[.ca] Red Sox Vs. Yankees: The Great Rivalry (ISBN 1596700580)

READERS GET ALL THEY NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE RIVALRY:
USA TODAY SPORTS WEEKLY, As the Yankees and Red Sox gear up for more head-to-head battles this summer, zealots on both sides of the rivalry are well-served in this newest tribute to baseball's fiercest feud. The Frommers cover the hostilities from every angle imaginable, giving readers just about all they'll need to know as they settle in for upcoming bouts in 2004. The fun begins with a timeline of the major events that have enlivened the century-long competition, then turns to a comprehensive review of last season's epic playoff series. After a look at the roller-coaster ride of the storied 1978 AL East pennant race, the books follows with chapters on the rivalry's origins, the clashing cultures of the cites, a comparison between the hometown ballparks and capsule summaries of the most significant games. There's even an entire segment devoted to the various virtues of Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio and their roles in the ongoing antagonism. Capping off the retrospectives is an open forum from both New York and Boston advocates. Politicians, sportswriters, entertainers, ordinary fans and the players themselves offer barbed , even witty viewpoints about the rivakly. Their caustic comments should provide more than enough combustion to fire up the Yankee and Sox faithful for this year's remaining games. - -

ESPN SPORTS PARTY: DELIGHTFUL, EXTRAORDINARY BOOK:
An absolutely delightful book, the most extraordinarily comprehensive book on the topic. It chronicles in complete detail the remakable stories of the Great Rivalry between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. The section on Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park is just amazing. The book is very handsome - a marriage of excellent prose and wonderful visuals. --Al Bernstein

A TREMENDOUS READING EXPERIENCE:
MLB.COM/ You don't have to tell the current players about the importance of the rivalry. It is there in the historic stadiums, in the questions of the media and in the voices of the fans. It is baseball at its best. Fortunately for the fans who cherish the matchup, Harvey and Frederic Frommer have delivered a wonderful book that provides background and insight on the classic battles, 'Red Sox vs. Yankees, The Great Rivalry.' More than two years in the making, the coffee-table book by Sports Publishing contains 125 photos and escorts the fan from the first game in 1912 through the offseason moves of 2003. - Fred Clare

A MUST HAVE BASEBALL BOOK! STUNNING.:
BASEBALL ALMANAC (...)'Red Sox vs. Yankees is a simply stated, a stunning coffee-table book. We have done extensive research into both franchises, know every fact about every team, but seeing that research in a visual format made for a truly memorable experience. Timelines, statistics, exclusive oral narratives and vintage photos make this team-specific guide a must have book for fans of either the Red Sox, the Yankees or our national pastime.'

A GREAT READ/ THE BOOK WILL STAND THE TEST OF TIME:
BOY OF SUMMER.COM/ As a Yankee fan myself, there are few endeavors more satisfying than reading about the histories of my favorite team, its closest rival, and their competition with each other. This book was and is a pleasere for me to read. Its pages are filled with stories of Yankees and Red Sox games and series, players and trades, fans and fights, quips and quotes, playoff wins and losses, heartbreak and joy for both teams. OK, so mostly heartbreak for the Red Sox. The Frommers start the book with a timeline that starts with the birth of Babe Ruth in 1895 and ends with the acquisition of Curt Schilling by the Red Sox in November of 2004. The book then provides an entire chapter on the Red Sox and Yankees rivalry as it was played out in the 2004 playoffs, which, while incredible to watch, somehow was not nearly as exciting to read about only a few months later. The chapter, however, like the rest of the book, is well writen, interesting in its own right, and very readable. I expect that ten or twenty years from now, I shall be able to pick up this book and find it an excellent resource as I recount my own memories of that exciting seven-game series to my own children or (God help you) yours. The book, like the rivalry it recalls, will stand the test of time, I expect. I know this because the very next chapter focuses especially on the 1978 season, and it is a great read. The Yankees and Red Sox were both vying for the AL East title and were forced to play a one-game playoff to win it, which the Yanks did, even though they had been down as much as 14 games in the standings as late as July 18th. From that huge deficit, to Reggie getting benched for dogging it, to Billy Martin getting canned to Ron Guidry's 25-3 record to Bucky-Effing-Dent, there is no dull paragraph in the chapter. Harvey and or Frederic Frommer could have made a great living as a beat writer, had they not gone into slightly more prestigious careers as an Ivy League professor and a political journalist, respectively. Moving on through the book, the Frommers spend chapters focusing on the general histories of the teams, the cultures and moods cultivated by the Rivalry, the merits and limitations of the respective ballparks, special games between the two clubs, a collection of quotes from various players, fans ad others, and list of statistics and trivia about the two teams. They even devote an entire chapter to perhaps the greatest rivalry between players on these two fabled teams, Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams. Frankly, this is one area in which I think the Red Sox have a decided advantage, though I doubt if many of my fellow Yankee fans would back me up on this. As you may have deduced, the Red Sox don't have many advantages in this rivalry, and therefore I would venture a guess that this book doesn't offer nearly as much for them as it does for Yankees fans. In fact, the title, 'Red Sox vs. Yankees', is about the only time that Boston has gotten first billing in this struggle for the last three quarters of a century. Personally, I can't imagine being very excited about spending hours on end reading about the myriad disappointments and seemingly endless heartbreak associated with my chosen team, thankyouverymuch. But maybe that's just me. Regardless of your particular bent, Red Sox vs. Yankees is still a very well-done book. As a coffee-table book, it offers large, whole-panel pictures, many of them in vibrant color, to appease the eye, and solid writing to appease the mind. And even the price is right!