Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella, John Radziewicz (Editor)

On the Field with Shoeless Joe
A reviewer, MA High School Student, 09/25/2005

Shoeless Joe, by W. P. Kinsella, is a very well written novel. It is very easy to read, and people of many different ages will enjoy it. It is a story about baseball, which is America‘s pastime, so many people should like it. Shoeless Joe discussed a lot of history about baseball, but it also talks about a man fulfilling his dream, and how hard he has to work to do so. It also has a lot of suspense and makes for an exciting read. The story line of the book is heavily influenced on baseball and it would be easier to read with some knowledge of the game. However, many different kinds of people can enjoy this book. Ray Kinsella is a baseball fan who really likes the history of the game. Readers who are also baseball fans, especially those that like reading about some of the history of the game, like the 1919 Chicago White Sox scandal, will like Shoeless Joe. Another reason it is a great book is because the story is about a man fulfilling his dreams. Ray Kinsella has dreams about building a baseball field and having Shoeless Joe Jackson play on it. He must go through a lot of difficult tasks if he is going to achieve them. One difficult thing he had to do was to go find an author in Vermont that he had never met. Ray Kinsella never gives up trying to accomplish his goals, no matter how difficult the task is. That adds to the excitement of the book. Readers who like books that are about people who have goals and dreams and want to follow them will love Shoeless Joe. The author’s style also adds to the excitement of the book. The voices that Ray Kinsella hears tell him that he must do several things after he has built his baseball field, including finding a doctor. These things don’t make a lot of sense to Ray, or to the reader. This causes good suspense in the book, and the author does a nice job of showing how all these things come together to achieve an important event in the book. Readers who like a well-written book with suspense should try Shoeless Joe. Shoeless Joe is a book that has a lot of emotion, humor and drama. That is why it deserves five stars out of five. It is a good story about baseball, and discusses an important event in the history of the game . It is a good story about fulfilling one’s dreams, and is very well written. It is definitely an exceptional book, and is highly recommended. A reader who wants an excellent book to read, should consider reading Shoeless Joe .

Also recommended: The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King Choosing Up Sides by John H. Ritter The Iowa Baseball Confederacy by W.P. Kinsella The Natural by Bernard Malamud For Love of the Game by Michael Shaara

A Great Baseball book.
Ryan (cheesebiscuit@aol.com), a student who loves sports., 11/09/2004

Shoeless Joe is one of the best baseball books ever written. But it's not only about baseball. It's about family and fantasy, but also includes the the harsh reality of life. It is set on a farm in Iowa, and is about a man who follows a dream. This book is filled with details,and you can imagine everything that is going on. I recommend this book for everyone, not just sports fans. It is a great read.

Not just for baseball fans
Michael (krazycoasterkid@optonline.net), a high school student, 11/04/2004

Shoeless Joe is a must read for almost any reader. It is much more then a novel about baseball. It is about trusting your instinct and your dreams to do what is necessary. W.P. Kinsella’s use of vivid details and imagery creates an impressively clear picture of the scene and the characters. A good example is when he describes Shoeless Joe: “His feet spread wide, body bent forward from the waist, hands on hips, he waits.” Also, each chapter acts as its own story and has its own theme and storyline. Kinsella ties these together which helps him develop the main plot. For example, the people that Ray picks up while he is traveling back to Iowa become the baseball players on his field. When Eddie was watching himself play, he said, “Throw the curve, dammit, it’s my best pitch!” Shoeless Joe also keeps you entertained by making you guess what will happen next. With each one of the mysterious things that the announcer tells Ray, such as “If you build it, he will come,” you want to keep reading so that you find out what the message means when deciphered. The only complaint that I have about this novel is that the beginning is slow and redundant, but the rest of the book makes up for that. Shoeless Joe should not only be read by baseball fans. It is ideal for any reader, even readers that are bored easily. I give this novel five stars out of a possible five.

