<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<GoodreadsResponse>
	<Request>
		<authentication>false</authentication>
		    <method><![CDATA[]]></method>
	</Request>
	
<book>
  <id>119264</id>
  <title><![CDATA[For Love of the Game]]></title>
  <isbn><![CDATA[0345408918]]></isbn>
  <isbn13><![CDATA[9780345408914]]></isbn13>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171776022m/119264.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171776022s/119264.jpg</small_image_url>
  <description><![CDATA[Serious sports novels often fall through the literary cracks simply because of the arena they play in. Michael Shaara earned his battle stripes--and a Pulitzer Prize--for <em>The Killer Angels</em>, a fictional resurrection of the Battle of Gettysburg, as serious a subject as a writer can confront. Yet, it's no more profound, in the end, than the personal dilemmas protagonist Billy Chapel faces in this, Shaara's final novel, found stashed in a desk after his death and published posthumously.<p> A certain Hall of Famer, Chapel is a major-league anomaly, a contemporary throwback to another sporting era. He's pitched 17 stellar seasons for the same club, and his love of the game has remained paramount; neither money nor fame has been his motivation. But on the single day this story takes place, he finds himself in crisis. At the crossroads of his life, his career, and his future, he must make the hard choices that will define the direction of the rest of his life. It's the end of the season, his team's out of contention, there's a rumor he may have been traded, and the woman he can't fully acknowledge that he loves announces she's leaving him. It is, as he tells himself, &quot;Time to grow up, Daydreamer.&quot; Still, he dreams, but he also acts. As Billy takes the mound for his final start of the year--and maybe forever--we enter his stream of consciousness, and rush with him over the sometimes treacherous rapids of what has preceded this moment, and what may come. Amazingly, though his mind seems to wander through time, his concentration is fierce. Pitch by pitch, inning by inning, he remains focused, honoring his job and his legacy as he pitches a masterpiece of mythic proportion, ultimately leaving the field more a man than when he took it. Using baseball to sound the depths of human experience, Shaara delivers a masterpiece, as well. <em>--Jeff Silverman</em></p>]]></description>
  <work>
  <best_book_id type="integer">119264</best_book_id>
  <books_count type="integer">10</books_count>
  <desc_user_id type="integer" nil="true"></desc_user_id>
  <id type="integer">1044692</id>
  <media_type nil="true"></media_type>
  <original_language_id type="integer" nil="true"></original_language_id>
  <original_publication_day type="integer" nil="true"></original_publication_day>
  <original_publication_month type="integer" nil="true"></original_publication_month>
  <original_publication_year type="integer">1991</original_publication_year>
  <original_title>For Love of the Game</original_title>
  <rating_dist>total:131|5:35|4:48|3:34|2:9|1:5|</rating_dist>
  <ratings_count type="integer">131</ratings_count>
  <ratings_sum type="integer">492</ratings_sum>
  <reviews_count type="integer">185</reviews_count>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">17</text_reviews_count>
</work>

  <average_rating><![CDATA[3.76]]></average_rating>
  <ratings_count><![CDATA[127]]></ratings_count>
  <text_reviews_count><![CDATA[16]]></text_reviews_count>
  
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/119264.For_Love_of_the_Game]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/119264.For_Love_of_the_Game]]></link>
  <authors>
    <author>
    <id>16892</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Michael Shaara]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-M-200x266.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-M-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16892.Michael_Shaara]]></link>
    <average_rating>4.12</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>7658</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>1062</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
  </authors>
    <reviews start="1" end="20" total="185">
      <review>
  <id>32699596</id>
    <user>
    <id>756362</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Joe]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/756362-joe]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1228668142p3/756362.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1228668142p2/756362.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">119264</id>
  <isbn>0345408918</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780345408914</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">16</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[For Love of the Game]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171776022m/119264.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171776022s/119264.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/119264.For_Love_of_the_Game</link>
  <average_rating>3.76</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>127</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Serious sports novels often fall through the literary cracks simply because of the arena they play in. Michael Shaara earned his battle stripes--and a Pulitzer Prize--for <em>The Killer Angels</em>, a fictional resurrection of the Battle of Gettysburg, as serious a subject as a writer can confront. Yet, it's no more profound, in the end, than the personal dilemmas protagonist Billy Chapel faces in this, Shaara's final novel, found stashed in a desk after his death and published posthumously.<p> A certain Hall of Famer, Chapel is a major-league anomaly, a contemporary throwback to another sporting era. He's pitched 17 stellar seasons for the same club, and his love of the game has remained paramount; neither money nor fame has been his motivation. But on the single day this story takes place, he finds himself in crisis. At the crossroads of his life, his career, and his future, he must make the hard choices that will define the direction of the rest of his life. It's the end of the season, his team's out of contention, there's a rumor he may have been traded, and the woman he can't fully acknowledge that he loves announces she's leaving him. It is, as he tells himself, &quot;Time to grow up, Daydreamer.&quot; Still, he dreams, but he also acts. As Billy takes the mound for his final start of the year--and maybe forever--we enter his stream of consciousness, and rush with him over the sometimes treacherous rapids of what has preceded this moment, and what may come. Amazingly, though his mind seems to wander through time, his concentration is fierce. Pitch by pitch, inning by inning, he remains focused, honoring his job and his legacy as he pitches a masterpiece of mythic proportion, ultimately leaving the field more a man than when he took it. Using baseball to sound the depths of human experience, Shaara delivers a masterpiece, as well. <em>--Jeff Silverman</em></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1991</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2000</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Sep 12 10:38:02 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Sep 12 10:43:00 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I really wish this author had written more than two books, since the two that he did write are two of the best stories I've ever read.  His son has done a good job continuing with the Killer Angels story and historical fiction novels, but I think For Love of the Game will have to stand on its own.  ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/32699596">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/32699596]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/32699596]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>17126920</id>
    <user>
    <id>970802</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Jon]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Houston, TX]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/970802-jon-terry]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1206929775p3/970802.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1206929775p2/970802.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">119264</id>
  <isbn>0345408918</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780345408914</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">16</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[For Love of the Game]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171776022m/119264.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171776022s/119264.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/119264.For_Love_of_the_Game</link>
