Rating: 
Summary: Plot draws you in despite uneven writing
Review: Not having seen the movie based on this novel, I did not know what to expect. The story of retiring Billy Chapel's final game, pitching against the vaunted Yankees, is one for all baseball fans, but the love story which winds itself through Billy's mind between his trips to the mound is one for every romantic. I enjoyed the story immensely, thanks to the character development as a star athlete faces the end of his career. My only complaint is due to the many fragments employed by the author as he attempts to recreate Billy's thoughts and discussions. Frequent uses of "So." and "But." as sentences is distracting and left me with the feeling that the novel had not been edited one final time. Even so, this short novel is a jewel for anyone interested in the men who played the game for love, not for the unbelievable sums of money now demanded by players.
Rating: 
Summary: A Great Little Gem of a Book
Review: Shutting out everything, concentrating on that one goal, time and time again. Why? All for the love of the game. This little gem of a book was found by the author's son and published posthumously. Though it is no Gettysburg, it is a wonderful book from an author who left us too early before we got a chance to know him. Billy Chapel is an aging major league baseball who once knew the pinnacle of greatness. But age has taken over, and he is on the verge of being put out to pasture--or as rumors roam--being traded. He is pitching his last game of the season, and as he pitches he ruminates over his life over a stream of conscienceless of thought. He knows it is the end of his career, but he is not going without a flash and begins to pitch the best game of his life. As he pitches, he begins to think back on his life, but as he does so he stays focus on the game--the perfect game. Why? For the love of the game. There are no simple answers to his life. Nothing but memories, the future, and the love of the game. A perfect little book from a great author.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Little Gem of a Book
Review: Shutting out everything, concentrating on that one goal, time and time again. Why? All for the love of the game. This little gem of a book was found by the author's son and published posthumously. Though it is no Gettysburg, it is a wonderful book from an author who left us too early before we got a chance to know him. Billy Chapel is an aging major league baseball who once knew the pinnacle of greatness. But age has taken over, and he is on the verge of being put out to pasture--or as rumors roam--being traded. He is pitching his last game of the season, and as he pitches he ruminates over his life over a stream of conscienceless of thought. He knows it is the end of his career, but he is not going without a flash and begins to pitch the best game of his life. As he pitches, he begins to think back on his life, but as he does so he stays focus on the game--the perfect game. Why? For the love of the game. There are no simple answers to his life. Nothing but memories, the future, and the love of the game. A perfect little book from a great author.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent prose
Review: Sports fiction is the sort of stuff that makes most literary buffs shudder with horror, much along the lines of romance novels and crime stories. However, Michael Shaara is able to tell a story that is more about one man's pride, doubts, and affections in the framework of nine perfect innings.
Rating:
Summary: Shaara uses all his story-telling skills and shines!
Review: The story of Billy Chapel is a story about all of us and baseball. The magic of the game infects us all. Shaara puts you there inside the head of the pitcher during the game which allows us all to pitch a perfect game. A perfect book!
Rating:
Summary: My Review
Review: This book is not just about baseball. It' about life. It tells a story about a man's struggle with love and life. What I thought was so awesome about this book was it made a personnal connection to me. I felt I could understand what Billy Chapel was feeling and why he did the things he did. "Clay lies still, but blood's a rover; Breath's a ware that will not keep. Up, lad: when the journey's over. There'll be time to sleep." Introdution. When I first read this when I began the book, I didn't understand it. But when I finished the book it made perfect sense. Never give up till the job's done. It fit Billy Chapel's persona perfect. The only prombelm with the book is that it is a liitle bit hard to understand at first. But when you finnaly get in to it, it's one of the best books ever. I think everyone should read this book.
Rating:
Summary: best book I ever read
Review: this book was awesome, it was about a baseball player who broke up with his girl friend and was told he was going to be traded to another team or he could quite. He decided to quite but there was one more game he had to play so he decided to play his hardest ever and he sertinly did!
Rating: 
Summary: I guess I didn't get it
Review: This book was just plan old boring to me. Maybe I just didn't get what Shaara was trying to say. Maybe this kind of touchie feely story doesn't appeal to me. It took me 4 days to push my way thru it. I hope his civil War Novels are better. I bought all three after a friend recommended them.
Rating:
Summary: Chris's Review
Review: This book was the best book I have ever read! I read it from begining to end. I just could not put it down. This book is not only just for people who like baseball stories, but its for people who like love stories. Billy has just found out that he is going to be traded at the end of the season. He has to choose between retiring and going ahead and playing for another team. The main portion of the book takes place during what could be the biggest game of Billy Chappel's life. Billy's best friend, Gus, helps Billy through his hard times with Billy's girlfriend, Carol, and he is Billy's motivation when he is down. In my opinion this is the best book ever written. You will enjoy it if you decide to read it!
Rating:
Summary: Introspective and moving
Review: This book, found in manuscript form among the author's papers after his death, is like an ode to the purity of the game of baseball. The protagonist, Billy Chapel, is a throwback to the old glory days of the sport, when players spent their whole careers with one team, and had annual meetings with the team owner to iron out next year's contract. Chapel is about to take the mound at the end of his 17th big-league season, for a losing team, playing before 80,000 fans in Yankee Stadium (must have been the old, larger House that Ruth built) against a team desperately needing the win for a playoff berth. Amidst personal crisis (Chapel hears a rumor that he's been traded, and his girlfriend is destined to marry another), he tries to block out everything and go out in style, giving it all he's got for one majestic, final game. The book is written like an internal monologue, and especially in between innings Chapel reminisces about childhood, about his chance encounter with the beautiful Carol and their amorous adventures together, and about his departed parents. The scene of Billy pretending to sleep in the backseat of his folks' car, while they marvel at his talent and discuss how special he is, was especially moving. Chapel is so introspective that he is essentially roused out of his reverie to take the mound each inning by his catcher and best friend Gus. I liked the interplay between the baseball game and the dream-like flashbacks, although readers should understand that this is more than just a novel about baseball. Themes such as solitude, grace under pressure, camaraderie between the pitcher and catcher, and the recognition that Billy is an aging athlete playing what could be his last game are all explored in moving detail. I read the book this past week, against the backdrop of a classic game 7 World Series matchup between two old warhorses Clemens and Schilling, and could appreciate even more the way pitchers ignore the pain and lay it all on the line in big games. Shaara, whose masterpiece "The Killer Angels" explored the psyche of civil war veterans like Lee, Longstreet, Armistead and Hancock, does a good job getting inside the head of a hall of fame pitcher. The book is also nice and short, susceptible of being completed in one long sitting if desired. While some of his references may seem a bit dated (like athletes listening to Neil Diamond tapes the night before a game), the book is a winner.
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