Inspiring and heartwarming... | Playing with the Enemy: A Baseball Prodigy, a World at War, and a Field of...

Playing with the Enemy | Playing with the Enemy: A Baseball Prodigy, a World at War, and a Field of Broken Dreams | Gary Moore

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	• Playing with the Enemy: A Baseball Prodigy, a World at War, and a Field of Broken Dreams Gary Moore Savas Beatie, 2006 - 324 pages average customer review:based on 100 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Playing with the Eenemy

This book was a gift from my son who appreciates and shares my love for sports and history. Gary Moore's entertaining tribute to his father is a wartime story of humanity at its best and triumphing over life's obstacles.

I discovered my late father was involved in the capture of U-505, and this book re-connected me with my brothers and gave us better insight about our "greatest generation". I hope my son enjoys this story as much as I did.

Inspiring and heartwarming...

A wonderful book, I couldn't put it down! It made me very sad that Gene Moore never was able to fulfill his dream of playing in the majors, it was the game's loss, not just his, as he would've probably been in Cooperstown by now. However, he accomplished so much by the friendships he formed in his town, in the Navy, and in the minor leagues. Gary Moore did an excellent job of telling his story, it made me laugh, it made me cry, and I will definitely read it again! His writing made me feel like I was right there observing the story firsthand. Not only do you get an appreciation for Gene's amazing baseball ability and love for the game, but the story about life and relationships in a small town and the impact that WWII had on so many lives all combine for an excellent read.

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Playing with the Enemy

I suppose given the choice between being a vacuum sweeper salesmen or a major league baseball player most of us would chose the latter. I know I would. And I'm sure Gene Moore would have made the same choice as a 15 year old boy in a small town in Illinois in 1940. Now, don't misunderstand me. Vacuum sweepers are important. I own two. But they are not the stuff dreams are made of.

In his book, Playing with the Enemy, Gary Moore relates how his father, Gene, had dreams like all young men and how the choices he made caused those dreams to become something very different in reality. The book is full of twists and turns that you will find hard to believe. That is until you near the end of the book and he reveals the way in which his father told him the story and what happened to his dad the day after he told him.

At first glance, there seems to be nothing special about Gene Moore. But as we come to know this young boy and watch him become a man we see that he is a very unique person. His ability to adapt to his situation and cause others around him to work for the common good is truly extrodinary and inspiring.

The book caused me to stop and think about my parents and the sacrifices they made during WWII. The world is a very different place today and I don't know if I can really comprehend what they went through. But I'm glad they did.

The book also reminded me of a truth that has been with me for a long time and a truth I try to pass on to my children. That truth is that our lives are not determined by the dreams we dream but by the choices we make.

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Not What I Expected

With the title of Chapter 40, the author asks the reader "Is that the story you expected to hear?" My honest assessment is 'No'. Much as the author, my father passed away suddenly. I was only 19 at the time, so he and I had not yet formed a father-son relationship at the adult level. It's a totally different relationship than that of a child and father, and one I truly regret missing out on.

In the end, what the author does not know about his father hurts this story. Yes, it's a nice tribute, but the mix of fact and fiction just does not work for me. I realize that every historical piece written has to take some liberties with dialogue and peripheral characters, but this book just does not always have a ring of authenticity to it.

That said, the story of Gene Moore is a sad one. Many of us have had childhood dreams that have been shattered, but Gene's experience is so tough because he actually possessed the talent to do what he loved. Many of us don't get as close to our dreams as Gene, but his was within his grasp and then slipped away. With that background, I wanted more true storyline and less fiction. Whether it was available in this situation or not is irrelevant, but in the end, the book suffers.

I applaud the author for devoting time and effort to write a tribute to his father, but it never quite touched me the way I thought it would. The author can count me among the readers bothered by the Elroy Face passage at the end. Whether a connection is intended or not, the storyline certainly pulls the reader in that direction. In the end, since the 'facts' in the book do not allow the dots to be connected that way, the meeting with Face simply muddles the fact/fiction problem further.

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Very Good Book

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.

Foreword by baseball legend Jim Morris, former Major League pitcher with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

It was true in the 1940s, and it is still true today: if you have talent, someone will notice. In Gene Moore's case, that someone was the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Gene Moore was a farm boy living with his family in Sesser, Illinois, a town so small even map makers ignored it. As a teenager, when he wasn't in school or helping his Pop on the farm, slopping the hogs and doing other chores with his older brother Ward and five sisters, Gene was playing baseball with the guys on the town team. Some were twice his age. The older fellows didn't mind having the Moore kid on their team because he could hit the ball farther than anyone else, he was the best catcher anyone had ever seen, he could throw men out from his knees, and not a ball ever got past him. Gene was 15 years old.

Word quickly spread across the United States about the country boy who could hit the ball a country mile. The Dodgers wanted to take a look at this farm kid, barely old enough to shave and still awaiting his first kiss, but brash enough to call the pitches from behind the plate and motion to the infielders and outfielders as to how they should position themselves for certain hitters.

Headed for baseball stardom with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Gene's destiny was interrupted by Pearl Harbor. After playing ball for the Navy in the Azores and North Africa, Gene and his team were sent to the States for a special-and top secret-mission: guarding German sailors captured from U-505. Unable to field a team, Gene convinced his commander to allow him to teach the enemy how to play baseball while he and his teammates waited for the war to end so they could be called up into the Major Leagues. But Gene's future changed irrevocably in Louisiana. His life . . . and maybe our national pastime . . . was forever altered.

Inspired by true events, Playing with the Enemy is the riveting story of a depression-era youth and his brush with destiny. Author Gary Moore, Gene's son, did not learn of his father's remarkable odyssey through World War II and the hardships of minor league baseball until the day before Gene's death. Confronted with evidence of a possible career in baseball, Gene finally broke his decades of silence and spent the next several hours relieving himself of the heavy burden he had been carrying. The stunning news sent the author on his own odyssey as he researched his father's life and interviewed dozens of people.

The astonishing story of Gene Moore's life in and out of baseball is an exciting and often heart-wrenching saga that will capture the heart of every red- blooded American who can still smell the fresh-cut summer grass or remember how it felt to tie on the cleats while dreaming of making it to the big leagues. Jammed with memorable characters from an extraordinary time in our country's history, Playing with the Enemy is a story that will be read and reread for generations to come. And it is one you will never forget.

About the Author: Gary W. Moore is the president and managing partner of Covenant Air and Water, LLC, a motivational speaker, and an accomplished musician. Gene Moore was his father. Gary lives in Bourbonnais, Illinois.

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