  <average_rating>3.76</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>131</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Serious sports novels often fall through the literary cracks simply because of the arena they play in. Michael Shaara earned his battle stripes--and a Pulitzer Prize--for <em>The Killer Angels</em>, a fictional resurrection of the Battle of Gettysburg, as serious a subject as a writer can confront. Yet, it's no more profound, in the end, than the personal dilemmas protagonist Billy Chapel faces in this, Shaara's final novel, found stashed in a desk after his death and published posthumously.<p> A certain Hall of Famer, Chapel is a major-league anomaly, a contemporary throwback to another sporting era. He's pitched 17 stellar seasons for the same club, and his love of the game has remained paramount; neither money nor fame has been his motivation. But on the single day this story takes place, he finds himself in crisis. At the crossroads of his life, his career, and his future, he must make the hard choices that will define the direction of the rest of his life. It's the end of the season, his team's out of contention, there's a rumor he may have been traded, and the woman he can't fully acknowledge that he loves announces she's leaving him. It is, as he tells himself, &quot;Time to grow up, Daydreamer.&quot; Still, he dreams, but he also acts. As Billy takes the mound for his final start of the year--and maybe forever--we enter his stream of consciousness, and rush with him over the sometimes treacherous rapids of what has preceded this moment, and what may come. Amazingly, though his mind seems to wander through time, his concentration is fierce. Pitch by pitch, inning by inning, he remains focused, honoring his job and his legacy as he pitches a masterpiece of mythic proportion, ultimately leaving the field more a man than when he took it. Using baseball to sound the depths of human experience, Shaara delivers a masterpiece, as well. <em>--Jeff Silverman</em></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1991</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="fiction" />
        <shelf name="movie" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Mar 05 18:35:36 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Mar 27 08:59:18 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Pulitzer Prize-winner Michael Shaara's last book, published posthumously. I read this after enjoying the Kevin Costner movie. The book is short, but deep and intense. Short enough, in fact, that the movie adds without really removing in order more fully flesh out the relationship. It is a moving and...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/17126920">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/17126920]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/17126920]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>56964447</id>
    <user>
    <id>752423</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Alisa]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Chicago, IL]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/752423-alisa]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1256065063p3/752423.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1256065063p2/752423.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">119264</id>
  <isbn>0345408918</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780345408914</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">16</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[For Love of the Game]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171776022m/119264.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171776022s/119264.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/119264.For_Love_of_the_Game</link>
  <average_rating>3.76</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>131</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Serious sports novels often fall through the literary cracks simply because of the arena they play in. Michael Shaara earned his battle stripes--and a Pulitzer Prize--for <em>The Killer Angels</em>, a fictional resurrection of the Battle of Gettysburg, as serious a subject as a writer can confront. Yet, it's no more profound, in the end, than the personal dilemmas protagonist Billy Chapel faces in this, Shaara's final novel, found stashed in a desk after his death and published posthumously.<p> A certain Hall of Famer, Chapel is a major-league anomaly, a contemporary throwback to another sporting era. He's pitched 17 stellar seasons for the same club, and his love of the game has remained paramount; neither money nor fame has been his motivation. But on the single day this story takes place, he finds himself in crisis. At the crossroads of his life, his career, and his future, he must make the hard choices that will define the direction of the rest of his life. It's the end of the season, his team's out of contention, there's a rumor he may have been traded, and the woman he can't fully acknowledge that he loves announces she's leaving him. It is, as he tells himself, &quot;Time to grow up, Daydreamer.&quot; Still, he dreams, but he also acts. As Billy takes the mound for his final start of the year--and maybe forever--we enter his stream of consciousness, and rush with him over the sometimes treacherous rapids of what has preceded this moment, and what may come. Amazingly, though his mind seems to wander through time, his concentration is fierce. Pitch by pitch, inning by inning, he remains focused, honoring his job and his legacy as he pitches a masterpiece of mythic proportion, ultimately leaving the field more a man than when he took it. Using baseball to sound the depths of human experience, Shaara delivers a masterpiece, as well. <em>--Jeff Silverman</em></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1991</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="food-for-thought-lit" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Fri May 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri May 22 09:34:43 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri May 22 09:37:46 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This book was found by author's son amongst his papers after his death.  Though Michael Shaara is known for his other books, this one was evocative of the changing times in which we live.  It made me cry (but I'm a bit of a crier), but also made me shiver, and consider those millionaire baseball pla...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/56964447">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/56964447]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/56964447]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>14410430</id>
    <user>
    <id>764994</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Rick]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Brooklyn, NY]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/764994-rick]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-M-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-M-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">1058125</id>
  <isbn>0345408926</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780345408921</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">1</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[For Love of the Game]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1180624376m/1058125.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1180624376s/1058125.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1058125.For_Love_of_the_Game</link>
  <average_rating>3.00</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>2</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Serious sports novels often fall through the literary cracks simply because of the arena they play in. Michael Shaara earned his battle stripes--and a Pulitzer Prize--for <em>The Killer Angels</em>, a fictional resurrection of the Battle of Gettysburg, as serious a subject as a writer can confront. Yet, it's no more profound, in the end, than the personal dilemmas protagonist Billy Chapel faces in this, Shaara's final novel, found stashed in a desk after his death and published posthumously.<p> A certain Hall of Famer, Chapel is a major-league anomaly, a contemporary throwback to another sporting era. He's pitched 17 stellar seasons for the same club, and his love of the game has remained paramount; neither money nor fame has been his motivation. But on the single day this story takes place, he finds himself in crisis. At the crossroads of his life, his career, and his future, he must make the hard choices that will define the direction of the rest of his life. It's the end of the season, his team's out of contention, there's a rumor he may have been traded, and the woman he can't fully acknowledge that he loves announces she's leaving him. It is, as he tells himself, &quot;Time to grow up, Daydreamer.&quot; Still, he dreams, but he also acts. As Billy takes the mound for his final start of the year--and maybe forever--we enter his stream of consciousness, and rush with him over the sometimes treacherous rapids of what has preceded this moment, and what may come. Amazingly, though his mind seems to wander through time, his concentration is fierce. Pitch by pitch, inning by inning, he remains focused, honoring his job and his legacy as he pitches a masterpiece of mythic proportion, ultimately leaving the field more a man than when he took it. Using baseball to sound the depths of human experience, Shaara delivers a masterpiece, as well. <em>--Jeff Silverman</em></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1991</published>
</book>

