When I started reading this, the Cubs were the best team in the National League and heavily favored to make it to the World Series.

I guess I don't need to tell you how that story ends.

The book is fine, for what it is. The fact that it's written by Brown's descendants should tell you all you need to know about how strong a critique the reader can expect. Nevertheless, they do a perfectly adequate job of describing the life and times of a man whose only notable achievements were losing a finger as a child and pitching for the Cubs as an adult.

The book is mainly interesting in its depiction of life as a baseball player in the early twentieth century, which is as far removed from the life of the modern baseball player as possible.

It's also a good reminder that there was a time when the Cubs were famous for more than failure. ( )