At Fenway : Dispatches from Red Sox Nation

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Seeing baseball played at Fenway is an experience like no other for Red Sox fans and rivals alike because the park reminds us of what baseball used to be. Fenway may not offer fans the best seats or even adequate parking, but when game-goers walk through the park's gate, the smell of hotdogs and roasted peanuts, the sight of Fenway's brilliant green grass and the roar of the Fenway faithful overwhelms the most jaded of baseball enthusiasts, even Yankee fans.

At Fenway celebrates the rich history of Fenway Park home to the Boston Red Sox. Told through the wit and perceptions of Dan Shaughnessy, sports columnist for the Boston Globe and one of New England's most admired sportswriters, At Fenway is the writer's hometown tribute to the park how growing up with Fenway and the Red Sox affected his life and the lives of the many die-hard fans living in "Red Sox Nation." Author of The Curse of the Bambino, Shaughnessy takes readers on a walking tour of the fabled park itself, exploring every nook and cranny that makes Fenway unique. He traces the early history of Fenway from the day owner John I. Taylor broke ground for its construction in 1911 to the building material that went into the making of Fenway's "Green Monster" wall. In addition, Shaughnessy introduces readers to some of the unrecognized figures who keep Fenway's cherished traditions alive, including Helen Robinson, who has operated the park's switchboard for more than half a century, and head groundskeeper Joe Mooney, who "protects and defends the green, green grass of Fenway Park."

A book that uniquely captures the spirit of Fenway Park and what it means to be a Boston Red Sox fan, At Fenway also explores the "good, bad, and ugly" moments that have nurtured Fenway's love-hate relationship with fans. From the dark day of January 5, 1920, when Babe Ruth left the Red Sox to play for the Yankees, to the Red Sox's 1967 Cinderella-story pennant victory; from Carlton Fisk's 1975 World Series home run to the crowd-silencing homer Bucky Dent hit that clinched the Yankees' 1978 playoff birth, At Fenway recalls the park's greatest and worst moments and talks with the players who created them.

Rumors that the Red Sox will close Fenway in a few years have already provoked outrage among the faithful. Closing Fenway will mark the end of an era, and Dan Shaughnessy captures this era in all its tragic glory. At Fenway will be read and cherished by Red Sox fans and all fans of baseball as it ought to be.


From the Hardcover edition.