Rating: 
Summary: Great Time Travel Book for Baseball Lovers
Review: Is this science fiction? It is science fiction in that If I Never Get Back is a time travel book like you have never read before. This book takes Sam Fowler from modern San Francisco back to the early days of baseball (post-Civil War) and the newly formed Cincinnati Red Stockings. What makes this book so interesting is the description of how baseball was played in 1869 - so different than what it is today even as to the way pitchers pitched.Sam Fowler begins riding the rails with the fledgling Cincinnati Red Stockings and their trip around the U.S. to play other early baseball teams. It also goes into the atmosphere of the time, as in the description when the team played in New York City in a park that now is no more in these modern times. Ah, but then it is also a love story. But is it unrequited love? Is it a lost love? And does Sam ever find her again? Great baseball book and would make a great movie also.
Rating: 
Summary: Only if you appreciate fantasy
Review: The device used in this book to recount the saga of the Cincinnati Red Stockings is a good one, I suppose, if you gobble up fantasy. But the idea of present day person living in 1869 and knowing all that has happened since is a difficult one. Conrad Richter uses a similar device in The Waters of Kronos and I liked that book. But the author here did not succeed in making me believe in the scenario, and this got in the way of enjoying the book. But I suppose the scores and the like are authentic? The author could have at least given us a bibliography, if there is one. Thus those who wanted to know about the winning streak could check on it.
Rating:
Summary: This is One of My All-Time Favorites
Review: Time travel to the early days of baseball? You gotta love it! This story is well written, the characters are real, and the setting is extremely interesting. I was fascinated by the description of the early days of the game where pitchers threw underarm, outfielders could catch the ball on one out, and the state of the ball had a huge impact on the game and the gamblers that surrounded it. The main character, Sam, is not just a spectator in this rough time period. He wants in and he's not afraid to use his fists. Oh, and like any great time travel book, this one doesn't bother explaining how Sam goes back in time and how he has to be careful not to kill his great-great -grandfather.
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