And so it is for the long suffering Red Sox fans. How many "What Ifs" have they dealt with in the years since their last World Championship in 1918. They need wonder no longer - the proper outcomes for the Red Sox have been set right from the creative minds of former Sox gadfly Bill Lee and his co-author - rabid Red Sox follower and Ted William's number one fan Jim Prime. Prime has co-authored several excellent and respected baseball books including: "The Ted Williams' Hit List", "Tales from the Red Sox Dugout" and the best of the Williams tributes: "Ted Williams: The Pursuit of Perfection".

The Little Red (Sox) Book presents an entertaining, but slightly revisionist, Red Sox history combined with many delightful ponderings on the subject of baseball and life by Chairman Lee. Mao's little red book may have been read by billions but surely with far less delight than the comical, and at times thought-provoking, pages of this treat.

The authors begin their historical revisions in 1919. Had the universe unfolded properly, Joseph Kennedy would have acquired the Red Sox from Frazee and paid wisely to retain the services of a star pitcher and fair hitter by the name of George Herman Ruth. The consequences of this decision naturally enough led to the establishment of a baseball dynasty in Boston. This chapter presents an alternate reality where the greatest outfield in history might have been Ruth, Shoeless Joe Jackson and Tris Speaker. Satisfying many a Sox fan's dreams, the chapter also relegates the hated Yankees to a deserved baseball backwater.

This slight change in history had many rippling side effects outside baseball. Think about the melodic strains of the great Sinatra classic: "Up Yours, New York, New York" or wonder about the impact on literature had Marilyn Monroe hooked up with Henry Miller rather than Arthur. It is not every baseball book that provides an opportunity to think about how and where Henry Miller might choose to set his dinner table. One can even learn of a simple misunderstanding that would have kept America out of the quagmire of Vietnam. With only a slight exercise in imagination, the authors could see the Boston Pops becoming the house band for David Letterman.

One might wonder what the authors and friends had sprinkled on their Buckwheat pancakes when some of the puns of this chapter were set on paper but surely Shakespeare could not have put in any better than: "Alas poor Babe, I know his homer ratio". The book is worth the price of admission just for the many variations on the "Curse of the Bambino", Lee and Prime managed to deliver.

The second major "What If" that students of the Red Sox often contemplate would be the career stats of Ted Williams had he not lost several prime playing years defending his country. I'd rather not spoil the surprise of how this was accomplished other than to suggest that in this historical revision, Ted did more for world peace on the field then he ever accomplished in the cockpit of a a fighter aircraft. It was hilarious to read the newspaper sub-head: "Ted swings at first pitch!".

As fanciful as these chapters were, there is yet one history where the book takes a more thoughtful and poignant look at the Red Sox. This was the alternate history I found most interesting. Massachusetts and Boston have a long history of tolerance and liberal thought. Would it not have been marvellous if the Red Sox had the foresight to be the first of baseball teams to integrate rather than the last. Imagine Jackie Robinson making his breakthrough in Beantown rather than New York. Imagine the consequences for the team with Robinson stealing bases and upsetting pitchers who ended up serving more fastballs to the Kid. Suppose the BoSox wisdom had attracted the likes of Willie Mays to follow in Robinson's footsteps. Think how many World Series flags would fly today over the green grass of Fenway.

In addition to these histories the book also provides a chance for Bill Lee to share his unconventional thinking about the game of baseball. It was a delight to read his account of what an honest player interview would truly be like. One sample:

Q. Who do you credit with your team's success this year?

A. Were counting on Satan to carry us through Chuck. God appears to be with the Yankees again this year.

I strongly recommend baseball fans everywhere to pick up a copy of "The Little Red (Sox) Book". Imagining the what ifs or enjoying the wit and wisdom of Bill Lee and Jim Prime will provide delight to a broad audience - not just Red Sox fans, but also for history buffs and pun lovers everywhere. A great read to jump start baseball fever for another summer.

14 of 15 found the following review helpful:

Funny stuff from the Spaceman...  May 19, 2003
By Brent Wigen
I'm not a Red Sox fan, so I can't really identify with long-suffering Boston baseball fans, to whom this book is really directed. I can, however, appreciate the history of baseball, good humor and the occasional satire, all of which Bill Lee provides in his tongue-in-cheek revision of the history of the Boston Red Sox.

