Bill Veeck: A Baseball Legend

Given a lively, sure-fire subject like the flamboyant iconoclast Veeck, New York Times sportswriter Eskenazi (A Year on Ice, The Fastest Sport is at his best. Raised in a baseball family, Veeck went from being an official of the Chicago Cubs to owner of the then-minor-league Milwaukee Brewers. He resurrected the dying franchise and, after World War II, took over the Cleveland Indians, with whom he won a world championship. The most publicized era of his life was his quirky ownership of the lowly St. Louis Browns; to the roster of that club, he added the name of midget Eddie Gaedel and used him as a pinch hitter, following the script of James Thurber's ""You Could Look It Up.'' He went on to further success with the Chicago White Sox, but eventually alienated the baseball establishment with his unorthodoxy. Eskenazi's account of Veeck's action-packed life is a pleasure to read. (September 7)