Recommendations for Baseball books - Page 2

OldGiants · 12-14-2002, 04:28 PM

I'm reading "We Played the Game" by Danny Peary. I saw it in my local B&N yesterday (several copies) but it's also around $50. I got my copy from the library.

It follows various famous (Ralph Kiner and Harmon Killebrew, for example) and not so famous (Art Fowler, for one) from 1947 to 1964, season by season. What I like is the players often comment about the same incident from their own points of view--and the differences are interesting. Gus Zernial breaking his shoulder making diving catch in Boston is told from a few view points, including Zernial's and they are amusing to compare. If you like historic recollections told by players you aren't all that familiar with, this one is great.

I read the new book of Yogi quotes, too. OK, nothing original, nothing that I haven't read elsewhere, so beware.

blubbla · 12-14-2002, 09:05 PM

I think there's a way you can track the order on the net by using your order number, but I'm not certain. With all of the holiday traffic on both barnesandnoble.com and on the B&N corporate intranet, the system is not running as it normally had.

jor31 · 12-14-2002, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Tib
The Boys of Summer (Kahn), definitely.

Shoeless Joe (Kinsella)

The Iowa Baseball Confederacy (Kinsella)

The Mick

Those 3 are my favorites, now i dont have anything to post

darkhorse · 12-15-2002, 12:49 AM

On a tangent, my favorite baseball film is "The Warriors". Those pinstripes have never packed a wallop like that since.

toanstrom · 12-17-2002, 06:30 AM

Obviously anything by Bill James.

If you want books that show the important role that baseball has played on influencing social history in America (and vice versa) I cant recommend any better books than

Play Ball: Baseball as History by Jules Tygel, really fascinating, its exactly what Ken Burns should have done with his documentary. It takes a theme for each decade, for example how the social changes of the Roaring Twenties enabled Babe Ruth to become the first big media star.

and the best baseball/history book i have read is;

Brushing Back Jim Crow. Its a really fascinating, thourougly researched account of how the integration of minor league baseball helped to shape integration in the South. As some one who loves baseball and is fascinated by the Civil Rights movement this book was pretty much right up my alley.

They dont offer a lot in terms of anecdotes or player profiles but as far as good history and good baseball books these two are hard to beat.

Oh yeah I forgot October 1964 by Halberstam, I thought it was better than Summer of 49, and did a good job of tackling serious social issues like race and how the NL's earlier acceptance of black players turned the game away from the old beat up Yankees of the early 60's.

Jake · 12-18-2002, 08:44 AM

If you like baseball fiction, a great book about a guy who went back in time and played with the original Cincinnati Red Stockings;

If I Never Get Back by Darryl Brock

Its one of my favorite books, very entertaining.

Can't miss with Ball Four, either.

Drood · 03-21-2003, 06:20 AM

Ressurecting this thread so any new users can chip in (since I might be going on a minor shopping spree soon), people can recommend new books, and because I've seen a couple of people on here asking about books, and this was a damn good thread.

So, anybody got any other suggestions?

hamonrye · 03-21-2003, 07:15 AM

here goes...

my turn at bat-ted williams
the heart of the order, how life imitates the world series, why time begins on opening day-thomas boswell
cobb-al stump
the summer game, five seasons, late innings, season ticket-roger angell
iron horse:lou gehrig in his time, the home run heard round the world-ray robinson
the boys of summer, the era 1947-1957-roger kahn
babe-robert creamer
pure baseball

itch by pitch for the advanced fan-keith hernandez

these are just a few of my favorites. i'm currently reading a legend in the making by richard tofel. it's the story of the 1939 yankees and tofel makes a compelling case for this particular yankee squad possibly being the best of all time. i'm not a yankee fan, but i found it to be a pretty good read.

roger angell is my favorite. he has my ear as a fellow met fan and he writes beautiful sentences about the game i love, like, "Midsummer baseball feels as if it would last forever; late-season baseball becomes quicker and terser, as if sensing its coming end, and sometimes, if we are lucky, it explodes into thrilling terminal colors, leaving bright pictures in memory to carry us through the miserable months to come."

woody5254 · 03-21-2003, 10:08 AM

I enjoy my "Who's Who in Baseball History" it really doesn't go in depth about any one player, but it does have brief blurbs about just about every player who ever played the game. It sort of gives you an idea about the personalities of the players. It is a great supplement to my Total Baseball, sorta gives a face to the stats

sporr · 03-21-2003, 11:52 AM

I liked Men at Work by George Will
Reggie by Reggie Jackson is pretty good too (I'm biased there).

woody5254 · 03-21-2003, 11:59 AM

Reggie Jackson? Is he one of the Jackson Five or something?

blubbla · 03-21-2003, 01:33 PM

I know there's been a few newer ones out recently, as we have a table set up with baseball titles at our Barnes & Noble, but I really haven't had much of a chance to sit and read any of them (plus our lending previlige is suspended until we finish inventory), so I can't rec anything else just yet.