From the Ho Chi Minh Trial to Ted Williams' saving of the free world to "Bucky freuging Dent": concert pianist, this book is filled with wonderfully silly speculations of what might have been, had the episodes that have caused so much heartbreak for Boston baseball fans not occurred. Lee takes aim at several of his most despised adversaries, including the Yankees and Don Zimmer (whom he referred to as a "Gerbil" during his career), and never lets up. The fall of New York and the rise of Boston are directly linked to the fate of the Babe, as Yankee fans become the embittered and cynical of the two, and Boston becomes the Baseball capital of the world.

What would have happened if the Red Sox would not have traded Babe Ruth? If Ted Williams hadn't lost 5 years to war? If Jackie Robinson had been signed by the Bosox? If Bucky Dent had become a concert pianist instead of a baseball player? Probably not Lee's revised version of events, but that doesn't make the book any less enjoyable, it managed to keep a smile on my face throughout.

A good, funny, fanciful baseball story.

10 of 11 found the following review helpful:

a real lift for downcast Sox fans  Apr 08, 2003

Ever wonder how things might have been different if the Red Sox had not sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees? There might have been Red Sox players walking around with more World Series rings than they could wear on ten fingers.

Bill Lee and Jim Prime float some flights of fancy here - suppose Harry Frazee didn't buy the Sox and Joseph P. Kennedy had. Suppose Ruth stayed put in Boston. Suppose the Red Sox actually signed Jackie Robinson at that infamous tryout he had in Boston. Suppose Ted Williams really had killed Adolf Hitler with a line drive. What?? You have to read the book to find out.

You'll be entertained with the photo of Bucky Dent as the concert pianist he became, when he chose the keyboards over the ballfield. You'll see Bill Lee conferring with Albert Einstein. Jackie Robinson becomes President of the US.

Bill Lee is one of the more fertile minds in baseball, and Jim Prime a skillful writer who had helped corral some of "The Spaceman's" ideas and added more than a few of his own.

Any Red Sox fan who needs to have their spirits lifted momentarily will find this an easy, fun read.

6 of 6 found the following review helpful:

A bittersweet and laugh-out-loud ride for Red Sox fans  Jun 11, 2003
By Jeanne Yocum
The incomparable Spaceman has written a book that is must reading for every long-suffering Sox fan. Lee turns history upside down (or to Sox fans, right-side up) and undoes all the fiascos that are part of Red Sox lore. There are laugh-out-loud lines in this short book, but I'm not sure whether readers who aren't hard-core members of Red Sox Nation will appreciate them all. There are nuances within nuances that will fly right by anyone who isn't a die-hard Sox masochist...er, I mean fan. Lee has raised the art of "what if...." to a grand scale. His take on what might have happened if Tom Yawkey had signed Jackie Robinson when he had the chance is particularly intriguing...and heart-wrenching to those of us who are forever bound to wonder what might have been.

Well done, Spaceman, well done indeed!

8 of 9 found the following review helpful:

Glowing Review from Tampa Tribune  Apr 17, 2003

Preserving The Fun In The Game

Published: Mar 30, 2003

THE LITTLE RED (SOX) BOOK: A Revisionist Red Sox History.By Bill ``Spaceman'' Lee with Jim Prime. Triumph Books. 256 pages...BY: By BOB D'ANGELO
Forget the future, Boston fans. Your past is finally glorious. Bill Lee has rewritten the history of the Red Sox, and it is a rollicking ride."
-"filled with great moments and World Series victories. No anguished moments flow from Lee's fertile brain."

- "the ``Spaceman'' has concocted a fictionalized, but screamingly funny look at the Red Sox nation."

-"He refers to his career in movie form - ``A Farewell To Arm,'' subtitled, ``Oh Fastball, Where Art Thou?''

-"The stories Lee writes are marvelous. The best one has the Red Sox defying baseball's unwritten ``Jim Crow'' rule by signing Jackie Robinson."
-"The writing is crisp and carefree, and it is apparent that Lee enjoyed himself while writing, Even the photo captions crackle with humor and sarcasm."
(Bob D'Angelo is a copy editor in the Tribune's sports news department.)

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