"Leeke's book is well worth reading for anyone seeking to learn about Alexander's war experience."—Dave Bohmer, NINE: A Journal of Baseball History and Culture
"This is a fascinating book that delves into a consequential but often overlooked time in Alexander's life."—Dave Lande, Inside Game
"Using letters written by Alexander and his army cohorts and other primary and secondary sources, Leeke does a deft job of taking us through the pre- and post-war lives and war careers of a handful of gifted athletes. It is a tale of patriotism, human limitations, and partial redemption told by a skilled storyteller."—Dave Page, Journal of America's Military Past
"In drilling down on one group of field artillery and one star player who was part of it, the effort reads like a sequel to the author's From the Dugouts to the Trenches: Baseball during the Great War (2017), which takes a broader view of the relationship between the game and the conflict. Sports history and military history, of course, are different entities with different intents and strategies, but Leeke weaves them together seamlessly in this new effort, further contextualizing one of the game's great players and the meaning of World War I to those back home in Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri."—Thomas Aiello, Missouri Historical Review
"Leeke's writing is straightforward and clear, and his narrative is entertaining. The Best Team Over There is a fine work of sports and military history."—Bob D’Angelo, Sports Bookie
"Highly recommended to anyone interested in baseball and the Great War."—Peter L. Belmonte, Roads to the Great War
“Jim Leeke hits it out of the park again with the tale of Grover Cleveland Alexander, a Great War ballplayer who tasted the highs of fame, lows of the trenches, and—tragically—just too much booze.”—Dean Karayanis, radio host of the History Author Show in New York City
“Coming off his award-winning From the Dugouts to the Trenches, Jim Leeke follows up with the extraordinary story of the Great War, Grover Cleveland Alexander, and ballplayers who became artillerymen. It’s a perfect mix of military history and baseball that will completely absorb you.”—Jan Finkel, 2012 recipient of SABR’s Bob Davids Award
“No one writes about the connections between baseball and World War I with more authority and accuracy than Jim Leeke. Now he places Grover Cleveland Alexander under his microscope, following Old Pete from call to service through training to the front lines of a horrific war. The result is a story that will swell you with pride and reduce you to tears.”—Rick Huhn, author of The Chalmers Race: Ty Cobb, Napoleon Lajoie, and the Controversial 1910 Batting Title That Became a National Obsession
