Baseball Book Special: Spalding’s World Tour: The Epic Adventure That Took Baseball Around The Globe and Made It America’s Game

Weekly Book Special: April 5th-April 11th

The beginning of the 2010 baseball season is at hand. To commemorate, this week’s special is:

Spalding’s World Tour: The Epic Adventure That Took Baseball Around The Globe — and Made It America’s Game
by Mark Lamster (Paperback, 341 pages, 2006, $15.00)

Albert Spalding — baseball star, sporting-goods magnate, promotional genius — departed with two baseball teams on a 6-month global barnstorming trip in 1888.

These cultural ambassadors played before Kings and Queens, visited the Coliseum and Eiffel Tower, and hit home runs in front of the Great Sphinx in Egypt. When they returned, Teddy Roosevelt and Mark Twain hailed as heroes.

Sports Illustrated awarded this as one of the Best Baseball Books of 2006. Includes more than 30 historical photos and a map.

Our favorite photo is of a souvenir menu from the tour (click to enlarge):

“This engagingly written history of Spalding’s 1988 baseball world tour is both evocative and entertaining,” writes Alex Belth of Sports Illustrated.

“I’m not generally drawn in by 19th century history, but this book had me hooked from start to finish.”

The Campaign for the American Reader blog has additional capsule reviews from national publications.

Purchase this book for $15: