LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2006 October Signature Sports Auction #705  / 

19598

1917 Moe Berg's Personal Japanese Language Book

Currency:USD Category:Sports - Cards & Fan Shop Start Price:313.00 USD Estimated At:800.00 - 1,000.00 USD
1917 Moe Berg's Personal Japanese Language Book
<B>1917 Moe Berg's Personal Japanese Language Textbook.</B></I> This unassuming hardcover entitled, "A Text-Book of Colloquial Japanese" carries tremendous historical significance, as any scholar of the historic 1934 Baseball Tour of Japan will know. In a line-up studded with legends and superstars like Ruth, Gehrig and Foxx, fellow tourist Moe Berg seemed an unlikely teammate back in '34. But as well all now know, the highly-educated and multilingual Berg was operating as a spy for the U.S. government, gathering information which would prove crucial in the waging of the Second World War. This book helped a young catcher and spy to learn the language that would make his espionage possible. Berg's distinctive personalized stamp is found in several places throughout the hardbound volume, as are various pencil notations in Berg's hand. Imagine how different the course of baseball and American history might have been in the absence of this book! Dust jacket is missing, but the book is otherwise in fine, undamaged condition.
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