    <rating>1</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="fiction" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Feb 02 19:19:33 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Feb 02 19:21:17 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[The novelist who wrote the brilliant historical novel Killer Angels was ill-served by his son in publishing this posthumous novel about baseball, made, I realized too late, into a conventional but somewhat more nuanced and credible but still saccharine movie with Kevin Costner. Shaara’s body of wo...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/14410430">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/14410430]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/14410430]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>78732697</id>
    <user>
    <id>2959253</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Mark]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Ephraim, UT]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2959253-mark-meeks]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1258604468p3/2959253.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1258604468p2/2959253.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">119264</id>
  <isbn>0345408918</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780345408914</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">16</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[For Love of the Game]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171776022m/119264.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171776022s/119264.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/119264.For_Love_of_the_Game</link>
  <average_rating>3.76</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>131</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Serious sports novels often fall through the literary cracks simply because of the arena they play in. Michael Shaara earned his battle stripes--and a Pulitzer Prize--for <em>The Killer Angels</em>, a fictional resurrection of the Battle of Gettysburg, as serious a subject as a writer can confront. Yet, it's no more profound, in the end, than the personal dilemmas protagonist Billy Chapel faces in this, Shaara's final novel, found stashed in a desk after his death and published posthumously.<p> A certain Hall of Famer, Chapel is a major-league anomaly, a contemporary throwback to another sporting era. He's pitched 17 stellar seasons for the same club, and his love of the game has remained paramount; neither money nor fame has been his motivation. But on the single day this story takes place, he finds himself in crisis. At the crossroads of his life, his career, and his future, he must make the hard choices that will define the direction of the rest of his life. It's the end of the season, his team's out of contention, there's a rumor he may have been traded, and the woman he can't fully acknowledge that he loves announces she's leaving him. It is, as he tells himself, &quot;Time to grow up, Daydreamer.&quot; Still, he dreams, but he also acts. As Billy takes the mound for his final start of the year--and maybe forever--we enter his stream of consciousness, and rush with him over the sometimes treacherous rapids of what has preceded this moment, and what may come. Amazingly, though his mind seems to wander through time, his concentration is fierce. Pitch by pitch, inning by inning, he remains focused, honoring his job and his legacy as he pitches a masterpiece of mythic proportion, ultimately leaving the field more a man than when he took it. Using baseball to sound the depths of human experience, Shaara delivers a masterpiece, as well. <em>--Jeff Silverman</em></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1991</published>
</book>

    <rating>0</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Nov 23 07:56:43 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Nov 23 07:56:43 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I couldn't get past page 2.  I saw the movie based on the book, and while the movie didn't follow the book, I liked the movie better.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78732697]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78732697]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>74912089</id>
    <user>
    <id>308889</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Rich]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/308889-rich]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1188099927p3/308889.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1188099927p2/308889.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">119264</id>
  <isbn>0345408918</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780345408914</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">16</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[For Love of the Game]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171776022m/119264.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171776022s/119264.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/119264.For_Love_of_the_Game</link>
  <average_rating>3.76</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>131</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Serious sports novels often fall through the literary cracks simply because of the arena they play in. Michael Shaara earned his battle stripes--and a Pulitzer Prize--for <em>The Killer Angels</em>, a fictional resurrection of the Battle of Gettysburg, as serious a subject as a writer can confront. Yet, it's no more profound, in the end, than the personal dilemmas protagonist Billy Chapel faces in this, Shaara's final novel, found stashed in a desk after his death and published posthumously.<p> A certain Hall of Famer, Chapel is a major-league anomaly, a contemporary throwback to another sporting era. He's pitched 17 stellar seasons for the same club, and his love of the game has remained paramount; neither money nor fame has been his motivation. But on the single day this story takes place, he finds himself in crisis. At the crossroads of his life, his career, and his future, he must make the hard choices that will define the direction of the rest of his life. It's the end of the season, his team's out of contention, there's a rumor he may have been traded, and the woman he can't fully acknowledge that he loves announces she's leaving him. It is, as he tells himself, &quot;Time to grow up, Daydreamer.&quot; Still, he dreams, but he also acts. As Billy takes the mound for his final start of the year--and maybe forever--we enter his stream of consciousness, and rush with him over the sometimes treacherous rapids of what has preceded this moment, and what may come. Amazingly, though his mind seems to wander through time, his concentration is fierce. Pitch by pitch, inning by inning, he remains focused, honoring his job and his legacy as he pitches a masterpiece of mythic proportion, ultimately leaving the field more a man than when he took it. Using baseball to sound the depths of human experience, Shaara delivers a masterpiece, as well. <em>--Jeff Silverman</em></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1991</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Oct 18 08:24:27 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Oct 18 08:25:51 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Meh . . .  I think the best thing I can say about it is that it was way better than the movie, but that's a pretty low bar. ]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74912089]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74912089]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>77980063</id>
    <user>
    <id>2949958</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Amy]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Gainesville, VA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2949958-amy]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">119264</id>
  <isbn>0345408918</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780345408914</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">16</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[For Love of the Game]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171776022m/119264.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171776022s/119264.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/119264.For_Love_of_the_Game</link>
  <average_rating>3.76</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>131</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Serious sports novels often fall through the literary cracks simply because of the arena they play in. Michael Shaara earned his battle stripes--and a Pulitzer Prize--for <em>The Killer Angels</em>, a fictional resurrection of the Battle of Gettysburg, as serious a subject as a writer can confront. Yet, it's no more profound, in the end, than the personal dilemmas protagonist Billy Chapel faces in this, Shaara's final novel, found stashed in a desk after his death and published posthumously.<p> A certain Hall of Famer, Chapel is a major-league anomaly, a contemporary throwback to another sporting era. He's pitched 17 stellar seasons for the same club, and his love of the game has remained paramount; neither money nor fame has been his motivation. But on the single day this story takes place, he finds himself in crisis. At the crossroads of his life, his career, and his future, he must make the hard choices that will define the direction of the rest of his life. It's the end of the season, his team's out of contention, there's a rumor he may have been traded, and the woman he can't fully acknowledge that he loves announces she's leaving him. It is, as he tells himself, &quot;Time to grow up, Daydreamer.&quot; Still, he dreams, but he also acts. As Billy takes the mound for his final start of the year--and maybe forever--we enter his stream of consciousness, and rush with him over the sometimes treacherous rapids of what has preceded this moment, and what may come. Amazingly, though his mind seems to wander through time, his concentration is fierce. Pitch by pitch, inning by inning, he remains focused, honoring his job and his legacy as he pitches a masterpiece of mythic proportion, ultimately leaving the field more a man than when he took it. Using baseball to sound the depths of human experience, Shaara delivers a masterpiece, as well. <em>--Jeff Silverman</em></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1991</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Nov 16 11:53:01 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Nov 16 11:53:23 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Love the book, love the movie. A rarity.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77980063]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77980063]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>45401548</id>
