Thom reviewed War Fever by Randy Roberts
Review of 'War Fever' on 'Goodreads'
1 star
Three separate stories that didn't really have a lot to do with Boston. Two of the three are tenuously connected by the title fourth story - the fever or "the grip", which isn't covered well either. 1½ stars.
Babe Ruth probably has the most accounts written; nearly all spend the first quarter on his Baltimore upbringing and pitching with the Red Sox. German-born Karl Muck probably has the least. His story felt incomplete, but was the most interesting - through him, the author dipped a toe into internment of enemy aliens and denying rights to Germans (and those with German names - but not Ruth).
Charles Whittlesey is the least Boston here, hailing from New York and leading a division of New Yorkers (the 77th, aka the Metropolitan) during the war. He attended college in Massachusetts, but his influence on Boston (or vice versa) is not proven in this book. …
Three separate stories that didn't really have a lot to do with Boston. Two of the three are tenuously connected by the title fourth story - the fever or "the grip", which isn't covered well either. 1½ stars.
Babe Ruth probably has the most accounts written; nearly all spend the first quarter on his Baltimore upbringing and pitching with the Red Sox. German-born Karl Muck probably has the least. His story felt incomplete, but was the most interesting - through him, the author dipped a toe into internment of enemy aliens and denying rights to Germans (and those with German names - but not Ruth).
Charles Whittlesey is the least Boston here, hailing from New York and leading a division of New Yorkers (the 77th, aka the Metropolitan) during the war. He attended college in Massachusetts, but his influence on Boston (or vice versa) is not proven in this book.
I agree completely with other reviewers that this book felt too long and didn't flow. The author failed to connect what are essentially three magazine articles. If he had a point, it never arrived.
This book was suggested for me, and a 4.x rating plus my own fandom of the Red Sox made this an easy selection. I chose the audio book, how a friend would also read this, and I have to say I will suggest he give this one a pass. Not just for the scattered and incomplete content, but in this case the reader made things worse with a slow and ponderous delivery. 140% speed made it barely tolerable.