{"product_id":"banzai-babe-ruth-robert-k-fitts-9780803229846","title":"Banzai Babe Ruth: Baseball, Espionage, \u0026 Assassination During the 1934 Tour of Japan","description":"In November 1934 as the United States and Japan drifted toward war, a team of American League all-stars that included Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, future secret agent Moe Berg, and Connie Mack barnstormed across the Land of the Rising Sun. Hundreds of thousands of fans, many waving Japanese and American flags, welcomed the team with shouts of \"\u003ci\u003eBanzai!\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eBanzai\u003c\/i\u003e, Babe Ruth!\" The all-stars stayed for a month, playing 18 games, spawning professional baseball in Japan, and spreading goodwill. \u003cbr\u003ePoliticians on both sides of the Pacific hoped that the amity generated by the tour--and the two nations' shared love of the game--could help heal their growing political differences. But the Babe and baseball could not overcome Japan's growing nationalism, as a bloody coup d'état by young army officers and an assassination attempt by the ultranationalist War Gods Society jeopardized the tour's success. A tale of international intrigue, espionage, attempted murder, and, of course, baseball, \u003ci\u003eBanzai Babe Ruth\u003c\/i\u003e is the first detailed account of the doomed attempt to reconcile the United States and Japan through the 1934 All American baseball tour. Robert K. Fitts provides a wonderful story about baseball, nationalism, and American and Japanese cultural history.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Robert K. Fitts\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0803229844\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780803229846\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Nebraska Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/01\/2012\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 368\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.55lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.07h x 6.42w x 1.20d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAward:\u003c\/b\u003e Independent Publisher Book Awards - Silver Medal Winner\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/01\/2012 pg. 68\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 01\/30\/2012 pg. 46\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/15\/2012\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eForeword\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/29\/2012\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eShelf Awareness\u003c\/i\u003e 04\/13\/2012\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/01\/2012","brand":"Robert K. Fitts","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48517445026047,"sku":"9780803229846","price":34.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_92785c28-f543-479f-a710-3b85a64dd9a4.jpg?v=1778731913","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/banzai-babe-ruth-robert-k-fitts-9780803229846","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}