    <user>
    <id>1638251</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Spencer]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[New York, NY]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1638251-spencer]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-M-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-M-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">119264</id>
  <isbn>0345408918</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780345408914</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">16</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[For Love of the Game]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171776022m/119264.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171776022s/119264.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/119264.For_Love_of_the_Game</link>
  <average_rating>3.76</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>131</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Serious sports novels often fall through the literary cracks simply because of the arena they play in. Michael Shaara earned his battle stripes--and a Pulitzer Prize--for <em>The Killer Angels</em>, a fictional resurrection of the Battle of Gettysburg, as serious a subject as a writer can confront. Yet, it's no more profound, in the end, than the personal dilemmas protagonist Billy Chapel faces in this, Shaara's final novel, found stashed in a desk after his death and published posthumously.<p> A certain Hall of Famer, Chapel is a major-league anomaly, a contemporary throwback to another sporting era. He's pitched 17 stellar seasons for the same club, and his love of the game has remained paramount; neither money nor fame has been his motivation. But on the single day this story takes place, he finds himself in crisis. At the crossroads of his life, his career, and his future, he must make the hard choices that will define the direction of the rest of his life. It's the end of the season, his team's out of contention, there's a rumor he may have been traded, and the woman he can't fully acknowledge that he loves announces she's leaving him. It is, as he tells himself, &quot;Time to grow up, Daydreamer.&quot; Still, he dreams, but he also acts. As Billy takes the mound for his final start of the year--and maybe forever--we enter his stream of consciousness, and rush with him over the sometimes treacherous rapids of what has preceded this moment, and what may come. Amazingly, though his mind seems to wander through time, his concentration is fierce. Pitch by pitch, inning by inning, he remains focused, honoring his job and his legacy as he pitches a masterpiece of mythic proportion, ultimately leaving the field more a man than when he took it. Using baseball to sound the depths of human experience, Shaara delivers a masterpiece, as well. <em>--Jeff Silverman</em></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1991</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="quarter-3" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Feb 04 17:03:01 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Apr 01 21:20:52 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Michael Shaara's 'For the Love of the game' focuses on one issue, which is baseball. I think the main issue of the book which is not too obvious is devotion. Devotion comes up throughout the novel in many ways and it is shown by the character's love for baseball. I would recommend this novel to anyo...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/45401548">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/45401548]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/45401548]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>17254803</id>
    <user>
    <id>866958</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Aubrey]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Lowell, MA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/866958-aubrey]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1201965794p3/866958.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1201965794p2/866958.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">119264</id>
  <isbn>0345408918</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780345408914</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">16</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[For Love of the Game]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171776022m/119264.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171776022s/119264.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/119264.For_Love_of_the_Game</link>
  <average_rating>3.76</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>131</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Serious sports novels often fall through the literary cracks simply because of the arena they play in. Michael Shaara earned his battle stripes--and a Pulitzer Prize--for <em>The Killer Angels</em>, a fictional resurrection of the Battle of Gettysburg, as serious a subject as a writer can confront. Yet, it's no more profound, in the end, than the personal dilemmas protagonist Billy Chapel faces in this, Shaara's final novel, found stashed in a desk after his death and published posthumously.<p> A certain Hall of Famer, Chapel is a major-league anomaly, a contemporary throwback to another sporting era. He's pitched 17 stellar seasons for the same club, and his love of the game has remained paramount; neither money nor fame has been his motivation. But on the single day this story takes place, he finds himself in crisis. At the crossroads of his life, his career, and his future, he must make the hard choices that will define the direction of the rest of his life. It's the end of the season, his team's out of contention, there's a rumor he may have been traded, and the woman he can't fully acknowledge that he loves announces she's leaving him. It is, as he tells himself, &quot;Time to grow up, Daydreamer.&quot; Still, he dreams, but he also acts. As Billy takes the mound for his final start of the year--and maybe forever--we enter his stream of consciousness, and rush with him over the sometimes treacherous rapids of what has preceded this moment, and what may come. Amazingly, though his mind seems to wander through time, his concentration is fierce. Pitch by pitch, inning by inning, he remains focused, honoring his job and his legacy as he pitches a masterpiece of mythic proportion, ultimately leaving the field more a man than when he took it. Using baseball to sound the depths of human experience, Shaara delivers a masterpiece, as well. <em>--Jeff Silverman</em></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1991</published>
</book>

    <rating>2</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="fiction" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sun Mar 09 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Mar 07 13:31:26 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Mar 21 07:39:36 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I was looking forward to this book because I'm a baseball fan and the premise seemed like something I'd be interested in (aging pitcher pitches one last game). <br/>While the concept and plot were solid, I unfortunately just didn't find this novel to be very well-written. Shaara seemed to be shooti...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/17254803">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/17254803]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/17254803]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>22864127</id>
    <user>
    <id>160554</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Aubrey]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Tyngsboro, MA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/160554-aubrey]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1209223337p3/160554.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1209223337p2/160554.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">119264</id>