An Exciting Baseball Thriller
Mark Combs, in Durango, Colorado, 11/03/2004

“Shoeless Joe” by W.P. Kinsella is about baseball player Joseph Jefferson Jackson, Shoeless Joe. Joe Jackson got his nickname “Shoeless Joe” when he ran an inning without shoes because his shoes were new and they bothered him. He had played for the White Sox and was one of the players that were accused of throwing the 1919 World Series. Ray Kinsella is a simple man who lives on his farm that he purchased when he got married to his wife Annie. The story gets interesting when Ray is trying to find out if the rumors of some of the players for the White Sox, mainly Shoeless Joe, actually had thrown the World Series. When Ray is out on his farm one day he hears the voice of a baseball announcer that tells him to build a left field on his farm. Ray built the left field and some interesting things started to happen. He starts to see and hear ghostly figures; he starts to hear sounds of a cheering crowd and the crack of a bat. Then one night he was sitting on the little bleacher he made on the left field when something strange happened. The ghost of Shoeless Joe appears and starts to talk to Ray about baseball and how he could help an author by the name of J.D. Salinger get his love for the game of baseball back. But as he tries to do this, he runs into all kinds of trouble. Eventually he takes Salinger to a baseball game and tries to restore the love for baseball in Salinger’s tired old heart. “Shoeless Joe” is for people who are into the game of baseball. W.P. Kinsella did a good job creating a picture for the reader with the detail of his writing. The book keeps readers guessing. There are some exciting and interesting parts that keep the reader interested. The beginning of the story is a little repetitive and isn’t that interesting, but other than that, the author did a pretty good job getting what he wanted to get across.

Shoeless Joe: A Book of Dreams
Chris Brennan (chrisbpk@hotmail.com), a MA High School Student, 10/11/2004

Shoeless Joe is one of the best, if not the best, baseball book ever written. The author, W. P. Kinsella, uses many plot twists and will always keep you guessing as to what will happen next. Kinsella’s way of writing is also very descriptive. W. P. Kinsella is a very descriptive writer and chooses his words wisely. One example of this is when Ray Kinsella, the main character, sees Shoeless Joe for the first time in his baseball field. W.P. Kinsella writes, “His [Shoeless Joe’s] feet spread wide, body bent forward from the waist, hands on hips, he waits.” (13). Another scene is when W. P. Kinsella is describing Annie: “One night I watch Annie looking out the window. She is soft as a butterfly, Annie is, with an evil grin and a tongue that travels at the speed of light. Her jeans are painted to her body, and…” (11) Shoeless Joe is also a creative story because of all the twists in the book. W. P. Kinsella has a different theme in each one of his chapters. Each theme is introduced by a mysterious ballpark announcer, who speaks to Ray. In the first chapter, after the ballpark announcer says “If you build it, he will come” (3), Ray builds a baseball field in his cornfield for Shoeless Joe and all of the other players that have gotten thrown out of baseball after being accused of throwing the 1919 World Series. The announcer talked to Ray again and he told him to “Ease his pain.” (31). Ray translates this into meaning that he has to take J.D. Salinger out to a baseball game. In the third chapter, the announcer talks again and says “Go the distance” (93). So Ray and Salinger go to Minnesota to find all they can about a former baseball player named Archibald Graham. After they do that, they head back to Ray’s home in Iowa. Ray then has to find a way to pay off his mortgage on his farm. Even though there are many plot twists in this book, there is enough dialogue and explanations to what is happening at each point of the book, so that you should not become confused with anything that is happening. Shoeless Joe is an amazing book and should be read by everyone. This book, even if you are not much of a reader or baseball fan, is amusing and satisfying. The fact that there are many twists keeps the book moving so that the reader will not get bored. The book doesn’t start of fast, it makes up for it at the end and does a good job of it. Overall, I give this book five stars out of five.

Also recommended: The Iowa Baseball Confederacy, by W.P. Kinsella; Prospect, by Bill Littlefield; and Columbus Slaughters Braves, by Mark Friedman.