Daniel Rosensweig. Retro Ball Parks: Instant History, Baseball, and the New American City.

Brown, Robert S.

Daniel Rosensweig. Retro Ball Parks: Instant History, Baseball, and the New American City. Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press, 2005. 210pp. Cloth, $29.95.

Rosensweig's book is perhaps better understood by its sub-heading" Instant History, Baseball, and the New American City, than its main tide, Retro Ball Parks. Very little of this work is actually dedicated to examining the new/old design of the current architectural trend in stadium construction. In fact, early in his work Rosensweig questions his own use of Cleveland's Jacobs Field as his primary exemplar, especially after admitting his favoritism toward Camden Yards. There are a few sections of very interesting discussion on the modern ball park and its feel and function, but that is not the main thrust of the text.

Instead, Rosenswieg has taken on a postmodern deconstruction of the modern baseball industry and its function within urban culture. The author combines some baseball labor history, race relations, fan control issues, and even a few movie and book reviews and uses these items to examine the development of Jacobs Field and its relationship with the surrounding city. The book raises serious issues about the practice of centering inner-city redevelopment around the construction of sport venues, especially in light of the damage done to traditional inner-city culture and the minorities who often inhabit these areas. Although other books have tackled similar subjects, usually focusing on the economic debates surrounding ballpark construction, Rosensweig emphasizes the cultural ramifications for city life and citizenry.

Although the various tangents into different topics can be distracting, the resulting points from these journeys are often quite rewarding, forcing the reader to think about baseball and cities in ways previously obscured by the warmth and celebration normally surrounding sport-based urban renewal. Rosenswieg's observations into the treatment of modern fans, especially in terms of seating arrangement, can be fascinating for all of us who have attended games and perhaps overlooked the many tactics used in the design of our vantage points. For anyone interested in the relationship between sport and culture, this book can serve as a great source of new perspective.

Robert S. Brown

Ashland (OH) University