painful as the strike, while others simply don't care. However, it should be just the ticket for reports on the topic, and the discussion of historical manager/player relations should make it worth keeping around in case there are more strikes to come. Full-color or black-and-white photos appear on almost every page.-Todd Morning, Schaumburg Township Public Library, IL