  <isbn>0345408918</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780345408914</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">16</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[For Love of the Game]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171776022m/119264.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171776022s/119264.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/119264.For_Love_of_the_Game</link>
  <average_rating>3.76</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>131</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Serious sports novels often fall through the literary cracks simply because of the arena they play in. Michael Shaara earned his battle stripes--and a Pulitzer Prize--for <em>The Killer Angels</em>, a fictional resurrection of the Battle of Gettysburg, as serious a subject as a writer can confront. Yet, it's no more profound, in the end, than the personal dilemmas protagonist Billy Chapel faces in this, Shaara's final novel, found stashed in a desk after his death and published posthumously.<p> A certain Hall of Famer, Chapel is a major-league anomaly, a contemporary throwback to another sporting era. He's pitched 17 stellar seasons for the same club, and his love of the game has remained paramount; neither money nor fame has been his motivation. But on the single day this story takes place, he finds himself in crisis. At the crossroads of his life, his career, and his future, he must make the hard choices that will define the direction of the rest of his life. It's the end of the season, his team's out of contention, there's a rumor he may have been traded, and the woman he can't fully acknowledge that he loves announces she's leaving him. It is, as he tells himself, &quot;Time to grow up, Daydreamer.&quot; Still, he dreams, but he also acts. As Billy takes the mound for his final start of the year--and maybe forever--we enter his stream of consciousness, and rush with him over the sometimes treacherous rapids of what has preceded this moment, and what may come. Amazingly, though his mind seems to wander through time, his concentration is fierce. Pitch by pitch, inning by inning, he remains focused, honoring his job and his legacy as he pitches a masterpiece of mythic proportion, ultimately leaving the field more a man than when he took it. Using baseball to sound the depths of human experience, Shaara delivers a masterpiece, as well. <em>--Jeff Silverman</em></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1991</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu Jun 26 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat May 24 06:37:50 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Jun 26 18:24:30 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I must say that I enjoyed the book more than I thought.  I have seen the movie and obviously it's different from the book.  I love the writing style, which I didn't appreciate until I was half way through the book.  It really felt like I was in Billy Chapel's head as he walked through his final game...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/22864127">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/22864127]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/22864127]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>3802647</id>
    <user>
    <id>145402</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Mike]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/145402-mike]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1182975453p3/145402.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1182975453p2/145402.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">119264</id>
  <isbn>0345408918</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780345408914</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">16</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[For Love of the Game]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171776022m/119264.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171776022s/119264.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/119264.For_Love_of_the_Game</link>
  <average_rating>3.76</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>131</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Serious sports novels often fall through the literary cracks simply because of the arena they play in. Michael Shaara earned his battle stripes--and a Pulitzer Prize--for <em>The Killer Angels</em>, a fictional resurrection of the Battle of Gettysburg, as serious a subject as a writer can confront. Yet, it's no more profound, in the end, than the personal dilemmas protagonist Billy Chapel faces in this, Shaara's final novel, found stashed in a desk after his death and published posthumously.<p> A certain Hall of Famer, Chapel is a major-league anomaly, a contemporary throwback to another sporting era. He's pitched 17 stellar seasons for the same club, and his love of the game has remained paramount; neither money nor fame has been his motivation. But on the single day this story takes place, he finds himself in crisis. At the crossroads of his life, his career, and his future, he must make the hard choices that will define the direction of the rest of his life. It's the end of the season, his team's out of contention, there's a rumor he may have been traded, and the woman he can't fully acknowledge that he loves announces she's leaving him. It is, as he tells himself, &quot;Time to grow up, Daydreamer.&quot; Still, he dreams, but he also acts. As Billy takes the mound for his final start of the year--and maybe forever--we enter his stream of consciousness, and rush with him over the sometimes treacherous rapids of what has preceded this moment, and what may come. Amazingly, though his mind seems to wander through time, his concentration is fierce. Pitch by pitch, inning by inning, he remains focused, honoring his job and his legacy as he pitches a masterpiece of mythic proportion, ultimately leaving the field more a man than when he took it. Using baseball to sound the depths of human experience, Shaara delivers a masterpiece, as well. <em>--Jeff Silverman</em></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1991</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[baseball fans]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Jul 30 12:34:48 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Dec 17 02:53:01 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[While Shaara does an exceptional job of describing the tension and excitement as each out passes and the pitcher progresses toward a perfect game, the sub-plot/romantic story is trite at best--the ending particularly so.  Not one of the best baseball novels out there but entertaining nonetheless.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3802647]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3802647]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>337074</id>
    <user>
    <id>28445</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Caleb]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Singapore]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/28445-caleb-liu]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1176997385p3/28445.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1176997385p2/28445.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">119264</id>
  <isbn>0345408918</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780345408914</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">16</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[For Love of the Game]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171776022m/119264.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171776022s/119264.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/119264.For_Love_of_the_Game</link>
  <average_rating>3.76</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>131</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Serious sports novels often fall through the literary cracks simply because of the arena they play in. Michael Shaara earned his battle stripes--and a Pulitzer Prize--for <em>The Killer Angels</em>, a fictional resurrection of the Battle of Gettysburg, as serious a subject as a writer can confront. Yet, it's no more profound, in the end, than the personal dilemmas protagonist Billy Chapel faces in this, Shaara's final novel, found stashed in a desk after his death and published posthumously.<p> A certain Hall of Famer, Chapel is a major-league anomaly, a contemporary throwback to another sporting era. He's pitched 17 stellar seasons for the same club, and his love of the game has remained paramount; neither money nor fame has been his motivation. But on the single day this story takes place, he finds himself in crisis. At the crossroads of his life, his career, and his future, he must make the hard choices that will define the direction of the rest of his life. It's the end of the season, his team's out of contention, there's a rumor he may have been traded, and the woman he can't fully acknowledge that he loves announces she's leaving him. It is, as he tells himself, &quot;Time to grow up, Daydreamer.&quot; Still, he dreams, but he also acts. As Billy takes the mound for his final start of the year--and maybe forever--we enter his stream of consciousness, and rush with him over the sometimes treacherous rapids of what has preceded this moment, and what may come. Amazingly, though his mind seems to wander through time, his concentration is fierce. Pitch by pitch, inning by inning, he remains focused, honoring his job and his legacy as he pitches a masterpiece of mythic proportion, ultimately leaving the field more a man than when he took it. Using baseball to sound the depths of human experience, Shaara delivers a masterpiece, as well. <em>--Jeff Silverman</em></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1991</published>