I do know Peter Golenbock has another of his oral histories out -- this one on the Mets. I've read Bums and Wrigleyville and enjoyed both, so I'm certain that will be another good read -- even though the Mets are not exactly a favorite of mine...

If I get the chance to see something I like, I'll certainly let you guys know.

John C · 03-21-2003, 05:00 PM

I have a very extensive literary collection...here's some of my favorites:

-Where They Ain't, a book about the 1890s Orioles
-The Head Game, by Roger Kahn
-The Golenbock series
-Bunts and Men At Work, by George Will
-Creamer's DiMaggio book
-Pitching in a Pinch, Christy Mathewson
-The Baseball Timeline (day-by-day history of baseball)
-A False Spring and A Nice Tuesday, by Pat Jordan
-The Universal Baseball Association, J. Henry Waugh Prop., Robert Coover
-The Glory of Their Times, Ritter

There's a ton of other books out there that I love, but I don't want to go on too long.

As a side note, to the person who was talking about "We Played The Game"...I've seen it at Borders and Barnes and Noble for $14.99 lately.

-John

Drood · 03-21-2003, 06:34 PM

Thanks for the additions folks

Just got done watching the last episode I managed to tape of Ken Burns Baseball... Excellent.

Anyhoo, a while back I posted about a book I got from the library a few years ago. Couldn't place it, but people seemed to think it was Bouton's "Ball Four".

Does "Ball Four" go back to the late 19th century? I've had memories come back of the book I was reading, and it covered the more sordid side starting in the 19th century. I remember one story about a pitcher or umpire or somebody having to run for their life after a game.

John C · 03-21-2003, 06:36 PM

It doesn't have any references to the deep past, I don't think.

Can you provide any more details?

Drood · 03-21-2003, 07:30 PM

That's the problem, I can't. This was about 5 years ago. I read one chapter and never got to finish it. (Wasn't as big into baseball then.)

Erm... It billed itself as covering the darker side of the sport, and started sometime in 1880 or so. That's all I can remember.

A search of Amazon has turned up no titles that seem familiar

It wasn't a coffee table sized book (like the Biographical Encyclopedia that I own that is mentioned in this thread), nor was it a regular paperback sized book (like a regular novel). It's a paperback. Erm... I'm really running out of memories now

John C · 03-22-2003, 12:10 AM

Ok, I'll see what I can dig up.

-John

Drood · 03-23-2003, 12:13 AM

And it's not like I can go back and check the library records since that account is long expired now because we moved...

Joshv02 · 03-25-2003, 11:30 AM

Recently, I read: Shut Out: A Story of Race and Baseball in Boston, Howard Bryant .

Ehhh... informative, but horribly written. Typos, repeated paragraphs (almost verbatim), pendantic/assertive writing style... and thats just the introduction!

Interesting thesis and history of race in Boston (read Red Sox) baseball. No discussion pre-1945, though, and very little on anything other than the Sox. But, interesting nonetheless. (The oddly long section on very white, and very unathletic Peter Gammons is the most detailed story in the book, for some reason.)

Anyone else with impressions?

spleen1015 · 03-25-2003, 11:54 AM

I bought "From 33rd St. To Camden Yards: A Oral History of the Balitmore Orioles" a few months ago. It give a history of the O's after the Browns moved to Balitmore. Reading that book helped show me how much Peter Angelos really has destroyed that franchise.

It's a must read for any O's fan.

12-15-2002, 12:49 AM	#24
darkhorse Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2002 Location: fort worth, tx Posts: 10,850	On a tangent, my favorite baseball film is "The Warriors". Those pinstripes have never packed a wallop like that since. __________________ "The Human Torch was denied a bank loan."

