If I Never Get Back

Last night, I finished a novel that I picked up last October while visiting Vons, an amazing college bookstore at Purdue. When I was going through my MBA at Purdue 5 years ago, loved visiting this bookstore. 

I read this probably 30 years ago as a teen when my dad had the paperback laying around -- so it's been a while. 

This 1st edition was a neat find, and I think it's awesome to find an inscription. Can't help but wonder who Bill was and his dad giving him this book 32 years ago around the same time I was reading this.

It's a pretty interesting story about a man who finds himself hurtled back in time to 1869 where he finds himself catching on to the Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first professional base ball team. The novel has a good mix of story lines about life in the US right after the end of the Civil War, along with what it might be like if a person familiar with modern day baseball found himself playing the game in a different era.

Very surprised that a movie has not been made based on this book. It looks like at some point it was optioned for a movie but that's it.  Apparently, this book helped spawn the formation of several Vintage Baseball teams -- there are several here throughout central Indiana and Illinois.

Anyway, it will be onto the next night time reading book. Either The Chicago Cubs - Story of a Curse, or Baseball as a Road to God.