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Title details for Ballpark by Paul Goldberger - Available

Ballpark

Baseball in the American City

by Paul Goldberger
Mike Chamberlain
Audiobook
44 of 44 copies available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
44 of 44 copies available
From the earliest corrals of the mid-1800s (Union Grounds in Brooklyn was a "saloon in the open air"), to the much mourned parks of the early 1900s (Detroit's Tiger Stadium, Cincinnati's Palace of the Fans), to the stadiums we fill today, Paul Goldberger makes clear the inextricable bond between the American city and America's favorite pastime. In the changing locations and architecture of our ballparks, Goldberger reveals the manifestations of a changing society: the earliest ballparks evoked the Victorian age in their accommodations—bleachers for the riffraff, grandstands for the middle-class; the "concrete donuts" of the 1950s and '60s made plain television's grip on the public's attention; and more recent ballparks, like Baltimore's Camden Yards, signal a new way forward for stadium design and for baseball's role in urban development. Throughout, Goldberger shows us the way in which baseball's history is concurrent with our cultural history: the rise of urban parks and public transportation; the development of new building materials and engineering and design skills. And how the site details and the requirements of the game—the diamond, the outfields, the walls, the grandstands—shaped our most beloved ballparks.

A fascinating, exuberant ode to the Edens at the heart of our cities—where dreams are as limitless as the outfields.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    December 10, 2019

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781618038920
      • File size: 329513 KB
      • Duration: 11:26:29

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Mike Chamberlain narrates this great look at American baseball stadiums--from their beginnings in the nineteenth century, when the nascent game was taking root, to the multipurpose designs popular in the 1970s and the contemporary approaches of the last 30 years. Chamberlain presents in an interested tone that never wavers. He doesn't try to imitate people; he just changes his intonation a bit when he is narrating quotes. He shapes the story as it moves from ballpark to ballpark, and his emotion never changes. Author Paul Goldberger offers a great look at stadiums through a social lens focused on history and architecture. M.B. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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