‘Achorn wonderfully captures this era,’ Publishers Weekly declares
In a glowing review, Publishers Weekly is lauding Edward Achorn’s Fifty-nine in ’84 as an “inside look into the game of baseball” in its brutal early days, hailing his revelation of the “hard-nosed players” of 1884. “There’s plenty to devour (and learn) for even the biggest of baseball savants,” PW declares.
“Achorn wonderfully captures this era of the sport—when pitchers threw balls at batters’ heads, and catchers … endured such abuse that some would need fingers amputated,” writes Publishers Weekly, which is closely read by book-industry insiders, including booksellers, filmmakers and agents.
“It’s no wonder that, in some circles, as Achorn writes, baseball was thought to be ‘one degree above grand larceny, arson, and mayhem, and those who engaged in it were beneath the notice of decent society.’ From the early stars of the game to archaic rules that seem silly by today’s standards, there’s plenty to devour (and learn) for even the biggest of baseball savants.”
Achorn has received similar early praise from Kirkus Reviews and other readers, including Pulitzer Prize-winning historians Gordon S. Wood and Joseph J. Ellis, former Red Sox pitcher Dave “Boo” Ferriss, and baseball historians Larry Tye and Cait Murphy.
