The Greatest Show on Dirt

by James Bailey

Overview

Set in the same beloved old stadium where Bull Durham was filmed, The Greatest Show on Dirt provides a look at baseball from a different angle. Players come and go, but there would be no games without a front office to sell the tickets, groom the field, and open the gates to let the fans in. A former Bulls employee who later spent six years covering the minor leagues for Baseball America, James Bailey has crafted a realistic, yet often hilarious, account of a young man's indoctrination into life in the bush leagues.

Reviewers have lauded the colorful cast of characters, from foul-mouthed, 12-year-old groundskeeper Spanky Paul to subtle middle-aged cougar Faith Andrews, who's looking to peddle more than t-shirts out of the team's souvenir shop. Ben Steelman of the Wilmington (N.C.) StarNews says, "Lane's co-workers are colorful enough to make Damon Runyan's characters look like the cast of a Henry James novel." And Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News says, "[I]t's not just believable, but is easy to imagine as being the starting point for a movie script--even with Bull Durham already a classic. Bailey doesn't use baseball locker-talk for shock value, but keeps the reader moving at the right pace, fully locked and loaded, trying to figure out how this crumbling old minor-league park will somehow expose the secret to life for at least one person who feels disconnected, but is willing to listen to see if it's speaking his language."

Product Details

BN ID:	2940014385923
Publisher:	James Bailey
Publication date:	05/07/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	482 KB

About the Author

James Bailey is the author of four novels. He grew up in Seattle, spent most of the 1990s in North Carolina, and has since settled in Rochester, N.Y., where he lives with his wife and Fortnite-obsessed son (and squirrel-obsessed mini dachshund). When not despairing about the state of the world, he enjoys watching soccer and listening to obscure Welsh bands no one else has ever heard of.

Editorial Reviews

Lane's co-workers are colorful enough to make Damon Runyan's characters look like the cast of a Henry James novel. Besides a few leftover college buddies (see: "Animal House"), you have vendors who work the county fairs in the off-season, a scattering of elderly dugout denizens, the occasional foul-mouthed kid and assorted trailer trash.

Their common denominator, if there is one, is a shared worship of The Game.

Wilmington (N.C.) StarNews - Ben Steelman

Lane's co-workers are colorful enough to make Damon Runyan's characters look like the cast of a Henry James novel. Besides a few leftover college buddies (see: "Animal House"), you have vendors who work the county fairs in the off-season, a scattering of elderly dugout denizens, the occasional foul-mouthed kid and assorted trailer trash.

Their common denominator, if there is one, is a shared worship of The Game.

Ben Steelman

Despite being a "baseball book" the storylines of deep-rooted friendships and newfound passions executed with a sprinkle of life-lesson metaphors make the fast-paced novel an easy and must read for anybody with a summer itch. For those seeking the baseball aspect of the story, it doesn't skimp, however, offering vivid scenes of game day operations from early morning hours to sun-up nights.

WRALSportsFan.com - Aaron Schoonmaker

Despite being a "baseball book" the storylines of deep-rooted friendships and newfound passions executed with a sprinkle of life-lesson metaphors make the fast-paced novel an easy and must read for anybody with a summer itch. For those seeking the baseball aspect of the story, it doesn't skimp, however, offering vivid scenes of game day operations from early morning hours to sun-up nights.

Aaron Schoonmaker

As Bailey digs deep into his baseball life here for the landscape, it's not just believable, but is easy to imagine as being the starting point for a movie script -- even with "Bull Durham" already a classic. Bailey doesn't use baseball locker-talk for shock value, but keeps the reader moving at the right pace, fully locked and loaded, trying to figure out how this crumbling old minor-league park will somehow expose the secret to life for at least one person who feels disconnected.

Los Angeles Daily News - Tom Hoffarth

As Bailey digs deep into his baseball life here for the landscape, it's not just believable, but is easy to imagine as being the starting point for a movie script -- even with "Bull Durham" already a classic. Bailey doesn't use baseball locker-talk for shock value, but keeps the reader moving at the right pace, fully locked and loaded, trying to figure out how this crumbling old minor-league park will somehow expose the secret to life for at least one person who feels disconnected.

Tom Hoffarth

It's a good read. Bailey has experience writing, with pieces in Baseball America to his credit. He also has reviewed several dozen books on his website. There's plenty of baseball in "The Greatest Show On Dirt," but Bailey combines the sport with some romantic tension, mystery (someone is stealing money in the locker room and Lane concocts a plan to nab the suspect), and the all-around goofiness that is present in almost every business -- yet seems more comical when put in a sporting context.

Tampa Tribune - Bob D'Angelo

It's a good read. Bailey has experience writing, with pieces in Baseball America to his credit. He also has reviewed several dozen books on his website. There's plenty of baseball in "The Greatest Show On Dirt," but Bailey combines the sport with some romantic tension, mystery (someone is stealing money in the locker room and Lane concocts a plan to nab the suspect), and the all-around goofiness that is present in almost every business -- yet seems more comical when put in a sporting context.

Bob D'Angelo