Baseball in the Garden of Eden: The Secret History of the Early Game

Quiz: What city was the Forest City team from? The Kekionga? These are two of baseball's earlier teams from the 1870s.If you are a baseball fan and interested in the sport's history, this book would be a fun read. It is written in a rather non-linear fashion which can frustrate one, but--nonetheless--it ends up working out pretty well. I enjoyed this book. Do you believe that Abner Doubleday had anything to do with the origin of baseball? Prepare to be disappointed! But--even stranger, how did Doubleday come to be so honored, as was his home town of Cooperstown, NY?This book goes back well before Doubleday and other purported founders to show where the game evolved from. Cricket? Rounders? The Massachusetts game? The New York game? And so on. Certainly the precursors of American baseball were apparent before Abner Doubleday allegedly invented the game in the early 1840s.Many of baseball's early stars and founding figures are discussed here: Harry Wright, Candy Cummings, Cap Anson, and A. G. Spalding--baseball player and later businessman. Indeed, the story of Spalding helps to explain Doubleday's honor. No spoilers here, but, he, his paramour and future wife, Elizabeth Churchill Mayer, and Abner Doubleday were all Theosophists--with Doubleday at one point serving as President of the society.All sorts of historical byways are explored, in baseball and in the larger society.A lot of fun. . . .Oh, by the way, it was the Rockford (IL) Forest Citys and the Fort Wayne Kekionga!

As a look into pre/post civil war baseball I find this book to be a wonderful account into it's evolution. Upon reading I could feel the huge amount of time and research Thorn must of spent assembling and laying out this wonderful window to America's past. However, I do have two opportunities with this book, one of which exclusive to the Kindle edition.First, the amount of time spent on the birth and development the Theosophical Society, a turn of the century "New Age" movement, felt much. The group was the force in perpetuating the Doubleday myth, but their history seemed to this reader overdone. Passages spent telling of a Russian Madame founder and her moving to India seemed out of place in a book that I purchased out of a desire to learn about early baseball.Second I found it disheartening that my Kindle edition did not include the photo's of the early baseball pioneers that were included in the hardbound edition. I am certain that the kindle 3 screen would be able to do them justice based on the author images provided when putting the kindle in sleep mode. It would be nice to have seen the pictures surrounded by the rich history the author shared in the text.Overall I would recommend purchasing the hardbound over kindle edition, as the collection of baseball artwork is one of the appealing attributes to nearly any baseball history book.(4 stars hardcover / 3 stars kindle)

...in magnificently researched detail.John Thorn's "Baseball in the Garden of Eden" is and exquisite examination of the true origins of baseball, and he makes a compelling case for showing its provenance does lie with Abner Doubleday at Cooperstown. Thorn traces the arcs of "pre-baseball" activities. In the New World, features of play common to to the game we understand as baseball today are well documented into the mid 18th century, far in advance of the Doubleday meme. Thorn shows evidence of other bat games that go deep into pre-Christian history to bolster the case for other evolutionary paths.Most of this book focuses on the growth of baseball in New England and New York. Thorn chronicles the history with reverence and delivers one gem after another, eventually presenting us with a tiara of the game we now recognize.Along the way, we are treated to insights into a world that was both simpler and more menacing (cholera and other disease outbreaks had their effects on New York players in the years before the Civil War).I read this book in the week before MLB's opening day, and it was a welcome reminder that winter will not last forever. Whether you're a baseball fan, or perhaps interested in the seminal influences of one of America's greatest iconic sporting cultures, this book will entertain and inform.

Being a fallen away baseball fan, I haven't paid much attention to the sport for some time, but when I came across this while browsing, it immediately caught my interest.Although the focus is on the origins and history of the early game, it provides a vivid snapshot of 19th Century America and the sometimes subtle, sometimes blunt influence baseball had on our culture. What's remarkable to me is that appears to be nothing new under the sun---baseball was troubled by union issues nearly from its outset, dominated by conniving owners, tainted with the American original sin of racism and promoted as the Great Pastime by a broad societal spectrum as an example of American ingenuity and vision. Odd facts I picked up include:- Brooklyn wasn't part of New York City until 1898---hey, I'm from Chicago.- The name 'Pool' for pocket billiards came as a result of gambling on baseball.- The odd connection between early baseball and a now nearly extinct 'New Age' religion/philosophy called Theosophy----New Age cults are nothing new.- The significant role played by Albert Spaulding in the evolution of the game.Entertaining read, recommended for baseball fans or those interested in 19 Century American culture.

An already classic book that debunks many myths of baseball origins and portrays (subtly at times) the spirit and customs of US people.As a baseball fan but neither US native nor resident, this book was eye-opening: Thorn avoids the "heroes and villains" narrative, shows what baseball was wanted to mean for people and the country's national identity, and how such narrative was created. It's worth noting that the author's writing style is easy to digest and makes this journey along a convulse period really enjoyable.

Chapter 1 to 8 very good. Chapter 9 to 12 very dull, too much about the theosophist and Albert Spalding.

I enjoyed the numerous details of baseball's beginnings and misconceptions, and mysteries revealed.

Very interesting for a newbie.