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Book Review: Playing in Isolation by Junwei Yu
2007-08-09 04:00
by Bob Timmermann

For most Americans, their most lasting image of Taiwanese baseball comes from
watching teams from the island dominate play in the Little League World
Series in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Teams from the island nation would
seemingly dominate the best America could offer. But until recently, few
Taiwanese players had made it to the majors. What happened to all those
players? Why were those kids so good? And so big?

In his book, Playing in Isolation : A History of Baseball in Taiwan, Junwei
Yu (盂峻瑋), a professor in Department of Physical Education at National
Taiwan Sport University in Taiwan, we are presented a fascinating look at the
development of the sport of baseball in a nation that few Americans have
visited or even understand its internal conflicts. Yu has written a
tremendous work about the history of baseball in a country that is frequently
mentioned in international circles, yet few people understand anything about
it.