Take Time for Paradise: Americans and Their Games (original 1989; edition 2011)

Giamatti certainly had a high love of baseball, and of sport in general, as you can see by this treatise. It comes across clearly, even through the more formally written, philosophical prose. He situates it within the ideas of what the purpose of life is, what we really should seek to do, and the amount of freedom we can get, the way that freedom and enjoyment can be enhanced by a set of rules to work with it in, and connecting that with American ideals. Overall, yes, this is well-written and thought provoking sports philosophy.

That said, man, it's slim... and if I didn't know that it actually was completed and out for publication before Giamatti died, I would have figured it for an incomplete posthumous publication. I don't think I really got a summation of his arguments, as I often expect from academic pieces of this length, and it's quite svelte for a non-academic book, indeed. I did enjoy it, and you can try to imagine what else he might have had to say had he left longer, but I can't see this as much but a library read, if you run into it. ( )

I love baseball, but I couldn't get through this book. Too dry. Maybe another time. ( )

Before his death, A. Bartlett Giamatti was a Yale University professor and Major League Baseball commissioner. In Take Time for Paradise, he philosophizes on the importance of leisure and sports - specifically baseball - in American life.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend this book to the average baseball fan. It takes that special type of fan that doesn't just enjoy watching the game, but enjoys talking about it, for lack of a better word, deeply. I kind of expected this to be more about the game of baseball, maybe with some history thrown in. In fact, it's more of a philosophy book, taking the argument that sports are transformative and more important than "just a game," then spending the last third discussing baseball specifically. I found some of his points interesting to think about: Giamatti's thoughts leisure becoming more of an private than a public endeavor are, I think, even more true today than when the book was first published in 1989. Other times, I struggled to understand what he was saying or thought he was reading too much into things - but then, my favorite sport is football, so maybe if he was talking about that I would have found more to agree with. ( )

Ingrained in my memory of my youth, is the summer of 1989. Just a few days before I entered high school, Pete Rose, the all-time hits leader was banished by baseball for gambling. The baseball commissioner, A. Bartlett Giamatti was suddenly someone famous to me. He, the outsider intellectual from Harvard, had done what was once thought impossible. Giamatti had kicked out, rightfully so, Pete Rose. Just a few days later Giamatti died, replaced by a faceless old man, and my life moved on. I rarely thought about Giamatti as a baseball commissioner for many years. His time was too brief to make any other sort of impression. This was my loss.

Written years ago, but re-printed now, Take Time for Paradise explains and expands upon Giamatti’s now well documented love of the game of baseball. This book takes the reader beyond the superficial trappings of baseball and into the psyche of a baseball lover. While a simple game on the surface, once you are immersed in the spirit of the game you see the randomness, the complexities, and the humanity in the game itself.

The books is broken down into only three chapters “Self Knowledge”, “Community”, and “Baseball As a Narrative”. The book is not a long one, but the sophisticated writing and concepts meant that re-reading passages will almost be a necessity. The common theme across all the chapters is how baseball is such an American game, in both creation and spirit. This view is made without any political baggage and is not a political statement. Baseball has reflected both best and worst in America since its hazy beginnings. Giamatti does the sport and the country proud with a well written essay on America’s pastime.

(FYI: This review is written by my husband, on whose behalf I requested the book. We share an account.) ( )

In this three part essay, Giamatti examines the meaning of leisure and sports, how a community fits into this leisure-sports connection and how baseball is a true narrative of the United States. In this new edition, Giamatti's son Marcus includes a touching afterward about his father and the family's love of baseball.

While I had expected to read more about baseball from a commissioner of baseball, I found it an interesting philosophical read about sports in general, specifically looking at how connected sports can be to the lives of a community and how a sport can define a nation. I must admit, there were times I had a hard time following Giamatti's prose - long sentences that tended to be a bit patchy for my taste. However, this is a unique examination of my favorite sport. Baseball fans may enjoy this deep-thinking read. ( )