Fascinating and gripping read. Interesting that clubs don't take this more seriously, but seeing how it is changing as well. I'd like to maybe read more from Lewis. ( )

This is a great sports book. If you love baseball you have to read this. Everyone can learn from what Billy Beane and the A's did when they decided to question they way baseball players had traditionally been evaluated. Of course those who argue against the new perspective are only afraid that the new philosophy of "Moneyball" proves that they have been doing their jobs wrong the entire time. ( )

Listed to this on audio. Way better than the movie. May re-read someday in hard copy to enjoy even further. Highly recommended.

I found this a tremendously entertaining read. The section on Bill James is just fantastic, articulating the way sport can be used to think about so much more than just sport. Lewis then goes on to demonstrate how this is done by making this book about more than just baseball. To my mind, it's about overcoming entrenched ways of thinking, how even in the most objective of fields equal opportunity is elusive, and how we shouldn't assume that just because they spend big money, organisations are interested in or even capable of high performance. If baseball, with its tables and statistics and player markets, isn't a meritocracy, then maybe nothing is.

Structurally, the book is beautifully put together, with brilliant pacing, themes that run throughout the book and divergences that always last just the right amount of pages. The writing is clear with a level of wit and emotion perfectly suited to popular non fiction. Having said that, as popular non fiction it tends to put forward a particular perspective, rather than present the evidence and help the reader weigh it. I did some research (ie. looked at Wikipedia) and found that some of the criticism of the book pointed to the importance of some scout-identified players to the success of the Oakland As; the lesson of the book is probably closer to "baseball teams haven't thought deeply enough about this" than "THEY'RE DOING IT ALL WRONG!" ( )

What a terrific book! I expected the book to more or less correspond to the movie (which I also enjoyed), but there's a lot of depth to the story that really wasn't covered in the movie version (understandably).

I particularly enjoyed the in-depth stories of the various players that the Oakland A's recruited that literally no one else wanted. Their backstories were fascinating. They were told they would never make it in baseball for one reason or other, and they probably never would have if it wasn't for the A's relentless pursuit of a way to win within their budgetary constraints.

I am a baseball fan, and I do think it helps to have some knowledge of the game to truly appreciate this book. It probably would be dull for those who don't understand the basics of the game. But Lewis does his usual extraordinary job of making the story widely accessible even though it talks about business and mathematics.

One of my favorite (but also most disheartening) parts of the book was the afterward. Apparently, after Moneyball was published, the baseball insiders tore Billy Beane to pieces, accusing him of all sorts of things. He went against baseball orthodoxy, and then had the gall to allow the story of his team's achievements to be published in a book. The afterward basically rips apart the vultures. Good for Michael Lewis for defending Beane, his book, and those who cooperated with bringing us this fascinating story. He certainly has the last laugh because literally every baseball team uses analytics today and those insiders who jeered Beane should be embarrassed and ashamed.

Definitely a don't miss read for baseball fans. In fact, this book makes me wonder what other great baseball writing I may be missing. ( )