</book>

    <rating>1</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2000</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Mar 20 03:59:02 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Dec 16 16:49:39 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Read at at one go at Kinokuniya. Sports yarn about pitching a perfect game in baseball told as a kind of last hurrah of an athlete considered to be past it and washed out. In sum, cliched and dull.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/337074]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/337074]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>7680248</id>
    <user>
    <id>376771</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Sumsul]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[New York, NY]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/376771-sumsul]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1221272389p3/376771.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1221272389p2/376771.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">119264</id>
  <isbn>0345408918</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780345408914</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">16</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[For Love of the Game]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171776022m/119264.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171776022s/119264.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/119264.For_Love_of_the_Game</link>
  <average_rating>3.76</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>131</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Serious sports novels often fall through the literary cracks simply because of the arena they play in. Michael Shaara earned his battle stripes--and a Pulitzer Prize--for <em>The Killer Angels</em>, a fictional resurrection of the Battle of Gettysburg, as serious a subject as a writer can confront. Yet, it's no more profound, in the end, than the personal dilemmas protagonist Billy Chapel faces in this, Shaara's final novel, found stashed in a desk after his death and published posthumously.<p> A certain Hall of Famer, Chapel is a major-league anomaly, a contemporary throwback to another sporting era. He's pitched 17 stellar seasons for the same club, and his love of the game has remained paramount; neither money nor fame has been his motivation. But on the single day this story takes place, he finds himself in crisis. At the crossroads of his life, his career, and his future, he must make the hard choices that will define the direction of the rest of his life. It's the end of the season, his team's out of contention, there's a rumor he may have been traded, and the woman he can't fully acknowledge that he loves announces she's leaving him. It is, as he tells himself, &quot;Time to grow up, Daydreamer.&quot; Still, he dreams, but he also acts. As Billy takes the mound for his final start of the year--and maybe forever--we enter his stream of consciousness, and rush with him over the sometimes treacherous rapids of what has preceded this moment, and what may come. Amazingly, though his mind seems to wander through time, his concentration is fierce. Pitch by pitch, inning by inning, he remains focused, honoring his job and his legacy as he pitches a masterpiece of mythic proportion, ultimately leaving the field more a man than when he took it. Using baseball to sound the depths of human experience, Shaara delivers a masterpiece, as well. <em>--Jeff Silverman</em></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1991</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="advisoryreading07-08" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sun Jun 01 09:56:02 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Oct 13 15:58:31 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Jun 01 09:56:02 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This book was about this pitcher who hoped to pitch a perfect game for the first time in his life. He was in a big pressure. It was a ok book. ]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7680248]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7680248]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>25035172</id>
    <user>
    <id>1023523</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Doug]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Payson, UT]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1023523-doug]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1213654556p3/1023523.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1213654556p2/1023523.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">119264</id>
  <isbn>0345408918</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780345408914</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">16</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[For Love of the Game]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171776022m/119264.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171776022s/119264.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/119264.For_Love_of_the_Game</link>
  <average_rating>3.76</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>131</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Serious sports novels often fall through the literary cracks simply because of the arena they play in. Michael Shaara earned his battle stripes--and a Pulitzer Prize--for <em>The Killer Angels</em>, a fictional resurrection of the Battle of Gettysburg, as serious a subject as a writer can confront. Yet, it's no more profound, in the end, than the personal dilemmas protagonist Billy Chapel faces in this, Shaara's final novel, found stashed in a desk after his death and published posthumously.<p> A certain Hall of Famer, Chapel is a major-league anomaly, a contemporary throwback to another sporting era. He's pitched 17 stellar seasons for the same club, and his love of the game has remained paramount; neither money nor fame has been his motivation. But on the single day this story takes place, he finds himself in crisis. At the crossroads of his life, his career, and his future, he must make the hard choices that will define the direction of the rest of his life. It's the end of the season, his team's out of contention, there's a rumor he may have been traded, and the woman he can't fully acknowledge that he loves announces she's leaving him. It is, as he tells himself, &quot;Time to grow up, Daydreamer.&quot; Still, he dreams, but he also acts. As Billy takes the mound for his final start of the year--and maybe forever--we enter his stream of consciousness, and rush with him over the sometimes treacherous rapids of what has preceded this moment, and what may come. Amazingly, though his mind seems to wander through time, his concentration is fierce. Pitch by pitch, inning by inning, he remains focused, honoring his job and his legacy as he pitches a masterpiece of mythic proportion, ultimately leaving the field more a man than when he took it. Using baseball to sound the depths of human experience, Shaara delivers a masterpiece, as well. <em>--Jeff Silverman</em></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1991</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Jun 20 22:26:58 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Jun 20 22:28:31 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I read this because I liked Shaara's Killer Angels so well and I am a huge baseball fan and former pitcher. I enjoyed it.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/25035172]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/25035172]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>1055459</id>
    <user>
    <id>48341</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Kristopher]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[New York, NY]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/48341-kristopher]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1206365488p3/48341.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1206365488p2/48341.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">119264</id>
  <isbn>0345408918</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780345408914</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">16</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[For Love of the Game]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171776022m/119264.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171776022s/119264.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/119264.For_Love_of_the_Game</link>
