"People in the know had been saying for years and years that this is the best baseball city in America," proclaims renowned sportscaster and St. Louis resident Bob Costas in his introduction to St. Louis: For the Record.

In 1998, Cardinals superstar Mark McGwire led the city to the height of international attention with his landmark 70 home runs. And while they care about the sport intensely, Costas is quick to point out that "there's so much more than baseball that draws St. Louisans together." From the graceful curve of the Gateway Arch to cheeseburgers at O'Connell's and frozen custard at Ted Drewes, "St. Louis is a place where there's a reasonable blend of sophistication and some kind of feet-on-the-ground values."

Aided by hundreds of outstanding images culled from the area's finest photographers, Costas reveals the passion, appreciation, and "basic good-naturedness" of this gateway for western migration. He notes: "McGwire's record breaking run couldn't have happened at a better place."

After all, as Costas reflects, St. Louis early captivated such sports legends and visionaries as Yogi Berra, T.S. Eliot, Charles Lindbergh, and Miles Davis. "If it was good enough for them," he concludes, "it's good enough for me."-Amazon