The book is a collection of 100 short Sports Illustrated style essays of about 250 words each. Each essay is accompanied by a usually great relevant quotation and a very good and sometimes extraordinary photograph. The editors of Sports Illustrated did a great job of providing a history of baseball in a nutshell, especially if you are already familiar with the game. ( )

The Story of Baseball in 100 Photographs of course includes some superb photography and some truly iconic images of the game, though there are a number that are somewhat pedestrian and/or spotlight merely tangential elements of baseball. An extended caption accompanies each photo. For knowledgeable fans, there’s little revelatory here, but it would serve as a nice primer for those relatively new to the sport. ( )