Banzai Babe Ruth : Baseball, Espionage, & Assassination During the 1934 Tour of Japan / Robert K. Fitts.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Title Page; Copyright Page; Contents; List of Illustrations; Recurring Japanese Characters; Prologue; Part 1 "When I say I'll do something, I bet my life on it."; Appendix 3. Tour Game Line Scores; Part 2 "Babe Ruth ... is a great deal more effective Ambassador than I could ever be."; Part 3 "The Japanese are equal to the Americansin strength of spirit."; Part 4 "There will be no war between the United States and Japan."; Part 5 "To hell with Babe Ruth!"; Appendix 1. The All American Touring Party; Appendix 2. Tour Batting and Pitching Statistics; Acknowledgments; Notes; Bibliography; Index.

In November 1934 as the United States and Japan drifted toward war, a team of American League all-stars that included Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, future secret agent Moe Berg, and Connie Mack barnstormed across the Land of the Rising Sun. Hundreds of thousands of fans, many waving Japanese and American flags, welcomed the team with shouts of "Banzai!Banzai, Babe Ruth!" The all-stars stayed for a month, playing 18 games, spawning professional baseball in Japan, and spreading goodwill. Politicians on both sides of the Pacific hoped that the amity generated by the tour-and the two nations.

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