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"Along with his astute social scientific insight, Borer also
includes plenty of first-person accounts of the ballpark from Red
Sox greats like Carl Yastrzemski and Johnny Pesky and from regular
Bostonians and out-of-town baseball fans. This ability to
intermingle scholarly research with Americaas beloved pastime has
allowed Borer to write an astute academic treatise that has the
appeal of a consumer sports pub."
--"Publishers Weekly"
"Borer assesses the attraction of Fenway Park through his own
expert lens. The results . . . will prove invaluable not only to
Red Sox and more general baseball scholars but also to students of
urban life, the organization of limited inner-city space, social
psychology and collective memory, how a baseball park can become a
cultural shrine, and a cohorts shared values--not to mention
Fenway's contributions to our understanding of fandom.
--"Library Journal"
"Boston's Fenway Park has become as valued as any star player in
those cities and as much an attraction as the teams themselves.
Borer, a sociologist and lifelong New Englander, explores the
history of Fenway and its place in Bostons culture through research
and interviews with players, stadium personnel, fans, and team
owners...[H]e explains Fenway's place in the culture as an example
of identity continuity. Fenway is an emotional anchor for fans in
the sense that it encompasses a part of an individuals past and
present."
--"Booklist"
"Borer has captured the magic of Fenway Park. "
--Doris Kearns Goodwin
"Even Yankee fans will have much to consider from this book,
published so soon after the Red Sox curse has ended. This isan
important work of the sociology of sport and of urban
sociology."
--Gary Alan Fine, author of "With the Boys: Little League Baseball
and Pre-adolescent Culture"
Even if you don't already love the Red Sox, you'll love this
account of the stories people tell about why Fenway matters.
--Nancy T. Ammerman, author of "Everyday Religion: Observing Modern
Religious Lives"
"[Faithful to Fenway is] a must-have item for the Red Sox fans
who champion their old stadium despite its uncomfortable
seats."
--"Portland Press Herald"
The Green Monster. Pesky's Pole. The Lone Red Seat. Yawkey Way.
To baseball fans this list of bizarre phrases evokes only one
place: Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. Built in 1912,
Fenway Park is Americas oldest major league ballpark still in use.
In Faithful to Fenway, Michael Ian Borer takes us out to Fenway
where we sit in cramped wooden seats (often with obstructed views
of the playing field), where there is a hand-operated scoreboard
and an average attendance of 20,000 less fans than most stadiums,
and where every game has been sold out since May of 2003. There is
no Hard Rock Caf (like Torontos Skydome), no swimming pool (like
Arizonas' Chase Field), and definitely no sushi (which has become a
fan favorite from Baltimore to Seattle). As Borer tells us in this
captivating book, Fenway is short on comfort but long on
character.
Faithful to Fenway investigates the mystique of the ballpark.
Borer, who lived in Boston before and after the Red Sox historic
2004 World Series win, draws on interviews with Red Sox players,
including Jason Varitek and Carl Yastrzemski, management, including
Larry Lucchino and John Henry, groundskeepers, vendors, andscores
of fans to uncover what the park means for Boston and the people
who revere it. Borer argues that Fenway is nothing less than a
national icon, more than worthy of the banner outside the stadium
that proclaims, Americas Most Beloved Ballpark. Certainly as one of
New Englands greatest landmarks, Fenway captures the hearts and
imaginations of a deferential and devoted public. There are
T-shirts, bumper stickers, banners, and snow globes that honor the
ballpark. Fenway shows up in popular films, novels, television
commercials, and in replicated form in peoples backyards--and
coming in 2008 to Quincy, Massachusetts, is Mini-Fenway Park, a
replica stadium built especially for kids.
Full of legendary stories, amusing anecdotes, and the shared
triumph and tragedy of the Red Sox and their fans, Faithful to
Fenway offers a fresh and insightful perspective, offering readers
an unforgettable pilgrimage to the Mecca of baseball.
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