A colleague and I did a similar book on Attleboro, MA. These books are great because they give patrons a glimpse of what their community looked like in days gone by. When all of the images are contained as they are in these books, they reveal new perspectives of community life across the country. For those who moved from the area it makes a great gift. In the community, it stimulates conversation about what was and what is. In Massachusetts and Rhode Island, many cities, towns and villages have Images of America books in print.

This is history at its best. Butler's work discusses the emergent class and ethnic tensions in a industrial midwestern town and situates its history in the larger patterns of change across America. Butler's style and writing has a flare and a richness unique in historical accounts of this sort--I could not put the book down! Butler has style!

Garret Mathews does a fine job of giving the reader an "inside" look at independent ball, as he chronicles life with the Evansville (Indiana) Otters of the Frontier League. Being from the home of another Frontier League team, the Johnstown Johnnies, this book had special interest for me. Mathews gives us a good look at the daily routines of the players, their struggles just to make ends meet and the pressures they face. At this level, the players often stay with "host families" and the author gives the reader a look at that aspect of the life of an independent player. I suppose much of what Mathews covers in this book applies to players in the lower levels of affiliated baseball, also.

My only complaint with the book deals with several mis-statements, typos, etc. For example, he discusses the "Cap Cod" League (should be Cape Cod) and states that one player lives in Sonora, California, near Yellowstone National Park. I believe Mathews meant Yosemite National Park; Yellowstone is several states away, in Wyoming. At another point, he refers to (I presume the same player) as both Rick Skinnou and Rob Skinnou. Several things tend to lead to confusion, also. Several times in the book, it is mentioned that he is with the team during the 2001 season, yet near the end of the book, he quizes the manager about whether he'd want the players back in 2001. At another point, games on a road trip seem to run together. The July 26 game seems to start in London, Ontario, but later, in the same stream-of-thought, refers to the Johnstown dugout. And there are more examples.

These errors may seem small and inconsequential, but it seems to be the norm in many books that I've read lately. For me, it tends to take the focus off the intended contents of the book, and puts you in a position of finding the next error.

That aside, I still found "Can't Find A Dry Ball" to be a book that I'd recommend to others (my wife, for instance).

Garret Mathews did a superb job at getting into the game of an independent team. I enjoyed the company in the dugout. Garret did a good job at not forcing the issue of getting a quote all the time. It seemed like he would speak out at certain times of the game that was appropriate.
Furthmore, he did a good job at getting quotes from most of the members of the team. It just shows you that there are so many different types of people from all over the world that can come together to form a baseball team.