| Book Reviews | The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 132.3

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| Book Reviews | The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 132.3 | The History Cooperative

BOOK REVIEWS

Almost a Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the 1980 Phillies. By William C. Kashatus. (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008. 392 pp. Illustrations, appendices, notes, bibliography, index. $34.95.)
Writing history is not easy. It can actually be easier for the historian to write about subjects one hundred years in the past than it is to write about subjects that the historian has experienced first hand. It's a matter of perspective. It can be difficult for the historian to separate out his or her own prejudices regarding events actually witnessed.	1
A case in point is Dr. William Kashatus's latest book, Almost a Dynasty, a tale of the Philadelphia Phillies from the early 1970s to the late 1980s, with the emphasis on (as subtitled) The Rise and Fall of the 1980 Phillies. Kashatus is a historian, the holder of a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania, and the author of more than a dozen history books, including four on American history and nine on baseball history. However, even a professional historian can run afoul of history when writing about a subject that is either too recent or too personal. Previously the author of a biography of Mike Schmidt, the pre-eminent star of the 1980 Phillies, Kashatus has dedicated Almost a Dynasty to Schmidt ("my boyhood hero") and to the memory of the late Tug McGraw ("a sorely missed friend"). And, as he states in his introduction, "The Phils were the only professional sports team I ever lived and died with" (9).	. . .

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