What is David Rapp reading?

Featured at Writers Read: David Rapp, author of Tinker to Evers to Chance: The Chicago Cubs and the Dawn of Modern America.

His entry begins:

Seven Pillars of Wisdom, by T.E. Lawrence

This book has been sitting on my shelf for decades. I’ve made several attempts to get into it without much sustained success. A couple of years ago I read Lawrence in Arabia by Scott Anderson, a brilliant analytical account of the Arab revolt’s role in upending the balance of power in World War I. I finally understood how to separate the man from the legend. So, recently, I downloaded the audiobook version of Seven Pillars, evocatively narrated by Jim Norton, and have been mesmerized by Lawrence’s own (not always factual) account of his experiences during that time. It’s been called...[read on]

About Tinker to Evers to Chance, from the publisher:

Their names were chanted, crowed, and cursed. Alone they were a shortstop, a second baseman, and a first baseman. But together they were an unstoppable force. Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers, and Frank Chance came together in rough-and-tumble early twentieth-century Chicago and soon formed the defensive core of the most formidable team in big league baseball, leading the Chicago Cubs to four National League pennants and two World Series championships from 1906 to 1910. At the same time, baseball was transforming from small-time diversion into a nationwide sensation. Americans from all walks of life became infected with “baseball fever,” a phenomenon of unprecedented enthusiasm and social impact. The national pastime was coming of age.

Tinker to Evers to Chance examines this pivotal moment in American history, when baseball became the game we know today. Each man came from a different corner of the country and brought a distinctive local culture with him: Evers from the Irish-American hothouse of Troy, New York; Tinker from the urban parklands of Kansas City, Missouri; Chance from the verdant fields of California’s Central Valley. The stories of these early baseball stars shed unexpected light not only on the evolution of baseball and on the enthusiasm of its players and fans all across America, but also on the broader convulsions transforming the US into a confident new industrial society. With them emerged a truly national culture.

This iconic trio helped baseball reinvent itself, but their legend has largely been relegated to myths and barroom trivia. David Rapp’s engaging history resets the story and brings these men to life again, enabling us to marvel anew at their feats on the diamond. It’s a rare look at one of baseball’s first dynasties in action.

Visit David Rapp's website.

Writers Read: David Rapp.

--Marshal Zeringue