  <average_rating>3.76</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>131</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Serious sports novels often fall through the literary cracks simply because of the arena they play in. Michael Shaara earned his battle stripes--and a Pulitzer Prize--for <em>The Killer Angels</em>, a fictional resurrection of the Battle of Gettysburg, as serious a subject as a writer can confront. Yet, it's no more profound, in the end, than the personal dilemmas protagonist Billy Chapel faces in this, Shaara's final novel, found stashed in a desk after his death and published posthumously.<p> A certain Hall of Famer, Chapel is a major-league anomaly, a contemporary throwback to another sporting era. He's pitched 17 stellar seasons for the same club, and his love of the game has remained paramount; neither money nor fame has been his motivation. But on the single day this story takes place, he finds himself in crisis. At the crossroads of his life, his career, and his future, he must make the hard choices that will define the direction of the rest of his life. It's the end of the season, his team's out of contention, there's a rumor he may have been traded, and the woman he can't fully acknowledge that he loves announces she's leaving him. It is, as he tells himself, &quot;Time to grow up, Daydreamer.&quot; Still, he dreams, but he also acts. As Billy takes the mound for his final start of the year--and maybe forever--we enter his stream of consciousness, and rush with him over the sometimes treacherous rapids of what has preceded this moment, and what may come. Amazingly, though his mind seems to wander through time, his concentration is fierce. Pitch by pitch, inning by inning, he remains focused, honoring his job and his legacy as he pitches a masterpiece of mythic proportion, ultimately leaving the field more a man than when he took it. Using baseball to sound the depths of human experience, Shaara delivers a masterpiece, as well. <em>--Jeff Silverman</em></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1991</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[Baseball fans.]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat May 05 20:08:22 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat May 05 20:08:49 -0700 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[An excellent baseball book.<br/>7/28/09 Just re-read this two days ago.  Still a great baseball book.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1055459]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1055459]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>19765125</id>
    <user>
    <id>1068108</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Brian]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1068108-brian]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1233341638p3/1068108.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1233341638p2/1068108.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">119264</id>
  <isbn>0345408918</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780345408914</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">16</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[For Love of the Game]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171776022m/119264.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171776022s/119264.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/119264.For_Love_of_the_Game</link>
  <average_rating>3.76</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>131</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Serious sports novels often fall through the literary cracks simply because of the arena they play in. Michael Shaara earned his battle stripes--and a Pulitzer Prize--for <em>The Killer Angels</em>, a fictional resurrection of the Battle of Gettysburg, as serious a subject as a writer can confront. Yet, it's no more profound, in the end, than the personal dilemmas protagonist Billy Chapel faces in this, Shaara's final novel, found stashed in a desk after his death and published posthumously.<p> A certain Hall of Famer, Chapel is a major-league anomaly, a contemporary throwback to another sporting era. He's pitched 17 stellar seasons for the same club, and his love of the game has remained paramount; neither money nor fame has been his motivation. But on the single day this story takes place, he finds himself in crisis. At the crossroads of his life, his career, and his future, he must make the hard choices that will define the direction of the rest of his life. It's the end of the season, his team's out of contention, there's a rumor he may have been traded, and the woman he can't fully acknowledge that he loves announces she's leaving him. It is, as he tells himself, &quot;Time to grow up, Daydreamer.&quot; Still, he dreams, but he also acts. As Billy takes the mound for his final start of the year--and maybe forever--we enter his stream of consciousness, and rush with him over the sometimes treacherous rapids of what has preceded this moment, and what may come. Amazingly, though his mind seems to wander through time, his concentration is fierce. Pitch by pitch, inning by inning, he remains focused, honoring his job and his legacy as he pitches a masterpiece of mythic proportion, ultimately leaving the field more a man than when he took it. Using baseball to sound the depths of human experience, Shaara delivers a masterpiece, as well. <em>--Jeff Silverman</em></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1991</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Apr 08 19:44:50 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Apr 09 05:35:13 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[My favorite sports novel.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/19765125]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/19765125]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>20287305</id>
    <user>
    <id>1088223</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Jim]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Hackettstown, NJ]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1088223-jim]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-M-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-M-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">119264</id>
  <isbn>0345408918</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780345408914</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">16</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[For Love of the Game]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171776022m/119264.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171776022s/119264.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/119264.For_Love_of_the_Game</link>
  <average_rating>3.76</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>131</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Serious sports novels often fall through the literary cracks simply because of the arena they play in. Michael Shaara earned his battle stripes--and a Pulitzer Prize--for <em>The Killer Angels</em>, a fictional resurrection of the Battle of Gettysburg, as serious a subject as a writer can confront. Yet, it's no more profound, in the end, than the personal dilemmas protagonist Billy Chapel faces in this, Shaara's final novel, found stashed in a desk after his death and published posthumously.<p> A certain Hall of Famer, Chapel is a major-league anomaly, a contemporary throwback to another sporting era. He's pitched 17 stellar seasons for the same club, and his love of the game has remained paramount; neither money nor fame has been his motivation. But on the single day this story takes place, he finds himself in crisis. At the crossroads of his life, his career, and his future, he must make the hard choices that will define the direction of the rest of his life. It's the end of the season, his team's out of contention, there's a rumor he may have been traded, and the woman he can't fully acknowledge that he loves announces she's leaving him. It is, as he tells himself, &quot;Time to grow up, Daydreamer.&quot; Still, he dreams, but he also acts. As Billy takes the mound for his final start of the year--and maybe forever--we enter his stream of consciousness, and rush with him over the sometimes treacherous rapids of what has preceded this moment, and what may come. Amazingly, though his mind seems to wander through time, his concentration is fierce. Pitch by pitch, inning by inning, he remains focused, honoring his job and his legacy as he pitches a masterpiece of mythic proportion, ultimately leaving the field more a man than when he took it. Using baseball to sound the depths of human experience, Shaara delivers a masterpiece, as well. <em>--Jeff Silverman</em></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1991</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Apr 16 07:31:23 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Apr 16 07:31:47 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Excellent book!]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/20287305]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/20287305]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>80802227</id>
    <user>
    <id>3037058</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Ed]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Brighton, MA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/3037058-ed-scala]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-U-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">119264</id>
  <isbn>0345408918</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780345408914</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">16</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[For Love of the Game]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171776022m/119264.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171776022s/119264.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/119264.For_Love_of_the_Game</link>
