The difficult to locate Moe Berg book on eBay

[FrankWakefield]

Well this closed on eBay, I didn't win it, either....

I'd like to just read a copy.

I wasn't certain that this was the real thing, or a photocopy. And the buyer had 0 feedback. Still, if the real deal, the buyer got a good buy.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...fvi%3D1&_rdc=1

[base_ball]

I haven't my copy in my hands for years, and Lord knows where it is, but, as I recall, the original was pretty much a "photocopy" itself, a very low-budget publishing effort. It's worth seeking out in any incarnation.

[barrysloate]

Never saw that book before, Frank. It had major condition problems so that may have kept the price down.

[PolarBear]

Wow, must be a rare book. None for sale on Amazon or Bookfinder.

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

I would love to read that one. I'm sure SABR must have reprint copies available for members. Does anybody have this? I'd want it for its content rather than its rarity, so a xerox would suit me just fine. Let me know.

[tedzan]

Many mysteries surround Moe Berg, here is one I do not understand. My wife is a computer "geek" at Princeton University.

I have asked her on numerous occasions to dig up info on Moe Berg (since we know he was schooled at PU), she cannot
find his name in Princeton's Alumni list ! ?

Very, very mysterious.....do you have any thoughts regarding this ?


TED Z

[barrysloate]

Did Berg graduate from Princeton, or just attend for a few years? If he didn't graduate, he wouldn't appear on an alumni list.

If he did graduate, he may have asked to have his name removed years later. Who knows, that is a mystery.

[Anthony S.]

Moe Berg never existed. He was merely a Hologram created by the OSS. That's why he couldn't hit for power.

[tedzan]

Moe graduated magna cum laude and was offered a teaching post in Princeton’s Department of Romance Languages.
While at Princeton, he was the star shortstop on the BB team.

Again I ask, why is he not on the Alumni list ?



TED Z

[mcap100176]

I might be here:


http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/18654529

[barrysloate]

That's very interesting Ted. Is it possible that when he began his career as a spy he was forced to remove documentation of his past? Those things do happen.

[canjond]

Originally Posted by tedzan

Moe graduated magna cum laude and was offered a teaching post in Princeton’s Department of Romance Languages.
While at Princeton, he was the star shortstop on the BB team.

Again I ask, why is he not on the Alumni list ?



TED Z

Ted - could it be that accurate alumni records weren't kept when Moe graduated in the early 1900s?

As an FYI, he also went on to law school at NYU.

[canjond]

Actually Ted, Princeton's online alumni directory says that they have records from 1917 on, and the records are incomplete in the early years. Considering Moe graduated from Princeton in 1923, I think that may be your answer...

"While all alumni from 1917 onward, for which we have an entry in Alumni Records, are listed with the University..."

[barrysloate]

I just pulled out my copy of The Catcher was a Spy, and read a section on Princeton. The author states Berg was a regular visitor on campus from the late 1940's into the 1960's, attending football games and visiting all sorts of famous people, among them Albert Einstein. So it doesn't look like he was trying to hide any of his past, making Jon's point more likely.

[baseballart]

The book is tough to find. In the 13 or so years I've been following baseball books on ebay, I've seen perhaps 5 come up for auction, but I have no doubt missed a few. The book was "perfect bound", so it is virtually impossible to open without doing damage to the spine.

This copy on ebay has to be re-bound, thus accounting for the relatively low price. A better condition copy typically fetches $200 to $400, depending on the needs of the few remaining baseball book collectors in the world. My copy is in very nice shape, but I am hesitant to open it to read it, as it would very likely cause damage.

I don't believe it has been reprinted, but I could be mistaken on this.

It is not a particularly scholarly book, written by his sister in response to the 1974 biography which the family felt was inaccurate.

Max