Washington, D.C. (March 15, 2010) -- After months of mounting anticipation by baseball fans and history buffs, an acclaimed new book about a pitcher who won 59 games in one major-league season (and all three games of the first World Series) goes on sale tomorrow.

Fifty-nine in ’84, by Pulitzer Prize finalist Edward Achorn, has won breathtaking critical reviews from early readers, including some of America’s best-selling historians. News that Hollywood is interested has stirred speculation about who might play the leads. Achorn favors Robert Downey Jr. and Megan Fox.

Gordon Wood, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Empire of Liberty, hailed the book as a “marvelous suspense-filled story” and noted that “Achorn has recreated not just the rough and tough baseball world but also the raucous society and the money-mad culture” of Victorian America.

Order Fifty-Nine in '84 below for Amazon's special price of $17.15.

Fifty-nine in '84- Old Hoss Radbourn, Barehanded Baseball, and the Greatest Season a Pitcher Ever Had

 

“Simply stated, Fifty Nine in ’84 is the best baseball book I have ever read,” wrote Amazon Vine reviewer Paul Tognetti. “Edward Achorn grabbed my attention at the outset and simply never let go. This is a well-written and meticulously documented book that is equally suitable for baseball fans, history buffs and general audiences. Very highly recommended!”

James R. Holland, in a review for BusinessWeek’s Web site, wrote: “Incredibly this reviewer could not put this page-turner down even while watching the Super Bowl on television. Even the goal line stand of the Colts on their one yard line wasn’t as exciting as the drama of Old Hoss Radbourn and his Providence Grays battling it out.”

One critic headlined his review: “Stunningly good book – would make a great movie but nobody would believe it!”

Well before its publication, a buzz has been building over the biography, which experts say captures the colorful, violent and bitterly competitive spirit of early baseball as no other book. Fifty-nine in '84 is loaded with rare period photos and illustrations.

Library Journal called it “hugely appealing” and said it “reads like a novel.” Publishers Weekly declared, “Achorn wonderfully captures this era,” and added: “There’s plenty to devour (and learn) for even the biggest of baseball savants.” Kirkus Reviews called it a “loving reanimation” of an unforgettable player.

“Make room, Satchel and Cy, Walter, Grover and Roger,” said Larry Tye, author of the best-selling Satchel. “Edward Achorn passionately evokes a forgotten era and convincingly rewrites our list of the most accomplished pitchers ever.” Cait Murphy, author of Crazy '08, called it “the best book out there on 19th-century baseball.”

Fifty-nine in '84 tells not only the story of Radbourn's amazing feat of grit, but also of big-league baseball two decades after the Civil War - a brutal, bloody sport played barehanded, the profession of ill-educated, hard-drinking men who thought little of cheating outrageously or maiming an opponent to win. 

It is the tale, too, of the woman Radbourn loved, Carrie Stanhope, the alluring proprietress of a boarding house with shady overtones, a married lady who was said to know every man in the National League personally. 

Edward Achorn, a Pulitzer Prize finalist for distinguished commentary, is the deputy editorial pages editor of the Providence Journal. He is starting a round of readings and signings, and has been invited to speak at the Los Angles Times Festival of Books in April.

For more information, go to: OldHoss.com