I received an advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I remember watching "a league of their own" as a kid with my mom and loving it. I was intrigued by the book to learn some insider stories. This book provides a great history of the real women behind the true story. It also covers the process of casting and getting the film off the ground. I appreciated that it highlighted DeLisa's role and how she represented the black female players. It was nice to acknowledge that the AAGPL's queer history was ignored in the film due to it being a different time. I loved hearing how they filmed particular scenes and how Penny approached directing differently. I wonder if there is a clip of Madonna tackling Rosie for singing "like a virgin" on set. This book does a great job highlighting Penny's film career and her private collection of rare athletic artifacts.

I adored this!! A League of Their Own is one of my favorite movies and this was so much fun to read! I learned so much about the movie and the actors.

As with most "making of" books, you have a lot of deep-cut, Inside Baseball, no pun intended, minutiae regarding boardroom bigwigs and studio number-crunchers, so your mileage will vary, depending on how big a fan you are of the film being written about, and your tolerance for details that are, for the most part, completely irrelevant. With books like this, I'm looking to read about the actors, director, and other famous folks, and how they acted and interacted behind-the-scenes. The parts of this book that dealt with that aspect of the film are fun. The rest was a slog.

Author Erin Carlson takes the first 20% of the book to regurgitate the details of Penny Marshall's life that I already read about, far more interestingly, in both her autobiography and her brother Garry Marshall's. Nearly 40% of the book is taken up with source notes in the back. That leaves 40% for the meat of the book, a LOT of which is taken up with the history of female Baseball leagues and the women who played the game. Interesting, but far too much time is spent on it, and Carlson doesn't make it compelling enough to devote so much real estate to.

In addition, I found Carlson's voice to be a maddening distraction. We're reading a book about a movie that is over thirty years old. Do we really need the author to interject her feelings about "The Patriarchy", and how "gross" it is to have women mocked in the film for their looks and/or weight? I just watched The French Connection...I didn't need anyone hovering over me to tell me that the police brutality and racism that we took for granted in 1970s New York is not right or appropriate today. Times change, people change, but old forms of entertainment are snapshots of the times that they were made in, and the times that they depict. Carlson's constant pearl-clutching and virtue-signaling grew to be a huge irritant to me, to the point where I wanted to stop reading the book.

There's a little bit of fun to be had here, but not nearly enough to get me to recommend this book, and I'll be sure to avoid anything written by Erin Carlson like the plague from now on.

Thanks, NetGalley and Hachette Books, for the digital review copy.

“A League of Their Own” is one of my favorites, so I jumped at this behind-the-scenes book about the making of the movie. Unfortunately, it didn’t work for me. Too much detail bogged down the pace of the book and felt more like a tell-all gossip mag vs. non-fiction.

If you want to try it, don’t be alarmed by the length (as I was!). 46% of the book is “Source Notes.”

I enjoyed this one more than I thought I would. I just wish that it had focused on the making of the movie, and more on the cast. Instead of just mostly focusing on Penny Marshal the director. But it was neat to learn that the try out scenes were filmed at Wrigley field. And most of the movie was filmed in Evansville Indiana, pretty across the river and down the road from me.

This is the behind the scenes of the filming of 'A League of Their Own' and the true story behind the film. Loosely based on the AAGPBL, it tells the tale of an all-women baseball league and their struggle for greatness. It's an interesting premise and just as interesting a telling as there were several big-name celebrities involved in making the film.

Thank you very much for the opportunity to read this book early! I really enjoyed it. I thought the writing was very well done, and the story kept me interested. I believe my students/patrons would also love this book and will be acquiring it for the library!

This is a great non-fiction book. I absolutely love "A League of their Own" and I'm so happy we now get the complete history of the behind the scenes of the casting and making of this timeless film. Penny Marshall was such a great and important female director. I'm so thrilled that Debra Winger was fired because she did not Madonna to be in the film. Winger is an actress I've never liked. Tom Hanks made a comeback with this film. I loved hearing all about the drama and juicy details from the cast and crew. Such a fun and entertaining read.

I’m sorry for the pun so early on, but this book was a home run! No Crying in Baseball by Erin Carlson is perfect for anyone who loved the film A League of Their Own and wants to know more about the real stories. This book was an easy five-star read for me.

This book is full of so much information, I couldn’t put it down! I learned so much and I love stories where I get to learn. I really enjoyed this book is a huge understatement. Carlson even mentions the TV series and how Abbi Carlson obtained permission from Penny Marshall to do the series before Marshall passed away.

You also get to learn the history behind individual players, filming complications, and what happened before, during, and after filming the 1992 movie. I highly recommend this read and now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go watch the movie and TV show… again.

“No Crying in Baseball” is a must-read for all fans of the wonderful movie “A League of their Own.”

As a huge fan of the movie myself and a proud owner of a Rockford Peach costume, I enjoyed every minute of learning all the ins and out/behind the scenes of the making of this movie.

It was fun to imagine how different it could have been with casting and to experience the organized chaos of Penny Marshall’s brilliance as a director.

Thank you NetGalley, Erin Carlson, and Hachette Book Group for this ARC.

3.5. I find the topic super interesting on how everyone became involved in the process and how the movie I love was created by dear god the chapters are too long. It might be because i like to be able to find stopping points at the end of chapters, and reading it on kindle makes it seem like I have more to go than I actually do because having 3 chapters left and not being 50% through the book is disheartening to read and makes it seem to be dragging more than it actually is

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC ebook.

A League of Their Own is one of my favorite movies. It's funny, heartwarming, usually light, and features one of my favorite sports. Not to mention, it features one of my favorite actors, Tom Hanks. Penny and Garry Marshall have a long list of credits, but they hold a special place in my heart for a scene in Hocus Pocus!