12-17-2002, 06:30 AM	#25
toanstrom Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Dec 2001 Posts: 277	Obviously anything by Bill James. If you want books that show the important role that baseball has played on influencing social history in America (and vice versa) I cant recommend any better books than Play Ball: Baseball as History by Jules Tygel, really fascinating, its exactly what Ken Burns should have done with his documentary. It takes a theme for each decade, for example how the social changes of the Roaring Twenties enabled Babe Ruth to become the first big media star. and the best baseball/history book i have read is; Brushing Back Jim Crow. Its a really fascinating, thourougly researched account of how the integration of minor league baseball helped to shape integration in the South. As some one who loves baseball and is fascinated by the Civil Rights movement this book was pretty much right up my alley. They dont offer a lot in terms of anecdotes or player profiles but as far as good history and good baseball books these two are hard to beat. Oh yeah I forgot October 1964 by Halberstam, I thought it was better than Summer of 49, and did a good job of tackling serious social issues like race and how the NL's earlier acceptance of black players turned the game away from the old beat up Yankees of the early 60's. Last edited by toanstrom; 12-17-2002 at 06:34 AM.

03-21-2003, 07:15 AM	#28
hamonrye Major Leagues Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 335	here goes... my turn at bat-ted williams the heart of the order, how life imitates the world series, why time begins on opening day-thomas boswell cobb-al stump the summer game, five seasons, late innings, season ticket-roger angell iron horse:lou gehrig in his time, the home run heard round the world-ray robinson the boys of summer, the era 1947-1957-roger kahn babe-robert creamer pure baseballitch by pitch for the advanced fan-keith hernandez these are just a few of my favorites. i'm currently reading a legend in the making by richard tofel. it's the story of the 1939 yankees and tofel makes a compelling case for this particular yankee squad possibly being the best of all time. i'm not a yankee fan, but i found it to be a pretty good read. roger angell is my favorite. he has my ear as a fellow met fan and he writes beautiful sentences about the game i love, like, "Midsummer baseball feels as if it would last forever; late-season baseball becomes quicker and terser, as if sensing its coming end, and sometimes, if we are lucky, it explodes into thrilling terminal colors, leaving bright pictures in memory to carry us through the miserable months to come."

03-21-2003, 10:08 AM	#29
woody5254 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Hector, NY Posts: 6,130	I enjoy my "Who's Who in Baseball History" it really doesn't go in depth about any one player, but it does have brief blurbs about just about every player who ever played the game. It sort of gives you an idea about the personalities of the players. It is a great supplement to my Total Baseball, sorta gives a face to the stats __________________ Check out: You Pick Tourney Version 2.0 Standings Thread You Pick The Teams Tourney: Main Thread The Colossal 20th Century Tourney:Main Thread Chicago White Sox(Original Owner:2001-) Baseball Maelstrom -2001,2011,2013 World Series Champions -2002,2010 Maelstrom Tourney Champs Arizona Diamondbacks(2003-) NAHHBL Indianapolis Racers(Expansion Team:1993-)ABC

03-21-2003, 11:59 AM	#31
woody5254 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Hector, NY Posts: 6,130	Reggie Jackson? Is he one of the Jackson Five or something? __________________ Check out: You Pick Tourney Version 2.0 Standings Thread You Pick The Teams Tourney: Main Thread The Colossal 20th Century Tourney:Main Thread Chicago White Sox(Original Owner:2001-) Baseball Maelstrom -2001,2011,2013 World Series Champions -2002,2010 Maelstrom Tourney Champs Arizona Diamondbacks(2003-) NAHHBL Indianapolis Racers(Expansion Team:1993-)ABC

12-14-2002, 04:28 PM	#21
OldGiants Registered User Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 211	I'm reading "We Played the Game" by Danny Peary. I saw it in my local B&N yesterday (several copies) but it's also around $50. I got my copy from the library. It follows various famous (Ralph Kiner and Harmon Killebrew, for example) and not so famous (Art Fowler, for one) from 1947 to 1964, season by season. What I like is the players often comment about the same incident from their own points of view--and the differences are interesting. Gus Zernial breaking his shoulder making diving catch in Boston is told from a few view points, including Zernial's and they are amusing to compare. If you like historic recollections told by players you aren't all that familiar with, this one is great. I read the new book of Yogi quotes, too. OK, nothing original, nothing that I haven't read elsewhere, so beware.

12-14-2002, 09:05 PM	#22
blubbla Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Herscher, IL Posts: 2,457	I think there's a way you can track the order on the net by using your order number, but I'm not certain. With all of the holiday traffic on both barnesandnoble.com and on the B&N corporate intranet, the system is not running as it normally had.

12-18-2002, 08:44 AM	#26
Jake Minors (Single A) Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 55	If you like baseball fiction, a great book about a guy who went back in time and played with the original Cincinnati Red Stockings; If I Never Get Back by Darryl Brock Its one of my favorite books, very entertaining. Can't miss with Ball Four, either.

