The Life That Ruth Built; A Biography
Language: English
Published by University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE, 1975
- Softcover
- Used
Seller: Ground Zero Books, Ltd., Silver Spring, MD, U.S.A.Ground Zero Books, Ltd.
AbeBooks seller since August 14, 1998
Condition: Used - Good
£ 19.40
Quantity: 1 available
Add to basketItem description from seller
xiv, 592,[2] pages. Illustrations. Footnotes. Appendices. A Note on Sources. Index. Cover has some wear. This biography of Babe Ruth is the first serious biography of an American professional athlete by a professional historian. Marshall Smelser earned his Ph.D. at Harvard under the direction of Samuel Eliot Morison, a Pulitzer Prize historian of maritime and American history. Smelser taught at the University of Notre Dame for almost three decades. The author of The Winning of Independence (1973) and other books, he was also a musician and dedicated baseball scholar. For this book, Smelser corresponded with Ruth's surviving contemporaries, such as the Yankee catcher, Bill Dickey. Some of that correspondence Smelser donated to the Baseball Hall of Fame, which has since digitalized it online. In a March 3, 1972 letter to Dickey, Smelser said he had "to confess that I grew up in central Illinois and there your teams had to be either the Cubs or Cardinals" in the National League or the White Sox or Browns in the American League. He added, "I never was a Yankee fan until I began getting back your answers. I am one now. I speak of the team." He told Dickey that, "Approximately half of the 42 surviving Yankees of the seasons of the 1920-34 have answered my inquiry. This is a sensationally high proportion for an unsolicited questionnaire." Among his respondents, he said there "was general agreement" that a pitcher facing Ruth should "keep the ball up and throw breaking stuff and changes—never a fast ball over the plate". 'One of the best sports biographies ever; Smelser beautifully evokes the life of baseball's most wondrous player and the times he lived in' - Donald Honig, author of "Baseball When the Grass Was Real". 'Although many books have appeared about George Herman Ruth in the past half century, in my opinion Marshall Smelser's leads all the rest. Readers .will end up knowing the Babe even better than his teammates knew him' - Lawrence S. Ritter, author of "The Glory of Their Times: The Story of the Early Days of Baseball Told by the Men Who Played It" (1992). 'Smelser's book is one of the first serious biographies of a sports figure, and is still one of the best' - Jules Tygiel, author of "Baseball's Great Experiment: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy" (1983). 'Smelser demonstrates that a good historian can write good sports history and that good sports history makes good history. Of course Smelser had an ideal subject: Babe Ruth, the Sultan of Swat, the Colossus of Clout, the Bambino. But the author made the most of his opportunity' - Eugene Murdock, "American Historical Review". 'Smelser, who possesses that rare combination of training as a professional historian with a technical knowledge of baseball, has produced a well-written, comprehensive, and interpretive account of one of America's greatest popular heroes, based on research that is as thorough as possible' - Harold Seymour, "Journal of American History".…
Seller Inventory # 55724
Bibliographic details
- Title
- The Life That Ruth Built; A Biography
- Author
- Smelser, Marshall
- Publisher
- University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE
- Publication year
- 1975
- Condition
- Good
- Binding
- Trade paperback
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 0812905407
- ISBN 13
- 9780812905403
- Edition
- Third printing [stated].
Ground Zero Books, Ltd.
Silver Spring, MD, U.S.A.
AbeBooks seller since August 14, 1998
Shipping rates within U.S.A.
| Item | 5 to 20 business days | 3 to 6 business days |
|---|---|---|
| First item | £ 3.77 | £ 5.65 |
Payment methods
- Check
- Invoice
- Money Order
- Paypal
Store description
Founded and operated by trained historians, Ground Zero Books, Ltd., serves the book collector, the scholar, and institutions. We focus on the individual, and pride ourselves on our personal service. Please contact us with your wants, as we have many books not yet listed in our database.
Specialty
Military History, Nuclear, American Revolution, Military Medicine, Vietnam, World War II, British Empire, World War I, Unit Histories, Civil WarSeller's business information
Ground Zero Books, Ltd.
9033 Georgia Avenue
Silver Spring, MD U.S.A. 20910-2254
Terms of sale
Books are subject to prior sale. Please ask us to hold a book for you before you
mail your check. Books are returnable within 7 days, if not satisfactory. MD
residents add 6% state sales tax.
The mailing address for Ground Zero Books, Ltd. (a subchapter-S corporation) is
P.O. Box 8369, Silver Spring, MD 20907-8369. You can reach us by phone at 301-
585-1471, by fax at 301-920-0253, or by e-mail at gzbooksltd@aol.com. Ground Zero
Books, Ltd., is owned & operated by R. Alan Lewis & Lynne Haims.
Right of withdrawal
If you are a consumer you can withdraw from the contract in accordance with the following. Consumer means any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business, craft or profession.
Information regarding the right of withdrawal
Statutory right to withdraw
You have the right to withdraw from this contract within 14 days without giving any reason.
The withdrawal period will expire after 14 days from the day on which you acquire, or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by you acquires, physical possession of the last good or the last lot or piece.
To exercise the right of withdrawal, electronically fill in and submit a clear statement on our website, under "My Purchases" in "My Account". We will communicate to you an acknowledgement of receipt of such a withdrawal on a durable medium (e.g. by e-mail) without delay.
To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.
Effects of withdrawal
If you withdraw from this contract, we will reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (except for the supplementary costs arising if you chose a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us).
We may make a deduction from the reimbursement for loss in value of any goods supplied, if the loss is the result of unnecessary handling by you.
We will make the reimbursement without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract.
We will make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.
We may withhold reimbursement until we have received the goods back, or you have supplied evidence of having sent back the goods, whichever is the earliest.
You shall send back the goods or hand them over to Ground Zero Books, Ltd., Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.A., +1 240-316-0119, without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which you communicate your withdrawal from this contract to us. The deadline is met if you send back the goods before the period of 14 days has expired. You will have to bear the direct cost of returning the goods. You are only liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from the handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.
Exceptions to the right of withdrawal
The right of withdrawal does not apply to:
- The delivery of newspapers, journals or magazines with the exception of subscription contracts; and
- The supply of digital content which is not supplied on a tangible medium (e.g. on a CD or DVD) if you accepted when you placed your order that we could start to deliver it, and that you could not withdraw once delivery had started.
Shipping terms
Orders usually ship within 2 business days. Shipping costs are based on books
weighing 2.2 LB, or 1 KG. If your book order is heavy or oversized, we may contact
you to let you know extra shipping is required.