An enduring classic for anyone who has every spent hours rolling the APBA dice (or Strat-O-Matic, etc.) Accountant J. Henry Waugh has become so immersed in the baseball simulation he has created that then when the unthinkable--an extremely rare play--occurs, well...let's just say it gets weird from that point. Truly brilliant and unique. I suppose this could be about any obsession, but there's really no obsession like a baseball simulation, is there? :-) ( )

1st UK edition, added mylar jacket wrapper. Purchased after Kevin Goldstein mentioned it in a fangraphs chat, and it sounded vaguely familiar.

I am certain I read this during my 'living at the library' stage - maybe 10 to 15 years old? There is some mush in the middle at an imaginary wake, and the concluding chapter is very weird as in the future the simulation seems to take over the novel.

That said, a fun, fast read. ( )

Date approximate ( )

Would have been 4 stars maybe 4.5 without that last chapter. Might work for some, but not for me.

This is a weird book. I know "weird," like "nice," can sometimes be a relatively meaningless word people use to dismiss something, but sometimes, and this is one of those time, it is absolutely the right word for the job.

The reader has to follow Mr. J. Henry Waugh's transitions between the real world and his baseball universe. This, even as the man himself has problems keeping them separate himself. I enjoyed this, but it isn't for everyone.

While I was reading this book, despite everything, I found myself wanting to fire up the computer and play Out of the Park Baseball - the 21st century version of Mr. Waugh's Universal Baseball Association. ( )

One should always try to keep one's fantasy life separate from the real thing, but Robert Coover has created a charming parable about that sort of thing. ( )