03-21-2003, 06:20 AM	#27
Drood Registered User Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 425	Ressurecting this thread so any new users can chip in (since I might be going on a minor shopping spree soon), people can recommend new books, and because I've seen a couple of people on here asking about books, and this was a damn good thread. So, anybody got any other suggestions?

03-21-2003, 11:52 AM	#30
sporr Global Moderator Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Muscatine, IA Posts: 8,277	I liked Men at Work by George Will Reggie by Reggie Jackson is pretty good too (I'm biased there).

03-21-2003, 01:33 PM	#32
blubbla Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Herscher, IL Posts: 2,457	I know there's been a few newer ones out recently, as we have a table set up with baseball titles at our Barnes & Noble, but I really haven't had much of a chance to sit and read any of them (plus our lending previlige is suspended until we finish inventory), so I can't rec anything else just yet. I do know Peter Golenbock has another of his oral histories out -- this one on the Mets. I've read Bums and Wrigleyville and enjoyed both, so I'm certain that will be another good read -- even though the Mets are not exactly a favorite of mine... If I get the chance to see something I like, I'll certainly let you guys know.

03-21-2003, 05:00 PM	#33
John C Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Albion, RI Posts: 2,261 Infractions: 1/0 (0)	I have a very extensive literary collection...here's some of my favorites: -Where They Ain't, a book about the 1890s Orioles -The Head Game, by Roger Kahn -The Golenbock series -Bunts and Men At Work, by George Will -Creamer's DiMaggio book -Pitching in a Pinch, Christy Mathewson -The Baseball Timeline (day-by-day history of baseball) -A False Spring and A Nice Tuesday, by Pat Jordan -The Universal Baseball Association, J. Henry Waugh Prop., Robert Coover -The Glory of Their Times, Ritter There's a ton of other books out there that I love, but I don't want to go on too long. As a side note, to the person who was talking about "We Played The Game"...I've seen it at Borders and Barnes and Noble for $14.99 lately. -John __________________ Facebook \| My Videos

03-21-2003, 06:34 PM	#34
Drood Registered User Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 425	Thanks for the additions folks Just got done watching the last episode I managed to tape of Ken Burns Baseball... Excellent. Anyhoo, a while back I posted about a book I got from the library a few years ago. Couldn't place it, but people seemed to think it was Bouton's "Ball Four". Does "Ball Four" go back to the late 19th century? I've had memories come back of the book I was reading, and it covered the more sordid side starting in the 19th century. I remember one story about a pitcher or umpire or somebody having to run for their life after a game.

03-21-2003, 06:36 PM	#35
John C Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Albion, RI Posts: 2,261 Infractions: 1/0 (0)	It doesn't have any references to the deep past, I don't think. Can you provide any more details? __________________ Facebook \| My Videos

03-21-2003, 07:30 PM	#36
Drood Registered User Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 425	That's the problem, I can't. This was about 5 years ago. I read one chapter and never got to finish it. (Wasn't as big into baseball then.) Erm... It billed itself as covering the darker side of the sport, and started sometime in 1880 or so. That's all I can remember. A search of Amazon has turned up no titles that seem familiar It wasn't a coffee table sized book (like the Biographical Encyclopedia that I own that is mentioned in this thread), nor was it a regular paperback sized book (like a regular novel). It's a paperback. Erm... I'm really running out of memories now

03-22-2003, 12:10 AM	#37
John C Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Albion, RI Posts: 2,261 Infractions: 1/0 (0)	Ok, I'll see what I can dig up. -John __________________ Facebook \| My Videos

03-23-2003, 12:13 AM	#38
Drood Registered User Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 425	And it's not like I can go back and check the library records since that account is long expired now because we moved...

03-25-2003, 11:30 AM	#39
Joshv02 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: , " Posts: 3,082	Shut Out Recently, I read: Shut Out: A Story of Race and Baseball in Boston, Howard Bryant . Ehhh... informative, but horribly written. Typos, repeated paragraphs (almost verbatim), pendantic/assertive writing style... and thats just the introduction! Interesting thesis and history of race in Boston (read Red Sox) baseball. No discussion pre-1945, though, and very little on anything other than the Sox. But, interesting nonetheless. (The oddly long section on very white, and very unathletic Peter Gammons is the most detailed story in the book, for some reason.) Anyone else with impressions?

03-25-2003, 11:54 AM	#40
spleen1015 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 6,000	I bought "From 33rd St. To Camden Yards: A Oral History of the Balitmore Orioles" a few months ago. It give a history of the O's after the Browns moved to Balitmore. Reading that book helped show me how much Peter Angelos really has destroyed that franchise. It's a must read for any O's fan.