The first 20% or so of this book details Penny Marshall's foray into directing, her directing style, her personal insecurities, her relationship with Tom Hanks, and her issues being a woman in a men's field (just like the female baseball players). I do understand the background and exposition, but this felt a bit out of place as a bio of Penny Marshall instead of the actual film and making of. This could be because the author is an investigative journalist.

The actual meat of the story that details the casting process, filming, actors relationships, and reception of the film was great. Touching on hard-hitting issues like feminism, unaddressed lesbianism in baseball/softball, financial and creative control, and the hiring and firing of actors, Carlson weaves details that make the reader feel like s/he is watching a documentary. An interesting note -- the bruise that Shirley Baker sustained was NOT makeup. That was real from all of the in-depth baseball training the actors did.

Very enjoyable read for anyone who loves this film. 4/5 stars.

This book was mostly about the life and career of Penny Marshall. It was not a deep dive into the making of the Movie as touted. I would have loved to hear more about the cast and what went on during filming. Instead it read like Penny Marshall's Biography.

I did appreciate how thorough the Author was concerning the subject matter she did focus on within the book.

No Crying in Baseball recounts the behind-the-scenes story of the making of the beloved classic A League of Their Own. I enjoyed some of the tidbits told throughout the story, although I did find the book a bit dense. I am a casual League of Their Own fan, so I had trouble keeping up with all of the individuals referenced, especially since the author often uses first names to refer to the individuals involved (a choice that makes sense, given the more informal tone). I also was surprised how much of Penny Marshall's biography was included, which bookended the movie's production story. A fun read for fans of the movie.

Princess Fuzzypants here: It is often fun to read books about well loved movies and the title of this book is one of the best lines from the film. I am a bit like Sam Goldwyn who famously is quoted: “if I want to send a message, I will call Western Union”. Sadly both Sam and Western Union are a thing of the distant past but often this kind of a book gets so bogged down in analyzing the meaning of things, it misses the whole point. The movie is there to be entertaining and that is why it survives with such love.

Thankfully, this book does not fall into the trap. It is detailed but with stories and anecdotes of the time leading up to the green light, including the backgrounds of many of the people most deeply involved. It goes through the actual filming with observations and vignettes of the trials and tribulations of getting the vision on the screen. Once the film was a go, one of the biggest challenges was casting. Eager to have a cast who could look authentic, they went through a boatload of women. If the actress could either play the game or was trainable, they would make the first cut. It was an agonizing process but the work shows up on the screen.

It also had a nice epilogue where the real women who played in the league were honoured. It has become a can-do movie for young girls and for old girls who grew up in a world of strict limitations. Kudos to the movie. And kudos to the book. Four purrs and two paws up.

As some one who is obsessed with the movie - I LOVED this!! It was so interesting to learn about the behind the scenes of such a classic!

An absolute must read for any fan of the movie!! I loved this book. It talks in length about the filming and making of the movie but also the real life All-American League as well. Additionally, a detailed account of the life of the movie's director, Penny Marshall. I found Penny's life fascinating, especially how she ended up in the Hollywood world. I sadly didn't know much prior to this book about the real history of the All-American League that inspired the movie or about all of the female baseball players before the league even started. (Like Jackie Mitchell who once struck out Babe Ruth - where is the movie on her life??) I also really enjoyed the author including stories about LGBTQ+ players that were in the league and sadly had to hide who they were. Which was an interesting parallel as a couple of the actors in the movie were still in the closet while filming. The author does include their own opinion throughout the book, but I didn't have an issue as I agreed with almost all of her opinions. I especially appreciated that without bashing the movie, she did point out certain things that should have been included or shouldn't have.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book!

I love this sort of "inside baseball" (pun intended) look at how creative projects come together. The author clearly did a lot of research of all the various aspects that went into the making of A League of their Own. I was particularly interested in this story because I grew up in the area of Indiana where part of the movie was filmed and I remember when it happened. This book is full of interesting tidbits about all the people involved in the making of the film, as well as the real-life inspirations behind it. My only criticism is that there may have been a few too many tangential pieces of information that could have been edited, making it drag a little at times. But overall, this was a very entertaining and informative read.

I went to see A League of Their Own as soon as it was released in theaters in my city and I was fascinated by the story. Then I have seen it every time I have had the opportunity to do so.
I liked the movie so much that like many other people, every time I see it I end up crying. Therefore, when I saw this book on NetGalley, without hesitation I requested it and fortunately they approved it.
No Crying in Baseball tells the story of the film through the story of its director, Penny Marshall, beginning with her career as an actress and her transition to directing. This book abounds with anecdotes about events that occurred before, during and after the filming of A League of Their Own and the members of the cast, as well as until now almost unknown facts.
The book brings to light the history of a dark era of sport: World War II. A few years in which baseball almost disappeared, when most of the players were absent to fight on the war front, and the way that some businessmen devised to save it: a women's league that with the return of men was lost in history .
Excellent reading, based on interviews and real events and written in an agile and entertaining way that transports us to the filming set and makes us want to see the film again.
I thank the author and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.
The opinion I have expressed above is based solely on what I think and feel about this book.

Thank you Hatchette/Grand Central for this book! (and for sending me the physical copy when I requested it, so awesome).
I am a tremendous fan of A League of Their Own, one of those movies that hit me at the right time around age 12/13 and I have memories of seeing it in the movie theater, peanut chews in hand. I loved reading an ode to the women behind this movie, to the power of a movie about women in sports, and all the behind the scenes stories, I can't wait to rewatch the movie again this weekend with all the little insights at hand.

This is a great read for fans of sports movies in general and a must for fans of A League of Their Own. A great early holiday gift... :)