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A Nice Little Place on the North Side: Wrigley Field at One Hundred Audiobook
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Publisher Description
The New York Times-bestselling history of America's most beloved baseball stadium, Wrigley Field, and the Cubs’ century-long search for World Series glory
In A Nice Little Place on the North Side, leading columnist George Will returns to baseball with a deeply personal look at his hapless Chicago Cubs and their often beatified home, Wrigley Field, as it enters its second century. Baseball, Will argues, is full of metaphors for life, religion, and happiness, and Wrigley is considered one of its sacred spaces. But what is its true, hyperbole-free history?
Winding beautifully like Wrigley’s iconic ivy, Will’s meditation on “The Friendly Confines” examines both the unforgettable stories that forged the field’s legend and the larger-than-life characters—from Wrigley and Ruth to Veeck, Durocher, and Banks—who brought it glory, heartbreak, and scandal. Drawing upon his trademark knowledge and inimitable sense of humor, Will also explores his childhood connections to the team, the Cubs’ future, and what keeps long-suffering fans rooting for the home team after so many years of futility.
In the end, A Nice Little Place on the North Side is more than just the history of a ballpark. It is the story of Chicago, of baseball, and of America itself.
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“George Will puts on his literarybaseball cap and dives into the history, romance, and realities of thevenerable Wrigley Field…Mark Deakins’ voice reflects the reverence, andromance, that fans have with the stadium and its inhabitants, the Cubs. Deakinsis solid enough—except for the mispronunciation of a player’s name—whilerunning through the litany of historical accomplishments and tribulations(mostly the latter) surrounding the old park. He stays consistent as the focusstarts with history and shifts to esoterica on the park. Will’s passion—and frustration—comethrough in the narration.”
— AudioFile
Quotes
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“George Will is as serious about baseball as he is about the Constitution or foreign policy…A Nice Little Place on the North Side is replete with the amusing trivia that in baseball constitutes lore.”
— Wall Street Journal -
“Fond yet surprisingly hard-hitting…an intelligent, tough little book.”
— USA Today -
“Will’s bow-tied, button-down prose wears quite well in this, his third insightful book about baseball, after Men at Work and Bunts. His eye for the game remains warm and acute, as do his conservative instincts.”
— New York Times Book Review -
“George Will on baseball. Perfect.”
— Los Angeles Times -
“George Will is the most elegant of today’s political essayists, and with Men at Work, Bunts, and this tribute to Chicago, the ballpark that graces it, and the fans who pack it to root for its hapless team, he can be counted among the best baseball writers to come down the pike.”
— Washington Times -
“A Nice Little Place on the North Side qualifies as the most fitting possible tribute to a field with ivy-covered walls that continues to enthrall a seventy-year-old award-winning commentator just as it once did a callow nine-year-old boy in Champagne, Illinois. A Barnes & Noble editor’s recommendation.”
— Barnes&Noble.com, editorial review -
“George F. Will’s wonderful book A Nice Little Place on the North Side reads like a history of a ballpark, but it’s really a fan’s interrogation of the most harrowing riddle: Why can’t the Cubs win?…[Will is] one of the great baseball writers.”
— Commentary -
“[Will’s] latest, A Nice Little Place on the North Side, will sit solidly on the bookshelf with his previous baseball classics….As is always the case with Will, readers are treated to a mix of history, anecdotes, vignettes, cultural analysis, various informative diversions, and much wry humor.”
— American Spectator -
“Will offers a rambling, gently amusing history of the team since it moved in. With few triumphs to write about, Will focuses on some of the dominant and/or quirky personalities associated with the team through the years…Will also delivers brief but revealing examinations of longtime team owner P. K. Wrigley, players Phil Cavarretta and Hack Wilson, and manager Leo Durocher…This ode to the team and its home field will make a very pleasant read for baseball fans in general and Cub fans in particular.”
— Booklist -
Fond yet surprisingly hard-hitting…an intelligent, tough little book.
— USA Today -
George Will is as serious about baseball as he is about the Constitution or foreign policy…. A Nice Little Place on the North Side is replete with the amusing trivia that in baseball constitutes lore.
— Wall Street Journal -
America’s leading poet of baseball
— Chicago Tribune, Printers Row Journal -
George F. Will’s wonderful book A Nice Little Place on the North Side reads like a history of a ballpark, but it’s really a fan’s interrogation of the most harrowing riddle: Why can’t the Cubs win?...[Will is] one of the great baseball writers.
— Commentary -
“Will’s bow-tied, button-down prose wears quite well in this, his third insightful book about baseball, after Men at Work and Bunts. His eye for the game remains warm and acute, as do his conservative instincts.
— New York Times Book Review -
George Will is the most elegant of today’s political essayists, and with 'Men at Work,' 'Bunts' and this tribute to Chicago, the ballpark that graces it, and the fans who pack it to root for its hapless team, he can be counted among the best baseball writers to come down the pike…
— The Washington Times -
[Will’s] latest, A Nice Little Place on the North Side, will sit solidly on the bookshelf with his previous baseball classics…. As is always the case with Will, readers are treated to a mix of history, anecdotes, vignettes, cultural analysis, various informative diversions, and much wry humor.
— The American Spectator -
George F. Will is as eloquent on baseball as he is on politics.
— AARP Bulletin -
Required reading
— New York Post
Awards
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A New York Times bestseller
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A Barnes & Noble Editor’s Recommendation
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About George F. Will
George F. Will, author of more than a dozen books, writes a twice-weekly syndicated column on politics and domestic and foreign affairs for the Washington Post. He began his column with the Post in 1974, and received the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 1977. His books include The Conservative Sensibility, One Man's America, Men at Work: The Craft of Baseball, and Statecraft as Soulcraft. He grew up in Champaign, Illinois, attended Trinity College and Oxford University, and received a PhD from Princeton.
About Mark Deakins
Mark Deakins is an AudioFile Earphones Award–winning narrator and actor whose television appearances include Head Case, Star Trek: Voyager, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. His film credits include Intervention, Star Trek: Insurrection, and The Devil’s Advocate. He wrote, directed, and produced the short film The Smith Interviews.