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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 977.394092
Format: Bargain Price
Label: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 336
Printing Date: April 01, 2008
Publishing house: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Sale Popularity Level: 80729
Studio: Penguin (Non-Classics)
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Product Description:
Part Tuesdays with Morrie, part Field of Dreams—a true American story of World War II and redemption
Driven by word of mouth and the author’s heroic efforts to tell the world his father’s story, Playing with the Enemy was a surprise hardcover hit for its independent publisher. Gary Moore’s book about his father—a baseball phenom whose future in the majors was cut short by World War II and a fateful occurrence during a top secret mission for the U.S. Navy—is a warm-hearted memoir of faded dreams and new hope that is destined for the bestseller lists. Filled with memorable characters from an extraordinary time in our country’s history, it is a truly redemptive story that will be read and reread for generations to come.
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Rated by buyers 
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Playing with the Enemy hits you on several levels at once. Yes, it is a baseball story, but so much more.
It's Sesser, IL, a small town where "everybody knows your name" and where everyone breathes with the same rhythm. A place where the entire population is attached to the ups and downs of a young baseball player and his career prospects. They live vicariously through him, assigning his life choices the same importance as their own, convinced that his escape from the mines of Sesser can be their own.
It's WWII and the interruption of yet another life plan. It's how humanity can overcome the natural enmity between combatants, building a bridge to a future where peace prevails and we must all get along.
And finally, it is defining yourself by the person you are and continue to be rather than what you do for a living.
Playing with the Enemy is a well written, brisk read that will take you from the sandlots of Sesser, IL to the battlefields of North Africa and back. Enjoy the journey.
Rated by buyers -
PLAYING WITH THE ENEMY is a true story about Gary Moore's father, Warren Eugene "Gene" Moore. Gene was a boy from small-town Illinois who had an amazing talent for baseball. He was an incredible catcher, could hit the ball out of the park, and he was a born leader. As one of the youngest on his baseball team at The Lumberyard, he encouraged and motivated his older teammates to work together.
Gene didn't go unnoticed. The Brooklyn Dodgers stood up and took notice before Gene was old enough to play in their professional league. They signed him and put him in a farm team where he could hone his skills until he was old enough to be moved up. However, World War II came along and threw a wrench in THOSE plans.
This book is the story of Gene's experiences in baseball, in war, and beyond. He kept these experiences a secret from his children until the day before his unexpected death. Gary retells the story of his father's life as his father told it to him. Probably his very last gift to Gary.
Jim Morris writes the Forward to this book and he says, "PLAYING WITH THE ENEMY is a book about many things on many levels, but to me, it is a heartwarming story about what we do with second chances." While I agree with this, for me the book was also about the power of a love. In this case it was a love for baseball. This love has the power to bond, the power to overcome, and the power to scar.
PLAYING WITH THE ENEMY is about a LOVE of baseball. And I'm not talking about what you see in the Major Leagues. Unfortunately I think the love is lost there - players/coaches/owners/managers are too in love with themselves and with money to remember the love they had for the game. This is about a true, unadulterated love of the institution of baseball. As Gene says,
"...and that's what I love about baseball. When you step onto that field, the size of the man is determined by his heart, not his height."
When that love is present, the members of the team DO come together and form a family bond. As with any family, there's often a member that functions like the glue...keeping all the pieces together when times turn rough. Gene was that glue for his teams. I admired that quality above all else in him. Every team needs a Gene Moore. What's more, Sesser, Illinois, needed Gene Moore. Gene was growing up at the tail end of the Depression. Sesser was a very poor town and they had very little, but Gene was able to motivate and inspire them as well as his teammates.
PLAYING WITH THE ENEMY is a non-fiction work written like a fiction work. I often found myself thinking, "Wow! I don't think a professional fiction writer could have come up with the likes of this man's story." Isn't it amazing how sometimes life can create irony and suspense better than our own imaginations?
Gene Moore touched the lives of many. And his inspiration continues to be passed along to others through this book. He has inspired me!
Rated by buyers -
I began reading this book with excitement because it was written about a man from Sesser. I grew up in Southern Illinois about 30 minutes north of Sesser, and recently moved here. I excitedly began to identify with places in the book. Maple Hill Cemetery, Bruno's, Mulberry and Matthew street. All of that is what very first drew me in. Then the story came to life. It could have been set anywhere in small town American when things were hard. The young man playing ball, for love of the game, and all of the things that are pure about it. I began the book from a friend on Saturday afternoon and couldn't put it down until I finished it on Saturday. The stories brought to life a town, a war, a person, and the era. I have already sent my copy to a friend to share what I learned. I am buying more to share with my dad, grandpa, and friends. This book should be read by anyone who has ever missed out on a dream. I am thankful that Gene went after his. Thank you to Gary Moore for sharing the story of his father and the hopes of small town.
Rated by buyers -
Only someone who is an ardent student of the intricacies of our national pastime and has a passionate love affair with the game, beyond just being sports entertainment, can truly appreciate the devastation Gene Moore must have felt upon learning his dream of playing major league baseball had been shattered, and the impact it had on the rest of his life. But Playing With The Enemy captures that emotion for everyone. This is not only a story of a baseball player. It's a war story, a human interest story, and above all, a love story. And just when you think you have it figured out, you don't.
This story is so incredible on so many fronts, it would seem it surely must be a figment of someone's imagination. But, as is stated in the acknowledgments, life really can be stranger than fiction.
Playing With The Enemy may well be the best book I've ever purchased, and would recommended it to anyone. It promises to inspire us all about relationships we hold dear, and that life is so fleeting that we all need to grasp it while we can.
Tim
Rated by buyers -
I loved this book. Two of my favorite subjects are baseball and World War II, so this book was perfect for me. I have also been in the submarine U505 at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, so that made the story even more interesting to me. I was also one of the people that incorrectly assumed that the character of Ray Laws was actually Elroy Face, but I apparently was far from alone in making that assumption. I am eagerly anticipating the movie and hope they get started on it soon.
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