Booklist Review

When you think of big-league baseball bats, there's really just the Louisville Slugger. And as this informative, attractive volume makes clear, there's good reason for that. Since the late 1800s, one family-owned woodworking company has crafted the Slugger (which, despite its singular name, comes in a variety of shapes and sizes). The fascinating saga begins at the beginning, with the start of baseball; a company eventually known as Hillerich and Bradsby began making bats soon after Abner Doubleday had an idea in Cooperstown. By the time Babe Ruth was swinging, the bat was already iconic among players. Filled with fascinating black-and-white photographs, this volume is just as much a history of the sport (and a paean to the company) as it is the story of a piece of equipment. In addition, individual players, everyone from Ted Williams to Lou Brock to Ken Griffey Jr., who writes the introduction, are profiled. As for controversies over hitters' drug-aided prowess, one demure paragraph (Such peripheral issues of the game do not involve the Louisville Slugger) is all readers get. Fans will find much to enjoy here.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2009 Booklist