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Cardboard Gods: An All-American Tale Told Through Baseball Cards Review

Baseball cards have been around forever - at least since the latter part of the 19th century - giving fans from all walks of life a tangible link to the players on display; from the frequently stiff and absurdly posed phony "action shots" on the front, to a statistical summary of the players' on field performance on the back. Holding the players "in the palm of your hand", or on display in protective card albums typically gives fans a wide range of emotions; from the warm fuzzy feeling we have for our personal heroes to the sheer disdain we have for an enemy player, or one of marginal ability who seems to be in every new pack we buy, taunting us with their useless duplication.

Without a doubt, we're hooked on collecting these little "cardboard gods"; and the author of this book, Josh Wilker, has paid a personal tribute to many of the cards he collected as a kid from the mid '70s - early '80s, with a wonderful narrative that is well-written, at times humorous, and at times quite poignant, as he relives the memories - some good, some not so good - that each card evokes.

From Bake McBride to Thurman Munson; from Jim Rice to Rickey Henderson; each story is told with refreshing candor and eloquence as Wilker rehashes various events from his rather difficult and mundane childhood; always, it's the memories which are attached directly to his personal collection. For every memory the author shares, the reader will more than likely relive their own personal anecdotes that are directly related to that particular card. As an avid collector for many years, I have most of the cards the author shares, including the 1980 Rickey Henderson rookie card, which by chance, seemed to be the most common card that came in the batch of "random" cards I purchased. I'm sure the folks at Topps had no idea this guy was going to be the best leadoff hitter in baseball history when they doled them out to buyers in time for the '80 season.

Whether you're a big baseball fan or simply interested in American pop culture, you'll more than likely find this "All-American Tale" a fascinating, compelling, and highly enlightening journey through Josh Wilker's childhood. It's quite a story and one that I highly recommend reading for yourself.

Cardboard Gods: An All-American Tale Told Through Baseball Cards Feature

• ISBN13: 9781934734162
• Condition: New
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Cardboard Gods: An All-American Tale Told Through Baseball Cards Overview

Cardboard Gods is the memoir of Josh Wilker, a brilliant writer who has marked the stages of his life through the baseball cards he collected as a child. It also captures the experience of growing up obsessed with baseball cards and explores what it means to be a fan of the game. Along the way, as we get to know Josh, his family, and his friends, we also get Josh’s classic observations about the central artifacts from his life: the baseball cards themselves. Josh writes about an imagined correspondence with his favorite player, Carl Yastrzemski; he uses the magical bubble-blowing powers of journeyman Kurt Bevacqua to shed light on the weakening of the powerful childhood bond with his older brother; he considers the doomed utopian back-to-the-land dreams of his hippie parents against the backdrop of inimitable 1970s baseball figures such as “Designated Pinch Runner” Herb Washington and Mark “The Bird” Fidrych. Cardboard Gods is more than just the story of a man who can’t let go of his past, it’s proof that — to paraphrase Jim Bouton — as children we grow up holding baseball cards but in the end we realize that it’s really the other way around.

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Customer Reviews

Only fair and not worth buying. - Allan S. Reid - Chicopee, MA
The book actually has very little to do with baseball cards. It's just a poorly written collection of bizarre and often crude anecdotes about the pathetic life of this loser of an author. Don't buy this for your kids! A couple of graphic descriptions of coaches sexually molesting little boys is hardly appropriate reading outside of an adult bookstore. Horrible waste of money and time.






Pure Poetic Brilliance - J. Kattef -
In Cardboard Gods, Josh Wilkers demonstrates a mastery of English prose. Quite simply, the cover blurb says it all: ""Josh Wilkers writes as beautifully about baseball and life as anyone ever has."

If you ever collected baseball cards, you will love this book. If you didn't and you love good writing, you will still love this book.

well done Mr. Wilkers - a masterpiece.



Tremendous Book - D. I. Kleban - Texas
What a wonderful book this is. As a child growing up in the Northeast in the 70's, Wilker has perfectly captured what it meant to come of age in that era. The book has not only prompted me to break out my baseball card collection, but has also caused me to pull out my memries of youth for the first time in years. I also highly recommend readers check out the blow ([...]) which is also excellent. Bravo Mr. Wilker.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Aug 26, 2010 12:32:08