This book brings together a lifetime of experiences told by a beloved member of the field of Slavic languages and literature - Irwin Weil. During the Soviet era, Irwin frequently visited and corresponded with outstanding Russian cultural figures, such as Vladimir Nabokov, Korney Chukovsky, and Dmitrii Shostakovich. His deep love of the Russian people and their culture has touched the lives of countless students, in particular at Northwestern University, where he has taught since 1966. It is these stories of an unassuming Jewish American from Cincinnati, Ohio who rubbed shoulders with some of the most prominent thinkers, writers, and musicians in the Soviet Union that are presented for the first time in this volume.

The passion for baseball in Cincinnati that's nearly unrivaled and the unequalled feel for the game that only exists in the Queen City are captured in this record. Unearthing the greatest stories ever written about one of the most storied teams in Major League Baseball history, the book brings back to life the most memorable Reds moments and the people who lived them.

In this compilation of stories from members of the Cincinnati Reds, baseball’s first professional team, Lew Freedman takes readers through decades of Reds baseball. In these firsthand accounts, players detail the most memorable games of their Reds careers. From the Cincinnati Reds’ inception, the team has been creating lasting memories for its devoted fans. Since the days of the Red Stockings, Cincinnati has featured Hall of Famers, such as Tony Pérez and Frank Robinson, both of whom are included in this book. Most recently, Barry Larkin, a member of the 1990 championship team, was inducted as part of the Class of 2012, and Freedman highlights Larkin’s memories of his Hall of Fame induction. From Joe Morgan and the Big Red Machine days of the 1970s, to Tom Browning’s heroics in the late ’80s, and Joey Votto and Bronson Arroyo’s recent brilliance, readers can relive many of the most exciting games in Reds history with some of the Reds’ most beloved players. This is a must-have for any fans of the Cincinnati ball club, past and present.

A revised Team Spirit Baseball edition featuring the Cincinnati Reds that chronicles the history and accomplishments of the team. The Team Spirit series paints an engaging, detailed yet accessible picture of professional sports teams. By focusing on the history, great victories and memorable personalities, the books have an enduring quality that will not go out of date quickly. The text is enhanced with plenty of full color photographs as well as reproductions of vintage trading cards and team memorabilia. Once you have the books, be sure to check out the new EXTRA INNINGS website to go along with the reading material! This site will be continuously updated with all new information on every baseball team – the perfect source for up-to-date statistics and player information for young sports fans. Each website includes: • Achievement Updates, More Go-To Guys, More Fun Facts, League Leaders, and more!

This title introduces baseball fans to the history of the Cincinnati Reds MLB franchise. The title features informative sidebars, exciting photos, a timeline, team facts, trivia, a glossary, and an index. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. SportsZone is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.

Some of the best-known names in baseball history are associated with baseball's first professional team, the Cincinnati Reds. This book relives the team's glory days, from the World Series championship teams of the 1970s to Lou Piniella's Series-winning club of 1990.

The Big Red Machine dominated major league baseball in the 1970s, but the Cincinnati franchise began its climb to that pinnacle in 1961, when an unlikely collection of cast-offs and wannabes stunned the baseball world by winning the National League pennant. Led by revered manager Fred Hutchinson, the team featured rising stars like Frank Robinson, Jim O’Toole, and Vada Pinson, fading stars like Gus Bell and Wally Post, and a few castoffs who suddenly came into their own, like Gene Freese and 20-game-winner Joey Jay. In time to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their pennant-winning season, the amazing story of the “Ragamuffin Reds” is told from start to finish in Before the Machine. Written by long-time Reds Report editor Mark J. Schmetzer and featuring dozens of photos by award-winning photographer Jerry Klumpe of the Cincinnati Post & Times Star, this book surely will be a winner with every fan in Reds country and coincides with an anniversary exhibit at the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum. Through interviews and research, Before the Machine captures the excitement of a pennant race for a team that had suffered losing seasons in 14 of the past 16 years. Schmetzer also beautifully evokes the time and place—a muggy Midwestern summer during which, as the new song of the season boasts, “the whole town’s batty for that team in Cincinnati.” Led by regional talk-show star Ruth Lyons (the Midwest’s “Oprah”) fans rallied around the Reds as never before. The year didn’t begin well for the team. Budding superstar Frank Robinson was arrested right before spring training for carrying a concealed weapon, and long-time owner Powel Crosley Jr., died suddenly just days before the start of the season. Few experts—or fans—gave the Reds much of a chance at first place anyway. With powerhouse teams in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Milwaukee, the National League pennant was unlikely to fly over Cincinnati’s Crosley Field. But manager Hutchinson somehow galvanized his motley crew and led them to victory after victory. Joey Jay, who had languished with the Braves, mowed down hitters while his rotation mates O’Toole and knuckleballer Bob Purkey did the same. The team also featured a dynamic duo in the bullpen in Bill Henry and Jim Brosnan, whose book about the season, Pennant Race, became a national bestseller the following year. As the rest of the league kept waiting for the Reds to fade, Hutch’s boys kept winning—and finally grabbed the pennant. Though they couldn’t continue their magic in the World Series against the Yankees, the previously moribund Reds franchise did continue to their success throughout the decade, winning 98 games in 1962 and falling just short of another pennant in 1964. They established a recipe for success that would lead, a few years later, to the emergence of the Big Red Machine.