  <average_rating>3.76</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>131</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Serious sports novels often fall through the literary cracks simply because of the arena they play in. Michael Shaara earned his battle stripes--and a Pulitzer Prize--for <em>The Killer Angels</em>, a fictional resurrection of the Battle of Gettysburg, as serious a subject as a writer can confront. Yet, it's no more profound, in the end, than the personal dilemmas protagonist Billy Chapel faces in this, Shaara's final novel, found stashed in a desk after his death and published posthumously.<p> A certain Hall of Famer, Chapel is a major-league anomaly, a contemporary throwback to another sporting era. He's pitched 17 stellar seasons for the same club, and his love of the game has remained paramount; neither money nor fame has been his motivation. But on the single day this story takes place, he finds himself in crisis. At the crossroads of his life, his career, and his future, he must make the hard choices that will define the direction of the rest of his life. It's the end of the season, his team's out of contention, there's a rumor he may have been traded, and the woman he can't fully acknowledge that he loves announces she's leaving him. It is, as he tells himself, &quot;Time to grow up, Daydreamer.&quot; Still, he dreams, but he also acts. As Billy takes the mound for his final start of the year--and maybe forever--we enter his stream of consciousness, and rush with him over the sometimes treacherous rapids of what has preceded this moment, and what may come. Amazingly, though his mind seems to wander through time, his concentration is fierce. Pitch by pitch, inning by inning, he remains focused, honoring his job and his legacy as he pitches a masterpiece of mythic proportion, ultimately leaving the field more a man than when he took it. Using baseball to sound the depths of human experience, Shaara delivers a masterpiece, as well. <em>--Jeff Silverman</em></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1991</published>
</book>

    <rating>0</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Dec 12 17:38:51 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Dec 12 17:38:53 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/80802227]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/80802227]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>80372328</id>
    <user>
    <id>2994478</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Blackbead]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2994478-blackbead]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-U-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">119264</id>
  <isbn>0345408918</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780345408914</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">16</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[For Love of the Game]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171776022m/119264.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171776022s/119264.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/119264.For_Love_of_the_Game</link>
  <average_rating>3.76</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>131</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Serious sports novels often fall through the literary cracks simply because of the arena they play in. Michael Shaara earned his battle stripes--and a Pulitzer Prize--for <em>The Killer Angels</em>, a fictional resurrection of the Battle of Gettysburg, as serious a subject as a writer can confront. Yet, it's no more profound, in the end, than the personal dilemmas protagonist Billy Chapel faces in this, Shaara's final novel, found stashed in a desk after his death and published posthumously.<p> A certain Hall of Famer, Chapel is a major-league anomaly, a contemporary throwback to another sporting era. He's pitched 17 stellar seasons for the same club, and his love of the game has remained paramount; neither money nor fame has been his motivation. But on the single day this story takes place, he finds himself in crisis. At the crossroads of his life, his career, and his future, he must make the hard choices that will define the direction of the rest of his life. It's the end of the season, his team's out of contention, there's a rumor he may have been traded, and the woman he can't fully acknowledge that he loves announces she's leaving him. It is, as he tells himself, &quot;Time to grow up, Daydreamer.&quot; Still, he dreams, but he also acts. As Billy takes the mound for his final start of the year--and maybe forever--we enter his stream of consciousness, and rush with him over the sometimes treacherous rapids of what has preceded this moment, and what may come. Amazingly, though his mind seems to wander through time, his concentration is fierce. Pitch by pitch, inning by inning, he remains focused, honoring his job and his legacy as he pitches a masterpiece of mythic proportion, ultimately leaving the field more a man than when he took it. Using baseball to sound the depths of human experience, Shaara delivers a masterpiece, as well. <em>--Jeff Silverman</em></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1991</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Dec 08 20:52:17 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Dec 08 20:52:17 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/80372328]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/80372328]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>79881329</id>
    <user>
    <id>1767192</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Joan]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Leonardtown, MD]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1767192-joan]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">119264</id>
  <isbn>0345408918</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780345408914</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">16</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[For Love of the Game]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171776022m/119264.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171776022s/119264.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/119264.For_Love_of_the_Game</link>
  <average_rating>3.76</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>131</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Serious sports novels often fall through the literary cracks simply because of the arena they play in. Michael Shaara earned his battle stripes--and a Pulitzer Prize--for <em>The Killer Angels</em>, a fictional resurrection of the Battle of Gettysburg, as serious a subject as a writer can confront. Yet, it's no more profound, in the end, than the personal dilemmas protagonist Billy Chapel faces in this, Shaara's final novel, found stashed in a desk after his death and published posthumously.<p> A certain Hall of Famer, Chapel is a major-league anomaly, a contemporary throwback to another sporting era. He's pitched 17 stellar seasons for the same club, and his love of the game has remained paramount; neither money nor fame has been his motivation. But on the single day this story takes place, he finds himself in crisis. At the crossroads of his life, his career, and his future, he must make the hard choices that will define the direction of the rest of his life. It's the end of the season, his team's out of contention, there's a rumor he may have been traded, and the woman he can't fully acknowledge that he loves announces she's leaving him. It is, as he tells himself, &quot;Time to grow up, Daydreamer.&quot; Still, he dreams, but he also acts. As Billy takes the mound for his final start of the year--and maybe forever--we enter his stream of consciousness, and rush with him over the sometimes treacherous rapids of what has preceded this moment, and what may come. Amazingly, though his mind seems to wander through time, his concentration is fierce. Pitch by pitch, inning by inning, he remains focused, honoring his job and his legacy as he pitches a masterpiece of mythic proportion, ultimately leaving the field more a man than when he took it. Using baseball to sound the depths of human experience, Shaara delivers a masterpiece, as well. <em>--Jeff Silverman</em></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1991</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Dec 04 10:40:21 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Dec 04 10:40:38 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79881329]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79881329]]></link>
</review>
    </reviews>
  <popular_shelves>
          <shelf name="to-read" />
          <shelf name="fiction" />
          <shelf name="baseball" />
          <shelf name="movie" />
          <shelf name="sports" />
          <shelf name="to-read-baseball" />
          <shelf name="purchase" />
          <shelf name="bibliobabes" />
      </popular_shelves>
  <book_links>
    <book_link>
  <id>8</id>
  <name><![CDATA[WorldCat]]></name>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=119264</link>
</book_link>
  </book_links>
</book>
</GoodreadsResponse>