Baseballissimo: My Summer in the Italian Minor Leagues
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Book Overview
In the spring of 2002, Dave Bidini set off for Nettuno, Italy, with his wife, Janet, and their two small children, in search of his favourite summer game, baseball. Nettuno was his destination because this town, south of Rome, has been the baseball capital of Italy since 1944, when the game was introduced by the American GIs who liberated the region. Bidini wanted to spend time in a town where everyone is as nuts about the game as he is, and in Nettuno, they love the game so much that they hand out baseball gloves and bats to children taking their first communion. For six months Bidini followed the fortunes of the Serie B Peones, Nettunese to the core. At the same time he was also learning about his own heritage, having spent his youth vigorously ignoring his Italianness. The result of his summer in Italy is vintage Bidini: a funny, perceptive, and engrossing book that takes readers far beyond the professional sport to the game that people around the world love to play.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0771014627
ISBN13:9780771014628
Release Date:March 2005
Publisher:McClelland & Stewart
Length:360 Pages
Weight:1.20 lbs.
Dimensions:0.9" x 6.7" x 9.0"
Customer Reviews
2 ratings
A "must read" for anyone with an interest in baseball
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 19 years ago
Baseball has been a popular sport in Italy ever since it was first introduced by American soldiers who liberated Italy from the fascist in World War II. Author Dave Didini (along with his wife and two small children) traveled to Nettuno, Italy (south of Rome on the Tyrrhenian coast) to seek out his favorite summer game in what has evolved into the "baseball capital" of Italy since 1944. The serie A team in Nettuno is the Indians -- but this is a team stuffed with talent imported from Latin America. So for six months Didini followed the fortunes of the Serie B Peones, solidly staffed with Nettunese locals. When he returned to America, he sat down and wrote up his experiences with Italian baseball and culture. The result is Baseballissimo: My Summer In The Italian Minor Leagues. A lively and informative account that is a "must read" for anyone with an interest in baseball, as well as the armchair traveler seeking a quite different perspective on living and life in contemporary Italy.
Italian Baseball?
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 19 years ago
For anyone who loves baseball, food, wine, Italy, and music (not necessarily in that order), this is the book for you. Dave Bidini's experiences with the Peones are hilarious. Imagine the passion that Italians have about everything in life. Now imagine that passion when arguing with an umpire. Hot dogs in the dugout? Not in Italy. Italians know how to eat! Read this book...you won't be disappointed.
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