Sugarball: The American Game, the Dominican Dream

One hundred years ago two Cubans introduced baseball to the Dominican Republic, where it became the national pastime. But the game has evolved into something other than a carbon copy of the U.S. sport, and Klein, a professor of sociology and anthropology at Northeastern University, shows how the two differ. After a jargon-laden introduction, he presents an excellent short history of Dominica, the development of teams sponsored by the large sugar refineries (hence the book's title), and an absorbing analysis of how the Dominican national persona affects players and fans today. (Apr.)