As reviewed in the Providence (RI) Journal.
Upshot:
[Author Peter] Morris achieves his main purpose, and more. He traces the game’s westward advance — often along canal and railroad routes — and its evolution toward competitiveness and standardized rules. As he does, he takes the reader deep into the culture of 19th-century America, as revolutions in transportation and mass communication pushed everything, even casual pastimes, toward professionalization and commercialization.
Having your say